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一、 励志感悟

[00:00.14] Perseverance

[00:05.17]Perseverance depends on three things-purpose, will, enthusiasm.

[00:10.46] He who has a purpose is always concentrating his forces.

[00:15.88]By the will, the hope and plan are prevented from evaporating into dreams,

[00:22.36]and a little gain is all the time being added. Enthusiasm keeps the interest up,

[00:29.64]and makes the obstacles seem small.

[00:32.98]The man who thinks to get on by mere smartness and

[00:37.61] by idling meets failure at last.

[00:40.89]Life is in a sense a battle.

[00:43.44] Perseverance is the master impulse of the firmest souls,

[00:48.13]and holds the key to those treasure-houses of knowledge

[00:52.23]from which the world has drawn its wealth both of wisdom and of moral worth.

[00:58.37]Great men never wait for opportunities;

[01:01.30]they make them. They seize upon whatever is at hand,

[01:05.73] work out their problem, and master the situation.

[01:09.53] The greatest thing a man can do in this world is

[01:13.32]to make the most possible out of the stuff

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[01:16.93]that has been given to him. This is success,

[01:20.18]and there is no other.

[01:22.47]One of the first lessons of life is to learn how to get victory out of defeat.

[01:28.22]It takes courage and stamina,

[01:31.05]when mortified

and embarrassed by

humiliating disaster, [01:35.30]to seek in the wreck or ruins the elements of future conquest.

[01:40.59] Yet this measures the difference between those

[01:44.31] who succeed and those who fail.

[01:46.53]You cannot measure a man by his failures.

[01:49.64]You must know what use he makes of them.

[01:53.51]A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from hard surroundings,

[02:00.18] is the price of all great achievements.

[02:03.54]The man who has not fought his way upward,

[02:07.26]and does not bear the scar of desperate conflict,

[02:11.15] does not know the highest meaning of success.

[00:00.11] The Two Roads

[00:04.36]It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window.

[00:08.03]He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky,

[00:12.69]where the stars were floating like

[00:15.62]white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake.

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[00:17.70] Then he cast them on the earth,

[00:22.50] where few more hopeless people than himself now

[00:26.70] moved towards their certain goal-the tomb.

[00:29.96] He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it,

[00:34.25]and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse.

[00:38.33]Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful,

[00:43.76]and his old age short of comforts.

[00:46.43]The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him,

[00:50.66]and he recalled the serious moment

[00:53.59]when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads—

[00:57.28]one leading to a peaceful, sunny place,

[01:00.64] covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft,

[01:05.15]sweet songs; the other leading to a deep,

[01:08.62]dark cave, which was endless,

[01:11.32]where poison flowed instead of water and

[01:14.28] where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.

[01:17.84]He looked towards the sky and cried painfully,

[01:21.64]“O youth, return! O my father,

[01:25.04]place me once more at the entrance to life,

[01:28.00] and I'll choose the better way!”

[01:30.13]But both his father and the days of his youth

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[01:34.03] had passed away.

[01:35.91]He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness.

[01:39.03]These were the days of his wasted life;

[01:42.70]he saw a star fall from the sky and disappear,

[01:47.58] and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse,

[01:52.12]which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart.

[01:56.96]Then he remembered his friends in his childhood,

[02:00.88]who entered on life together with him.

[02:03.90]But they had made their way to success

[02:06.62]and were now honoured and happy

[02:09.46] on this New Year's Night.

[02:11.87]The clock in the high church tower struck

[02:14.39] and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him.

[02:18.67]They had taught him and prayed to God for his good.

[02:22.30]But he chose the wrong way.

[02:24.51]With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven

[02:29.63] where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears,

[02:33.24]and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry:

[02:36.97]“Come back, my early days! Come back!”

[02:40.18]And his youth did return,

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[02:42.38] for all this was only a dream

[02:44.56]which he had on New Year's Night.

[02:47.20] He was still young though his faults were real;

[02:50.51]he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave,

[02:53.63]and he was still free to walk on the road

[02:56.89] which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

[03:00.01]Those who still linger on the entrance of life,

[03:03.50] hesitating to choose the bright road,

[03:06.01] remember that when years are passed

[03:09.20] and your feet stumble on the dark mountains,

[03:11.83]you will cry bitterly, but in vain:

[03:14.59]“O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!”

[00:00.14]We Are on a Journey

[00:02.44]Wherever you are, and whoever you may be,

[00:06.23]there is one thing in which you and I are just alike,

[00:10.91] at this moment, and in all the moments of our existence.

[00:15.09]We are not at rest; we are on a journey.

[00:18.96]Our life is not a mere fact; it is a movement,a tendency,

[00:25.13]a steady, ceaseless progress towards an unseen goal.

[00:29.89] We are gaining something, or losing something, every day.

[00:34.36] Even when our position and

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[00:37.05]our character seem to remain precisely the same,

[00:40.61]they are changing. For the mere advance of time is a change.

[00:46.65]It is not the same thing to have a bare field in January and in July.

[00:52.17]The season makes the difference.

[00:54.91]The limitations that are childlike in the child are childish in the man.

[01:00.92] Everything that we do is a step in one direction or another.

[01:06.12]Even the failure to do something is in itself a deed.

[01:11.08] It sets us forward or backward.

[01:14.23]The action of the negative pole of a magnetic

[01:17.92]needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole.

[01:22.51]To decline is to accept-the other alternative.

[01:26.36]Are you nearer to your port today than you were yesterday?

[01:30.64]Yes, -you must be a little nearer to some port or other;

[01:36.42]for since your ship was first launched upon the sea of life

[01:41.23]you have never been still for a single moment;

[01:44.66]the sea is too deep,

[01:46.97]you could not find an anchorage if you would;

[01:50.70]there can be no pause until you come into port.

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[00:00.77]Disrupting My Comfort Zone

[00:07.01]I was 45 years old when I decided to learn how to surf.

[00:11.60]They say that life is tough enough.

[00:13.90]But I guess I like to make things difficult on myself, because I do that all the time.

