Each one of us has it!

What is it?
The ability to Lead and Inspire

How to Begin?
Take the first step no matter how small.
Walk your OWN Path.
Some may laugh. SO WHAT!
Many will follow.

Fear keeps people small.
Run towards your fears.
Embrace them.
"On the other side of your Greatest fears lives your Greatest life."
~Robin Sharma

Now is the time to LEAD OUT LOUD

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on when others have let go. "
~William Feather

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Just one more Step! Will make a difference

A farmer kept his new dog tied to a tree in the front yard. The dog would run after the children walking by and the leash would snap the dog back. Eventually the dog quit trying. After having the dog for 6 months, the owner felt bad and decided to let the dog go. So the owner loosened up his collar. That very same day a cat walked by. This cat would tease the dog everyday, as it stood in the spot where the leash wouldn't allow the dog to go. Sometimes as the cat would pass by, it would run by the dog. Once again the dog chased after the cat. But slowed down as it new, that the leash would eventually snap him back and stopped 1 step away from where the cat stopped running.

In life can you give 1% more each day. Can you just take that extra step in life. That's all. Just one more step. We get caught up in life that we stop right where we are. The dog was free and didn't know it. All he had to do was just take that extra step. Whether it's exercising for 5 more minutes. Reading that book for a few more minutes. Giving a compliment to someone, can make or break their day. Getting a small gift for someone, who has gone out of their way for you in the past. Just 1 more step. Just turn up your enthusiasm one more degree. Just one more step can make all the difference in the world.

Your presence should make a difference.

"Never try quitting and Never quit trying." ~Dolly Parton

Quote of the month: "A winner is dreamer who just won't quit."

On the day you are called by God

The first question God may ask you is:

"God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet. He'll ask about how many people you helped to clothe."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Are you living in a fog?

212 degrees of Focus

Have you ever noticed that what you focus on continues to pop up in your life. Your focus will take away from worry or can keep you there. Your focus will determine your feelings. Your feelings will determine your future. What are you focusing on? Is it helping or hurting you?

"Change your focus, and you change your future."
~Dr. Gilbert

"Having a simply defined goal can capture the imagination and inspire passion. It can cut through the fog log a beacon in the night."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

212 Degrees of Perseverance

Why should you make that second effort when everything that is staring you in the face is telling you to quit? What are you going to do? You will press on. Put your thoughts and feelings a side in order to get where you want to be. Failure is not permanent but only a push to wear you need to be.

"Your Greatest Rejection is your Greatest Direction."
~Joel Osteen

"Perseverance is not a long race but many short races, one after another."
~Walter Elliott

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

212 Degrees produces Steam

212 Degrees of Belief
Water boils at 212 degrees. That one extra degree turns the good into the Great!

What ever you believe will be brought into your life. Ever notice when you are having a difficult morning, you continue to think about it and something else goes wrong. Eventually they those things continue to happen because you beleive that you are having a bad day.

"Belief fuels enthussiasm and enthusiasm explodes into passion. It fires our souls and lifts our spirits."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Have you Experienced 212 degrees

212 Degrees of Attitude
You are Responsible for your results.

211 degrees, water is hot. 212 degrees, water boils. Boiling water produces steam. Steam can power a locomotive. Can you give that 1 degree of extra effort in whatever you do.

Your Attitude will take you as far as you want to go or it will keep you exactly where you are.

The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe it possible.

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Experience 212 degrees

212 Degrees 211 degrees, water is hot. 212 degrees, water boils. Just 1 ounce of enthusiasm can make all the difference in the world. Boiling water produces steam. Steam can power a locomotive.

Golf
The average margin of victory in all major tournaments is less than 3 strokes.

Olympics 2004 800 Meter Mens Race
The average margin of victory between an Olympic Gold medal and no medal at all was
.71 seconds

Indy 500
The average number of victory in the past 10 years has been 1.54 seconds.
$1,278,813.00- winner
$621,231.00- runner up
difference of $657,492

That one extra degree, is the difference between good and Great!
That one extra step, brings you a step passed your obstacles.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."
~Henry Ford

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

212 Degrees. What you know about it?

The Power of 212 Degrees
211 degrees, water is hot. 212 degrees, water boils. Just 1 ounce of enthusiasm can make all the difference in the world. Boiling water produces steam. Steam can power a locomotive.

