Chicken Soup For The Soul

BE YOURSELF
Ever since I was a little kid, I didn't want to be me. I wanted to be like Billy Windledon, and Billy Windledon didn't even like me. I walked like he walked; I talked like he talked; and I signed up for the high school he signed up for. Which was why Billy Windledon changed. He began to hang around Herby Vandeman; he walked like Herby Vandeman; he talked like Herby Vandeman. He mixed me up! I began to walk and talk like Billy Windledon, who was walking and talking like Herby Vandeman. And then it dawned on me that Herby Vandeman walked and talked like Joey Haverlin. And Joey Haverlin walked and talked like Corky Sabinson. So here I am walking and talking like Billy Windledon's imitation of Herby Vandeman's version of Joey Haverlin, trying to walk and talk like Corky Sabinson. And who do you think Corky Sabinson is always walking and talking like? Of all people, Dopey Wellington - that little pest who walks and talks like me!

KALAU SETIAP KESALAHAN MANUSIA BOLEH DIMAAFKAN DENGAN HANYA KATA-KATA MAAF, MAKA TUHAN TIDAK PERLU MENCIPTA NERAKA

"WHATEVER YOU NEED"
I was working as a consultant in a beer company, helping the president and senior vice-president formulate and implement their new strategic vision. It was an enormous challenge. At the same time, my mother was in the final stages of cancer. I worked during the day and drove 40 miles home to be with her every night. It was tiring and stressful, but it was what I wanted to do. My commitment was to continue to do excellent consulting during the day, even though my evenings were very hard. I didn't want to bother the president with my situation, yet I felt someone at the company needed to know what was going on. So I told the vice-president of Human Resources, asking him not to share the information with anyone.

A few days later, the president called me into his office. I figured he wanted to talk to me about one of the many issues we were working on. When I entered, he asked me to sit down. He faced me from across his large desk, looked me in the eye and said, "I hear your mother is very ill." I was totally caught by surprise and burst into tears. He just looked at me, let my crying subside and then gently said a sentence I will never forget: "Whatever you need." That was it. His understanding and his willingness to both let me be on my pain and to offer me everything were qualities of compassion that I carry with me to this day.
Martin Rutte - Extracted from Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communication Inc., 1996

A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward - William J Bennett

GOLDEN RULES FOR LIVING
If you open it, close it - If you turn it on, turn it off
If you unlock it, lock it - If you break it, admit it
If you can't fix it, call in someone who can - If you borrow it, return it
If you value it, take care of it - If you made a mess, clean it up
If you move it, put it back
If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission
If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone
If it's none of your business, don't ask questions
If it ain't broke, don't fix it - If it will brighten someone's day, say it
If it will tarnish someone's reputation, keep it to yourself
Author Unknown - Extracted from A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication, 1996

Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it -
Dr Karl Menninger

Father's Day
When I was five, my biological father committed suicide. It left me feeling as though I'd done something wrong, that if I had been better somehow, maybe he'd have stayed around. My mother remarried shortly thereafter, and this man was my dad until I was nineteen. I called him Dad and used his name all through school. But when he and my mother divorced, he just walked away. Once again, I wondered what was wrong with me that I couldn't keep a father. Mother remarried again, and Bob was a wonderful, jind man. I was twenty now and no longer living at home, but I felt a great love and attachment for him. A few years later my mother was diagnosed with cancer and was not given long to live. Shortly before she died, Bob came over to my house alone one day. We talked about a lot of things, and then he told me that he wanted me to know that he'd always be there for me, even after Mother was gone. Then he asked if he could adopt me.

I could hardly believe my eyes. Tears streamed down my face. He wanted me - me! This man had no obligation to me, but he was reaching out from his heart, and I accepted, During the adoption proceedings, the judge commented on all of the undesireable duties of his profession and then with a tear in his eye, thanked us for brightening his day as he pronounced us father and daughter. I was twenty-five, but I was his little girl. Three short years later, Bob, too, was diagnosed with cancer and was gone within the year. At first I was hurt and angry at God for taking this father away too. But eventually the love and acceptance that I felt from Dad came through again, and I became, once more, grateful the years we had. On Father's Day I always reflect on what I've learned about fatherhood. I've learned that it is not dependent on biology or even on raising child. Fatherhood is a matter of the heart. Bob's gift from the heart will warm my soul for eternity.
Sherry Lynn Blake Jensen Miller - Extracted from A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication, 1998

