Has the water entered my ship?

 

Has the water entered my ship?--- please think over

In 1923, nine of the wealthiest people in the world met at Chicago 's Edge water Beach Hotel. Their combined wealth, it is estimated, exceeded the wealth of the government of the United States at that time. These men certainly knew how to make a living and accumulate wealth.

Attending the meeting were the following men:

The president of the largest steel company,

The president of the largest utility company,

The president of the largest gas company,

The president of the New York Stock Exchange,

The president of the Bank of International Settlements,

The greatest wheat speculator,

The greatest bear on Wall Street,
The head of the World's greatest monopoly&a member of President Harding's cabinet.

That's a pretty impressive line-up of people by anyone's yardstick.

Yet, 25 years later, where were those nine industrial giants?

Let’s examine what happened to them 25 years later.
1. The President of the then largest steel company (Bethlehem Steel Corp), Charles M Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt.

2. The President of the then largest gas company, Howard Hubson, went insane.

3. One of the greatest commodity traders (Wheat Speculator) , Arthur Cutten, died insolvent.

4. The then President of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail.

5. The member of the US President’s Cabinet (the member of President Harding's cabinet), Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail just to be able to go home and die in peace.

6. The greatest “bear” on Wall Street, Jesse Livermore committed suicide.

7. The President of the then world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide.

8. The President of the Bank of International Settlement, Leon Fraser, committed Suicide.

9. The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died penniless!!

What they forgot was how to "make" life while they got busy making money!

Money in itself is not evil;it provides food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, clothes for the needy.Money is only a medium of exchange.

We need two kinds of education:

.....a) One that teaches us how to make a living
and

.....b) One that teaches us how to live.

There are many of us who are so engrossed in our professional life that we neglect our family, health and social responsibilities.
If asked why we do this we would reply that "We are doing it for our family".
Yet, our kids are sleeping when we leave home. They are sleeping when we come back home!! Twenty years later, we’ll turn back, and they’ll all be gone, to pursue their own dreams and their own lives....................................................
Without water, a ship cannot move. The ship needs water, but if the water gets into the ship, the ship will face existential problems. What was once a means of living for the ship will now become a means of destruction.

Similarly we live in time where earning is a necessity but let not the earning enter our hearts, for what was once a means of living will surely become a means of destruction for us as well!!

So take a moment and ask yourself………. Has the water entered my ship? I surely hope it hasn't yet done so!

 

PROBLEM SOLVING SOLUTION

A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40) at Donner Summit, when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge (see unbelievable photo, above) and pulled itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help at that stage, so they returned the next morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge. 

 

After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net,  

 lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.

 There is a moral to this story you know.   This old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails.   Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do?   Yep, he took a nap and sure enough the situation took care of itself while he was asleep. 

The moral is that when confronted with a bad situation sometimes the best solution is take a nap .
So next time you see someone asleep at work, they could be just problem solving!! :) :) :) :)

What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on
opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land and he was able to eat it's fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren!

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, again there was nothing!

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing!

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could  leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer,  which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me, O God," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone,  but those of another praying for us.

My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be blessed. "What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"

NEXT CEO

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.‘ The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued.
'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. 

 I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

 When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back.

 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!'
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified.
He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!
His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.
'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said.
Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!' 

•If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
'Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back‘. Live our CORE VALUES, and Reap the returns!

A Wise man said.............

A wise man said,

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life.

But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished invention, a debt to be paid.

Then life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

ORDINARY PEOPLE

Walking on the road, you pass so many people.

Some look confident, purposeful, well-dressed, and well-maintained.

But the majority appear so ordinary, wear ill-fitting clothes, unfashionable footwear, have too much fat or too little, nothing remarkable about them, nothing attractive.

But yet someone somewhere eagerly waits for this unimpressive man to come home every evening.

Someone's entire world turns around the strength of this frail-looking woman.

Someone's very purpose in life hinges on this brash youngster cutting through traffic.

Someone knows only the shelter of these old arms each time their world begins to crumble.

Someone will count hours, minutes, and weep like a child when this pock-marked face alights from a long-distance train.

Someone will cave in and never be the same again if this one person disappears from the face of the world.

There are no ordinary people.. Neither are you ordinary.. because for someone you are extraordinary!!

Response Vs Reaction

At a  restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from  somewhere and sat on a lady. 
She  started screaming out of fear.   With  a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately  trying to get rid of the  cockroach.   Her  reaction was  contagious,  as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady  finally  managed to push the  cockroach  away but it  landed on  another  lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the  group to  continue the  drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. 
In the relay of throwing, the  cockroach next fell upon the waiter. 
The waiter stood firm, composed himself and  observed the behavior of the  cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he  grabbed it with his  fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my  coffee and  watching the  amusement, the  antenna of my  mind  picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the  cockroach  responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to  perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.   
  I  realized that, it is not the  shouting of a father or a boss or a wife  that disturbs one, but it’s the  inability to handle the  disturbances  caused by their shouting  that disturbs. 
  
It’s  not the  traffic jams on the road that  disturbs,  but it’s the  inability to handle the disturbance caused by the  traffic jam that disturbs.

More than the  problem, it’s our  reaction to the  problem that creates chaos in our life.   Lessons learnt from the story:

We should not react in life.
We should always respond. 
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. 
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a  situation from going out of hands, to  avoid cracks in  relationship, to avoid taking wrong decisions in job, to avoid  taking decisions in  anger, anxiety, stress or hurry. 
 
So next time something happens and you want to immediately react .... PAUSE .... take  a deep breath .... WAIT ... THINK ..... UNDERSTAND .....  and then RESPOND in the well thought manner ... 
  EASY  TO  PREACH .... UNDERSTAND ... DIFFICULT TO PRACTISE .... 
BUT  TRY  WE  CAN ... ('-')....BEST OF LUCK !! 

Final Wish of A Terminal Leukemia Boy ~ Very Touching Story

Very touching episode !

In Phoenix , Arizona , a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia.

Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination.
Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.

The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son’s dream to come true.

She took her son’s hand and asked, ‘Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted
to be once you grew up ?
Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?’

Mommy, ‘I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.’

Mom smiled back and said, ‘Let’s see if we can make your wish come true.’

Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix , Arizona , where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix .

She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, ‘Look, we can do better than that. If you’ll have your son ready at seven o’clock Wednesday morning, we’ll make
him an honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards !

And if you’ll give us his sizes, we’ll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat – not a toy — one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.’

‘They’re all manufactured right here in Phoenix , so we can get them fast.’

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy,
dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.

Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.

There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines, the Paramedic’s’ van, and even the fire chief’s car.

He was also videotaped for the
local news program.

Having his dream come true,
with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed
in the hospice concept – that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and
asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition…

The chief replied, ‘We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor ?

When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire ?’ ‘It’s the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room ?’

About five minutes later a
hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy’s third floor open window ——–
16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy’s room !!

With his mother’s permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, ‘Chief am I really a fireman now?’

‘Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, God, is holding your hand,’ the chief said.

With those words, Billy smiled and said, ‘I know, He’s been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.’

He closed his eyes one last time…