[00:20.36]Every day and on purpose.

[00:22.87]That's because I believe in disrupting my comfort zone.

[00:27.24]When I started out in the entertainment business,

[00:30.64]I made a list of people that I thought would be good to me.

[00:34.90]Not people who could give me a job or a deal,

[00:38.52]but people who could shake me up, teach me something, challenge my ideas about myself and the world.

[00:46.28]So I started calling up experts in all kinds of fields.

[00:50.44]Some of them were world-famous.

[00:53.50]Of course, I didn't know any of these people and none of them knew me.

[00:58.76]So when I called these people up to ask them for a meeting,

[01:03.13]the response wasn't always friendly.

[01:05.87]And even when they agreed to give me some of their time,

[01:09.48]the results weren't always what one might describe as pleasant.

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[01:14.29]Take, for example, Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb.

[01:20.09]It took me a year of begging and more begging to get to him to agree to meet with me.

[01:26.43]And then what happened? He ridiculed me and insulted me.

[01:31.69]But that was okay.

[01:33.44]I was hoping to learn something from him —and I did,

[01:37.16]even if it was only that I'm not that interesting to a physicist with no taste for our pop culture.

[01:44.49]Over the last 30 years, I've produced more than 50 movies and 20 television series.

[01:51.17]I'm successful and, in my business, pretty well known.

[01:56.31]So why do I continue to subject myself to this sort of thing?

[02:00.90]The answer is simple:

[02:02.54]Disrupting my comfort zone, bombarding myself with challenging people and situations

[02:08.56]—this is the best way that I know to keep growing.

[02:12.71]And to paraphrase a biologist I once met,

[02:17.02]if you're not growing, you're dying.

[02:19.40]So maybe I'm not the best surfer on the north shore, but that's okay.

[02:24.53]The discomfort, the uncertainty, the physical and mental challenge that I get from this

[02:31.43]—all the things that too many of us spend our time and energy trying to avoid

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[02:37.78]—they are precisely the things that keep me in the game.

[00:00.56]Alone Again, Naturally

[00:06.11]Alone, we squander life by

[00:09.68]rejecting its full potential

[00:12.17]and wasting its remaining promises.

[00:15.08]Alone, we accept that

[00:17.35]experiences unshared are barely worthwhile,

[00:20.76]that sunsets viewed singly

[00:22.73]are not as spectacular,

[00:24.50]that time spent apart

[00:26.48]is fallow and pointless.

[00:28.65]And so we grow old believing

[00:30.95] we are nothing by ourselves,

[00:32.82]steadfastly shunning the opportunities for self-discovery

[00:35.74]and personal growth that solitude could bring us.

[00:40.42]We've even coined a word for those

[00:43.02]who prefer to be by themselves: antisocial,

[00:45.10]as if they were enemies of society.

[00:47.08]They are viewed as friendless,

[00:50.54]suspect in a world

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[00:53.25]that goes around in twos or more

[00:54.84]and is wary of solitary travelers.

[00:57.65]People who need people

[00:59.86]are threatened by people who don't.

[01:02.26]The idea of seeking contentment alone is heretical,

[01:06.20]for society steadfastly decrees

[01:09.05]that our completeness lies in others.

[01:11.30]Instead, we cling to each other

[01:14.11]for solace, comfort, and safety,

[01:16.04]believing that we are nothing alone—

[01:18.61]insignificant, unfulfilled, lost—

[01:21.13]accepting solitude in the tiniest,

[01:24.85]most reluctant of slices,

[01:26.65]if at all, which is tragic,

[01:28.96]for it rejects God's precious gift of life.

[01:32.23]Ironically, most of us crave more intimacy

[01:36.36]and companionship than we can bear.

[01:38.54]We begrudge ourselves, our spouses,

[01:41.38]and our partners sufficient physical

[01:44.01]and emotional breathing room,

[01:46.09]and then bemoan the suffocation of our relationships.

[01:49.78]To point out these facts is not to suggest

[01:53.65]we should abandon all our close ties.

[01:56.57]Medical surveys show that the majority of elderly people

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[02:01.30]who live alone,

[02:02.16]yet maintain frequent contact

[02:04.65]with relatives and friends,

[02:06.04]rate their physical

[02:07.46]and emotional well-being as “excellent.”

[02:10.17]Just as an apple a day kept the doctor away

[02:13.45]when they were young,

[02:15.11]an active social calendar appears

[02:17.03]to serve the same purpose now.

[00:07.54]Another Door

[00:11.76]When I come across a good essay

[00:14.64]in reading newspapers,

[00:16.20]I am often inclined to cut and keep it.

[00:19.41] But just as I am about to do so I find the article

[00:23.14]on the opposite side is as much interesting.

[00:25.33]It may be a discussion of the way to keep in good health,

[00:29.98]or advice about how to behave

[00:32.53]and conduct oneself in society.

[00:34.85]If I cut the front essay,

[00:36.52]the opposite one is bound to suffer damage,

[00:40.19]leaving out half of it or keeping the text without the subject.

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[00:43.84]As a result,

[00:45.89]the scissors would stay before they start,

[00:48.61]or halfway done when I find out the regretful consequence

[00:52.11]that inevitably causes my repentance.

[00:55.07]Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time,

[00:58.45]both deserving your attention.

[01:00.85]You can only take up one of them,

[01:03.55]the other has to wait or be given up.

[01:06.26]But you know the future is unpredictable

[01:08.93]—the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left behind.

[01:13.84]Thus you are caught in a fix and feel sad.

[01:17.85]How come that nice opportunities and brilliant ideas

[01:23.66]should gather around all at once?

[01:25.19]It may happen that your life changes dramatically

[01:27.65]on your preference of one alterative to the other.

[01:30.72]In fact that is what life is like: we are often

[01:33.73]faced with the two opposite aspects of a thing

[01:37.92]which are both desirable like newspaper cutting.

[01:41.03]It often occurs that our attention is drawn

[01:44.63]to one thing only after we are engaged in another.