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs - Henry Ford

MR GILLESPIE
When I was in seventh grade, I was a candy striper at a local hospital in my town. I volunteered about thirty to forty hours a week during the summer. Most of the time I spent there with Mr Gillespie. He never had any visitors and nobody seemed to care about his condition. I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him, helping with anything that needed to be done. He became a close friend of mine, even though he responded with only an occasional squeeze of my hand. Mr Gillespie was in a coma. I left for a week to vacation with my parents and when I came back, Mr Gillespie was gone. I didn't have the nerve to ask any of the nurses where he was, for fear they might tell me he had dies. So with many questions unanswered, I continued to volunteer there through my eighth-grade year. Several years later, when I was a junior in high school, I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face. When I realised who it was, my eyes filled with tears. He was alive! I got up the nerve to ask him if his name was Mr Gillespie and if he had been in a coma about five years ago. With an uncertain look in his face, he replied yes. I explained how I knew and that I had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital. His eyes welled up with tears and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever received.

He began telling me how, as he lay there comatose, he could hear me talking to him and could feel me holding his hand the whole time. He thought it was an angel, not a person, who was there with him. Mr Gillespie firmly believed that it was my voice and touch that had kept him alive. Then he told me about his life and what happened to him to put him in the coma. We both cried for a while and exchanged a hug, said good-byes and went our separate ways. Although I haven't seen him since, he fills my heart with joy every day. I know that I made a difference between his life and his death. More important, he has made a tremendous difference in my life. I will never forget him and what he did for me: he made me an angel.
Angela Sturgill - Extracted from a 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, 1998

We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us – Aristotle
Think Good - Do Good - Be Good
(words from Abdul Aziz Masod Alhaj)

SPELLING BEE
In the fourth round of a national spelling bee in Washington, eleven-year-old Rosalie Elliot, a champion from South Carolina, was asked to spell the word "avowal". Her soft Southern accent made it difficult for judges to determine if she had used an 'a' or an 'e' as the next to last letter of the word. They deliberated for several minutes and also listened to tape recording playbacks, but still they couldn't determine which letter had been pronounced. Finally the chief judge, John Lloyd, out the question to the only person who knew the answer. He asked Rosalie, "Was the letter an 'a' or an 'e'?"

Rosalie, surrounded by whispering young spellers, knew by now the correct spelling of the word. But without hesitation, she replied that she has misspelled the word and had used an 'e'. As she walked from the stage, the entire audience stood and applauded her honesty and integrity, including dozens of newspaper reporters covering the event. While Rosalie had not won the contest, she had definitely emerged a winner that day
God's Little Devotional Book for Students - Honor Books
Extracted from a 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, 1998.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others -
(Submitted by Abdul Aziz Masod Alhaj)

A TURNING POINT
Seventy years ago I was quite a small little girl, the baby of the family, with an older brother and sister. My father was very ill at the time and my mother took in sewing of any kind so we could live. She would sew far into the night with nothing but dim gas mantles and an old treadle sewing machine. She never complained even when the fire would be low and the food very scarce. She would sew until the early hours of the morning. Things were very bad that particular winter. Then a letter came from where her sewing machine was purchased, stating that they would have to pick up her machine the next day unless payments were brought up to date. I remember when she read the letter I became frightened; I could picture us starving to death and all sorts of things that could come to a child's mind. My mother did not appear to be worried, however and seemed to be quite calm about the matter. I, on the other hand, cried myself to sleep, wondering what would become of our family. Mother said God would not fail her, that he never had. I couldn't see how God was going to help us keep this old sewing machine.

The day the men were to come for our only means of support, there was a knock at the kitchen door. I was frightened as a child would be, for I was sure it was those dreaded men. Instead, a nicely dressed man stood at our door with a darling baby in his arms. He asked my mother if she was Mrs Hill. When she said she was, he said, "I'm in trouble this morning and you have been recommended by the druggist and grocer down the street as an honest and wonderful woman. My wife was rushed to the hospital this morning and since we have no relatives here, and I must open my dentist office, I have nowhere to leave my baby. Could you possibly take care of her for a few days?" He continued, "I will pay you in advance." With this he took out ten dollars and gave it to my mother. Mother said, "Yes, yes, I will be glad to do so." and took the baby from his arms. When the man left, mother turned to me with tears streaming down a face that looked a though a light was shining on it. She said, "I knew God would never let them take away my machine."
Adeline Perkins - Extracted from a 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications; 1998

Rather fail by honour than succeed by fraud – Sophocles

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip? "It was great, Dad. "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are. " Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your family & friends!


