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Monday, December 10, 2018

How One Woman Went from Homeless to Millionaire In Less Than Two Years


How One Woman Went from Homeless to Millionaire In Less Than Two Years
It was Christmas Eve, 1990. 

I was stoned out of my mind for two months – sleeping with eight different guys. I got to eat only by dating all these people. I realized that I had become worse than the family I grew up in and that was devastating. My mom and dad were drug addicts and I had never seen my parents sober. My childhood was filled with threats and getting beaten daily; week in, week out. My whole life was filled with horror and terror and lies and I vowed that I would never be like my family. And there I was doing cocaine...”


She hated cocaine ‘with a passion’ and recalls that when coke was introduced into the home by her parents when she was a teenager, the violence had intensified and the emotional instability was ‘horrifying’. “They would say one thing and then another thing after 15 minutes.”


That Christmas Eve, she joined other waitresses at the beach on a drink and drug binge.


I was sweating as I was constantly dancing. I see the coke and I leaned down and I did a line. I remember waking up at 10 the next morning on my beach mat and I am asking everyone for coke. I was walking around saying, ‘Where do I get more of that stuff?’


That day, I would have given my body – I would have become a prostitute for coke and that’s how low I became. I hated everything about myself. I knew my future would never be good. I was suicidal from the age of six. My life was not worth living. There was no chance to turn it into anything better. I was disgusting. I hated how my parents raised us. My life was filled with broken promises and lies and people stealing and people beating me and people hating me and me hating myself even more...”


Fueled by the after-effects of the drug, in an almost catatonic state that morning, Dani decided she was going to end it all. “I started walking towards the ocean and dived underneath the wave.”


A few more moments under, and her life would have ended there – not an unsurprising demise given her circumstances, the coroner and police chief would have quietly concluded.

But as it happened, in that instant, her life changed forever.


'Almost a Miracle'


I heard a voice say, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’’


It felt almost like a miracle to her.


The feeling of coke left instantly - I wasn’t wanting it anymore. I rolled up my beach mat, turned around and hiked a mile that I needed to in order to get back to my car. I drove 45 minutes to the beach where I was living. And the whole time I was driving, it was as if the left side of my mind was saying, ‘This is not what is intended for your life, you shouldn’t be drinking. There is more to life,’ and the right side was saying, ‘You’re a failure, you’re a loser, you’re filthy; worse than your parents. Drive this car into the ocean.’ This was like a war inside my mind with these voices and I was literally in a trance.


And I have no idea why I chose to listen to that first voice.”


So Dani began to ask herself: What can I do? What do I need to do to get myself out this situation?


As a cocktail waitress, I was not making enough, so I had to figure out my options.”


She needed $4,500 to be able to afford an apartment but with a small income derived mostly from tips coupled with the island’s high rents, it would take her four months to save enough money.


I didn’t want to be homeless for another four months. Rent in Hawaii was outrageously expensive and I couldn’t afford plane tickets back to California. I knew no one. I was terrified I would be raped or beaten or kidnapped because there wasn’t any shelter. I was a kid who, between the ages of three to 16, was abused and molested. The emotions were still there. You try to push this back but when you’re homeless, it is at the forefront of your mind all the time and it was terrifying to me.”


That night she fell asleep in her car without any answers but the following day, the proverbial light bulb went off.


I get this idea. Everything I ever owned was in the backseat of my car. And there was this weight loss program I had purchased long before I was homeless, lying in the back seat. I had used it for a week. I never paid attention to it before. And it just caught the corner of my eye in the sun. It was warped from the humidity. But it was as if this device was talking to me. I picked it up and it was as if this thing was saying, ‘I’m your answer.’ And my first thought was, ‘No, I’m not going to peddle a weight loss program! No way I’m going to do this!’


As if it was beneath me. As if it was sinking to a new depth. And you know, sometimes you have that feeling that you need to do something you don’t want to do?


I turned the box around, saw the manufacturer’s details and called them from the payphone.


I started asking them the question: What is it going to take to carry the product in Hawaii? As it turned out, it would require me to have licensing - and money, that I didn’t have.”


And this is when Dani - given her very scant means – decided to get resourceful.
I handwrote a flyer [for the weight loss program] but I needed a phone number to advertise so people could contact me – and I didn’t have one. So I picked up the Yellow Pages in the phone booth. You know cocktail waitresses always have coins! So I looked through the Yellow Pages and called a small telecommunications company. And I chatted with this guy for some time, trying to build a relationship. I asked him what the cost of their voice mail service was.
He said to me, ‘Don’t drive all the way to pay for this. Send me a check for $15. 

Here’s your new number...!’


Dani, of course, was elated – down to her last quarter for that week, she got the break she needed.


I put up the flyer at the Post Office where everyone in this town went to, and three hours later, not thinking I would get any messages - it was filled with 25 messages. I didn’t know what to do with them!


Long story short, I ended up with 40 checks, totaling $4,000 dollars from people I didn’t even know – that first month!


I called up the manufacturer with an order but they wanted a physical address to send the product and I didn’t have one. So I talked the local liquor store into letting me use their address.”


