Tag Archive for: stories – personal growth

What scares you? What stories do you make up to con yourself into holding back? What would you do if you didn't con yourself into being scared?

I've done something that scared the heck out of me. But it also turned out to be the best thing I've ever done!

Two years ago, I discovered that my Dad needed a kidney and as soon as I realized I might be the answer he needed, the voices in my head began to resist and shout!

"NO WAY can I give up a kidney! Are you kidding me!? I need both kidneys! I can't do it!"

Fear struck me down in an instant. I had never given up a body part. For that matter, I had never even stayed in hospital.

Despite the fear, I mentally considered the idea ... and I the more I thought about it, the more terrified I became. What if I had kidney failure in the future? Would I be able to have kids? What if something went wrong and I had impaired health for the rest of my life? Don't we need both kidneys?

All the while, Dad never asked me or any other member of our family for a kidney. I decided to get tested on my own. I was the only one in my family that got tested and I felt isolated. I felt like Dad's health was my responsibility alone. The fear held an even firmer grip on my mind.


 

And to accelerate the mental spin I was already in, there were plenty of well-meaning people ready to offer up their unsolicited opinion to help build and fortify my "wall of fear."

These were just a few of the fantastic and ridiculous comments I heard:

· "I know someone who donated a kidney and they got really fat as a result. You might get really fat". (A young woman's worst fear!)

· "Will you be able to have children?"

· "You'll have to give up alcohol."

· "You'll have to change your diet, become a vegetarian."

· "What happens if your kidney fails and you don't have a spare?"

· "What if you're in a car accident and your remaining kidney gets hurt?"

· "What about the yin and yang and flow through your body that they refer to in Chinese medicine? Losing a kidney will interrupt that and ruin your health!"

In the midst of all that, I decided to move forward. Dad told me I could pull out at anytime and he wouldn't think the worst of me. But I had made up my mind and I began to rise above the fear, rise above my own con job.

 

By the time the day of the operation arrived, I was actually calm.

When I awoke from the surgery, the doctors had me on a drip line and added 7kg of fluid to my body - even my chicken legs were fat! And they had pumped my body cavity full of gas. My surgeons joked that I looked like I should be in the maternity ward!

But, guess what? That was the worst of it. Despite my fears and the warnings of well-meaning friends, there were no complications and my recovery was quick. I was only in the hospital for 4 days. It only took a week for the fluid to leave my body and a few short months for the swelling to deflate completely. I was dancing - albeit somewhat carefully - after just 2 weeks, and returned to work after 4 weeks.

Now, giving up a kidney should be pretty scary for anyone, right? It's an important body part and you can't get it back once it's gone. It certainly was a scary prospect for me! But I did it, and the truth is that it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't a big deal at all! It was only my thinking that made it so. It's sort of like bungy jumping. The scariest part is the fear you con yourself into believing before you jump. After you jump, it's exhilarating.

I realized that I was incredibly fortunate to have been given an opportunity to donate my kidney. With that realization, though, came an insightful question that stopped me in my tracks:

If I could give up a kidney ... if it really wasn't such a big deal ... then what else could I have done if I hadn't let fear get in the way?

I could ... I CAN ... do so much more! I got it! I wasn't living up to my potential and I was 100% responsible. The only thing holding me back was me! I have since decided that I am not going to waste another minute. I LIVE, not exist. I've got massive goals and thoroughly ENJOY every moment of my life.

It's been over two years now and I'm delighted to report that Dad hasn't rejected the kidney. My gift has given Dad a far superior quality of life, has had zero adverse effects on my health, and the whole experience has undoubtedly brought Dad & I closer. I have realized that the joy is truly in the giving.

And I understand that fear is simply a con game we play on ourselves. It is all in our mind.

By acting in the face of fear and giving up my kidney, I received the greatest gift imaginable. I feel fantastic! My life is utterly different now, I LOVE it! From this experience, I've acquired a massive desire to wake people up, to let them know that they should never let fear hold them back, to inspire them to live NOW ...and to make the world a better place.

