Mary Sherman Hilbert shares the story about her neighbor, Ruth Peterson. When the stress of life seemed to be closing in on her, Ruth Peterson would go to her special place. Her special place was the beach. The sounds of the waves, the crisp clean air, and the signs of life always seemed to cheer her up. One day as Ruth was on her beach, a little girl was building something in the sand. The little girl saw Ruth and spoke, "Hello, I'm building."

"I can see that," said Ruth not really interested. She would have rather been left alone. "What are you building?"

"I don't know," said the little girl. "I just like the feel of the sand."

About that time a bird flew by. It was a sandpiper. "That's joy," said the girl.

"What do you mean?" asked Ruth.

"My mom says that sandpipers come to bring us joy."

Ruth desperately wanted to be left alone. She was depressed and felt smothered by the world. But the little girl wouldn't let up. "What is your name?" asked the girl.

"My name is Ruth Peterson."

"I'm six years old and my name is Wendy."

"Hello, Wendy."

As Ruth strolled away the little girl called to her, "Come back Mrs. P. and we will have another happy day." As much as Ruth hated to admit it to herself she felt better. Wendy had brought a little sunshine to her stormy day.

The next few weeks were very busy for Ruth and she didn't have time to go to the beach. One day, Ruth said to herself, "I could use a sandpiper." She grabbed her coat and went to the beach. She had forgotten about Wendy as she was walking on the beach. All of a sudden she heard, "Hi, Mrs. P. Do you want to play?" All Ruth needed was to have to deal with this little kid. Ruth had things on her mind and wanted to be left alone but being polite she asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"I don't care. What do you want to do?"

"How about charades?"

"I don't know what that is," said Wendy.

"Then why don't you just walk with me?" As they were walking along Ruth asked Wendy where she lived. Wendy pointed to a home among a row of cottages. Ruth thought it a little strange to be living in a summer cottage during the winter.

"Where do you go to school?" asked a now curious Ruth.

"I don't go to school. Mommy says we are on vacation."

As Ruth said good-bye to Wendy to head for home, Wendy left Ruth with the same sunshine as before. Wendy had said it had been a happy day.

Three weeks went by and now tragedy had struck Ruth's family. Ruth's mother had died. In great distress, Ruth went to her beach. She hoped she wouldn't have to deal with Wendy today. She didn't know if she had the strength. But as usual Wendy was there. Ruth said, "Please leave me alone today. I need to be alone."

"Why?" asked the puzzled child.

"Because my mother died."

"Then this is not a happy day. Did it hurt when she died?"

What a question! "Of course it hurt," said a shocked Ruth. Ruth did not understand Wendy's situation. She was too engulfed within herself to see Wendy's needs. Ruth walked off, leaving the little girl there on the beach.

The next time Ruth went to the beach Wendy wasn't there. Ruth thought this was strange and went up to the summer cottage and knocked on the door. A young woman, who appeared to have been going through her own tragedy, answered the door.

"Hi. I'm Ruth Peterson. I didn't see Wendy today and wondered where she was."

"Please come in," said Wendy's mother. "I'm sorry if Wendy has been bothering you."

"Oh, no. She is a wonderful child." Ruth discovered she truly enjoyed her times with Wendy.

"Wendy died last week. She had leukemia." A wave of despair struck Ruth. This unexpected news rocked her.

"Wendy enjoyed the beach," continued Wendy's mother. "When she asked to come here we couldn't disappoint her. She seemed to be healthier here. She wanted me to give you something, Mrs. Peterson." Wendy's mother went and got an envelope and handed it to Ruth. Inside was a drawing made with crayons. It was a picture of a beautiful beach, the glorious sea, and a bird. Underneath Wendy's masterpiece she had printed: "A sandpiper to bring you joy."

Ruth was overwhelmed with emotion. She and Wendy's mother spent the next few minutes crying together as they mourned for this special happy little girl named Wendy.

We can learn a lot from Wendy. She was a happy girl. Even through her pain, she was happy right where she was. I also believe she looked towards the future for what she called "happy days." We can be happy where we are. We can believe in a positive future. We can strive for that future. The result is a present, future, and memory of "happy days." As Almighty God spoke through the Apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13 NCV).

Excerpted from Mark Bowser's popular book Power Nuggets.

"Your book is one of the most refreshing, enjoyable reading experiences I've had in a long time. Your nuggets and stories are tremendous..."
~ Charlie "Tremendous" Jones

"It's just the kind of book we like to have, with short, concise messages, that can be picked up and put down without losing continuity. The format makes for an excellent gift, too."
~ Zig Ziglar

Mark Bowser is one of the nations leading corporate trainers and speakers. Organizations such as Southwest Airlines, Ford Motor Company, FedEx Logistics, the United States Air Force, Princeton University, and many others have been impacted positively through his training. For information on how you can bring Mark Bowser to your organization then send an email to info@MarkBowser.com. For more information on how to bring a Mark Bowser seminar to your organization or to join his free newsletter The Empower Newsletter then go to www.MarkBowser.com



WOULD YOU LIKE MARK BOWSER TO SPEAK AT YOUR NEXT CONFERENCE OR EVENT?
If so, contact him at (513)252- GOAL or email info@MarkBowser.com. FREE Audio Clips from Live Seminars on MarkBowser.com.

The knowledge era's new leaders, many of whom are immigrants and women, are managing change by conceiving innovative organizations and novel ways to attract and motivate employees. They are learning to be proactive instead of reactive, and to appreciate the full importance of relationships and alliances. They also have a healthy aptitude for risk and perseverance, and know how to gain strength from setbacks and failure.

