Saturday, May 31, 2008

MESSAGE #424 - THE BRICK

An extremely successful young executive was traveling a bit too fast down a neighborhood street in his new Jaguar.

He was closely watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

All of a sudden, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!

He slammed on the brakes and backed-up his car to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car and screamed, "What are you doing?”

The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister, I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do. I threw the brick because no one else would stop"

With tears dripping down his face, the young boy pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

"It's my brother," he said, "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up. I think he’s hurt."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's too heavy for me."

The young executive hurriedly lifted the boy back into his wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child said to the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their house.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.

The damage was very noticeable.

Years passed and the young executive never bothered to repair the dented side door.

He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

Friday, May 30, 2008

MESSAGE #423 - WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

I will not waste
even
a precious second
today
in
anger
or
hate
or
jealousy
or
selfishness.

I know that
the seeds
I sow
I will harvest,
because
every action,
good or bad,
is always
followed
by an
equal reaction.

I will
plant
only
good seeds
this day.

-- Og Mandino, motivational writer extraordinaire

Thursday, May 29, 2008

MESSAGE #422 - IF YOU DON’T ASK – YOU DON’T GET!

IF
YOU
DON’T
ASK,
THE
ANSWER
IS
ALWAYS
“NO.”



Wednesday, May 28, 2008

MESSAGE #421 - ARE YOU GOING TO HELP OR HINDER?

Who can account by ordinary
methods for a Shakespeare, a
Beethoven, or a Michelangelo
and for all the wonder and
renewal of culture such men
bring into human life, so that
history advances and never
does in fact repeat itself?

Yet even of their stature were
small children once – they
did not know but had first to
discover their faculties as
they grew up.

So it is in some degree
with every human being.

Every child is on a
similar voyage of discovery;
as a child, no matter what he
may become later, he is in our
responsible care, to help or
hinder the latent genius of
his being.

Childhood is an awakening
as well as growing process:
it leads from the “sleep”
of infancy, through the
“dream” of the childhood
years, to the “waking to
selfhood” of the adult.

Francis Edmunds, Waldorf educator

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

MESSAGE #420 - A BRAIN TEASER

One day a man left home.
He turned right
and ran straight ahead.

Then he turned left.
After awhile,
he turned left again,
now running
faster than ever.

Then he turned left
once more
and
decided to go home.

In the distance,
he could see
two masked men
waiting for him.

Who were they?

What was the man doing?

Monday, May 26, 2008

Sunday, May 25, 2008

MESSAGE #418 -- AFTER YOU WATCH THIS YOU’LL NEVER WHINE AGAIN!

Don’t want to go to school today?

Don’t want to go to work today?

You don’t know how easy you have it!

Watch this . . . you’ll NEVER whine again!

A big thank you to SUE BROOKS for sending me this . . .

Saturday, May 24, 2008

MESSAGE #417 - INTERESTING ADVICE . . .

ALWAYS
MAKE
NEW
MISTAKES!

Esther Dyson, journalist


Friday, May 23, 2008

MESSAGE #416 - CAN TWO POSITIVES MAKE A NEGATIVE?

An English professor was lecturing to his class one day.

"In English," he said, "a double negative can form a positive. For example, ‘I don’t disagree,’ means ‘I agree.’ And ‘He can’t do nothing’ means ‘He does something.’

“However,” the professor continued, “in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative.

“But, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Thursday, May 22, 2008

MESSAGE #415 - A PSYCHIC’S MESSAGE FOR YOU

WE
HAVE ALL BEEN
PLACED ON EARTH
TO DISCOVER
OUR OWN PATH,
AND
WE WILL
NEVER
BE HAPPY
IF
WE LIVE
SOMEONE ELSE’S
IDEA OF LIFE.

-- James Van Praagh, Psychic








Wednesday, May 21, 2008

MESSAGE #414 - HOW YOU CAN BECOME A SUPER STAR RIGHT NOW

How do you go on an effective diet?

How do you stop smoking?

How do you stop drinking?

In short, you do it and it’s done.

Then you work . . . for the rest
of your life to stay on the
weight-maintenance, non-smoking,
or booze-free wagon.

