Famous Quotes on Achieving Success and Happiness – #FREEeBook plus #Author Interview

Inspirational quotes to help get you into the right frame of mind to take on the days challenges

Becca's Inspirational Book Blog

So many people do not feel happy, successful or satisfied with their lives. Perhaps, as author Atticus Aristotle writes, they have not set their minds on a specific goal. Do you underestimate your potential? Do you feel unhappy because of challenges or circumstances you face in your life?

We all have our ups and downs and it is great to have a resource to help lift us up when we need it. I recommend you pick up the FREE KINDLE of Success and Happiness – Quotes to Motivate, Inspire & Live By.

You will find advice from some of the most famous people in history, from The Buddha and Confucius to Gandhi, Helen Keller and Martin Luther King.

The subjects covered range from Character and Karma to Anger and Desire. This is a great book to skim through for a thought for the day, to overcome fear, release anger…

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Pride and resentment: the unseen cancer

“A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.” James E. Faust

Although I may not outwardly appear so as much as I should, I am deeply grateful for my loving wife, who has stood beside me for thirty years, through the good, the bad and the really ugly.

I am grateful for our three children, who grew up to make us very proud. Their success was not in becoming financially stable, all three of them struggle, but in their character, the moral compass each developed on their own and their empathy for others. They each developed character traits that would even make a curmudgeon like Mark Twain proud.

I am grateful for the many wonderful people I had the pleasure of meeting. While there are many I would turn my back on, there are many, including a few here, that I would be happy to call friend.

But I am not grateful to certain things that in reflection, I ought to be. I should be grateful to the two individuals who brought me into this world. For too long I’ve held resentment for how my siblings and I were treated by them, for bringing ten children into a loveless and abusive environment.

I supposed the resentment has been like a cancer spreading. It’s there, but unseen, yet doing damage nonetheless. By the time the damage is seen it’s usually too late. They are both gone now, the last one just a few weeks ago. I need to let go of the resentment, and be grateful for the fact they did bring me, and the others, into this world and did make an effort, no matter how small.

But I’m not as humble as I should be. I used to think I was much smarter than many others. When I made the decision at Citigroup to blow the whistle, I leaned on my pride. Let them retaliate, I’m much smarter than they are and will do just well, I reasoned.

I little bit of humility would have gone a long way. It turned out they really are much smarter than I am and proved it. I still stand behind my decision, but I would have taken better measures to make sure I didn’t lose everything if not for my swollen sense of self.

It is amazing how humble one gets when seeing a zero balance in your bank balance and nothing in sight to change it. That is what I saw a few hours ago, and it’s beyond humbling, it opens your eyes to reality: I am nowhere near as smart or as capable as almost everyone else I’ve met.

Some resentment is still there. I still blame others at Citigroup for making it impossible for me to find a job and for putting me into this position.

Understanding comes slow, but it is coming: They did not do this to me, I did this to myself. They are who they’ve always been and I’m the one who made the choice to speak out. I could have walked away, but that would have caused regrets later on and is not the behavior I wanted my children to follow. So I need to take responsibility for what happened.

My wife sent me this quote because she still sees signs of pride and resentment. She is the doctor who saw my cancer. This quote is her prescription for curing me, and it is working.

Some of you already know, but Omar Kiam is my pen name. I did it because I published two business books under my real name and wanted to keep this side of me separate from that side. I had thought the books (The art of process improvement and The command center handbook) would carry us through the difficult times, but that didn’t happen.

As a step in the right direction, I will reach out for help, accepting the fact that I’m really not as smart or as capable as I thought I was.

Choosing between ethics and job

My @Quora post: Choosing between ethics and job

Post by Omar M. Kiam:

Choosing between ethics and job

Choosing between ethics and job

Friendship

“Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.” Aristotle

I’ve been a loner most of my life. Up until the end of high school I had several friends, all from the neighborhood, but no close friends. After high school we each went our separate ways, never seeing or hearing from each other again.

For the next twenty years I’ve had friends here and there. These were acquaintances that became friends who enjoyed each others company. As before, we parted ways never to talk again.

The next fifteen years were different. We settled down in one place and I formed several close friendships with two people at work. They became more like sons to me rather than just friends.

On the home front new friendships developed that seemed to last the test of time. It helped that we didn’t move away. The friendships, which began as family as a result of our marriage, grew and for once I began to experience a feeling I never had before towards others: a warmth that develops when friends are there.

