Ten More Commandments

1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes--you can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90 percent of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

Do Not Hurt Yourself

One night a snake, looking for food, entered a carpenter's workshop. The carpenter, who was a rather untidy man, had left several of his tools lying on the floor. One of them was a saw.

As the snake went round and round the shop, he climbed over the saw, which gave him a little cut. At once, thinking that the saw was attacking him, he turned around and bit it so hard that his mouth started to bleed. This made him very angry.

He attacked again and again until the saw was covered with blood and seemed to be dead. Dying from his own wounds, the snake decided to give one last hard bite then turned away.

The next morning the carpenter was surprised to find a dead snake on his doorstep.

Moral: Sometimes in trying to hurt others, we only hurt ourselves.

The Law Of The Garbage Truck

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

The King With Four Wives

Once upon a time there was a rich king who had four wives. He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the third wife very much and showed her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his second wife. She was his confidante and she was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the king faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.

The king's first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife but although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the King fell ill and he knew that his time was short. Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad king asked the third wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I am going to remarry!"

His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out of this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "The very most, I can only send you to your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go."

The king looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, because she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved the King said, "I should have taken better care of you when I had a chance!"

• Our 4th wife is our BODY. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look great, it'll leave us when we die.
• Our 3rd wife is our POSSESSIONS, STATUS and WEALTH. When we die, it will all go to others.
• Our 2nd wife is our FAMILY and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
• Our 1st wife is our SOUL, often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now! It is your greatest gift to offer the world.

Each Morning When I Open My Eyes

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.  – Groucho Marx

Rules for the Year

1. Make realistic goals for yourself, write them down, pray about them and try to achieve them.
2. Go through your cell phone, caller id, calendar and email addresses and discard the people and events that mean you no good or don't benefit your life.
3. If you are between the ages of 25-35 please start listening to more than Hip-Hop and Pop!
4. Take care of your kids and devote a weekend or two when you spend "quality" time with them. Who cares if you miss out on a "mix"! You can party anytime!
5. Get your debt in order!
6. Stop trying to validate reasons for what is wrong. Wrong is just flat out wrong.
7. Don't try to impress people that don't matter.
8. Don't spread senseless rumors or be a pot stirrer. Try to get your own life in order!
9. Stop being someone's mistress. You can try to secretly call, text or creep in the most private way or place but you cannot hide from God.
10. Listen More. Talk less.
11. Don’t get above yourself or means.
12. Be a giver and not a taker! You cannot give with a closed hand nor receive with a closed hand.
13. Don't expect be on the receiving end all the time. You receive more when you actually give.
14. If God delivers you form a messy relationship, friend or situation, why do you keep PULLING THEM BACK? Let it go .
15. Tell people you love them!
16. Speak clearly and not ignorantly! Anyone can be a fool.
17. Stop waiting on Tax Season and save NOW!
18. Eat what you need and not just because you can.
19. See how long you can go without checking your cell phone when it's NOT ringing.
20. Be more positive!
21. Be considerate of others feelings. Appreciate everyone. Why do people put others down for the most ridiculous things?!
22. Keep your opinion to yourself! We all know what others should do, but what about you?
23. If you aren't in a relationship, it's not the end of the world! Self love is more valuable.
24. Broaden your mind!
25. Live life today like it's your last, love like God taught us and laugh.
26. Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! All of us have been forgiven for something. God forgave you.

I Choose To...

Today and every day is the best day of my life because:

I choose to make the most of every second of every day.

I choose to be happy regardless of the circumstances.

I choose to go the extra mile to brighten the day of those around me.

I choose to see only the good in things & people, and avoid dwelling on the negatives.

I choose to find solutions not problems!!

I choose to live free, in life and in spirit, so no cage could or ever will hold me.

I choose to fight for what's right, no matter the cost.

I choose to be healthy, and not give in to laziness.

I choose to put in 200 percent in every thing I do.

I choose to expect victory and success; failure is not an option.

I choose to spread love even on those who may not deserve it.

I choose to see the glass half full, because it is!!

I choose to give back and be grateful for all my blessings.

I choose to fight the right fight and win.

I choose to not let others negative ideas or opinions affect my choices.

I choose to be who I always envisioned myself to be!

I choose these things because, I am lucky enough to be able to choose, grateful enough to use the opportunity, and wise enough to know the difference between choosing and letting the world choose for me!

- Ignacio Handal

Truthful Statements

1. Never complain about what you Permit
2. Your rewards in life are determined by the problems you solve for others
3. All men fall….The great ones get back up.
4. You will never leave where you are until you decide where you would rather be.
5. Give another what he cannot find anywhere else and he will keep returning.
6. If what you hold in your hand is not enough to be your harvest, make it your seed.
7. Champions are willing to do things they hate to create something else they love.
8. You will never possess what you are unwilling to pursue.
9. You will only be remembered for two things; the problems you solve or the problems you create.
10. Losers focus on what they are going through while champions focus on what they are going to.
11. What you fail to master in your life will eventually master you.
12. Injustice is only as powerful as your memory of it.
13. You will never be promoted until you have become over-qualified for your present assignment.
14. You will never reach the palace talking like a peasant.
15. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of solving them.
16. Greatness is not the pursuit of perfection but the pursuit of completion.
17. Failure is not an event but an opinion.
18. The atmosphere you permit determines the product you produce.
19. Silence cannot be misquoted.
20. The only day you will never see is tomorrow, because when tomorrow comes it is already today. Don’t put off for tomorrow.

The Value of Time

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment you have! TREASURE EVERY MOMENT YOU HAVE

U'll never leave where U R Are until U Decide Where U'd Rather B

I was walking around one day at work and I walked past a bulletin board with the following quote written on it; “You’ll Never Leave Where You Are Until You Decide Where You’d Rather Be”. It made me think for a minute about how truthful this quote is. Since that day the quote has remained in my mind sort of like a post it note, to come back and reflect on. The quote simply means you will always be in the same situation until you decide to change to another situation. For example, you will always live in the same house until you decide to move to another house or work in the same job until you decide on another job. Once you decide “where you’d rather be” than you will plan on steps to make the move from the old situation to the new situation. The point is the change will never happen until you decide to make it happen. That is the hard part! Deciding what situation you would rather be in than the one you are in. I can’t help you with that decision, nor can you help me decide. The decision has to be yours as you are the only one who can decide which situation is better for you and when you are ready to leave your current situation. Until that choice is made you will continue to be where you are at now.