A while back, I came across a line
attributed to IBM founder
Thomas Watson.

“If you want to achieve excellence,”
he said, “you can get there today.

As of this second, quit doing
less-than-excellent work.”

The idea is profound.

Suppose you’re a waiter and,
for your own future’s sake
(not because of pressure from
the clowns who run the restaurant),
you decide to set a matchless
standard for service.

How?

You do it.

Now.

Sure, you’ll be clumsy at first.

You’ll get a lot of it wrong.

You’ll need to read up,
listen to audiotapes,
take classes,
tune in to on-line electronic chat rooms,
visit other restaurants to collect clues.

And you’ll need to keep doing such things
to maintain your edge
(as an opera singer or professional athlete does)
until the day you hang up your corkscrew.

Nonetheless, you can become excellent
in a nanosecond, starting with your
first guest tonight.

Simply picture yourself,
even if it’s a very fuzzy picture,
as the greatest waiter ever –
and start acting accordingly.

Put yourself in lights on Broadway,
as a galaxy-class waiter;
then perform your script with derring-do.

Does it sound wild?

Silly?

Naive?

Maybe, but it isn’t.

The first 99.9 percent of getting
from here to there is the determination
to do it and not to compromise,
no matter what sort of roadblocks
those around you (including peers) erect.

The last 99.9 percent
(I know it adds up to more
than 100 percent -- that’s life)
is working like the devil to

#1. keep your spirits up
through the inevitable storms,

#2. learn something new every day,

and

#3. practice that something,
awkward or not and no matter what,
until it’s become part of your nature.

What holds for the waiter also holds
for the manager of the six-person department
or the chief executive of the 16,000-person firm.

How long does it take you, as boss,
to achieve world-class quality?

Less than a nanosecond to attain it,
a lifetime of passionate pursuit to maintain it.

Once the fire is lit, assume you’ve arrived –
and never, ever look back or do anything,
no matter how trivial, that’s inconsistent
with your newfound quality persona.

SOURCE:
Author: Tom Peters
Book: “The Pursuit of Wow!”
Publisher: Random House

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

MESSAGE #413 - A BRAIN TEASER

2 + 11 = 1

Question: When can you add two to eleven and get one as the correct answer?

Answer: Click here to leave your answer.

Monday, May 19, 2008

MESSAGE #412 - THE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Long-time Success Hotline caller Tim Hyland still remembers this quote from his old football coach at Cathedral Latin High School in Cleveland, Ohio . . .

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
do
DAILY
what
UNSUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
do
OCCASIONALLY.

Thanks, Tim!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

MESSAGE #411 - 3.141592653589

At 3:14 p.m., on 3/14, Pi Day celebrations at Harvard got off to a quick start.

Josh Gottlieb, a graduate student in economics, recited 102 digits of the patternless mathematical value, while freshman Francoise Greer rattled off 228. Shawn Peasley, whose only affiliation with Harvard is as an applicant, had driven 18 hours from Kentucky for the event and set the bar at 461.

But the 75 or so people gathered in the Harvard math department lounge rather than at a Cambridge bar for happy hour were there to see someone else.

"I'm James Niles-Joyal . . . or J-Dog," the event's celebrity announces as he steps up to take his turn.

Niles-Joyal claims to have memorized 13,141 digits of pi - the number, typically shortened to 3.141, that represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. This day, he is attempting to set the Harvard record by reciting a rather poetic number he has never reached without making a mistake: 3,141.

"I'm gonna take a minute to calm myself," Niles-Joyal, a Boston College senior, says before starting. "I don't want to misspeak, which has been a tendency of mine." Last year his rookie bid in public pi reciting was stopped short at the 612th digit when he said 9 when he meant 6.

It was at a football game two years ago that Bob Joyal first found out his son planned to memorize pi. Having trouble sleeping the night before, Niles-Joyal had started memorizing a random number up to around 40 digits. When he woke up that morning, he remembered every one. Realizing a gift he hadn't perceived before, Niles-Joyal decided to find an application for it. He settled on memorizing pi, a number whose seemingly random digits have long fascinated mathematicians.

