The 5-5-5 Plan

Week 47 – 5-5-5 Plan – Theme – Wisdom

 (No Thursday or Friday-thanksgiving)

 

Monday: This is a short week – the week of Thanksgiving and as I was contemplating themes – what I had scheduled and then what I wanted to share for our three days – it came to my mind to share quotes around wisdom – this is something I continually seek and something I’m grateful for – that our life brings wisdom when we seek that and not just experiences.

 

            Quote: Calvin Coolidge once said this: “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity.”

 

            Word: reiterate – A verb meaning to repeat what you’ve stated earlier. It comes from the Latin for “re-traveling.” So when it’s good – or wise – it is worth saying it again – and again – to reiterate – the truth.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Tuesday:

            Quote: Today’s quote comes from Charles Caleb Colton who said, “There is this difference between happiness and wisdom, that he that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool.”

I liked this one because as I seek wisdom I am continually reminded that I am not so wise, or that I have a continual path to follow on it – my dad used to say to me, “The more I know the more I realize how much I don’t know.” It’s like that for me with wisdom.

 

            Word: Ponderous – This adjective means “having great weight.” When a thought is “ponderous,” however, it can be so heavy and unwieldy that it’s actually “dull,” another connotation of the word. I use it here because to gain wisdom it helps to ponder or give thinking some weight –

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Wednesday:

            Quote: Our last quote for this short Thanksgiving week comes from Whittaker Chambers who said, “True wisdom comes from the overcoming of suffering and sin. All true wisdom is therefore touched with sadness.”

I selected this quote because we’re going to be getting together with family and friends and sometimes there has been some suffering – or sadness – just from the loss of family or friends or past hurts –

My wish for you is that you are wise in your dealings with all others and that you have great love and happiness this Thanksgiving season.

 

No word today – I would like each of you to share one or more things you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving.

 

Also, next Monday it’s the beginning of a new week and new month – what will your focus be for the last month of 2008?

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day & have a magnificent Thanksgiving!

 

Week 46 – 5-5-5 Plan – Theme – Problems

 

Monday:  This week’s theme is problems – because we all have them – the world seems to be focused on them – so how do we deal/think about/ move through them –

I’ve found that what I focus on becomes reality so we’re not focusing on problems per se, we are focusing on overcoming problems – on learning ways to work through and be triumphant over problems -

 

Today’s quote is from George Matthew Adams who said, “Nearly all our ills are the result of neglect in some way or other. And this truth may be said to apply to the ills of nations as well. Negligence is at the bottom of all decay. And decay always starts by showing little signs- or warnings. Then is the time to show interest and to be alert. There is nothing quite so easy as to neglect, and nothing quite so difficult as to repair that negligence. Negligence always carries a high price. It costs nothing to avoid it!”

 

            Word: Zenith – From the three “A” words meaning “highest point” to a “Z” word of the same meaning. This noun originally had an astronomical sense of the highest point of a celestial body and comes from Arabic, the language of many great early astronomers.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Tuesday:

            Quote: Malcolm Forbes said “When things are bad we take a bit of comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.”

 

            Word: Pinnacle – another word for “highest point” as well as a common term for a mountain peak – sometimes for problems we feel far away from the pinnacle.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Wednesday:

            Quote: Frank Crane said, “Nobody’s problem is ideal. Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make a success with what material I have. It is sheer waste of time and soul-power to imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different.”

 

            Word: Bathos – (BAY- thoss) This singular noun, coming from the Greek word for “deep,” refers to a literary effect that is overly commonplace or grossly sentimental. Less talented authors unintentionally fall into it, but parodists or satirists may seek it out for effect. (It neatly rhymes with “pathos,” the Greek word for feeling.”

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

 

Thursday: Note: Jeri had her baby! So she called in and Kasey Kay was on the phone with us! What a gift! What a blessing!

 

            Quote: M.D. Garbrick said, “Should one look through a red glass at a white lily, he would seem to see a red lily. But there would be no red lily. So it is with humanity’s problems. They consist of false mental pictures.”

 

            Word: Abject – This adjective describes either a low condition or status or describes something most contemptible or most wretched. Appropriately, it comes from the Latin meaning “thrown aside.”

