Fortune does not...

Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.

-Suzanne Necker

I think this is profound. Have you ever known anyone to come into a substantial sum of money? The become different overnight. What is amazing is what some people call a fortune. People's true colors begin to shine through. That being said, I am going to just post some interesting fact I found browsing the Internet. It ought to show you how people are changed by money.

Nearly one-third of lottery winners become bankrupt.“The CFP Board made an offer to the National Association of State and Provincial Lotteries to provide the organization's members with information to distribute to winners. The Investment News article highlighted the lack of financial guidance many winners receive from state lottery agencies; estimates show that nearly one-third of lottery winners become bankrupt.”Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. http://www.cfp-board.org/bulletin.html

Wealth brings unhappiness.“A new study by American psychologists has found that cash and popularity do not bring nirvana. Experts say that excessive wealth,particularly for people unaccustomed to it, such as lottery winners,can actually cause unhappiness.(..) There is evidence that there are very wealthy people who are very unhappy, particularly people who were not born to wealth like lottery winners.”Source: BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1162153.stm

A San Francisco Chronicle article titled “Big lottery winners know alot about what not to do” states:“The newly wealthy spend most of their first $1 million on travel” “Research shows that a significant number of lottery winners lose their winnings within five years, said Stephen Goldbart, a psychologist and co- director of the Money, Meaning and Choices Institute in Kentfield, which advices people who come into financial windfalls.”"We've seen people who had decent marriages who came into money and it destroyed the marriage. Bringing a huge amount of money into the scene is a life-changing event," Goldbart said.”“A hermit drank himself to death just two years after winning $2.57million (1.8 million pounds) in the lottery.”“Tom Grey, spokesman for the National Coalition against Legalized Gambling, said Virginia state lottery officials found in 1999 that of300 millionaire winners, as many as 60 eventually encountered financial problems.”Source: San Francisco Chronicle article 2002. http://www.geocities.com/ccd4664/BigLottoryWinners.htm

Researchers have identified many elements that people report wanting that don't really bring lasting happiness once obtained. For instance,there are interesting data on the clinical depression of megabuck lottery winners, or that the reported happiness of the rich is not significantly higher than the average person's. Apparently, large amounts of wealth, fame, power, sex, and prestige do not bring above-average happiness over time.”According to ABC's John Stossel, "Studies of lottery winners found that within a year, most say that they are no happier than they were before they won. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Pantheon/8320/HAPPNSS.htm

It's sad really. I hope that if I ever come into a large some of money, we find out that I am still a pretty good guy.

There is no greater...

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone's life.

- Sister Mary Rose McGeady

For over thirteen years Sister Mary Rose McGeady was the President of the Manhattan based home for runaway teens, known as The Covenant House. She took over in that position in 1990 and continued on until 2003. During her tenure there, she succeeded in rebuilding what had become a crumbling institution. Now that we have the background on Sister McGeady, lets take a look at this quote.

First of all let me say, that when I saw this quote today, so many things came to mind that I may just ramble on for awhile. So, I apologize in advance.

By taking over and running a failing home for runaway kids, I would say that Sister McGeady, made a fundamental difference in the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. We should all strive to make a difference in the lives of just a few, not all of us can be Sister McGeady's.

I am reminded of the families that my Sunday School class helps each year at Christmas. We took on our first family 3 years ago. I was told of this family that had 5 kids, no dad and mom didn't have a job. They had no idea what they were going to do for Christmas. I went and met with the mother and she could not go the normal routes for help that year, for various reasons. I met with our Sunday School class and decided we would "adopt" them that year. It was incredible. We supplied all the children with necessities, such as tooth brushes, tooth paste, new blankets, pillows, etc. We also got each kid pencils, crayons, notebooks, all the things they needed for the rest of the school year, including clothes plus 3 or 4 toys apiece. On top of all of that, we took enough food to feed the entire family during the Christmas break from school.