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[01:47.79]The former and the latter give rise to a divided mind.

[01:52.04]I still remember a philosopher's remarks: “When one door shuts,

[01:57.15]another opens in life.” So a casual

[01:58.84]or passive choice may not be a bad one.

[02:02.73]Whatever we do in our lifetime,

[02:06.32]wherever life's storm tosses us,

[02:09.29]there must be something we can achieve,

[02:12.33]some shore we can land,

[02:14.59]which opens up new vistas to us.

[02:16.81]Don't forget God always keeps an alternative door open for everyone.

[02:22.17]While the front door is closed,

[02:24.64]there must be another open for you.

[00:00.34]It’s Never Too Late to Change

[00:06.47]Age is no criterion when it comes to changing your life.

[00:10.84]In fact, it might be just the opposite.

[00:14.56]The older we get, the more we must change.

[00:18.39]Change is what keeps us fresh and innovative.

[00:22.33]Change is what keeps us from getting stale and stuck in a rut.

[00:27.47]Change is what keeps us young.

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[00:30.65]This is not easy.

[00:32.50]When we are young it's easy to change and experiment with different things.

[00:37.76]The older we get the more set in our ways we become.

[00:41.91]We've found out what our comfort level is, and we all want to stay in it.

[00:47.27]We don't want to be risk takers anymore, because risk frightens us,

[00:53.18]and simply not changing seems so easy.

[00:56.69]We must fight through this.

[00:59.20]We must look fear straight in the eye and take it on.

[01:03.25]We must tell ourselves that we have too much talent, too much wisdom,

[01:09.71]too much value not to change.

[01:13.10]I believe that Jim, who is on my staff,

[01:16.92]is one of the best assistant coaches in the country.

[01:20.64]But I almost didn't hire him three years ago

[01:24.59]because I thought that psychologically he was too "old,"

[01:28.96]that he had lost the drive and passion that an assistant coach needs.

[01:34.75]Three years ago he was forty, and I thought

[01:38.59]he might have spent too many Saturday afternoons at the country club,

[01:42.75]that he wasn't going to get in the trenches anymore,

[01:46.02]like the younger assistant coaches do.

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[01:48.77]But Jim told me that he couldn't wait to get down in the trenches again.

[01:53.58]So I hired him, and he's been an integral part of our success.

[01:59.37]There is a conventional wisdom in coaching that once you've been a head coach

[02:05.39]you can't enthusiastically go back to being an assistant again

[02:10.21]and still have the same passion as before.

[02:12.61]Jim didn't buy into that.

[02:15.57]He didn't let his "old age" get in his way.

[02:19.51]He was ready when opportunity came calling.

[02:23.22]He reestablished a work ethic second to none with the eagerness of a person right out of college.

[02:30.67]And I'm thankful for what he did,

[02:32.64]because he played such an essential role in our championship season.

[02:36.90]This is what we all must do.

[02:39.64]We must realize that it's never too late to begin making changes

[02:45.00]that can transform our life.

[00:00.57]Stress Prevention

[00:02.46]Stress is a normal part of life

[00:04.94]and usually comes from everyday occurrences.

[00:07.79]Here are some ways you can deal with

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[00:10.46]everyday sources of stress.

[00:12.70]Eliminate as many sources of stress

[00:15.46]as you can.

[00:16.58]For example, if crowds bother you,

[00:18.93]go to supermarket

[00:20.49]when you know the lines won't be too long.

[00:22.96]Try renting videotapes

[00:25.14]rather than going to crowded movie theaters.

[00:27.55]If you are always running late,

[00:30.68]sit down with a pencil and paper

[00:32.48]and see how you are actually

[00:34.29]allotting your time.

[00:36.10]You may be able to solve your problem

[00:38.55]just by being realistic.

[00:40.23]If you can't find the time

[00:42.36]for all the activities

[00:43.49]that are important to you,

[00:44.75]maybe you are trying to do too much.

[00:47.41]Again, make a list of

[00:49.71]what you do during the day

[00:51.43]and how much each activity takes.

[00:53.46]Then cut back.

[00:55.74]Avoid predictably stressful situations.

[00:58.54]If a certain sport or game makes you tense

[01:02.16](whether it's tennis or bridge),

[01:04.32]decline the invitation to play.

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[01:06.45]After all, the point of these activities

[01:09.68]is to have a good time.

[01:11.63]If you know you won't,

[01:13.26]there's no reason to play.

[01:15.15]If you can't remove the stress,

[01:18.03]remove yourself.

[01:19.25]Slip away once in a while

[01:21.50]for some private time.

[01:22.72]These quiet moments may give you

[01:25.03]a fresh perspective on your problems.

[01:26.71]Competing with others,

[01:29.24]whether in accomplishments, appearance,

[01:31.35]or possessions, is an avoidable source of stress.

[01:35.31]You might know people

[01:37.36]who do all they can to provoke envy in others.

[01:39.82]While it may seem easy to say

[01:42.31]you should be satisfied with what you have,

[01:45.32]it's the truth.

[01:46.76]Stress from this kind of jealousy

[01:48.88]is self-inflicted.

[01:50.71]Labor-saving devices,

[01:53.40]such as cell phones or internet,

[01:55.33]often encourage us to cram too many activities

[01:58.39]into each day.

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[02:00.06]Before you buy new equipment,

[02:02.25]be sure that it will really improve your life.

[02:04.87]Be aware that taking care of equipment

[02:07.47]and getting it repaired can be stressful.

[02:10.11]Try doing only one thing at a time.

[02:13.45]For example, when you're riding your exercise bike,

[02:16.86]you don't have to listen to the radio

[02:19.22]or watch television.

[02:20.96]Remember, sometimes it's okay to do nothing.

[02:24.72]If you feel stress (or anything else)

[02:28.01]is getting the better of you,

[02:29.86]seek professional help —a doctor or

psychologist. [02:32.57]Early signs of excess stress

[02:35.95]are loss of a sense of well-being

[02:38.06]and reluctance to get up in the morning

[02:40.55]to face another day.

