Staying Focused on Goals

Starting a group, even if only 2 people, that meets weekly can help us to stay focused on our goals. At these weekly meetings we can ask each other the following two questions:

1. What will you do next?
2. By when will you do it?

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul

And sings the tune--without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

---Emily Dickinson

Hope is not only something we as educators always want to keep perched in our own souls but it is also something we want to help instill in our students. We want to help them see that it is hope that will help them overcome any adversity or obstacle that confronts them. In fact, hope sings its sweetest song during a "storm."

Note: There is a 2008 Newbery Honor Book, Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson that uses this poem as its them.

What To Do While Waiting

When things aren't happening as fast as we would like, it would be a good idea to write ponderings on the following questions:

• What more do I have to learn?
• What is the lesson here for me?
• What is the waiting teaching me?
• If not this, then what?
• What else can I do to get the same results?

These thoughts come from the book Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser.

A Treasure Is Found---Again!

I had heard about the famous little red book called It Works. The author of this little treasure requested that his name be omitted because he feels the greatest good comes from helping others without expecting anything in return. The book is only 28 pages long--28 pages filled with wisdom. I knew I had bought it at one time but thought I had lost it somewhere because it was so small. Then today I found it inside another book--A Message From Garcia--by Charles Patrick Garcia. Apparently I had tucked it inside this book because Charles Garcia had recommended it.

This anonymous author says there are 3 rules for accomplishing our goals (wants):

1. Read the list of wants 3 times a day--morning, noon, and night
2. Think of what you want as often as possible
3. Do not talk to anyone about your plan except to the Great Power within you which will unfold to your Objective Mind the method of accomplishment

This little treasure can be found at Amazon.

A Lesson Learned From a Codfish and Catfish Story

Many years ago, fishing for codfish in the Northeast had become a lucrative commercial business. The fishing industry recognized that a great market for codfish existed all over America, but they had a major problem in the distribution. At first, they simply froze the fish as they did all other products, and shipped it out across the country. But for some reason, after the codfish was frozen, it lost its taste. So the owners decided to ship the fish in huge tanks filled with fresh seawater. They thought for sure that would solve the problem and keep the fish fresh. But to their dismay, this process only make matters worse. Because the fish were inactive in the tank, they became soft and mushy, and once again they lost their taste.
One day, somebody decided to put some catfish in the tank with the codfish. Catfish are a natural enemy of codfish, so as the tank traveled across the country, the codfish had to stay alert and active, and be on the lookout for the catfish. Amazingly, when the tank arrived at the destination, the codfish were as fresh and tasty as they were in the Northeast.

Just as with the codfish, adversity may be serving a great purpose in our lives.


Note: This story taken from Be Your Best Life Now Journal by Joel Osteen

Read 15 Minutes a Day

"Setting aside just 15 minutes a day will enable you to read up to two dozen books in a year. Keep it up and you will have read 1,000 books in your lifetime. That's the equivalent of going through college five times." G. Gordan, American Library Assn.

According to Dr. Orison S. Marden it's important to not only be reading but to be reading those books that will elevate and refine you and raise your ideals and clarify your ambition. He goes onto suggest that one should read books of power, books that encourage one to have a purpose for being. Therefore, as Andrew Carnegie advised, "A man's reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet, for that too is food, without which he cannot grow mentally."


Resource:
These ideas come from the book Books Are Tremendous by Charlie "Tremendous" Jones.

It's All About Those They Serve

Pure leaders help those who follow them to do more and see more and become more than they could do on their own. In other words, it is all about those they serve and lifting them to excellence. Their motive is to see their followers progress. This is what drives them.