"Justice. What is the right thing to do?" by Michael J. Sandel

I have just finished reading the book "Justice" by Michael Sandel.

It is an interesting book on justice and the bottom line is that justice is not something straightforward and different people can have different notions about it, about the right thing to do in a given situation, as in the following contested issues:

- Price gouging after a hurricane

- Wall Sreet bailout and the bonuses given to CEOs of failed companies

- The national military service

- Same-sex marriage

- Torture

- Selling human organs

- Assited suicide

- Pregnancy outsourcing

- Abortion

- Selling college admission

It is a journey of reflection on the ideas of the great philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. One of the most striking example of justice that affected me the most was the Afgan Goatherds, a true story showing a moral dilemma that ended with the death of 19 soldiers:

 - In June 2005, a special forces team made up of 4 U.S. Navy SEALs set out on a secret reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan in search of a Taliban leader, a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Two Afghan farmers with about a hundred bleating goats happened upon them. With them was a boy about 14 years old. The four soldiers had only two options at that point of time: to let them go or kill them. The first option would run the risk that they would inform the Taliban of the presence of the US soldiers. After a vote, the soldiers released them. About an hour and half after they released the goatherds, the four soldiers found themselves surrounded by 80 to a 100 Taliban fighters armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. In the fierce firefight that followed, 3 Navy SEALs were killed. The Taliban fighters also shot down a US helipcopter that sought to rescue the SEAL unit, killing all 16 soldiers on board. One of the SEAL unit soldier managed to survive by falling down the mountainside and crawling 7 miles to a Pashtun village, whose residents protected him from the Taliban until he was rescued. -

So the question is, should the Navy SEAL unit have killed the goatherd in the first place?

What should have you done if it was your decision?

South Korea's Advertising Market

- 2008 billing volume: 6,150 billion wons (approx US$ 5.1 billion)

- 2008 biling volume my media (%)
   TV                 30.9
   Radio               4.5
   Newspaper    13.0
   Magazine         4.4
   CATV           11.0
   online             19.8
   Outdoor         12.6

South Korea's Hall of Fame and Shame

South Korea is the best and the first in the world in some fields but also the worse and the last in some others.

Here are some of its best and worse.....

- Fertility rate: the lowest in the world

- Divorce rate: the highest in the world

- Suicide rate: the highest in the world

- Money Saving rate: the lowest among OECD countries

- Internet penetration rate: the highest in the world
- Broadband internet penetration rate: the highest in the world
- Internet download speed: the highest in the world
- SMS finger writing speed: the quickest in the world 

- first country in the world that created metal printing, about hundred
   years earlier  than Germany’s metal printing by Gutenberg (1440). 
  The National Library of France is in possession of a Korean book
   dated from 1377. 

to be continued...

Reunification of the two Koreas

December 1985
Somewhere near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Kangwon Province, South Korea

It was cold and dark in that no man’s land near the North Korean border and I was trying to follow the soldier that came to meet me at the drop point. I say trying because climbing a hill in full gear with snow that came up to your knees was not part of the training I received as a future second lieutenant of the Republic of Korea’s Army. I had just finished my military training and I was going to report to my platoon commanding officer in this remote and dangerous area. “Sir, it is important that you follow me close and walk on my footsteps. There are land mines all around here to stop a possible North-Korean invasion" whispered the private. I was 25 years old and not ready to die stupidly by stepping on a mine that was planted by the South Korean Army. And for the first time of my life, I asked myself “Why am I here? Why are the two Koreas still divided?”

November 22, 2010
Seoul, South Korea

25 years later, nothing has changed. The two Koreas are still divided and the tension is still high in the DMZ, reminding us that, technically, the two Koreas are still at war, after the signing of the Armistice Treaty in 1953. In fact, the situation is much worse than 25 years ago, on the North Korean side. The totalitarian communist North Korean regime now has nuclear weapons, and the mismanaged North Korean economy is collapsing. The GDP (PPP) per capita in 1985 is uncertain¹ but it may have somewhat dropped to $ 1,800 in 2009². On top of that, after the son, now it is the grandson of Kim il-sung, Kim Jong-un, who is preparing to take the reins of power of that unthinkable, brutal and dangerous regime. And today CNN reports North Korea's revelations about its uranium-enrichment program.

On the South Korean side also, there have been some unbelievable changes during this quarter of a century. The GDP (PPP) per capita has increased more than tenfold from $ 2,367 in 1985 to $ 28,000 in 2010² and South Korea has joined the OECD and the G-20. The military dictatorship (which, we must recognize, made possible the economic miracle of South Korea in the 60s, 70s, and 80s) was replaced by a full-fledged democracy and market-oriented economy.

During the two previous South Korean governments preceding the present Lee Myung-bak administration, South Korea tried, for a decade, to flirt with the privileged ruling class of North Korea because we wanted to be sure they would not do anything stupid like starting another war but also because the rest of its population were our brothers and sisters mistreated cruelly by a totalitarian regime that passes the reins of power from father to son for now 3 generations.

So we made sure to treat them with enough candies to keep them in check by offering, among other things, massive humanitarian help for the North Korean people starving to death and by establishing a manufacturing complex at Kaesung to inject some life-support adrenalin into the weak and the last still communist economic structure of the world. South Korea tried to transform its neighbor into a mature and responsible world state but without success so far.

The Lee Myung-bak government also tried to keep the child happy but now that the international investigators have determined that North Korea had indeed torpedoed South Korea’s warship Cheonan in March 2010, killing 46 sailors, it is a whole different ballgame.

I have been at the front line of South Korea’s economic expansion during the export drive period of the 80’s and 90’s, working with Korea’s biggest conglomerates or “Chaebols”, Samsung, and witnessed the transformation of a society into a completely different one in less than a generation, from a dictatorship to a democracy, from poverty to wealth, from aid receiving nation to aid donor nation. Based on my background in Economics, my MBA and my expertise in the field of communication and PR, I would like to focus my research, working together with the APPC Center, into those areas of “communication strategy” (in the widest meaning³), that could eventually help prepare for the following three objectives or scenarios:


- Achieve a sustainable peaceful coexistence between the 2 Koreas.

- Induce North Korea to adopt Chinese-style economic reforms, leading therefore
  to a gradual opening of the frontiers and eventually to peaceful reunification.
- Recreate and accelerate another “ Fall of the Berlin Wall”
- Improve the well-being of the North-Korean people after the traumatic choc
  of reunification.

President Lee said recently that it is time for the South to start discussing realistic policies to prepare for reunification, including a “reunification tax” that would help the South absorb the North. Time will tell us whether the reunification comes as a gradual process or as a sudden collapse of the North Korean regime, but whatever the case, I would like to contribute in its preparation and/or in the post-reunification process, should it happen during my lifetime.

¹ $723 and $555 in 1985 and 2008 respectively according to WolframAlpha Knowledgebase

² source: CIA World FactBook

    ³ For example, giving food to North Korea or performing a joint South Korea-USA military exercise are all
      different ways of communicating different messages to North Korea.

Technician versus Artist

A fender-bender that transformed my car like brand new

A few days ago, I was in my car with my wife waiting for the green light when suddenly a car bumped strongly into us from behind, not once but three times....causing my car to bump also three times into the BMW X5 in front of us. The back of the BMW was merely scratched while the front of my car was severely damaged...