[00:00.42]Wake up Your Life

[00:04.59]Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged,

[00:13.00]“Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience.”

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[00:21.87]How right they were! Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure,

[00:30.07]extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.

[00:36.86]“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson.

[00:43.86]An enthusiastic attitude enables us to hang in there when the going gets tough.

[00:50.97]It's the inner drive that whispers, “I can do it!” when others believe it can't be done.

[00:58.19]We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder

[01:03.12]—as anyone knows who has ever seen an infan t’s delight at the jingle of keys

[01:09.46]or the scurrying of a beetle.

[01:11.76]It is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, whatever their age.

[01:20.95]As poet and author Samuel Ullman once wrote,

[01:25.32]“Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

[01:32.65]We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, with all our senses

[01:38.57]—finding pleasure in the fragrance of a back-yard garden,

[01:43.05]the crayoned picture of a six-year-old, the enchanting beauty of a rainbow.

[01:49.50]It is such an enthusiastic love of life that puts a sparkle in our eyes.

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[00:01.40]Choosing Optimism

[00:06.65]If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will.

[00:12.56]Pessimism is seldom disappointed.

[00:15.41]But the same principle also works in reverse.

[00:19.13]If you expect good things to happen, they usually do!

[00:23.17]There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.

[00:29.30]Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces,

[00:33.79]and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations.

[00:39.91]There is enough good and bad in everyone’s life —ample sorrow and happiness,

[00:45.71]sufficient joy and pain —to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism.

[00:52.28]We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse.

[00:56.87]It’s our decision: From which perspective do we want to view life?

[01:01.79]Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

[01:05.51]I believe in the upward look.

[01:08.25]I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative.

[01:13.06]I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature.

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[01:17.11]Sure, I know that sorrow exists.

[01:20.61]I am in my 70s now, and I’ve lived throu gh more than one crisis.

[01:25.32]But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

[01:31.89]An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

[01:36.81]The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform,

[01:41.62]and how well you will get along with other people.

[01:44.80]Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes,and expectations feed on themselves;

[01:50.93]they become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[01:54.09]Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to live.

[01:58.36]The only thing more

powerful than

negativism is a positive affirmation, [02:03.72]a word of optimism and hope.

[02:05.91]One of the things I am most thankful for is the fact that

[02:10.07]I have grown up in a nation with a grand tradition of optimism.

[02:14.22]When a whole culture adopts an upward look, incredible things can be accomplished.

[02:19.59]When the world is seen as a hopeful, positive place,

[02:23.53]people are empowered to attempt and to achieve.

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[00:00.67]Success Is a Choice

[00:06.14]All of us ought to be able to brace ourselves for the predictable challenges and setbacks

[00:13.90]that crop up every day.

[00:15.98]If we expect that life won’t be perfect,

[00:18.28]we’ll be able to avoid that impulse to quit.

[00:20.69]But even if you are strong enough to persist through the obstacle course of life and work,

[00:26.27]sometimes you will encounter an adverse event that will completely knock you on your back.

[00:31.52]Whether it’s financial loss, the loss of respect of your peers or loved ones,

[00:36.55]or some other traumatic event in your life,

[00:39.40]these major setbacks leave you doubting yourself

[00:42.02]and wondering if things can ever change for the better again.

[00:44.98]Adversity happens to all of us, and it happens all the time.

[00:49.79]Some form of major adversity is either going to be there or it’s lying in wait just around the corner.

[00:56.58]To ignore adversity is to succumb to the ultimate self-delusion.

[01:00.95]But you must recognize that history full of examples of men and women

[01:05.44]who achieved greatness despite facing hurdles so steep that

23

[01:08.72]they easily could have crushed their spirit and left them lying in the dust.

[01:12.33]Moses was a stutterer, yet he was called on to be the voice of God.

[01:17.03]Abraham Lincoln overcame

a difficult

childhood,depression, the death of two sons, [01:22.62]and constant ridicule during the Civil War to become arguably our greatest president ever.

[01:27.62]Helen Keller made an impact on the world despite being deaf, dumb, and blind from an early age.

[01:33.20]Franklin Roosevelt had polio.

[01:35.83]There are endless examples.

[01:37.91]These were people who not only looked adversity in the face

[01:41.51]but learned valuable

lessons about

overcoming difficult circumstances [01:45.78]and were able to move ahead.

[00:00.76]Learn to Live in the Present Moment

[00:07.33]To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined

[00:14.88]by how much we are able to live in the present moment.

[00:19.14]Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year,

[00:23.74]or what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are—always!

24

[00:30.63]Without question,many of us have mastered the neurotic art

[00:36.65]of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things—all at once.

[00:43.10]We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments,

[00:49.99]so much so that we end up anxious, frustrated,depressed, and hopeless.

[00:56.56]On the flip side, we also postpone our gratification, our stated priorities,

[01:03.89]and our happiness,often convincing ourselves that“someday” will be better than today.

[01:11.33]Unfortunately, the same mental dynamics that tell us to look toward the future

[01:17.46]will only repeat themselves so that “someday” never actually arrives.

[01:22.16]John Lennon once said,“Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making”,

[01:26.65]our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away busy dying,

[01:32.99]our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away.

[01:37.81]In short, we miss out on life.

[01:41.42]Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date.

[01:46.78]It isn’t.

[01:48.53]In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow.

[01:52.90]Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over.

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[01:59.14]When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds.

[02:04.94]Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future

[02:09.54]—we won’t have enough money, our children will get into trouble,

[02:13.91]we will get old and die, whatever.

[02:17.09]To combat fear, the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present.

[02:24.31]Mark Twain said,“I’ve lived through many terrible things in my life,

[02:29.45]some of which actually happened.”

[02:32.62]I don’t think I can say it any better.

[02:36.45]Practice keeping your attention on the here and now.

[02:39.84]Your efforts will pay great dividends.

[00:00.00]My Declaration of Self-Esteem

[00:07.01]I am me.

[00:09.86]In the entire world, there is no one else exactly like me.

