Would you like a simple definition of priorities? Here it is: The things that matter most. That may be far too simple a definition for a time management expert, but many books, blogs, songs and poems use that definition.
“First Things First” is a book about separating the urgent from the ... Views: 875
Do you know the difference between price and cost? The terms “price” and “cost” can be confusing. The two terms are related, but quite different.
The price is the amount you pay for a product or service. When you pay a price for something, the price represents the value of what you give up ... Views: 610
Have you ever ridden in a multi-million dollar executive jet?
My brother has been a professional pilot all his life. I once flew with him from Colorado to Florida in one of the most technologically advanced executive jets ever built. He had been flying this magnificent airplane and his ... Views: 910
“Would you like to know a quick and easy way to discern right from wrong?” I asked the students in a college class I was teaching. Every head bobbed enthusiastically up and down indicating they were interested.
“Before I tell you, let me say this.” I paused as the room went silent. The ... Views: 898
“Do not under any circumstances leave for Africa without sufficient funds raised to sustain you for at least three years.” That was the advice given me by a seasoned missionary as I considered taking my young family to Africa. It was good advice.
We saw how good it was when we arrived in Lusaka ... Views: 1052
You are about to change the total direction of your life. You are going to move from a life of relative idleness to one of ambition and perhaps even sacrifice and the transition can be scary. You need to talk.
Some people will think you are nuts if you declare your intention to make a ... Views: 885
You pray, not because you are a wimpy, helpless, crybaby who is so insecure you think you must depend on some invisible power in the sky to get you through the day. No, you pray because you have, or at least you desire, a personal relationship with God. You believe God lives and he is interested ... Views: 805
All holidays cause some insidious angst and distress in the hearts and lives of many people so I’m calling for their abolition.
I’m not the first person to notice the evil of holidays. Several years ago some private school in New York decided to exclude the celebration for ... Views: 893
If you want to do something significant with your life, you are going to have to do some real thinking. The mission you have been given is too important to leave to irrational thoughts, emotion-filled guesswork or hasty judgments. Since you have been given a mission you also have the ability to ... Views: 793
Now that you have discovered and refined your purpose for living it is time to prepare for action. This is an important step. Do not deceive yourself that just because you have defined your purpose for living that everything from now on will be downhill.
After exploring a variety of jobs and ... Views: 831
Back in the 1950s my brother and I loved going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving Day. When I was ten years old we took one of those memorable trips from Norfolk, Nebraska to Julesburg, Colorado where Grandma and Grandpa lived in a small white house just catty-corner from City ... Views: 890
“I’m just the bastard son of an L.A. whore.”
The comment startled me as I conversed with a handsome gentleman before church began. His definition of himself makes clear my assertion
that how you define yourself makes a difference.
The easiest way adults define themselves is by their ... Views: 857
How you perceive yourself will contribute to or detract from your success and happiness in life.
Most people call this self-esteem. They suggest you need a vision of your life as you would like it to be so you can move toward success. They are right; however, consider with me another ... Views: 894
The coffee table I built in wood-shop in the 11th grade has never wanted to be a ladder, dining room table or a boat. It has had one purpose in life, and has been quite content to be a coffee table.
OK, I used it once or twice to stand on to change a light bulb, however that did not make it a ... Views: 751
There is great potential within you!
Yet so many prefer to live only ordinary lives; to live as if each day has no importance and each year can pass without anything significant happening.
Why are so many so content to live lives of quiet desperation? Two reasons:
Why do so many people live ... Views: 783
What makes one person confident and another one insecure?
Money makes some people think they are invincible. The idea is, the more money they have the more secure their life is. Remember Bernard Madoff? He “managed” millions of dollars for thousands of people who put their trust in ... Views: 784
Ninety-two percent of Americans believe in God. Why? Because the evidences of a Creator God are immediately available to anyone with an open mind willing to consider them.