To make a long story short, I called my insurance company and an investigation agent came within ten minutes of my phone call. I was impressed by the speed of reaction of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and so were the other people of the other two cars. The Samsung agent, a clean-cut young man, started to install number pads and word pads on the car and took photos like if it was a crime scene....All the people around were speechless in front of the professionalism of that silent and efficient man. My car was towed away by the insurance company within minutes to the Hyundai repair shop near our house and another person brought us a rent car to use during the period of the repair. Two days later, somebody brought my car back into the parking lot of my apartment building and took back the rent car. That man brought me a brand-new Grandeur in front of me, with all the little scratches on the side and back of the back completly gone! And a sparkling new painting.

Thank you Samsung for the quality and speed of your service...!

The magic of songs recorded LIVE

For a very long time ( to be honest until a few weeks ago, which make it really a long time for those who know my age...) I always thought that songs recorded in studios were better, in all aspects, than songs recorded LIVE, no matter how good the singer was. Songs recorded in studios are obviously better since the voice, the music are controlled, mixed and edited to produce a perfect output. Well, I discoved a few weeks ago that this is not always true. That perfect does not mean better. I happened to listen the song "I'm no good" by Amy Winehouse in two different versions. One was from a CD recorded in a studio and the other one was recorded from a LIVE performance in a London Theater. I was blown away by the difference in style. The LIVE version is much more emotional, more real, with feeling and excitment, able to send a chill down my spine. The studio version is in comparison boring, flat.

But not all singers perform better on stage than in a studio. On the contrary, most of the singers perform better in studio. Only a selected few great singers are able to perform better on stage: Amy Winehouse, Elton John, Shakira, Celine Dion....just to name but a few....

Communicating skills and the power of storytelling

Human life is lived in story format. Connecting with an audience requires the talent of telling the story behind your vision, your project, and your brand, not just listing the attributes of a particular product. These stories come from personal experiences that are relevant to you, thereby making your message more relevant and credible for others. This is more than just performing in front of an audience – someone can be entertained but still not remember a thing that was said. Storytelling is about distilling the essence of the message and making it memorable. In other words, “show rather than tell,” because illustrating a point makes a longer lasting impact than proving a point. It is not what you tell them but how you tell them.

How to identify a stroke

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured  everyone that she was fine (they offered to call  paramedics) ..she said she had just tripped over  a brick because of her new shoes.
 
They  got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of  food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the  evening
 
Jane's husband called later  telling everyone that his wife had been taken to  the hospital -
(at 6:00  PM  Jane passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the  signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with  us today. Some don't die. They end up in a  helpless, hopeless condition instead.
 
It  only takes a minute to read this...
 
A  neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke  victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the  effects of a stroke...totally. He said  the trick was getting a stroke recognized,  diagnosed, and then getting the patient  medically cared for within 3 hours, which is  tough...

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
 
Thank  God for the sense to remember the '3' steps, STR  . Read and Learn!
 
Sometimes symptoms of a  stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately,  the lack of awareness spells disaster. The  stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage  when people nearby fail to recognize the  symptoms of a stroke.
 
Now doctors say a  bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three  simple questions:
 
S  *Ask  the individual to SMILE.
T  *Ask  the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE  (Coherently)
(I.e. It is sunny out  today.)
R  *Ask  him or her to RAISE BOTH  ARMS.
O * Ask him or her to stick OUT THE TONGUE
 
If  he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these  tasks, call emergency number immediately  and describe the symptoms to the  dispatcher. If the tongue  is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the  other,   that is  also an indication of a  stroke.

Mr. President

I was thinking to myself it would be a beneficial revolution if President Lee Myung Bak could one day dance like that with the First Lady in front of the Korea people.

The President should not be all serious all the time working for the nation 24/7. His job is to serve people and even sometimes to entertain them.... 

Having a good life? The good news is that the best days of your life are still ahead of you.

And the bad news is up to you.

Quit looking at what's wrong and start thanking God for what's right.

Make the most of your life and be the best that you can be. Always radiate joy and look like you are having the time of your life. Always live your life with enthousiasm (by the way, the words enthousiasm derives from two Greek words, en theos, meaning "inspired by God").
You expect good things.

You stay filled of hope.

- Joel Osteen -

USA has the strongest "Rule of Law" spirit in the world. That is maybe why it is also the champion of democracy...

Episode 1:

I was having lunch a few months ago in Fort Lee, NJ when I saw a amazing happening outside the window. A young man stops his foreign-built SUV in front of Starbucks, get out of the car and into the store to get a coffee. The Starbucks store is inside a small mall with enough parking spots but the young man chose not to bother parking properly since it would just take a few minutes. Well, that was not his day of luck. A police car happened to pass by and inevitably the policeman got out and started to write a ticket in front of the car. The young man rushed out from the Starbucks and discussed with the law enforcement officer. That Starbucks store had an outside terrace full of table and people and they obviously had a lot of fun witnessing the enforcement of the law in front of their eyes.

I assumed the interaction between the police officer and the young man did not quite go well since the former made a call and 5 minutes later a towing car came by to tow the car!

So what are the lessons to be learned? First, don't break the law. Second, don't show to a police officer how not sorry you are of having broken the law....  


Episode 2:

During that same summer, I went to take the road test in one of the MVA  (Motor Vehicle Authority) of the state of Maryland. The appointment was made at 8:30 am and there was a notice stating that if the person taking the test is late more than 15 minutes, he or she will have to make another appointment, meaning that that person will have to come back in about two weeks...I was at the MVA at 7:30 with all the required document. After waiting in line, I presented all my documents and I realized I did not bring the car insurance. I excused myself and rushed back to my friend's car to get the insurance card only to find out that the card was expired. My friend forgot to put the new card in the car...I went back to explain the situation, that my friend could come with the new card within 20 minutes but already the 15-minutes dealy time had passed and the lady coldly suggested to make another appointment. In many other countries, I could probably have presented the documents later but not in the USA. It was nothing personal. Just following the rule.


Episode 3: I was driving in Miami. My friend was driving his car just ahead of me. We both drank a lot and I guess we both should not have taken the wheel to get home. Suddenly a police car started to follow my friend's car and naturally he pulled over. I also stopped my car a little bit behind  as a gesture of solidarity, I guess (although I should not have....The police officer could have discovered I was drunk also...). I could not leave my friend behind in that situation. After the usual sobriety tests, the policeman decided my friend was drunk enough to handcuff him and take him to jail to spend the night. Is was as simple as that. You break the law, you get handcuffed, and spend the night in jail.    

Why the USA is a consumer's paradise

Episode 1:

A few years back in Miami, I bought an IBM computer for my office. I installed a korean version of windows instead of the pre-installed english version. Guess what happened? The internet did not connect, the cd-rom could not be found, the printer was not found....So I went back to Comp USA and I explained that I believe the computer is defective. So they gave me a new one. So I took out again all the materials from the boxes and did exactly the same thing and the same exactly things happened again. To make a long story short, I went to the computer store one more time and they gave me again a brand new computer. No questions asked. That was their promise, wasn't it?

What I didn't know was the fact that when you install a korean version of windows instead of the pre-installed english version, all the setting for the internet connection, the cd-rom drive, the printer connection are no more valid and you have to set them again under the new korean architecture. That's why those devices were not working. So I opened the boxes of 3 different computers based on my ignorance and the kindness of the customer service people. Thank you Customer Service !