To start, Niles-Joyal would pick a handful of digits at a time, eventually getting to the point where he could memorize 100 digits in 10 minutes. As time went on, he was able to memorize much larger sections.

"Most people have a digit span of around seven digits," said Elizabeth Kensinger, a BC assistant professor in psychology who has spoken with Niles-Joyal about his memory. "What happened with James is a snowballing effect. You learn how to chunk the first 10, then 10 of those 10, then over time those sets of 100 into larger groups."

Seeing numbers
One minute and 54 seconds into his recitation, a cellphone goes off. It is silenced immediately. Niles-Joyal has several mannerisms that get him through these distractions. Between digits 65 and 66, he sticks two fingers from his left hand (never his right) against his temple. He sips from his Dasani water bottle with regularity. His eyebrows often twitch while he recites, and his eyes alternate from being closed to staring blankly to darting around the room.

The crowd moves as little as possible. One girl knits to pass the time. Two Harvard students chatter on the side, drawing irate looks from other observers. Niles-Joyal's parents sit separately, following their son's progress on their own sheets with the digits listed. Bob shows little emotion as he follows along from a couch behind the semi-circle of onlookers surrounding his son, while Katherine Niles-Joyal sits nervously in the front row - she had spent 53 minutes the night before listening to Niles-Joyal recite all 3,141 digits.

When memorizing numbers, Niles-Joyal, 22, does not simply repeat the digits over and over. Instead, the Ashburnham native sees shapes, emotions, and contours in the otherwise nondescript, non-repeating set of numbers. A series of digits can evoke a "white glow" in his brain, while other sets might look wealthy, or dull, or happy.

"I don't think what he's doing is completely different. All of us do unconsciously use mnemonics to remember," Kensinger said. "We know someone's name is Steve because they remind us of another Steve."

Niles-Joyal maintains a Word document listing the digits of pi that is a whirl of bolds and colors and underlines. Green numbers indicate an "interjection," one of several vocabulary terms Niles-Joyal has applied to his pursuit, while reds indicate numbers that fit in a group of three, his primary memory device.

There is no one strategy for memorizing pi. Gottlieb, the first competitor at Harvard this day, was spurred to memorize the first 40 digits in middle school because "middle school is boring." Peasley, who drove from Kentucky, learned his digits verbally, which created some awkward situations. Reciting to himself while standing in line at a Subway sandwich shop, one of the employees promised him a free sub if he could recite 100 digits (he left hungry).

Seven minutes into Niles-Joyal's recitation, several students move to sit at a table behind the crowd where 25 pies sit for the upcoming pie-eating contest.

"I beat last year," Niles-Joyal tells the crowd after hitting the 613th digit at 7:42, showing the first hint of a smile since he started reciting.

Less than a minute later, he hits a snag at digit 662. He pauses for 20 seconds, taking a sip from his bottle, repeats the prior four digits to get himself back in rhythm, then speeds off as if nothing happened, his voice playfully dancing through a series of six straight nines.

Counting himself out
On July 22, 2007, Niles-Joyal says he memorized 1,491 digits, his highest total in a single day. That brought him to 13,141 digits, more than enough for his planned attempt to top what was then the North American recitation record of 12,887 digits later that summer. (He didn't compete, and that record has since been broken.) But July 22, 2007, was also the day he quit pi.

"I was done with pi," says Niles-Joyal. "I was exhausted."

Niles-Joyal had too much on his mind for pi. In his final year of college, he was thinking about careers, possibly law school. He finished a screenplay. His father was diagnosed with cancer again.

"That was kind of a reality check," says Niles-Joyal. "I'd rather spend time at home with him than spend hours in my room learning digits. I'd rather talk with him, talk as a family, watch a movie, play a card game."

It was only on March 4, just 10 days before Pi Day, that he decided to give another shot at reciting a big number.

"I wanted closure," he said.

