“New beginnings are disguised as painful endings.” - Lao Tzu 
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How do you use your pain to begin anew?
 

“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted of take them with gratitude.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton 
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What do you take for granted and what are you grateful for?

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” - Albert Schweitzer 
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Who are you grateful to for rekindling your light?

My 90-year-old Uncle Bud reading his copy of my book: Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles To Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life. 

“A person’s life is only a vapor that vanishes in an instant. One should spend one’s life doing what one enjoys. As short as life is, it is foolish to spend it doing the things one hates.” - Yamamoto Trunetomo   
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How are you spending your brief existence?

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” - Charles Darwin 
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How do you cooperate and contrive to reach your goals?

Love Stays
  
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
 
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night, the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
 
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
 
"Who was that man?" he asked. The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.
 
"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."
 
"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"
 
"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."
 
The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.
 
www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/stories.

“If you’re helping someone and expecting something in return, you’re doing business not kindness.” - Unknown 
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How do you determine if you are doing kindness or business?

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” - Nietzsche 
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How do you prevent becoming what you rail against?

“A stubborn enough person can survive just about anything. Rage is a powerful anesthetic!” - Zaeed Massani 
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How do you commit your very being to reaching your goals?

“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they’ll tell you.” - Walter Payton 
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How do you determine greatness?

Two of my favorite nurses, Bri and Sara, who take excellent care of me at the University of Colorado Hospital Infusion Center. They were kind enough to purchase a copy of my book, Sustainable Excellence, which I signed for them yesterday.  

“There is no market for your emotions, so never advertise your feelings, just show your attitude.” - Unknown 
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How do you keep your emotions in check?

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Lao Tzu 
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How are your thoughts shaping your destiny?