June 30, 2008
You
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Nobody else in the world will go through the same life that you do. No one else will have the exact same experiences that you do. You are unique. You are unique for a reason. Use what you have, use what you know, use who you are to better this world.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 27, 2008
Are You a Quaker?
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I came across this funny little story about an eight year old:
In an essay on Quakers, an eight-year-old wrote: "Quakers are very meek, quiet people who never fight or answer back. My father is a Quaker, but my mother is not."
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June 26, 2008
Go Your Own Way
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I love to see people who stand up for their good beliefs. It's always impressive to see people go against the mass opinion when it is the right thing to do. I saw this cool bush that all of the flowers were a reddish orange color except a couple so I took a picture of it. Even in nature it's ok sometimes to go your own way.
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June 25, 2008
Caption Contest
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Today’s entry is a caption contest. The person who sends in the best caption for the picture below will receive a free Growing In Goodness Lifetime Membership. The contest closes on June 30th. We look forward to seeing how creative you are. You can send all captions to info@growingingoodness.com with the subject line Caption Contest. Please include your name and where you are from.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 24, 2008
Worth
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(Worth has more than one definition, for today's entry I am not referring to monetary worth.)
People of Worth are worth meeting, worth emulating, worth talking to.
Things of Worth are worth doing, worth sharing, worth owning, worth working towards.
How much of your day is spent talking to people of worth or doing things of worth?
-Curtis Thomas
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June 23, 2008
Amazing People
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People truly are amazing. Between interviews for the next newsletter in August and reviewing applications for this year’s Nations of Service Day, I have the opportunity to find out about people who are doing good in the world and those planning to do more.
I’m always amazed at the great ideas people come up with. The best part about it isn’t the idea, or how many people get involved, it’s that people are active in bettering the world. We have had people sign up to do small individual projects and other groups sign up for large projects. The world is full of good people and you have a personal invite to join them on 8/8/08 by participating in Nations of Service.
Here are a couple examples. The first example is of a wonderful lady in Tennessee who visits the children’s ward of the hospital and brings books and scrapbooks and spends time with the children to help lift their spirits and get their minds off of their current situation. What a GREAT idea! The second example is of a father in Denmark who has planned a father son campout with games, hikes, and other events to increase the father son bond in families. With all the things that constantly compete for our time what a GREAT idea. I invite you to join us on 8/8/08 and promise you that it will be worth your time.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 20, 2008
Eating Lucky Charms
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When you eat Lucky Charms do you:
Eat the frosted oats first and save the marshmallows until the end.
Eat the marshmallows and save the frosted oats until the end.
Eat whatever comes out of the bowl on your spoon.
In life do you:
Do the hard part of a project first and like to hear the bad news first.
Do the easy part of a project first and or like to hear the good news first.
Do whatever part of a project that jumps out at you at that time and do not care what order the good and bad news comes in as you will be hearing both anyway.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 19, 2008
Positive and Negative
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Staying positive when times are tough is tough. Being negative when times are tough is easy. Being positive gives you added strength to move forward. Being negative distracts your focus and hinders your progress. Being positive does you a lot of good. Being negative does not do you any good. Being positive does not mean you have to be cheesy. Being negative means you have to be frustrated, sad, grouchy, pessimistic, or disrespectful.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 18, 2008
Something I Can Do
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There will always be a need for people who are willing to better the world, and there is always something you can do to better the world. The next time you are bored, frustrated, or feeling sorry for yourself promise that you will do something that blesses the lives of others and I promise your boredom, frustration, or self-pity will quickly disappear. There is always something good in this world you can do.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 16, 2008
Stop to....
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It seems we are always in a hurry these days. One appointment after the other, each "to do" fighting the other for the top of the priority list. Well you have heard it before and it is getting more and more important as time goes on - sometimes you just need to stop and smell the flowers. Don't just sniff them on the way by, really get in there and smell them.
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June 16, 2008
Tomorrow's Good Today
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There are not many areas in life that you can enjoy what tomorrow has in store for you today, but on today’s blog you can. I will be traveling today and tomorrow with not even a small chance to update the blog…………so this entry (although posted on the 15th ) is for tomorrow Tuesday, June 16 and the entry for today can be found on the Good News page.
So with that long introduction let’s do a short entry. Today’s entry is a quote from Buddha. This was actually the Daily Dose sent out to our members via email yesterday, but it is so good I wanted to share it with all of you.
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”
-Buddha
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June 13, 2008
After the Fire
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There was a fire last year in our valley that burned a number of acres. Much like trials it left behind it a path of destruction. The valley was black and full of dead trees and grass. However, this spring the valley bloomed greener than it has been in years. Often times the most growth comes after great trials. So next time life gets hard remember that something great is around the corner.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 12, 2008
Not Yet
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I often think how interesting it would be to take things that have been invented and journey into the past when they did not yet exist. A few examples:
Drive a new tractor by a farmer in his field plowing with a horse. Can you see his face as you plow 20 times as much as him with one pass.
Stop by a home with an old black and white TV set and give them a new TV with a remote. Can you see them wondering how this “magical device” changes the channel without leaving the chair.
Pull up to an old diner full of hot rods in a new vehicle with power mirrors, windows, and seats, 2 or 3 television screens, and keyless entry. Can you see them in awe at all your car can do.
The list can go on and on of things that would be fun to take back to a time when they had not yet been invented – telephones, electric razors, electricity, running water, battery powered toothbrushes, microwaves, and more.