One extra degree in life separates the good from the great. One more step. One more ounce of effort will separate you from everyone else in a mediocre world.

Its your life. You are responsible for your own results.

"Everyone starts from scratch, but not everyone keeps scratching."
~Dr. Gilbert

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

On the day that you are called by God:

The first question God may ask you is:

"God won't ask the square footage of your house, he'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Vacations

Some of us can't wait until those 2 weeks out of the whole year to go on vacation. The more time we spend waiting for vacation, the more life passes us by. Wouldn't you rather enjoy 50 weeks out of the whole year instead of just 2. Why? Because for some of us, vacations are meant to get away from this life that we chose for ourselves. We chose it, and for some, everyday we struggle with it.

Some people try to get through their everyday lives. Others put a full effort to enjoying it.

"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." ~Logan Persall Smith

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Self Pity, Is it controlling you?

A special Belated Happy Birthday to the The Kind and Considerate Lenny Michelli

Are you having a pity party? Most of the time when we have a pity party, it is because,
Things aren't' going the way WE want it to! Do we try to drag others into our own self pity and get them to feel sorry for us? When you confide in someone about something that is bothering you,

What would you like them to do?:
a. Listen and Empathize
b. Listen and give advice
c. Have a pity party with you.
Picking "a" may lead you to "c". Some go right to "c" and say things like, "I can't believe they would do something like that. How could they."

When a friend just listens and empathizes, they must be careful because there is a fine line between empathy and pity. Yes at first we should all empathize with someone. But at some point the person wallowing in self pity needs to understand that they are responsible for their feelings. Only once they stop trying to control the situation and let things happen as they may, then they will be able to accept the way things are.

"Trying to control things that are out of your control, will further control our unhappiness."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Interfering

Special Happy Birthday to a Great Inspirer, Anthony Ventre.

Did you know that it is ok to interfere in others lives? But how do you do it? "If I was you I wouldn't do that. I would do it this way." Have you ever said that to someone, or has someone said that to you. Whenever you get bothered by the way others do things, then it might be time to give up control. Sometimes we might give advice to someone and they don't take our advice. If that bothers you, it's because they aren't doing what "WE WANT THEM TO." That is called CONTROL. In order to loosen up we must give it up.

Understand that we are not in control of anyone Else's life. We are only in control of how we respond to the things they say or do.

Are you a Positive Interference in someones life?
When someone make a decision that you don't agree with, you can either get bitter or better.

Bitter= "Why do they have to do it that way. Why can't they ever listen to me." This person loves to give their negative view of it, when no one asked for it.
-Negative Interference

Better= "I don't' have to agree with what others do. My respect for their decision is more important then my own ulterior motives. I'm here for them in whatever decision that they make." -Positive Interference

It's ok to give your opinion on something in a respectful manner. Ask yourself, "Am I just venting how I feel or am I trying to be helpful."

MOOMBA
My Own Obstacle May Be Attitude
~Ed Agresta

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Winner v.s. Loser

Pat Summit is one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time with a winning record of 947 wins and 180 loses. Pat Summit is the head coach of the Tennesse Women's Basketball team. In order to be a leader, you must walk among the followers. Pat's players are not allowed to call her coach, they have to call her Pat. She isn't above them. For if not for her players, then her job wouldn't exist. Pat Summit carries the following poem in her game
planner.

You can love me, but only I can make me happy.
You can teach me, but only I can do the learning.
You can lead me, but only I can walk the path.
You can promote me, but I have to succeed.
You can coach me, but I have to win the game.
You can even pity me, but I have to bear the sorrow.
For the Gift of Love is not a food that feeds me,
It is the sunshine that nourishes that which I must finally harvest for myself.
So if you love me don't just sing me your song,
Teach me to sing, for when I am alone, I will need the melody.
~Dan Baker

A loser says, "It may be possible, but it`s too difficult ."
A winner says, "It may be difficult, but it`s possible ."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

3 of life's puzzles

Why is it easier to criticize than to compliment?
Why is it easier to give others blame than to give them credit?
Why is it that so many who are quick to make suggestions, find it so difficult to make decisions?