Evidence 1: The intricacy of creation. Have you noticed that it appears that nearly everything on earth has a purpose? ... Views: 918
This weekly column is a portion of a book soon to be published under the title, “Acquire Confidence: What Confident People Do That You Can Do Too!” When the book is complete it will have six sections with several of the columns as a part of each section.
The following is a ... Views: 918
Google “self-confidence” and you will get three-bazillion web pages that suggest a variety of ways for you to gain self-confidence. Some promise instant self-confidence if you do this or act like that.
Common sense tells you nothing as powerful as quiet self-confidence comes ... Views: 817
How confident are you? It makes a difference, you know. The measure of your self-confidence is revealed in a variety of ways: your voice, the language you use, your body language, your grooming and much more.
Self-confident people have a natural magnetism about them. They can be identified ... Views: 648
To answer the question, “Who am I” requires you ask, “Where did I come from?” Many try to answer that question with a genealogical search. That only answers part of the question. A genealogical search may teach you about your ancestors but it does not tell you anything about your origin. ... Views: 788
Who am I, and, why am I here? Those are the two most important questions you can ask yourself.
Let’s answer question 1, “Who am I?”
Some say you’re the product of a bit of slime that squirmed its way out of some prehistoric bog and evolved from this to that, then to something else until ... Views: 801
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to ... Views: 920
“9 Self-assuring Affirmations for When You Need a Little Boost,” boasted the headline. I clicked on it hoping I might learn something new. I didn’t. It was a series of nine little pictures with clever sayings on them. The “writer” provided no content beyond a short introductory paragraph that ... Views: 798
Awkward, shy, indecisive. Do those words describe you? Do you often interpret non critical comments as critical? Are you perpetually pessimistic about people, places and events?
What you need is stronger self-confidence, a more honest sense of your own self-worth. Here are five quick steps ... Views: 927
Those stupid things you think about yourself pollute your mind, limit your achievements and corrupt your confidence. For some reason, the loudest voice you hear, the one that speaks with the most authority and does the most harm to you is not your mother’s voice, it is your own.
Here are ... Views: 1018
By Ron Ross
jack-s-drive-innJack’s Drive-Inn in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1958 was not anything like the fancy diners and ice cream stores we now have. It was a large added on section of a house that stuck out into a parking lot that could hold not more than four or five cars.
Jack made ... Views: 867
Flipping through the channels the other day I stopped briefly to watch a tattoo-covered “artist” rap about abusing women and hating cops while he grabbed his genitals to the fast beat of loud noise pretending to be music. His appearance was disgusting, the lyrics depraved, and his music was ... Views: 799
“Garage Sale of Biblical Proportions” was the sign our neighbors (Jeff & Marie) erected to announce their garage sale last weekend. The wife and I figured this was a real can’t miss event, so we ambled over to see what goodies they had that we couldn’t live without. Fortunately, there was no ... Views: 883
Last week I began listing the Top Ten Most Common Excuses for NOT Talking to Your Mate. Here is a brief review of Excuses 10 – 6:
Excuse # 10: The Smartphone. A text or phone call is allowed to interrupt anything.
Excuse # 9: The job. For some, the dirty little secret is that one partner ... Views: 866
What three qualities make for a great relationship? In nearly every survey one word will always appear: communication. Then why do so many couples make every effort to avoid talking with each other? Here are my top ten excuses men and women use to avoid meaningful personal interaction. The list ... Views: 932
She: “You hang up first.” He: “No, you hang up first!” She: “No, YOU hang up first.”
If you are over 50 years old you might remember that little game teenagers played back in the 50s, 60s and 70s. A boyfriend would call his girlfriend, then after 45 minutes or maybe a couple of hours on the ... Views: 812
Loneliness ends when friendship begins, right? So, how do you go from all alone to all the friends you want and need? The solution, though not quick and easy, begins with you, within your own heart and mind. Here are five steps you must take to enter the friendship zone and create and maintain ... Views: 806
Smarmy quotes about friendship posted on Facebook walls do nothing to clarify the meaning of this serious human yearning. Friendship is experienced on at least five levels.
