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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 14, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: 'Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.' - Will Rogers Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: The Secret Ingredient In his article "How 'Average' People Excel," (Reader's Digest, 1992), Alan Loy McGinnis tells about how Thomas J. Watson, Jr. discovered this "secret" ingredient to successful living and what happened to him as a result. Watson's father was founder and long-time head of IBM. But young Thomas was a lackluster student who even needed a tutor to get through the IBM sales school. He recalls that he had no distinctions and no successes. Then he took flying lessons. What a feeling! He learned that he was good at flying. He plowed everything into this "mad pursuit," as he fondly called it, and gained self-confidence. Watson became an officer in the US Air Force during WWII. Though not brilliant, he discovered that he had "an orderly mind and an unusual ability to focus on what was important and to put it across to others." He capitalized on these traits and went back to IBM. He eventually became chief executive of the corporation and took it into the computer age. In 15 years, he increased IBM's revenues almost tenfold. What is it that some "ordinary" people possess and others lack? What is that ingredient that catapults some people up and away from the crowd? It is CONFIDENCE. "It's not what you are that holds you back," says entrepreneur Denis Waitley, "it's what you think you are not." Those who believe that they will never do well in a particular area, probably never will. Those who believe they are not good at anything will forever feel inadequate. But those who refuse to let fearful thoughts hold them back, will quickly excel. Steve Goodier mailto:Publisher@LifeSupportSyst em.com Source: Nascent Dew Drops, http://nascentdewdrops.com/ ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: The Voice of Experience . . . Never give up because life gets harder as you get older. After preschool the road of life keeps getting bumpier and bumpier and bumpier. -- Angela Martin, age 11 Never blow in a cat's ear because if you do, usually after three or four times, they will bite your lips! And they don't let go for at least a minute. -- Lisa Coburn, age 9 Don't think life is easy, because when you get older it is hard work. I used to think life was easy, now I have to do the dishes every other day. -- Nick Coleman, age 9 Take risks. I mean, if you like this person and you don't know if they like you, ask them out and see what happens. I liked this girl and I asked her out. She said no and she hates me now, but I took that risk. -- Bruce Wagner, age 13 A realist is more correct about things in life than an optimist. But the optimist seems to have more friends and much more fun. -- Megan, age 14 Source: Power Moose Humor List ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: As a young girl my sister attended a youth activity and was approached by the young women's president there. The president introduced herself and asked my sister her name. She was so nervous she just stared at her and couldn't for the life of her remember what it was. Eventually, embarrassed, she stammered out her name. To which the young women's president replied "Oh yes I know your older sisters. They would never have forgotten their names". To her amazement my sister quickly responded " Of course they wouldn't, they have had theirs so much longer." Thanks, Audrey! ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Tiny Atomic Battery Ithaca, N.Y. -- While electronic circuits and nanomachines grow ever smaller, batteries to power them remain huge by comparison, as well as short-lived. But now Cornell University researchers have built a microscopic device that could supply power for decades to remote sensors or implantable medical devices by drawing energy from a radioactive isotope. This device uses only isotopes that emit beta particles, whose energy is small enough not to penetrate skin Radioactive isotopes can continue to release energy over periods ranging from weeks to decades. The half-life of nickel-63, for example, is over 100 years, and Amit Lal says a battery using this isotope might continue to supply useful energy for at least half that time. And unlike chemical batteries, the devices will work in a very wide range of temperatures. For more information visit: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct02/cantilever.ws.html Source: The Pocket Newsletter, http://www.thepocket.com |