[00:14.78]There are people who have some parts like me but no one adds up exactly like me.

[00:22.66]Therefore, everything that comes out of me is authentically mine because I alone choose it.

[00:30.32]I own everything about me —my body, including everything it does;

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[00:36.60]my mind, including all my thoughts and ideas;

[00:40.76]my eyes, including the images of all they behold;

[00:46.23]my feelings, whatever they might be

[00:49.21]—anger, joy, frustration, love, disappointment, excitement;

[00:56.86]my mouth and all the words that come out of it

[01:00.60]—polite, sweet and rough, correct or incorrect;

[01:05.96]my voice, loud and soft; all my actions, whether they be to others or myself.

[01:13.62]I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears.

[01:19.74]I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.

[01:25.87]Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me.

[01:32.44]By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts.

[01:38.67]I can then make it possible for all of me to work in my best interests.

[01:44.58]I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me,

[01:49.29]and other aspects that I do not know.

[01:52.35]But as long as I am friendly and loving to myself,

[01:56.94]I can courageously and hopefully look for the solution of the puzzles and ways to find out more about me.

[02:05.15]However I look and sound, whatever I say and do

27

[02:10.95]and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is me.

[02:16.64]This is authentic and represents where I am at that moment in time.

[02:23.31]When I review later how I looked and sounded,

[02:27.91]what I said and did, and how I thought and felt,

[02:32.17]some parts may turn out to be unfitting.

[02:36.11]I can discard that which is unfitting and keep that which proved fitting,

[02:42.79]and invent something new for that which I discarded.

[02:47.49]I can see, hear, feel, think, say and do.

[02:53.84]I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive,

[03:00.95]to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me.

[03:07.08]I own me and therefore I can engineer me.

[03:11.02]I am me and I am okay.

[00:00.76]Life Lessons

[00:05.25]Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away

[00:11.81]that they were meant to be there,

[00:13.78]to serve some sort of purpose,teach you a lesson,

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[00:17.39]or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

[00:22.75]You never know who these people may be

[00:25.93]—a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger

[00:33.80]—but when you lock eyes with them,

[00:35.88]you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

[00:41.57]Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible,painful, and unfair at first,

[00:49.01]but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles

[00:54.15]you would have never realized your potential, strength,willpower, or heart.

[00:59.73]Everything happens for a reason.

[01:02.14]Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck.

[01:07.39]Illness,injury, love, lost moments of true greatness,

[01:12.86]and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul.

[01:17.67]Without these small tests, whatever they may be,

[01:21.29]life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere.

[01:26.54]It would be safe and comfortable,but dull and utterly pointless.

[01:31.68]The people you meet who affect your life,

[01:34.85]and

the success and downfalls you

experience,

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[01:37.80]help to create who you are and who you become.

[01:41.74]Even the bad experiences can be learned from.

[01:45.14]In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

[01:49.08]If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can,

[01:54.54]not only because they love you, but because in a way,

[01:58.81]they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

[02:04.50]If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart,forgive them,

[02:09.97]for they have helped you learn about trust

[02:12.82]and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

[02:17.19]Make every day count.

[02:18.84]Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can

[02:25.73]for you may never be able to experience it again.

[02:29.34]Talk to people that you have never talked to before,

[02:33.60]and listen to what they have to say.

[02:36.23]Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high.

[02:41.81]Hold your head up because you have every right to.

[02:45.53]Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself,

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[02:50.45]for if you don’t believe in yourself,

[02:52.97]it will be hard for others to believe in you.

[00:08.48]A Good Heart to Lean On

[00:12.65]When I was growing up,

[00:15.69]I was embarrassed to be seen with my father.

[00:18.33]He was severely crippled and very short,

[00:21.45]and when we would walk together,

[00:24.31]his hand on my arm for balance,

[00:26.74]people would stare.

[00:28.63]I would inwardly squirm at the unwanted attention.

[00:32.39]If he ever noticed or was bothered,

[00:34.84]he never let on.

[00:36.97]It was difficult to coordinate our steps —his halting,

[00:40.24]mine impatient—and

[00:42.32]because of that,

[00:44.75]we didn't say much as we went along.

[00:46.32]But as we started out,

[00:49.00]he always said,

[00:51.43]“You set the pace.

[00:52.36]I will try to adjust to you.”

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[00:53.83]Our usual walk was to or from the subway,

[00:57.15]which was how he got to work.

[00:59.20]He went to work sick,

[01:01.46]and despite nasty weather.

[01:04.10]He almost never missed a day,

[01:06.36]and would make it to the office even if others could not.

[01:10.38]A matter of pride.

[01:12.20]When snow or ice was on the ground,

[01:16.52]it was impossible for him to walk,

[01:18.06]even with help.

[01:19.37]At such times my sisters or I would pull him

[01:22.26]through the streets of Brooklyn,

[01:24.68]NY, on a child's sleigh to the subway entrance.

[01:27.44]Once there, he would cling to the handrail

[01:29.88]until he reached the lower steps

[01:31.80]that the warmer tunnel air kept ice-free.

[01:34.66]When I think of it now,

[01:37.00]I marvel at how much courage it

[01:39.37]must have taken for a grown man to

[01:41.00]subject himself to such indignity and stress.

[01:43.78]And at how he did it —without bitterness or complaint.

[01:48.10]He never talked about himself as an object of pity,

[01:51.78]nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able.

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[01:56.65]What he looked for in others was a “good heart”,

[02:00.80]and if he found one,

[02:02.37]the owner was good enough for him.

[02:04.12]He has been gone many years now,

[02:07.53]but I think of him often.

[02:09.28]I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen

[02:12.54]with him during our walks.

[02:14.01]If he did,

[02:15.74]I am sorry.

[02:18.00]I never told him how sorry I was,

[02:20.45]how unworthy I was,

[02:22.33]how I regretted it.

[02:24.56]I think of him when I complain about trifles,

[02:28.38]When I am envious of another's good fortune,

[02:31.15]when I don't have a “good heart”.