Dani made a quarter of a million dollars that first year just by selling the weight loss program, was a millionaire by the second year and went on to open up 18 weight loss centers around the country. She sold the business in 1996 - a multi-millionaire.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Homeless Man Turned Millionaire Offers The Best Advice I Ever Got


I spend 60 hours a week on my business but I don’t work for a minute. Work is hard. But what I do—writing, speaking, researching, learning, and sharing information— is pure joy. It’s what I was called to do. But often what we’re called to do and what we choose to do are different. As an undergraduate student at UCLA, I chose to study for the law school entrance exam because it was the accepted path for a political science major. I could have gone to a top law school, but I didn’t love the law. I loved reading inspiring speeches in a publication called Vital Speeches of the Day. I loved watching great broadcast journalists like Peter Jennings. I would analyze how he spoke—the inflections, volume, and pacing. I chose to pursue my calling and enrolled in journalism school. I spent the next twelve years as a broadcast journalist before leaving the industry to leverage my skills in other ways.

“What’s the best advice you ever got?” At the end of a recent podcast interview, the host asked me, “What’s the best advice you ever got?” Before I tell you what I said allow me to rewind to 2007 when I had another career decision to make: hold on to a large, steady paycheck as the vice president of a global PR firm or commit full-time to my growing writing and public speaking business. At the time I was doing some freelance writing and I interviewed the real-life Chris Gardner, the man who actor Will Smith portrayed in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness (‘happyness’ is purposely misspelled in the title. You’ll have to read the book or watch the movie to find out why). Gardner told me the true story of how he spent nights in the bathroom of a subway station along with his 2-year-old son. In the daytime Gardner would put on his one suit, drop off his kid at daycare and take unpaid classes to become a stockbroker. You can guess how the story ends. Gardner rose to the top of his firm and became a multi-millionaire.

The secret to happiness, in life and in business. I knew the Oakland, California subway station Gardner had slept in because I passed it each day on my train trip into San Francisco. I had plenty of time to contemplate the advice he gave, words that changed the course of my career. “How did you find the strength, the spirit, to keep going?” I asked Gardner. “Carmine, here’s the secret to success: find something you love to do so much, you can’t wait for the sun to rise to do it all over again.”

Each day when I rode past the station I would think about those words. It forced me to question my choices and the daily trips into the city, which I dreaded. I wasn’t waiting for the sun to shine; I was waiting for it to go down so I could head home. I quit the PR firm, trading the stability of a salary for the instability of a start-up. Last week I was invited to BookExpo America, a prestigious book industry conference in New York, to sign copies of my sixth book. Gardner’s advice had changed my life and my business.

The most inspiring leaders are those who don’t work at a job but pursue a calling. In doing so they inspire the rest of us to be our best selves and to match our skills with our passions. They give us the confidence to pursue our dreams. Sometimes those dreams might lead an employee to find another job position in the same company or, in some cases, to leave the company altogether. And that’s okay. If an employee leaves your company and can say that your leadership inspired them to find their true calling, you will be rewarded in far more ways than you can imagine. If anything, you’re more likely to attract the people who really want to be on the bus instead of those who are daydreaming about finding another ride. I’ve also noticed that people who choose to remain with inspiring leaders admire those leaders for caring about their staff personally and professionally. Employees are more likely to stay with inspiring leaders (provided they are in the right roles) and more likely to speak highly of them. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” True leaders satisfy our ‘chief want.’

Chris Gardner inspired me to think differently about my own career choices. When I started my business there were many nights when I couldn’t sleep because I didn’t know how we were going to pay the bills. Today I can’t sleep for a different reason—I keep looking out the window and waiting for the sun to rise to do it all over again.

Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books, including the international bestsellers The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. His new book, The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty is the first book to reveal the secrets behind the stunning success of the Apple AAPL -0.53% Retail Store. Carmine has recently launched an eLearning course titled, The New Rules Of Persuasive Presentations.

Friday, November 16, 2018

Jim Rohn ~ How to Work Smarter Time Management

So grateful that Jim Rohn left his messages for us to learn from. Isn't
is amazing how ONE person can have such an impact on millions. More
amazing that the mentors and authors I choose to learn from always state
Jim Rohn as one of their mentors.

Jim Rohn - FOCUS ON ONE THING (Jim Rohn Motivation)


Jim Rohn left college after just one year and started his professional life by working as a human resource manager for department store Sears. Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by famous entrepreneur John Earl Shoaff. In 1955, Rohn joined Shoaff's direct selling business AbundaVita as a distributor.

In 1957, Rohn resigned his distributorship with AbundaVita and joined Nutri-Bio, another direct selling company. It was at this point that the company's founders, including Shoaff, started to mentor him. After this mentorship, Rohn built one of the largest organizations in the company. In 1960 when Nutri-Bio expanded into Canada, Shoaff and the other founders selected Rohn as a vice president for the organization.

After Nutri-Bio went out of business in the early 1960s, Rohn was invited to speak at a meeting of his Rotary Club. He accepted and, soon, others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars all over the country, telling his story and teaching his personal development philosophy.

Throughout the 1970s, Rohn conducted a number of seminars for Standard Oil. At the same time, he participated in a personal development business called "Adventures in Achievement", which featured both live seminars as well as personal development workshops. He presented seminars worldwide for more than 40 years

Jim Rohn: TIME IS VALUABLE - Motivational Speech


Jim Rohn left college after just one year and started his professional life by working as a human resource manager for department store Sears. Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by famous entrepreneur John Earl Shoaff. In 1955, Rohn joined Shoaff's direct selling business AbundaVita as a distributor.

