Inspirational stories

The Present
 

Imagine there was a bank that credited your very own account each morning with a large sum of money. But, it carried over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deleted whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out all of it, of course!

 Each of us has such a bank. Its name is - Time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

 Each day it makes a new deposit for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today. And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why it's called The Present!

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Until

 

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire.

The truth is there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with ... and remember that time waits for no one.

 

So, stop waiting .. Until your car or home is paid off. Until you get a new car or home. Until your kids leave the house. Until you go back to school. Until you finish school. Until you lose 10 lbs. Until you gain 10 lbs. Until you get married. Until you get a divorce. Until you have kids. Until you retire. Until summer.. Until spring. Until winter. Until fall. Until you die.

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one's watching.

 

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Michael's Story

 

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and  asked him,

"I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time.  How do   you do it?"

Michael replied,

"Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be  in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or ... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life.  I Choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a   choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect   your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to  start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I  made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident,   falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied.

"If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind  as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be-born daughter," Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered   that I had two choices: I could choose to live or ... I could choose to die.   I chose to  live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued,

"...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going   to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on   the  faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read  "he's a dead  man. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Michael. "She  asked if I was allergic to anything.  'Yes', I replied. The doctors and  nurses stopped  working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,  'Gravity.' "

Over their laughter, I told them,

"I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if  I am alive,  not dead."

Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing  attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.  

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow  will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." After all  today is the  tomorrow you worried about yesterday.