Quote of the Day

"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means."

Albert Einstein
1879-1955, Physicist

Letter Home from a Marine

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you til noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches," which the platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice but awful flat.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in SilverLake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Carol

Quote of the Day

"So it is, life is actually made up of our choices. We are the sum total of them, and if we hold to an attitude of love and thanksgiving for all the good things within our grasp we may have what all ambitious people long for - success."

Delma Neeley

Wisdom from Grandpa

Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so busy earnin' his salt, that he forgets his sugar.

Too many couples marry for better, or for worse, but not for good.

When a man marries a woman, they become one; but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

On anniversaries, the wise husband always forgets the past - but never the present.

A foolish husband says to his wife, "Honey, you stick to the washin', ironin', cookin', and scrubbin'. No wife of mine is gonna work."

The bonds of matrimony are a good investment, only when the interest is kept up.

Many girls like to marry a military man - he can cook, sew, and make beds, and is in good health, and he's already used to taking orders.

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age, and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth.... Remember about Algebra.

You know you are getting old, when everything either dries up, or leaks.

I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

Have a GREAT day.......and keep Laughing

blessings,

Shawn F Murphy

Quote of the Day

"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence."

Richard DeVos
Co-Founder of Amway

If I Were The Devil

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the minds of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movies screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!


-- By Paul Harvey

Quote of the Day

‎"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."


Earl Nightingale

Dirty Old Man

An elderly man in Louisiana owned a large farm for several years.

He had a large pond in the back. It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple and peach trees.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, to look it over, as he hadn't been there for a while.

Before he went, he grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he got closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end.

One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man replied, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked."

Holding the bucket up, he said... "I'm here to feed the alligator!"

Some old men can still think fast.


Blessings,

Shawn F murphy

Quote of the Day

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."

Bertie Charles Forbes
1880-1954, Financial Journalist, Author and Founder of Forbes Magazine

Tooth that Saved a Soldier's Life

True Story -- Author Unknown

The most miraculous event I witnessed showed how a tooth saved a sergeant's life!

Christmas Eve morning a soldier came into our clinic at the Ibn Sina Hospital in downtown Baghdad covered in his own blood. He recounted an incredible story. Early Christmas Eve morning, two squads were assigned to sweep and clear two adjacent homes where Iraq terrorists were holed-up. The patient, SGT C, was leading one of those assault squads. The other squad hit their target first.

SGT C said that he heard a lot of small arms fire and yelling, so he thought he would round the corner and size up the situation before advancing his team. Unfortunately, as he turned the corner, he found himself staring directly into the barrel of a 9mm automatic pistol. SGT C said he never had time to be scared, he just knew he was dead. The terrorist pulled the trigger and, miraculously, SGT C found himself still standing. He figured the bullet had missed. He advanced on the Iraqi, who immediately surrendered. After the enemy was rounded up, SGT C said he started to feel light! headed and one of his soldiers insisted that he proceed to the hospital. He realized at this time that he had lost his front tooth in the gun fight. He figured the ballistic shock from the weapon's blast had knocked it loose. He was wrong.

When he presented early that morning Major Kimberly Perkins, our oral surgeon, took a panograph and discovered the incredible truth. The 9mm bullet did NOT miss SGT C. He was hit directly in the face. The bullet entered just below his nose where it impacted the apex of #8. The energy from the bullet was transferred to the tooth, literally ejecting the tooth from its socket, and stopping the bullet in its track. Other than the missing tooth, the majority of SGT C's injuries were confined to soft tissue.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, this is a true account from Las Vegas dentist Dr. AnnaLee Kruyer who served with an Army dental team in Iraq for a year.

Quote of the Day

"Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do."

Neale Donald Walsch
Author of Conversations With God

Nature holds the answer to Success

Question….Do you believe in the law of gravity? Off course you do, you have evidence of it all around you. So why is the Law of Success so difficult for us to except?

To see its evidence we only need to look at nature. As an acorn falls to the ground does it ever consider becoming something other then an Oak tree? Does it dream of being a rose bush or a golden Birch, does it ever consider not being its inner core…An Oak Tree? When a mother bird pushes its chicks from the nest for the first time, do you think she wonders if that chick can fly?

We have all been blessed with abilities and gifts, designed to help us become the perfect self that we can become. Every mind can develop greatness; we have all the answers to every question that has ever been asked at our fingertips. It’s all found within, we have the ability and the responsibility to become our best at all we attempt.

When you understand and build one success after another you instill faith and understanding. Advancement is our purpose in life, we grow, develop and learn with each step we take, each conversation we hear, and with each sight we see.

We ARE designed for success, big and small alike. Do you question your ability to get in your car and drive home each day? That success is a given! So why limit your success to small steps, aim higher, reach for the dreams you envision and BELIEVE they are achievable. The only limitation to your success is YOU!