In 1957, Rohn resigned his distributorship with AbundaVita and joined Nutri-Bio, another direct selling company. It was at this point that the company's founders, including Shoaff, started to mentor him. After this mentorship, Rohn built one of the largest organizations in the company. In 1960 when Nutri-Bio expanded into Canada, Shoaff and the other founders selected Rohn as a vice president for the organization.

After Nutri-Bio went out of business in the early 1960s, Rohn was invited to speak at a meeting of his Rotary Club. He accepted and, soon, others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars all over the country, telling his story and teaching his personal development philosophy.

Throughout the 1970s, Rohn conducted a number of seminars for Standard Oil. At the same time, he participated in a personal development business called "Adventures in Achievement", which featured both live seminars as well as personal development workshops. He presented seminars worldwide for more than 40 years

Jim Rohn Best Life Ever


Jim Rohn left college after just one year and started his professional life by working as a human resource manager for department store Sears. Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by famous entrepreneur John Earl Shoaff. In 1955, Rohn joined Shoaff's direct selling business AbundaVita as a distributor.

In 1957, Rohn resigned his distributorship with AbundaVita and joined Nutri-Bio, another direct selling company. It was at this point that the company's founders, including Shoaff, started to mentor him. After this mentorship, Rohn built one of the largest organizations in the company. In 1960 when Nutri-Bio expanded into Canada, Shoaff and the other founders selected Rohn as a vice president for the organization.

After Nutri-Bio went out of business in the early 1960s, Rohn was invited to speak at a meeting of his Rotary Club. He accepted and, soon, others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars all over the country, telling his story and teaching his personal development philosophy.

Throughout the 1970s, Rohn conducted a number of seminars for Standard Oil. At the same time, he participated in a personal development business called "Adventures in Achievement", which featured both live seminars as well as personal development workshops. He presented seminars worldwide for more than 40 years

How to Take Charge of Your Life - Jim Rohn Personal Development


Jim Rohn left college after just one year and started his professional life by working as a human resource manager for department store Sears. Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by famous entrepreneur John Earl Shoaff. In 1955, Rohn joined Shoaff's direct selling business AbundaVita as a distributor.

In 1957, Rohn resigned his distributorship with AbundaVita and joined Nutri-Bio, another direct selling company. It was at this point that the company's founders, including Shoaff, started to mentor him. After this mentorship, Rohn built one of the largest organizations in the company. In 1960 when Nutri-Bio expanded into Canada, Shoaff and the other founders selected Rohn as a vice president for the organization.

After Nutri-Bio went out of business in the early 1960s, Rohn was invited to speak at a meeting of his Rotary Club. He accepted and, soon, others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars all over the country, telling his story and teaching his personal development philosophy.

Throughout the 1970s, Rohn conducted a number of seminars for Standard Oil. At the same time, he participated in a personal development business called "Adventures in Achievement", which featured both live seminars as well as personal development workshops. He presented seminars worldwide for more than 40 years

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Take Responsibility of Your Life, Time Is Short

 

Time is Short Take Responsibility and Do Your Work


Time is short take responsibility and does your work

Sarah was doing her household work in a hurry. Washing and cleaning are done in such a hurry that her 8-year-old daughter thought that her Mom will be going out after finishing her work. Curiously her daughter asked:

Mom, are you going somewhere after finishing this work?

No baby.

Then why are you doing your work in such a hurry?

Her mom replied: Baby, look at that candle. pointing out to the burning out candle she said, "It is about to finish. We do not have another candle to replace it. Before it goes off, we have to finish our work".

We are unique candles that are about to go off very soon. We cannot replace it with another one. Our life is unique and time is too short.

Stop shifting your responsibility to others. Take responsibility and finish our work as fast as we can.

NEVER JUDGE OTHERS, YOU DON'T KNOW THEIR STORY! by Gaur Gopal Das

NEVER JUDGE OTHERS, YOU DON'T KNOW THEIR STORY! by Gaur Gopal Das

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Put God First - Denzel Washington Motivational & Inspiring Commencement ...

In delivering the commencement speech at Dillard University, Academy
Award-winning actor Denzel Washington told the college graduates to put
God first in everything they do, adding that everything he has
accomplished in this life was due to the grace of God.

Don't Be Afraid to Fail Big, To Dream Big - Denzel Washington | Goalcast

Make A Difference speech - During commencement at Dillard University,
Denzel Washington delivers an inspiring speech about the necessity of
failing in order to grow and achieve greatness.

The Most Inspiring Speech: The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout Will Chan...

Make an Impact: Rick Rigsby delivers a powerful speech on how his
father's teachings have guided him through the most troubling times of
his life. Are you Inspired? Order Dr. Rick Rigsby's book,

Denzel Washington's Speech Will Leave You SPEECHLESS - One of the Most E...

The Ultimate Les Brown Motivational Compilation | Goalcast

How Bamboo Trees Will Bring Out Your Best Self | Les Brown | Goalcast

In an ancient far east nugget of wisdom, motivational genius and
raconteur Les Brown shares a parabole of change and self-improvement.

Why it Pays to Be Hungry | Les Brown | Goalcast

Les Brown is considered to be one of the greatest speakers the world has
ever seen. But growing up labelled 'educable mentally retarded' made it
virtually impossible for him to get there. Young, ready and hungry, Les
Brown reveals how he scored his dream job in the most impossible way.

What an inspiring message !! #Ritikasingh

How "SHE" became an IAS officer | Surabhi Gautam | TEDxRGPV

Surabhi Gautam was born in an orthodox village of Madhya Pradesh, where
girl child had unequal rights. Years later she walks into the same
village and the entire village is celebrating her success. She talks
that knowledge is the only art of recognition.

