Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away.Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others." Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.My

Message:

There are few people in the world who actively go out of there way to help others on a regular basis, sadly not enough. The beauty of being a person of deed is that you have the opportunity to do acts of kindness every single day. We just get too caught up in our own affairs that we forget to look out for our neighbours, fellow travelers and even close friends. It's time to be aware of the people around you all the time and see who could use your assistance. Even if its to pick up the pen that the person in front of you dropped. There is nothing better than noticing a small thing like that and taking action. No matter how small your act of kindness is the reward is far greater than you can imagine. This week be completely aware of the people you come into contact with and go out your way to help... The effort is well worth it.Have an awesome week!
Darren ZwiersThe Quote:
Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you'll be able to see farther. J. P. Morgan

Each Day is a Gift

Each Day is a Gift
The Story
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, The carer provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.
It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away, just for this time in my life.
She went on to explain, "Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."

My Message:
This is such an awesome story, its interesting how these stories are best told by old people, makes you realise that when you get older memories become more precious and opportunities become less available. Live your life now! Don't wait for a good time to do something worthwhile, do it today, express it in the best possible way you can and be completely enthusiastic about it. You would be surprised how many amazing things you can achieve if you just shift your mind in knowing you can conquer every challenge in front of you, nothing will get handed to you that you cant handle, that's why its called a challenge! The last thing you want to do is wake up old and frail one day and say 'I wish I could of done this and that'. Life is now, live it in the best way you can! This might sound cliche to some, but we need to be reminded over and over again, life as we know it isn't forever, so get cracking and make it happen today!

May you have an incredible week and conquer all the challenges set out in front of you with ease and efficiency.
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
"Today, many will break through the barriers of the past by looking at the blessings of the present. Why not you?" Steve Maraboli

The Eagle

The Story
A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” said his neighbour. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth—we’re chickens.” So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.

My Message:
This story symbolises awareness of who you are and waking up to the reality of your greatness. It is time to see the light you are to yourself and to others, recognising that you are better than you know. It's time to wake up and realise how powerful you are as an individual and how much good you can do in the world through the choices which are given to you everyday. As you progress through life the more 'goodness' you create and express the closer you will come to understanding the true essence of who you really are, as we are all put on this earth to strive at perfecting our negative habits through doing good deeds and becoming better people, continually looking for the goodness within others. We are destined to great and amazing things, all of us! Make a choice today through action to express who you really are in a glorious positive way and you will be guaranteed to live a life of accomplishment and satisfaction.

May you have an incredible week!
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. ~ Peter Marshall

 

Pond Full Of Milk

Once there was a king who told some of his workers to dig a pond. Once the pond was dug, the king made an announcement to his people saying that one person from each household had to bring a glass of milk, during the night, and pour it into the pond so the pond would be full of milk by the morning.

After receiving the order, everyone went home. One man prepared to take the milk during the night. He thought that since everyone would bring milk, he would just take a glass of water and pour inside the pond. It would be dark and no one would notice. So he quickly went and poured the water into the pond and came back.

In the morning, the king all excited came to visit the pond and to his surprise the pond was only filled with water! What had happened was that everyone was thinking like the other man: "I don't have to put in milk, someone else will do it."

My Message:

What we need to learn from this simple yet effective story is that when it comes to helping people less fortunate than us, do not think that others will take care of it. Rather, it starts with YOU. If you don't do it, no one else will do it. Believe in the power of your positive actions today. We are all 'gifted' with the magnificent ability to give. I can assure you by going the extra mile to help someone who really needs it, you will reach a level of such pure personal joy, a feeling that you contributed to the world. The true essence of our being is to be givers; contributors of life and I am not only talking about giving money, it's also about time, effort and utilising your creative talents to make a positive impact, bringing tranquility and happiness to those in need.

May you have an awesome week! Think of one thing this week you can do with your skill-set to make a less fortunate person smile.
If you interested in putting an hour a side to volunteer, please let me know I can direct you to the right people or cause.
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are. - George Eliot

The Time is Now!

I remember hearing this poem for the 1st time when I was younger, its message so strong and so real.
It's never grown old and always gives that drive for living in the now...

...The Things You Didn't Do
By Unonymous

Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and I dented it? 
I thought you'd kill me, but you didn't.

And remember the time I dragged you to the beach, and you said it would rain, and it did? 
I thought you'd say, "I told you so." But you didn't.

Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous, and you were? 
I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.

Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug? 
I thought you'd hit me, but you didn't.

And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans? 
I thought you'd drop me, but you didn't.

Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do,
But you put up with me, and you loved me, and you protected me.

There were lots of things I wanted to make up to you when you returned from the war.

But you didn't…

My Message:
Go ahead and put it off, don't send that sms, don't send those flowers, don't buy the dress or suite you've always wanted, keep the lovely dinner set hidden for that special occasion which has never happened…. What for?
What are we waiting for? Why do we procrastinate when it comes to the greatest gift of life, the gift of caring and loving?
You know the saddest thing is that we only realise the greatness of relationships when its too late.
Why do we do that to ourselves, lets rather celebrate life right now, celebrate being around the people you love… hug them, cherish them and keep telling them that they are special.
Life is so precious, so extremely fragile and not very long, so what do we do? we spend our days complaining about this person and that person and we are always wishing for better things, when you already have it, the greatest gift G-d has given you. The gift to care to love, to give and to express your loving role in the relationships you share with everyone you come into contact with.

Don't wait for tomorrow, don't wait for that person to say it first. Just do it now, make it happen today, tell that person how important they are and how special they are in this world… all it takes is a simple sms or email and if you want to make real difference tell it to them in person, The Time is Now!!!!! At the end of the day we are all here living in this world together, we share the same ground, so we might as well make it easier for us all, by showing how much we care.

May you have an incredible week, try make a personal commitment this week to tell the closest people how much they mean to you, I assure you it will not only lift their spirits, it will lift yours too.
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” - Napoleon Hill

 

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Butterfly

The Story:
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

My Message:
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we would go through our lives without any obstacles, it would most likely cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly! So the next time you're faced with a difficult struggle remember how the butterfly gets its beautiful wings to soar gracefully... It keeps pushing its way through.

The poem below explains it perfectly:
I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favours.........
And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ........
I received everything I needed!

May you have an awesome week where obstacles are only but steps of pure growth, attracting all the aspects and elements which you currently need!
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
Never tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.

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You Are!

The Story:
One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St. Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym."
At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: "Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he's no longer here!"
One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: 
"There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU."

My Message:
YOU are the only person who can revolutionise your life.
YOU are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realisation and your success.
YOU are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes.
Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realise that YOU ARE the only one responsible for your life.

May you have an incredible week full of energy to reach beyond the challenges that you are faced and rise to heights you only dreamed of!
Darren Zwiers

The Quote:
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia