Glass and Silver

Author Unknown

A man once became rich and his lifestyle changed. He became hard-hearted and selfish. One day, he was visited by an old friend who had taught him about acts of kindness. The rich man showed off his beautiful home and boasted to his friend about his wealth. Noticing the change in him, his friend called him to the window. Pointing to the outside, he asked, "What do you see?" "I see poor people passing by trying to earn a living" he replied. Walking over to a large mirror the friend told the rich man to look in. "Now what do you see?"  "Myself, of course." "I don't understand," said the old friend. "Both the window and the mirror are made of glass. Yet when you look through the window, you see the poor people outside but when you look at the mirror, you see only yourself!" "The reason is simple!" said the rich man. "The mirror has a silver coating which prevents you from seeing through. However, the window has no silver coating, so you can see through."

Reflection

As we all progress and become successful in our careers and lives, our lifestyles change and so does our outlook on the rest of the world. Money is a very powerful force in our lives, it can make or break a person. As the story above points out… never let your moral compass become uncalibrated due to money. Sometimes our troubles begin when a bit of silver is added into our lives, and we start looking too much at ourselves and stop seeing other people. It’s important to always stay humble and to keep caring for the people around us as we journey through life. I read a great article about 15 successful billionaires who prove that “money doesn’t always change you“.
You can read it here (Business Insider  JAN. 16, 2013)

Remember always make sense with your cents :)

Have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.” —Henry Ward Beecher

We All Hold The Key

Once upon a time, a village was occupied by invaders and all its people were imprisoned. They suffered for months in the cold, sleeping on rocks and hardly ate good food. On seeing the state of the people of their village, four philanthropists decided they would serve them. The first one decided he would offer warm clothes, shoes and socks to the people who were dying from the cold. So, he did! He thought he did the best deed and walked away happily! The second man decided he would provide blankets, a cozy bed and a pillow for all the prisoners to sleep, and so, he did! He thought he did the best deed and walked away happily. The third philanthropist watched the people crave good food; she decided to offer them a healthy meal and clean drinking water every day. So, she did! She thought she had done the best deed of all and she walked away happily! The fourth man wondered, "what am I to do for my people?" He woke up in the middle of the night, sneaked into the prison, stole the key from the guard and released all of them! And, the people walked away happily....

Reflection

I love this story because it’s a great reminder on how important it is to find lasting solutions and resolve within the cause of a situation. Giving money to charities and causes is important and very meaningful, but sometimes we are required to go beyond ourselves and find ways to resolve issues. Real, lasting kindness comes from careful consideration and creative thought processes which help to fix problems rather than keep applying plasters onto them. As we are at the beginning of the year, now is a good time to pick a cause that resonates with you and find ways to come up with solutions to make a change in peoples lives.
As our hero in the above story, we all hold the key to acts of kindness that will unlock the happiness for someone less fortunate...

Have an awesome week!
Darren Zwiers

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”  ― Mother Teresa

The Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us! My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, really friendly. So I asked, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.” He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage (frustration, anger, disappointment, etc.). As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

Reflection

Successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. It’s really not worth experiencing life based on someone else’s bad mood and negativity. This is something we are all familiar with… It just takes one person’s negative attitude to ruin your day. Don’t let this happen - in fact you have the potential to turn that person's day around for the good. Just because someone seems to be in a bad mood, it doesn't mean they are constantly angry or depressed. They are just likely having a bad day and yes, we all have those days. Instead of allowing people to dump their mood on you, be extra patient with them and offer them a friendly smile and a liltle assistance.

Have a garbage free week ;)
Darren Zwiers

“Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.”  ~Unknown

Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?” Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?” Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “OK.” “My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”

Reflection

We all know that we live in a world that is finite, it has a beginning and an end. We all know that there is no such thing as “all the time in the world,” yet we live our lives as if we have all the time in the world… We spend so much time waiting for the perfect moment to do something, but this perfect moment may never come and we land up putting things off forever, regretting it in the future. Life is all about making priorities and sticking to them. I would suggest you start at the top of the list with spending more time with your family and the people closest to you. Don’t underestimate how precious each minute spent with someone you love is. As the father in the above story… Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today, you won’t regret it!!

Wish you an awesome 2014!
Darren Zwiers

“Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today” - Benjamin Franklin.