June 30

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.  ~Erma Bombeck


I need some BBQ and watermelon hmmmmm

A Quote from a very Liberal man

Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over, heart and thought and all, the hyphen drops of its own weight out of his name.  ~Woodrow Wilson

Today's Daily Motivation

MAXIMUM SUCCESS IS ACHIEVED IN STEPS

All progress begins one step at a time.

There is no sudden lead to greatness. Good work, done little by little becomes great work. The house of success is built brick by brick.

You can do what you want to do, achieve what you want to achieve, attain any reasonable objective you may have in mind.

Not all of a sudden, nor in one sweeping act of achievement. You will do it gradually, day by day and play by play.

If you want to do it, if you work to do it, you will accomplish your goal over a sufficient period of time.

Your big accomplishments will be a series of little accomplishments.

It takes many strokes to overthrow the tallest oak.


Max Steingart

Today's Daily Motivation

We all possess the thunder of pure fury and the calm breeze of tranquility.  If it wasn't for tomorrow, how much would we get done today?  Whatever your purpose... embrace it completely.  Get lost in the clouds every now and then so you never lose sight of God's wonder.  ~Paul Vitale

I heard her pray

Passed by the grocery store today; outside again stood a lady and I heard her pray

Selling chocolate bars for a dollar a stick

What!... was the message… she wanted to convey?

She smiled again… I believe bless you is what I heard her say

Even though I was broke… I still felt like a prick

Passed by the grocery store today; outside again stood a lady and I heard her pray

I always knew I’d see her on Sunday and suddenly again also on Monday

Smiling; thanking all who passed...chocolate bars a dollar a stick

What!... was the message… she wanted to convey?

Dodging and dancing, the steps we made felt like blocking a play

Always though I felt her peace the pure flame of a burning wick

Passed by the grocery store today; outside again stood a lady and I heard her pray

Simple pride, or steadfast courage I could not say

She responded to no as though hit by a brick

What!... was the message… she wanted to convey?

Request for help, heads turn away, is this really the American way

Heartless, thoughtless…. how did we become so toxic and plastic

Passed by the grocery store today; outside again stood a lady and I heard her pray

What!... was the message… she wanted to convey?

Paul Mize © 2011

Today's Daily Motivation

Supposing you have tried and failed again and again.  You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.  ~Mary Pickford

Risk

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.  There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.  So what the hell, leap.  ~Cynthia Heimel, "Lower Manhattan Survival Tactics"

Going to the Bowl

You can feel it, hear it, taste it and Wow it makes you whole

It’s luscious and exciting, it has it’s own ebb and flow

Oh! How I love to go to the Bowl.

Strangers all at once are friends each toast you make will take it’s toll

Sound is king, wine is queen; I drag my date along in tow

You can feel it, hear it, taste it and Wow it makes you whole

Not the boulevard, not the beach, adults are here maintain control

Fill the sky with notes on high squeeze a hand and snuggle low

Oh! How I love to go to the Bowl.

Trumpets, flutes, tenors too; sweet cherries sitting in a bowl

Let’s get up close and sense the essence of being in the know

You can feel it, hear it, taste it and Wow it makes you whole

The baton it taps a simple beat and then the drums begin to roll

The power of the tubas, guitars electric start a row

Oh! How I love to go to the Bowl.

Encore! Encore! Encore! Screams our soul

Music ends but body sings I’ll come again I truly know

You can feel it, hear it, taste it and Wow it makes you whole

Oh! How I love to go to the Bowl.

Paul Mize © 2011

Today's Daily Motivation

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e.e. cummings, 1955

Today's Thought

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God.  ~Edwin Keith

Today's Daily Motivation

If you don’t believe it yourself, don’t ask anyone else to do so.

It is virtually impossible not to transmit your doubts and insecurities to others through body language, tone of voice, inflection, word choice, and other subtle characteristics. When you show by your actions that you lack self-confidence, other people also begin to doubt your ability to perform. You can gain the respect and confidence of others. Begin by making a list of all the things you like about yourself and the things you would like to change. Make a conscious effort to build upon your positive strengths and correct your weaknesses. It may not be easy, but if you assess yourself objectively and persevere in your efforts, you will eventually prevail. 


Napoleon Hill Foundation

Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.


Charles R. Swindoll

He Held My Hand

He held my hand and made me look before I stepped into the street

I woke him from an early nap to play a game of catch the ball

He said I better pass my French as we tossed some horseshoes in the heat

Push the clutch, ease the gas, he taught me driving what a feat

Even now after all these years his feats of memory and recall

He held my hand and made me look before I stepped into the street

He noticed things, the little things, that made the difference in the beat

Then all at once from who knows where he’d sing like Clapton six feet tall

He said I better pass my French as we tossed some horseshoes in the heat

One Monday morning, the phone did ring I had to drive for him to meet

And there I was... alone I sat watching doctors in the hall

He held my hand and made me look before I stepped into the street

His arm was sore a month before, it seems his heart had skipped a beat

Strong he was and quick to heal I promised him that I would call

He said I better pass my French as we tossed some horseshoes in the heat

Years have passed but still I wish, to toss a ball with him how neat

Magic lives within that act the sharing pact of our baseball

He held my hand and made me look before I stepped into the street

He said I better pass my French as we tossed some horseshoes in the heat

Paul Mize © 2011

Great Movie about the Best Game

Strikeouts are boring - besides that, they're fascist.  Throw some ground balls.  More democratic.  ~From the movie Bull Durham


I believe in the Church of Baseball.  I tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones.  I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms and Isadora Duncan.  I know things.  For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball.  When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance.  ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988

Thoughts about Father's Day

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.