Character is how you respond when things aren't going your way. Good Character is someone who always has room for learning and improving who they are, without saying, "Well this is just who I am."

"Learn as if you were going to live forever, and live as if you were going to die tomorrow."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

What else do you want?

Special Hello to the Great Dr. Gilbert

Do you have a hard time walking by a jewelry store without looking in the window or going inside and looking for what else you want? Are your dresser draws overflowed, with no closet space at all and still have the need to go shopping to look for what else you want? Be honest. Don't you feel happy when you go shopping? How about buying yourself that piece of jewelry that "you must have."

We seem to drool over things and get ourselves all hyped up for something that may be satisfying for now until that excitement wears off. If we could just attain that excitement throughout our ownership of it, then why do we have to have more than what we need. Take a look at everything that you had to have. If you still have it, do you feel the same way about it? Your thoughts become your feelings and your feelings become your habits. Your habits become your character.

Our habits may have become our false needs.
Whatever you feed, you will think you need.

"We fail to acknowledge and appreciate what we have, because we are so concerned with what we want." ~John Wooden

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

On the day that you are called by God:

The first question God may ask you is:

"God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Sell yourself

Can't you make a better hamburger then McDonalds? Then how come McDonalds is a billionaire corporation.? They are sold on their product. Are you sold on yours?

Enthusiasm can push you beyond frustration, beyond boredom, beyond obstacles, beyond anything or anyone that will try to hold you back. You have something great to contribute to this world. What are you doing about it? It's about marketing yourself. The greatest commercials are the ones that sell you the product without telling you to buy it.

Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it.

EnthusIASM- I Am Sold Myself

Nothing great ever got accomplished without Enthusiasm.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

2 Most Powerful words for Success

Special Hello and a Happy Birthday to the Compassionate and Considerate Shannon Ashe

"You can't. You're not good enough. Are you crazy? Well don't ask me to help you." How many
times have you heard these responses from others. People will try to keep you down where they are. You only need to follow 2 words to get where you desire to be.

Failure is seldom fatal. Failure means, try again, try harder and do whatever it takes to get by the problem. Your ability to succeed depends on your personal Determination and Perseverance.

Determination- a fixed purpose or intention

Perseverance- steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Determination and Perseverance are attached to your gift that may have yet to be found.

What is your purpose in life?
"Find your gift and give it away."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

His greateest weakness became his greatest strength

He developed a blood clot in his arm at age 8. By age 16 he had 25 operations in his left arm and hand. His left hand is atrophied, which made it a little difficult to talk to girls. So as a sophomore in high school, he began juggling to get girls. Soon he fell in love. Not with a girl, but with his true passion in life, Juggling. But because of his disabled left arm, he could only juggle with one hand. His older brother had trouble getting a good nights sleep because he practiced all night. He pushed through boredom and frustration.

Today Dale Jones is the world's greatest one arm juggler. He travels around the world performing. He can juggle 6 balls at once. Dale has been featured in People magazine, CBS Evening News, Entertainment Tonight, and several other publications. He has worked with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.

His Biggest Weakness became his Greatest Strength.
Once we accept where we are, then we can get to where we desire to be.

During lunch with Dale yesterday, he explained how he dealt with frustration.
"The more frustrated I got, the more determined I became." ~Dale Jones

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

It's not my fault

"Hey he cut me off." "If they would have never did that in the first place then I wouldn't have made the mistake." "I can't help it, this is who I am." "Well I didn't feel like it." "I can't." "He did it." "Well no one told me."

