Archive for February, 2010

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS IS NOT STRAIGHT


THERE IS A CURVE CALLED FAILURE….
A LOOP CALLED CONFUSION…
SPEED BUMPS CALLED FRIENDS…
RED LIGHTS CALLED ENEMIES…
CAUTION LIGHTS CALLED FAMILY…
YOU WILL HAVE FLATS CALLED JOBS BUT…
IF YOU HAVE A SPARE CALLED DETERMINATION…
AN ENGINE CALLED PERSEVERANCE…
INSURANCE CALLED FAITH…
A DRIVER CALLED JESUS…
YOU WILL MAKE IT TO A PLACE CALLED SUCCESS!

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The Picture I used in my previous post:

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Sometimes when I think about the future. I get really nervous. But, Then I remember who is really in control. Things happen for a reason.
THERE IS A CURVE CALLED FAILURE…. so we can get back to reality and know that we’re only human. A LOOP CALLED CONFUSION… not knowing exactly where to go and do is okay. Sometimes we just have to be confused in order to reach reason. SPEED BUMPS CALLED FRIENDS… friends may stop us from getting to our goals. There are people out there who are jealous and envy the things they do not have. RED LIGHTS CALLED ENEMIES… Those who want to get in our way of success. These enemies may have power and may not. But, there will always be people who will test your limits. CAUTION LIGHTS CALLED FAMILY… who are there to guide you in whatever you chose to do. This is a voice of reason, and a foundation of looking out for their loved one’s interest. YOU WILL HAVE FLATS CALLED JOBS BUT… IF YOU HAVE A SPARE CALLED DETERMINATION… sometimes we get a job or is close to it and may not have the ability to hold on. Or maybe getting burnt out while working for a company. But, there will always be determination for success. AN ENGINE CALLED PERSEVERANCE… getting through life INSURANCE CALLED FAITH… knowing that we serve a might God. A DRIVER CALLED JESUS… who will always be there with us on [my] road to success. He is my foundation and my strength the One where I know – believes in me and is watching out for me YOU WILL MAKE IT TO A PLACE CALLED SUCCESS! Something we all desire. I think in life big or small we reach our successes. Sometimes we may not know it and take it for granted but, it’s very important to sit back and relax – thinking about our goals and aspirations.

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I just love allegorical maps like these, if only for their delightfully straightforward semiotics. This map of the Road to Success depicts an actual road, winding up to success signified by a lyre.

This (literally) lyrical prize is achieved by first entering the Gate of Opportunity. People are running through, but some have already settled in to the sit-down life of ease and comfort in what looks like the Beer Garden of Bohemianism.

Some manage to pass by those delights to check in to the Hotel Know It All, because they hold to mottoes such as Nobody can tell me, or I don’t need to practice, or I’m a born genius, or yet: I don’t need system.

Similarly misguided cries are heard on the patio of the Mutual Admiration Society: You’re the Hit of the Age, You’ll Set the World on Fire, You’re a Wonder My Boy, or (my favourite): Caruso Can’t Touch You.

Those who avoid those three establishments of ill repute might still fall victim to the deep, dark well of Illiteracy, or the spinning, disorienting wheel of Conceit. A select few manage to board the train called Right System at the Railroad Station.

That doesn’t stop some from running along the rail track towards Success, only to succumb to the ugly hand of Vices, the spinning fan of Bad Habits (blowing its victims towards Oblivion), or the pitfall of Bad Reputation. Others fall prey to Charlatanism, or get tangled up in the webs of Jealousy and Do It Tomorrow.

Those who overcome all these perils will enter the gates of System. But while the train crosses a bridge across the river Failure, those on foot are threatened by the Cauldron of Misrepresentation, and tempted by Short Cuts.

Some do manage to wade across the river to the other side, but there must overcome Bad Temper, Carelessness, Shiftlessness and Bad Memory. Then there’s Lack of Preparation, a giant rock which the train can tunnel through effortlessly, while the surviving pedestrians must trek across it.

Sprees, Laziness and Bad Business Methods then still threaten them, until at last they come before two gates, the one for Weak Morals remaining forever closed, the Gate of Ideals open to the train (and some on foot).

Conclusion: you can be successful without adopting the Right System, but your chances are far smaller. And you’ll have to make a lot bigger effort to get there.

Many thanks to Varun Chablani for sending in this map, found here on Moonbuggy. The origin of the map is not referred to, but judging by the artwork (and the moralising tone – not to mention the reference to Caruso), it’s early 20th century.