Episode 2:

The previous story continues. So here I am in my office, having realized that the IBM computer was not the problem (after a quick phone call to the Computer Department of the headoffice in Seoul, Korea), with the mission of making the computer work properly with all the connecting devices I mentioned above. Seoul could not help me since they did not know the IBM computer architecture. IBM USA could not help me since they did not know the korean windows characteristics....Now that I think about it, I don't know what pushed me to call my internet service provider. Maybe a little inspiration from our friend above? I decided to simplify the problem. I bought a new desk-top computer and it cannot connect to the internet so I called my internet service provider for help since they have an interest in continuing the connection service with me, the customer....Again, to make a long story short, after two hour on the speaker phone with that incredible customer service agent we almost finished solving the connection problem when I accidentally hang up the phone! And I did not even know that agent's name so I could not call back Customer Service and ask for him. I obviously did not want to restart the process with a new customer service agent. That would have been awful and it was already 11:00 pm....And the miracle happened! The agent I have been talking to for two hours did some search to find my office number and we were able to establish connection with not only the internet but also the cd-rom, the scanner, the printer....Thank you, Mr. Customer Service Agent. It is people like you that make USA a consumer's paradise!  

KOREA BRANDING PROJECT: How to enhance the Korea brand around the world

The following is a presentation I prepared on my own initiative for the the Presidential Council on Nation Branding
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ATduPWYvVb7GZHE4NmJmd18xMDhjbXFkYndmYg&hl=en

Areas of day-to-day life where South Korea is a model for others countries

1. South Korea has the best public restroom system in the world. Every building must have a restroom open to the public on the 1st floor. People can even go to the restroom inside a restaurant or a bar even if they are not consuming.

2. The cost of a meal in a regular South Korean restaurant must be the lowest among OECD countries. You can have a normal lunch at any restaurant for about 5 or 6 dollars US. On the other hand,  South Korea must have the highest coffee/meal price ratio in the world since the price of a cup of coffee at the nearby Starbucks is about half the price of a normal lunch...

3.  Home delivery service is the best in the world. You can order almost anything from home by phone. Food will be delivered within 30 minutes, grocery products from a local supermarket within 2 or 3 hours, same day sports massage services, same day cleaning maid service, same day computer repair service via internet remote control system, same day phone repair service, just to name a few.

4. Seoul has the best night life environment among OECD countries. You have tons of restaurants open 24/7, bars, night clubs open late at night, and even a huge chain of supermarket open 24/7.

5.  Koreans are known to be impetuous and use the word "Palli", meaning "quickly", a lot while they are asking something. If a waiter does not show to get their order within 10 seconds after getting seated in a restaurant, they will start calling at him. But this aspect, uncivilized aspect indeed, has many positive impact in the day-to-day life of the citizens. The work speed of employees at any bank or local administrative office is the speed of light compared to the take-it-easy attitude of their counterparts in the US or France.

6. Korea has the best broadband internet infrastructure in the world with the world highest percentage of  households connected. It has also the best e-government system on the internet where you can download or consult a great variety of official documents without having to go to different administrative offices.

7. Korea is the only Asian country using chopsticks...in metal. Yes that is amazing. Every other Asian countries use environmentally harmful wood chopsticks but South Korea is using reusable, washable metal chopsticks. Metal chopsticks are obviously heavier than wood chopsticks and this fact may explain wht South Koreans are so good in activities involving fingers and hands line golf, violin, ping pong, just ot name a few. Metal chopsticks handling has beeen an art since childhood.

8. In every public place, you will be able to find a water fountain with paper cups  and also hand sanitizer lotion.

The Best Countries in the World according to Newsweek Magazine

South Korea ranked 15th on that list. Ahead of France and behind United Kingdom...
As a South Korean myself, I am impressed by that result. Not the fact of being the 15th but being just behind United Kingdom and just before France. Thank you.

But I a South Korean myself, I think South Korea could move up that list big time if only the following  few aspects of our society could be improved or upgraded. Listen, citizens of South Korea....

1. When a car wants to move into your lane, please push the brakes not the accelerator !
2. When somebody is waiting in line in a restaurant or in a bank, please do not go through, ignoring that person !
3. Crosswalks are for pedestrians and dogs but not for motorcycles !
4. Kids should be allowed in expensive restaurants, in classical music concerts, as long as they can behave themselves. If not, please leave them home with a babysitter !
5. Show anchors at public television should not make fun of somebody's physical aspects, of how she or he is ugly or fat, unless it is a comedy show.
6. South Korea has the best public restroom system in the world. Believe me, I have been to Paris...In Seoul, you have the right to enter any building or any restaurant to go to the rest room. But some of them are not as appealing as others.
7. When somebody is waiting to cross the road, please stop the car and let the person go first. Same rule applies when you are about to go into an evelator together with another person.
8. When you accidentally bump into a person in the street, please excuse yourself even if it is that person's fault.
9. A dog, man's best friend, should be on a leash not on its owner's arms
10. TV news anchors should stop reading the script in front of them and start speaking about the news in a more professional way and start having an a real intelligent questions and answers when talking with overseas correspondants instead of repeating the ridiculous programmed questions and answers.
11. Singers should always perform live in a TV show and not be allowed to lip sync their songs in a live TV show.
12. A message to sauna lovers: please have the decency to take a shower after coming out of the sauna and before going in the cold water pool.
13.          .............to be continued............

A get-together a quarter of century later

I spent 7 weeks in the US during this summer. My wife and I did many things during that period including a college tour of more than a dozen universities and art schools on the East Coast for our daughter Yun Jin (who could not make the tour with us since she was attending a pre-college design program at Carnegie-Mellon University School of Design). But I also took the time to have a historic get-together with my American roommate at IESE business school, Barcelona, Spain, 25 years after graduation! Ed Townley is now living in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and 3 daughters and a dog.

Let's take a photo again half a century later, Ed.

Here we are 25 years ago at IESE graduation dinner

I am writing a book

I started, about a year ago, writing down my thoughts about important aspects of life such as love, marriage, work, family, friends, religion, food, and so on. And also all those things I want my son and daughter to know, all those things I want to tell them that I did not or could not tell yet.

I gave a title to all the chapters and finished the first chapter so far... I have the feeling that I need to go somewhere alone in order to see some progression in my book. A change of environment where I can focus all day long on my book. I would like to finish it before December 21, 2010. That is a symbolic date that I will explain in the Prologue of my book.

But the next 2-3 months are strategically important for my daughter since she is preparing her applications for college and I need to be there and help her setting the way for her intellectual and professional enrichment.

Those words that inspire us

Those words that inspire us

I have tried to mention the source of those following inspiring words whenever I could and I apologize to the author if I could not find the source.



Family

= Father And Mother I Love You






The Bank

Every morning, you are given 86 400 dollars with the only constraint of having to spend them all during that same day. Any remaining money is taken away when you go to bed. But this gift from heaven can stop anytime. So the question is, whay would you do if you were given such a gift?....

This magic bank, we all have it, it is the time! Every morning, when you wake up, you are given 86 400 seconds of life for the day and when we go to bed at night there is no left over, what has not been lived during the day is lost, today is over.....

