THE GENERAL AND THE BOY

by Richard Quek

Once, there was a General who wanted to cross a river.
He was unsure of the depth of the river, and whether
his horse could make it across the river. He looked
around for help and saw a little boy nearby. He asked
the boy for advice. The boy looked at the size of the
General’s horse and paused for a moment. He then
confidently told the General that it is safe for the
General and his horse to cross the river. The General
proceeded to cross the river on his horse. As he
approached the middle of the river, he suddenly
realized that the river was, in fact, very deep, and he
almost drowned. After he recovered from his shock he
shouted at the boy and threatened to punish him. The
boy was stunned and innocently replied, “But General, I
see my ducks crossing the river everyday without any
problem, and my ducks have shorter legs than your
horse”.

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

If you need advice, get it from people who know what
they are talking about. Napoleon Hill says that,
“opinion is the cheapest commodity on earth”. Make sure
you review for yourself the opinion of others before
you act on them.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"It is not the straining for great things that is most
effective; it is the doing of the little things, the
common duties, a little better and better."

THE MAN WHO WILLED HIMSELF TO DIE

by Richard Quek

There was a man who worked for the railroad. One day as
he went into the freezer compartment to do his routine
work, the door accidentally closed and he found himself
trapped in the compartment. He shouted for help but no
one heard him since it was past midnight. He tried to
break down the door but he could not. As he lay in the
freezer compartment, he began to feel colder, and
colder. Then he began to feel weaker, and weaker, and
he wrote on the wall of the compartment, “I am feeling
colder, and colder; and I am getting weaker, and
weaker. I am dying, and this may be my last words”. In
the morning when the other workers opened up the
compartment they found him dead. The sad twist to the
above story is that the freezing apparatus in the
compartment had broke down a few days earlier. The poor
worker did not know about the damaged freezing
apparatus and in his mind the freezing apparatus was
working perfectly. He felt cold, got weaker and
literally willed himself to die.


SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Our sub-conscious mind can be cheated. The
sub-conscious mind can only accept and act on
information passed to it by the conscious mind. It has
no capacity to reject or decline any instructions or
information passed to it by the conscious mind. In the
case of the poor worker, he consciously thought that he
was getting colder, weaker and dying and the
sub-conscious mind accepted the above instructions and
affected his physical body. That was how he willed
himself to die.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation,
for when you come back to your work your judgment will
be surer. Go some distance away because then the work
appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a
glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more
readily seen."

SEE YOUR REACHING

by Richard Quek

The Catalina Island is twenty-one miles away from the
coast of California, and many people have taken the
challenge to swim across it. On July 4th 1952, Florence
Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to
swim across to the California coast. She started well
and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the
weather became cold. She persisted, but fifteen hours
later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the
water.

After she recovered, she was told that she had been
pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She
commented that she could have made it, if the fog had
not affected her vision and she would have just seen
the land. She promised that this would be the only time
that she would ever quit.

She went back to her rigorous training. And two months
later she swam that same channel. The same thing
happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her
view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of
the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind
the fog was land. She succeeded and became the first
woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the
men’s record by two hours.


SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

When you set your goal, keep pressing on even when you
are tired, physically and mentally, and even though
there are many challenges ahead. Keep the vision of
your goal crystal clear before you and never, never,
never… give up! See the reaching, commit to it, and you
will surely see your goal realized.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"I can't do everything, but I can do something. If we
all did something, we could conquer anything."

SEARCH NO MORE

by Richard Quek


Ali Hafed was a farmer from Africa, who was happy and
contented. One day a priest came to visit him and told
him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes
along with having them. The priest said, “If you have a
diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own
city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you
could own the whole country.” After the priest left,
the farmer could not sleep that night. He became
unhappy and discontented with what he had, and the
whole night he thought to himself how rich and powerful
he would become if he could possess some diamonds.

The next morning, he sold off his farm, left his family
with his neighbor, and set off to search for diamonds.
He traveled all over Africa, but could not find any. He
looked all over Europe and couldn’t find any. Finally,
he became emotionally, physically and financially broke
and decided to take his own life by throwing himself
into the river.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was
watering the camels at a stream that ran through the
farm. He suddenly saw a curious flash of light from the
white sands of the shallow stream. Reaching into the
water, he pulled out a rough stone that sparkled like
the colors of the rainbow. Finding the stone
interesting, he took it back to his house and placed it
as a decoration piece in his living room. One day the
priest came to visit, and saw the sparkling stone. He
exclaimed, “Here is a diamond! Is Hafed back?” The man
replied, “No, no, Hafed has not returned, and that is
not a diamond. It is only a stone I found right here in
the garden.” When the priest heard this, he declared,
“I know a diamond when I see one.”

