Selena & Drew - Crush

Very cute song and great lyrics

Leadership vs. Management: What are the Characteristics of a Leader and a Manager

Leadership and management are terms that are often used interchangeably in the business world to depict someone who manages a team of people. In reality leadership vs. management have very different meanings. To be a great manager you must understand what it takes to also be a great leader.

Leadership vs. Management: Characteristics of a Manager

Let's begin by breaking down some key characteristics of a manager. This role in a typical company or organization will reflect a person who's primary focus is on managing a team of people and their activities. The role can differ by scope, types of roles, and can sometimes even be focused on efforts outside of true people management, for example project and process managers.

One of the key characteristics of a manager is very basic in the sense that they are someone who was given their authority by the nature of their role. They ensure work gets done, focus on day to day tasks, and manage the activities of others. Managers focus on tactical activities and often times have a more directive and controlling approach. Being tactical is not altogether a negative approach as this is a skill set that is greatly needed in business especially in the fast paced environments most of us work and live in. Being able to organize people to accomplish tasks can be a great asset.

In many organizations, managers are often times the previous high performers at the employee level. Does this mean they are ready for the challenge of people management? In many cases, the answer is no. To demonstate solid characteristics of a manager, these previous high performers must be trained. While all types of people can manage, we will now examine what makes a manager a solid leader.

Leader

Now if we look at the characteristics of a leader. When you hear the term, leader, a number of images may pop into your head. One phrase that may come to mind is "he or she is a born leader". This phrase does depict a great deal about the difference in managers and leaders as there are a great many distinctions. To demonstate characteristics of a leader you must be more strategically focused and rather than directing employees through tasks, they inspire and motivate employees to drive themselves. Leaders are adapt in the art of Emotional Intelligence and apply it in a way that attains the best work out of their people.

While a manager receives their authority based on their role, a leader's authority is innate in their approach. Good leadership skills are difficult to learn because they are far more behavioral in nature than those skills needed for management. Think of how different it is to teach someone to manage a particular task with a handbook on how to perform it versus trying to teach someone to effectively negotiate a sale. One, is step by step while the other employs a number of soft skills that, if unfamiliar, can be very difficult to master. This is one reason that building characteristics of a leader can be so challenging for new managers.

Leaders are also very focused on change. Recognizing that continual improvement can be achieved in their people and their activities can be a great step towards continued success. Being able to lead their teams through change, rather than manage them through it has infinite rewards.

A commonly coined phrase tells us that leadership is doing the right thing and management is doing things right. This illustrates how the two skill sets need to work together. In order to be fully rounded, you must have the ability to manage the day to day tasks and deliver results, while seeing the opportunity for change and the big picture. Demonstrating good leadership skills without the management skills to support it, will leave you with an inability to operationalize your visions. Likewise, being a good manager without good leadership skills will cause continual challenges in motivating your team and producing the results you are trying to manage to. Being able to blend these two styles is truly a unique skill set. Keep in mind there are an abundance of managers in the world but very few truly embody the characteristics of a leader.

JUST A MINUTE (JAM)

JAM's was a email with quotes sent out by our HR in Baan, Hyd. I like quotes and collected them all and made a webpage on my geocities home page and now getting it on here...


My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match.
However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches
shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats
into victories.
~ Bjorn Borg ~

It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special
place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping."
--John Sinor

Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality."
-- Bruce Lee

"Oh, we have a home. We just need a house to put it in."
-10 year old homeless girl

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter."-Martin Luther King Jr.

Life is free... It's the shipping and handling that costs !!!
If at first U succeed , try to hide your astonishment !
There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish
to scatter joy and not pain around us.
* Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shoot for the moon.
Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars
by Les Brown

If you treat a person as he is, he will become what he is; if you treat a person as he could
be, he will become what he can be.
A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else.
- Len Wein

"We can't all be heros because somebody has to sit on the curb
and clap as they go by."
-Will Rodgers

"For every door that shuts, a window opens."
Anon

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
- Murphy's Laws

Money can't buy happiness; it can, however, rent it!

There must be more to life than sitting wondering if there is more to
life.

Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what
they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.

Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.
-Robert Frost

"Cherish your visions;
cherish your ideals;
cherish the music that stirs in your heart,
the beauty that forms in your mind,
the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts,
for out of them will grow delightful conditions,
all heavenly environment;
of these if you but remain true to them,
your world will at last be built."
~ James Allen ~

People say 'I want peace'. If you remove I (ego) and your want (desire), you are left with peace.
Satya Sai Baba

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.
-John G. Riefenbaker

You know something... August 2nd Sunday is Friendship Day !!!! Is'nt it great that finally we have learnt to give importance to this relationship also and have designated a DAY for it... Our lives are right now so complexed with all the demands and expectations from our work, family, society etc that somewhere along the way, simple things like keeping in touch with a friend has taken a back seat.

So use this opportunity to show you care....
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill? Seek him always with
hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in the sweetness of
friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasure.
-Kahlil Gibran (1833-1931)

There’s nothing more precious in this world than the feeling of being wanted.
-Diana Dors (1931-1984)

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are
slightly cracked. -- Bernard Meltzer

He has not learned the lesson of life who does not everyday surmount a fear.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good.
Courage is contagious.
When a brave man takes a stand,
The spines of others are stiffened."
--- Billy Graham

" I may not always get what I want;
But in the end I always win."
--- Ainsley Carry

If there is darkness, we have our flashlights....If there is
despair, fear, anxiety, anger, or agony, we can become our own best
parents and hold the little child inside of us.
-Unknown

"We hurry through the so-called boring things in order to attend to
that which we deem more important, interesting. Perhaps the final freedom
will be a recognition that everything in every moment is 'essential' and
that nothing at all is 'important.'"-Helen M. Luke
What I do today is important because I am paying a day of my life for it.
What I accomplish must be worthwhile because the price is high.
-unknown

There is no right way to do wrong.
-unknown

I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.
-- Lily Tomlin

Q: What is the difference between ignorance and indifference?
A: I don`t know and I don`t care.
-- Saul Bellow

I think for anyone who's gone through a crisis, there comes a turning
point, an epiphany, that marks the beginning of the end.
~ Deborah Norville ~

You can't say civilization doesn't advance. In every war they kill you a new way.
Will Rogers

Intelligence is the effort to do the best you can at your particular job.
-J. C. Penney

Love thy neighbor -- but don`t get caught.
-- Joey Adams

I`m not a vegetarian because I love animals. I`m a vegetarian because I
hate plants.
-- A. Whitney Brown

"Worry doesn't help tomorrow's troubles, but it does ruin today's
happiness."

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of
principle, stand like a rock."-Thomas Jefferson

The Best way to have a good idea is to have lot of ideas !!!!!
The one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of travelling.
-Margaret Lee Runbeck

You may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.
-Mary Pickford

Beifeld's Principle: The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression when he is already in the company of:
(1) a date (2) his wife (3) a better looking and richer male friend.

If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one ?
- Abraham Lincoln

Life is all about choices and of different paths that we take... I dont have a right to criticise the path you take, just because you are going on a different path... We R all different and that is why it is refreshing.... Ok.. For today's thoughts...

"Never search for answers to which you know no questions lie,
because life is not meant to be proven, but for it just to be."-
"My life is full of mistakes. They're like pebbles that make a good
road."-Beatrice Wood

"If you can't have the best of everything, makes the best of
everything you have."

"Treasure each other in the recognition that we do not know how long
we shall have each other."( a reality in this fast and competitive world !!!)
There is this difference between happiness and wisdom: he that thinks
himself the happiest man, really is so; but he that thinks himself the
wisest, is generally the greatest fool.
* Charles Caleb Colton

Life doesn't require that we be the best, only that we try our best.
- H. Jackson Brown

He that lacks time to mourn, lacks time to mend.
- William Shakespeare

If at first you Succeed, hide your astonishment !!!!
The only time you realise you have a reputation is when you fail to live up to it !!!!
I've learned that you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes.
After that, you'd better know something !
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself
To the best others can do,
But to the best you can do.
I've learned that it's not what happens to people that's important.
It's what they do about it.
I've learned that you can do something in an instant
That will give you a heartache for life.
I've learned that no matter how thin you slice it,
There are always two sides.
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents,
You miss them terribly after they die.
I've learned that it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.
I've learned that it's a lot easier to react than it is to think.
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
Someone will always stumble across the truth. And usually he'll pick himself up and carry on.
Yes! God created man before women, but you always create a draft before the final masterpiece.( Very true !!!)
I've learned that you should always leave loved ones
With loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't !!
Everything starts with a positive thought....
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do,
No matter how we feel.
I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
"Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticize me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I may not forget you."
-William Arthur