Seventeen minutes into the recitation, one of the three Pi Day judges following along on a sheet of digits takes a seat - only 20 or so of the original 75 onlookers remain standing. Niles-Joyal is almost a third of the way to his goal, and the wear is beginning to show. At 20:50, he strokes his chin as he contemplates the next sequence. Before digit 1,701, he takes another sip of water. A minute later he leans back, staring at the ceiling before closing his eyes tight. This pause is his longest yet. Niles-Joyal points his finger on the plastic table in front of him, as if to stab it, then clenches his left hand into a tight fist.

"Is the last thing I said '556'?" Niles-Joyal asks. His memory is correct. "OK . . . 556209921 . . ." He continues on as though nothing has happened.

The tao of pi
A music major, Niles-Joyal plans to work with Kensinger as well as a Harvard psychology graduate student working on the relationship between math and music to examine what applications his memory might have in other aspects of life. In particular, Kensinger sees potential for helping those with memory deficits (car accident victims, seniors) who might be able to take advantage of the strategies Niles-Joyal employs. "I'm fascinated by what applications of my memory there are," he says. "I want to see if it can be applied to anything beyond this."

It has now been over half an hour. Niles-Joyal sways in his chair, getting into a rhythm as he hits the 2,500 mark, bursting out a dozen numbers in one of his quickest sequences yet. Seconds later, he slows down, with purpose.

"3 . . . 1 . . . 4," he announces, a dramatic pause between each digit of the first three digits that started his now 40-minute recitation.

He enjoys being a showman. When the emcee announces the start of the contest, Niles-Joyal asks if he can go last.

"We'll give you the drama," says Gottlieb, who's reciting third, right before him.

Niles-Joyal hopes to compose film scores eventually, and screenplays. For now, he's passed over the idea of law school and is looking for a finance job after graduation - something where he can turn his number memorization skills to immediate benefit.

Applied mathematics
Niles-Joyal begins to sway, wiping his hand smoothly, rhythmically across the table. Left, right, left, right.

"4 . . . 9 . . . 7 . . . 4 . . . 4 . . . 2 . . ." he says. "I think I'm done."

Fifty minutes, 10 seconds, and 3,141 digits.

"He's like a black belt in pi," one student says.

Katherine flies through the crowd to hug her son. Peasley, the runner-up with 461, asks for a picture with Niles-Joyal. Bret Benesh, a math professor who served as one of the judges, presents Niles-Joyal with a $50 gift certificate for taking the top prize.

After half an hour basking in newfound glory, Niles-Joyal heads to MIT for its Pi Day, where he had been planning to make a second attempt at 3,141 digits. Having reached his goal already, however, he decides there is "nothing more pi could do for me today." The record at MIT's event: 150 digits.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY MOTHER FOR SENDING ME THIS ARTICLE!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

MESSAGE #410 - WHEN YOUR FRIENDS SUCCEED

Remember these words: “Nobody deserves it more.”

These four words will help you be a better friend.

Let me explain.

Better yet I’ll let the late, great

Dr. David Viscott explain.

From Dr. Viscott’s “Finding Your Strength in Difficult Times” . . .

We all wish our friends well,

but not that well!

Don’t be put off by this.

You’re only human.

You want your friends to succeed,

but when they do and

you are not sure of yourself,

you fear being shown up.

When you feel down about yourself,

it’s easier to tolerate hearing

about a friend’s misfortunes

than his or her successes.

Because your friends

are closest to being like you,

their success makes you question yourself.

“Why not me?” you ask.

We all feel this way.

Nothing alienates people quite like success.

When people become successful,

they discover a sad and unexpected truth:

It is lonely at the top.

Your friends need to celebrate

their success without feeling

that they are intimidating you

and to share their failures

without your taking

secret satisfaction from them.

Allow your friends to confide

their success in you

without becoming envious of it

or asking to participate in it.

Just say, “No one deserved it more.”

You’ll probably be right.

You’ll certainly be a friend.

Friday, May 16, 2008

MESSAGE #409 - WISDOM FROM PICASSO

“Every child
is
born
an artist.

The trick
is
to remain
an artist.”

- Pablo Picasso

Thursday, May 15, 2008

MESSAGE #408 - CHOICE

Viktor Frankl
(1905-1997)
psychiatrist,
author,
Holocaust survivor:

We who lived in concentration camps
can remember the men who walked
through the huts comforting others,
giving away their last piece of bread.

They may have been few in number,
but they offer sufficient proof that
everything can be taken from a man
but one thing:
the last of the human freedoms –
to choose one’s attitude
in any given set
of circumstances,
to choose one’s own way.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

MESSAGE #407 - OPRAH’S LIFE-CHANGING ADVICE

THE ONE THING YOU CAN DO,
STARTING RIGHT NOW,
THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR FUTURE

Oprah: “Your focus is your future.”

BOTTOM LINE: If you focus on the right thing, you’ll have a future that’s so bright you’ll need sunglasses. If you focus on the wrong thing, you’ll need a flashlight to get around. Your focus is your future.

EXTREME EXAMPLE: Imagine being waken up in the middle of the night by the screeching noise of a smoke detector. Even though you smell smoke, you climb up on a chair, open the smoke detector, and remove the battery to stop the noise. You’re focusing on the wrong thing and it may cost you your life.

NOT-SO-EXTREME EXAMPLE: While driving down the Turnpike or the Parkway, you’re talking on your cell phone, changing the radio station, or eating potato chips. You’re focusing on the wrong thing and it may cost you your life.

Some people go through their whole lives focusing on the wrong thing. Your focus is your future.

A RIDDLE: Pay close attention to this story because I’m going to try to get you to focus on the wrong thing. Suppose you live in a big city like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, and suppose you’re a bus driver. On the first day of work, at the first stop, 10 people get on the bus. At the second stop, eight people get on the bus. At the third stop, six people get on and two people get off. And at the fourth stop, four people get on and four people get off.

Question: How old is the bus driver?

If you did any addition and subtraction, you were focusing on the wrong thing. The correct answer is right in the first sentence: “suppose you’re a bus driver.” How old are you? That’s the right answer because you are the bus driver. Most people don’t get the right answer because they focus on the wrong thing.

Your focus is your future.

There’s no problem with losing your focus on a silly riddle. There’s a BIG problem with losing your focus in your life. Here’s one thing you can do starting right now that will improve your grades this semester. Stop focusing on results and start focusing on effort. For the remainder of the semester, stop worrying about grades and start focusing on studying. Stop focusing on getting better grades than other people and start focusing on studying more hours than anyone else would.

If you focus on results, you’ll get stress. If you focus on effort, you’ll get results.

Absolutely positively guaranteed!

Rob Gilbert, Ph.D.
Success Hotline
(973) 743-4690

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

MESSAGE #406 - 10 + 1 LIFE-CHANGING QUOTES

1.
Shoot for the moon.
Even if you miss, you’ll be among the stars.

2.
If it is to be, it is up to me.
(the ten most powerful two-letter words)

3.
The will to win is not nearly as important
as the will to prepare to win.

4.
Things work out best for those
who make the best of the way things work out.

5.
It’s the start that stops most people.

6.
Losers make promises,
winners keep commitments.

7.
If you don’t stretch your limits,
you’ll set your limits.

8.
The only place “success” comes
before “work” is in the dictionary.

9.
Others can stop temporarily --
you are the only one who can do it permanently.

10.
Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.

11.
The pain is temporary . . .
the pride is forever.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

MESSAGE #404 - Legally blind man, 78, bowls perfect game

ALTA, Iowa - A 78-year-old legally blind man nicknamed “The Hammer” has bowled a perfect game. Dale Davis of Alta, Iowa, nailed 12 consecutive strikes and reached 300 on Saturday night during league play.

“It’s a great sport. It’s something the young, the old and the handicapped can do,” Davis said Thursday. “I guess I count as the old and handicapped.”

Davis has suffered from macular degeneration, a chronic eye disease, for the past decade. He can’t see out of his left eye and has limited peripheral vision in his right eye.

Davis’ perfect game came at a roll-off to conclude the league season at a four-lane alley in the small northwest Iowa community of about 1,800 people.

Century Lanes owner Clem Ledoux said Davis’ game didn’t draw much attention until he reached 10 strikes. That’s when folks poured out of the bar to watch his final two shots.

