A Life That Makes a Difference! (Posted by Priya Deelchand)

My dearest friends,

Hope you are all doing awesome! Here is a true story that I would like to share
with you. It was written by Steve Goodier.

“How do you account for your remarkable accomplishment in life?” Queen
Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. “How do you explain the fact
that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to
accomplish so much?”

Ms. Keller’s answer is a tribute to her dedicated teacher. “If it had
not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have
remained unknown.”

Speaker Zig Ziglar tells about “Little Annie” Sullivan, as she was
called when she was young. Little Annie was no stranger to hardship.
She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was,
at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly “insane” by her caregivers. She
was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston.
On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near.
Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.

An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her
mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie.
For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse’s presence,
but she still continued to visit. The kindly woman left cookies for
her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little
Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once
witnessed anger and hostility, they now noted an emerging gentleness
and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then
the day finally came when this seemingly “hopeless” child was
released.

Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as
she, herself, was helped by the loving nurse. It was she who saw the
great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her,
played with her, pushed her, and worked with her until the flickering
candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne
Sullivan worked wonders in Helen’s life, but it was a loving nurse who
first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an
uncommunicative child into a compassionate teacher.

“If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would
have remained unknown.” But if it had not been for a kind and
dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained
unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of
redemption extend? And how for forward will it lead?

Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or
elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the
generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see
results, is immeasurable. Your legacy of dedicated kindness and caring
can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come.

You can never overestimate the power of your love. It is a fire that,
once lit, may burn forever.

Wish you an excellent day!

Much Love,
Priya:))
Posted by Priya Deelchand
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Making The Best of You! (Posted by Priya Deelchand)

My dearest friends,

Hope you are all doing great! Here is a true story written by Steve
Goodier that I would like to share with you.

They say “make the best of a bad situation.” But I believe the bad
situation makes the best of you. Even the irritations of life can be
useful. President Abraham Lincoln showed us how this is so.

One of his cabinet appointees, Edwin Stanton, frequently found flaws
with the president and criticized him — sometimes in public. Lincoln
seemed to show excessive patience with him. The president was asked
why he kept such a man in a high level position.

Lincoln characteristically responded with a story. He told about a
time he was visiting with an old farmer. He noticed a big horsefly
biting the flank of the farmer’s horse. Lincoln said he reached over
to brush the fly away. As he did so, the farmer stopped him and
cautioned, “Don’t do that, friend. That horsefly is the only thing
keeping this old horse moving.”

Even life’s many irritations and problems have their place. They may
cause us to change directions. Or prod us to greater achievement. Or
keep us moving along when it’s easier to go nowhere.

Are you simply making the best of a bad situation, or will it make the
best of you?

Have an excellent day!

Much Love,
Priya:))
Posted by Priya Deelchand
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The Power of Persistence (Posted by Priya Deelchand)

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

“We told them so.”

“Crazy men and their crazy dreams.”

“It`s foolish to chase wild visions.”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Author Unknown

Posted by Priya Deelchand

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How To Stay Focused & Inspired In Tough Times – Robin S. Sharma (Posted by Priya Deelchand)

How To Stay Focused & Inspired In Tough Times – Robin S. Sharma

How To Stay Focused & Inspired In Tough Times: Lessons for
Managing and Thriving on Your Setbacks

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars or
sailed to an uncharted land or opened up a new heaven to the
human spirit,” observed Helen Keller.

In this change-crazed world we live in, a healthy dose of
optimism will help us deal with life’s daily challenges and
stay inspired in the face of difficulties. But the habit of
positive thinking is not enough.

To truly thrive on the inevitable obstacles that will appear
on your path, you must learn specific strategies for
managing setbacks and transforming your struggles into
strengths.

The following 5 points will keep you motivated, inspired and
focused as you deal with adversity:

1. Search for the Opportunity. The great motivational
thinker Napoleon Hill once said that every difficulty
contains the seed of an equivalent opportunity. The person
of true character has the courage to find it and then seize
it in order move on to a whole new level of success.

Problems are a part of life. The only people on the planet
who are problem-free are resting six feet under the ground.

When faced with an apparent failure or rejection, ask
yourself the simple question: “what can I learn from this?”
Then use the experience to grow more effective at what you
do.

Remember, failure is the highway to success. As J.P.
Guildford noted: “To live is to have problems and to solve
problems is to grow intellectually.”

2. Envision a Better Day. One of the most powerful ways to
stay focused and strong in the face of a setback is to
simply close your eyes and picture a time when things will
be much better.

Visualize things going the way you want them to go. Vividly
see things unfolding ideally and emotionally connect to how
good you will feel once they do. Jonas Salk said: “I’ve had
dreams and I’ve had nightmares. I’ve overcome my nightmares
because of my dreams.”