"And when somebody knows you well
Well, there's no comfort like that
And when somebody needs you
Well, there's no drug like that"
-Heather Nova

If I have Learned Anything.. Actually the thought that follows may be slightly on the controversial side and believe me.. I thought of censoring that one.. But then Morals are something that applies to every facet of life, whether it is a relationship with your parents or with some significant person in your life

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy
A relationship is at first,
The passion fades and there had better be something else
To take its place.
I've learned that heroes are the people
Who do what has to be done,
When it needs to be done,
Regardless of the consequences.
I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.
An optimist is simply a pessimist with no job experience.
If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what the hell was yesterday?
If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings - including this one.
"Treasure what you have.
Time is too slow for those who wait;
Too swift for those who fear;
Too long for those who grieve;
Too short for those who rejoice;
But for those who love time is eternity."
Success is more attitude than aptitude.

The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
- Chinese Proverb

It is all right to hold a conversation but you should let go of it now and then.
- Richard Armour

Managers are people who do things right; leaders are people who do the right thing.
- Warren Bennis

"There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking." --Alfred Korzybski

"Nothing is as embarrasing as watching someone do something that you said couldn't be done."
Taylor's Law

The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the stupidity of your action.
Murphy's Laws of Love

Money can't buy love, but it sure gets you a great bargaining position
The First Law of Sexual Equality
Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good.
Luckily this is not difficult.

"Peace will come when the power of love overcomes the love of
power."-Jimi Hendrix

"Mankind should put an end to war before war puts an end to
mankind."-John F. Kennedy

A great man is always willing to be little.
A man wrapped up only in himself makes a very small bundle.
If you have a great ambition, take as big a step as possible in
the direction of fulfilling it. The step may only be a tiny one, but
trust that it may be the largest one possible for now.
~ Mildred Mcafee ~

It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: what are we
busy about? -Henry David Thoreau

The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.
-Martina Navratilova

Within each of us is a hidden store of energy.
Energy we can release to compete in the marathon of life.
Within each of us is a hidden store of courage.
Courage to give us the strength to face any challenge.
Within each of us is a hidden store of determination.
Determination to keep us in the race when all seems lost.
~ Roger Dawson ~

A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.
THINK -- it gives you something to do while the computer is down.
I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein

Mastery is not about perfection. It's about a process, a journey.
-George Leonard.

Throughout the history of mankind, if any motive power has been more potent than another
in the lives of all great men and women, it is that of FAITH IN THEMSELVES. Born with the
consciousness that they were great, they became great !!!
-Swami Vivekananda.

The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Lao-Tse

Be not simply good ; be good for something.
Henry David Thoreau

The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated
- William James

If wisdom's ways you'd wisely seek,
five things observe with care,
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
And how, and when, and where.
Be hopeful ! For tomorrow has never happened before !
How you are going to feel today is a decision you make.
"In three words, I can sum up everything I know about life: it
goes on."
--Robert Frost

"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at
hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have
applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."
--Vince Lombardi

Is'nt it nice that in this ever changing world, there are some things which are constant.. like a mother's love, the joy of watching a child take its first step, the innocence of a child...
In giving advise, seek to help, not please, a friend.
Nothing reveals a man's character better than the kind of joke at which he takes offense.
G.C.Lichtenberg.

Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity.
Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic.
- Stephen Covey

Trouble brings experience and experience brings wisdom.
A strong sense of purpose, a passion, a conviction, a sense of wanting to do something
important to make a difference- that's what marks every true leader.
I can resist everything except temptation.
Oscar Wilde

A diplomat is a person who thinks twice before he says nothing.
Frederick Sawyer

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't. -Henry Ward Beecher

"You never know when you're making a memory."
( Good one !! and very profound too !)

"Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's
forehead."-Chinese proverb

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter
---E. E. Cummings

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
---Albert Einstein

Some people see more in a walk around the block than others see in a trip around the world.
The greatest discovery of our generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
- William James

You got to be careful if you don`t know where you are going,
because you might not get there.
-- Yogi Berra

Q: What is the difference between ignorance and indifference?
A: I don`t know and I don`t care.
-- Saul Bellow

Attitude almost always, determines your Altitude in life. So always dare to soar !!!
And unless we attack every problem with enthusiasm, as if our survival depended on it, we cannot attain true Sucess !!!
You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
- Deng Ming-Dao

Small things well done.. lead to great things!!!
T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K
Coming together is a Beginning..
Keeping together is Progress..
And working together is a SUCCESS

What is defeat? Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better.
- Wendell Phillips

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
- Chinese proverb

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception.
If at first you Succeed, try to hide your astonishment !
"Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity."
-Christopher Morley

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away, and you have their shoes too !!!

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience !!!
The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.
- John Rushkin

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
- Aristotle

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything.
The pessimist may be right in the long run,
but the optimist has a better time during the trip!
Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. -Jonathan Kozol

"The key to willpower is wantpower. People who want something bad
enough can usually find the willpower to achieve it."
"Love is what's left in a relationship when all of the selfishness
has been removed."

"The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you're
finished."-Benjamin Franklin

"A FRIEND is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart,
Chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it,
Keep what is worth keeping and with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away."
-Arabian Proverb

something about the struggle of Tibetan people.. Inspite of them being tortured and humiliated and chased away from their homeland by Chinese.. they still believe and follow the practice of treating their enemies as PURE JEWELS.. Buddhism has taught them love and tolerance and they believe that suffering makes them much more stronger. It is not only the Dalai Lama (the 14th reincarnation of Buddha) but each and every refugee( U should read the amount the torture they have undergone) talks the same. No hatred .. No violence and No desire for material things.. Great Culture there's is !!!

Anger and hatred are our real enemies.

These are the forces we most need to confront and defeat, not the temporary "enemies"(meaning the chinese) who appear intermittently throughout life !!!
- Palden (62 yrs) Dharamsala, India

Palden was arrested at his monastery in 1959 and spent 24 years in prison, where he was tortured frequently - actually loosing 20 teeth in one beating. He managed to flee Tibet in
1987 and came to Dharamsala. He told this author "I no longer have anger for my captors.
However, I feel it is my responsibility to let the outside world know what is happening in
Tibet."
Courtesy :Phil Bhorges -Author of The People of Endangered Cultures .

The Murphy Philosophy
Smile . . . tomorrow will be worse.
Rule of Accuracy: When working toward the solution of a problem, it always helps if you know the answer.
Corollary: Provided, of course, that you know there is a problem.
Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it.

Don't frown when your sad, because you never know when someone is
falling in love with your smile.

Be like a postage stamp... stick to one thing until you get there.
- Josh Billings

Goals should be SMART:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Assignable (who does what)
R = Realistic
T = Time-Related

Enjoy yourself. it's later than you think
-chinese proverb

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt with the heart. -- Hellen Keller

LIFE BEGINS EACH MORNING: Whether one is twenty, forty, sixty, or eighty;
whether one has succeeded,failed or just muddled along - Life Begins Each Morning!
Life is a day, this day. All past days are gone beyond revisiting.
All days that still may come are veiled in mystery.
Each new day is Life, and life begins anew with it.
Each night of life is a wall between today and the past.
Each morning is the open door to a new world - new vistas, new aims, new plans, new thoughts.
The greatest fact in life is this, that it never is too late to start again.
Biography simply overflows with inspiring examples of this truth.
However discouraging your days may have been,
keep this thought burning brightly in your mind Life Begins Each Morning !
- L. M. Hodges

Douglas Adams : "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so."

Charlie McCarthy: "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy."

"Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue."
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."-George Bernard Shaw

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement."

"The measure of one's real character is what they would do if they would never be found out."

"Treasure what you have.
Time is too slow for those who wait;
Too swift for those who fear;
Too long for those who grieve;/
Too short for those who rejoice;
But for those who love...
time is eternity."

