A Panda's Journey
A man had a herd of 250 cows and took great care looking after their welfare.
One day, however, a tiger ate one of them—and when the man noticed this, he thought, “I’ve lost one of my cows, and my herd is incomplete. What’s the point of having all these other cows?” And with that, the man drove all the cows off a cliff and to their death.
He is like a person who, after breaking just one precept of righteousness, thinks, “I’ve broken one, so I might as well abandon them all.”
1) If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.
—Bishop T.D. Jakes2) Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
— Steve Jobs3) I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.
— Georgia O’Keefe4) If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.
— Nora Roberts5) A year from now you may wish you had started today.
—Karen Lamb6) How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
— Anne Frank7) Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
— Mark Twain8) You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
— C.S. Lewis9) Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
— Joseph Campbell10) When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
— Helen Keller11) Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
—Arthur Ashe12) There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there’s virtually no competition.
— Steven J. Ross13) The Man Who Has Confidence In Himself Gains The Confidence Of Others.
— Hasidic Proverb14) The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.
— Amelia Earhart15) Follow your own passion—not your parents’, not your teachers’—yours.
—Robert Ballard16) All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone.
— Michael Bobak17) The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
—Lao Tzu
What if what we thought about an event wasn’t always the best way of looking at it?
Many of us label our experiences and situations as “good,” or “bad,” and many other things.
This perspective limits us from living our best lives.
As a culture we have seemed to judge events as good or bad (luck), but sometimes when we think something “bad” has happened, it is good in disguise. And sometimes when we think something “good” has happened, it is bad in disguise.
There was a farmer who had a beautiful strong horse that was used to plow his fields.
One day, the horse escaped, and the farmer’s neighbors came to the man sympathizing about his bad luck. The farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
A few days later the horse returned with a herd of stallions. This time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. He replied with, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The next week when the farmer’s son was trying to tame one of the stallions, he fell off the horse and broke his leg. “What bad luck,” the neighbors told the farmer. “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” Said the farmer.
A few days later an army came into the village, forcing every able-bodied youth to join them. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they didn’t bother to take him with them.
Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?
I’m sure you can think of a time when something bad happened but it turned out to help you in the end. Was it good luck or bad luck?
We can’t always know the reason behind an event, so it’s important to keep a neutral attitude..
..To observe the events in our life without judging them, without drawing conclusions about them…This can bring about great peace of mind.
Great leaders understand this concept and are able to remain calm, trust life and themselves, take appropriate action, generate acceptance, and have a flexible attitude.
So the next time you’re in a situation that you label as “good” or “bad” I encourage you to ask yourself, “Good luck?” “Bad luck?” Who knows…
Thank you for reading!
Here’s another post that may also help you enable a different perspective: Question your Certainty
With Ken Thompson 