The Power of Kindness

An excerpt from
The Power of Kindness
by Mac Anderson 

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door-to-door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words:

"Paid in full with one glass of milk..."

(Signed)

Dr. Howard Kelly

(Dr. Howard Kelly was a distinguished physician who, in 1895, founded the Johns Hopkins Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. According to Dr. Kelly's biographer, Audrey Davis, the doctor was on a walking trip through Northern Pennsylvania one spring day when he stopped by a farm house for a drink of water.)

Attitude is Everything

An excerpt from

Attitude is Everything

by Vicki Hitzges 

I used to worry. A lot. The more I fretted, the more proficient I became at it. Anxiety begets anxiety. I even worried that I worried too much! Ulcers might develop. My health could fail. My finances could be depleted to pay the hospital bills.

A comedian once said, "I tried to drown my worries with gin, but my worries are equipped with flotation devices." While not a drinker, I certainly could identify! My worries could swim, jump and pole vault!

To get some perspective, I visited a well known, Dallas businessman, Fred Smith. Fred mentored such luminaries as motivational whiz Zig Ziglar, business guru Ken Blanchard and leadership expert John Maxwell. Fred listened as I poured out my concerns and then said, "Vicki, you need to learn to wait to worry."

As the words sank in, I asked Fred if he ever spent time fretting. (I was quite certain he wouldn't admit it if he did. He was pretty full of testosterone—even at age 90.) To my surprise, he confessed that in years gone by he had been a top-notch worrier!

"I decided that I would wait to worry!" he explained. "I decided that I'd wait until I actually had a reason to worry—something that was happening, not just something that might happen—before I worried."

"When I'm tempted to get alarmed," he confided, "I tell myself, 'Fred, you've got to wait to worry! Until you know differently, don't worry.' And I don't. Waiting to worry helps me develop the habit of not worrying and that helps me not be tempted to worry."

Fred possessed a quick mind and a gift for gab. As such, he became a captivating public speaker. "I frequently ask audiences what they were worried about this time last year. I get a lot of laughs," he said, "because most people can't remember. Then I ask if they have a current worry—you see nods from everybody. Then I remind them that the average worrier is 92% inefficient—only 8% of what we worry about ever comes true."

Charles Spurgeon said it best. "Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength."

Finding Joy

An excerpt from
Finding Joy

by Vicki Hitzges 

Life can be complicated, but happiness...is simple. Of course, we try our best to make it complicated, but if we look closely, it's really very simple. And that's what this little book is all about...Simple Secrets to a Happy Life!

My goal is to have you sit down in a quiet place, and to slowly soak up every simple page. Don't hurry, just take a deep breath, read each thought, and reflect on how it might apply to your life. Think about what is...and what could be, if your mind and heart is open to change.

Well, I don't know about you, but my world is far from perfect. I have doubts, fears and disappointments in my life, and I need doses of inspiration to bring me back to where I should be...to re-direct me to what's really important in life.

The story behind Leading with Passion

An excerpt from
Leading with Passion
by John J. Murphy  

Light a match in a dark room and watch as the light instantly overcomes the darkness. Observe the power and grace of that single, solitary flame dancing with life. Now light several candles or kindle a fire and experience the added warmth and comfort extending from that first, vulnerable flame through others. This is the heart and soul of leadership - the essence of inspiring others. It is about courageously casting off fear, doubt and limiting beliefs and giving people a sense of hope, optimism and accomplishment. It is about bringing light into a world of uncertainty and inspiring others to do the same. This is what we call passion, the fire within.

Passion is a heartfelt energy that flows through us, not from us. It fills our hearts when we allow it to and it inspires others when we share it. It is like sunlight flowing through a doorway that we have just opened. It was always there. It just needed to be accepted and embraced. Under the right conditions, this "flow" appears effortless, easy and graceful. It is doing what it is meant to do. It is reminding us that we are meant to be purposeful. We are meant to be positive. We are meant to be passionate. We feel this when we listen to and accept our calling in life. We feel it as inspiration when we open the door of resistance and let it in.

Inspiration springs forth when we allow ourselves to be "in-spirit," aligned with our true essence. Stop and think about it: When you feel truly passionate and inspired about someone or something, what frame of mind are you in? What are you willing to do? What kind of effort are you willing to put forth? How fearful are you? Chances are, you feel motivated to do whatever it takes, without fear or doubt, to turn your vision into reality. You grow in confidence. You believe you can do it. You are committed from the heart and soul.

Our Words Create Our Worlds

An excerpt from
An Enemy called Average

by John Mason

What we say is important. Our vocabulary should be filled with words of hope and dreams. Be known as someone who speaks positively.

Recently I saw a sign under a mounted large mouth bass. It read, "If I had kept my mouth shut I wouldn't be here." How true! Don't jump into trouble mouth first.

Let me pose this question for you: Starting today what would happen if you changed what you said about your biggest problem, your biggest opportunity?

I don't know if you've had this conversation or not, but last month I turned to my wife, Linda, while we were sitting together in our family room and said, "Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state dependent on some machine. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

She immediately got up, walked over and unplugged the TV.

"Our words create our worlds," says Dean Sikes. Your words have the power to start fires or quench passion.

Don't be like the man who joined a monastery in which the monks were allowed to speak only two words every seven years. After the first seven years had passed, the new initiate met with the abbot, who asked him, "Well, what are your two words?"

"Food's bad," replied the man, who then went back to his silence.

Seven years later the clergyman asked, "What are your two words now?"

"Bed's hard," the man responded.

Seven years later - twenty-one years after his initial entry into the monastery - the man met with the abbot for the third and final time. "And what are your two words this time?" the abbot asked.

"I quit."

"Well, I'm not surprised," the cleric answered disgustedly. "All you've done since you got here is complain!"

Don't be like that man; don't be known as a person whose only words are negative. If you're a member of the "negative grapevine," resign.

Contrary to what you may have heard, talk is not cheap. Talk is powerful!

First Thing Every Morning

An excerpt from
First Thing Every Morning
by Lewis Timberlake What do you do when your whole world crumbles? I grew up in Texas and married Georgia Ann, the most beautiful girl in my hometown. I enjoyed a successful career in the life insurance business - even became president of the company. I was president of civic organizations and involved in running campaigns for governors. I'd won awards and honors and life was good. My first two children were simply amazing, and my third child, Craig, offered the same promise.

But at age 10, the doctors said he would be blind in two weeks' time. How could that be? Craig had never been sick - never even had a headache.

We discovered there is a gene that can "go bad." It causes Wolfram Syndrome. There is no cure. When it goes bad, bad things happen. First his optic nerve began to die, and I watched my 10-year-old son go blind a little each day. God blessed me with an amazing wife, three phenomenal children and a successful career. But when Craig went blind, my world crumbled. How do you get through that? What do you do?

I cried out in desperation and despair. There was no help available; nobody in high places could sort things out. Then radio broadcaster Paul Harvey told me, "In times like these, it's good to remember that there have always been 'times like these.' You can get through this better and stronger, and more able to live life victoriously - if you will do some things that help you get through each day."

I realized you must find a way to begin each day in a way that prepares you to say, "Whatever takes place, I shall win."

That's when I realized I needed to start every day, even challenging and difficult days, with a positive focus. I needed to do the things unsuccessful people don't do. I actually learned, "How you begin the day controls how you go through the day."

Preview of RBA, BOC, BOE, and ECB Decisions This Week

Preview of RBA, BOC, BOE, and ECB Decisions This Week