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
(anonymous)

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
~Vince Lombardi

"Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much of life. So aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."
-Henry David Thoreau

"Heaven's not beyond the clouds, it's just beyond the fear."
-Garth Brooks

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness
* John Keats

There is one art of which man should be master, the art of reflection.
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman."
- Margaret Thatcher

We see but dimly through the mists and vapors;
Amid these earthly damps
What seem to us but sad, funeral tapers
May be heaven's distant lamps.
-Longfellow (1819-1892)

"The cure for anything is salt water--sweat, tears, or the sea."
-Isak Dinesen

"Never search for answers to which you know no questions lie,
because life is not meant to be proven, but for it just to be."
- Unknown

"There is nothing harder than being given your chance."
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."-Dorothy Nevill

Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.
Thomas A. Bennett

"I can't speak for others whom I don't know. All I know is that we all have our own journey.
My journey will be different from yours. We may cross paths in the future; we may not.
I am not going to tell anyone what their journey should be. Life has its ups and downs.
It's how we deal/cope with those events that gives us our character and lends empathy and sympathy to our lives. I don't know all the answers. I only know what has worked for me and I am willing to listen and help other people along their life's journeys."
-Lenny(I dont know who he is.. but I liked what he said !!)

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it!

~ Mother Teresa ~

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting
started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small
manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
~ Mark Twain ~

Remember everything that is done in the world, is done by hope. Every time a new year dawns, each of us wish all for prosperity and happiness and then by our words and actions, spoil the same things that we wished them to have.. It should be a philosophy for us to Everyday be kind to a person who can't reciprocate our kindness.. Hope for better times, Hope for hatred to vanish, hope for Peace.. that is what the world needs and I am sure we can achieve it .. if we stop to do it..

As long as we have friendship, today is beautiful.
As long as we have memories, yesterday remains.
As long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits.
To look up and not down,
to look forward and not back,
to look out and not in; and
to lend a hand.
We have two ends,
With a common link;
With one we sit,
With one we think.
Success depends on what we use
Heads we win; tails we lose!

"The best way to predict the future is to create it.
-Peter F.Drucker

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hold yourself responsible to a higher standard than anyone expects of you. Never excuse yourself.
- Henry Ward Beecher

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!
- Theodore Roosevelt

Wisdom is not in words; wisdom is in the meaning of words.
(Kahil Gibran)

The fact is, the difference between peak performers and everybody else are much smaller than "everybody
else" thinks.
- Charles Garfield

The most important thought you can ever hold is: Your life matters.
- David McNally

"Religions are different roads converging upon the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal?"
-M.K.Gandhi.

"He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures."
-Friedrich Nietzche

"Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge."
---Carmelia Elliot

"It doesn't take strength to hold a grudge; it takes strength to let go of one."

New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.
- John Locke

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words
and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.
* Martin Luther King, Jr.

Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." --A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

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.

just for laughs.. something that i found in the net...
The following proverbs were collected by a first grade teacher over the years.
She gave her classes part of an old proverb and let them fill in the rest.
A Miss Is As Good As A........ Mr.
An Idle Mind Is........ The Best Way To Relax.
Laugh & The Whole World Laughs With You, Cry &....You Have To Blow Your Nose
Where There's Smoke, There's........ Pollution.
Happy The Bride Who........ Gets All The Presents!
A Penny Saved Is........ Not Much.
Two's Company, Three's........ The Musketeers.
Don't Put Off Tomorrow What........ You Put On To Go To Bed.
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
- Henry David Thoreau

"There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking." --Alfred Korzybski, Manhood of Humanity

Excellence can be attained if you:
- Care more than others think is wise
- Risk more than others think is safe
- Dream more than others think is practical
- Expect more than others think is possible

COMMITMENT:
Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.
It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions and the actions which speak louder than words.
It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time.
Commitment is the stuff character is made of.
It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.

Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be what you wish others to become.
Once a sage went into a river and was offering his morning prayers, while going he found a crab on the shore and it was in such a precarious position that it could have been easily trampled by any - feeling pity the sage picked it up and tried to put it back in the water - the crab bit him hard. There was much pain and he had to let the crab go, but after some time the sage again picked up the crab and tried to throw it into water again it bit him!!, he let it go and the same sequence happened four to five time and finally the sage put the crab into the water and was satisfied. seeing all this a simpleton laughed and approached the sage and asked him
"Oh Sage did'nt u know that the crab would bite u in the first place? further u seem to be a mad person, didnt u learn any lesson after the first bite?
the sage replies "it is the nature of the crab to bite and protect it self, it has no discriminatory power - my nature is to love - it held to its nature and I to mine"
The moral of this story - Once bitten, dont be shy to try again..

A story of Sri Ramakrishna Parasimha
Once a mother came with her 5 year old son.She said to the great man " Swamiji my son has a bad habit. He eats a lot of jaggery.Could you please advice him to stop?He will listen if you say." Then Paramahamsa told her to go and come back next week. The lady left and came back next week and again the great man said come back next week.Finally at the fourth visit Swami called the kid sat him on his lap and adviced him about the ill effects of eating jaggery and adviced him to stop eating it.