Surabhi Gautam is a RGPV Alumni, and has secured AIR 1 in Indian
Engineering Services (IES), she has worked at Bhabha Atomic Research
Center and Indian Railways. She has recently Secured AIR 50 in UPSC
Civil Services Exam.She completed her B.tech in an ordinary engineering
college and went on to work in BARC as a scientist through gate score.
Later she prepared vigorously for IES-2013, with flying colors she
became the first ranker. She then chose to work in Indian Railways of
Signal Engineers and currently serving the nation. Surabhi Gautam is a
RGPV Alumni, and has secured AIR 1 in Indian Engineering Services (IES),
she has worked at Bhabha Atomic Research Center and Indian Railways.
She has recently Secured AIR 50 in UPSC Civil Services Exam.She
completed her B.tech in an ordinary engineering college and went on to
work in BARC as a scientist through gate score. Later she prepared
vigorously for IES-2013, with flying colors she became the first ranker.
She then chose to work in Indian Railways of Signal Engineers and
currently serving the nation. This talk was given at a TEDx event using
the TED conference format but independently organized by a local
community. Learn

How I Beat All Odds To Become An IAS Officer? | IAS Swetha Agarwal | The...

How to become an IAS officer/How Can I become an IAS? Most of the
aspirants will be having this question in their mind as they prepare for
the prelims in June. Here is IAS Swetha Agarwal, a grocer's daughter
from Bhadreshwar, who became the state topper by securing 19th rank in
the civil services exam. Watch this Josh Talks as she shares her story
of grit, determination and fulfilling a dream. She also lays down
pointers on how one can become an IAS officer or what it takes to become
an IAS?

Josh Talks is a platform for motivational stories of famous people from
India who have written their success story in life and are inspiring
others to do the same. Josh Talks brings you the most inspirational and
motivational speeches and videos of speakers. These stories revolve
around themes like success, dreams, happiness, achievements, failures,
hopes and are real-life stories of motivational speakers who have done
something great in life and will motivate you to change your thinking
and change your life for the better.

Powerful Inspirational true story...Never give up!

I want to say a BIG thank you to 'everyone' who has commented on the
inspiration that they've received from this video. When I put this video
together I was following my heart to inspire 'Whoever' might be
discouraged to... "Not Give Up!"

However, I have received the most from this posting. I have been blessed
from the countless strangers who have directly (or indirectly)
motivated me to continue forward.

I did not know when I posted this video that 'exactly a year after
posting this video that I would experience a tragic loss. Life has a
strange way of holding us up in our time of need.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Inspirational Video - Incredible true story

Always help others.You never know when You will be helped back..Thanks for watching and feel free to share.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Epic Bicycle Journey of an Indian Lover Covering 8 Countries



This is the story of an Indian boy who treavelled all the way from Delhi, India to Sweden by an old bicycle crossing Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark to meet his love.

The story of Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia shows that true love transcends all travesties, difficulties and troubles. 

Pradyumna Kumar Mahandia  born(1949) in Kandhapada village of Athmallik Sub-division in the district of Angul, Odisha an Indian state in a weavers family which belonged to a lower cast.  They were treated as “untouchables” at that time.

He attended the Mahendra High School, Athmallik and then joined Visva-Bharati to study art.  Despite his selection at the art School, it became impossible to pay the fee and he had to return home.  He later joined Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Odisha to study art.  To satisfy his quest for art he joined College of Art, Delhi to study Fine Arts in 1971.

During this time he shot to fame in portraiture by drawing the portrait of then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 

It is the year 1975, when Charlotte Von Sledvin, a 19-year-old student of Swedish royal family travels to India to get a portrait made by a gifted artist.  Despite the incredibly difficult circumstance the artist named Pradyuman Kumar Mahanandia had gained an outstanding reputation for being a gifted painter.  His reputation led Charlotte Von Sledvin to travel all the way to India to get her portrait done.

By the time the portrait was finished, the two had fallen in love. Pradyumna was fascinated with Charlotte’s beauty. Never before had he seen a more beautiful woman from the Western world. He gave his best to capture all her beauty in the portrait, yet never fully succeeded. Nonetheless, the portrait was magnificent and Charlotte fell for his simplicity and his beautiful character. Because of him, she spontaneously decided to stay longer in India. Out of a couple of days became weeks and then even months. The two had fallen so deeply in love that they decided to get married.  Charlotte took the Indian name Charulata and they both married following traditional rituals.


Unfortunately, the time came when Charlotte had to leave again in order to complete her studies in London. She asked her husband to come along, however, PK was still a student and wanted to finish his studies.  Thousands of miles separated the two but their feelings for each other never changed. They stayed in contact through letters, which they exchanged almost weekly with each other. Naturally, the newlyweds terribly struggled with the great distance between each other. Charlotte offered her husband to buy him air tickets, which he refused. He had not only decided to complete his studies first, but he had also set his mind on reuniting with the love of his life on his own terms. He even made her the promise that he would do anything he can to see her again.


After Pradyumna had finished his studies, he took all his possessions and sold them. Unfortunately, the money he earned didn’t even come close to a flight ticket. All he could afford was a cheap and used bicycle. Many would have been greatly disappointed, some would have even given up. But not Pradyumna. Instead of allowing the difficult circumstances to stop him from seeing his beloved wife again, he met the decision to use what he had in order to see her again. Nothing could stop him from reuniting with his wife, even if that meant an exhausting bicycle ride half around the world.

