It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?” “Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said. “You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important…Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture….Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked. “The box is gone,” he said. “What box? “ Mom asked. “There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old, and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

Inside he found these words engraved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! – Harold Belser.”

“The thing he valued most…was…my time.”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office, and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked. “I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. “Oh, by the way, Janet…thanks for your time!”

Courtesy of the Be Motivated Today newsletter.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided,

• I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
• The golf balls are the important things – family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
• The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
• The sand is everything else — The small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” He continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you. So… Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first -the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled.

“I’m glad you asked”. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

From Gordon Mackay

We often forget how far we have come on the road to our goals. All we seem to see is what we have not yet achieved. Then we get frustrated and perhaps discouraged because we still have not accomplished.

But remember how far you have come, what you have learnt and how you have grown as a person through the process.

We often forget that the personal growth is super important. If you don’t have the personal growth, which develops during the challenges, you won’t ever achieve your goals. You are closer than you realize.

Look back at what you have become in the process of working towards your goals.

Taken from the Be Motivated Today daily newsletter.

Live Each Day to the Fullest

Live each day to the fullest. Get the most from each hour,
each day, and each age of your life. Then you can look forward
with confidence and back without regrets. Be yourself, but be
your best self. Dare to be different and to follow your star. And
don’t be afraid to be happy. Enjoy what is beautiful. Love with
all your heart and soul. Believe that those whom you love, love
you. Forget what you have done for your friends, and
remember what they have done for you. Disregard what the
world owes you, and concentrate on what you owe the world.
When you are faced with a decision, make that decision as
wisely as possible—then forget it. The moment of absolute certainty
never arrives. Above all, remember that God helps those
who help themselves. Act as if everything depended on you and
pray as if everything depended on God.

Author Unknown

Taken from the Be Motivated Today newsletter

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.. She said, ‘Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?’

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, ‘Of course you may!’ and she gave me a giant squeeze.
‘Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?’ I asked. She jokingly replied, ‘I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…’

‘No seriously,’ I asked. I was curious. What may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age? ‘I always dreamed of having a college education, and now I’m getting one!’ she told me.

After class, we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this ‘time machine’ as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon, and she easily made friends, wherever she went. She loved to dress up, and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet, I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, ‘I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent, and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.’

As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began, ‘We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody! Can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.’

She concluded her speech by courageously singing ‘The Rose.’ She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those months ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give.

When you finish reading this, please share this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it!

36 Random Insights On Exceptionalism

1. Average people are dedicated to leisure. The best people are devoted to learning

2. The ordinary wait for the energy to do a task. The exceptional do the task because that’s how they get the energy

3. A job is just a job if all you see it as is a job. (Work is a vehicle to promote Full Self Expression of Your Creativity+Ingenuity+Talent)

4. The most precious asset of a businessperson isn’t time. It’s energy. Manage yours well

5. Love your family. What’s the point of getting to uber-Success yet arriving alone?

6. From a participant at my recent Lead Without a Title event in Doha, Qatar: “The true measure of the greatness of a person is the length their shadow casts on the future.” Love it! Genius

7. Manners matter

8. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. And every day’s a performance

9. “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” Oscar Wilde

10. To double your income, triple your rate of learning. The best invest in their professional and personal development

11. The primary purpose of business is the delivery of as much unusual value to as many people as possible

12. Use music to boost your motivation

13. Be ethical like Buffett. Rock the house like Bono. Innovate like Edison. Serve like Mandela

14. You dishonor yourself when you play small with your talent

15. Ideation without execution leads to delusion. What makes Google Google is not the idea behind Google but the culture of execution that is Google

16. Don’t work at world-class for the money or the ovations. Do it for the pride you feel on a job brilliantly done

17. Keep a journal

18. Spend time in solitude. The only person you’ll be with your whole life is you. Why not get to know-and like-yourself?

19. Watch “The Fighter”

20. Work hard. Industry stands at the foundation of Mastery

21. Remember that the quality of your practice determines the caliber of the performance

22. Speak your truth-even when your voice shakes

23. Leaders leave a trail of leaders behind them. If you’re not developing the best in others, you’re not leading

24. You know you’re doing genius-level work when people start to dislike you

25. Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to Mastery

26. Develop your friendships. Respect your elders

27. Make time to have fun. Life is short-enjoy the ride

28. The bigger your dream, the more important your team

29. If you have average people, you’ll have an average company. To have a great company, hire and coach great people

30. Remember that your doubts are nothing more than the lies your fears have sold you

31. Leadership is simple. It’s not easy. But it’s really really simple

32. Leadership’s mostly about 3 things: Impact+Influence+Inspiration

33. If you’re not inspiring those around you, you’re not Leading. You’re following

34. Think for yourself

35. “Potential unexpressed turns to pain.” From “The Leader Who Had No Title“

36. Take brave risks. At your End, it’ll be the risks you didn’t take versus the ones you did that most fill you with regret

Keep Leading Without A Title.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you’re a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please—never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear to the end.
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Author Unknown

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.

Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.

You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,”answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the Mexican.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village at the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

“Imagine that,” said the Mexican, smiling.

And the moral is: Know where you’re going in life… you may already be there.

Taken from the Be Motivated Today daily news letter.

On Saturday morning a man cut a deep wound into his left thumb in the kitchen and reluctantly gave up the tape for a trip to the hospital for stitches.

When he arrived at the hospital he saw 2 doors, one for emergency the other for non emergency.  He took the emergency.

Going through he saw 2 more doors, life threatening and non life threatening.

Going through the non life threatening door he saw 2 more, upper body and lower body.  He took the upper body door.

And then came to 2 more doors, left side  and right side. He took the left and found himself out in the parking lot again.

When he got home his wife asked him how his trip to the hospital went to which he responded, “They were very organised but did not get anything done”.

It is interesting to me because I often find myself organising things well and have to continually remind myself to get things done.