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Friday:

            Quote: William F. Halsey said our last quote of the week on problems and he said, “All problems become smaller if you don’t dodge them but confront them. Touch a thistle timidly, and it pricks you; grasp it boldly, and its spines crumble.”

 

            Word: Consummate – Note the pronunciation; we’re talking about the adjective form, not the verb (KAHN sum ate). The adjective describes the highest, most complete or perfect form of some quality, whether positive or negative.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

 

 

Week 44 – 5-5-5 Plan – Theme – Philosophy

 

Monday: This week the theme is philosophy and it’s something I’ve been working with and on and around for about 20 years – that we need to have our own personal philosophy – the person who most affected this desire in me was Jim Rohn, a businessman and deep thinker who maintains that it’s our philosophy about life that determines our path and results – so this is a special week for me and our first quote – though long is also wonderful.

 

            Quote: It’s from George Matthew Adams who said, “Every one of us, unconsciously, works out a personal philosophy of life, by which we are guided, inspired, and corrected, as time goes on. It is this philosophy by which we measure out our days, and by which we advertise to all about us the man, or woman, that we are… It takes but a brief time to scent the life philosophy of anyone. It is defined in the conversation, in the look of the eye, and in the general mien of the person. It has no hiding place. It’s like the perfume of the flower – unseen, but known almost instantly. It is the possession of the successful, and the happy. And it can be greatly embellished by the absorption of ideas and experiences of the useful of this earth.

 

            Word: Philosophy – the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, esp. when considered as an academic discipline. And how I mean it: a theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behavior. Our philosophy determines our behavior.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Tuesday:

            Quote: Today’s quote comes from Eric Hoffer who said this about philosophy – “The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.”

Love that thought – the play and dance of ideas –

 

            Word: Ardor – the root of this noun is the Latin word ardere, which means “to burn” and it means burning passion or fiery devotion. The adjective form is ardent. You can feel ardent about a person or an idea as long as it is a very enthusiastic feeling. I have ardor about personal philosophies!

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Wednesday:

            Quote: Today’s quote is sage advice also and comes from Bliss Perry (love that name – Bliss) “To make the most of dull hours, to make the best of dull people, to like a poor jest better than none. To wear a threadbare coat like a gentlemen; to be outvoted with a smile, to hitch your wagon to the old horse if no star is handy – that is wholesome philosophy.”

 

            Word: Vehement – It is possible that this adjective comes from a Latin word for “to carry.” It means characterized by (or carrying) and intense emotion or conviction. People are not vehement, but they do things with vehemence. The word sounds somewhat evil or like a breath mint!

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

 

Thursday:

            Quote: Today we hear from Plutarch who said this simple thing: “Philosophy is the art of living.”

 

Roll call

 

            Word: Venerable – This adjective means “commanding respect because of old age or dignity.” It also has a religious connotation. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is used as a form of address for a person who has reached the first stage of canonization. It comes from the Latin word for “worship.”

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!

 

Friday:

            Quote: Our last quote of this week is from Voltaire who said this, “The discovery of what is true and the practice of what which is good, are the two most important aims of philosophy.”

 

Roll call

 

            Word: Alacrity (a LACK ri tee) This noun refers to speedy and cheerful willingness to do something. It’s most often seen in the phrase “with alacrity.” It comes from the Latin word for “lively.”

 

Joke of the week:

 

This Christian couple felt it important to own an equally Christian pet. So, they went shopping.

At a kennel specializing in this particular breed, they found a dog they liked quite a lot. When they asked the dog to fetch the Bible, he did it in a flash. When they instructed him to look up Psalm 23, he complied equally fast, using his paws with dexterity. They were impressed, purchased the animal, and went home.

 

That night they had friends over. They were so proud of their new dog and his skills, they called in the dog and showed off a little. The friends were impressed and asked whether the dog was able to do any of the usual dog tricks as well. This stopped the couple cold, as they hadn’t thought about “normal” tricks.

 

Well, they said, “Let’s try this out” Once more they called the dog and they clearly pronounced the command, “Heel!” Quick as a wink, the dog jumped up, put his paw on the man’s forehead, closed his eyes in concentration and bowed his head.

 

You Create Your Day by the way You Think! Be Present!

Go make it a Magnificent Day!