I'm up for big stuff ... and I'm going for it.
What are you up for? You'll only discover what you're capable of doing if you are willing to do it afraid!
Adrienne Rich
Auckland, New Zealand, Current Member - Bob Proctor Coaching Program

For more information on Bob Proctor Coaching programs or to comment on today's story, please email: bob@bobproctorcoaching.com 

"You gotta be crazy!" That's what Lee Dunham's friends told him back in 1971 when he gave up a secure job as a police officer and invested his life savings in the notoriously risky restaurant business. This particular restaurant was more than just risky, it was downright dangerous. It was the first McDonald's franchise in the city of New York - smack in the middle of crime-ridden Harlem.

burger

 


Lee had always had plans. When other kids were playing ball in the empty lots of Brooklyn, Lee was playing entrepreneur, collecting milk bottles and returning them to grocery stores for the deposits. He had his own shoeshine stand and worked delivering newspapers and groceries. Early on, he promised his mother that one day she would never again have to wash other people's clothes for a living. He was going to start his own business and support her. "Hush your mouth and do your homework," she told him. She knew that no member of the Dunham family had ever risen above the level of laborer, let alone owned a business. "There's no way you're going to open your own business," his mother told him repeatedly.


Years passed, but Lee's penchant for dreaming and planning did not. After high school, he joined the Air Force, where his goal of one day owning a family restaurant began to take shape. He enrolled in the Air Force food service school and became such an accomplished cook he was promoted to the officers' dining hall.


When he left the Air Force, he worked for four years in several restaurants, including one in the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Lee longed to start his own restaurant but felt he lacked the business skills to be successful. He signed up for business school and took classes at night while he applied and was hired to be a police officer.


For fifteen years he worked full-time as a police officer. In his off-hours, he worked part-time as a carpenter and continued to attend business school. "I saved every penny I earned as a police officer," he recalled. "For ten years, I didn't spend one dime - there were no movies, no vacations, no trips to the ballpark. There were only work and study and my lifelong dream of owning my own business." By 1971, Lee had saved $42,000, and it was time for him to make his vision a reality.


Lee wanted to open an upscale restaurant in Brooklyn. With a business plan in hand, he set out to seek financing. The banks refused him. Unable to get funding to open an independent restaurant, Lee turned to franchising and filled out numerous applications. McDonald's offered him a franchise, with one stipulation: Lee had to set up a McDonald's in the inner-city, the first to be located there. McDonald's wanted to find out if its type of fast-food restaurant could be successful in the inner city. It seemed that Lee might be the right person to operate that first restaurant.


To get the franchise, Lee would have to invest his life savings and borrow $150,000 more. Everything for which he'd worked and sacrificed all those years would be on the line - a very thin line if he believed his friends. Lee spent many sleepless nights before making his decision. In the end, he put his faith in the years of preparation he'd invested - the dreaming, planning, studying and saving - and signed on the dotted line to operate the first inner-city McDonald's in the United States.


The first few months were a disaster. Gang fights, gunfire, and other violent incidents plagued his restaurant and scared customers away. Inside, employees stole his food and cash, and his safe was broken into routinely. To make matters worse, Lee couldn't get any help from McDonald's headquarters; the company's representatives were too afraid to venture into the ghetto. Lee was on his own.


Although he had been robbed of his merchandise, his profits, and his confidence, Lee was not going to be robbed of his dream. Lee fell back on what he had always believed in - preparation and planning.


Lee put together a strategy. First, he sent a strong message to the neighborhood thugs that McDonald's wasn't going to be their turf. To make his ultimatum stick, he needed to offer an alternative to crime and violence. In the eyes of those kids, Lee saw the same look of helplessness he had seen in his own family. He knew that there was hope and opportunity in that neighborhood and he was going to prove it to the kids. He decided to serve more than meals to his community - he would serve solutions.


Lee spoke openly with gang members, challenging them to rebuild their lives. Then he did what some might say was unthinkable: he hired gang members and put them to work. He tightened up his operation and conducted spot checks on cashiers to weed out thieves. Lee improved working conditions and once a week he offered his employees classes in customer service and management. He encouraged them to develop personal and professional goals. He always stressed two things: his restaurant offered a way out of a dead-end life and the faster and more efficiently the employees served the customers, the more lucrative that way would be.


In the community, Lee sponsored athletic teams and scholarships to get kids off the streets and into community centers and schools. The New York inner-city restaurant became McDonald's most profitable franchise worldwide, earning more than $1.5 million a year. Company representatives who wouldn't set foot in Harlem months earlier now flocked to Lee's doors, eager to learn how he did it. To Lee, the answer was simple: "Serve the customers, the employees, and the community."