His decision was the beginning of a bicycle journey from India to the Western world. Pradyumna took all his paintings and brushes along with him in order to financially support his endeavor. His voyage led him through eight countries and took more than four months.

He sold all his belongings and bought a second-hand bicycle. Carrying all his paints and brushes along, he did the unthinkable.












He set out on a voyage to the Far West with a hope to reunite with his love. This was back in 1978.

He reached Amritsar from New Delhi before entering Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark.

His cycle broke down many times on the way and he even had to go on without food for days. But nothing could break his will.

After 4 months and 3 weeks of back-breaking journey, he finally reached Gothenburg, Sweden.

Those were the days when not many countries required visa for travelling.

Upon reaching, he was questioned by Swedish immigration officers who were amazed to see a man who had come from India riding a bicycle.

PK told them the reason behind his visit and produced photographs of his marriage with Charlotte.

Authorities were surprised and did not believe that someone of royal blood from Europe would marry a poor Indian.

The sudden revelation made even PK skeptical whether his lady love would accept him or not.


When Charlotte learned about the man from India who cycled all the way for around 5 months, she drove to Gothenburg and received her husband with unbridled happiness.

Her parents accepted Pradyumna as a part of their family by breaking a royal tradition that prohibited non-white people from residing with the nobles.

After 40 years of marriage, Dr PK Mahanandia serves as the Odiya Cultural Ambassador of India to Sweden and lives with his wife Charlotte and 2 children in Sweden.







His village, that once shunned him as an untouchable, now gives a thundering welcome every time he makes a visit.

Pradyumna is well known in Sweden as an artist and is working as an Adviser, Art and Culture, under the Swedish Government. Swedish Government in honour of their love has made films to document this immortal love of the century.










His paintings have been exhibited in major cities of the world and have found places in the prestigious UNICEF greeting cards.




On 4 January 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree (Degree of Honoris Causa) from Utkal University of Culture (UUC) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India. He was also designated as the Oriya Cultural ambassador to Sweden by the Government of Odisha.

Friday, July 27, 2018

A Heartwarming Farewell Gift


When Gene was diagnosed with melanoma, he had only been given six weeks left to live. It was a shocking diagnosis but Gene decided to use the time he had left to make all the necessary arrangements for his wife Carol, with whom he had been married for 30 years. He cashed out his pension and used the money to pay off the house they were living in. 
 
 
The second step was to arrange a trip for his wife Carol and the rest of the family to Italy. When they visited a specific church in Venice, a priest was already waiting for the couple. It was in this church that Gene’s parents had married more than 50 years ago. At that day, Gene and Carol renewed their wedding vows and had the most beautiful day.
 

After Gene had died, his wife Carol discovered that he hid hundreds of Post-it notes around the entire house, shortly before he died. Throughout the course of many months, she found one note after another. The notes are beautiful and very personal statements meant to encourage Carol in this difficult time. But Gene also reminded his wife in these statements to fully enjoy every aspect of life, to sell his car and to move on with her life. It was the most heartwarming farewell gift one could ever imagine.

Accident With a Happy Ending

When Frank’s wife had a car accident, she was so injured that she fell into a coma. Years passed but Frank did not stop visiting his wife at the hospital. Even though almost everyone – including the doctors – had given up hope, he remained faithful that she would one day recover. 
 
Every time he visited her, he began talking to her, recounting all those beautiful moments they spend with each other. One day, when he showed her the video of their wedding day, she slowly began to move her hand. 
 
She whispered his name and began gaining consciousness. Several weeks after she had woken up, she had fully recovered and was finally allowed to leave the hospital for good. When the couple left, she told Frank that she heard his voice while she was in a coma and that it was his voice that was the greatest aid in helping her to return to consciousness.

No Arms, No Legs but Love




In 2012, bomb disposal expert Taylor Morris was severely injured after the explosion of an improvised bomb in Afghanistan. The explosion took all his limbs and changed the life of the 23-year-old US military soldier forever. While recovering from the injuries in hospital, Taylor was confronted with the painful realization that his limbs had gone. He also had to face the fact that he would be dependent on assistance for the rest of his life. It was an incredibly difficult situation not only for him but also his family and especially his long-term girlfriend Danielle. But instead of ever giving him up, Danielle became Taylor’s pillar in life. She helped him recover and took care of him during this incredibly challenging time.

Danielle played an important role in Taylor’s quick recovery. She never went away from his side and assisted him greatly when he learned to walk again with his new prosthetic limbs. After Taylor had recovered, he proposed to his beloved girlfriend and they got married. It’s a beautiful ending of an incredibly inspiring love story that shows that nothing can ever stand in-between two people who really love each other.





This is the story of Taylor Morris, a 23 year-old Navy EOD tech:

Taylor Morris learned at an early age he was hooked on the outdoors, adventurous, the middle of 4 children and always the last one inside for dinner at his home in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His mother Juli recalled, "Our family took a camping trip from Niagra Falls down the East Coast one summer. Taylor set up the tents every night, started the fires, cooked the meals. Taylor was only 8 years old." As Taylor grew older and took to extreme water sports and rock climbing, Taylor discovered he was also very calm under extreme pressure. This quality would later make him the perfect candidate for the Navy's EOD, Explosive Ordinance Disposal.

