One Choice

ONE CHOICE They say "you can't choose your parents." All of us have circumstances that cannot be changed, whether it's the home we're born into or a physical condition we're struggling with. In that case, our choice isn't to change our circumstances, but to change our ATTITUDE. Take for example, the story of Roger Crawford as told in the book, The Choice is Yours! Roger Crawford makes his living as a consultant and public speaker. He's written two books and travels all across the country working with Fortune 500 companies, national and state associations, and school districts. Those aren't bad credentials. But if that doesn't impress you, how about this: before becoming a consultant, he was a varsity tennis player for Loyola Marymount University and later became a professional tennis player certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association. Still not impressed? Would you change your opinion if I told you Roger had no hands and only one foot? Roger Crawford was born with a condition called ectrodactylism. When he emerged from his mother's womb, the doctors saw that he had a thumb-like projection extending out of his right forearm. He had no palms. His legs and arms were shortened. And his left leg possessed a shrunken foot with only three toes. (The foot was amputated when he was five.) Roger's parents were told by various medical professionals that he would never be able to walk, probably would not be able to take care of himself, and would never lead a normal life. After recovering from the shock, Roger's parents were determined to give him the best chance possible for living a normal life. They raised him to feel loved, to be strong, and to develop independence. "You're only as handicapped as you want to be," his father used to tell him. They encouraged him to do everything his heart desired. And they taught him to think positively. Roger appreciated the encouragement and training he received from his parents, but I don't think he really understood the significance of it or his achievements until he went to college and he interacted with someone who wanted to meet him. After he received a phone call from a man who had read about his tennis victories, Crawford agreed to meet him at a nearby restaurant. When Roger stood up to shake hands with the man, he discovered that the other guy had hands that were almost identical to his. That got Crawford excited, because he thought he had found someone similar to him but older who could act as his mentor. But after talking with the stranger for a few minutes, he realized he was wrong. Roger says: "Instead, what I found was someone with a bitter, pessimistic attitude who blamed all of life's disappointments and failures on his anatomy." "I soon recognized that our lives and attitudes couldn't have been more different...He had never held a job for long, and he said this was because of 'discrimination' — certainly not because (as he admitted) he was constantly late, frequently absent and failed to take any responsibility for his work. His attitude was, 'The world owes me,' and his problem was that the world disagreed. I didn't share his despair." "We kept in touch for several years, until it dawned on me that even if some miracle were suddenly to give him a perfect body, his unhappiness and lack of success wouldn't change. He would still be at the same place in his life." What about you? Is your attitude holding you back? Choose to change it...and experience the fullness life has to offer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You're Only One Choice Away from Changing Your Life. For me, the idea of changing your life with a single choice is highly motivational. It puts you in charge of the type of future you envision. In One Choice, you'll meet people from all walks of life who made life-changing choices, whether it's switching careers, losing weight, finding financial freedom, adopting a child, or giving back to others. One Choice will: • Inspire you to explore the possibilities of creating a new, happier life. • Offer you tremendous hope, regardless of your current circumstances, for a better tomorrow. Roger Crawford plays tennis with no hands and one foot. If you have the courage to change, choose to change your life today. So, take a deep breath, take a chance, make a choice. Best Regards, Francis Jeyaraj

Even God has a Sense of Humor

God was in the process of creating the universe. And he was explaining to his subordinates.
"Look everything should be in balance. For example, after every 10 deer there should be a lion.

Look here my fellow angels, here is the country of the United States. I have blessed them with prosperity and money. But at the same time I have given them insecurity and tension....

And here is Africa. I have given them beautiful nature. But at the same time, I have given them climatic extremes.
And here is South America.. I have given them lots of forests. But at the same time, I have given them lesser land so that they would have to cut off the forests....

So you see fellows, everything should be in balance."

One of the angels asked... "God, what is this extremely beautiful country here?"

God said....... "Ahah...that is the crown piece of all. "INDIA, My most precious creation. It has understanding and friendly People. Sparkling streams and serene mountains. A culture which speaks of the great tradition that they live. Technologically brilliant and with a heart of gold....."

The angel was quite surprised:
"But God you said everything should be in balance."

God replied --
"Look at the politicians and the neighbours I gave them."

How to Live Like a True Christian

How to Live Like a True Christian
I want to be a happy christian
wear a smile on my face
don't want to be a dooms day teacher
spreading gloom all over the place.

Let's keep praying and trusting
that the Lord will make a way
for us to be happy christians
and keep praising Him everyday.