Every morning, this magic starts over again, we are given 86 400 seconds of life and we all play with this unchangeable rule: the bank can close our account at anytime without prior notice; at any moment life can stop. So what do we do with our daily 86 400 seconds? Are not those seconds of life more important than dollars? So I please, let's enjoy every second that is given to us.....

              Marc Levy from "Et si c'était vrai?"....






Everything I needed

I asked for Strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problem to solve
I asked for prosperity and God gave me a brain and brawn to work
I asked for Courage and God gave me obstacles to overcome
I asked for Love and God gave me troubled people to help
I asked for Favors and God gave me opportunities

I received nothing I wanted but I received Everything I needed.....






The Difference

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day,
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn’t have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me
and heavier came each task.
“Why doesn’t God help me ?” I wondered.
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak.
I wondered why God didn’t show me;
He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence,
I used all the keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
“My child, you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering the day,
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.






Think Positive

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you won’t.
Success begins with your own will…
It’s all in your state of mind.

Life’s battles are not always won
By those who are stronger or faster;
Sooner or later the person who wins
Is the person who thinks he can.






Everything is possible.

Everything is possible, it is a question of time, the time to understand how it is possible.

            Marc Levy







Real Life

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacles in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were "my life". This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until you car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you're off welfare, until you die, until you're born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey not a destination.







Happiness...

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids are not old enough and we'll be content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.







Happiness Strategy

1. Dont worry, choose happy
2. Cultivate gratitude
3. Foster forgiveness
4 . Counteract negative thoughts and feelings
5. Foster friendship
6. Engage in some meaningful activities






Secrets of Happy Families

1. Enjoy each other: parents come home and the kids are happy to see them and when the kids come home, the parents are happy to see them.

2. Swap stories: something to share with your kids.

3. Put the marriage first: set a real example of love

4. Break bread together: families that eat together, stay together. It’s that simple. Family dinners are essential. It’s a time to connect.

5. Play together: have one or two unifying activities that the family does together.

6. Put Family before Friends

7. Limit children’s after-school activities: if your kids grow up not knowing how to ballet, they will be OK. Create your own after-school activities as a family. Take your kids rollerblading or swimming after school as a family.

8. Build and Honor Rituals: they can be unique to your own family such as a weekly dining out or movie watching at the theater. Rituals tend to bring family members close together because they are repeated over time.

9. Keep your voices down: talk to your kids, give them strict rules, and punish them when neccessary, but don’t lose control and yell.

10. Never fight in front of the kids

11. Don’t work too much: prioritize your kids.

12. Encourage sibling harmony.

13. Have private jokes

14. Communicate






Few signs of happiness/success

Success is closing the door to your office at the end of the day with a smile of satisfied contentment crossing your face. It’s knowing that you did a good job and that those you interacted with you had a positive experience.

Success is looking forward to getting home and seeing the people you love. It’s being mentally and emotionally free to share yourself with them and to be interested in them.

Success is being loved by the people you love

Success is sitting down to pay the bills and knowing that you have enough money to cover them this month and next month. It’s knowing you have taken measures to ensure the financial security of your family in the event of your demise.

Success is knowing where to turn when it seems that there’s nowhere to turn. Having a spiritual life is akin to eating food and drinking water. It’s necessary!

Success is having interests or hobbies to call your own. It’s things that you personally anticipates doing again and again. Having interests gives you joy and peace.

Success is waking up in the morning and feeling good. It’s knowing that you eat right and exercise regularly and that you do everything you personally can to ensure continued good health

Success is turning out the lights, slipping under the covers, and thinking to yourself, “It just doesn’t get much better than this!”







What success isn’t

Success isn’t calling home from work for the fourth time this week, apologizing because you’re going to miss dinner with the family again.

Success isn’t hurrying into the house and hiding behind closed doors or the television set because “after the day I’ve had, I need my space!”

Success isn’t having all the riches in the world and still trying to figure out how to have more of all the riches in the world.

Success isn’t physically going to worship service and mentally writing a to-do list for when you get home

Success isn’t all work and no play

Success isn’t spending mental energy figuring out how to explain why your project isn’t going to come in on time, why you have to miss your child’s school play and why you just don’t find any joy in living







Great thoughts

Too many fame come too late

Genious does what it must, and talent does what it can

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.

The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next (Bacon)

Despair is the conclusion of fools

There is no great genius without a mixture of madness (Aristotle)

It is the prerogative of great men only to have great defects (La Rochefoucault)

A gentleman is a man who can disagree without being disagreeable

Happiness is like a kiss; you must share it to have it (Marie Tempest)

All anybody needs to know about prizes is that Mozart never won one (Henry Mitchell)

The great essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

An average man learns from his experience; an outstanding man learns from other people’s experience (Bismarck)

Power is an iron hand in a velvet glove (Charles V)

Love is often a fruit of marriage (Moliere)

A woman must be a genius to create a god husband (Balzac)

No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come (Victor Hugo)

To conquer without danger is to win without glory

There is no limit to what we can do or where we can go if we don’t mind who gets the credit (Ronald Regan)

Learn from the mistakes of others – you can never live long enough to make them all yourself (John Luther)

There will be time when you think believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. (Louis L’Amour)

Often the test of courage is not to die but to live (Vittorio Alfieri)

To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life (Pablo Neruda)

When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity (John F. Kennedy)

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy (Martin Luther King. Jr)

Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed at, but with what it is still possible for you to do (Pope John XXIII)

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards (Vernon Saunders Law)

When it gets dark enough you can see the stars (Lee Salk)

A rare species of conference interpreters

Samsung at work

The Chairman

Just checking

The President

Radiate Joy

Make the most of your life and be the best that you can be. Always radiate joy and look like you are having the time of your life. Always live your life with enthusiasm. Quit looking at what’s wrong and start thanking God for what’s right. You expect good things. You stay filled with hope.

                     Pastor Joel Osteen

One day at a time

Quit worrying about how everything is going to turn out. Live one day at a time; better yet, make the most of this moment. It’s good to have a big-picture outlook, to set goals, to establish budgets and make plans, but if you’re always living in the future, you’re never really enjoying the present in the way God wants you to. You must learn to live one day at a time. We must make a decision that we’re going to be happy in spite of our circumstances. It is extremely important that we know how to live a life of peace.


Life is flying by, so don’t waste another moment of your precious time being angry, unhappy, or worried. The psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Happiness

Happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy today! You don’t have to wait for everything to be perfectly straightened out in your family or with your business, or for all your problems to be solved. You don’t have to forgo happiness until you lose weight, break an unhealthy habit, or accomplish all your goals. No, God wants you to be happy right where you are, right now.

You might as well choose to be happy and enjoy your life! When you do that, not only will you feel better, but your faith will cause God to show up and work wonders in your life.

If you’re always waiting for some events to make you happy, you’re going to spend your whole lifetime waiting. Something will always be “not quite right” in your life. You will always find some reason not to be happy. No other person can ultimately make you happy. You must learn to be happy within yourself. Life may not have turned out exactly like you’d hoped, but you must make a decision that you’re going to make the most of that situation. Learn to be happy in spite of your circumstances.

                      Pastor Joel Osteen

The Goods Things

Think of it like this: every person has two main files in his or her memory system. The first is a file filled with all the good things that have happened to us. It’s full of our victories and accomplishments, all of the things that have brought us joy and happiness through the years. The second file is just the opposite. It’s filled with the hurts and pain of the past, all the negative things that have happened to us. It’s full of our defeats and failures, things that brought us sadness and sorrow. Throw away the key to file number two. Don’t go there back anymore. Keep your mind focused on the good things God has done in your life.

