Your Bank Account

This was passed to me through an e-mail. I have no idea who the author is so that I might give him/her credit, but it sure spoke to my heart as I hope it will yours. It's not all about the money.

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This is AWESOME....something we should all remember.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hour s of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

'I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.

'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.'
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

May blessing pour down on you from heaven.
Granny

Time is A Possession


We work, we slave, we spend years in meaningless jobs working late, on the weekends, and we try to convince ourselves it’s because we have to in order to survive. It’s true we have to work in order to provide our families with necessities like food and clothing. But, is all the extra hours and time spent away from our families truly necessary? Are we sure we’re not working those extra hours just so we can afford that new big screen TV or some other materialistic possession we think we need.

Economic times are hard right now. They may get even worse before they get better, if they do. Every weekend I ride down the road and I see more and more cars setting in people’s front yards with for sale signs on them. Neighborhoods filled to over flowing with garage sells and yard sales giving away possessions for next to nothing because their hours have been cut or they’ve lost their job.

It started me wondering. Just how much of what we have can we really live without? What do our possessions really add to our lives? Oh, it’s great to have all the latest technical gadgets and spas, and swimming pools, and the mountain of other items that we cherish, but at what cost.

Instead of working 60 hours a week, could we provide our family with the necessities on 40-hours a week? That’s 20 extra hours a week to spend with those you love. Have you ever sat down and asked your family if they would be willing to forgo some of the material things for extra time together? You may be surprised at the answer. Especially if you have young children. We can learn a lot from kids, if we actually took the time to ask and really listen to them.

When was the last time you sat in the yard, had a tall glass of lemonade, and watched your kids playing kickball or a game of tag? When was the last time you actually rolled in the grass with them giggling, kicking, and just acting silly? Do you remember the last time you and your spouse took a leisurely walk through the park holding hands just enjoying each other’s company?

Time is a precious possession and I fear we may be squandering it away on the wrong things. There are no guarantees in life. There may not be a tomorrow for yourself or your wife, or your child. Will you stand over the casket of a loved one and think to yourself, if only I had taken the time to go to Bobby’s last baseball game or left the office early and had that romantic evening with my wife, but no, I had to work.

It’s a new year and we have no idea what the future may hold. Today is all that we can control. Is it perhaps time you prioritized what’s most important in your life? Do you honestly have to take that weekend business flight or do you only have to take it to impress the boss, or get a promotion. So you’ll miss Susie’s piano recital, “There’ll be another one,” you say. Will there? Maybe, but maybe not.

Time is indeed a possession and I hope that 2009 will allow you amble time to spend on what is most important in your life. For some it will be work, for others material possessions, but time with those we loved cannot be replaced.

There is a time; there is a place for all things. I hope time with loved ones will be at the top of your list of priorities for 2009.

May God Bless.
Granny

AAAAGH Web Technology!

Have you ever tried so hard to figure something out but the more you studied and researched it the muddier things got? I consider myself fairly computer literate, but after weeks of compiling notes I suddenly feel like a blundering idiot when it comes to web technology.

You see, the problem is I've been considering building a web site to sell a few technical e-books I've written. Not so much for the money, although any monies generated would be grand, but more for the experience and knowledge of knowing how to accomplish such a task. I've constructed a few web sites and even know a tad about HTML coding but I feel totally lost when it comes to constructing a website for selling.

Of course, I've ran the gamut of web sites and free e-books on the subject and have even purchased a domain name; but being a bit of a cheep skate and low risk taker when it comes to web selling, I think I've confused myself even more than I was when I began my research.

I did get burned a few years back when my husband and I let some one talk us into setting up an online store for his locksmith business ($3500 worth of burnt) and so I guess I've become leery of getting taken again.

Of course, the old saying nothing ventured, nothing gained keeps popping into my head at the oddest times. From what I've gathered you need a paid web hosting site, because most of the free sites don't allow your own domain, you need a PayPal account or equivalent to receive payments online, and you need a shopping chart like E-Junkie.

So you're probably thinking, yeah that's about it, so what's your problem. Well, there are only like a gazillion web hosting sites and shopping cart options out there, and I have looked at tons of them. The more I look the more confused I get.

However, on the positive side, we are only into the 16th day of 2009, and this being one of my goals for the year, I guess I still have plenty of time to accomplish it; so perhaps I should just chill my brain for a while and then take another stab at figuring out just what I need to do and in what order I need to do it to accomplish this challenge.

