Success Online

For full article, log onto: http://easterngifts.co.za/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=7

Time Rolls On...

By: Regina Brett The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It's the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Word for Today

I hope that you find this as inspiring as I have as you head into 2008!

Three QuestionsThe Lord gave him success in everything he did. - Genesis 39:3 NIV
Sit down, have a cup of coffee (or tea), and ask yourself these three questions:

(1) Am I happy with the way things are in my life right now? If you're not, take responsibility. Quit blame-placing and excuse-making! The only one who can stop you from becoming the person God intended you to be - is you.

(2) Am I afraid of success? Afraid of the cost and commitment required? Leadership is lonely; maybe you'd rather be with the crowd. Or perhaps you've been knocked down and you're afraid to get up again. When Thomas Edison was asked why he was successful he replied, "I start where other men leave off!" When world heavyweight champion Jim Corbett was asked what it took to win the title he replied, "Just fight one more round." Paul wrote, "We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going" (2 Co 4:9 TLB).

(3) Do I believe people can't be successful and Spiritual at the same time? Out of a confused (and abused) theology we've equated humility with poverty and assumed that successful people can't be humble. Not so. "As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper" (2 Ch 26:5). Does this give you the right to strut, or look down on others? No, but when successful people speak other people listen. Examine the lives of Bible characters like Joseph and Daniel. They influenced nations for God! We have a message of hope that others need to hear, but if we're not in a position to tell them how will they hear it?

If you have been settling for less, ask God for a greater faith and a greater focus, then start aiming higher!

Regards,
M.

I'm back...

After a wonderful holiday catching up on my reading, I am ready to tackle the New Year and have already posted the January newsletter on our site http://easterngifts.co.za/newsletter-january-2008-a-56.html. I wish you all a wonderful New Year and the opportunities to make the most of your life. Here's to a wonderful 2008!!!!
Regards,
M.