             Pastor Joel Osteen

God's Favor

When you live favor-minded, you’ll begin to see God’s goodness in the everyday, ordinary details at the grocery store, at the ball field, the mall, at work, or at home. You may be stuck in traffic. The lane next to you is moving well, but you just can’t get over there, then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, somebody slows down and waves you in. That’s the favor of God. The favor of God causes other people to extend preferential treatment to you. The favor of God causes you to be at the right place at the right time. Be grateful. Don’t take God’s favor for granted. Say, “Father, thank You for Your Favor. Thank You for assisting me.

When you are living favor-minded, the Bible say, “God’s blessing are going to chase you down and overtake you.” In other words, you won’t be able to outrun the good things of God. Everywhere you go, thing are going to change in your favor. Every time you turn around, somebody’s going to want to do something good for you, to assist you in some manner. The favor of God can cause people to go out of their way to want to help you. The favor of God can cause people to make exceptions for you.

           Pastor Joel Osteen

Faith

If you’ll change your thinking, God can change your life. God works by faith. You must believe first, and then you’ll receive.

                  Pastor Joel Osteen

Your best days are ahead of you

Dream bigger dreams. Enlarge your vision. Live with expectancy. Make room in your thinking for the great things God wants to do. Your best days are ahead of you.

            Pastor Joel Osteen

Christian jokes

1. The song leader

A pastor and a song leader were not getting along and it began to spill over into the worship services. One week the minister preached on being willing to change. Afterwards the song leader got up and led the song “I shall not be moved.” The next Sunday he preached on giving. The song leader then led “Jesus paid it all.” The next week he preached on gossip. Then the song leader led “I would love to tell the story.” The minister was so frustrated he resigned. He told the congregation “Jesus brought me here and Jesus is taking me away.” The song leader then led “What a friend we have in Jesus.”



2. The biggest lie

I head about this pastor that was walking down the street. And he came upon this group of young boys that were surrounding this little dog. He asked them what they were doing. They said “We’re having a contest. Whoever can tell the biggest lie can keep the dog.” He went into a 10 minutes sermon beginning with “Don’t you know lying is a sin?” and ending with “When I was your age I never told a lie.” There was complete silence and just when he thought he’d gotten through to them the youngest boy spoke up and said “All right give him the dog.”



3. The Saint

There were two evil brothers that were extremely rich. They attended the same church and on the surface they appeared to be good Christians. One of the brothers suddenly died. The remaining brother sought out the pastor and handed him a large donation. He said “I only have one condition. At the funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.” The pastor agreed and deposited the check. At the funeral the pastor said “This man was an evil man. He lied, he stole, he cheated people. After going on and on for several minutes he finally said “But compared to his brother, he was a saint.”



4. The dinner blessing

A mother invited some people for dinner. At the table she turned over to her 5 year-old daughter and said “Honey, would you like to say the blessing?” The little girl replied “I don’t know what to say.” The Mum answered back “Just say what you hear Mummy say.” The little girl bowed her head and said “Oh Lord, why did I invite those people to dinner?”



5. Baseball in Heaven

Two famous baseball pitchers were discussing whether there would be any baseball in Heaven. They made an agreement that whoever died first would come back and tell the other if indeed there was any baseball in Heaven. A few months later one of the men died and just as promised he came back to the Earth and said "Friend I've got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is there is baseball in Heaven. The bad news is you’re scheduled to pitch next Thursday.”



6. The taxi driver

A minister dies and he is waiting in line at the pearly gates. Ahead of him is a man dressed in a light shirt, jeans and sunglasses. Peter asks “Who are you?” The man replied “Joe Conan, taxi driver, New York City.” Peter checked his list and handed him a silk robe and a gold staff and said enter in the Heaven. The minister steps forward and said “I’m Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary’s.” Peter checks his list and handed him a cotton robe and a wooden staff. The minister said “Wait a minute! The taxi driver gets a silk robe and gold staff, how can this be?” Peter replied “Up here we work by results. When you preached, people slept. When he drove people prayed.



7. The wedding vows

During his wedding rehearsal the groom approached the pastor and said “I’ll give you 100 dollars if you would change the wedding vows and leave out all the love, honor and obey part. He pressed the 100 dollar bill into the pastor’s hand and walked away with a smile. The next day during the vows, the pastor asked him “Do you promise to bow down before her, fulfill her every wish, and serve her breakfast in bed for as long as you shall live? The groom gulped in astonishment and finally in a weak voice answered yes. He did lean toward the pastor and said “Hey I thought we had a deal?” The pastor handed him his money back and said “She made me a much better offer.”





8. The pancake

A mother was cooking pancakes for her two young sons. Ryan was 5 and Kevin was 3. They began to argue about who would get the first one. The mother saw this as an opportunity to teach them a lesson and she said “Boys, boys if Jesus were here he would say “Let my brother have the first one.” Ryan turned to his younger brother and said, ”OK Kevin you would be Jesus.”



9. The Secret Service

A pastor was greeting people in the lobby as they left one Sunday. He came across a man he had not seen for some time and he pulled him aside and said “Sir, you need to join the army of the Lord.” The man replied “I’m already in the army of the Lord.” The pastor looked kind of confused and said “How come I only see you on Easter and Christmas?” Then the man whispered back “I’m in the Secret Service.”



10. Black or White

Archie and Jack argued for years whether Jesus was black or white. Archie was certain Jesus was white but Jack was just as certain he was black. As faith would have it, they both died on the same day and raced to the pearly gate to see who was right. “Saint Peter!” they shouted “Is Jesus white or black?” About that time Jesus walked up and said “Buenos Dias.”



11. The mother-in-law

Georges was on vacation in Jerusalem with his family when his mother-in-law suddenly died. He went to make arrangements to get the body back home. The counselor told him it would could 5,000 dollars to have her shipped but only 150 dollars to have buried her there. After deep thought, he made the decision to ship her home. The counselor said “Man, you must have really loved your mother-in-law.” Georges said “No, it is not really that. I just know of a case many years ago, when they buried somebody here and on the third day he arose… I just can’t take that chance.



12. The long hair

A young boy had just gotten his driver’s permit and asked his father if he could use the car. His father said “I’ll make a deal with you. If you bring your grades up, study your Bible, and get your hair cut, you can use it.” A month later the boy came back and asked about the car. Then Dad said “Son I ‘am very proud of you. You brought your grades up, you’ve been studying your Bible, but still you haven’t got your haircut. The boy said “Dad, I’ve been thinking. Samsun had long hair, Moses had long hair. Even Jesus had long hair.” His father replied “Yes, Son, and they walked everywhere they went.”



13. God is missing

A mother had two young boys that were known for their bad behavior. Anytime trouble happened they were sure to be a part of. She decided to send them to their pastor one at a time to see if he could help. The minister asked the first boy “where is God?” The boy just sat there. He asked again “Where is God?” Still no reply. The third time he asked the boy, he bolted out the door, ran home and told his brother “God is missing and they think we did it!”