Explosive ordinance disposal specialists were made famous in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. They are the preeminent tactical and technical explosives experts. Nicknamed 'The Shield', OED specialists always lead, the first to put themselves in harm's way to tackle unexploded ordinance and IED's.

Less than one month ago near the Kandahar province in Afghanistan, Taylor was doing his job, right out in front.

Leading a team of Army Special forces to a classified location, Taylor stepped on an IED. It exploded underneath him and blew off all four of his limbs. Taylor recalled the moment to me over the phone,

"As soon as I stepped on it, I knew. There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the heat. I knew I had lost my legs. As I somersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off."

Taylor landed back in the blast crater. This is where the story of Taylor's bravery goes next-level.

After the explosion, Taylor didn't lose consciousness, he didn't go into shock. His thoughts immediately crystallized. Even though Taylor was bleeding to death, he called to the oncoming medics NOT to come get him, putting their safety in front of his own life.

"I recounted the moment of the explosion. There was no visual on the mine and no sound ID on my mine detector. That told me the mine was old. If there were other mines out there, the medics wouldn't see them or detect them unless it was cleared properly. I knew I had arterial bleeding from all 4 limbs and I was bleeding out fast. I told my buddies to stop, it would only have hurt me more if somebody stepped on another one."

The area around Taylor was finally cleared by the second EOD and the medic finally administered combat casualty care. Taylor remained conscious through the ordeal.

Three days later on May 6th Taylor landed back in the States and was transported to Walter Reed hospital in Washington D.C. to begin the long and painful rehab process. Upon his arrival, Taylor became only the 5th person at Walter Reed to ever survive a four limb amputation. His physical progression in the last three weeks has defied everybody's expectations, "My body is responding well. I'm already sitting up. I'm very fortunate." Just yesterday, the stitches in his arms were removed and he was fitted for prosthetics.

I asked Taylor if he's been given a time frame to return home to Iowa.

"Nobody really wants to give me a time frame, I understand that. The doctors here are amazing but I don't know when I'll go home. I've got goals though, personal goals, and I intend on achieving them."

As our conversation drew to an end I asked Taylor if he needed anything medically, "No, I'm fully covered by the Navy for my medical needs." I asked, "Ok, Taylor, if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Taylor paused and finally spoke,

"I've always dreamed of having a log cabin in the woods on a lake. A traditional wood cabin on the outside with a modern interior. And good lighting. Good lighting is important. My girlfriend Danielle and I, we live simple lives but we've always loved being active, spending time outside with our families."

I asked Taylor's girlfriend Danielle about this dream cabin. She said, "Taylor and I are both savers, and we had been working our butts off to ensure we'd have a cabin, close to water to do water sports, and places we can hike. After what happened, we will not abandon that dream if it takes years of saving."

After I thanked Taylor for the zillionth time for his service, I hung up the phone and sat in silence recalling our conversation. I was so nervous when we first started chatting but somehow Taylor sets you at ease. He made it ok to ask hard questions about the explosion that nearly killed him and his painful rehab. I recalled something his mother had told me over the phone, "Taylor has a certain humility about his pain, it comforts you."

I knew I had just spoken to a hero, not the movie kind either, a real one. And I think he deserves a hero's homecoming. Taylor hesitated to tell me his own timeline to return home, that hope belongs to him alone, but I believe when he does return home at the end of this long journey, HOME should be to a place he's always dreamed about.




 

A Weightlifters Promise

When Susann saw Matthias Steiner, an Austrian weightlifter, during a contest on TV, she immediately became interested in him. She was so determined to meet the athlete that she kept asking the TV commentators for his contact details for so long until they finally gave in. Once she had his email address, she contacted him and they both agreed to meet each other. It was love at first sight and the two married not long after meeting for the first time.

The young weightlifter moved for his wife to Germany and applied for the German citizenship. He was so in love with her that he also promised her that he would one day bring her an Olympic medal. Matthias Steiner was determined to live up to his promise, but things came differently. In 2007, his beautiful wife Susann died in a car accident. It was an unimaginable tragedy for the young man. But he remembered what he had promised his wife. It was the promise that kept him going through this difficult time. He became so determined that he was finally selected to become part of the German Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

During the contest, Matthias Steiner was faced with incredibly challenging competitors. He had three weightlifting attempts but failed in two. Seeing his chances of ever reaching the podium diminishing, he put everything he had left into the third and final attempt. And as luck would have it, he managed to lift the incredibly heavy weight, which won him the Olympic gold medal. The scene when he was awarded the medal was broadcasted to millions of viewers all around the world and Steiner simply couldn’t help himself but broke out into tears while holding a picture of his wife into the cameras.

The Man Who Moved a Mountain



There are people who say love can move mountains. This might not be physically possible, but Dashrath Manjhi, also known as the ‘Mountain Man’, came quite close. In one day of his life, his wife fell while crossing a nearby hill and hurt herself seriously. She needed quick medical assistance, but that wasn’t possible due to the hill that isolated their small village from the next town. Tragically enough, his wife died from the serious injuries before Dashrath could do anything about it. It was the night when Dashrath Manjhi decided to carve a small path through the mountain in order to give his village easier access to medical assistance.