Life's Batting Average Baseball's greatest hitter grew up near my neighborhood in San Diego. When Ted Williams slugged for the Boston Red Sox, my father and I kept a record of his daily batting average. And when I played Little League ball, my dad told me not to worry about striking out. In Williams's finest year, dad reminded me, the champion failed at the plate about 60 percent of the time.

Football's greatest quarterbacks complete only six out of ten passes. The best basketball players make only half their shots. Even with satellite mapping and expert geologists, leading oil companies make strikes in only one out of ten wells. Actors and actresses auditioning for roles are turned down twenty-nine in thirty times. And stock market winners make money on only two out of five of their investments.

Since failure is a given in life, success takes more than leadership beliefs and solid behavioral patterns. It also takes an appropriate response to the inevitable, including an effective combination of risk-taking and perseverance. I meet many individuals who are seeking security at all costs, and avoiding risk whenever and wherever possible. Knowing that certain changes would make success much more likely for them, they nevertheless take the path of least resistance: no change. For the temporary, often illusory comfort of staying as they are, they pay the terrible price of a life not truly lived.

Parable of the Cautious Man
There was a very cautious man,
who never laughed or cried.
He never risked, he never lost,
he never won nor tried.
And when he one day passed away,
his insurance was denied,
For since he never really lived,
they claimed he never died.

In other words, missed opportunities are the curse of potential. Just after the Great Depression, Americans, perhaps understandably at the time, took many steps intended to minimize risk. The government guaranteed much of our savings. Citizens bought billions of dollars worth of insurance. We sought lifetime employment and our unions fought for guaranteed annual cost-of-living increases to protect us from inflation. This security-blanket mentality has continued in recent decades as executives awarded themselves giant golden parachutes in case a merger or takeover took their plum jobs.

These measures had many benefits, but the drawbacks have also been heavy, even if less obvious. In our eagerness to avoid risk, we forgot its positive aspects. Many of us continue to overlook the fact that progress comes only when chances are taken. And the security we sought and continue to seek often produces boredom, mediocrity, apathy and reduced opportunity.

We still hear much about security, especially from federal and state politicians. But total security is a myth except, perhaps, for those six feet underground in the cemetery. We may indeed ask our government for guaranteed benefits. But we must be aware that when a structure starts with a floor, walls and ceilings will follow. And herein lies a paradoxical proverb:

You must risk in order to gain security, but you must never seek security.

When security becomes a major goal in life Ð when fulfillment and joy are reduced to merely holding on, sustaining the status quo Ð the risk remains heavy. It is then a risk of losing the prospects of real advancement, of not being able to ride the wave of change today and tomorrow. Had the founders of Yahoo, Amazon.com and America Online been concerned with immediate profits and return on investment, we would not be enjoying those Internet services today, each of which has a greater market capitalization than IBM or General Motors.
-- Denis Waitley

Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright 2006 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read POWER NUGGETS by Mark Bowser?



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"...A must read for everyone. This book shows the spiritual and business attributes of becoming a great success."
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LifeWin Seminars

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As leaders, you know as well as I do how important it is that we can amass a great amount of knowledge. Not only about our company, but our chosen industry, what other top leaders are doing in other industries, etc... But if you are like me, you've gotten frustrated about the process of amassing that knowledge. It seems like I am always behind. There is too much information to go through, too many emails to read, and too many books I haven't completed.

Because of this, for years I have been interested in the topic of speed reading. So, a few years ago, I invested in a book to teach me how to speed read. I know what you are thinking. Yes, a book on how to speed read. Well, you can imagine how well that worked. Now, to give it some credit, I did learn some concepts and I did learn a few techniques. But, I found them bulky and inefficient. So, you can guess what I decided to do. I put it aside and went back primarily to my normal strategy for amassing all that leadership knowledge. And the mound continued to grow.
Today, I have a new strategy and I want to share it with you. I came across Evelyn Wood's Reading Dynamics and it is phenomenal. I started out reading 220 words a minute. Not bad, probably about average. In a matter of a couple of days, I was reading about 705 words a minute with good comprehension. Knocked my socks off. I was amazed. I have not reached my personal goal yet, but I am well on my way.

Now, why did this program work where my earlier attempt failed? First, I think it is because of the way it is taught. Learning it first hand with a live teacher on a DVD with a workbook is more effective than just reading the concepts out of a book. Second, what is taught.

Evelyn Wood was the one who developed speed reading around 60 years ago. Over a seven or eight year period, she found 53 people who could read over 1,500 words per minute. She began to study them. What were they doing that most people weren't doing? Why was it working? And can it be taught across the board? Evelyn Wood found the answers and as they say "the rest is history." President Kennedy was so impressed with Evelyn's techniques that he had his top staff go through the program.

This has revolutionized my leadership potential. I am a good leader. Now, I have the mechanism that can help me in my journey of becoming an exceptional leader. That not only impacts me, that impacts everyone I influence.

This is a must for you guys if you truly want to improve your leadership skills. If I can do, then you can do it. You just have to make it happen.

MARK BOWSER FANTASTIC ON SITE SEMINAR OFFER!

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For information, email us at info@MarkBowser.com or call (513)252-GOAL.

"Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy; but, my friend, these I reckon will give you a good lift."
~ Abraham Lincoln

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."
~ Mark Twain

"To every disadvantage there is a corresponding advantage."
~ W. Clement Stone

"The man who thinks his wife, his baby, his house, his horse, his dog, and himself severely unequalled, is almost sure to be a good-humored person."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

"When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Believe in yourself and people will begin to believe in you too."
~Mark Bowser

"See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay all according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End... I , Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star."
~ Jesus Christ

(Revelation 22:12-13, 16 NLT)