There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others - George Shinn

LET'S GO BUG HUNTING MORE OFTEN
One fall afternoon I rushed from the university where I taught. I prepared a hasty dinner, threatened my nine-year-old daughter, Christi, to hurry and finish her homework "or else," and properly reprimanded Del, my husband, for leaving his dusty shoes on the good carpet. I then frantically vacuumed the entryway because a group of prestigious ladies were coming by to pick up some good used clothing for a worthwhile cause; and then later a graduate student would be at our house to work on a very important thesis - one that I was certain would make a sound contribution to research.

As I paused to catch my breath, I heard Christi talking with a friend on the telephone. Her comments went something like this: "Mom is cleaning house - some ladies we don't even know are coming by to pick up some old worn-out clothes ... and a college student is coming out to work on a thesis ... no, I don't know what a thesis is ... I just know Mom isn't doing anything important ... and she won't go bug hunting with me." Before Christi had hung up the phone, I had put on my jeans and old tennis shoes, persuaded Del to do likewise, pinned a note to the door telling the graduate student I'd be back soon, and set the box of used clothing on the front porch with a note on it that Del, Christi and I had gone bug hunting.
Barbara Chesser, PhD - Extracted from a 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc. 1998
Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself - John Dewey


THE BEAUTY OF LOVE
The question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and a girl clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?" And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love."
Anonymous - Extracted from A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication Inc., 1998.

Three things in human life are important : The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind - Henry James

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT A MICKEY MOUSE AFFAIR
Not too long ago, a guest checking out of our Polynesian Village resort at Walt Disney was asked how she enjoyed her visit. She told the front-desk clerk she had a wonderful vacation, but was heartbroken about losing several rolls of Kodak colour film she had not yet developed. She was particularly upset over the loss of the pictures she had shot at our Polynesian Luau, as this was a memory she especially treasured. Now, please understand that we have no written service standards covering lost luau snapshots. Fortunately, the hostess at the front desk understood Disney's philosophy of caring for our guests. She asked the woman to leave her a couple of rolls of fresh film, promising she would take care of the rest.

Two weeks later, this guest received a package at her home. In it were photos of the entire cast of our luau show, personally autographed by each performer. There were also photos of the parade and fireworks in the theme park, taken by the front-desk hostess on her own time, after work. I happen to know this story because this guest wrote us a letter. She said that never in her life had she received such compassionate service from any business establishment. Heroic service does not come from policy manuals. It comes from people who care - and from a culture that encourages and models that attitude.
Valerie Oberle, Vice President Disney University Guest Programs
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996.
It's all right letting yourself go as long as you can get yourself back - Mick Jagger


DO WHAT YOU LOVE - THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW
In Srully Blotnick's research reflected in Getting Rich Your Own Way (Playboy Paperbacks, 1982), 1500 people were divided into two groups are followed for 20 years. Group A made up 83% of the sample. These people are embarking on a career chosen for the reason of making money now in order to do what they wanted later. Group B, the other 17% chose their career based on what they wanted to do now and would worry about the money later.

The data revealed some startling discoveries :
At the end of the 20 years, 101 of the 1500 had become millionaires. Of the millionaires, all but one - 100 out of 101 - were from Group B, the group that had chosen to pursue what they loved!
extracted from "Heart at Work", Jack Canfield & Jacqueline Miller, McGraw-Hill, 1996

SINGH & KAUR - How The Names Originated
In 1699, the Sikh guru Gobind Singh from Punjab formed the Khalsa - a brotherhood of believers. The day April 14, is known as Vesakhi Day, the sikh new year. The Guru gave the name Singh to every male and the name Kaur to every female. Singh means 'lion' while Kaur means 'lioness or princess'. The moment a Punjabi child is born, he or she is brought to the temple to receive blessings, and will get the same universal name.

A Sikh does not have an individual surname and thus, a Sikh man's daughter would not carry his name. In Sikhism, Khalsa also means purity - the purity that you are given when you are born, and you are to maintain that purity in form, mind and soul. This would include the symbols of five Ks - Kesh (hair), Kara (steel bangle), Kangha (comb), Keehara (loose undergarment) and Kirpan (dagger).