Davis, who stands 5-foot-8 and just 115 pounds, threw a “Brooklyn,” where a right-hander strikes the left side of the head pin, for his final strike. The feat brought wild cheers from Davis’ fellow bowlers and onlookers.

“It went down there and somebody hollered ‘Brooklyn!’ It was just a solid sound in the pocket,” said Davis, whose average score is 180. “It was quite a thrill. For just a few minutes there I felt like a pro.”

Davis, who earned his unique moniker as a child from his blacksmith father, moved from California to live with his sister in Iowa shortly after losing sight in his left eye in 1997.

She encouraged him to start bowling again. Davis now bowls twice a week, and his fellow bowlers help him with pin placement and in making sure he picks up the right ball.

Davis said the only time he sees the ball is when he picks it up, but he can usually tell how his throw went by sound. All 12 tosses sounded great to Davis, who bowled the first 300 that Ledoux could recall at the alley since he took over in 1984.

“He’s got good coordination. He’s got good timing,” Ledoux said. “We’ve always kidded him that we think his bowling ball has eyes.”

By The Associated Press May 9, 4:27 pm EDT

Thank you, Darren Ventre

Saturday, May 10, 2008

MESSAGE #403 - PUT THIS ONE ON YOUR BULLETIN BOARD!

FOCUSED ACTION
BEATS
BRILLIANCE
ANY DAY.

ART TUROCK,
professional speaker

Friday, May 9, 2008

MESSAGE #402 - A REAL HERO

DAD DIED SAVING HIS LITTLE GIRL

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

May 7, 2008

With an out-of-control car bearing down, Joseph Richardson grabbed his 4-year-old daughter and held her up out of harm's way.

It was his last act -- and one that apparently saved his daughter's life.

Richardson, a 39-year-old father of three, was killed Monday evening b

y the car, driven by a man who police say was drunk.

The car pinned Richardson and his daughter Kaniyah against a wrought iron fence at 95th Street and Wentworth, police said.

Kaniyah survived and was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday evening at Comer Children's Hospital, where a spokeswoman said she was doing well.

"He held the baby up to keep the car from destroying the baby, but it totally destroyed him," said Richardson's father, the Rev. L.V. Richardson.

Richardson was walking his daughter to a McDonald's for burgers at 6:40 p.m. Monday when a 1990 Chevy Cavalier jumped a curb and careened towards them, police said, citing witness accounts.

He grabbed his daughter just before the car slammed the two into the fence, police said.

Richardson was pronounced dead shortly after the crash -- a loss his twin, Timothy, said he felt before he was told.

"All day I just had a real bad gut feeling that something tragic was gonna happen," the hospital maintenance worker said. "And then when I was at home I could feel him and see, visualize what happened. . . . Right before they called me I could see him being in an accident. I knew he was gone.

"We had a very special connection and I just felt it."

The driver of the car, Angelo Thomas, 32, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence, police said. He was also cited with driving without a valid license or insurance.

Joseph Richardson, the father of two girls and a boy, all under the age of 11, was described as a devoted father. His other love was music. He was a gifted pianist and organist and performed in choirs at Cottage Grove Baptist Church and Greater Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, where his father ministers. His idols were Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, his family said.

He wanted to go back to school for a degree in music or theology and become a practicing minister, his brother said.

One of four tight-knit siblings who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, Joseph Richardson was adept at keeping those close to him safe.

"We looked out for one another," said Timothy Richardson. But Joseph, the larger twin, did most of the looking out, Timothy admitted.

"We used to go to St. Willibrord Catholic High School, and a guy was picking on me a little bit one time and [Joseph] stepped in," said Timothy. "I tried to talk him out of fighting, but him and the guy fought and went through a window together."

On Tuesday, Timothy wanted to remember the good times.

"I am five minutes older than Joseph. But he used to always tease me that even though I'm older, he figured he was better-looking. He always got me with that one."

Thursday, May 8, 2008

MESSAGE #401 - SHOW UP

“THE
FIRST RULE
OF
WORKING OUT
IS TO
SHOW UP.”