Today, Lee Dunham owns nine restaurants, employs 435 people, and serves thousands of meals every day. It's been many years since his mother had to take in wash to pay the bills. More importantly, Lee paved the way for thousands of African-American entrepreneurs who are working to make their dreams a reality, helping their communities, and serving up hope.


All this was possible because a little boy understood the need to dream, to plan, and to prepare for the future. In doing so, he changed his life and the lives of others.


Author:  Cynthia Kersey
Excerpted/Adapted from Unstoppable
Copyright 1988 by Cynthia Kersey,
www.unstoppable.net

 



"A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless." - Charles De Gaulle

Michael Chang is in the record books as the youngest winner (17) of a grand slam, but his French Open triumph in 1989 is largely remembered for one extraordinary game changing moment against the top ranked player in the world, Ivan Lendl.

Injured and exhausted, near the end of the match, Chang broke two of the most basic commandments of winning tennis.

First, in a sport where powerful overhand serving is usually the key to winning, Chang served UNDERHAND, and the confused Lendl's returns went into the net.

Second, on the match-point, facing Lendl's 120+ mph serve, Chang moved CLOSER to the net and stood at the line of the server's box.

The bewildered Lendl double-faulted, producing one of the most memorable upsets in tennis history.

Challenging the conventional wisdom on these previously sacred aspects of the game - serving and returning serves - Michael Chang radically changed his strategy, surprised his opponent - and elevated his standing in the tennis world.

ACTION

As you prepare for the coming week, ask yourself...

"How can I use the element of surprise to break the rules of conventional thinking in order to make a breakthrough?

Think of every business and personal commitment you have in place for the week and determine how you can use the element of surprise to blow a few minds, and as Charles De Gualle so beautifully stated...

"keep your public excited and breathless."

Everything Counts!

Gary Ryan Blair

Gary Ryan Blair is a visionary and gifted conceptual thinker. As one of the top strategic thinkers in the world he is dedicated to helping his clients win big by creating focused, purpose driven lives.

     "Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!" My father yelled at me.   "Can't you do anything right?"

Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle.

"I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving."

My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington  and  Oregon  He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often.

The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his powers.

The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn't lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn't do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing.

At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived... But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone He obstinately refused to follow doctor's orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.

My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.

Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue..

Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad's troubled mind.

But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered in vain.

Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, "I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article."

I listened as she read.. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog  in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world's aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed..

Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention.. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog "Can you tell me about him?"

The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement. "He's a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.." He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. "You mean you're going to kill him?"

"Ma'am," he said gently, "that's our policy. We don't have room for every unclaimed dog."

I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. "I'll take him," I said..

I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch. "Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!" I said excitedly.

Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. "If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don't want it" Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples. "You'd better get used to him, Dad. He's staying!"

Dad ignored me. "Did you hear me, Dad?" I screamed.

At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate.

We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.

Dad's lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne.  Together he and Cheyenne  explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and  Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and  Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne  made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel  Cheyenne's cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father's room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed.. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad's peace of mind.

The morning of Dad's funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life. And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."

"I've often thanked God for sending that angel," he said.

For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article....

Cheyenne 's unexpected appearance at the animal shelter. .. ..his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. . and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.


     This story was written by Catherine Moore and originally published here 



I'm the only one who does anything around here! 

 Several years ago I was on a late-night television show in New York City. For some strange reason, they wanted me in the studio that afternoon at 4:30. I walked in and was stunned by the small size of the reception area. It contained a couch for three, a chair for one and a sink, refrigerator and coffee maker.

As I sat down a woman walked in, shook her head and said, "Nobody makes any coffee except me!" She got busy and started a fresh pot of coffee. A few minutes later a guy walked in and, following the same procedure said, "I can't believe it! This place would be a pig-pen if it weren't for me! I'm the only person who ever does any clean-up," and he cleaned up the small area. Still later another woman walked in and complained, "Nobody ever puts anything up but me," and she proceeded to put things away.

Interestingly enough, all three of those people sincerely felt they were the only ones who ever did anything. Each one did their own private halo-adjustment as they went through the process of "making up, putting up and cleaning up."