There are about 100,000 Sikhs in Malaysia.
As published in the Malay Mail on 4th April 2000

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall - Confucius

ON SALES
Shops that have a lot of sales simply budget to sell goods at the reduced tariff, treating any full-price purchases as a bonus. They cope with the smaller income by buying in bulk and hoping that the reduced products will draw in customers to buy pricier items. Sales are still a more successful marketing tool than permanently low prices because shoppers prefer an "event" to everyday value, says Dr Hugh Philips of Bournemouth University in England, an expert in the psychology of shopping. "It satisfies our hunting instinct to feel we've tracked down a bargain," he explains. "Even if we queue for four hours to save a dollar."
Facts of Life, Reader's Digest, January 2004 issue
If you tell the truth you don't need a long memory - Jesse Ventura in Time

WISDOM
Three cowboys had been riding the range since early in the morning. One of them was a member of the Navajo Nation. Being busy with herding stray cattle all day, there had been no time for the three of them to eat. Toward the end of the day, two of the cowboys started talking about how hungry they were and about the huge meals they were going to eat when they reach town. When one of the cowboys asked the Navajo if he was hungry, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "No'". Later that evening, after they had arrived in town, all three ordered large steak dinners. As the Navajo proceeded to eat everything in sight with great gusto, one of his friends reminded him that less than an hour earlier he had told them that he was not hungry. "Not wise to be hungry then," he replied.No food."
Author Unknown - Extracted from a 2nd helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications Inc; 1995
The smallest deed is greater than the grandest intention - Patti Labelle in Labelle Cuisine (Broadway)

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
Interviews with the elderly and the terminally ill do not report that people regret for the things they have done but rather people talk about the things they regret not having done.

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier that I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream abd less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments. One after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a rain-coat and a parachute. If I had to do again, I would travel lighter next time. If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.
Nadine Stair (age 85) - Extracted from Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc. 1995

Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other - it doesn't matter who it is - and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other - Mother Teresa

A LIFE WORTH SAVING
A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous riptide to save a youngster being swept out to sea. After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to the man, "Thank you for saving my life."

The man looked into the boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving."
Author Unknown - from More Sowers's Seeds by Brian Cavanaugh - Extracted from 2nd Helping 'Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc. 1995
Life is a Song - Sing it; Life is a Game - Play it; Life is a Challenge - Meet it; Life is a Dream - Realize it; Life is a Sacrifice - Offer it; Life is Love - Enjoy it - Sai Baba

I Can Be Flexible
There is more than one way to do something. More than one person has had good ideas that will work. There is no one and only "best" way. Everybody has ideas that are worthwhile. Some may make more sense to me than others, but everyone's ideas are worthwhile and everyone has something worthwhile to contribute.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.

The most important journey you may make in life is meeting people half way. It's often the most difficult - Source Unknown

Other People Are Capable
I can't solve other people's problems for them. I don't have to take on other people's problems as if they were my own. I don't need to change other people or fix up their lives. They are capable and can take care of themselves and can solve their own problems. I can care and be of some help, but I can't do everything for them.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will avoid one hundred days of sorrow - Chinese Proverb

I Can Change
I don't have to be a certain way because of what has happened in the past. Every day is a new life. It's silly to think I can't help being the way I am. Of course I can. I can change.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.
Think Young. Aging is for wine - Cited in More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES

I Am Capable
I don't need someone else to take care of my problems. I am capable. I can take care of myself. I can think for myself. I don't have to depend on somebody else to take care of me.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.

If you treat an individual ... as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

It Is Important To Try
I can. Even though I may be faced with difficult tasks, it is better to try than to avoid them. Avoiding a task does not give me any opportunities for success or joy, but trying does. Things worth having are worth the effort. I might not be able to do everything, but I can do something.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.

Pain and suffering is inevitable, being miserable is optional - Art Clanin

I Can Handle It When Things Go Wrong.
I don't need to watch out for things to go wrong. Things usually go just fine and when they don't, I can handle it. I don't have to waste my energy worrying. The sky won't fall in; things will be okay.


Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy or strong. The amount of work is the same.-Beau Bauman

I Am Responsible for My Day
I am responsible for how I feel and what I do. Nobody can make me feel anything. If I have a rotten day, I am the one who allowed it to be that way. If I have a great day, I am the one who deserves credit for being positive. It is not the responsibility of other people to change so that I can feel better. I am the one who is in charge of my life.


If you cannot be a good leader, be a good follower. You will be appreciated just the same.
Raja Dato' Aman Ahmad - Former CEO AFFIN Bank
To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.

I Don't Have To Control Things
I will survive if things are different than what I want them to be. I can accept things the way they are, accept people the way they are and accept myself the way I am. There is no reason to get upset if I can't change things to fit my idea of how they ought to be. There is no reason why I should have to like everything. Even if I don't like it, I can live with it.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.
Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.