Although I have heard it said, that when you get to the point where you are ready to give up on something is about the time when you are just before getting it right. So maybe my frustration means I'm close.

We shall see. Thanks for listening to my babbling.

May God bless you today and keep you healthy and safe.
Granny

Fear Breeds Procrastination

~May you soar to heights yet to be discovered
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The are two types of procrastinators. The first type is comprised of those who tend to put off doing task they might consider insignificant in the grand scheme of things, annoying but necessary tasks such as cleaning, or performing other mundane chores, this is not to say they are lazy. It only attest to their inner anxiety that their time could be better spent doing more important things.

The second type includes those who perhaps feel a bit overwhelmed because the task at hand may seem too big to control, or they may fear completion of the task might have a significant impact on their life. They may be experiencing an unconscious fear that they may not be capable or ready to handle the consequences. For example many writers procrastination may, in fact, be due to the challenge and fearfulness of becoming published or from the simple fear of rejection. It becomes almost like a defense mechanism that gives them an excuse for not completing the task at hand.

Many times procrastination is the result of a person who has set unrealistic or uncertain goals brought on by feelings that they lack the ability or focus to successfully complete their work. They tend to find any excuse to put off the task at hand. They may intentionally or unintentionally set enormous plans that aren't realistic due to their life style. Procrastination can lead to increased feelings of guilt and apprehension. This can soon become a cycle of failure and delay, as plans and goals are put off, penciled into the next day or week and often times leads to the person giving up on their goals.

One key to help over come procrastination is not to think about the task in its entirety, because that can often be overwhelming. Focusing on the completion of a task where you can't even clearly envision all the steps necessary for completion, can bring on stress and the task or goal no longer becomes something you want to do but something you feel forced to do; so you wind up delaying the task as long as possible. By allowing this self-doubt to creep in it robs you of your desire to accomplish the task at hand.

The trick to avoiding this dilemma is to break you goals down into small task or achievable goals that are realistic. For example a writer who wishes to write a novel might be totally overwhelmed at completing a 50,000 to 1000,00 word novel, however if he thinks of it in smaller chunks, such as scenes or chapters the goal doesn't seem as daunting. After all a novel is simply a complied story of scenes. Often times we allow our nasty little subconscious to riddle us with doubt concerning our abilities and before we know it we think that in order to complete the task it must be done to perfection. Perfection only comes with practice, knowledge, and training, which takes time and perseverance.

Sometime procrastination can be the result of knowing that in order to complete the task we know we are going to have to make certain sacrifices. For writers it is often a time issue. "I only have 20 or 30 minutes a day to contribute to writing, I can't possible accomplish anything in that amount of time." Well lets do the math, 30 minutes a day adds up to (7x30) 210 minutes a week which adds up to (210x4) 840 minutes a month, (840 x12) which is 10,080 minutes a year, which is approx 168 hours of writing time. If you only typed say 200 words an hour that's 33,600 words a year. Not bad for 30 minutes of work a day. Of you could say that if you typed 200 words a day for 30 days that would be about 6000 words a month which translates to about 72,000 words a year. By breaking it down into small increments the task no longer seems impossible.

As procrastinators we must learn to over come the fears that are holding us back and not focus on the insurmountable whole but make our accomplishments realistic, so as to avoid failure and the urge to just give up.

As a procrastinator myself, if I am honest this indeed makes perfect sense.

Therefore, in order to accomplish our dreams and goals we must overcome the fear that breads our procrastination tendencies and step out of our comfort zone. We must concede to just do what our heart tells us we need to do. Forget about perfection, forget about the outcome and legitimatly concentrate on the immediate task. One step at a time will get you there. You are not running a marathon you are pursuing a dream.

So to my fellow procrastinator writer friends, I say make 2009 the year you tell Mr. or Mrs. procrastination to go find another partner in crime, because you are no longer going to submit to his/her wily ways.

"She may not have anything to say, but she says it anyway because she is a WRITER and who knows where it might lead.

Happy Writing,
Granny

Happy New Year

Life is a journey. This was e-mailed to me by someone who cares. The secrets to living a happy and successful life are enclosed.

I hope the coming year brings you all the blessing life can offer.

Granny