-- Glenn Frey


“EIGHTY PERCENT
OF
SUCCESS
IS
SHOWING UP.”

-- Woody Allen


Rule #1: SHOW UP.
Rule #2: PAY ATTENTION.
Rule #3: ASK QUESTIONS.
Rule #4: DON’T QUIT!

-- Rob Gilbert

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

MESSAGE #400 - THE REAL TEST

During my second year of nursing school, our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was a joke.

I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade.

“Absolutely,” the professor said. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

-- Joann C. Jones

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

MESSAGE #399 - A GOLDEN OLDIE. . .

A YEAR AGO TODAY ON THIS BLOG . . .

THE FIVE STEPS THAT’LL NEVER FAIL YOU!

You can beat other people IF you can hang on longer than they can.

You can beat yourself IF you can take one step more than you used to.

Persistence = Hanging on until you catch on.

Here are . . .

THE STEP FIVE STEPS TO PERSISTENCE.

If you use this, you’ll never fail.

Oh, you might fail in the short run,

but you’ll never fail not in the long run.

Persistence is a simple process:

#1. What is the next step?

#2. What’s in the way of taking that step?

#3. Remove (or disregard or ignore) the obstacle.

#4. Take the step.

#5. Go back to #1.

Source: DO IT! by John-Roger and Peter McWilliams

Monday, May 5, 2008

MESSAGE #398 - HUH???

Work. Work. Work. Work.

Work. Work. Work. Success.

Work. Work. Success.

Work. Success.

Success! Success! Success! Success!

-- Matt DiMaio, Sales Trainer & Memory Expert

Look at the title of today’s message.

Pathetic!

You can do better than I did.

Click here to provide your title.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

MESSAGE #397 - A PROFESSOR WHO’S BEYOND FABULOUS

We live in an age of speed - fast foods, fast computers, fast cars, fast professors.

Fast professors???

Yes, indeed!

You want to see real speed? Want to see a professor out-calculate calculators?

Right now - before you read another word - go to YouTube, search for Arthur Benjamin, and watch his 15-minute performance. Or go to this blog for January 22, 2008 - Message #294.

Prepare to be astounded! You’ll see that Dr. Benjamin, a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College in California, has one of the fastest minds in the world.

I watched Dr. Benjamin’s amazing video over and over again, and got to see him in person when he gave a keynote address for the Mathematical Association of America at William Paterson University on April 12. After his presentation, I met him for this interview . . .

Montclarion: Do you believe that anyone can do the mental calculations that you do?

Dr. Benjamin: I’m a firm believer that almost any skill or talent is largely a function of practice and time invested. There was a really good book that came out a few years ago called “Count Down.” One point this book made was that there isn’t a musician in any major professional orchestra in the world who has practiced less than 10,000 hours. I really think that just about any skill acquisition, whether it be mathematical or musical or athletic or magic, is largely a function of practice. Now, you’re more willing to put in that kind of practice if you really enjoy it! I probably spent thousands of hours as a kid and teenager playing with numbers.

Montclarion: How would you define “success”?

Dr. Benjamin: I would define success as what fraction of your time you are doing things that you enjoy. When people ask me, “How do you like being a college professor?” I say, “It beats working!” Now what does that mean? Am I working my tail off? Yes! I put a lot of hours into my job, but most of them are enjoyable hours.

Montclarion: Besides mathematics, do you have any other passions?

Dr. Benjamin: I love the game of backgammon. I still am a highly-ranked tournament player. I get a lot of pleasure playing tournaments and being somewhat of an expert at the game.

Montclarion: Who are your heroes?

Dr. Benjamin: Harry Lorayne -- I read his books on memory and magic when I was in high school. And Persi Diaconis -- he’s somebody who is at the top of his game both as a mathematician and as a magician. He was one of the first winners of the MacArthur Fellowship -- the genius award. And he’s been the editor of leading statistics journals, has written hundreds of mathematics papers and has made fundamental contributions to magic.

Montclarion: Tell me about a book that inspires you.