Other People Are Okay and I Am Okay
People who do things I don't like are not necessarily bad people. They should not necessarily be punished just because I don't like what they do or did. There is no reason why other people should be the way I want them to be and there is no reason why I should be the way somebody else wants me to be. People will be whatever they want to be and I will be whatever I want to be. I cannot control other people or change them. They are who they are; we all deserve basic respect.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.
He who knows not and not know he knows not is a fool - Anonymous

It Is Okay To Make Mistakes
Making mistakes is something we all do and I am still a fine and worthwhile person when I make them. There is no reason for me to get upset when I make a mistake. I am trying and if I make a mistake, I am going to continue trying. I can handle making a mistake. It is okay for others to make mistakes, too. I will accept mistakes in myself and also mistakes that others make.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.

Everybody Doesn't Have To Love Me
Not everybody has to love me or even like me. I don't necessarily like everybody I know, so why should everybody else like me? I enjoy being liked and being loved, but if somebody doesn't like me, I will still be okay and still feel like I am an okay person. I cannot make somebody like me, any more than someone can get me to like them. I don't need approval all the time. If someone does not approve of me, I will still be okay.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Allison Stevenson
Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall - Confucius

MISCOMMUNICATION ???
Walking through Chinatown, a tourist is fascinated with all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners. He turns a corner and sees a building with the sign, "Hans Olaffsen's Laundry." "Hans Olaffsen?", he muses. "How the heck does that fit in here?" So he walks into the shop and sees an old Chinese gentleman behind the counter. The tourist asks, "How did this place get a name like "Hans Olaffsen's Laundry?" The old man answers, "Is name of owner." The tourist asks, "Well, who and where is the owner?" "Me, is right here," replies the old man. "You? How did you ever get a name like Hans Olaffsen?" "Is simple," says the old man. "Many, many year ago when come to this country, was stand in line at Documentation Center. Man in front was big blonde Swede. Lady look at him and go, "What your name?" He say, "Hans Olaffsen." Then she look at me and go, 'What your name?'" "I say, Sem Ting."

Source Unknown

Don't blame them, train them
Alan McGivern 'Positive Business Minutes' on the Light & Easy morning show, one morning many moons ago

The Spalshes of Life

My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone person.

"You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said. "Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both."

That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.
-Author unknown-
Success is getting what you want; Happiness is wanting what you get - Anonymous

A SIMPLE GESTURE
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came, and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life."
John W Schlatter - Extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen,Health Communication,Inc, 1993.
At the heart of any good business is a chief executive officer with one - Malcolm Forbes
JOSH AND HIS JAG
About ten years ago a young and a very successful executive named Josh was travelling down a Chicago neighbourhood street. He was travelling a bit fast in his sleek, black, sixteen-cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He watched for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed and - whump - smashed into the Jag's shiny side door. SCREECH! Brakes slammed. Gears pounded into reverse and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick was thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "Just what was that about? Who do you think you are?" Building up a head of steam he continued, "That's my new Jag; that brick is going to cost you plenty. Why did you throw it?"

"Please ... please, mister, I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do," pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop."Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help him back into his wheelchair? He's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He helped the youngster upright the wheelchair and the two of them lifted his brother back into the chair. It was a long, long walk back to the sleek, black, sixteen-cylinder Jaguar XKE - a long and slow walk. Now, Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. It reminded him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention.
Josh Ridker - Extracted from 'a 5th portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1998
A good heart and a good mind - these are what you need to be a good chief - Louis Farmer-

ONE FOR THE TEAM
This story was told by an old priest one Sunday. It is a true story of when he served in the military.

One day their drill sergeant came out and threw a hand grenade into a group of young soldiers. The men all ran away and took cover away from the grenade. Then the drill sergeant told them that the grenade was not set to explode and he just did it to see their reaction. The next day a newly recruited joined the group. The drill sergeant told the other soldiers not to tell the new soldier what was going to happen. As the drill sergeant came out and threw the grenade into the crowd of soldiers, the new soldier, not knowing it wasn't going to explode, threw himself on top of the grenade to prevent it from killing the other men. He was willing to die for his fellow soldiers.