Some people moan and groan
underneath the load they bare
I don't want to add to their burdens
I want to teach them God cares.

It's true this old world contains
enough evil to drive us mad
I believe there's still some good
not everyone has turned bad.

If we love our neighbor
and share the things we get
we will find this old world
has a little hope left yet.

We need to keep on trying
to reach our fellowman
we need to spread the Gospel
of God's Good News all we can.

Mothers day celebrated on 10th May

Give Value To Relationships
A man stopped at a flower shop for ordering some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars." The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother." She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.At times we take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted.

Learn to value them.Best Wishes for Mothers Day!.Don't Forget - Mothers Day is on 10th May.

Beat the Recession- Attitude counts

Money has no memory Experience has shown that: You will never know what the total cost of your education was, but for a lifetime you will recall and relive the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, you will forget the amount you paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever cherish having saved your mother’s life or the life you get to live with the just born. You won’t remember the cost of your honeymoon, but to the last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness. Money has no memory. Experience has. Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of poverty, times when the future looked so secure and times when you didn’t know from where the tomorrow will come… life has been in one way or the other a roller-coaster ride for everyone. Beyond all that abundance and beyond all that deprivation, what remains is the memory of experiences. Sometimes the wallet was full…sometimes even the pocket was empty. There was enough and you still had reasons to frown. There wasn’t enough and you still had reasons to smile. Today, you can look back with tears of gratitude for all the times you had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at all the times you cried alone. All in all, life filled you with experiences to create a history of your own self, and you alone can remember them all. The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support….. The first time she said ‘yes’ and it was two years since you proposed….. The first cry…the first steps…the first word…the first kiss…all of your child… The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your daughter / son gave you…. The first award…the first public appreciation….the first stage performance…. And the list is endless… Experiences, with timeless memory…. No denying that anything that’s material cost money, but the fact remains the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never. So, what if it’s economic recession? Let it be, but let there not be a recession to the quality of your life. You can still take your parents, if not on pilgrimage, at least to the local temple. You can still play with your children, if not on an international holiday, at least in the local park. It doesn’t cost money to lie down or to take a loved one onto your lap.

Time will pass…economy will revive… currency will soon be in current…and in all this, I don’t want you to look back and realize you did nothing but stayed in gloom.

Recession can make you lose out on money. Let it not make you lose out on experiences… If you are not happy with what you have, no matter how much more you have, you will still not be happy.

Remember a bird sitting on a tree doesn’t get afraid of a branch shaking or breaking coz d bird does not trust branch….it trust its WINGS……….so trust yourself

A ship is safe when it is on anchor……..but ship is not built for the same……….

Aim for the Heart

Tom Mathews has built an amazing team of over 20,000 people. After getting to know him, I realized...He's a leader who "gets it." He truly understands the power of recognition, kindness, and setting personal goals. Also, in all of our conversations it was never "me," but always "we" when discussing any success he had enjoyed in his business.Today I'd like to share a great story from Tom's book: Aim for the Heart...Leading to Build Great Teams. Enjoy!Who Packed Your Parachute?

An excerpt from Aim for the Heart
By Tom Mathews
As a leader, do you honor and appreciate the power of WE? Do you stop to thank and recognize the members of your team? Do you consistently show an attitude of gratitude?

I recently read a great story about Captain Charles Plumb, a graduate from the Naval Academy, whose plane, after 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam, was shot down. He parachuted to safety, but was captured, tortured and spent 2,103 days in a small box-like cell.
After surviving the ordeal, Captain Plumb received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, and returned to America and spoke to many groups about his experience and how it compared to the challenges of every day life.

Shortly after coming home, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man rose from a nearby table, walked over and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

Surprised that he was recognized, Charlie responded, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Charlie looked up with surprise. The man pumped his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "I guess it worked!"

Charlie stood to shake the man's hand, and assured him, "It most certainly did work. If it had not worked, I would not be here today."

Charlie could not sleep that night, thinking about the man. He wondered if he might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent bending over a long wooden table in the bottom of the ship, carefully folding the silks and weaving the shrouds of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know.

Plumb then began to realize that along with the physical parachute, he needed mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. He had called on all these supports during his long and painful ordeal.
As a leader, how many times a day, a week, a month, do we pass up the opportunity to thank those people in our organization who are "packing our parachutes?"

Who is poor, poor v/s wealthy

Our kids don't learn social discrimination until we teach it to them...

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing him how poor live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all feel grateful for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

SO,Brothers & Sisters... Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your family and your friends...!