Story - The Carpenter's House

The Carpenter's House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

Author Unknown via inspirationpeak.com

Quote by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world your best and it may never be enough; Give the world your best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Theresa

Jack Canfield -Tap into the Powers of Your Brain

Tap into the Powers of Your Brain

Your brain will work tirelessly to achieve the statements you give your subconscious mind. When those statements are your goals, you are certain to achieve them! Giving yourself goals can be tricky however, and your subconscious mind needs things put a certain way.

You need to be specific with yourself. The more specific you are with your goal, the more your brain has to go on to make just those things happen. Remember, vague goals produce vague results. Don't be afraid to be detailed with what you want! Write it all down as if you were putting in an order. Your subconscious will make it happen for you by steering you toward those opportunities.

Your goals might seem a bit overwhelming at first glance. But look again! Do you see how your goals can be broken down into a series of steps? When looking up a recipe you do not simply find in large letters "Perfect Lasagna Every Time." No! That of course is the end result, just like your goal. The recipe is there to help you achieve that goal. Create your own recipe for your goal. Break it down. What needs to be done first and next and after that? Keep writing the steps until you reach the goal.

Here's a fun fact to help you attain your goals: your brain does not know the difference between actually doing something and just visualizing something being done. Your brain processes the two the same way! Have you ever imagined yourself making a total flop out of yourself moments before you really do? That is because your brain really experienced it when you visualized it. And as stated earlier, your brain will work to make happen whatever is being inputted. So what do you daydream about? Do you visualize yourself being successful? Do you visualize other people judging you? What you think about, you bring about!

Make it a habit to spend time visualizing your goals in detail as if you are living them right now. Do it every day, several times a day! Your brain will be functioning as if your goals are already attained. You will start being the person you want to be simply because that is what is being processed in your brain. Your brain will make you notice all the resources available to you that you never noticed before. You will attract all the things you need to accomplish your goal.

Don't visualize what it will be like, visualize what it is like! Live it right now in your mind, everything in the present tense. What does it look like right now? What does it sound like and smell like? How does it feel? Create these detailed images and show your brain what it all looks like already complete. Your brain brings to your awareness only the things that match your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. Everything else it filters out. When you visualize your completed goals in detail, your brain filters out everything that doesn't pertain to those goals!

Write down your goals, break them down into achievable bits and every night visualize them completed. Then every morning visualize them completed. Take the time that is necessary to go through each goal in detail. Trust this process; the power of your brain has been greatly undervalued in the achievement of your goals!