We had many a barbeque at the house, entertaining almost every week. These were good friends who stood by us. In fact they counted on us. When one needed to renovate part of his house I gladly answered the call for help. As we prospered, so did our friendships. It is something that everyone needs to experience in order to truly appreciate life.

No matter who called, we were always there to help anyone in need. When a friend’s car died, I was there with tools to get it going again even though it meant missing some important meetings. When a baby was born, we were there from the time they went into the hospital until the baby was born and everyone was safe and sound. When someone needed company, and a car, for a four hour car ride we were there.

During that time we never really needed anything from our family and friends. When I was admitted to the hospital for chest pain, I understood that a 90 minute drive was too much for anyone to make and the three days in the hospital went by quickly enough. When I was held in jail overnight for an outstanding traffic violation warrant that I knew nothing about, I understood when no one was able to bring bail money on a Sunday night, since they all had work the next day.

When I got laid off from work after 28 years, they were all there with words of advice. As the unemployment continued, their visits began to lessen. They’d call and give us words of sympathy but that was about it. When our son needed help fixing his house, no one answered the call for help. No one even showed up to his home coming celebration. As our situation got worse, the friends became scarcer and scarcer, not even making an attempt at false sincerity.

So now as I sit here, a month away from giving up this house we made our home of 15 years to the bank, I’ve come to realize they were never really friends. Oh they were good friends when I could do things for them, but when I had nothing to offer and needed their help, they were nowhere to be found. It hurt my wife even more because they are her family.

I know we’ll survive this, that I’ll find another job eventually, but in a way I’m glad this happened. Its made us realize who our friends really are. It’s made us realize that we have each other, and our children, to count on and that’s about it.  

It’s made us realize that misfortune really does show those who are not really friends.

Talent

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

One of the greatest shames in the world is when a person born with a talent lets it go to waste. Most people have undiscovered talent, it is there laying dormant, waiting for the day when it is called upon. When that day comes, it becomes one of the happiest days in that persons life.

Many others discover their talent but let it go to waste, to busy in the pursuit of meaningless enjoyment and living for the moment. There is no greater loss than to let a natural talent go to waste. There is no greater happiness than in using a natural talent to it fullest.

There are many examples of people using their talent, Shakespeare, Beethoven, von Goethe, but there are many who don’t achieve world renown and yet are happy and content using their talent.

Patrick Wentzel is one of those people. His classic carousel carvings are magnificent.

If you haven’t found your talent yet be patient. It’s there and will show itself one day, as long as you continue exploring, trying different things.  In the meantime, look at some of Patrick’s work, order something and examine it closely. There is nothing better than seeing something made by a natural talent, be it a symphony, a painting, a carving or a statue.

You can see Patrick’s collection at http://patrickwentzel.com/

 

A little humor from Facebook

Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, pissing and pooping on others, and some days you’re the statue, getting pissed and pooped on by others.

Sometimes, needing someone is like needing a parachute.
If they aren’t there the first time you need them,
chances are you won’t need them again.

People in glass houses should always wear clothes.

People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Neither should they nail up pictures.

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Never clean your room while your plane ticket is in it.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Be careful whose toes you step on today, they might be attached to the behind you have to kiss tomorrow.

Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.

Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

Never wrestle with a pig: You both get all dirty, and the pig likes it.

Never argue with an idiot: They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

Never put your finger where you wouldn’t put your nose.

He who laughs last didn’t get the joke.

The things that come to those who wait may be the things left by those that got there first.

Intelligence is like underwear, everyone should have it, but we shouldn’t show it off.

When someone points skyward, it’s the fool that looks at the finger.

A pat on the back is only a few inches from a kick in the behind.

A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn.

An agreeable person is someone who agrees with you.

The wonder of a single snowflake outweighs the wisdom of a million meteorologists.

We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.

When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

You always find something in the last place you look.

Live such that when you die, even the undertaker will be sorry.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

Anything you lose automatically doubles in value.

Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.

Think twice before you speak, especially if you intend to say what you think.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.

It is best not to swap horses while crossing the river.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use a net and he won’t bother you for weeks.

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

Wise men make proverbs but fools repeat them.

Honesty and Truth

“The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man his due.” Justinian I

The philosophy I will follow is to live honestly, to purposely injure no one, and to give every person a chance to do the same.

Any promise I make to someone is a debt which I must pay. If I cannot keep a promise I will try to make up for it. I will not make any promises which I knowingly cannot keep. I will not make a promise that I have no intentions of keeping to get something I want or need, even if the other person is being unfair.

I will be honest even if I am the only one. I will not be dishonest or deceitful even if everyone else is. Regardless of who is telling me to do it, I will not compromise my honesty.

