THERE ARE NO SMALL JOBS OR BIG JOBS. EXCELLENCE COVERS IT ALL.

 

You have seen this picture of the street sweeper before, so with the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. below; so have I many times. But it's something we need to be reminded of so often. We need to see this again and again and again until our eyes drop. Because we always forget. We consider life as a ... let me see..... a pizza pie! Oh yes... we crave for it, relish it, and then when sated forget about it. Then one other new day the craving comes back, again we indulge, and then forget about it... again!
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But Life is something else unlike a pizza pie.
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Life is so much more and it deserves even so much more from us. And that simply put means ---- hard work.. seriousness... dedication... diligence... brilliance... creative juices... intelligence... and whatever else a man would do with his best talent and all.
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Here's what I heard Mom say to my kid brother one day long ago; that day when he wasn't feeling in top form and the stuff he was supposed to finish didn't meet Mom's scrutiny. In short, tinatamad!
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---- "Don't allow this 'that will do'- attitude (in Tagalog.. 'pwede na') to take you down the steps of mediocrity. You can't and shouldn't be content with only a half-hearted effort or simply just about one-third of your energy or just put in a so-so performance. Nor leave a task hanging in mid-air just because you don't feel up to it. Be firm with yourself. Give it your best shot whatever the role you are made to play in life or asked to do at work or at play. Being mediocre isn't in God's dictionary. In fact, God created plenty of opportunities for you to become better or the best. No argument to that. So temper your moods with discipline. "
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Well, brother had it coming to him just because his inspiration suddenly fell flat. But he listened and went back to the task with firmer resolve. The story ended well and I learned much that day. There is no midway to excellence. Discipline will get you there. Mom was a stern teacher not only in her classrooms but much more in her home.
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There is no excuse for mediocrity. There are no small jobs or big jobs. Excellence covers it all. We are tasked to be......
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----- the best mother or father to our children ...the best son or daughter to our parents, the best teacher or student, CEO or a clerk, vendor, policeman or soldier, doctor or nurse, caregiver, maid or janitor, priest or a nun, journalist, composer, painter, writer or poet, businessman, carpenter or laborer, professor or scientist, messenger, busboy, waiter, saleslady, politician, or a friend. Or other roles and tasks life presents for us to do.
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Martin Luther King Jr. says it superbly.......... to quote
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"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, --- 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." ------ Unquote.
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God expects us to do a good job. Always. Blessings, everybody

YOU DON'T NEED TO FLY TO BE AWESOME

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I just finished watching 'Happy Feet 2' in HBO with my daughter. Have probably watched this twice already; it's an old movie. Oh yes, I finished the movie both times. Here's a wonderful line I picked up close to the end of the movie, to quote...............


 "YOU DON'T NEED TO FLY TO BE AWESOME"

I like that. Very much. You see, it reminds me of people who I have been so blessed to cross paths with at some point or points of my journey, people who amaze me with their awesomeness. People who go by their awesomeness without even knowing that they are. They live simple ordinary lives, nothing earth-shaking to rock our world. But there they are just being their awesome selves..... in their tiny corner of the world living their light and touching lives with it.

People who think nothing of going the extra mile for someone, friend or stranger.... people who selflessly bring out the good of another.... people who inspire and encourage... people who stand courageously against the onslaughts of life's bad..... people who live each day infecting others with Hope and Love ..... people who hold on steadily to their beliefs and faith in the midst of trials or difficulties..... people who live their humble ordinary lives with honesty and pride..... people who believe in their own abilities to do a good job anytime anywhere..... and the list goes on and on.

The message is clear -------- you don't have to be titled, rich, popular, privileged, famous, or soar up in the skies of high achievement or abundance to be awesome. It's just by being authentically you and genuinely human, by God's design -- by being selfless towards others -- and by giving life your best shot with who you are, where you are, with what you have -- and by living an honest life giving glory to the ONE above from whom all good things come. That is AWESOME!

God bless you, awesome people! Have a great day and life.