14. A detour to Hell

A Baptist, a Catholic, and a charismatic suddenly died and went to Heaven. Upon arrival Peter said “I’m sorry, but your living quarters are not quite ready.” He did not know what to do with them so finally he called the Devil and asked if he would keep them for a couple of days. Satan reluctantly agreed. A few hours later Satan called back and said “You’d gotta come and get those guys. The Catholic man is forgiving everybody, the Baptist is saving everybody and the charismatic has already raised enough money for air-conditioning.”



15. The Christian bear

I heard about this pastor that skipped church one Sunday morning to go bear hunting. He got his gun and went out in the woods and searched and searched and searched. He did not see any sign of a bear. Finally he got frustrated and threw his gun down and went down to the stream to kind of cool off. About that time he saw that huge grizzly bear running full speed toward him. He fell down on his knees and said “God please protect me. God I am praying that you would convert this bear into being a Christian.” Miraculously, the bear stopped in his tracks, lifted up his paws toward Heaven “Thank you Lord for the food I ‘m about to eat.”



16. Czechoslovakia

I heard about that lady who died and she found herself standing at the pearly gates. Saint Peter said “You can’t come in unless you correctly spell a word.” She said “What word?” He said “Any word.” So she spelled the word love LOVE. Peter said “Welcome to Heaven.” Then Peter asked her if she would take his place. He instructed her “If anybody come just follow the same procedure. Within a few minutes this lady sees her ex-husband coming up. She said “What are you doing here?” He said “I just had a heart attack. Did I really make it to Heaven?” She said “Not yet. You have to correctly spell a word.” He said “What word?” After a long pause she said “Czechoslovakia”



17. A special request

A husband and wife were celebrating their 60th birthdays together when suddenly an angel appeared and said God was going to grant them each one special request. The wife was so excited she said “I want to travel all over the world” and poof the smoked cleared and suddenly she had tickets in her hands. The husband was next. He shyly said “My request is that I would be married to a woman 30 years younger than me.” And poof the smoke cleared and he was 90 years-old.



18. The picture of God

I heard about this kinder garden teacher. She was walking around her classroom as her students drew pictures. She noticed this one little girl drawing so intently. She asked her what she was drawing. The little girl said she was drawing a picture of God. The teacher kind of laugh, she said “Oh Honey nobody really knows what God looks like.” The little girl, without missing a beat, said “They will in a minute.”



19. The naked woman

A new pastor moved into town and went out visiting people. He came to one house and it was obvious that someone was home but no one would come to the door. Finally he took out his card and wrote on the back “Revelations 3 - 20“ and then stuck it under the door. The next day at the service an usher handed him the same card and under his message was the notation “Genesis 3-10.” And here is what the scripture says. Revelation 3-20 says “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens the door I will come in.” The reply was Genesis 3-10. it says “I heard your voice but I was afraid because I was naked.”



20. A million dollars

A young man once asked God how long a million years was to him. God said “A million years to me is like a single second in your time.” Then the young man asked God what a million dollars was like to him. God said “A million dollars to me is just like a single penny to you.” The young man got his courage up and said “God would you please give me a penny?” God said “Sure, just a second.”



21. The cowboy

I heard about this old cowboy, he went to church one rainy Sunday morning. When he got there he noticed that he and the preacher were the only ones there. The weather was so bad. The minister asked him if he wanted him to go ahead and preach. He said “Well, Preacher, I’m not too smart but if I went out to feed my cattle and only one showed up I’d sure feed him.” And so the minister began his sermon. Two and half hours later he got finished and he asked the cowboy how he liked it and he said “Well, Preacher, let me put it this way. If I went out to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn’t dump the whole load on him.”



22. John’s steak

John was the only protestant in a large catholic neighborhood. Every Friday during Lent while his neighbors were eating cold fish, he was in his backyard grilling a steak. They could not stand the temptation and they decided to try to convert him to the Catholicism. After several talks John agreed. They took him to the church, the priest sprinkled some water over him and said “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, but now you are a catholic.” A year later during the first Friday of Lent the neighbors smelled the same smell of steak in the air. They rushed to John’s house. He was in his backyard sprinkling water over his steak saying you were born a cow, you were raised a cow but now you are a fish.



23. The one Sunday I missed

It was Palm Sunday and because of a sore throat little Johnny stayed home from church with the babysitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm branches from the Easter program. The boy asked what they were for. The Mum told how the people held them over Jesus’ head as he walked down the aisle. The little boy fumed “Wouldn’t you know it? The one Sunday I missed he shows up!”



24. Hole-in-one

I heard about this pastor. He decided to skip church one Sunday morning and go play golf. He told his assistant he was not feeling well and he drove to a golf course in another city where nobody would know him. He teed-off on the first hole and suddenly the wind picked up his ball and carried it an extra 100 yards and blew it right into the hole, for a 420 yard hole-in-one. An angel looked at God and said “What did you that for?” God smiled and said “Whose he gonna tell?”



25. God’s getting better

I heard about this little girl, she was sitting on her grandfather’s lap. She noticed how wrinkled his face was. She contemplated the difference between hers and his. She said “Grand Daddy, did God make you?” He laughed and said “Yes Honey. God made me a long time ago.” She said “Well did God make me?” He said “Yes, God made you just a little while ago.” She thought about it a moment and said “Grand Daddy, God’s getting better, isn’t he?”



26. The woman’s dress

I heard about this lady that was shopping with her husband. He had asked her not to buy any new cloth but she saw this dress in the window and decided to try it on. She liked it so much she bought it in secret. A couple of days later, the husband discovered it. He was so upset. She explained to him that when she tried it on, it looked so good that Satan tempted her to buy it and she just couldn’t resist it. He said “Why didn’t you do what the scripture says and say get behind me Satan? She said I did and he told me it looked even better from a distance.



27. Black and white

I heard about this little girl, she was attending a wedding for t he first time. She asked her Mum “Why is the bride wearing all white?” The Mum smiled and said “Oh white is the color of happiness. Today is the happiest day of her life.” The little girl thought about it and said “Why is the groom wearing all black?”



28. The pastor’s mother

I heard about this elderly lady. She came into church one Sunday morning and a friendly usher greeted her and said “Mam, where would you like to seat?” She said “I would like to seat on the very front row.” He said “Oh no Mam you don’t want to do that. Our pastor is very boring. He’ll put you to sleep. Let me put you somewhere else. She was appalled. She said “Sir, do you know who I am?” He said “No.” She said “I am the pastor’s mother.” He hung his head in embarrassment. Finally he looked up and said “Mam, do you know who I am?” She said “No.”. He said “Thank God.”



29. The Loch Ness monster

I heard about this atheist, he was spending a quite day on the lake when all of a sudden his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. One easy flip, it tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth waiting to swallow. As the man tumbled head over hills, he cried out “God help me!” All at once time stood still. The whole picture froze. God said “But I didn’t think that you believed in me.” The atheist said “God please give me a break. Two minutes ago, I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either.”



30. In the airplane

A Christian woman was on an airplane reading her Bible. The man next to her said “You don’t believe all that stuff in there, do you?” She said “Of course I do. It is the Bible.” He said “Well what about that guy that was swallowed by the whale?” She said “You mean Jonah? Yes I believe that too.” He said “How could he possibly survive all that time inside a whale?” She thought about it for a moment and said “I don’t know. When I get to Heaven, I would have to ask him.” He sarcastically replied “but what if he is not in Heaven?” She smiled and said” “Then you’re gonna to have to ask him.”