It was an ambitious plan and he was heavily ridiculed for it. But after working for 22 years with the greatest determination and willpower, a path was carved into the hill. Even though he was initially mocked and ridiculed for his mission to give his hometown easier access to the nearby town, he finally succeeded. His life’s work helped to reduce the distance between the two towns from 55 km to only 15 km, so that never again such a thing would happen.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The Shark - Short Story By Leo Tolstoy




Once, a ship was anchored off the coast of Africa. The weather was pleasant in the morning, but a hot breeze from the Sahara desert made it extremely hot and humid towards evening.

Just before sunset, the captain came on deck and called out, "Time for a swim."

Immediately sailors jumped into the water, lowered a canvas mat and made it into a swimming pool. They had been waiting for this moment the whole day.

There were two young boys on the ship. They both jumped in, but swam out into the open sea since it was too crowded inside the ‘pool’. They played and chased each other in the open sea. Their fathers cheered them on, often egging one of the boys to prove his mettle over the other.

Suddenly, somebody from the deck called out, "Shark! Shark!"

Confusion and panic ensued, and everyone scrambled to safety. Everyone, except the two boys. They had not heard the shouts.

The shark was moving towards the boys.

The gunner shouted, "Come back my boys! There is a shark out there!" One of the boys was his son. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do. He could not think clearly.

The people on the deck screamed hysterically. But the boys could not hear them. They continued to play and to swim, oblivious to the monstrous danger approaching them fast.

The gunner's face became as white as a sheet. He could feel the ground under his feet slipping away. He appeared to go into a trance.

The sailors lowered a boat, jumped into it and rowed towards the boys. Just then, one of the boys looked back and saw the large animal he knew too well. He screamed with fright. The other boy heard the screams and saw the shark. Panic seized them, and they began to swim in different directions.

Their screams brought the gunner back to his senses, and he rushed towards the cannon. He turned the barrel of the cannon, aimed it and lit the wick. He had to get it right. If he made a slight mistake in direction, all would be lost.

A shot rang out. The gunner dropped down beside the cannon and covered his face with his hands.

There was complete silence. No one could see what had happened to the shark and the boys, as the smoke was too thick. When it faded, people roared with joy. The gunner got up and looked out at the sea. The dead shark was floating on the waves with its yellow belly up.

Then the boat reached the boys and brought them back to the ship.

The gunner allowed himself a smile.

The Little Girl And Mushrooms


The Little Girl And Mushrooms
Short Story By Leo Tolstoy

Innocence and love are characteristic features of little children. Leo Tolstoy’s story about two sisters meeting with a near disaster brings out the extent of innocence, heart wrenching emotions and love that are the hall marks of kids all over the world. Read on to familiarize yourself with this story.

It was a fine summer morning, perfect to be outdoors. Two sisters had been out mushroom picking, and were on their home with heavy baskets full of mushrooms. They sang songs on the way, and played with each other.


Soon they reached a point where they had to cross a railway track. They did not think twice about crossing it since there was no train coming, and they could not hear any whistle. They slowly climbed the embankment to cross the track, taking care not to drop the baskets. They were very near the track and the little sister was about the cross it, when they heard the distinct horn of a train.


The older sister got frightened and ran back. She thought that the young one was following her. She turned back and was shocked to see her little sister still crossing the track. “Come back here, run back fast,” she screamed.


It seemed that the little girl could not hear her sister. She was still concentrating on stepping over the track with her little feet, and holding on to the basket. Then she tripped and fell on the track, scattering her mushrooms around. She sat down and began picking them up and putting in her basket.


In the meanwhile the elder sister had become hysteric. She cried and screamed, calling her little sister to leave the mushrooms and run back, but it seemed as though the little one could not hear her.


The engine driver panicked on seeing the girl and blew his whistle with all his might, but she appeared not to hear the whistle. Her sister was now crying loudly, overcome by panic, as the little sister crawled between the tracks on her hands and knees, to pick the rest of the mushrooms.

The engine driver was helpless as it was not possible for him to stop the engine suddenly. He blew the whistle as hard as he could, but the engine rolled over the little girl. The older sister clasped her face with her trembling hands and cried bitterly. The passengers too panicked at the thought of the sight they would have to witness. The guard ran down to the end of the train to see what happened to the little girl. When the train passed, everybody saw her lying very still between the tracks with her face down.


Then she raised her head, sprang to her knees and began gathering the remaining mushrooms.


The big sister ran towards her, tears streaming down her face. They hugged and kissed each other, crying out of happiness, tears of joy flowing down their little cheeks. Never were two souls so happily united as at that moment. She promised her little sister that thereafter she would hold her hand tightly while crossing the railway line.


The two sisters then picked all the remaining mushrooms, and hand in hand, solemnly walked back home. They were indeed two souls who had become wiser than their years, in the span of a few minutes.


Saturday, July 21, 2018

Beautiful Garden



The story is told of a nobleman who had a lovely floral garden. The gardener who tended it took great pains to make the estate a veritable paradise. One morning he went into the garden to inspect his favorite flowers. To his dismay he discovered that one of his choice beauties had been cut from its stem. Soon he saw that the most magnificent flowers from each bed were missing. Filled with anxiety and anger, he hurried to his fellow employees and demanded, "Who stole my treasures?"

One of his helpers replied, "The nobleman came into his garden this morning, picked those flowers himself, and took them into his house. I guess he wanted to enjoy their beauty." The gardener then realized that he had no reason to be concerned because it was perfectly right for his master to pick some of his own prize blossoms.

Asking Not, Expecting Not



Our Daily Bread, June 4, 1997

Imagine what a heavy schedule of appointments President Abraham Lincoln had to keep day after day. Yet when an elderly woman with no official business in mind asked to see him, he graciously consented.

