Silly Old Bear

What would you do if you were born without eyes, and with a tightening of the joints that prevented you from being able to straighten your arms and legs? Would you feel sorry for yourself? Would you consider yourself “disabled”? Life would certainly come with a greater level of difficulty.

I can’t even imagine being unable to see or walk. Yet, that’s exactly the situation in which Patrick Henry Hughes has found himself since the day he was born. However, when asked, “How would you describe your disabilities?”, Patrick just smiles really big and responds, “Not disabilities at all; more abilities.”

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Olympic Gold Medalist Nikki Stone has written a book promoting her unique philosophy of success, a philosophy which she calls “The Turtle Effect”. Nikki explains: “The Turtle Effect was taught to me by my mother when I was a young girl. She told me that I could achieve anything I wanted to as long as I remembered to have a soft inside, a hard shell, and be sure to stick my neck out.” [1] Nikki’s book is entitled Why Turtles Fly and is due out in January 2010. It can be pre-ordered through Amazon.com . 25% of the author’s net proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the American Cancer Society. [2]

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When you are dead and gone, what will your life have counted for? Will the world be a better place because you were here?

One of my biggest fears in life is mediocrity – just sort of drifting through life without ever really accomplishing anything worthwhile. I don’t want to come to the end of my life, look back over all those years, and wonder, “What was that all about?” I want to know that my life counted for something, that I somehow made other people’s lives better. I don’t want to just take up space.

Every one of us has the ability to make our lives count for something. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are, how famous or unknown; it doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you live on, what color your skin is, or whether you are male or female. No one is destined for mediocrity. Your life matters, and you can make other people’s lives better. And the really cool thing is, you have the unique ability to do that in a way that no one else can!

So I challenge you to rise above mediocrity. Make your life count for something. Make the world a better place. Here are four ways you can do just that.

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I want to share with you three simple rules that can have a dramatically positive impact on the life of anyone who will truly model his or her life after these principles.

1. BE NICE

The way you treat other people is important. We all know that this is true when we turn it around: The way YOU treat ME is really important! I mean, you had better treat me right; because if you don’t, you’re just a jerk!

So, what does that make me when I don’t treat other people right? Oh, I guess that makes me a jerk!

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