Broken dreams

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.  ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker

The most beautiful pieces of art and even functional pieces are made from small pieces of broken tiles.  In the hands of someone who has a vision, and patience, a masterpiece is created from something that others might have thrown away. 

Take your broken dreams and create a beautiful mosaic with them.

Pain is temporary

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever - Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong is definitely an athlete to admire.  Winning 7 consecutive Tour de France races after surviving a gruelling cancer battle, he should know what pain is. 

Emotions often rule our decisions.  We say things which we regret afterwards.  We do something that we are ashamed of.  We make decisions because of how we feel or even worse, of how a specific individual made us feel.  We experience pain and throw in the towel. 

Take it from a champion like Lance Armstrong, if we quit, the pain lasts forever.  Acknowledge the emotion and allow it to subside; for something better to take its place.

Put your time to good use

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.  The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.  ~Earl Nightingale

Opportunities are often not recognised because they are disguised as hard work. 

We don’t want to study, because it will take forever to obtain a degree / diploma.  Excuses are abundant.  Time is already so limited... We won’t have a social life anymore... we would neglect our families...

A couple of years down the line, we have to admit that we should have sacrificed the time, because we could have been the proud owner of the qualification.  Since we feared the effort or time it might take, we have ‘wasted’ precious years which we can never get back.

Fortunately, it is never too late to start anything.  Put your time to the best possible use.

A Second chance

"We are given second chances every day of our life... We don't usually take them, but they are there for the taking.." - Andrew M Greely

If you get one chance in life, you are considered lucky.  To get a second chance is even better.  The reason why we don’t make use of second chances is because we don’t recognise them. 

Divorce is often seen as failure.  Ever thought of it as a second chance towards happiness?  If you had an argument with someone, apologise – it is a second chance.  If you apologise and someone accept your apology, treat the second chance with care, they are rare.  If you lose your job, see it as a second chance at finding something that you really want to do... 

Jannie Mouton lost his job at the age of 48.  Most people would be devastated.  He saw it as a second chance.  Today he is the CEO of PSG, a very successful investment company, which he founded after he was retrenched.  What a second chance! 

Be kind today

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~Mark Twain

Foster & Allen has a beautiful song called ‘Less of me’.   Let me be a little kinder, let me be a little blinder, to the faults of those about me, let me praise a little more... 

Dare to be different today.  Instead of critising others, find reasons to compliment them.  Instead of a harsh tone, try a softer approach.  Instead of finding fault with everything, give them another chance.   Be kind today, and tomorrow, and the day after...

What is your legacy?

Compassion can help you get perspective and move you to do great things…” ~ Soul Surfer

The world is not always a nice place.  People often have very little compassion for one another.  One is amazed at the egocentricity of some people.  It’s all about me, me, me... I’m the centre of my own universe. 

What about your neighbour - at home, at the robot, at work or in the line at the grocery store?  Ever thought what people think or say of you when you walk away?  How would you like to be remembered?    What is the legacy that you are leaving behind?

Be careful who you are stepping on

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. ~Jesse Jackson

Do you wish to be remembered as a person who reached the pinnacle point of your career with your honour intact?   Or are you a person who really couldn’t care what it takes or who you step on, as long as you reach the top of the corporate ladder as quick as possible? 

In the corporate world, most companies have an explicit set of values which form the foundation on which they perform work and conduct themselves.  

 Just imagine what a difference there can be in the working environment and relationships if every person starts living out these values. 

One should be careful of whom you are stepping on, on your way to the top – you might just meet them on your way down.

Do it yourself

I am thankful to all those who said NO to me.  It’s because of them I did it myself – Einstein

At some point in our lives, we have all experienced doors being closed in our faces.  Most of us know the word ‘no’ just too well.  

Einstein is changing the negative connotation into a positive one which is so true.  It’s easy to be negative when you are constantly turned down, but if one notice the positive spin-off, your whole perspective changes. 

If you want something done, do it yourself.

The sweet victory of success

 “The only place where success comes before work, is in the dictionary” – Vidal Sassoon

In a world where everything is fast paced, it seems very old fashioned to have to work to achieve success. 

A friend of mine used to say:  “Hard work doesn’t kill anyone, but I don’t take any chances.”  How can you be proud of your achievements, if you didn’t get there through hard work, sacrifice and determination?  At the same time, one must do this without making enemies or losing yourself in the process.

When you reach the top, you want to look back and enjoy the view;   the sweet victory of success. 

What is the meaning of success?

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go ~ William Feather

If you doubt the truth of this quote, you only have to visit a graveyard.  So many people go to their grave before they could taste success (before they have made it). 

Sadly, it is not always due to the lack of opportunities, but because the individual gave up too soon. 

So often the dream dies long before the person does.  People too often give up on their dreams because of other people’s negative comments.  It is your dream, not someone else’s.  Take responsibility for it and make it happen.

The future depends on...

“The future depends on what we do in the present…”  ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Grab every opportunity that comes your way with both hands.  If they are looking for someone to assist with some meagre task, offer to assist.  At the time it might seem insignificant or even a waste of time, but somewhere in the future there will be a time that you require exactly the skill you acquired. 

Knowledge is power, not a handicap.  Nothing you learn, no skill acquired, can ever be considered as time wasted. 