[02:34.90]At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance,

[02:38.65]and say,

[02:39.71]“You set the pace,

[02:41.68]I will try to adjust to you.”

[00:00.05] Seven Secrets to a Great Life

[00:03.19]A great life doesn't happen by accident.

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[00:06.63]A great life is the result of allocating your time ，

[00:11.03]energy， thoughts，

[00:12.67] and hard work towards what you want your life to be.

[00:16.48] Stop setting yourself up for stress and failure，

[00:20.19] and start setting up your life to support success and ease.

[00:25.12]A great life is the result of using the 24/7 you get

[00:30.84] in a creative and thoughtful way，

[00:33.13] instead of just what comes next.

[00:36.28]Customize these “secrets ” to fit your own needs and style，

[00:41.04]and start creating your own great life today!

[00:44.56]1. S—Simplify.

[00:49.29] A great life is the result of simplifying your life.

[00:51.73]When you focus on simplifying your life，

[00:55.25] you free up energy and time for the work

[00:58.59]that you enjoy and the purpose for which you are here.

[01:01.64] In order to create a great life，

[01:03.51]you will have to make room for it in yours first.

[01:06.82]2. E—Effort.

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[01:11.07]A great life is the result of your best effort.

[01:14.48]Creating a great life requires

[01:17.66] that you make some adjustments.

[01:19.52] It means looking for new ways to spend your energy

[01:23.30]that coincide with your particular definition of a great life.

[01:28.56] Life will reward your best effort.

[01:31.84]3. C—Create Priorities.

[01:36.72]A great life is the result of creating priorities.

[01:41.04]It's easy to spend your days

[01:43.52] just responding to the next thing

[01:46.06]that gets your attention，

[01:47.21] instead of intentionally using the time，

[01:50.51] energy and money you have in a way

[01:53.09]that's important to you.

[01:55.12] Make sure you are honoring your priorities.

[01:57.95]4. R—Reserves.

[02:02.76] A great life is the result of having reserves—

[02:06.32]reserves of things， time， space， energy， money.

[02:11.21]With reserves ， you acquire far more than you need.

[02:15.09] Reserves are important

[02:17.26] because

they reduce the fear of consequences ，

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[02:19.92] and that allows you to make decisions based on

[02:24.70]what you really want

[02:25.97] instead of what the fear decides for you.

[02:29.11]5. E—Eliminate distractions.

[02:35.38]A great life is the result of eliminating distractions.

[02:39.81] Look around at someone's life you admire.

[02:43.21] What do they do

[02:44.78] that you would like to incorporate into your own life?

[02:47.94] Ask them how they did it.

[02:50.84]Find ways to free up your mental energy for things

[02:54.92]that are more important to you.

[02:57.06]6. T—Thoughts.

[03:01.91]A great life is the result of controlling your thoughts

[03:06.18] so that you accept and allow for the possibility

[03:09.83]that it actually can happen to you!

[03:13.12]Your belief in the outcome will directly dictate

[03:17.15] how successful you are.

[03:18.66]Motivated people have specific goals

[03:22.47] and look for ways to achieve them.

[03:24.65] 7. S—Start.

[03:29.57] A great life is the result of starting.

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[03:32.83]There's the old saying everyone's familiar with

[03:36.65]“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

[03:42.00]There's no better time to start than today.

[03:45.73]Don't wait for a raise ， or until the kids get older ，

[03:50.38] or the weather is better.

[03:52.22] It's what you do TODAY

[03:54.18]that will make a difference in your life tomorrow.

[00:00.00]Old Friends, Good Friends

[00:06.12]More than 30 years ago, when I took my first job in New York City,

[00:11.91]I found myself working with a number of young women.

[00:15.20]Some I got to know just in passing, but others gradually became my friends.

[00:21.21]Today, six of these women remain an important part of my life.

[00:26.51]They are more than simply friends, more even than close friends.

[00:30.67]They are old friends, as indispensable as sunshine and more dear to me than ever.

[00:37.23]These people share a long-standing history with me.

[00:41.60]In fact, old friends are a lot like promises.

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[00:45.33]They put reliability into the uncertainty of life

[00:49.48]and establish a reassuring link between the past, present,and future.

[00:54.96]The attachment between friends who have known each other for many years is bound to be complex.

[01:02.40]On occasion we are exceedingly close, and at other times one or both of us invariably step back.

[01:10.38]Ebb and flow. Thick and thin.

[01:14.54]How smoothly and gently we negotiate these hills and valleys

[01:18.91]has everything to do with how well the friendship ages.

[01:22.74]Sometimes events intervene in a way that requires us to rework the term of a relationship.

[01:29.96]A friend starts a second career, let’s say, and suddenly has less free time.

[01:35.44]Another remarries,adding someone new to the equation.

[01:40.03]Talk honestly and listen to each other to find out if the other’s needs are being met.

[01:46.05]Renegotiating pays full tribute to life’s inevitable changes

[01:52.07]and says that we deem our friendships worthy of preserving.

[01:55.79]Old friends are familiar with the layers of our lives.

[02:00.82]They have been there in the gloom and the glory.

[02:03.55]Even so, there’s always room to know more about another person.

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[02:08.37]Of course, self-disclosure can make even old friends more vulnerable, so go slowly:

[02:15.26]Confiding can open new doors, but only if we knock first.

[02:20.56]Time is the prime commodity between old friends

[02:24.94]—by this I mean the time spent doing things together.

[02:28.44]Whether it’s face to face over a cup of coffee,

[02:31.28]side by side while jogging, ear to ear over the phone, or via email and letters,

[02:37.74]don’t let too much time go by without sharing your thoughts with each other.

[00:00.53]Youth

[00:04.25]Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind;

[00:11.80]it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;

[00:15.96]it is a matter of will, a quality of imagination,a vigor of the emotions;

[00:22.74]it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

[00:25.80]Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity,

[00:32.26]of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.

[00:35.76]This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20.

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[00:41.45]Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.

[00:45.28]We grow old by deserting our ideals.