The next week the mother came and told Paramahamsa that her son had stopped eating jaggery. Then she said "O great one,if Iam not being impertinent can you tell me why you waited 3-4 weeks before you adviced my son?Was there any reason behind it?If so please tell me."
Then the great saint said "When you first came to me I myself was an addict of jaggery and used to take jaggery by the kilos daily. How can I then him advice your little son to abstain from it?So I started to control it and finally succeeded in stopping it. After that only I could call your son and tell him not to eat it.Before I advice I myself should practice what I preach.That was why I asked you to come back after so much time"
What is the moral of this story? Let us say it is easy to advice but to do is different so before u advice try "Practice what you preach".
About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will
love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them,
and some won't like you at all.

The Story of Valentine's Day
The holiday of Valentine's Day probably derives its origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed thewoods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calender was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime.
One of the customs of the young people was name-drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paperand placed into jars. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name was chosen was to be his sweetheart for the year
Legend has it that the holiday became Valentine's Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time Christianity was a new religion. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young couples.He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put to death
Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became moreChristian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th - Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.
And thus it became the day when the message of LOVE was accepted and celebrated.
Love is born of faith, lives on hope, and dies of charity.

COME AWAY WITH ME
Come away with me to the secrete place in my heart
so the sharing of our love may start.
Come away with me and make this flicker in my heart
becomes a flame you start.
Come away with me and know the peace in my heart
as it silently surrenders from the start
Come away with me and feel the beat of my heart
softly quicken as we start.
Come away with me and see the joy begin in my heart
from the love you start.
Come away with me to the secrete place in my heart
where the life hidden deep only you can start.

by Shirley Askew

" Sometimes a moment of silence is worth a lifetime of words."
Love is not blind- It sees more and not less, but because it sees more it is willing to see less.
Anonymous

Once there was a debate between two renowned telegu poets (This is a true story) the first poet had composed a poem in which a devotee of lord vishnu, in the form of an elephant prays for his (lord's) help when caught in water by a crocodile. The crocodile is slowly dragging the elephant into water, then the elephant shouts for the lords help, the lord forgetting all, rushes for the rescue of his devotee and latter on saves it. The other poet after hearing the same says that, "the lord could have saved his devotee a bit earlier had he taken his weapons with him, in his eagerness to save the elephant the lord has acted hastily" The other poet jsut laughs and keeps quiet for the moment - one day he shouts "sir your kid has fallen into the well, the poet who on that day laughed at lord vishnu for his act, rushes to the well and jumps into it to protect his son only to find that there is no one there - he come up furious and demands an explanation - the first poet then says - "sir you could have come with a rope or something to remove your son from the well - how could u think that by just jumping into the well u could have saved him??"
He further says "when you a love somebody so dearly you do what comes to you naturally - that is what the lord has done" and that is what our sage has also done.
To conclude there was a good saying which i read yesterday - "approach love and cooking with reckless abandon" well i know about love i dont about cooking - can any body throw some light on this please???

The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch, swing with, never saying a word, and then walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you've had. Happiness appears for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, the romance - and you find out you still care for that person. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
--Ami Carmichael

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot further brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and
should do for themselves.
-Abraham Lincoln

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
~ John Wooden ~

The Trouble Tree
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward, he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and children. So I just hang them up
on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again." Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.

It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear.
-Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught
Our sweetest songs
are those that tell of saddest thought.
-Shelley

A woman baked chappatis for her family- and an extra chappati for a
hungry passer-by. She kept the extra chappati on the window-sill, for
whoever would take it away. Everyday a hunchback came and took away the
chappati. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following
words before he went his way:-
"The evil u do, remains with u:
The good u do, comes back to u!"
This went on, day after day. Everyday the hunchback came, lifted the chappati, and uttered these words:-

"The evil u do, remains with u,
The good u do, comes back to u!"
the woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude," she said to herself. "But everyday this hunchback utters this jingo! What does that mean?" one day, exasperated, she decided to do away with him. "I shall get rid of this hunchback," she said to herself. And what did she do? She added poison to the chappati she prepared for him! As she was about to keep it on the window-sill, her hands trembled. "what is this that I am doing?"she said to herself. Immediately, she threw the chappati into the fire and prepared another one and kept it on the window-sill. Sure enough the hunchback came, picked up the chappati and muttered the words:-

