“The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” - John Milton
 
Do you use your mind to see the opportunities or the impossibilities? 

“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.” - Alfred Lord Tennyson
 
Are you wiser today than yesterday?

“Most of the critical things in life, which become the starting point of human destiny, are little things.” - R. Smith
 
Do you forego the little things in pursuit of the bigger things?

“Life’s greatest achievement is the continual remaking of yourself so that at last you know how to live.” - Winfred Rhodes
 
If you could make yourself over, what would you be?

In honor of Memorial Day 2109, I offer you the following poem by Sherrie Ball. It commemorates all the men and woman who gave their lives so we can enjoy a life of freedom and democracy.  

BLESS YOU
 By
 Sherrie Ball
 
 I do not know your name ~
Nor for which battle you died.
I do not know your home,
Nor the tears that were cried.
 
I do not know where you rest ~
Nor the promises broken.
I do not know your uniform
And your fears lay unspoken.
 
But, I know your spirit exists ~
That your courage is admired,
And your sacrifice is honored
By each soul that’s inspired.
 
And I offer you from my heart
Thank you, to guardians unknown
For offering yourselves for us all
That we may keep freedom…
Our home.

“Service to a just cause rewards the person with more real happiness and satisfaction than any other venture of life.” - Carrie Chapman Catt
 
Who do you serve?

“He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king.” - Milton
 
Do you control your thoughts and emotions or do they control you?

“You take all the experience and judgement of people over fifty out of the world and there would not be enough left to run it.” - Henry Ford
 
Do you value experience as much as you value performance?

“Remember, every time you open your mouth to talk, your mind walks out and parades up and down the words” - Edwin H. Stuart
 
How often do you engage your brain before engaging your voice?

“Stress happens when your mind resists what is. Thus, the only real problems in your life are your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds.” - Marc Chernoff
 
Are you resisting the way your life is unfolding?

Protect your reputation like it is the most valuable asset you own. Because it is! Here are eight actions that you can take to build and defend your reputation:

1. Do What Is Right: Value matters. Operate with integrity all the time. 
2. Stand For Something: Maintain the strength of your ideas and principles.
3. Be Consistent: When your behavior is steady and reliable, your actions become predictable. This enables people to form an impression of you and anticipate future behavior.
4. Take Pride In What You Do: If you're not proud of what you're doing, either you're not finished yet, or what you're doing is not worthy of your best self.
5. Think Before You Act: Count to ten before losing your temper, sending flaming e-mails, or making a caustic remark - or you may live to regret it.
6. Accept Responsibility For Your Actions: If you wouldn't be proud to see your words or actions in a headline, don't say them or do them. If things go wrong despite your best intentions, don't hide out. Face the music with an apology and your plan to do better.
7. Be A Good Reputation Ambassador: Help others build and sustain their reputation by acknowledging their good works, by modeling good behavior yourself, and by never engaging in reputation assassination.
8. Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide: Listen to your conscience. That's why you have one.

From: Frank Sonnenberg Online.com     

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson
 
Where is your journey taking you?
 

Bill Walsh was a Professional Football Hall of Fame Coach who led the San Francisco 49er's to three Super Bowl Championships during his fourteen years with the team. He set a standard of excellence for himself and his players that ranks him as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Football League. Below are Coach Walsh's Standards of Performance. Can you apply these standards to your life and business?

1. Exhibit a ferocious and intelligently applied work ethic directed toward continual improvement.
2.  Demonstrate respect for each person in the organization and the work he or she does.
3.  Be deeply committed to learning and teaching which means increasing our own expertise.
4.  Be fair.
5.  Demonstrate character.
6.  Honor the direct connection between details and improvement.
7.  Relentlessly seek improvement.
8.  Show self-control especially when it counts most—under pressure.
9.  Demonstrate and prize loyalty.
10.  Use positive language and have a positive attitude.
11.  Take pride in my effort as an entity separate from the results of that effort.
12.  Be willing to go the extra distance for the organization.
13.  Deal appropriately with victory and defeat, adulation and humiliation.
14.  Promote internal communication that is both open and substantive (especially under stress).
15.  Seek poise in myself and those I lead.
16.  Put the team’s welfare and priorities ahead of my own.
17.  Maintain an ongoing level of concentration and focus that is abnormally high.
18.  Make sacrifice and commitment the organization’s trademark.
19.  The leader must exhibit the principles, code of conduct, and behavior that he is asking others to emulate.

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway
 
Who are you competing against?