Dr. Benjamin: I once read a book that gave a lot of very good simple advice. It’s “If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You’ll Probably End Up Somewhere Else” by Dr. David Campbell. It’s a very quick read. I’ve loaned it out to dozens of students. The message of this book is: Don’t let life just happen to you -- make a plan. Go for your goals. Decide what’s important.

Montclarion: Do you end your stage show with a signature piece?

Dr. Benjamin: Yes! I square a five-digit number while I’m thinking out loud.

Montclarion: Do you ever get it wrong?

Dr. Benjamin: Yes.

Montclarion: Do you worry about getting it wrong?

Dr. Benjamin: A little bit, but if I make only one mistake, I get a better reaction than if I do it right the first time. It’s like the juggler who drops the ball before getting it. It builds tension and the audience is rooting for you.

Montclarion: What advice do you have for students?

Dr. Benjamin: Find your passion. There are a few things out there that are just going to excite the hell out of you and I don’t mean drugs and such. Study something that you love -- something that you’re passionate about. If you do this you’re generally going to do well at it. For example, if you have a passion for art history -- dive into it!

Montclarion: What advice do you have for teachers?

Dr. Benjamin: Consider taking a course in improvisational theater.

After being totally inspired by watching, meeting, and interviewing Dr. Benjamin, I wondered if I could do any “mathemagic.” So I purchased his book, “Secrets of Mental Math,” turned to page 214, and went to work.

Can I perform the “human calendar” trick I learned? Test me! When you see me, tell me when your birthday is and see if I can tell you the correct day of the week that it falls on this year.

If I’m wrong, I’ll give you a copy of Dr. Benjamin’s book!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

MESSAGE #396 - GET THIS RIGHT!

There

is

one thing

we

do

better

than

anyone else:

WE

CAN

BE

OURSELVES!

William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)

inspirational writer

Friday, May 2, 2008

MESSAGE #395 - THIS QUOTE SHOULD BE IN EVERY CLASSROOM IN AMERICA

In 2006, the late, great movie director Robert Altman (“Mash” and “Nashville”) was given an Academy Award for lifetime achievement.

In accepting his Oscar, Altman said . . .

“The role of the director
is to create a space
where the
actors and actresses
can become
MORE THAN
THEY’VE EVER BEEN BEFORE,
MORE THAN
THEY’VE DREAMED OF BEING.”

You’re probably
not a movie director.

So this only applies
to you
if . . .
you’re a
parent,
teacher,
coach,
boss.

This only applies
to you
if . . .
you’re in a
family,
school,
team,
business.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

MESSAGE #394 - ONE OF THE GREAT SPORTS MOMENTS EVER!!!

Opponents carry injured home run hitter around the bases!

4/30/2008
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
The Associated Press


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center field fence.

But it looked like the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as just a single.

Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team in Ellensburg stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count — an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.

Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the all-time home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.

The umpire said there was no rule against it.

So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky's legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg.

"The only thing I remember is that Mallory asked me which leg was the one that hurt," Tucholsky said. "I told her it was my right leg and she said, `OK, we're going to drop you down gently and you need to touch it with your left leg,' and I said `OK, thank you very much.' "

"She said, `You deserve it, you hit it over the fence,' and we all kind of just laughed."

"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' "


"We didn't know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run," Wallace said Wednesday. "That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her."

Holtman is a business major from White Salmon, Wash., who hopes to study sports management in graduate school. She said she and Wallace weren't thinking about the playoff spot and didn't consider the gesture something others wouldn't do.

As for Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2 right fielder was focused on her pain. "I really didn't say too much. I was trying to breathe," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.

"I didn't realize what was going on until I had time to sit down and let the pain relax a little bit," she said. "Then I realized the extent of what I actually did."

"I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation," Tucholsky said.

As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.

Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, 70, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable."

For Western Oregon coach Pam Knox, the gesture resolved the dilemma Tucholsky's injury presented.

"She was going to kill me if we sub and take (the home run) away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do," Knox recalled.

Tucholsky's injury is a possible torn anterior cruciate ligament that will sideline her for the season, and she plans to graduate in the spring with a degree in business.

Her home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.

"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run."