What is Attitude

ATTITUDE

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.

It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.

It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday 

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 on the one string we have, 

and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

- Charles R. Swindoll -

Stay inspired my friends!

A Single Penny

"Change your thoughts and you change your world." ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Have you considered lately the value of a coin, more specifically a penny? This small little coin just seems to be of very little value. I am talking about those copper colored one cent coins we rarely give attention to.

While on a trip once, I had stopped for a quick bite to eat. Fast food is not normally in my diet but time was of the essence. My food bill came out to nine dollars and two cents. In most chain restaurants, rarely would you not pay those small and insignificant two cents. You might find in other locally run establishments a penny jar to add or share from.

At this particular chain restaurant, the young woman behind the counter returned my change and did not make me pay those two cents. She merely said thank you for my business and to have a great day. The gesture of two pennies not paid caught me by surprise yet it was a pleasant surprise.

Now two pennies for most people is a very small amount. Two cents will no longer buy you anything. The value of each is so tiny that some have called for our monetary system to eliminate them completely. Many people would rather we simply round up or round down to the nearest nickel coin.

A single penny, a single kind gesture has enormous value.

Those two pennies at the restaurant and the kind gesture made a huge impact on how my day was going. The smallest of things we do in life are much like those single shiny pennies. Each has the ability to put a smile on the face, a warmth in the heart and shine brightly upon another.

As luck would have it, I returned to the restaurant later in the day with a co-worker. It was convenient, we were hungry. This time our food bill came out such that the change being returned to me was three cents. An odd turn of the coin I suppose.

The same woman was behind the counter and I looked at her and told her to keep the three cents. I owed her with interest from her kindness in the morning. I told her to have a great day and she smiled.

The acts of kindness had only amounted to five cents, an amount you can now start to purchase things. But it all started with those single one cent pennies; those seemingly worthless pennies.

The small gestures or small things we do in life all have value.

Never throw out a penny, never look down on the smallest or what seems to be meaningless. Everything you do in life, every gesture, every act of kindness has value. And when someone asks "a penny for your thoughts" one day, know that the transaction has great value.

Stay inspired my friends!

Winter Is Here Again

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." ― Anne Bradstreet

At midnight, as the clocks rolled over in bed to greet December 21, it arrived quietly and without fanfare. Most were asleep and did not hear as it crept into our new day. There would be no stopping this change, this constant reminder of nature.

Winter was officially here.

People awoke the next day sensing the change. It seemed much darker and that darkness lasted longer. One could feel the change but most were unsure of what the change had been. As the Sun fought to erase the darkness, we simply let the feeling pass.

Yet winter was finally here.

The holidays kept us busy and full of energy. There were gifts to wrap, meals to plan and a new year celebration to attend to. Our minds were kept occupied by other more important things. No one had time to think, much less concern themselves with the new season.

Winter had quietly taken hold.

Now the celebrations are over, the relatives gone home and we see the darkness of evening approach early. The snow has lost the virginal white of a new snowfall as the wear of foot and wheel leave their stain. Even the cold seems much sharper in it's bite of skin.

Yet winter remains his keep.

It is easy to allow the depressing gray of cold winter skies and darkness of long nights to grab hold of us. But each day becomes slightly longer as the Sun begins to retake its place. The promise of spring lingers more and more within our minds.

Winter will not overcome us.

Winter is rightfully here in its place among the seasons. A cycle in life that has, does and will always occur. Our own seasons will cycle like the winter into spring and summer. Changes in our life and circumstance will sneak in like winter and catch us with surprise.

Yet winter will not overcome us.

Stay inspired my friends!

My Friend is Sailing

“Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer

For a friend

Gone From My Sight by Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore.

A ship, at my side, spreads white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean.

He is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch him until, at length, he hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, he is gone"

Gone where? Gone from my sight. That is all.

He is just as large in mast, hull and spar as he was when he left my side.

And, he is just as able to bear his load of living freight to his destined port.

His diminished size is in me -- not in him.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, he is gone," there are other eyes watching him coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here he comes!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIOVANNI, Mario Anthony, Jr.

Mario Anthony Giovanni, Jr., age 65, died peacefully at his home in Buford, GA on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Born March 26, 1949, in Phillipsburg, NJ, he attended Pius X Catholic High School in Roseto, PA before moving to the Milwaukee, WI area with his parents and siblings.


It was in Milwaukee where he married on September 28, 1974, Suzanne Steber, raising two children, Anne Grazier of Lindenhurst, IL and Nick Giovanni of Buford, GA. In 1996, he moved his family to the Buford, GA area working for the past seven years at Engineered Architectural Systems, Inc. of Alpharetta, GA. Previously he worked several years for Albany International.

Mario was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve for two years, was active in coaching his son’s hockey team in the Lawrenceville, GA area and enjoyed both golf and college basketball. He had a passion for music which included his time with the Drum and Bugle Corp in high school and playing drum most recently with a local band. He had a serving heart, positive nature and adored spending time with his granddaughter, Audrey.

Mario was preceded in death by his parents, Mario, Sr. and Mary (Pacovich) Giovanni; sister, Carla (Franzrab) Giovanni; and nephew, Jeb Jensen. Survivors include wife, Suzanne (Steber); daughter, Anne Grazier and granddaughter, Audrey; son, Nick Giovanni; sister, Lucia (Giovanni) and Roger McGrath of Eagle, WI; sister-in-law, Char (Steber) and Jeff Jensen of Reedsburg, WI.

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Mario Anthony Giovanni, Jr. will be held 6:30 P.M. on Friday, January 9, 2015 at Georgia Cremation Chapel 3116 U.S. Highway 23 (Buford HWY), Duluth, GA 30096. Relatives, friends and coworkers are welcome to attend and celebrate a life well lived.

Georgia Cremation (678)584-0914 is assisting the family with local arrangements. Messages of condolence may be made or viewed at www.GeorgiaCremation.com.

Stay inspired my friends!