A great coach once said, "Don't give me excuses. Give me results!" 1st step in owning your own life is taking responsibility for your actions. Some of us try and avoid embarrassment by blaming someone else when we get caught making a mistake or doing something wrong. When Rudy Giuliani first took office as mayor of New York, his plaque on his desk didn't say his name. Instead it read "I Am Responsible."

"Ever notice when you point your finger at someone else, there are 3 pointing back at you."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Some teachers don't know they are teachers

Special hello to a very funny comic Rodney Laney.

He is known as the Greatest basketball coach of all time. He won 10 championships in 12 years as Head Basketball Coach of UCLA. He accomplished this without a home court. He was a teacher and an inspiring leader.

If someone is learning from you then you are a teacher. Do you know that you are being watched at all times? Your response to adversity is being taught to those around you.

No written word or spoken plea,
can teach the youth what they should be.
Nor all the books on all the shelves,
It's what the teachers are themselves.
~Author Unknown

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Who is most important in your life?

Are you excited to see your friends and family who surround you? You ever notice that when we don't see someone for a long time, we have that excitement built up upon seeing them again? If you're not guaranteed tomorrow, then why take someone for granted today?

She graduated college. Just to keep in shape, she joined a local recreational sports team. Her boyfriend was so excited and wanted to see her play. She explained to him that no one at the games gets too excited. They just kind of sit there and watch. But, what she was trying to tell him was that, she knew how excited he would be to watch her play and didn't want him to embarrass her by rooting to loudly for her.

After understanding this, he said to her, "What if a famous ball player like Derek Jeter walked onto the field before your game?" She answered, "Then everyone would get so excited just because of his presence." Her boyfriend said, "Well that's how I feel when I see you."

"People may not remember what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Unanswered Prayers

A man bumps into his old girlfriend:
She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams,
And I could tell that time had changed me, In her eyes too it seemed.
We tried to talk about the old days; There wasn't much we could recall,
I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all.

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife,
And then and there I thanked the good Lord for the gifts in my life.

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers,
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs.
That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care,
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.
~Garth Brooks

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

A Champion is already inside you

Dedicated to a high school athlete who goes all out every second of the game- Rachael Ruch.

There was a time in all of our lives when we did what we thought was the unthinkable. Why? Because we have this undiscovered potential that lies deep within us. It is time for you to let it out. A Champion is someone who keeps on moving forward when the average person would stop right where they are.

A Champion never tries to bring glory to their name
Instead they say, "Without a team, it wouldn't have been the same."
They are the ones whose dedication is beyond belief,
They are the ones still running when their muscles ache for relief.

A coach once asked a 16 year old basketball player, "Why do you try so hard?"
She answered, "It's the only way I know how."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Are you just a product of your environment? Say NO!

Do you influence others? Or do you let others influence you? When you walk into a room only 2 things happen.

Thermometer - a thermometer adjusts to the temperature in the room. So if there is low energy in the room, you will have low energy. If the room has a negative atmosphere, you become a product of your environment.

Thermostat - makes their own temperature. No matter what the mood in the room, you bring energy and excitement. You adjust your internal temperature to what you want it to be. It is up to you.

You can allow others to dictate your mood. You can live for yourself and be who you want to be regardless of others' perceptions.

A person once asked someone, "What is your goal in life?"

The answer was, "To be a positive interruption to a downward spiral."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

2 Things you decide to do everyday

He ran track and trained hard every day. He constantly tried to work out harder than any of his teammates in high school. His motto was to "Work out until you pass out." But he never worked hard enough to pass out. However all his hard work made him a gold medalist in track.

His daughter always looked up to her dad. As she entered high school, she would hear stories of how great her dad use to be. She aspired to be like him. But always felt as if she was living in his shadow. Throughout high school she won some track meets, but still felt as if her dad over shadowed her.

Well now she is a senior in high school and she made it to the state finals. Her dad was out of state at a business meeting and this would be the first race he missed all year. The race begins. She paces herself throughout the whole race and during the last 2 laps, she realizes that it's time to give it everything she's got. With half a lap to go she is way out in front. As she gets around the last turn, her leg muscles feel as if they are on fire. She pushes even harder. There is the tape. She is 50 feet from the finish line. Then it happens. She collapses. A paramedic had to revive her. She wound up in last place.

