Sweeping Streets

I'm ending the week with two great quotes that I like to repeat once or twice a year. They speak to much of what I believe and try to conduct my life. Read from them, be inspired by them and live your life by them.

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"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

Martin Luther King Jr.

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The longer I live
The more I realize the impact of
Attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important
Than the past,
Than education,
Than money,
Than circumstances,
Than failures,
Than success,
Than what other people
Think or say or do.

It is more important than

Appearance,
Giftedness or skill.
It will make or break
An organization,
A school, a home.

The remarkable thing is
We have a choice every day
Regarding the attitude
We will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that
People will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do
Is play the string we have.
And that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is
10 percent what happens to me and
90 percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you.

Charles Swindell

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Happiness

"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself." -Og Mandino
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Blogging

"The first thing you need to decide when you build your blog is what you want to accomplish with it, and what it can do if successful." -Ron Dawson

Today is just a chance to poke a little bit of fun at myself in all this realm of seriousness. Blogging is a great opportunity for people to make a difference, to enlighten others and for some to simply waste space and time on the internet.

My opportunity is to help one or several people with encouragement and advice. I am not always right or 'on the mark' with all that I say. Yet my belief is that it starts with one person taking the time to impact the life of another in a positive way. The wave started will eventually impact many others.

Begin a new wave this year by choosing to help at least one other person. I will keep blogging away, share my thoughts with others, share your thoughts with others.
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Time For A Mentor - Time For A Friend

So I finally get around to commenting about a person that I hold in my heart as a great mentor and a great friend. A person that I've worked with for a number of years retired this past year and quite frankly I miss having him around.

Those that read this will know that he and I worked in the same facility for a long time. But over the past several years he has worked in our Boston location while I remained here in Atlanta. Knowing he was there and I could ring his extension made things very comfortable.

His name is Art and I owe a lot of my career to him. We had both worked at this same company for a number of years but never knew each other. I moved into the Atlanta area to take a job in technical support. It is here that we met and he took me 'under his wing' and taught me a great deal.

It is that mentoring spirit in him that says so much about a person. It is something you can do in your life with others as well. By taking a portion of your time and giving your wisdom, advice or encouragement to another is a great gift to give.

My own life was changed by his time shared. In his retirement I hope that he finds relaxation and peace. Along with his wonderful wife Pamela, there will be many years and much more time.
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