Passing friendship is the first level. The interesting person you sit next to on a long flight or the stranger who assists ... Views: 1464
“I’m shy. That’s just the way I am,” said a young lady I spoke to recently. To her, shyness is in the same category as the color of her eyes or the size of her feet – something she cannot change. But she can change, and so can you. You do not have to be stranded alone in the corner of a room ... Views: 751
The quickest cure for loneliness is to find a friend. Like everything worthwhile, it is easier said than done. Lonely people need a few guiding principles in their pursuit of friendship. Here are five principles that will help you develop good friends.
Principle No. 1: You must diversify your ... Views: 764
Barbra Streisand sang in her portrayal of Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl? “People who like people are the luckiest people in the world.” Notice she did not sing, “People who are liked by other people are the luckiest people in the world.” Yet that is what many lonely people think. Barbra’s lesson is: ... Views: 798
“What do you do that causes her to treat you that way?” was a question my counseling professor, Fr. Dr. Robert McEniry (Creighton University), taught his students to ask in a marriage counseling situation. The question presupposes that the responsibility for what happens between married partners ... Views: 1852
Everyone endures bouts of loneliness from time to time. They are usually short-lived because the causes are either social (broke up with their girl/boyfriend, got a divorce, had a fight with their best friend, etc.), or geographical (moved to another job, town, school, etc.). Mentally healthy ... Views: 962
“I suppose you think you’re problems are worse than mine, right? Well let me tell you something, pal – you don’t know anything about having problems until you’ve taken a good look at MY problems, so cut me a little slack here, OK?”
Is that how you feel about your problems? Do you think no ... Views: 712
What is your definition of success?
There is nothing more personal than the definition of success. Quite honestly, the dictionary definition is inadequate, and though your mother’s opinion is probably still important, only you can define success for you! And that definition can change ... Views: 881
By Ron Ross
Feasting, football games, and of course, Black Friday sales often bury the true meaning of Thanksgiving. I must confess that at our house during the Thanksgiving weekend we do feast, I watch a little football, and my wife does some shopping. But through it all we do take time to ... Views: 752
Our nephew, an enlisted man in the Army, is heading to a dangerous part of the world for a second tour of duty. His parents and the rest of our family are justifiably concerned for his safety. A businessman watches carefully as a strong competitor opens a business two blocks down the street. ... Views: 744
Wikipedia’s explanation of faith begins with this line: “Faith is belief in an idea that is unsupported or contradicted by evidence … largely reserved for concepts of religion.”
Humbug. That’s not faith, that’s stupidity.
Faith is not something for weak minds or emotional morons. True faith ... Views: 756
There are a large variety of spiders in Africa and all of them are quite scary. One weekend my wife had a close encounter with one of those large spiders – it was at least as large as a saucer.
She was home alone with our two toddler children in our tiny house located about 11 miles into the ... Views: 605
Artists and musicians are not the sole proprietors of creativity. Common folk like you and me are also able to solve problems, write music, create art, and come up with new ideas. Remember when you were a child and you could fly airplanes, drive trucks, dress like a princess, or travel around ... Views: 711
The specific combination of natural gifts and talents that you have are absolutely unique to you. No one on earth has had or ever will have the same mix of abilities, interests, and passions. It is this mix that makes you something special.
Too many people go through life without taking a ... Views: 524
You were no accident. You’re not the descendent of an ape nor will you one day return to earth as a butterfly, a Billy goat, or a British Lord or Lady. You’re here at a specific time living in a specific place with a specific mission to accomplish. Your life has meaning – you are here for a ... Views: 1754
What you hate, love, fear, laugh at, cry about, or observe without sensation is determined by your own unique and wholly owned emotional structure. You and I could cheer for the same football team, yet experience it in a variety of ways. You could attend a concert with your best friend and each ... Views: 507
“My gosh you guys are twins!” declared a young lady who entered a retail store as my brother and I walked out.
To be honest, I had never thought my brother was that good looking, but who was I to argue with the absolutely unsolicited and unbiased opinion of a rather lovely young ... Views: 782