At home, she goes into her room and just continues to cry for hours. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. Her dad finally comes home and walks in her room. She has her face down and tries to ignore her dad. Her dad said, "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU." In a state of confusion she responds, "But dad I came in last place." Her dad said, "Yes but you've accomplished something that I never did in my life. You worked harder then I ever did. You actually worked out until you passed out. That is something that I never accomplished."

2 things you can do in life:
"You can hold back or you can GO ALL OUT!" ~Dr. Gilbert

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

The key Ingredient to being successful

Dedicated to all the Men and Women in our Armed Forces. Making it possible for us to continue our great freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.
Happy 4th of July to All

Do you realize when things are going our own way, we are the nicest people? What brings out the bad in you? It might be a word called Adversity.

Is it when someone cuts you off on the road? Is it when your significant other doesn't act or do what you expect of them? Remember-"It's not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you."

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.

When the funds are low, and the debts are high;
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;

And you can never tell how close you are;
It may be near when it seems afar.

Stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things go wrong that you mustn't quit.

"If your reactions to adversity determine your character~then your character will determine your success."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

The most Enthusiastic little boy

Dedicated to the most inspiring person I ever knew, Anthony Ventre.

He was the most enthusiastic little boy. Everything he did, no matter how big or small, was so important to him. Everything was significant. He lived every moment as though there were no tomorrow.

He was a drummer and wanted to be a rock star. But his friends and parents laughed at him.
He then wrote the following to a publisher:
My name is Anthony Ventre. I am a 19 year old Tourette Syndrome patient. I had TS since the age of 4. I would like to take this time to ask of you to publish a very meaningful line of poetry in your next newsletter. From having a severe case of Tourette Syndrome, I am sure you will be very interested in this poem. It tells how a person with TS tries to express his or her feelings to people who just don't understand.
Thanks for your cooperation.

Nobody seems to ever understand the painful things I feel,
Nobody knows what's inside my head or even if it's real.

Nobody knows what it feels like to constantly be confused,
Nobody knows how sad I feel when I feel that I'm being used.

*Nobody knows what it feels like to be afraid to go to sleep,
The fear of never waking up again, The fear of sinking so deep.

Maybe someday they'll find the key that unlocks the mystery of my mind,
From that day on I'll finally be free and happiness will be mine.

But until that day nobody knows the feeling of being me,
Maybe they're not looking hard enough, maybe they just can't see.
by Anthony Ventre

A few months later, he received a call from Bon Jovi's manager to possibly publish his band's album. But 17 years ago today, as the poem that he wrote states, he died in his sleep.

Whatever you want in life go after it.

"Some spend their whole lives waiting and never taking."

"Don't die with your music still inside you."

He lived by the Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Unrealized Potential

Promising, conceivable, possibility, ability, power, achiever: What is this describing? Your unrealized Potential. If I know one thing about you, it's that you have this great potential inside you. But what do we allow in to destroy everything we want to become?

Discouragement takes away everything you are. Discouragement is a smoke screen from the great person that you have become. Discouragement tries to kill your will to be successful.

The devil had decided to pack it up and go out of business. He planned to put all of his tools up for sale. His tools consisted of a malice, hate, envy, jealousy, greed, sensuality and deceit. Off to the side lay a harmless-looking wedge-shaped tool which had obviously been warned down.

A potential buyer asked, "What's that? It's priced so much higher than all of the other tools which aren't nearly as worn." The devil answered, "That's discouragement."

"But why is it priced so high?" the customer asked.

The devil replied, "Because that's the tool I used to pry open a person's consciousness when I couldn't get near them with any of the other tools. Once discouragement got me inside, I could let all the other tools do their work."

"If no one can discourage you, then no one can defeat you."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just won't quit."

Interview with God

I dreamed I had an Interview with God.

I asked..."As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God answered...
"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but one who needs the least."

Quote of the month: "A winner is a dreamer who just wont quit."