The Baptist dog

I heard about this man, he came up to a Baptist pastor and he said “Sir, my dog has passed away. I was wondering if you can come to my house and have a funeral for him.” The pastor seemed kind of annoyed and he said “No, I can’t do a funeral for a dog.” The man said “Well, that’s too bad because I was thinking of making a 5,000 dollars donation to your church.” The pastor smiled and said “Why didn’t you tell me your dog was Baptist?”



The world smartest man

I heard about this airplane that was about to crash. There were four passengers but only 3 parachutes. The first passenger said “I’m a leading heart surgeon. My patients need me.” He grabbed the first parachute and jumped. The second passenger said “I’m a rocket scientist, one of the smartest men in the world. My country needs me.” He took the second parachute and jumped. The third passenger was Pope John Paul. He said to the fourth passenger, a 10 year-old boy scout “Son, I’m old and frail. You take the last parachute.” The boy scout said “That’s OK sir. There are still two parachutes left. The world smartest man just jumped out with my backpack.”



Bedtime prayers

I heard about these two little boys. They were spending the night with their grandparents. Before they went to bed, they got down on their knees to say their prayers. The youngest one started praying at the top of his lungs saying God I pray that you give me a new bicycle, and I pray that you give me a new play station, and pray that you give me a new DVD. His brother said “Why are you screaming? God is not deaf. The little boy said “I know that but Grandmother is.”



The woman

After God made Adam he said, “I am going to give you a helpmate. She will be called 'woman' and she will be your friend, she will cook for you, clean your home, be kind and gentle, be your helper, when you argue, she will be the first one to admit you are right." Adam said, "What would she cost me?" God said, "An arm and a leg." Adam said, "What can you give me for a rib?" The rest is history.

Be happy and feel good

Do the things that you love, and that bring you joy. Be happy now. Feel good now. That’s the only thing you have to do.


                                 Rhonda Byrne
                    

Do what you want

Joy, love, freedom, happiness, laughter. That’s what it is. And if you just experience joy sitting there and meditating for an hour, by golly, do that. If you experience joy eating a salami sandwich, then do that!

                          Neale Donald Walsch

You are always right

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.

                             Henry Ford

Healthy as your Thoughts

Our body is really the product of our thoughts. We’re beginning to understand in medical science the degree to which the nature of thoughts and emotions actually determines the physical substance and structure and function of our bodies. Happier thoughts lead to essentially a happier biochemistry. A happier, healthier body. Negative thoughts and stress have been shown to seriously degrade the body and the functioning of the brain, because it’s our thoughts and emotions that are continuously reassembling, reorganizing, re-creating our body

                                              Dr. John Hagelin

Tell me your desire

“What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them”                                        
                                                               Mark 11:2-4

A Man and A Woman

a woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

a man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.



a successful man is one who makes more money that his wife can spend.

a successful woman is one who finds such a man.



to be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him little.

to be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.



a woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

a man marries a woman expecting that she won't change and she does.

Romance Mathematics

smart man + smart woman = romance

smart man + dumb woman = affair

dumb man + smart woman = marriage

dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

Eight Intelligences

Howard Gardner has formulated a list of 8 intelligences. The first two  have been typically valued in schools as IQ.

1. Linguistic Intelligence
2. Logical-mathematical Intelligence
3. Musical Intelligence
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
5. Spatial intelligence
6. Interpersonal intelligence
7. Intrapersonal intelligence
8. Naturalist intelligence

We are the Champions

We all came to this world as number one. After all, each of us has competed with 400 million other sperms.

The baby

A professor is giving a lecture in front of his medical students.

Imagine that a pregnant woman comes to you for advice on whether to keep or not the child she is bearing. Her husband has syphilis, herself has tuberculosis, her first child is blind, the second child died
at birth, the third is blind and speech-impaired, and the fourth has turberculosis. What advice could you give her ?

One student answered: "Abortion"

The professor replied: "Then, you just have killed Beethoven"

Remorse versus regrets

Better have remorse than regrets

Chance

Chance is only the smile of talent.

Idea

an idea that did not work the first time is not necessarily a bad idea: it is just badly timed.

We humans are so blessed to live a simple, peaceful and happy life

But he is showing respect to the Pope. He is a good guy....

I think bullfight has become an anachronistic show

Those words that inspire us

I have tried to mention the source of those following inspiring words whenever I could and I apologize to the author if I could not find the source.

Family

= Father And Mother I Love You




The Bank

Every morning, you are given 86 400 dollars with the only constraint of having to spend them all during that same day. Any remaining money is taken away when you go to bed. But this gift from heaven can stop anytime. So the question is, whay would you do if you were given such a gift?....

This magic bank, we all have it, it is the time! Every morning, when you wake up, you are given 86 400 seconds of life for the day and when we go to bed at night there is no left over, what has not been lived during the day is lost, today is over.....

Every morning, this magic starts over again, we are given 86 400 seconds of life and we all play with this unchangeable rule: the bank can close our account at anytime without prior notice; at any moment life can stop. So what do we do with our daily 86 400 seconds? Are not those seconds of life more important than dollars? So I please, let's enjoy every second that is given to us.....

             Marc Levy from "Et si c'était vrai?"....





Everything I needed

I asked for Strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problem to solve
I asked for prosperity and God gave me a brain and brawn to work
I asked for Courage and God gave me obstacles to overcome
I asked for Love and God gave me troubled people to help
I asked for Favors and God gave me opportunities

I received nothing I wanted but I received Everything I needed.....




The Difference


I got up early one morning

and rushed right into the day,

I had so much to accomplish

that I didn’t have time to pray.


Problems just tumbled about me

and heavier came each task.

“Why doesn’t God help me ?” I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask.”


I wanted to see joy and beauty,

but the day toiled on, gray and bleak.

I wondered why God didn’t show me;

He said, “But you didn’t seek.”


I tried to come into God’s presence,

I used all the keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

“My child, you didn’t knock.”


I woke up early this morning

and paused before entering the day,

I had so much to accomplish

that I had to take time to pray.



 
Think Positive


If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you won’t.

Success begins with your own will…

It’s all in your state of mind.

Life’s battles are not always won

By those who are stronger or faster;

Sooner or later the person who wins

Is the person who thinks he can.

 
 
 
Everything is possible.

Everything is possible, it is a question of time, the time to understand how it is possible.


             Marc Levy




Real Life


For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacles in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were "my life". This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until you car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you're off welfare, until you die, until you're born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey not a destination.




Happiness...


We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids are not old enough and we'll be content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.




Happiness Strategy


1. Dont worry, choose happy

2. Cultivate gratitude

3. Foster forgiveness

4. Counteract negative thoughts and feelings

5. Foster friendship

6. Engage in some meaningful activities




Secrets of Happy Families


1. Enjoy each other: parents come home and the kids are happy to see them and when the kids come home, the parents are happy to see them.

2. Swap stories: something to share with your kids.

3. Put the marriage first: set a real example of love

4. Break bread together: families that eat together, stay together. It’s that simple. Family dinners are essential. It’s a time to connect.

5. Play together: have one or two unifying activities that the family does together.

6. Put Family before Friends

7. Limit children’s after-school activities: if your kids grow up not knowing how to ballet, they will be OK. Create your own after-school activities as a family. Take your kids rollerblading or swimming after school as a family.