Question: Is that the way it is in your company, where "nobody does anything," but everybody thinks they're the only one who actually works?

Thought: If that is true and you are the only one who does anything, think of the incredible advantage that gives you. Not only do you have job security, but the opportunity door is wide open for your move to the top.

However, if you have a chip on your shoulder, if you honestly feel that you do everything and you share that feeling with others, your bad attitude negates your good work.

So, stay busy, keep working, smile about it and your good attitude about "doing everything" will catch up with you. Think about it and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

 

Zig Ziglar is a motivator and teacher. He is the author of 27 books and loved by millions of people world wide for his practical wisdom and his gift of hope.



About 10 years ago my daughter was about 2500 kilometers from Newcastle, and rang me one day sobbing because of an emotional trauma she was facing. She was about 20, and in a town known as Ayrlie Beach in Northern Queensland. I asked her what it was that she needed most in that moment, and she replied that she needed support, and my arms around her would be the best thing that she could hope for! Because I couldn't do that in that exact moment, I asked her to describe her surroundings to me (I have absolutely no idea 'why', at the time), and said that if she hadn't heard from me in about 30 minutes to ring me back. I asked her to stay exactly where she was. I had no idea how I was going to ring her back, by the way, as she was calling from a public phone booth (one of three), near a little park, surrounded by a few shops in the main street of Ayrlie Beach.

OK then, after hanging up the phone, I just sat for a few seconds. After only a very short time a phone number 'jumped into my head', and even though I recognized it, it wasn't a commonly used number of mine. I rang the number and it was a woman who had bought a house from me about 18 months previously, when I was working in Real Estate. My exact words to her were these, "Oh, it's you Liz, I have no idea why I'm calling you in particular, but my daughter is stranded in Ayrlie Beach, and I just got the thought to ring you and tell you that. Have you any idea why?"





"It could be because my Son lives there," says Liz.

"Oh really, that's got to be it," I said. "Do you mind giving me his phone number Liz?"

"Of course not, and I can only hope that he can be of some help!"

Liz gave me his mobile number and I rang straight away (only about 5 minutes have passed since telling my daughter that somehow I'd get her help). Fortunately, he answered immediately, and I told him the story of who I was, and why I'd rung.

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Are you an intuitive empath? How to stop absorbing other peoples'energy

I gave him the description of my daughter; where she was standing; and that she needed emotional support if he could find it in his heart to help out so unexpectedly like this. "Oh yes, I can see her," he said..."she's right across the street from where I'm standing!" He walked across the street and told my daughter that her Dad had sent him!

Imagine that...she almost fainted: only about 10 minutes had passed since she had rung me! I believe that she said something like this, "Wow, Dad's getting pretty good at this stuff!" She was taken to a safe house; nurtured and supported; given food and a bed for a couple nights; and also given money to get herself to where she needed to be.

That's intuition at it's best!

It may save a life or two if people can embrace the use of intuition, and learn to trust in it.
Remember: "What others do or say is their stuff; how we react, or not, is our stuff!"

Phil Evans is a Motivator, Business Coach, Life Coach and Inspirational Writer based in Australia. You can visit his website at: www.peoplestuff.com.auand join his newsletter or feel free to email Phil with your comments on his story at: phil@peoplestuff.com.au



Caring is instinctive. A child is lost, we help her find her parents, someone trips, we reflexively reach out to break his fall. A co-worker's car won't start, we offer her a ride home.

It's a natural part of being human. We live, therefore we help. Helping occurs because the obstacles that separate us drop away, and we are in essence caring for ourselves. We help because the homeless person begging for food is us. We help because the person on welfare who is worried about feeding her family is us. We help because the gang member defending his turf is us. We help because the child who is abused and needs a safe haven is also us.

Among the questions I ask people in my seminars are: 

"How can you use your whole self to be of service in the world?" 

"How can you use the wisdom you have gained from your life experience to better our planet?" 

"Who do you feel the most compelled to serve?"

 Take a moment and consider what it is you truly care about. 





Is it teen pregnancy? 

Social justice? 

The environment? 

Homelessness? 

Endangered species? 

World hunger? 

Human rights? 

There's no absence of issues that need your time, energy and dedication. "In a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair," writes poet Louise Bogan, " no woman should be shamefaced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart."