On Christmas Eve, we went to their house, and Santa Claus went with us. I will never forget the look on those kids faces when they looked out the window and saw Santa coming with that HUGE bag of toys. We walked in and one of the kids jumped in Santa's arm and said "I knew you would come see us Santa, I just knew you would. I love you." If you've never seen four grown men moved to tears, then come and go with us next year. We were speechless. We finally got the kids calmed down and seated and Santa hugged them and loved them, and he started passing out their giftsand telling them the true story of Christmas. They were amazed. The little girl was happier with her tooth brush than anything else. She grabbed my hand and asked me to help her brush her teeth, she was so excited. You would think that we made a fundamental difference in the life of that mom or those kids. Whether we did or not, I'll never know. But I know it made a difference in the lives of those that went. A true fundamental change. I don't think any of us will look at Christmas the same again. We have continued to do this for 3 years now. Each year it is a new family, and the blessing keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's the one part of Christmas I look forward to.

Now, while we are on the subject, let's talk about Santa Claus. We live the Santa tradition at my house. I have have found that I know several people that don't. I really and truly do not understand this line of thinking. I think you are robbing kids of some of their innocence, by not allowing them to believe in Santa. I'm 38 years old and still believe in Santa. There is no denying the fact that there was a man, the Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey, by the name of Nicholas. He lived in the 4th Century AD, and was known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. I am not Catholic, but when you study the life of Nicholas he he did many wonderful things for the people he ministered to. He no doubt fundamentally changed the lives of the people around him.

Nicholas was credit with saying, "...it's good to give and have only God know about it." Now if that isn't the Santa Claus mythos, then I don't know what is. I believe Santa is real. His history and giving, loving kindness lives on in the hearts of millions of people. On Christmas Eve, for the last 3 years, I now know of 13 children that believe in Santa. They saw him, they touched him and heard the true story of Christmas from him. That is something they will never forget. No matter where life takes them or what ever lays around the corner, for a short period of time, those kids believed and it was made real for them. I think we all can experience that if we would take the time to believe, to give in secret and to try and fundamentally change the lives around us.

Any fool...(again)

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain; and most fools do.

- Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie authored several best sellers including "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." Over 50 million copies of Mr. Carnegie's books have been printed; they are published in 38 languages. Sounds like a man that could get his message across.

Mr. Carnegie spent a lifetime, touring and lecturing and writing books. His goal was to make each and every person he met a better person, and to help them become the best that they could be. One of his core ideas, was that it is possible to change people's behavior, by changing one's reaction to them. If you're not getting the desired response from the people you deal with on a daily basis, maybe you need to look at how you act or react towards them. Sometimes its hard to look in the mirror and see yourself as the problem.

You have read my previous posts and know that I don't deal real well with all the negativity in the world. Everyone seems to be a part of the problem, and not part of the solution. A fool is defined as someone who lacks judgement or sense. So according to Mr. Carnegie, someone who constantly complains or criticizes, lacks good judgement. Sometimes its best to hold your tongue. I am the worlds worst. I will tell you what I think, before you even ask. However, I have made a real effort to stop complaining. I'm not there yet, but I think I'm getting better. Complaining and criticizing, just for the sake of complaining, NEVER solves the problem.

The next time someone isn't doing what you think is right, or something has gone terribly wrong. Don't let your tongue get ahead of your brain. Stop for a minute, assess the situation, and formulate a plan to fix it. Be a part of the solution, and quit being the fool.

Don't be too...

Don't be to moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

-Henry David Thoreau

Think about that!

Don't cry because...

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

-Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel

I have a friend of mine that says, "You make me smile.", all the time. How awesome is that? I don't say it very often, but I think it a bunch. I need to start telling more people that.

I am as guilty as everybody else out there, I can't help but think about the past. Good times with friends and family. Vacations, parties, "road trips", moments that were to short, with that someone special, even good times at work. Sometimes it depresses me, when I think about yesterday. The times we had, the friendships, the memories. But, I soon get over it, because I think about how great it was, and think, "you make me smile"! And, when tomorrow comes, today will be a memory too.