[00:48.67]Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

[00:55.23]Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

[01:02.67]Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder,

[01:10.01]the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living.

[01:15.70]In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station:

[01:21.18]so long as it receives messages of beauty,hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite,

[01:29.81]so long as you are young.

[01:31.89]When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism,

[01:41.08]then you are grown old, even at 20,

[01:44.03]but as long as your aerials are up to catch waves of optimism,

[01:48.08]there is hope you may die young at 80.

[00:00.33]Failure Is a Good Thing

[00:06.34]Last week, my granddaughter started kindergarten, and I wished her success.

[00:12.69]I was lying.

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[00:13.76]What I actually wish for her is failure.

[00:17.92]I believe in the power of failure.

[00:20.76]Success is boring.

[00:23.06]Success is proving that you can do something that you already know you can do,

[00:29.52]or doing something correctly the first time, which can often be a problematic victory.

[00:36.41]First-time success is usually a fluke.

[00:40.57]First-time failure, by contrast, is expected; it is the natural order of things.

[00:48.45]Failure is how we learn.

[00:51.18]I have been told of an African phrase describing a good cook as "she who has broken many pots."

[01:00.15]If you've spent enough time in the kitchen to have broken a lot of pots,

[01:05.73]probably you know a lot about cooking.

[01:09.23]I once had a dinner with a group of chefs,

[01:13.28]and they spent time comparing knife wounds and burn scars.

[01:17.99]They knew how much credibility their failures gave them.

[01:22.58]I earn my living by writing a daily newspaper column.

[01:27.28]Each week I am aware that one column is going to be the worst column.

[01:32.97]I don't set out to write it; I try my best every day.

[01:37.68]I have learned to cherish that column.

[01:41.73]A successful column usually means that I am treading on familiar ground,

41

[01:47.42]going with the tricks that work or dressing up popular sentiments in fancy words.

[01:53.87]Often in my inferior columns, I am trying to pull off something I've never done before,

[02:01.53]something I'm not even sure can be done.

[02:05.03]My younger daughter is a trapeze artist.

[02:08.86]She spent three years putting together an act.

[02:12.36]She did it successfully for years.

[02:15.54]There was no reason for her to change the act- but she did anyway.

[02:20.68]She said she was no longer learning anything new and she was bored.

[02:25.81]So she changed the act.

[02:28.33]She risked failure and profound public embarrassment in order to feed her soul.

[02:34.68]My granddaughter is a perfectionist.

[02:38.18]She will feel her failures, and I will want to comfort her.

[02:43.00]But I will also, I hope, remind her of what she learned,

[02:48.68]and how she can do whatever it is better next time.

[02:53.61]I hope I can tell her, though, that it's not the end of the world.

[02:58.43]Indeed, with luck, it is the beginning.

[00:00.98]The Year of Wandering

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[00:06.12]Between the preparation and the work,

[00:09.51]the apprenticeship and the actual dealing with a task or an art,

[00:14.66]there comes, in the experience of many young men,

[00:18.71]a period of uncertainty and wandering which is often misunderstood and counted as time wasted,

[00:27.46]when it is, in fact, a period rich in full and free development.

[00:33.37]It is as natural for ardent and courageous youth to wish to know what is in life,

[00:41.03]what it means, and what it holds for its children,

[00:44.75]as for a child to reach for and search the things that surround and attract it.

[00:51.42]Behind every real worker in the world is a real man,

[00:56.78]and a man has a right to know the conditions under which he must live,

[01:02.80]and the choices of knowledge, power, and activity which are offered him.

[01:08.71]In the education of many men and women, therefore, there comes the year of wandering;

[01:16.48]the experience of traveling from knowledge to knowledge and from occupation to occupation.

[01:23.69]The forces which go to the making of a powerful man can rarely be adjusted and blended

[01:31.69]without some disturbance of relations and conditions.

[01:36.06]This disturbance is sometimes injurious,

43

[01:40.44]because it affects the moral foundations upon which character rests;

[01:45.69]and for this reason the significance of the experience in its relation to development

[01:53.13]ought to be sympathetically studied.

[01:56.41]The birth of the imagination and of the passions, the perception of the richness of life,

[02:04.07]and the consciousness of the possession of the power to master and use that wealth,

[02:11.84]create a critical moment in the history of youth,

[02:16.10]—a moment richer in possibilities of all kinds than comes at any later period.

[02:23.44]Agitation and ferment of soul are inevitable in that wonderful moment.

[02:30.11]There are times when agitation is as normal as is self-control at other and less critical times.

[02:38.75]The year of wandering is not a manifestation of aimlessness, but of aspiration,

[02:46.52]and that in its ferment and uncertainty youth is often guided to

[02:52.54]and finally prepared for its task.

[00:00.43]The Price of Perfection

[00:04.92]Gold may depreciate, stocks rise or fall,

[00:10.06]and business values change so as to leave the market in panic,

[00:15.53]but every man on the street or in the store knows that one value forever remains permanent, unvarying,

[00:25.49]and that is character.

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[00:28.33]Every other asset may be swept away and success still achieved if this remain;

[00:36.53]every other aid may be at its best

[00:40.81]and failure only await him who lacks the wealth of character.

[00:45.73]Character is that of which reputation is but the echo, often mistaken and misleading.

[00:54.37]Character is the last, the ultimate, value of life.

[00:59.63]It is the trend of the whole being towards the best.

[01:03.67]It is the passion and power that holds one true despite all persuasion.

[01:10.56]It is the one thing worth having, because upon it all other values depend.

[01:18.12]This asset comes not to a man by accident.

[01:22.71]He who is rich in character,

[01:25.67]whose success in many ways is built upon his resources in this way,

[01:32.23]does not just simply happen to be good, true, and square.

[01:38.90]There is a price to character;

[01:41.96]it costs more than any other thing, for it is worth more than all other things.

[01:49.08]Essentially it never is inherited,

[01:52.68]but always acquired by processes often slow and toilsome and at great price.

[02:00.56]If you would be perfect you must pay the price of perfection.