Some men and women I spoke with felt that what they were able to give wouldn't be enough to make a meaningful contribution. When I heard this, more often than not, it seemed like an excuse to not get involved. For those people who are in doubt, this story's for you.

Related:  Never Hang up on Strangers

 



As she approached him, she noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed ashore. One at a time he was throwing them back into the water. The woman was puzzled. She walked up to the man and said, "Good morning. I was wondering what you're doing."

He said that he was throwing the starfish back into the sea. That they had been washed ashore in the low tide. He went on to explain that if he didn't throw them back, they would die.

The woman said, "but there must be thousands all over the beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many."

The man smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish. As he tossed it back into the sea she said, "Made a difference to that one."

When people ask, "What do I have to give?" my response is everything--everything you've learned and experienced, everything you are, which is considerable. No, most of us aren't going to become Mother Theresa, devote our lives to service, and move to Calcutta. But that's not what's being asked of us. What we're being called to do is what we can--to make a contribution, no matter how small.

Author:  Stephanie Marston

30 Days to Sanity>Did you like this article? If you did you'll LOVE my CD program - 30 Days to Sanity: Strategies to Reduce Stress and Live a Meaning Driven Life. In my more than 25 years experience as a licensed psychotherapist I saw countless people dealing with the same problems-feeling overwhelmed, unfulfilled, stressed and just going through the motions of living. Because my time and availability is limited, I created 30 Days to Sanity. Let me assure you that I have struggled with many of the same issues that you face today, and I have taken everything I know and designed this program especially for you. </span

 

A man, riding his horse and carriage during winter, rode upon a woman and child sitting roadside dying of hunger and hypothermia. The woman was so feeble that she could hardly utter the words, “please help…”

Seeing the desperate situation of the two, he helped the child into the open buggy and gave the baby the only blanket. Once settled, he looked back at the woman, whipped the reins and took off leaving the mother.

So distraught, the woman screamed with a feral wrench at the theft of her child and began chasing the carriage on foot. Even though the tracks disappeared into the distance, she still ran following after in the snow.

Running into a village, she caught up to the man climbing out of the buggy with her child. Desperate with panic, she snatched back her child yelling for the village’s help at her would-be child’s kidnapper. Quickly she recounted the story to the villagers who began to restrain the carriage driver.

He protested. “I had no room for this woman, no blanket, no warmth. Had she felt her child in no danger, she would have surely died waiting my return since I could not take both mother and child. In her distress, she reignited the fire of life within her and remained alive, due to her struggle in the cold to run after the buggy.”

Often, life throws challenges at us not because we’re being punished, but so we can survive, so we can keep the fire of aliveness within us, and struggle to evolve.

My learning disabilities guided me to work with brain damaged and mentally ill children and transformed me into a Mensa keynote speaker for recognizing our hidden gifts in our worst perceived circumstances; overcoming obesity and osteochondrosis forced me to develop unique tools and techniques to help others embrace physical challenges rather than punish themselves with shame and guilt. Early familial violence led to being institutionalized in a childhood psychiatric hospital yet awakened my awareness of the excessive stress of physical abuse, shame and humiliation, and a lead to my career in researching health and fitness recovery mechanisms for overcoming trauma.

Certainly, at the time, hardships may feel like a punishing imprisonment. Yet when we endure, they enable gifts beyond our comprehension. There are no demons; only allies in our continued evolution.

I asked God to take away my habit. God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own! But I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me. God said… Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

The next time you feel punished, that you’ve suffered some bad luck, misfortune, or unjust lot, be courageous, take action and endure. The events may be so difficult that gratitude may not be possible in the moment, but at least hold hope that your courage to endure will bring you benefits you cannot yet imagine. Hold fast; you do not know the progress you are making!

Very Respectfully,

Scott Sonnon

www.breathinggift.com (My free book and video gift to you.)
Www.positiveatmosphere.com

 

I found this while I was cleaning out my inbox today.  It had been forwarded many times, so I have no idea of the author.  If you do know, please contact me and I will give attribution ...
 
A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
 
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. 

 

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

 

In the middle of the room was a large round table.. 

 

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, 
which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
  
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.
  
They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
  
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.  
 
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
 
The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
 
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
  
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.  
 
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.
  
'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill.
  
You see, they have learned to feed each other. 

 

The greedy think only of themselves.'