Henry James once defined life as that predicament which precedes death, and certainly nobody owes you a debt of honor or gratitude for getting him into that predicament.  But a child does owe his father a debt, if Dad, having gotten him into this peck of trouble, takes off his coat and buckles down to the job of showing his son how best to crash through it.  ~Clarence Budington Kelland

Baseball and Father's Day

Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat.  Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound.  Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together.  Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.  
~Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby, 1968


My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys." 
 ~Harmon Killebrew

Today's Daily Motivation

The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.  ~Author unknown, in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Today's Daily Motivation

Change your mental attitude, and the world around you will change accordingly.

Your world will become what you choose to make it. You can reach great heights of success, or you can settle for a miserable life that is devoid of hope. The choice is yours. When you choose a positive course, you set in motion an unstoppable force that will allow you to have a fulfilling career, the love of your family and friends, good physical and mental health, and all of the other true riches of life. To change your world, you must change it from the inside out. You must begin with yourself. When you choose the course that puts your life on a positive track, you will change your life for the better, and you will also positively influence the people with whom you come in contact. 
Napoleon Hill Foundation

Today's Daily Motivation

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
Henry David Thoreau

One must fight for freedom

Nothing is so galling to a people not broken in from the birth as a paternal, or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read, and say, and eat, and drink and wear.
Thomas B. Macaulay

Today's Daily Motivation

Commitment

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

“Unless a man believes in himself and makes a total commitment to his career and puts everything he has into it – his mind, his body, his heart – what’s life worth to him?”

“Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success.”

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

“I would say that the quality of each man’s life is the full measure of that man’s commitment of excellence and victory – whether it be football, whether it be business, whether it be politics or government or what have you.” 
Vince Lombardi

Today's Daily Motivation

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. 
Vince Lombardi

Today's Daily Motivation

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today's Daily Motivation

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.

Yogi Berra

6 June 1944

9,228 jumped into Normandy on that fateful date

Screaming eagles from the sky, valor, blood, medals won

1.240 men went missing were hurt or lost to fate

Bodies bleed and ankles break, men dangle from chutes like pieces of bait

When light of dawn kissed a church, death arrived and came for one

9,228 jumped into Normandy on that fateful date

A WACO twisted torn to shreds inside lies Gen. Pratt our mate

He led us on this gallant day; his eyes won’t see the victory won

1.240 men went missing were hurt or lost to fate

Across the channel with teary eyes all Ike can do is wait and wait

His heart is heavy yes he knows, it’s easier just to shoot the gun

9,228 jumped into Normandy on that fateful date

Unfortunate men soon will meet upon their first bayonet date

Piercing, Flailing, Twisting struggle someone else’s blood must run

1.240 men went missing were hurt or lost to fate

Black smudged cheeks are but a sign that we had come to liberate

Norman land from the grip of the evil and despotic Hun

9,228 jumped into Normandy on that fateful date

1.240 men went missing were hurt or lost to fate

Paul Mize © 2011

Today's Daily Motivation

If you are an American citizen, don’t let anyone tell you that you are downtrodden.

We still live in the greatest country in the world. The United States is the great experiment in positive thinking; our entire system of government is based upon faith in the inherent goodness of the individual. It was a revolutionary idea more than 200 years ago when the Declaration of Independence was first signed. Borrowing from the greatest thinkers in history, our founding fathers established a form of government of the people that is today the model most imitated around the world. Economic and political conditions ebb and flow, but as long as we have a democratic society that celebrates the individual, we can achieve anything in life we desire. All you require to be successful in the United States is the desire to achieve success and the determination to stick with it until you reach your goals. 


Napoleon Hill Foundation

I Found a Friend on Facebook

Her smile was like the sunrise

When she walked into the store

She said she needed cigarettes

I don’t remember what she wore

There was something that was primal

In the way she cocked her head

Her eyes were like blue velvet

But her smell I can’t forget

Oh I found a friend on Facebook

From many years ago

She said there was no reason

For us not to say hello

She said I was her cowboy

She rode me like a toy

She used me and abused me

And when she left she took my joy

Oh I found a friend on Facebook

From many years ago

She said there was no reason

For us not to say hello

She said from the beginning

I was not the keeping kind

All the images are blurring

But she never left my mind

Oh I found a friend on Facebook

From many years ago

She said there was no reason

For us not to say hello

Oh I found a friend on Facebook

It seems like just a day ago

Sweet memories are a reason

For us not to say hello

Paul Mize © 2011

Today's Daily Motivation

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES

Your destiny isn't a matter of chance, it's a matter of the choices you make.

Success isn't something you wait for, it's something you must pursue.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities to be successful. Seize common occasions and turn them into great ones.

Opportunities sometimes come disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.

Start where you are. You are, at this moment, standing right in the middle of opportunity.

If you act on your dreams you can live them.

Today's Daily Motivation

Read the following quote.  It seems so current. But then look at the date it was originally written. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.




These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.

• Thomas Paine, in his essay, The Crisis, (1777).

Today's Daily Motivation

"Hope" is the thing with feathers —
That perches in the soul —
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops — at all —
And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard —
And sore must be the storm —
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm —

• Emily Dickinson, Poem 254 in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1960), edited by Thomas H. Johnson.