True Success is not money, your position, fame or wealth. It can occur in conjunction with these, but true success is when your growth enriches others and this planet. So let’s look at this growth from our perspective as Network Marketers, do we enrich others and this planet with growth in our business? Absolutely we can, again that choice is yours.

Earl Nightingale has success defined as “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal,” simple but so true. An ideal is an idea you have fallen in love with, you’re intellectually and emotionally in perfect tune with it. This allows you to instinctively move toward it in a progressive manner, building confidence and faith along the way. You are moving toward SUCCESS! So when a road block occurs, or failure is met, you have the drive to continue. Remember the size of the failure so often mirrors the size of the potential success.

The Secret brought The Law of Attraction to the foreground, but so many other forgotten laws need to be known and practiced. The Law of Increase, Supply, Thinking, Forgiveness to list just a few. I plan on covering some of these laws in upcoming writings, so keep your eyes open and check them out.

Blessings,

Shawn

Quote of the Day

"Devotion is commitment at a deep cellular level. When you are devoted, the universe will align itself to give you what you desire."

Rich German
Author of Monetize Your Passion

Making A Difference

One day a man was walking along the seashore. He noticed that during the night many seashells and starfish had washed up on the shore. Thoroughly enjoying the morning sun and cool sea air, the man strolled for miles along the sand.

Far off in the distance, he saw a small figure dancing. The man was joyous that someone was celebrating life in such a grand and uninhibited manner. As he drew closer, however, it became apparent that the figure was not dancing, but repeatedly performing some act.

Approaching the small figure, the man noticed that it was a child. The girl was methodically picking up starfish from the shore and tossing them back into the surf. The man paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked, "Why are you throwing those starfish back into the ocean?"

"If I leave these starfish on the beach," she replied, "the sun will dry them, and they will die. I am throwing them back into the ocean because I want them to live."

The man was thoughtful for a moment, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness. Then he motioned up and down the miles and miles of beach and said, "There must be millions of starfish along here! How can you possibly expect to make a difference?"

The young girl pondered the man's words for a moment, then she slowly leaned over, reached down, and carefully picked up another starfish from the sand. With a gentle effort, she lobbed the starfish back out into the surf.

She turned to the man and smiled. "You may be right," she said, "but I made a difference for that one!"

Blessings,

shawn

Quote of the Day

"Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time."

Thomas J. Watson
1874-1956, Founder of IBM

First Grade Answers

1st Grader Answers.A first grade teacher had twenty-five students in her Clarkston, MI class. She presented each child in her class the first half of a well known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are just 6-year-olds, because the last one is classic... although sad to see it said!

1. Don't change horses........................... until they stop.
2. Strike while the.................................. bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before................... Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of..... termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but....... how?
6. Don't bite the hand that..................... looks dirty.
7. No news is.......................................... impossible.
8. A miss is as good as a......................... Mister.
9. You can't teach an old dog new.......... math.
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll........ stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust.................................... me.
12. The pen is mightier than the............. pigs.
13. An idle mind is.................................. the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's............ pollution.
15. Happy the bride who.........................gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is............................... not much.
17. Two's company, three's..................... the Musketeers
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what....... you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs
with you, cry and............................. you have to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as................ Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not....... spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed............... get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only
what you......................................... see in the picture on the box.
24. When the blind lead the blind........... get out of the way.

And the WINNER is... the last one...

25. Better late than................................ pregnant.

Blessings,

Shawn F Murphy

Quote of the Day

"I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit."

John Steinbeck
1902-1968, Writer and Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

Please just listen!

YOU MAY THINK THAT YOU ARE a great listener, and yet be guilty of “listening” but not hearing? You may even fake listening and reply with a response or solution designed to shut the person up.

When a person presents a problem, you tend to offer a solution, but solution-driven responses are not listening. You can’t solve a problem if you have not heard it. Besides, what makes you think you have the perfect solution?

Try three listening tips:

1. When your head is busy thinking up solutions, stop and ask yourself, what is this person’s voice telling me?
Does she sound angry, sad, disappointed? What facial expressions do you see?

2. If someone asks you, “What should I do?” be careful!
Rather than answer, say, “You’ve described a tough challenge. Tell me what you’ve tried?” or “I wonder what the real problem is. Before I jump in with ideas, tell me what’s really going on?” or “How about we brainstorm together some possible ideas.”

3. People don’t always tell you things so you’ll solve their problems—sometimes they simply want you to listen and be there for them.
Be sure the person wants to hear an idea, suggestion, or view before you share it. Ask permission: “I have an idea. I may be off base, but would you like me to share it?” Or “May I make a suggestion?” Not listening can destroy a relationship. So, when someone asks, Do you have a minute? give the gift of listening.

Listen with Your Heart, Not Head

If you struggle with listening, your head is likely getting in the way. You grapple with ways to communicate your message—how to best say what you want to say. The real question is: What is the other person saying? Listening with your heart requires a different kind of listening.