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Snoopy’s Philosophy

Name: Tim Newlin
Site: http://www.timtim.com


Snoopy from the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip was created by Charles Schulz. Schulz had a philosophy about life that came out in his work and can best be summed up with the following quiz. Try this out and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five men’s single’s winners of the Wimbledon Tennis Championship.

3. Name the last 4 winners of the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant.

4. Name ten people who have won a Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last six Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last five years worth of MTV’s Most Promising New Artist Award.

Most of us don’t score well on this quiz. Why? – because most of us forget yesterday’s headlines. These are no second-rate achievers. They are or were the best in their fields. But the applause fades away and achievements are forgotten.

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Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!

5. Think of four people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier – right? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care the most. So, be yourself – everyone else is taken!

Charles Schulz created the Peanuts Comic Strip back in the early 1950’s at the same time that Mort Walker created the Beetle Bailey comic strip. Mort and Charles became good friends and often saw each other at dinner parties and gatherings of other comic artists. Timtim visited Mort Walker’s studio in Connecticut before Christmas. He is still producing Beetle Bailey comic strips!

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I was very excited to see this…Vampires for the thinking teen

Jessica Verday's The Hollow is a strong debut.“Reading teen fiction these days makes me feel old. Not because I can’t identify with the hormone-induced angst that is high school (it’s all too near), but because I find myself thinking in sentences that begin with, “In my day … ”.
As in, “In my day, a book stood up on its own. You didn’t pay $22 for a book that’s a setup to a trilogy. And you didn’t have a whole whack of merchandise already packaged and waiting to be sold even as the book hits shelves!” I guess I yearn for the good old days when a book was more about story than stuff.
That said, Jessica Verday’s debut novel, The Hollow delivers on many of the promises that Stephanie Meyer’s inexplicably popular Twilight series failed to keep.”

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Vampires+thinking+teen/2551178/story.html#ixzz0fx99KQpT

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Black Like Me – John Howard Griffin

1.  John used the book title Black Like Me from a quote by Langston Huges. The quote is “Rest at pale evening…A tall slim tree…Night come tenderly, Black like me. The title describes the meaning of the book perfectly, in a way that serves a deeper meaning than what you see. Mr. Griffin makes his appearance black but acts the same way as he did as a white man. Only after spending time in the life of an African American does he understand what it means to be a different color treated in the Deep South and how we can relate to both sides of racism.

2. The theme of the book is autobiographical and it is a non-fiction book so the author is trying to tell his real-life story of a social issue that faced every American back in the 1950’s. He is trying to show how people are treated by just their skin color by experiencing the problem as a white man then a black man. The main issue is racism though John himself is not prejudiced against colored people, but instead what’s to understand what they are going through.

4. The cover of the book has a black silhouette of a man with white space in front of his face. There are words that look similar to the front of a typewriter. The title, Black Like Me, has the word ‘Black’ in black letters on the white side of the cover and the words ‘Like Me’ are on the silhouette in white letters. The same goes for the author’s name. It is an appropriate design because it shows the change in John when he goes from a white man to a black man. It almost foreshadows what will happen to John and that he will be publishing the journals that he writes about his journey.

6. One aspect that I loved about the novel is that it’s a true story. I love ready non-fiction books and especially when they are dealing with controversial issue such as racism. It also provides a real life perspective on the situation and it makes the novel more interesting to read.

7. I didn’t like how the novel was so short. The author put the book in a journal type format which made the pages shorter. I only disliked that because the book was an amazing read though was too short. It would have been excellent to keep writing about what happened in all the different states he visit.

8. My first quote from my book is on page 10, paragraph 6: “In the flood of light against the white tile, the face and shoulders of a stranger-a fierce, bald, very dark Negro-glared at me from the glass. He in no way resembled me.” I choose this because John realized how different he looked and his first reaction to himself as a Negro. He also had to mentally overcome the challenge in the coming weeks.

My second quote is on page 90, paragraph 2: “I told myself that I was tired, that I must not judge these men who picked me up and for the price of a ride submitted me to the swamps of their fantasy lives. They showed me something that all men have but seldom bring to the surface, since must men seek health.” At this time, John was picking up rides from white males off of the highway. They asked him various question regarding his sex life and asking stereotypical question about a Negro’s sexual activity. John had to realize that these men would never ask him such questions in the day, but only in the private time in those cars. John realized as well that every white man was different from the inside than what his actions showed on the outside.

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