Now let’s think on an individual basis. Think of some things that you have done or been through that you simply would not have believed if you would have been shown them earlier in your life when they had not yet happened. They might be trips you have taken, trials you have endured, tragedies you have been through, triumphs you have accomplished, or what trade you are now in.
The truth of the matter is that you are here now and doing good. The truth of the matter is that you have many more good things that simply have not yet happened. Do what lies in your power to make your life a good one and the not yets will come on their own, just enjoy where you are now.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 11, 2008
Turning Points
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Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, made a fortune inventing powerful explosives and selling them to governments for weapon development. The death of his brother turned his life around. A newspaper accidentally printed Alfred’s obituary instead of his brother’s. Upon reading his obituary he discovered how the world would remember him as an inventor of explosives enabling armies around the world to destroy one another and innocent victims. Alfred struggled with being remembered as the man who promoted avenues for death and destruction. At this turning point he decided to devote his life and fortune to a new purpose. Mr. Noble started the Nobel Prizes to recognize and reward accomplishments in the arts and sciences which benefit humanity.
Just as Alfred we sometimes use our talents in the wrong direction. Remember that it’s not important where you came from just where you are headed.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 10, 2008
Keep Going
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Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was an inspirational speaker and a celebrated author best known for his famous book, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” an inspirational classic.
First published in 1952, it has sold 20-million copies in 42-languages to date. But here’s a secret few people know. Publisher after publisher rejected Dr. Peale’s manuscript and he became so discouraged from all those rejections he threw his manuscript in to the trash can, expecting it would never again see the light of day.
He thought he was done with “The Power of Positive Thinking” but fate intervened. It seemed the manuscript had one other believer, one other person who thought it was special, Dr. Peale’s wife, Ruth Stafford Peale. She lifted it out of the trash can and wouldn’t let him give-up on it.
She persuaded him to contact at least one more publisher, and with her encouragement he finally did. And eventually Dr. Peale convinced a publisher to take a chance with it.
Sales of “The Power of Positive Thinking” took off, and from that point, Dr. Peale became a best-selling author, publishing numerous books. It took his life to new and exciting places and through “The Power of Positive Thinking” and other writings, speeches and sermons, he helped to uplift vast numbers of lives, perhaps your life being one of them.
Don’t give up on what you know to be your passion and purpose in life.
Will it take effort? Most likely.
Will it be difficult? Most likely.
Will it take longer than you hope? Most likely.
Will it be worth it? Without a doubt, yes.
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June 9, 2008
Some Days
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I am hereby tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again. I want to go to McDonald’s and think that it’s a four star restaurant. I want to sail across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks. I want to think M&M’s are better than money because you can eat them. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer’s day. I want to return to a time when life was simple; when all you knew were colors, multiplication tables and nursery rhymes, but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what you didn’t know and you didn’t care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset. I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by things again. I want to live simple again. I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So….. here’s my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401k statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to catch me first, cause……………………”Tag! You’re it.”
Every once in awhile you have those days when you just need to remember the simple things in life hopefully this will help.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 6, 2008
Can I Get There From Here
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Yes, in fact you’ll have to get there from here. Anyone who has got where they are had to start where they were. I think some people think they should wait for the right moment, the right circumstance, or the right break to start. The truth of the matter is that the circumstances will never be just right. Progress comes from moving as far today as you can and picking up the journey again tomorrow. Will you always know what to do? No. Can you get there from here? Without a doubt. Without a starting line there can be no finish line.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 5, 2008
One More Inning
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| Sometimes the hardest thing in life is simply to put one foot in front of the other – to keep going. And sometimes, the most worthwhile things in life are accomplished inch by inch, by people who are struggling not for greatness but simply to put one foot in front of the other. Seldom has this been more clearly illustrated than in an incident in the career of Walter Johnson, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball. Johnson was scheduled to pitch a crucial game, but his arm was painfully sore that day. His manager, Clark Griffith, told him, “Try one inning. If your arm gives you trouble, I’ll take you out.” After an inning, Johnson’s arm still pained him, but he said he would try another. He pitched the second and then the third. At the conclusion of nine innings of out-and-out agony, he had pitched the only no-hitter in his twenty-year career.
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June 4, 2008
Learn Something New
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It’s been said that we should learn something new everyday. Lets see if I can help you out for today……and maybe tomorrow as well.
IN 24 HOURS THEAVERAGE HUMAN:
1) HEART beats 1,03,689 times.
2) LUNGS respire 23,045 times.
3) BLOOD flows 16,80,000 miles.
4) NAILS grow 0.00007 inches
5) HAIR grows 0.01715 inches
6) Eats 3.25 pounds of FOOD.
7) Breathes 438 cubic feet of AIR.
8) Produces 1.43 pints of SWEAT.
9) Speaks 4,800 WORDS.
10) During SLEEP moves 25.4 times
Our bodies are amazing! Lets put them to good use.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 3, 2008
Right and Wrong
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An Essay On Man
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen to oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
-Alexander Pope
The definition of vice is: an immoral or evil habit or practice.
Even by striving to limit our exposure to these things we have occasions to hear or see things that are offensive, immoral, or evil. At these times we must stand up for what we know to be right. We must continue to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
-Curtis Thomas
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June 2, 2008
Mr. Meant-To
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Here is another poem worth sharing:
MR. MEANT-TO
Mr. Meant-to has a comrade,
And his name is Didn’t-do.
Have you ever chanced to meet them?
Did they ever call on you?
These two fellows live together
In the house of Never-win,
And I’m told that it is haunted
By the ghost of Might-have-been.
-Unknown
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