8. Build and Honor Rituals: they can be unique to your own family such as a weekly dining out or movie watching at the theater. Rituals tend to bring family members close together because they are repeated over time.

9. Keep your voices down: talk to your kids, give them strict rules, and punish them when neccessary, but don’t lose control and yell.

10. Never fight in front of the kids

11. Don’t work too much: prioritize your kids.

12. Encourage sibling harmony.

13. Have private jokes

14. Communicate

 
 
Few signs of happiness/success


Success is closing the door to your office at the end of the day with a smile of satisfied contentment crossing your face. It’s knowing that you did a good job and that those you interacted with you had a positive experience.

Success is looking forward to getting home and seeing the people you love. It’s being mentally and emotionally free to share yourself with them and to be interested in them.

Success is being loved by the people you love

Success is sitting down to pay the bills and knowing that you have enough money to cover them this month and next month. It’s knowing you have taken measures to ensure the financial security of your family in the event of your demise.

Success is knowing where to turn when it seems that there’s nowhere to turn. Having a spiritual life is akin to eating food and drinking water. It’s necessary!

Success is having interests or hobbies to call your own. It’s things that you personally anticipates doing again and again. Having interests gives you joy and peace.

Success is waking up in the morning and feeling good. It’s knowing that you eat right and exercise regularly and that you do everything you personally can to ensure continued good health

Success is turning out the lights, slipping under the covers, and thinking to yourself, “It just doesn’t get much better than this!”




What success isn’t


Success isn’t calling home from work for the fourth time this week, apologizing because you’re going to miss dinner with the family again.

Success isn’t hurrying into the house and hiding behind closed doors or the television set because “after the day I’ve had, I need my space!”

Success isn’t having all the riches in the world and still trying to figure out how to have more of all the riches in the world.

Success isn’t physically going to worship service and mentally writing a to-do list for when you get home

Success isn’t all work and no play

Success isn’t spending mental energy figuring out how to explain why your project isn’t going to come in on time, why you have to miss your child’s school play and why you just don’t find any joy in living

 

 


Great thoughts



Too many fame come too late

Genious does what it must, and talent does what it can

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.

The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next (Bacon)

Despair is the conclusion of fools

There is no great genius without a mixture of madness (Aristotle)

It is the prerogative of great men only to have great defects (La Rochefoucault)

A gentleman is a man who can disagree without being disagreeable

Happiness is like a kiss; you must share it to have it (Marie Tempest)

All anybody needs to know about prizes is that Mozart never won one (Henry Mitchell)

The great essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

An average man learns from his experience; an outstanding man learns from other people’s experience (Bismarck)

Power is an iron hand in a velvet glove (Charles V)

Love is often a fruit of marriage (Moliere)

A woman must be a genius to create a god husband (Balzac)

No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come (Victor Hugo)

To conquer without danger is to win without glory

There is no limit to what we can do or where we can go if we don’t mind who gets the credit (Ronald Regan)

Learn from the mistakes of others – you can never live long enough to make them all yourself (John Luther)

There will be time when you think believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. (Louis L’Amour)

Often the test of courage is not to die but to live (Vittorio Alfieri)

To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life (Pablo Neruda)

When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity (John F. Kennedy)

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy (Martin Luther King. Jr)

Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed at, but with what it is still possible for you to do (Pope John XXIII)

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards (Vernon Saunders Law)

When it gets dark enough you can see the stars (Lee Salk)





The Sportsman


A sportsman is the one who not only has fortified his muscles and increased his resistance by the practice of some great sport, but also the one who, by practising it, has learned to repress his anger, to be tolerant with his fellows and his adversaries, not to enjoy a vile advantage, to feel as a disgrace the mere suspicion of a trap and to maintain the mind serene and the face cheerful at the hour of defeit.




How to retake control after a very bad day


1. breathe deeply: several times while walking, in your car, or in the metro

2. take your time: walk slowly and look around you to notice small little details. After all, life goes on.

3. do some physical activity: sweating is the best way to eliminate stress. Run, roller blade, take your bike and spend you energy.

4. laugh: laughing allows to get rid of the toxins accumulated by stress

5. don’t tell your bad day to your family: you need their love not their compassion or pity.

6. get a good night sleep: don’t forget tomorrow is another day! Reading a book is a good way to get to sleep softly.

7. Pray




These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.


Q: Are you sexually active?

A: No, I just lie there.

__________________________________

Q: What is your date of birth?

A: July 15th.

Q: What year?

A: Every year.

______________________________________

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

A: Yes.

Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

A: I forget.

Q: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

_____________________________________

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?

A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.

Q: How long has he lived with you?

A: Forty-five years.

_____________________________________

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?

A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"

Q: And why did that upset you?

A: My name is Susan.

______________________________________

Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?

A: We both do.

Q: Voodoo?

A: We do.

Q: You do?

A: Yes, voodoo.

______________________________________

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

___________________________________

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

_____________________________________

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

______________________________________

Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

A: Yes.

Q: And what were you doing at that time?

______________________________________

Q: She had three children, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How many were boys?

A: None.

Q: Were there any girls?

______________________________________

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?

A: By death.

Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

______________________________________

Q: Can you describe the individual?

A: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Q: Was this a male, or a female?

______________________________________

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?

A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

______________________________________

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?

A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

______________________________________

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?

A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

______________________________________

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for blood pressure?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for breathing?

A: No.

Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

A: No.

Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

 
 
 
The power of thought


In 1950s, an English Container ship transporting Portugal wine bottles enters a Scottish port. A man goes in the cold chamber to check that everything has been delivered. Another man closes the door from outside ignoring there is someone in the cold room. The prisoner shouts and knocks violently on the door but nobody hears him and the ship goes back to Portugal.

The man finds enough food inside the cold room but he knows he will not last long in this freezer. However, he finds the energy to grab a piece of metal and to write, hour after hour, day after day, the story of his suffering. With a scientific accuracy, he describes his agony. How the cold is freezing his nose, his fingers and his feet. He describes how the cold air is an unbearable burn on his chest.

When the ship comes into the port in Lisbon, the captain discovers the dead man inside the cold room. His story is written on the walls. But the most astonishing thing is that the refrigeration system has not been activated since there was no more merchandise inside the cold chamber. The man died only because he thought he was in a freezer. He has been the victim of his own imagination.




Shopping maths


- a man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs

- a woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she does not need



About Joy


Be joyful always

          I Thessalonians 5:16-18







Those important things in life

The experience of life in prison or a mortal disease give back the true value to each thing. Suddenly we understand that the most important thing in life is not a doctrine or a big house but health, the freedom to come and go, very simple notions.....
           
             MARC LEVY






Travels

Travels change the look we have on ourselves and our life.
                                                                                                                                          
                 Frederic Lenoir




Hardships

Hardships of life can make us smaller or bigger.
                                                                                                                                         
                Frederic Lenoir



Worries
The following is a study undertaken about human worries 
 

40% are worries that will not actually happen

30% are worries about things that have already occured

12% are worries not related to oneself but to other people's business

10% are worries about the disease one might get

4% are worries that cannot not be solved no matter how much you worry about

4% are worries that can be solved if we put some effort


So, in conclusion, if 4% is the amount of worries a person should have, most of the people worry 20 times more on a daily basis.