That year the young man was awarded the only medal for courage and bravery that had not been won during battle.
Kim Noone - Extracted from the "Chicken Soup Series", Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N., Health Communications, Inc., 1996
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try. Beverly Sills

THE QUESTION
Isn't it amazing how few of us ask ourselves the important question? Several years ago I was invited to hear an important speaker address the student body of a small college in South Corolina. The auditorium was filled with students excited about the opportunity to hear a person of her stature speak. After the governor gave the introduction, the speaker moved to the microphone, looked at the audience from left to right, and began: "I was born to a mother who was deaf and could not speak. I do not know who my father is or was. The first job I ever had was in a cotton field." The audience was spellbound. "Nothing has to remain the way it is if that's not the way a person wants it to be," she continued. "It isn't luck, and it isn't circumstances, and it isn't born a certain way that causes a person's future to become what it becomes." And she softly repeated, "Nothing has to remain the way it is if that's not the way a person wants it to be. "All a person has to do," she added in a firm voice, "to change a situation that brings unhappiness or dissatisfaction is answer the question: 'How do I want this situation to become?' Then the person must commit totally to personal actions that carry them there." Then a beautiful smile shone forth as she said, "My name is Azie Taylor Morton. I stand before you today as Treasurer of the United States of America."
Bob Moore
Extracted from "Chicken Soup Series, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications Inc, 1995

Procrastination is like a credit card : it's a lot of fun until you get the bill - Christopher Parker

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
He was admitted to emergency receiving and placed on the cardiac floor. Long hair, unshaven, dirty, dangerously obese, with a black motorcycle jacket tossed on the bottom shelf of the stretcher, he was an outsider to this sterile world of shinning terrazzo floors, efficient uniformed professionals and strict infection control procedures. Definitely an untouchable. The nurses at the station looked wide-eyed as this mound of humanity was wheeled by, each glancing nervously at Bonnie, the head nurse. "Let this one not be mine to admit, bathe and tend to ... " was their pleading unspoken message. One of the true marks of a leader, a consummate professional, is to do the unthinkable. To tackle the impossible. To touch the untouchable. It was Bonnie who said, "I want this patient myself." Highly unusual for a head nurse - unconventional - but the stuff out of which human spirits thrive, heal and soar.

As she donned her latex gloves and proceeded to bathe this huge, very unclean man, her heart almost broke. Where was his family? Who was his mother? What was he like as a little boy? She hummed quietly as she worked. It seemed to ease the fear and embarrassment she knew he must be feeling. And then on a whim she said, "We don't have time for back rubs much in hospitals these days, but I bet one would really feel good. And it would help you relax your muscles and start to heal." The thick, scaly, ruddy skin told a story of an abusive lifestyle: probably lots of addictive behavior with food, alcohol and drugs. As she rubbed those taut muscles, she hummed and prayed. Prayed for the soul of a little boy grown up, rejected by life's rudeness and striving for acceptance in hard, hostile world. The finale was warmed lotion and baby powder. Almost laughable - such a contrast to this huge, foreign surface. As he rolled over his back, tears ran down his cheeks and his chin trembled. With amazingly beautiful brown eyes, he smiled and said in a quivering voice, "No one has touched me for years. Thank you. I am healing."
Naomi Rhode
extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996.

Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. - Michael Landon, quoted by Brad Darrach in Life

SONG OF THE BIRD
A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet in the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of birds," said his neighbour. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.
Anthony DeMello
extracted from a 4th course of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty, Health Communications, Inc.,1997.

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently - Henry Ford.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE - THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW
In Srully Blotnick's research reflected in Getting Rich Your Own Way (Playboy Paperbacks, 1982), 1500 people were divided into two groups are followed for 20 years. Group A made up 83% of the sample. These people are embarking on a career chosen for the reason of making money now in order to do what they wanted later. Group B, the other 17% chose their career based on what they wanted to do now and would worry about the money later.

The data revealed some startling discoveries :
At the end of the 20 years, 101 of the 1500 had become millionaires. Of the millionaires, all but one - 100 out of 101 - were from Group B, the group that had chosen to pursue what they loved!
extracted from "Heart at Work", Jack Canfield & Jacqueline Miller, McGraw-Hill, 1996

ON DETERMINATION
You have to be single minded, drive only for one thing on which you have decided. And if it looks as if you might be getting there, all kinds of people, including some you thought were your loyal friends, will suddenly show up ... to trip you, blacken you and break your spirit.
John R Noe
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994.

You give your best not because you need to impress people. You give your best because that's the only way to enjoy your work - Andrew Matthews

TWO NICKELS AND FIVE PENNIES
In the days when ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studies a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.

The little boy again countered the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.
The Best of Bits & Pieces
extracted from 'a 3rd serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc; 1996
The shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at a time
Samuel Smiles (1812 - 1904) - Physician and writer, Cited in BITS & PIECES