Wranglers and Stranglers
Years ago there was a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed to have amazing creative literary talent. They were would-be poets, novelists, and essayists. They were extraordinary in their ability to put the English language to its best use. These promising young men met regularly to read and critique each other's work. And critique it they did!
These men were merciless with one another. They dissected the most minute literary expression into a hundred pieces. They were heartless, tough, even mean in their criticism. The sessions became such arenas of literary criticism that the members of this exclusive club called themselves the "Stranglers."
Not to be outdone, the women of literary talent in the university were determined to start a club of their own, one comparable to the Stranglers. They called themselves the "Wranglers." They, too, read their works to one another. But there was one great difference. The criticism was much softer, more positive, more encouraging. Sometimes, there was almost no criticism at all. Every effort, even the most feeble one, was encouraged.
Twenty years later an alumnus of the university was doing an exhaustive study of his classmates' careers when he noticed a vast difference in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers as opposed to the Wranglers. Of all the bright young men in the Stranglers, not one had made a significant literary accomplishment of any kind. From the Wranglers had come six or more successful writers, some of national renown such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling.
Talent between the two? Probably the same. Level of education? Not much difference. But the Stranglers strangled, while the Wranglers were determined to give each other a lift. The Stranglers promoted an atmosphere of contention and self doubt. The Wranglers highlighted the best, not the worst.
Never Mind!
Sometimes when nothing goes just right And worry reigns supreme, When heartache fills the eyes with mist And all things useless seem, There's just one thing can drive away The tears that scald and blind -- Someone to slip a strong arm 'round And whisper, "Never mind." No one has ever told just why Those words such comfort bring; Nor why that whisper makes our cares Depart on hurried wing. Yet troubles say a quick "Good-day," We leave them far behind When someone slips an arm around, And whispers, "Never mind." But love must prompt that soft caress- That love must, aye, be true Or at that tender, clinging touch No heart ease come to you, But if the arm be moved by love, Sweet comfort you will find When someone slips an arm around, And whispers, "Never mind!"
Murphy's Laws
Everyone has heard of Murphy's first law: "If anything can go wrong, invariably it will." But hardly anybody has even a foggy idea of who Murphy was.
The search for Murphy's notebooks led to a garage in Toledo, Ohio; an inventor's junk loft in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; and the home of a retired female blackmailer in Sarasota, Florida. It was learned that Murphy had no first name, that he never could hold a job, and that his writings were returned by the post office for insufficient postage.
It seems everything Murphy wrote about had some explanation for why things go wrong. Consider a few more Murphy classics:
- Nothing is ever as simple as it first seems.
- Everything you decide to do costs more than first estimated.
- Every activity takes more time than you have.
- It's easier to make a commitment or to get involved in something than to get out of it.
- Whatever you set out to do, something else must be done first.
- If you improve or tinker with something long enough, eventually it will break.
- By making something absolutely clear, somebody will be confused.
- You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, and that's sufficient.
Believe The ImpossibleEvery great achievement was once impossible until someone set a goal to make it a reality.Lewis Carroll's famous masterpiece Through the Looking Glass contains a story that exemplifies the need to dream the impossible dream. There is a conversation between Alice and the queen, which goes like this:"I can't believe that!" said Alice."Can't you?" the queen said in a pitying tone. "Try again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things.""I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."When you dare to dream, many marvels can be accomplished. The trouble is, most people never start dreaming their impossible dream.
How High Can You Jump?Flea trainers have observed a predictable and strange habit of fleas while training them. Fleas are trained by putting them in a cardboard box with a top on it. The fleas will jump up and hit the top of the cardboard box over and over and over again. As you watch them jump and hit the lid, something very interesting becomes obvious. The fleas continue to jump, but they are no longer jumping high enough to hit the top. Apparently, Excedrin headache 1738 forces them to limit the height of their jump.When you take off the lid, the fleas continue to jump, but they will not jump out of the box. They won't jump out because they can't jump out. Why? The reason is simple. They have conditioned themselves to jump just so high. Once they have conditioned themselves to jump just so high, that's all they can do!Many times, people do the same thing. They restrict themselves and never reach their potential. Just like the fleas, they fail to jump higher, thinking they are doing all they can do.
If You ThinkIf you think you are beaten, you are. If you think you dare not, you don't! If you want to win, but think you can't, It's almost a cinch you won't. If you think you'll lose, you're lost; For out in the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; It's all in the state of the mind. Life's battles don't always go To the stronger and faster man, But sooner or later the man who wins Is the man who thinks he can.Walter D. Wintle
source; http://www.liraz.com/Anecdote.htm
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