In situations where honesty may hurt someone, I will keep my words to myself. I would rather keep quiet than hurt someone with my honesty. Unless my job is to deceive potential criminals in order to protect others, I will not be dishonest even if ordered to by anyone.

When I tell others exactly what is on my mind, then, I should be able to handle the same from others. If I cannot tolerate frankness from others, then I shouldn’t speak frankly to anyone.

Exaggerating the truth is the same as lying. I will strive to tell things as they are, without stretching the truth or undue exaggeration.

If I don’t know something, I will say that I don’t know, rather than make up a falsehood.

I will present myself to others as I truly am on the inside. I want to be liked for who I really am, not for who I can make others think I am.

For the most part, I will try to live a virtuous life. Once in a while, I may choose vice rather than virtue. If I choose to stray, I will accept the consequences if there are any. I will live with anything I choose to do, be it virtuous or vice, without regret. What is virtuous and what is a vice is for me to decide. Just because something is considered legal does not make it virtuous, just as something illegal may not be a vice. For the most part, my moral compass will guide me. If I am unable to decide and require guidance, then I will seek it from those whom I consider to be virtuous, regardless of what their beliefs are.

Morality

Not sure if others are noticing the same thing, but I’ve been coming across a greater number of people who don’t believe in God or any type of religious philosophy. For the most part, most of them are still aware of right and wrong, I think mainly because they were raised in a home by parents who were religious.

What I see as the problem will be the next generation, which would have been raised by parents who had no faith. Where will that generation get it’s moral compass? How will they be able to make life choices based on good and bad, right and wrong, ethical and moral?

The goal in writing ‘Morality’ was to provide something, not just for atheist, but for anyone unsure of what constitutes moral behavior a type of reference book, with examples, to use for everyday life.

Morality is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Morality-ebook/dp/B00EGAGHFC/

Very interest in hearing what your thoughts are.

Karma

“When the Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the Game.” Grantland Rice

Even though I may question or even not believe in a heaven, hell or an afterlife, I will live my life in a manner that is in keeping with how I want to be treated by others. It is not because I want to get into heaven or have a better experience in the afterlife, but simply because it is the right thing to do. I do not believe someone should be good only because they are afraid of going to hell, they should be good because it is what they want to do. Living in fear of your actions is not how I want to live my life. I would prefer to live my life the way I feel it should be lived and face the consequences, if there are any, rather than to live and act in fear of the consequences.

I do believe that any harm or ill will I do to others may come back to haunt me, not in an afterlife, but here, while still living. I will do my best not to intentionally harm others. If there comes a time where I do harm someone, I will do my best to reverse the damage, or to make retributions.

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Derek Bok

Throughout history, higher education was looked at as something for the elite, the intellectuals and the wealthy while the average person  usually learned a trade. Although a higher education wasn’t a requirement, in order to live decently one still needed to learn a trade.

It used to be if you were healthy you had a good chance of finding decent work. As time went by, many jobs began requiring the ability to read and write. As jobs evolved and became more difficult, a high school diploma became a requirement.

Within the last ten years, a high school diploma wasn’t enough anymore to find a decent paying job. The problem was there were more people than jobs. Jobs that ten years ago only required a high school education now required a four year college degree.

Even with that additional requirement, there are still more candidates than available jobs.  Those who don’t have any education stand no chance in finding a decent paying job. Pretty soon, even the lowest paying jobs will require an education.

Obtaining an education is expensive, but with the right education, that cost can be paid back in a reasonable timeframe. Taking the money required for an education and spending it on a business venture or something else will not get you very far. In order to survive in today’s market, a formal education is really needed.

Every so often you hear of someone striking it rich without an education, like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Most of these individuals were in college and only left after their venture took off. These individuals were also far from ignorant. The ignorant will not get very far in today or in the future.

Everyone at one point or another has to pay someone to do something for them. Even the wealthy and educated have to pay others to perform certain functions. The educated don’t need to pay many others, since they are able to perform some of these functions themselves. The rich can afford to pay people for every function. The ignorant also have to pay people for almost every function, except they have no money, and usually get taken for a ride.

Without an education these days, you have to pay more people to do things for you, and many of those people who will take advantage of you. In the long run, ignorance will end up costing much more than that education.

Not only will ignorance end up costing much more than an education, it will kill the possibility for many opportunities. You may have an idea or two for creating something that may make create wealth, but without an education, the connections an education establishes or vast sums of money, you will not get very far with your ideas.