By staying anchored to a positive vision of your future, you
will remain motivated no matter how tough your current
circumstances may be.

3. Connect to the Truth. There are certain “Success Truths”
or natural laws of achievement that have endured throughout
the ages.

Unfortunately,with the frenzied pace at which most of us
work and live at, we often lose sight of these truths that
have stood the test of time, truths such as “just before a
great victory one often faces great adversity” or “we learn
and grow most from our biggest failures” or “nothing can
stop a person who simply refuses to be stopped.”

The simple daily discipline of reading an inspirational book
or a great text of wisdom from a life philosopher such as
Seneca or Thoreau first thing in the morning will re-connect
you to the success truths that govern the way we live. Their
knowledge will then infuse and inspire every remaining
minute of your day and your problems will not seem so big.

4. Select, Reflect and Correct. Reflection is one of the
most powerful yet underused business skills. The French
scientist Blaise Pascal mused that “All man’s miseries
derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.”

The habit of going to a quiet place on a regular basis and
reflecting on the causes, solutions and ultimate benefits of
a problem you might be experiencing is one that will
profoundly improve the level of your personal and
professional effectiveness.

Thinking deeply about the way you are doing the things you
do increases self-awareness which, in turn, prevents future
mistakes. Let your past failures serve you. Transform your
stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Unless you reflect -
then correct – the mistakes of your past, you are doomed to
repeat them.

5. Maintain Your Perspective. Stephen Hawking, one of the
world’s greatest scientific thinkers, has noted that we live
on a minor planet of a very average star located within the
outer limits of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies.

In light of this finding, can your problems really be that
significant? While, in the heat of the moment our challenges
seem to be major calamities, over time we are able to see
them in a new light.

All top performers have developed this ability of keeping
their setbacks in a proper perspective, learning from them
and then advancing confidently in the direction of their
dreams. Never lose sight of the fact that the work you and
your team is doing impacts on people’s lives and you can
make a difference.

That’s what’s most important. As the poet Rumi once said:
“When you are dead, seek for your resting place, not in the
earth, but in the hearts of men.” Wise words from a wise man.
___________
Robin S. Sharma, Professional Speaker on Leadership in
Business/Life — He is the bestselling Author of “Who Will
Cry When You Die?” & “Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who
Sold His Ferrari”. Visit http://www.robinsharma.com

The 3 Doors To Wisdom (Posted by Priya Deelchand)

My dearest friends,

Hope you are all doing awesome. Here is the life lesson that
I would like to share with you. The author is unknown.

A King had, as only son, a young Prince, brave, skillful
and intelligent. To perfect his knowledge of Life, he sent
him by the side of an Old Wise Man.

“Bring Light to my Path of Life”, the Prince asked.

“My words will faint away like the prints of your steps in
the sand”, the Wise Man answered. However, I want to give you
some indications. On your Path, you will find 3 doors. Read
the rules written on each of them.

An irresistible need will urge you to follow them.
Don’t try and get away from them, because you would be
condemned to live again, ceaselessly, what you have avoided.
I may tell you no more.

You have to feel all this deep in your heart and in your flesh.
Go, now. Follow this path, right in front of you. “

The Old Wise Man disappeared and the Prince entered
the Path of Life.

He was soon in front of a big door, on which one could read:

“CHANGE THE WORLD”.

“It was my intention indeed”, the Prince thought, “because
if some things please me in this world, others greatly displease
me.”

And he began his first fight. His ideal, his ardour and his
power urged him to confront himself to the world, to undertake,
to conquer, to model reality according to his desires.

He found there the pleasure and the dizzyness of the conqueror,
but no peace in his heart. He managed to change some things but
many others resisted to him. Many years passed.

One day, he met the Old Wise Man who asked him:

“What have you learnt on your path?”

“I have learnt,” the Prince answered, “ how to discern what
is within my power and what is without, what depends on me and
what does not depend on me”.

“That’s good!”, the Old Man said. “Use your strength to act
on what is within your power. Forget what’s beyond your power.”
And he disappeared.

A bit later, the Prince was in front of a second door.
He could read on it :

“CHANGE THE OTHERS”.

“It was my intention indeed”, he thought. “The others are
a source of pleasure, enjoyment and satisfaction, but also,
of pain, bitterness and frustration.”

And he rebelled against everything that could disturb him
or displease him in his fellow men. He tried to bend their
characters and to extirpate their defects.

It was there his second fight.

Many years passed.

One day, as he was meditating on the utility of the attempts
to change the others, he met the Old Wise Man who asked him:

“What have you learnt on your path?”