"The evil u do, remains with u,
The good u do, comes back to u!"
the hunchback proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman. Everyday, as the woman placed the chappati on the window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone abroad to seek his fortune. For many months she had no news of him. She prayed for the safe return of her son. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway. He had grown thin and
lean. His clothes were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. Looking at his mother, he said, " mother, it's a miracle that I have been able to reach u. when I was but a mile away, I was so famished that I collapsed. Just then, an old hunchback passed by. I begged him
for a morsel of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole chappati. As he gave it to me, he said, " this is what I eat everyday.
Today I shall give it to u, for your need is greater than mine!"
As the mother heard these words, she turned pale. She leaned against the
door for support. She remembered the poisoned the chappati she had made
in the morning. Had she not heard the voice of her conscience and burnt
it in the fire, that chappati would have eaten by her own son, and he
would have lost his life. It was then that she realised the meaning of
the hunchback's words:-
"The evil u do, remains with u,
The good u do comes back to u!"

Take time to come home to yourself everyday.
-Robin Casarjean

If I try to be like him, who will be like me?
-Yiddish proverb

Slow Dance
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down. Don't dance so fast
Time is short. The music won't last
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?

Life is not a race. Do take it slower
Hear the music before the song is over.
A HUG
It's wondrous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love You so"
Or, "I hate to see you go."
A hug is "Welcome back again,"
And "Great to see you! Where've you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child's pain,
And bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug, there's just no doubt about it---
We scarcely could survive without it!
A hug delights and warms and charms,
It must be why God Gave us arms.
Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers;
And chances are your favorite aunts
Love them more than potted plants.
Kittens crave them, puppies love them;
Heads of states are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier,
And make travel so much merrier.
No need to fret about your store of 'em;
The more you give, the more there's more of 'em.
So stretch those arms without delay
And give someone a hug today!!!!

The woman is the fiber of the nation. She is the producer of life. A nation is only as good as its women.
--Mohammad Ali

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.
Indira Gandhi

Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
An ideal place to live
A world without
Glass ceilings
Eve teasing
Harassment at work and home
Discrimination

A world with
Independence to decide
Dignity for oneself
Equality with all
This is what today is meant to emphasize.

But we could do with more of will from within than help from without.
Go ahead and build the right attitude
And build your own world
Where you get treated like you want to be.
Women of today
Assert yourself today
Teach your children the attitude you desire for women of tomorrow

Before you complain

Get the will and there will be a way.

The mistakes to avoid:
Anxiety over today’s problems.
Worry over tomorrow’s uncertainty.
Waste of the moment’s opportunity.
Procrastination with one’s present duty.
Resentment of another’s success.
Criticism of a neighbor’s imperfection.
Impatience with youth’s immaturity.
Skepticism of our nation’s future.
Unbelief in God’s providence.

Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.
-Anthony J. D'Angelo:

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
-Mahatma Gandhi


"No human being deserves your tears, and the one who does would never make you cry"
- Anonymous

"We are all in the gutter. But some of us are looking at the stars."
~Oscar Wilde

The best index to a person's character is [a] how he treats people who can't do him any good, and [b] how he treats people who can't fight
back.
---Abigail Van Buren

Happiness is what happens to us when we try to make someone else happy.
- Anonymous.

Some people grin and bear it; others smile and do it.
--Anonymous

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
--Martin Luther

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that is your own self.
--Aldous Huxley

If you can dream it, you can do it.
- Walt Disney

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
- Mark Twain

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what
they do not want to hear.
-George Orwell

A compliment is sometimes better than the truth.

It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.

