Tag: #rulestoliveby

A Better Way To Live~Day 16

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I have made my share of mistakes on this earth. The good news is, I have learned to take my mistakes as life’s little lessons, and not forget them. Not by dwelling on the past by no means, but pausing to reflect before making a decision. Have I been here before? How did it turn out? If it didn’t work the first time, don’t do it again. Learn.

Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through all the darkest valleys you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So you will learn things in adversity that you would have never discovered without trouble. There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper.

 

I love the way God never gives up on me. I know I’ve disappointed Him and myself, but you can’t stay there my friend. He picks me up, brushes off the dirt, and helps me stand upright to try again.

Make good choices. I usually pray and ponder for at least 24 hours if it’s a big decision. Sometimes I take days. I don’t talk to many people, and get bombarded with opinions. If I let time pass and continue to ponder, usually something will occur that let’s me know if I’m on the right path or not.

It’s how we learn. Just like a toddler learning to walk. They have to tumble and fall to know what that feels like. They soon learn it feels better to walk and not fall, so they get better at walking.

God allows me to make a mistake, just so I can see how good He truly is. Something good always come out of it.

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A Better Way To Live~Day 10

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As you have probably noticed from previous Blogs…I love Steve Jobs. His life here on this earth was cut short, but oh what a legacy he left behind! Where would we be today without this guy? Probably not typing on this laptop.

Are you ready for Day 10? It’s a mind bender.

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care, kindness, understanding, and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

Recently, my daughter and I were at a local restaurant, and the waitress was a single Mom. She has three kids and is a little concerned about Christmas along with the power bill. She left our check laying on the table and our meal was $15. I paid for the meal, and my daughter leaves a $60 tip. We gathered up our belongings, hurried out the door and hopped into our truck before she could notice.

We do little things like that quite often, and enjoy helping others. Today’s rule challenges us to show action face to face, with no thought of any reward. To show a complete stranger all the goodness you can muster. This should make for a very interesting day!

I would love to hear how your life changed by changing someone else’s, and your thoughts around midnight.

 

Quote is from, “A Better Way to Live”, by Og Mandino

A Better Way To Live~Day 9

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It’s heart wrenching to meet someone living in the past. Regrets while walking this earth. Not seeing what this day has in store because they’re looking behind them.

Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find “tomorrow” on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday’s defeats, and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. All you have. Make it the best day of the year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, “If I had my life to do over again…” Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day!

It’s difficult for me to wrap my mind around this day being my last. Even though, I hear stories daily of people younger than me leaving this world. I do know, this day will come to an end, so I need to make the most of it.

I tend to do small things continuously throughout the day. Instead of tackling something large, it’s a smoother journey to make a tweak here and there. Last year was my first Christmas as a single Mom. My daughter loves Christmas lights, but I could not get motivated to hang them. I bought two Christmas trees and decorated them, thinking that would work. Well….that was okay, but looking back, it didn’t fulfill either of us.

This weekend she was with her Dad, and I had some colorful icicle lights in a box from years ago. I had clips, so there were no excuses. It took me less than an hour to hang those colorful strands around the roof of the front porch. I’m no roof climber, and I wasn’t out to prove anything masterful. When she comes home Monday evening, the look on her face will be more than worth it.

So, if I wouldn’t have been given today, my daughter could have sat on the front porch and seen that Mama left her a world of light.

Quote is from, “A Better Way to Live”, by Og Mandino

A Better Way To Live~Day 3

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Sitting at my desk looking out the window at the pier, thinking…”It looks cold out there.” I remember standing on that pier over a year ago, in the cold, crying and begging God to help me. To wrap His loving arms around me and just hold me. That was last fall, and this is a new one. Thank God for new seasons.

Today’s suggestion for A Better Way to Live is a good one. It breaks my heart to see people looking behind them. Our Creator put our eyes in front for a reason!

Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don’t look back at it too long. Mistakes are life’s way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit, your turn will come.

 

This is a highly motivational piece of advice. It would be easy to give you a big rah-rah speech on brushing yourself off and trying again. Life is not easy, but there is one thing I know. God has a plan for me. That is all I need to know. He has a plan, and it is for my good.

Yes, I can make wrong choices, but even then He promises to turn them around for good. Sometimes choices place me in painful situations, but that is where growth happens. When I’m in pain, worry and fear, God is there watching and waiting to see my next move. This is where I’ve learned to hit my knees, or stand before Him and seek HIS plan, not mine. You might recall, my best laid plans got me a lifetime membership to AA.

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I encourage you today to shake off what life is throwing at you and begin again! Every moment is new, and we only have the exact moment that’s in front of us. The past is gone, and the future is not here yet. The choices we make right now, are what paves the path to the life we want to achieve. Make it beautiful.

 

Quote is from, “A Better Way to Live”, by Og Mandino

A Better Way To Live~Day 2

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You are valuable. You were designed by the Creator of the Universe and everything He makes is good. The book I’m using for this series, A Better Way to Live, by Og Mandino, was published in August 2009. The next suggestion for a better way to live reveals a drastic change in our society from then up to now.

Today, and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do. The victory of success will be half won when you learn the secret of putting out more than is expected in all that you do. Make yourself so valuable in your work that eventually you will become indispensable. Exercise your privilege to go the extra mile, and enjoy all the rewards you receive. You deserve them! 

My favorite part of this rule is, ‘Make yourself so valuable in your work that eventually you will become indispensable.”

Greatness starts from within. Over the years, experiences, memories and actions accumulate and store up inside of us. It takes a process of Letting Go of all that, to have a clean slate to work with. By letting go of choices we made that brought us to where we are, we can clearly see where we are, and move forward from there.

You can create yourself to become indispensable.

One of the greatest fears in people’s lives is losing their job. There would be no fear if they knew they were irreplaceable.

I encourage you today to start building greatness within. Being the very best you can be in every aspect of your life will give you a fulfilled life. You cannot take care of anyone else effectively, until you take good care of yourself. Grow yourself and bloom exactly where you’re planted. Something beautiful doesn’t ask for attention, but always gets noticed.

 

Quote is from, “A Better Way to Live”, by Og Mandino