YOU CAN'T BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

 

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I was cruising down the LinkedIn site and stumbled on this these beautiful lines. It's just a part of the article '8 Behaviors of Phenomenally Successful People', (By Jeff Haden. Ghost writer, speaker, LinkedIn influencer, contributing editor for Inc.) The article makes for a good read but these lines at the bottom struck me the most....... to quote'
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"You worry about what other people think. (Don't feel bad -- I'm sure I do that as much as anyone.) Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't be all things to all people. But you can be as many things as possible to the people you love. And you can be the best you. Be yourself. That is the one thing you can do better than anyone else."
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I have singled that out because it resonated well with a chat I had with a friend a couple of months ago. She's one who worries a lot about what others may say about whatever she does. Drives me crazy listening to her list of -- 'what if' -- 'would they like it' -- 'am I doing it right'.
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She is a people pleaser but is overdoing the whole thing much to her own discomfort and misery. Sad?.. but don't worry, she's quite an intelligent person too and will in good time realize what she should be learning and change what should be changed. Just needing a gentle nudge perhaps in that direction. Sometimes change comes slow and the transformation slower to some people.
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Jeff Haden said it perfectly.... 'Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't be all things to all people.' -
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So why even try? Every person on this planet sees the world, life, people through his own set of eyes.. brains, and heart. He thinks, sees, and acts off his own set of insights, perceptions, measure and standards. So whatever he sees it may not really be all about you (if you happen to be in the picture); rather it's dictated by his own set of rules by which he evaluates everything, tangible or intangible. Remember this? -- That 'we see things not as they are but as we are.'
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The best way to live life is how Jeff Haden puts it ---- 'And you can be the best you. Be yourself. That is the one thing you can do better than anyone else.' ---- And I agree 200%. And don't listen to people who say that you can't... because you can!
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By the way, it's still the month of June; I know somebody out there has this as his or her birthday month, too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May you be blessed with wonderful things to last you a lifetime.

QUALITY IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

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This came to me in email shared by my good friend, Mr. Quote Man. To quote.....

 "When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers,  you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back,  even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it.  You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.  For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."  (Steve Jobs)

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I think that does not speak alone about a job. That also works with the rest of life and living. We are not good just for show. We are good because we are good. It's not that we simply show our good side as in our photogenic side for the camera, but our good has to be rooted down in our core. That's true quality.

Be true to your self. That's all that's being asked of us. Whatever standard or measure or conditions are used on us, let's remember that those things don't matter. You can't let their standards define you. It's their standard or measure, not ours. Because the real challenge is this....  how do you measure up to your own standard of self.

My mom used to say this.... 'Know yourself. And if you see some rough spots, try to smooth them out with learning and more learning. There is always room to grow. But don't let people use their standards on you. It doesn't work that way. Challenge yourself, compete with yourself, benchmark yourself. Always be true to yourself and what you stand for.'

Steve Jobs was right.....  "For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."

Enjoy your day, with wonderful blessings awaiting you.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE LIFE

Whether you're 16, 46, or 60 there's enough learning you can do to fill up your lifetime. In fact, to learn them all you will need a thousand... naye ...a million lifetimes.

I like that idea. I think life is one huge basket of lessons that very well teach me bout things, people, nature ... it shows me how an angry sea would lash out at the shore, or why people cry at silly things sometimes, or why poking your nose in other people's lives would get you a black eye lols! It tells me that in all things there is an ebb and flow which cannot be avoided or ignored. That people are born, live, and then die. That life can be both a burden and a blessing or one and not the other, but that is all up to you. That we have control of our lives and that if we allow others to do it for us, things can go crazy. That we may look different, behave differently, believe in different things and stuff, but in things which truly matter we are basically very much the same.

But even if I may know all of that there is still so much more I'm so ignorant of. I can't fathom nor imagine the mysteries of the universe... and too wonder about the secrets of the immense span of space or the depths of the oceans and seas. I can't see what feelings are written in a person's heart or the myriad of memories and thoughts interspersing in his mind. I can but only guess. That is not always enough.

And too I have so many questions unspoken and real which answers I have yet to find. But whether I find them or not, this journey I am taking is even far more richer than the end-all of it I begin to realize.

Now I know that this huge basket I so speak of is one bottomless vessel of precious treasure ripe for the picking. Then maybe... just maybe... I can pick those I want and discard stuff I consider trivia. But you know what, in some mysterious way these unwanted lessons I've chosen to ignore find their way back to me again and again until -- I become more inclined to learn them well, like it or not.

Nope, learning does not stop.. ever. I'm glad it's that way. Because life is measured not by days, weeks, months, or years... but by how much you have grown closer to that person you were meant to be --- by God's design. How do I know that? Easy. Life taught me.

(Picture forwarded to me by Parth)