You Never Lose by Loving.
You Always Lose by Holding Back.
We don't have to wait for a tragedy to happen to learn some precious
lesson :
A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement,
his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint.
Theman ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands
intoa pulp as punishment.
When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.
Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he
finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands.
When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs,
he innocently said," Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck."
Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?"
The father went home & committed suicide.
Think about the story the next time you see someone spill milk at
a dinner table or hear a baby crying. Think first before u lose
your patience with someone you love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken
bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the
difference between the person and the performance. People make mistakes. We are
allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will
haunt us forever.
Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Understand & love.
*****************************************************************
You Never Lose by Loving.
You Always Lose by Holding Back.
*****************************************************************
• Thriving in Determination •
There once was a small businessman who had a thriving clothing store. One day his small store was threatened with extinction. A national chain store moved in and acquired all of the properties on his block. The chain wanted his particular location as well, but the small businessman refused to sell. "All right then, we will build around you and put you out of business," the new competitors said. The day came when the small merchant found himself hemmed in with a new department store stretching out on both sides of his little retail shop. The competitor's banners announced, "Grand Opening!" The small businessman determined not to be beaten out by the chain countered with a banner stretching across the entire width of his store. It read. "Main Entrance."
Determination is a willingness never to give up, however difficult the circumstances. It becomes an obsession for winning. It is generated within the person who truly believes that if he or she can only hang on long enough, success and triumph will eventually come. Those who tap the inner power of determination soon possess the stamina and courage to pursue their ambitions despite criticism, ridicule, or unfavorable circumstances. Along with enthusiasm and a burning desire, determination enables us to rise above the occasion.

It's Better To Give Others A Piece Of Your Heart Than A Piece Of Your Mind !!

Do one thing at a time and do that one thing as if your life depended
upon it.
~ Eugene Grace ~

Trust Builders:
1. Empathize
2. Remember the little things
3. Keep commitments
4. Clarify expectations
5. Be loyal
6. Sincerely apologize

You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart. Then people are going to treat you better. You're going to find, yes you will, that you're beautiful as you feel.

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness of human beings. I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels.
~ Pearl S. Buck ~

Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
- Leo Buscaglia(mm I have heard of this guy .. who is he ??)
Don't go through life, grow through life.
Eric Butterworth

To handle yourself, use your head,
To handle others, use your heart.

"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful"
Annette Funicello

and another one which is also quite nice...
"I always knew I would look back on my tears and laugh, but I never
thought I'd look back on the times I laughed and cry."
Unknown (mmm.. quite an emotional one !!!!)
Dont let small things spoil ur day...
Enjoy and pass on a smile !!
Smile ! coz a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"Enjoy life ... This is not a rehearsal."
"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." -- Margaret Lee Runbeck
When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out
the best in ourselves.
~ William A. Ward ~

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness
of human beings. I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life
upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels.
~ Pearl S. Buck ~

Think about a small act of kindness and act on it, then tonight u go to a bed a content person!!!
Dear God,
Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones,
why don't you just keep the ones you have now?
~Jane

Dear God,
Who draws the lines around the countries?
~Nan

Dear God,
Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a
puppy.
~Joyce

Dear God,
I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the
world. There are only four people in our family and I can
never do it.
~Nan

"Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not
seeing."-Bill Cosby

"Treasure what you have.
Time is too slow for those who wait;
Too swift for those who fear;
Too long for those who grieve;
Too short for those who rejoice;
But for those who love time is eternity."

Linkin Park - Numb

Linkin Park - Numb

funny, I don't usually like hard rock or jarring music but I do like this song

Very Funny Ads

Funny website Very Funny Ads

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

http://www.therussells.net/papers/joan/

I was watching this historic documentary on TV, thought it was very interesting, especially the line - "Follow your voice, even if consumes you"

Quotes

A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying. ~Grey's Anatomy

You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true. ~Grey's Anatomy

At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away. ~Grey's Anatomy

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just said it would be worth it. ~Author Unknown...

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~Eleanor Roosevelt...

There are two types of fisherman- those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish. ~Author Unknown...

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson...

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ~Robert Heinlein...

True love is when you put someone on a pedestal, and they fall - but you are there to catch them. ~Author Unknown...

In true love the smallest distance is too great, and the greatest distance can be bridged. ~Hans Nouwens...

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson...

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. ~Author Unknown...

Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths. ~Lois Wyse...

Never let the hand you hold, hold you down. ~Author Unknown...

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you can't get them back. So I'm gonna tie you to my heart so I never lose you. ~Author Unknown...

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. ~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally...

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings...

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein...

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955...

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland...

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss...

If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. ~Johann von Goethe...

You were born an original. Don't die a copy. ~John Mason...

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. ~John Powell...

What I need to live has been given to me by the earth. Why I need to live has been given to me by you. ~Author Unknown...

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~Theodor Seuss Geisel, attributed