Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The caterpillar and the butterfly

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, his world at least, it turned into a butterfly.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Andy Griffith's career was a comeback from failure from his first ambition

Andy Griffeth's original ambition was musical theatre.  He earned a degree in music from U. of North Carolina.

Per NPR:

Griffith's success as a comic actor came even though his first dream in life was to be a serious singer. In college he majored in music, and as a young man, he set off for New York to audition for roles in operettas and jobs in choirs. But Griffith said the auditions failed to yield him a single offer.

"Instead of being hurt, I just started to wonder what I could do with the rest of my life. And I went home and wrote a few jokes," Griffith said. "That summer, I did my first long monologue, and a man named Orville Campbell came up to me and said, 'I have a record company. Would you like to record "What it Was Was Football"?' And I said, 'Yeah.' "

That set him on the road to becoming a television icon.  Andy Griffith passed away July 3.  R.I.P., you made us all smile, and you made this place a little bit more humane....

Sunday, July 1, 2012

What's the best thing that could happen?

From "Extraordinary Comebacks" subject Roger Crawford:

What's the Best Thing
That Could Happen
Many self-help books advise the following way to increase your courage in tough situations: "Just imagine the worst that could possibly happen." The underlying logic is that this will strengthen you for whatever is to come. However, when­ever I mention this strategy to people who are discouraged, they tell me they've already rehearsed and anticipated all the negative events so thoroughly that they can recite every tiny detail as if it had already happened.

Instead, my suggestion is to rehearse and imagine the best that can happen. Here's a positive strategy. Let's say you are considering pursuing a possibility that seems a bit daunt­ing. Therefore, to prepare for the great possibilities that are going to require extra stamina and courage:

Relive past successes. Make a list, mental or on paper, of the times you've tried and succeeded. Here is a powerful mental image: Braid a rope of past achievements to hang on to, both in good times and challenging ones.

Release past disappointments. Make another list of disappointments, and then tear it up, literally or figuratively. Shred it, set fire to it, flush it, and toss it in the waste basket. Gone!

Rehearse future possibilities. Produce, direct, and star in a mental movie of yourself exploring this wonderful possibility. See yourself meeting the challenges, bouncing back from any setbacks, and continuing on with energy and determination.

When you go all-out pursuing potential possibilities, your attitude becomes more positive, your energy increases, and your courage strengthens. Even if things don't turn out ex­actly as you had hoped, you've permanently boosted your at­titude and resilience, keeping yourself open to new possibili­ties in the future.

If you start with the belief that possibilities are abundant and within your grasp, you will begin to see all the new op­portunities available to you. If your belief is negative, you will see barriers instead. We all want to feel our opinions are correct. Therefore, if your opinion is that you have the abil­ity to achieve great things, great things appear. But if you are convinced you're mediocre, you will only notice the average. To further support this diminishing belief in yourself, you will actually ignore the extraordinary abilities you have and focus your attention solely on your average attributes! Whereas pessimists see problems before possibilities, Optimists see possibilities before problems!