SUCCESS: S- Steering

"Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness." Zig Ziglar

Success is a God- given gift. You have within you everything you need to succeed. But like seeds, it requires action and direction on your part to bring success to fruition.

"Success to me is having ten honeydew melons, and eating only the top half of each one." Unknown

Your ideas of success must be YOUR idea of success. It is you that must drive towards the goal, no one else cares- so aim high and be sincere.

"It is better to be a nobody who accomplishes something than a somebody who accomplishes nothing." Unknown

Status with others means nothing. It is the status you have within yourself that matters.

I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate." George Burns

Don't let others decide what is important to you. If you succeed at others' goals- you will not feel accomplished- instead you will feel lacking.

Do you have a success plan? Do you know where you are going? Do you need to know? Only you can say.

A good rule of thumb is if you've made it to thirty-five and your job still requires you to wear a name tag, you've made a serious vocational error." Unknown

Happy New Year!!!
Good Bye 2005, Hello 2006!

George Eliot Said...

It's never too late to be who you might have been.

Anatole France Said...

Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.

Rita Mae Brown Said...

The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself.

On The Flip Side

It may not seem like it, but the days ARE getting longer. Just a little bit each day.

We have spent the last 6 months dealing with shorter and shorter days and then on December 21st, it all turned around. By the time Daylight Savings time rolls around- the difference will be noticeable as well as incredible.

It's just another example of how just a little bit each day- in a consistent manner- makes big differences over time.

As we approach the season of "New Year's Resolutions", keep that thought in mind- Slow and steady is better then spurts.

Henry Ford Said...

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

Christmas Sunday Scripture Choice

Luke 2:4-16

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Double Shot of Christmas Quotes II

Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.
-Joan Winmill Brown

Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas.
All else is outward display--so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow.
It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men
when the Christmas spirit returns again.
-Unknown

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

"Dear Editor--I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety-fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Double Shot of Christmas Quotes

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."
-Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

"Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself."
-Francis C. Farley