Together they rushed out to the garden stream and began
searching. To their amazement, there came up other more
beautiful and valuable stones than the first. Thus, was
discovered the largest diamond mine in the world.


SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

The above story, Acres of Diamonds was lectured by
Russell H. Conwell more than 6,000 times during his
lifetime. With the funds from the above lectures he
founded Temple University. We are forever looking for
opportunities elsewhere rather than within us. “Acres
of Diamonds” taught us that the riches and
opportunities that we are searching are within us. As
the saying goes, “the grass on the other side always
appears to be greener.” Diamonds in its rough form do
not look like diamonds. The raw diamonds need to be
skillfully worked on and polished before they are of
value. Likewise most of us are like the raw diamonds,
and need to be worked on and polished before we realize
our full potential.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"Society is like a crowd in carnival costumes with
everyone fearful that others will see through his
disguise."

"Live Your Dream in 2007"

Do You have a Story to Tell?

Several years ago, I belonged to a photography club.
New members joined frequently, which allowed members
the chance to gain fresh, creative ideas. As you might
expect, one of the questions I often heard in first
conversations was: "What kind of work do you do?"

One evening, I began chatting with a new attendee at
one of our meetings. I was surprised when instead of
the usual, "What do you do?", the person pleasantly
said, "So, tell me your story!"

If someone said to you, "Tell me your story!", would
your story brim with enthusiasm--a story written to
your liking? Or would it sound like an uneventful
routine written by someone else--a tiresome treadmill
that leaves your listener hungry to experience the real
you?

If we don't write our own life stories, someone else
will write them for us. If we don't live from our own
values, we might end up living from someone else's
values. If we aren't busy fulfilling our own purpose,
we might be fulfilling someone else's purpose.

Perhaps you have an exciting story to tell.

Ask yourself these questions:

If I were to tell someone my ideal story, what emotions
would my story ignite?

What did it require for me to start creating that
story?

What is the opening sentence?

Many people begin writing their ideal life story, but
then they live in the introduction all their lives. Our
life stories need to be enticing page-turners that are
hard to put down. We have to get past the introduction
and into the exhilarating part where the plot thickens
and the suspense builds. Then we can enjoy the
mysteries, victories, and adventure of an authentic
life.

So what's your ideal story? The plot will begin in your
own imagination--a compelling tale of faith in action
that will guide you to a most extraordinary conclusion!

________________________________________

An authentic life is a watchful, purposeful, committed,
and joyous life. It allows us to express our highest
calling in our own best ways.

When our desires, thoughts, commitments, words,
and actions are congruent with our life purpose, we
live authentically. We experience the joy that comes
from using our God-given gifts and talents in ways that
benefit others.

A key factor often overlooked in living an authentic
life is the strength of our commitment to authenticity
itself. Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings often emphasized
the integration of consciousness into the "form" of
life. Our outer life--all that we experience--is
created each day, one moment at a time. It can be torn
apart by disturbances.

Emerson knew that our awareness can be captured easily
by shifting moods, especially in the spring and summer
of life. So, he believed, authenticity requires
watchfulness, diligence, and patience in the face of
life's inevitable disappointments and failures. Its
test requires a rigorous commitment to the path we
choose to travel. In "Self-reliance" he wrote, "Nothing
at last is sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

In "The Power of Purpose", author Richard Leider
mentioned the wise advice that cancer therapists Carl
and Stephanie Simonton share with their patients: "You
must be willing to be yourself, not what people want
you to be because you think that is the only way you
can get love. You can no longer be dishonest. You are
now at a point where, if you truly want to live, you
have to be who you are."

If someone were to ask you "Who are you? What are you
really about?", what would you tell them?

Think of one thing you are committed to accomplishing
during your life time--something that makes use of your
unique interests and talents in serving others. Then
write a simple one-word sentence describing the essence
of your "story" and your diligence in living that story
to its conclusion.

Your willingness to serve, watchfulness, and
commitment to your deepest calling will allow you to
express your true essence despite life's disturbances.
It will allow you to experience one of God's richest
blessings: an authentic and joyous life.

Wishing you blessings and success! :-)