Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bubba Jo's Sayings about Friends

1) Birds of a feather flock together.
2) You are known by the company you keep.
3) An acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

How to sound intelligent

Do you want to sound intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident? Of course you do! Voice coach Carol Fleming, Ph.D. gave me some great insights based on her years of study and working with thousands of clients.
TO SOUND MORE INTELLIGENT: Speak just a bit slower to allow yourself to select your most appropriate vocabulary and to give the impression of thoughtfulness.
TO SOUND MORE POWERFUL: Use short, simple declarative sentences. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. Cut out any useless connectors, adjectives and adverbs, especially superlatives.
TO SOUND MORE POLISHED: Never answer a question with a blunt 'yes' or 'no.' Append a short phrase of clarification. For example, "No, I did not see it." "Yes, I know Mary."
TO SOUND MORE ARTICULATE: Make a special effort to pronounce the final sound in a word and use its energy to carry over to the following word. Pay special attention to final 't' and 'ng.'
TO SOUND MORE CONFIDENT: Carry your body up. Hold your head as if you had a crown on it. Don't let your arms and legs have side to side motion when you move. Keep your elbows and knees close to the midline of your body.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

21 Suggestions for Success

21 Suggestions for Success ......By H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Is your Jar Full?

When things in your life seem almost to much to handle, when 24 hours in aday are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar......and the beer.
A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in frontof him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large andempty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He thenasked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into thejar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areasbetween the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar wasfull. They agreed it was.The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Ofcourse, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jarwas full. The students responded with an unanimous "Yes."The Professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table andpoured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the emptyspace between the sand. The students laughed."Now," said the Professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you torecognize that this jar represents your life.The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, yourhealth, your friends, your favorite passions - things that if everythingelse was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house,your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff.""If you put the sand into the jar first", he continued, "there is no roomfor the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend allyour time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for thethings that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that arecritical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to getmedical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Therewill always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care ofthe golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities.The rest is just sand."When he had finished, there was a profound silence. Then one of thestudents raised her hand and with a puzzled expression, inquired what thebeer represented.The Professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that nomatter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple ofbeers."