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[02:06.25]Unless the passion of life is this perfection it never will be your possession.

[02:12.82]Dreams of ideal goodness only waste the hours in which it might have been achieved.

[02:19.83]No man ever finds character in his sleep.

[02:24.19]The education of the heart is a thing even more definite than the education of the head.

[02:31.64]The school of character has an infinite variety of courses and an unending curriculum.

[02:39.52]This does not mean that this prize of eternity falls

[02:45.42]only to those who devote themselves wholly to self-culture,

[02:50.02]to the salvation of their own souls.

[02:53.52]The best lives have thought little of themselves,

[02:58.00]but they have lived for the ends of the soul, to help men to better living,

[03:04.02]to save them from the things that blight and damn the soul.

[03:08.40]Like the Leader of men they have found the life unending by laying down their lives,

[03:15.84]paying the full price, selling all in order that right and truth and honour and purity,

[03:23.83]love and kindness and justice might remain to man.

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[00:00.34]Searching for a Win-Win Solution

[00:06.46]Recently I have had a dilemma I'm trying to resolve, a weekend in the near future

[00:13.36]where I have conflicting demands and values, and need to be in two places at the same time.

[00:20.36]I have agonized over this decision because my intuition is not giving me a clear answer

[00:27.91]and I haven't felt that there was a win-win solution.

[00:32.50]If I do one thing, I'm letting down a bunch of people.

[00:37.43]If I do the other, I'm also missing the mark.

[00:41.59]Either way I feel like a loser, not a winner.

[00:46.51]This morning I got an e-mail that directly addresses this dilemma:

[00:52.42]A Thinking Test

[00:54.72]You are driving along on a wild, stormy night.

[00:58.88]You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:

[01:05.44]1. An old lady who is sick and about to die.

[01:10.25]2. An old friend who once saved your life.

[01:15.07]3. The perfect man or woman you have been dreaming about.

[01:21.63]Which one would you choose to pick up, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

[01:29.07]The candidate who was hired simply answered:

[01:33.01]"I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital.

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[01:39.70]I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."

[01:45.05]Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to

[01:48.98]give up our stubborn thought limitations and think outside the box.

[01:55.00]If, like me, you are looking at a decision that makes you feel forced to choose between plan A or plan B,

[02:04.63]and neither plan by itself seems like the right decision,

[02:09.66]stretch your mind to consider plans C or D,

[02:14.91]to a third option that solves the problem in a whole new way.

[02:20.05]Believe that there is a solution you haven't yet thought of,

[02:24.98]which will enable you to feel good about your choice, and then search for what it is.

[02:31.65]You are not always the victim in life;

[02:34.72]most of the time you are the victor looking at the situation from the wrong view!

[02:41.50]The view is yours to choose.

[00:00.22]The Folly of Anxiety

[00:05.80]Half the people on our streets look as though life was a sorry business.

[00:11.81]It is hard to find a happy looking man or woman.

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[00:14.98]Worry is the cause of their woebegone appearance.

[00:19.36]Worry makes the wrinkles; worry cuts the deep, down-glancing lines on the face;

[00:27.35]worry is the worst disease of our modern times.

[00:31.84]Care is contagious; it is hard work being cheerful at a funeral,

[00:38.18]and it is a good deal harder to keep the frown from your face

[00:43.10]when you are in the throng of the worry worn ones.

[00:46.71]Yet, we have no right to be dispensers of gloom;

[00:51.42]no matter how heavy our loads may seem to be we have no right to throw their burden on others

[01:00.50]nor even to cast the shadow of them on other hearts.

[01:04.98]Anxiety is instability. Fret steals away force.

[01:11.55]He who dreads tomorrow trembles today.

[01:15.71]Worry is weakness.

[01:18.67]The successful men may be always wide-awake, but they never worry.

[01:24.46]Fret and fear are like fine sand, thrown into life's delicate mechanism;

[01:32.01]they cause more than half the friction; they steal half the power.

[01:37.92]Cheer is strength.

[01:40.32]Nothing is so well done as that which is done heartily,

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[01:45.47]and nothing is so heartily done as that which is done happily.

[01:50.50]Be happy, is an injunction not impossible of fulfillment.

[01:56.63]Pleasure may be an accident; but happiness comes in definite ways.

[02:02.53]It is the casting out of our foolish fears that we may have room for a few of our common joys.

[02:10.41]It is the telling our worries to wait until we get through appreciating our blessings.

[02:17.08]Take a deep breath, raise your chest, lift your eyes from the ground,

[02:23.11]look up and think how many things you have for which to be grateful,

[02:28.79]and you will find a smile growing where one may long have been unknown.

[02:34.17]Take the right kind of thought—for to take no thought would be sin—but take the calm,

[02:42.58]unanxious thought of your business, your duties, your difficulties,

[02:47.83]your disappointments and all the things that once have caused you fear,

[02:53.08]and you will find yourself laughing at most of them.

[00:00.14] Today I will Multiply My Value

[00:03.39]Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

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[00:07.42]A mulberry leaf touched with the genius of man becomes silk.

[00:13.29]A field of clay touched with the genius of man becomes a castle.

[00:18.88]A Cyprus tree touched with the genius of man becomes a shrine.

[00:24.44]A cut of sheep's hair touched with the genius of man

[00:29.44]becomes raiment for a king.

[00:32.40] If it is possible for leaves and clay and wood and hair

[00:38.16]to have their value multiplied a hundred，

[00:40.99] yea a thousandfold by man，

[00:44.82] cannot I do the same with the clay which bears my name?

[00:48.76]Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

[00:53.45]I am liken to a grain of wheat

[00:56.52]which faces one of three futures.

[00:59.43]The wheat can be placed in a sack and dumped in a stall

[01:03.79] until it is fed to swine.

[01:06.50]Or it can be ground to flour and made into bread.

[01:11.27]Or it can be placed in the earth and allowed to grow

[01:15.97]until its golden head divides and produces

[01:19.45] a thousand grains from the one.

[01:21.79]I am liken to a grain of wheat with one difference.