Don’t lose your marbles! - John C Maxwell

My friend Dwight Bain sent me a story of a ham radio operator who overheard an older gentleman giving advice to a younger man.


“It’s a shame you have to be away from home and family so much,” he said. “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities. You see, one day I sat down and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about 75 years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in his lifetime.

“It took me until I was 55 years old to think about this in any detail,” he continued, “and by that time I had lived through over 2,800 Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”

He went on to explain that he bought 1,000 marbles and put them in a clear plastic container in his favorite work area at home. “Every Saturday since then,” he said, “I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There’s nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”

Then the older gentleman finished, “Now let me tell you one last thought before I sign off and take my lovely wife out to breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday, then I have been given a little extra time.”

We can’t choose whether we will get any more time, but we can choose what we do with it.

Taken from here

¡No pierdas tus canicas! - John Maxwell

My amigo Dwight Bain me envió la historia de un operador de radio que escuchó por casualidad a un anciano aconsejando a un joven

"Es una lástima que tengas que estar lejos de tu casa y tu familia tanto tiempo" dijo. "Déjame decirte algo que me ha ayudado a mantener una buena perspectiva acerca de mis propias prioridades. Mira, un día me senté e hice un poco de aritmética. La persona promedio vive aproximadamente 75 años. Ahora entonces, multipliqué 75 por 52 y obtuve 3900, que es el número de sábados que la persona promedio tiene en su tiempo de vida.

"Me di cuenta de esto cuando tenía 55 años", continuó, "y para cuando había vivido más de 2800 sábados. Me puse a pensar que si vivía hasta los 75, tendría cerca de mil restantes para disfrutar”. Entonces contó que compró 1000 canicas y las puso en un tarro en su área de trabajo favorita de la casa. "Cada sábado desde ese entonces" dijo él, "tomo una canica y me deshago de ella. Me doy cuenta que al ver que las canicas disminuyen, me concentro más en las cosas que realmente importan en la vida. No hay nada como ver cómo tu tiempo en esta tierra se acaba para ayudarte a ordenar correctamente tus prioridades"

El anciano finalizó con estas palabras "Ahora déjame que te diga una última cosa antes de salir a desayunar con mi adorable esposa. Esta mañana, me deshice de la última canica del frasco. Creo que si sigo vivo para el próximo sábado, es porque se me ha concedido un tiempo extra".

No podemos elegir el que nos dejen vivir un poco más, pero sí podemos decidir qué hacer con el tiempo que tenemos.

Conviction is the key - Zig Ziglar

The late Mary Crowley frequently commented that one person with a conviction would do more than a hundred who only had an interest. Commitment is the key to staying the course and completing the project. Conviction always precedes commitment.

When we’re convinced as a salesperson that we are selling a marvelous product, our demeanor, body language, voice inflection, facial expressions – everything – communicate to the prospect that we fervently believe we’re offering something of value. Many times the prospect will buy not because of their belief in the product, goods or service, but because of the belief of the salesperson.

Our feelings are transferable. Courage can be and frequently is transferred to the other person. Convictions are the same. The teacher who fervently believes in the message he or she delivers will persuade the student by the very depth of that conviction. One of my favorite Mary Kay Ash quotes is, “Many people have gone a lot farther than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.” In short, their confidence, born of someone else’s conviction, had enabled them to “make it.” Conviction comes from knowledge and a “feeling” that what we’re teaching, doing, selling, etc., is absolutely right. When we transfer that conviction to those in our sphere of influence, they and society benefit.

Show me a person with deep convictions and I’ll show you a person who’s made a commitment to deliver those convictions to others. Show me a great leader and I’ll show you a person of deep convictions who is able to attract followers because of those convictions. I’ll also show you a person who is happy in what they’re doing and far more successful than those who do not have those convictions. Buy that idea; develop those convictions; make that commitment and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

from here