Hapiness by Napoleon Hill

"Happiness is found in doing. Not merely in possessing."

Napoleon Hill

Today I Will Make a Difference By Max Lucado

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of their thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble - I will get up. It's OK to fail - I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

One Day at a Time by Ida Scott Taylor

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

Ida Scott Taylor
1820-1915, Author

The House of 1000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Japanese Folktale

Inner Peace by Vernon Howard

I want to give you a tested technique for gradually and surely increasing your inner peace. It works for you regardless of the noise and confusion that may surround your day.

You will detach yourself as a mental participant in these noisy events. You will observe them, be aware of them, but will not involve yourself mentally or emotionally. Perhaps you ask, "But can this really be done? It sounds impossible to separate myself from the constant clatter around me." I assure you that it can be done by you.

You see, your True Self is detached from everything on the outside. It has awareness of exterior conditions but does not get emotionally upset by them. You have a True Self at this very moment. At the very instant of reading these lines you are capable of mental detachment from all exterior problems.

Be a calm beholder of life. Mentally detach yourself. Stand back and quietly observe everything that happens to you and around you. Do not resist it; merely observe. Do not try to change or improve or destroy it, merely be aware. See yourself as someone apart, which, in truth, you are.

You need not fear that this detachment loses your control of things. It does not harm your daily tasks. They will go on as before. It may surprise you to find them proceeding as before, even improved. Mental detachment is, in fact, a higher form of control.

This kind of detachment is not retreat from reality; it is a healthy perception of it.

Stand apart and behold your life. It detaches you from trouble. You don't suffer from that ill-tempered person; you don't get depressed over that tragic event; you don't pay the price for that form of mankind's madness. You are free.

Results by Gerry Robert

"I want to demonstrate by my life and my results, not my talk, not my wishes, but by my results."

Gerry Robert
From Who Do You Think You Are? Discover The Purpose Of Your Life

Its Not What We Read by Henry Ward Beecher

"It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It is not what we intend but what we do that makes us useful. And, it is not a few faint wishes but a lifelong struggle that makes us valiant."

Henry Ward Beecher

1813-1887, American Preacher, Orator, Writer