Life is not fair

Life is not always fair.  Sometimes you get a splinter even sliding down a rainbow.  ~Terri Guillemets

Despite popular belief, I think human beings are generally optimists.  We never stop thinking (hoping) that tomorrow, next week or next month will be better or that all our problems will come to an end from the 1^st of January, Monday, next week... 

If we can only find a new job, buy a new house/car, if we can just make it till... and so time goes by. 

Life is not always fair, but how will we know what is fair if we have never experienced unfairness?  Would we ever enjoy the rainbow if we didn’t survive the storm?

Try and fail...

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try…”  ~ Stephen Kaggwa

Living in a world that put so much emphasis on achievement, makes it very difficult for those who fail.  In the end people are afraid to try, because they are afraid to fail. 

Everywhere you look, achievers are recognized from the Oscars in Hollywood to the working environment.  If you don’t try, you cannot fail, but then you haven’t gained anything either.

Take a step back

Anyone of us can hit a brick wall sooner or later in our lives.  Whether it is your own choice or whether you are forced to make decisions due to the lack of opportunities, re-structure, transfer of a spouse, your age, change(s) in your personal life...  it is never easy to take the first step that will change the course of your life forever. 

On top of it all, one never knows upfront whether your decision is the right one.  Even worse is when one doesn’t have much of a choice.  Despite your best efforts, dedication and loyalty you are disillusioned when you are not successful in your application for the position you want. 

Would it really be the end of the world for you to make a lateral move or even to take up a lower position?  Being too close to the wall, you won’t be able to jump over, take a step back and jump over.

Sometimes you have to step back in order to jump over – Gerhard Burger

What is your mission on earth?

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished.  If you're alive, it isn't.  ~Richard Bach

Life is not a destination; it is a journey to be enjoyed; a road we will only travel but once.  We all love to travel and yet we forget that we are on the best journey we will ever experience.   While you are on earth, at work, you might as well enjoy it.  

If you can do what you enjoy, so much better.  If you don’t do what you enjoy, maybe now is a good time to do something about it.

Discover new oceans

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore – Andre Gide

Humans are creatures of habit.  Although we complain that we are bored, we continue to remain in the same position.  We want to do something new, but we are not prepared to venture out of our comfort zone. 

You have to take action and be prepared to venture into the unknown.  Columbus didn’t discover America by sitting in Portugal.  I’m sure he had some regrets when they hit a storm, but just imagine if he didn’t do what he did. 

Yes, sometimes we make wrong decisions, we have regrets, but sometimes we are pleasantly surprised.  How will you ever know, if you don’t even try?

Believe in your dreams

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” -  Christopher Reeve

To me this quote depicts the significance of dreams.  All great achievements start with a dream.  One can’t touch a dream; it is beyond our reach.  The impossible becomes improbable just because people discourage you with negative comments. 

Don’t become discouraged.  Continue to dream, in fact, follow your dream.  If necessary, obtain information, formulate the idea.  Dreams allow you to emigrate to a place where dreams become inevitable. 

If you don’t believe in your dreams, who else would?

Laughter is a tranquillizer

Laughter is a tranquillizer with no side effects – Arnold Glasow

According to Dr Rod Martin children laugh approx 300 to 400 times per day.  Adults laugh on average 15 to 100 times per day. 

What happened?  When you wait at a red robot and you watch people drive past, hardly anybody smiles, let alone laugh.  Without exception they are looking extremely serious, sad, discontented, cross, irritated or simply unhappy. 

Who taught us to be so serious?  We are not getting out of this life alive, so we might as well enjoy it.  Yes we are stressed, and we have difficult days, but laughter brings joy and according to the quote, it is a tranquillizer with no side effects!  Try it; it will brighten someone’s day. 

One only uses 17 muscles to smile, but 43 muscles to frown.  Relax... and don’t just smile, laugh out loud.

Never be afraid

“Never be afraid to try something new…  Remember, amateurs built the ark… Professionals built the Titanic…” ~ Anonymous

Someone once said that you don’t have to be good at something; you just need to be passionate. 

Passion has driven many people to accomplish the impossible.  You can only explore new avenues and opportunities if you take some risk.  Risk scares people, but it doesn’t have to.  Rather be motivated by the possibilities.  Pioneers have ventured where nobody dared and in the process they have opened doors that nobody ever imagined.

Giving up doesn't mean you are weak

Giving up doesn’t always mean you are weak.  Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.  Unknown

Life is definitely not for sissies!  Absolutely nothing prepares you for the trials and tribulations that hit you along the way. 

Relationships go sour, our children disappoint us, the company re-structures, friends disappoint us, promotions don’t materialize, people lie to us, we trust the wrong people, we are victims of crime... we lose loved ones... 

Running the past over in your mind, playing ‘what if’ games, is not helping either.  The past belongs to the past.   We cannot change our history, but we can control our destiny.  You are stronger than you think.  Let go. 

Lessons of life

“The difference between school and life: In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”  - Tom Bodett quotes

Lessons are the moulds of life.   Sometimes these lessons can be tough.  They leave marks and they scar you, but overall you are stronger.  As the saying goes:  “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. “ 

If you haven’t learnt the lessons you have learnt before, you probably won’t be able to cope with what you are going through now.  Embrace those lessons.