Maguire Here. Going through the archives this week. Found this bit of wisdom from one of the great poets of our age. Words to live by…truly, my friends.

SUCCESS

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people

And affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better;

Whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier

Because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Maguire Here. Thought I’d share a little excerpted “life lesson” — one that finds its way into one of my keynote from time to time — courtesy of Mr. Charles Swindoll. Enjoy.

A Harvard Business School study determined that four factors are critical to the success of any enterprise. Information, intelligence and skill account for approximately 7%. The remaining 93%…ATTITUDE.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people say or think or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home.

We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

– Charles Swindoll

Maguire Here. And here’s a little story (a true one) that I think you’ll appreciate…

The first time I met Colonel Sanders at his office in Louisville Kentucky, I noticed a beautiful needlepoint sign on the wall which read simply “Opportunity is Nowhere.”

I asked him what the sign meant to him. He asked me “What sign?”

I pointed to it and said “That sign, Colonel…the one that says Opportunity is Nowhere.”

He replied “That’s not what it says.”

I respectfully replied, “Colonel, I went to the University…I know how to spell…and that sign
clearly says “Opportunity is NOWHERE.”

“Look at it again,” he said. “Do you see it?” He looked me right in the eye and said to me

“It reads “Opportunity is Now. Here.”’

The lesson of this story is very simple. Life is how you look at it, how you see it, how you believe it to be. I saw “nowhere” the Colonel always saw “Now. Here.”

OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE.

OPPORTUNITY IS NOW. HERE.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t…either way, you’re right.