People that truly know me, know I love the moment. I love making the memories. I love to share them, the good and the bad. I have found that the "bad" memories make me smile too. Because, I am who I am today, because of all of those events. So when you start to look back, the bad wasn't really all that bad.

Music is an incredible force. I can be listening to the radio and hear a song, and it will make me think of someone I haven't thought about in years. It can bring back so many wonderful memories. Songs can bring a tear to our eye and make us smile at the same time.

I believe there are happy tears, tears that flow from smiling. Very seldom do I cry because its over. I sometimes cry, because of the wonderfully happy memories that I have, and can reflect on what a great life, mine has been.

Take the time to smile because it happened, and tell the person that made that memory with you, that they make you smile!

The longer I live...

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.

-Frank Lloyd Wright

Wow...

As I've said before, life gets in the way. We get blinded to what's going on around us. We miss the beauty of the world, the beauty of our spouse, the beauty of our family, the beauty of our friends. The beauty of everything. The beauty of LIFE!

Frank Lloyd Wright was a man that understood beauty. He designed and built some of the most beautiful buildings in the world. He had a gift, to take something as ugly as concrete, and rugged oldwood and turn them into a beautiful, marvolous creation.

Life is so short, it is but a vapor. We see new beauty everyday! Life can't help but become more beautiful. There are a lot of problems in the world, but the beauty always shines through, if we are willing to open our eyes and look for it.

We don't have to look very far. It's taken me a long time to realize it, but all I have to do is look into the eyes of my wife or my kids, or spend some time with friends, and I see all the beauty in the world. Love is a wonderful thing, it pushes the beauty to the front. Wright, loved his architecture, the beauty jumps out of his creations. My family and friends love me, as I do them, the beauty is all around them.

Take the time, notice the beauty, and life will become more beautiful every single day.

The children now love luxury...

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

- Socrates

Was this quote written 2500 years ago, or 25 minutes ago. I know I use a lot of quotes to talk about quotes, but there is something to be said here for the famous quote of 20th Century Philosopher George Santayana, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it". This quote is typical Socrates. His main contribution to philosophy was in the field of ethics. He would have found it unethical for children to act in this way, as well as unethical for parents to allow this type of behavior.

I like this quote, because I am always trying to relate what has happened in the past, with what is going on in the world today. When we look back every great empire or civilization has fallen. The Greeks, The Romans, The Persians, and the list goes on and on. The world has become a much smaller place in the last 30 years. We have information at our fingertips, we truly live in an information age. Everything happens quickly.

I believe the tyranny of children, perverted immoral living, and a selfish, me me me mentality along with a long list of other things led to the destruction of all of the great civilizations.

What does that say about America today? Take a look around. His description of children could have been taken right out of todays newspapers. And parents continue to allow it. And it all falls back to the me me me mentality. Everyone thinks their kids should be first, have the best, the most. We are raising a group of children that will be greedier than we are as their parents. I understand, I am a parent. I want the best for my kids. But they know, that we don't get things, just because we want them. We have to work for them, or earn them. Unfortunately, someone has to be first and someone has to be last. My kids know that, that is not what is important to us. We expect their best. Thats it! If they give their best and that makes them last then so be it.

I hope parents can see the damage we are doing to our kids, our nation and our world. We don't want America to become the next great failure. Learn history, so we aren't condemned to repeat it.

Congress shall make no law...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

- The United States Constitution

For those of you that don't know, this is the First Amendment to the Constitution. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, that there are five different issues being addressed in this one sentence. If I gave my thoughts on all five issues in this post, it would take me weeks to write, and would probably be to long for any sane person to want to read. So, for the purpose of this post, I am going to share some thoughts the first issue, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, of prohibiting the free exercise thereof".

An establishment is an arranged social order or system. I don't understand why someone as simple as I am, can get this, but the Supreme Court and all the left wing nut jobs in this country can't. If my child prays at school, or if the Ten Commandments are posted in my local courthouse, it does not mean the Federal Government is endorsing or "respecting" any religion. We hear all the time about "Seperation of Church and State". You just read it for yourself. Does our Constitution mention anything about seperation of church and state? The answer is simple. NO!