Take these five steps:

1. Focus on the other person.
What emotions do you hear? How does the voice sound? Sad, angry?

2. Don’t take what the person says personally.
Get out of the way of the message. Ask what he or she means. Ask open, probing questions to better understand.

3. Get next to the other person.
Listen for where the person is. If your friend is hurting, feel the hurt with him. Don’t try and fix the hurt. If your teenage daughter is angry at you, feel her anger rather than defend yourself.

4. Use your intuition to hear the messages behind the words.
If you feel something inside, you’re probably listening with your heart. Take a risk and share what you are feeling inside: “I sense that you’re afraid of your boss.”

5. Use metaphors to explain your intuition or the other person’s feeling.
Put what you feel into a visual image: “As you talk, I get this image of a deep well. Tell me how that works for you?” Practice listening with your heart. The next time you feel frustrated with your communication, get out of the way and let your heart take over.

By Joan C. Curtis

26 Men

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later?" Or, has anyone ever called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need?" Read this story - may it change the way that you think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this.

-- Author unknown

A missionary on furlough told this story while visiting his home church in Michigan. "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord.

I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, "No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone."

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?" The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.

The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26.

------

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it.

Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. I encourage you to share this story with as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world toward God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, "with God, all things are possible" - and more importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful.

After you read this, please pass it on and give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works in your own daily life.

Blessings,

Shawn F Murphy

Quote of the Day

"Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time."

Thomas J. Watson
1874-1956, Founder of IBM

Oldtimers

A couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things.

They decide to go to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember.

Later that night while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair.

His wife asks, "Where are you going?"

"To the kitchen," he replies.

"Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?"

"Sure."

"Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?" she asks.

"No, I can remember it."

"Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. You'd better write it down, because you know you'll forget it."

He says, "I can remember that! You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries."

"I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, so you'd better write it down!" she retorts.

Irritated, he says, "I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Leave me alone! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream -- I got it, for goodness sake!" Then he grumbles into the kitchen.

After about 20 minutes the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs.

She stares at the plate for a moment and says... "Where's my toast?

Quote of the Day

"I think I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."

Booker T. Washington
1856-1915, Educator and Author

My Direction in Life

Life is truly a journey, one that takes you places you will remember and cherish forever, but also places that tear people down and diminish their spirit. We all have heard the saying “What doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger”. I believe those words, IF, and only IF you have learned from the experience, and have grown and become stronger in the process.

My 42 years on planet earth have taken me on so many side roads. Ones that can still make me smile and feel the emotions I felt at that given time, pure joy and happiness. While saying that I can also recall paths that have taken me to places I should never have been, and I can also feel the emotions of fear, panic, terror and sadness that those experiences created.

So as I look back at both paths I have traveled. I am happy for all that life has brought me, for those experiences have shaped me into the person that I am today. Happy, Grateful, and on the path I am meant to be on in life.

It has taken me a lot of self examination and a ton of books to come to this conclusion. Learning that taping into the Body, Mind and Spirit, and having all fulfilled is what brought me this insight.

You see for serving others is my gift in life, but some might say” Serving others, I’m glad that’s your gift and not mine”. These people fail to see beyond their limited core beliefs; they fail to see the bigger picture of life. Serving and helping others has been a part of me for as long as I can recall. From helping Ben Dunne our gym Instructor, teach mentally challenged students when I was in grade 11. Going into the field of Corrections and wanting to be a Police Officer after High School. To today and my vision of what Network Marketing will do for my family and the people that join me.

For me teaching others this valuable lesson in life is my passion, my true bliss. Network Marketing is the path that gives me the opportunity to become the best person I can in life, for these reasons.

This journey has enriched my MIND with the information needed to learn about The Power of Thought, the Subconscious Mind, the importance of Core Beliefs, and an array of information that allows me to shape the life I lead, and how I create it!!

This journey has enriched my SPIRIT, by allowing me to see the importance of God in my life. For me God lives through me and is part of me. For me to serve God to the highest degree I need to become the best that I can be. Network Marketing gives me the venue to obtain financial wealth, and serve others in the process, giving back is made possible through this Industry.




This journey has enriched my BODY, the product I represent with my business have allowed me to become as fit and health as I was 25 years ago. I am a product of the product, when people see my physical makeup; they see what my Network Marketing products have created.

Moving forward my goal is to help others find their path, help others become the best teachers that they can be, help others discover what directing their path in life feels like.

What you are today, the lifestyle you presently have, the people in your life. All of this was created by your beliefs and subconscious guidance. This is a gift that has been given to US; unfortunately so many people do not understand how to use this gift in a positive way.

If your interested in finding your path in life drop me a message and I will be glad to help you with this journey.

Blessings,

Shawn F Murphy
Shawn@shawnfmurphy.com
www.shawnfmurphy.com