“I have learnt”, the Prince answered, “that the others are not
the cause or the source of my joys and my punishments, my
satisfactions and my setbacks. They are only opportunities
for all of them to be revealed.

It is in myself that all these things have their roots.”

“You are right,” the Wise Man said. “According to what they
wake up in you, the others reveal you to yourself. Be grateful
to those who make your enjoyment and pleasure vibrate.

But be also grateful to those who create in you suffering or
frustration, because, through them, life teaches you what
is left in you to learn and the path that you still have
to walk.”

And the Old Man disappeared.

A bit further, the Prince arrived in front of a door, on
which these words were written:

“CHANGE YOURSELF”.

“If I am myself the cause of my problems, it is indeed what’s
left in me to work on”, he said to himself.

And he began his 3rd fight. He tried to bend his character,
to fight his imperfections, to abolish his defects, to change
everything that did not please him in himself, everything that
did not correspond to his ideal.

After many years of this fight, in which he met some success,
but also, some failures and some resistances, the Prince met the
Wise Man who asked him:

“What have you learnt on your path?”

“I have learnt”, the Prince answered, ”that there are things
that we can improve, others that resist to us and that we can’t
manage to break.”

“That’s good!” the Wise Man said.

“Yes”, the Prince went on, ”but I am beginning to be tired
of fighting against everything, against everybody, against
myself. Won’t there be an end to it one day? When shall I
find a rest? I want to stop fighting, to give up, to
abandon everything, I want to let go !”

“It is precisely your next lesson“, the Old Wise Man said.
“But before going any further, turn round and behold the path
covered.”

And he disappeared.

On looking back, the Prince saw in the distance the 3rd door,
and noticed that it was carrying a text on its back, saying :

“ACCEPT YOURSELF.”

The Prince was surprised not to have seen this writing when
he went through the door, the other way.

“When one fights, one becomes blind”, he said to himself.
He also saw, lying on the ground, scattered around him,
everything he had thrown away and fought against in him:
his defects, his shadows, his fears, his limits, all his
old worries. He had learnt then how to recognize them, to
accept them, to love them. He had learnt how to love himself
without comparing himself to the others any more, without
judging himself, without reprimanding himself.

He met the Old Wise Man who asked him:

“What have you learnt on your path?”

“I have learnt”, the Prince answered,” that hating or refusing
a part of myself, it is to condemn myself never to be in
agreement with myself. I learnt how to accept myself, totally,
unconditionally.”

“That’s good!”, the Old Man said, it is the first rule in
Wisdom. Now you can go back through the 3rd door.”

He had no sooner reached the other side, that the Prince
perceived far away the back side of the second door, on which
he could read:

“ACCEPT THE OTHERS”.

All around him, he could recognize the persons he had been
with all his life through; those he had loved as well as those
he had hated. Those he had supported and those he had fought.

But the biggest surprise of all for him was that now, he was
absolutely unable to see their imperfections, their defects,
what formerly had embarrassed him so much, and against which
he had fought.

He met the Old Wise Man again.

“What have you learnt on your path?” he asked him.

“I have learnt”, the Prince answered, “that by being in
agreement with myself, I had no more anything to blame in the
others, no more anything to be afraid of in them. I have
learnt how to accept and to love the others, totally,
unconditionally.”

“That’s good!”, the Old Wise Man said. “It is the second
rule in Wisdom. You can go back through the second door.”

On reaching the other side of the second door, the Prince
perceived in the distance the back side of the first door,
on which he could read:

“ACCEPT THE WORLD”.

“Strangely enough”, he said to himself, “that I did not see
these words on the first time”. He looked all around him and
recognized this world which he had tried to conquer, to
transform, to change. He was struck by the brightness and
the beauty of every thing. By their perfection.

Nevertheless, it was the same world as before. Was it
the world which had changed or the glance he had on it?

He met the Old Wise Man who asked him:

“What have you learnt on your path?”

“I have learnt”, the Prince said, that the world is a mirror
for my soul. That my soul can’t see the world, it sees itself
in the world. When my soul is cheerful, the world seems cheerful
to it.

When it is overcome, the world seems sad to it. The world
itself is neither sad nor cheerful. It IS there; it exists; it
is everything. It was Not the world that disturbed me, but the
idea that I had of it. I have learnt to accept it without
judging it, to accept it totally, unconditionally. “

“It is 3rd rule of Wisdom”, the Old Man said.
“You are here now in agreement with yourself, with the others
and with the World.”

A profound feeling of peace, serenity, plenitude, filled
the Prince. Silence was in him.

“Now, you are ready to go past the last Threshold”, the
Old Wise Man said, “the one that goes from the silence of
Plenitude to the Plenitude of Silence “.

And the Old Man disappeared.

Have an excellent weekend!

Much Love,
Priya:))