Now, if the Supreme Court does not allow students, teachers or administrators to pray in school or talk about their faith, they are obviously violating the second part of this sentence. They are prohibiting these people the free exercise of their religion. The same applies to a judge or official that wants to place the Ten Commandments in their place of business. Just because that person may work for the government, and is a Christian and wishes to share their faith, just by displaying the Ten Commandments, it DOES NOT mean the government is endorsing it! We have let too many people try to tell us we should be ashamed of our faith, and tried to tell us we can only practice it in our homes or churches. The Constitution, clearly states that the Government will not prohibit our free exercise. Yet, it happens everyday!

So many peoples lives are affected on a daily basis by extreme decisions that have been made about a sentence that is sixteen words long. Most people don't even know what those sixteen words are. They have only been told that the Constitution demands seperation of church and state. When in fact is says nothing even close to that. This country was founded by; and our founding documents were written by; God fearing, moral and upright men. They simply did not want to be in a situation where the govenment said you HAVE attend this church, pray in this way or be told our "official" religion is, so and so.

One final thing, when ones ability to practice his religion is diminished, it also starts to violate their freedom of speech, which is the very next line of this article.

I encourage everyone to take the time to read the Constitution, find out what it says for yourself. You may be surprised to find, it may not say what you have always been told!

I look to the future...

I look to the future, because that is where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.

- George Burns

Not all quotes need a lot of explanation. This is one of those quotes. With nowhere to go but forward, we have no choice but to spend the rest of our life in the future.

I never realized, that George Burns was Mr. Obvious.

Happiness and moral duty...

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.

- George Washington

The dictionary defines happiness as; "the quality or state of being happy", it goes on to say, "happiness results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good". That has a lot to say about what George Washington thought of moral duty. Moral Duty can be defined as "an action founded on the fundemental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom".

Let me say for the record, I have the upmost respect for our founding fathers. They took on a fight, against the tyranny in the world, that completly changed the world, all the while, maintaining their faith in God, faith in their fellow man, and performing their moral duty.

He is saying, that to be truly happy, one must fulfill their moral duty. They are eternally connected. You can not have one without the other. When the two definitions are combined, it says, "happiness results from the attainment (fullfilment) of a duty founded on the fundemental principle of right conduct".

With so much anger, hatred and apathy in the world today, so many people don't want to do what is right. All you have to do is watch TV for 30 minutes, and you will see an advertisement for at least one drug for depression. No one is happy! Why? No one takes the time to fulfill their moral duty. What has happened in the last 200 years, that we have lost the compassion for our fellow man?

Next time you are feeling a little down, do a little good for someone, fulfill your moral duty, you might just find a little happiness for yourself.

Success usually comes...

Success usually comes to those who are

too busy to be looking for it.

- Henry David Thoreau

Everybody whats to a rock star or a movie star or famous, anyway they can get it. The problem is, few people want to work for it. The work ethic in this country has just about reached the bottom. All you have to do is go to your nearest fast food restaurant, and the service is in the toilet. I worked in that industry when I was a teenager. If we had tried to get away with the way they do things today, we would have all been fired!

I believe success comes in all parts of your life, at your career, parenting, your marriage, friendships, anything you're involved in. So many people worry about being successful, trying to prove themselves, stressing over what everyone else thinks. All the time that is spent on the worry and the stressing take away from the true work.

Being a parent is hard. Being a husband or wife is hard. Careers are hard. Life is hard! So why do we spend most days making it harder? We get tied up trying to be the "Success" that we think everyone expects us to be. As I type this it reminds me of another quote that I love, by Steven Tyler. "Life's a journey, not a destination". We need to take the time and enjoy the journey, we WILL reach the destination. If we've worked hard and done our absolute best, when we reach our destination, we will look back and discover, that we were truly successful.