6. Motivation

Figure it out for yourself, my lad

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of man have had:

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,

And a brain to use if you would be wise,

With this equipment they all began,

So start from the top and say, "I can".

Look them over, the wise and the great,

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes,

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for what fight you choose;

You have arms and legs and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do,

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face

You are the one who must choose your place.

You must say where you want to go,

How much will you study the truth to know;

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad,

you were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began,

Get hold of yourself and say; "I CAN".

Author Unknown

What is Class?

Class never runs scared. It is sure-footed and confident in the knowledge that you can meet life head on and handle what ever comes along.

Class never makes excuses. It takes its lumps and learns from past mistakes.

Class is considerate of others. It knows that good manners are nothing more than a series of petty sacrifices.

Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with ancestors or money. The most efficient blue-blood can be totally without class while the descendant for a Welsh miner may ooze class from every pore.

Class never tries to build itself up by tearing others down. Class is already up and need not strive to look better by making others look worse.

Class can "walk with kings and keep its virtue and talk with crowds and keep the common touch". Everyone is comfortable with the person who has class - because he is comfortable with himself.

If you have class you don't need much of anything else. If you don't have it, no matter what else you have - it doesn't make much difference.

Theodore Roosevelt

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits that neither enjoy much, nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

Thomas Jefferson's Philosophies

"In matters of principle, stand like a rock, in matters of taste, swim with the current."

"Give up money, give up fame, give up science, and give up the earth itself and all it contains, rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose, that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing, though it can never be known but to appear to you. Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly."

"He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells a lie without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him."

Think Poem

If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don't

If you'd like to win, but think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you have lost,

For in this world we find,

That success begins with a fellow's will,

It's all in your state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You have got to be sure of yourself

Before you can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ultra motives.

Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will have false friends and true enemies.

Work to succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help them anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

Winners versus losers

The winner is always a part of the answer;

The loser is always a part of the problem.

The winner always has a program;

The loser always has an excuse.

The winner says, "Let me do it for you;"

The loser says, "That's not my job."

The winner sees an answer in every problem;

The loser sees a problem in every answer.

The winner sees a green near every sand trap;

The loser sees sand traps near every green.

The winner says, "It may be difficult, but it's possible;"

The loser says, "It may be possible, but it's too difficult."

The winner works harder than a loser and has more time;

A loser is always "too busy" to do what is necessary.

A winner makes commitments;

A loser makes promises.

Don't quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit --

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

Any many a person turns about

When they might have won had they stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow --

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup;

And he learned too late when then night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

One of us sometimes learns,

Any many a person turns about

When they might have won had they stuck it out