As she entered Lincoln's office, he rose to greet her and asked how he might be of service. She replied that she had not come to ask a favor. She had heard that the President liked a certain kind of cookie, so she had baked some for him and brought them to his office.

With tears in his eyes, Lincoln responded, "You are the very first person who has ever come into my office asking not, expecting not, but rather bringing me a gift. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Ronald Reagan and Clapping

Ronald Reagan was a favorite of mine. He served as President as, hopefully, most of you know, and also before he was President, he was Governor of California. He was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Ronald Reagan shares a story about going to Mexico City when he was Governor of California. And he gave a speech, and there was a big crowd. And after he finished with his speech, it just didn't go very well, and it was a very unenthusiastic little kind of clap like that when he was done. And he's like,

"Man..." And he thought did I do that bad' Is it just a rough crowd' What is it' Well, he went to sit down on the platform, and the guy that got up after him, man; he showed him it wasn't a bad crowd because he was slaying the crowd.

They were just clapping and cheering. And he was speaking in Spanish and Ronald Reagan didn't understand anything he said. He felt embarrassed and awkward. And he thought, You know, this is going to be weird. So he said, "Well, I'm just going to start clapping, too, and I'll clap longer and louder and first and then they'll know that, hey, I'm okay with who I am. And just because they didn't clap for me, that's okay. I'm still going to clap. And so he was doing it, clapping first, and clapping longest, and clapping loudest.

Finally, somebody leaned over to him and said, "Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said, "That man's interpreting your speech" (laughter). A little embarrassing!

Friday, July 20, 2018

Remember Dorothy



At an ordination service several years ago, the minister who gave the ordination sermon urged the one who was being ordained to “Remember Dorothy.” No one knew what he was talking about, including the one being ordained.
The minister told a story about a woman who was in nursing school. One day the Professor came in and said those seven words students hate to hear, “We’re going to have a pop quiz.” She made it through the quiz until she got to the last question. It read, “What is the name of the woman who cleans the school?”
 
You’re going to meet a lot of people when you get out in the field of medicine. You may be tempted to treat them as diseases instead of as people. But each one is important and each one has a name. And by the way, her name is Dorothy.” There are a lot of Dorothy’s out there and in here. If we are going to fulfill God’s purposes as God’s servants (which is what a deacon and all Christians are supposed to be), we need to love people which require at least a little bit of knowledge about who our members are and what their needs are. The more we know them, the more we can love them.
I challenge our newly elected and newly ordained deacons to get to know our folks better so that they can be the best they can be. And I challenge the rest of us to do the same.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Poverty and Unbelief

On the corner of Park Row and Beekman Street, New York City, where Horace Greeley’s Statue now stands, stood a man offering $20 gold pieces for $1 each. All day he kept up loudly announcing his wares, but of the thousands that passed him, most paid no attention and others either laughed or scowled at him.

About 15 minutes before six o’clock, when he was about to quit, a woman timidly approached him and, after carefully investigating the gold piece, by biting it and testing its sound, but throwing it on the pavement, she reluctantly paid the dollar and pocketed the golden double eagle. Ten minutes later, just as the man was about to go home, the woman reappeared accompanied by two friends and between them they purchased the rest of the man’s stock, worth $160, for $8 in bills.

The next and for several following mornings, the street was crowded for blocks with the same woman in the lead waiting for the vender of gold coins, but he never appeared again.

This story is known to be true and Horace Greeley is responsible for the incident in demonstration of his theory that most poverty is due to the fact that the general public refuses to believe even in the face of overwhelming evidence and there is the point.

Is that a perfect example of many people in America today? Many who come to church would probably fall into this category. But God does not call us to unbelief He calls us to believe. Faith and unbelief can not live together they do not mix.

Try doing this sometime. Take an empty 2-Liter bottle, and fill it up half way with just plain water, and the other half fill up with vegetable oil. Then try shaking that bottle up and mixing those two things together. What’s going to happen? Well, you can shake that bottle all day, but as soon as you stop shaking it, the oil and the water are going to separate from each other in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Why? Back in 11th Grade Chemistry Class you learned that oil and water are “polar opposites” of each other. These two substances have a totally different chemical make-up from each other, which makes it impossible for them to mix together. Polar opposites just don’t mix.

what we’re going to focus on this morning are the polar opposites in this story. We are going to study the characters and see a number of things that just don’t mix very well inside a person: 1. Faith & Unbelief 2. Humility & Pride.

When you are tempted to doubt God’s promises, remember that 2-Liter bottle with oil and water not mixing. Neither can your doubt mix with faith! Get rid of it, and have a simple, strong trust that God is going to work everything out. Remember that 2-Liter bottle when you are tempted to think of yourself as an important person. Pride sure doesn’t mix very well with humility.

Good Friend


Back in the 1980’s Sam Rayburn - Speaker for the House of Representatives - learned that one of his friends had just lost his teenage daughter. 
 
Early the next morning Rayburn knocked on his door and said, “I just came by to see what I could do to help.” 
 
The father replied that there was nothing to do. “Well,” Rayburn said, “have you had your coffee this morning?” 
 
The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. So Rayburn went to work in the kitchen. While he working on making breakfast, his friend came in, and said, “Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.” “Well, I was, but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble and I couldn’t come.”


This is great example of true friend is all about. He is willing to rearrange his schedule no matter how important it might be to help a friend out that is need.