Equipment
Edgar Albert Guest

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You’ve all that the greatest of men have had;
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise,
With this equipment they all began–
So start from the top and say, I CAN.

Look them over, the wise and the great,
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes;
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you’ve all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will;
You’re well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have arms and legs and a brain to use;
And the man who has risen great deeds to do
Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place.
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know;
God has equipped you for life, but He
Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had;
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say, ‘I CAN.’

Consider this: You have the equipment. Use it!

How to Walk

walking

We have forgotten how to walk. All we do is go places.

A proper walk doesn’t have a destination. Gwyn Thomas put it this way, “But the beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.”

Those who truly walk don’t sweat. Lacing up walking shoes during lunch is exercise, not walking. Walking is meandering and kicking stones.

Bad walks reflect what you’re escaping, they’re fast, pushing, even angry. But you can’t stay angry and stroll at the same time.

Breakthroughs:

I’ve fallen out of the habit of walking with leaders. Now I sit and sip, rather than walk. I’ve forgotten that breakthroughs find us on walks.

Nietzsche said, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” But, people who never walk only regurgitate old thoughts.

A walk without stopping isn’t a walk. When you really walk, you stop and gawk. You point. Wonder finds those who know how to walk. The rest of us understand the mechanics. But, we’ve lost the mystery.

“It was easier to think if I was walking and doing something or seeing people doing something that they understood.” Ernest Hemingway

Connecting:

I remembered the walk I took with my wife, before her visit with our daughter and grandchildren in Lancaster, PA. She was gone overnight. The day before she left, we held hands and walked over the hill and back. I don’t remember what we talked about. I remember how good it felt.

Grownups say, “come on.” But, children know how to walk. They forget where they’re going. Children say, “Look! A dead worm! Isn’t this rock pretty? Why is the sidewalk cracked?”

Suggestion:

Could you give yourself 20 minutes a week to walk – but not go anywhere? If you’re fortunate, you’ll remember the purpose of a real walk is just taking it.

From – Leadership Freak

Consider this: When is the last time you took a “real walk”?

A Creed to Live By

Author Unknown

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing

yourself with others,

It is because we are different that each

of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people

deem important,

Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closet

to your heart

Cling to that as you would your life, for without

them life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living

in the past or the future.

By living your life one day at a time, you live all the

days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give

Nothing is really over . . . until the moment

you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less

than perfect,

It is the fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks,

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s

Impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love.

The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too tightly,

And the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t dismiss your Dreams. To be without

dreams is to be without hope.

To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget

Where you’ve been,

But also know where you’re going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored

every step of the way.

Consider this: What do you live by?

And If I Did Not Make Mistakes

– Katie Paton, Scottish Poet

And if I did not make mistakes
And give too brief a thought to heavy questions
And too much time to little matter;
Or if I always knew which road to travel
Where every step would lead me into daylight
And if each face that turned to watch me pass
Was broken by a smile;
Or if whenever I should choose to lay my heart
Bare upon the sun-warmed grass,
It always was returned with tender touches
And carried by a song;
And if my heaviest burden were only to be
A breeze upon my back, and blossom in my hair,
And my brow was never crossed with lines of pain;
If all this endless summer were my lot
And winter’s fury never beat me back,
Then I never would have seen the stormy nights
Through which I’ve struggled, fought and won;
I never would have known the joy of needed comfort given,
Or the essence of a friend.

Consider this: What have your mistakes taught you?

Set Yourself Free
Edmund O’Neill

Set yourself free from anything that might hinder you in becoming the person you want to be. Free yourself from the uncertainties about your abilities or the worth of your dreams, from the fears that you may not be able to achieve them or that they won’t be what you wanted.

Set yourself free from the past. The good things from yesterday are still yours in memory; the things you want to forget you will, for tomorrow is only a sunrise away. Free yourself from regret or guilt, and promise to live this day as fully as you can.

Set yourself free from the expectations of others, and never feel guilty or embarrassed if you do not live up to their standards. You are most important to yourself; live by what you feel is best and right for you. Others will come to respect your integrity and honesty.

Set yourself free to simply be yourself, and you will soar higher than you’ve ever dreamed.

Consider this: Be you!