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Believe you can, bible, book, Educational, food, God, homework, Honor, inspire, inspiring, John Mason, kindness, life, Nought and Crosses, Poets, proverbs, quotes, reading, Respect, school, verses, Writers
Be prepared…. I’m going to now type out a whole chapter of a book. Its not that bad don’t worry… this chapter is only four pages long.
I am still reading ‘Believe You can’ by John Mason. Basically because I haven’t had time to read it with the load of homework that seems to be given in every class but now I have been reading at lunch time. Yup. True sign of a geek. Spending your free time out of class eating and reading an educational and inspiring book. My friend that I’m with most lunch times, when we aren’t at a table with like 10 people where we can’t all actually fit but we are determined to, when that doesn’t happen and my friend and I collect a Hot Chocolate and find that our favorite place to sit on the floor in front of the heater is free… I read and so does she 🙂 Yesterday, I was getting so hyped up about how good Noughts and Crosses is that I made her want to read it so now she’ll have to be prepared for me to ask her every couple of days all the details of what she has been reading. We all know Noughts and Crosses is my favorite so that isn’t surprising.
Anyway, one of the chapters that I read today I thought I’d share with you all.
Over one hundred years ago a woman, wearing a faded gingham dress, and her husband, dressed in a threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly into the outer office of the Havard University president. The secretary instantly decided that these backwoods country hicks had no business in Havard. She frowned.
“We want to see the president,” the man said softly.
“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.
“We’ll wait,” the woman replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping they’d become discouraged and go away. They didn’t. The secretary gradually grew frustrated, and finally she decided to disturb the president: “Maybe if you just see them for a few minuted, they’ll leave,” she told him. He sighed and agreed. The president, stern-faced and haughty, strutted toward the couple. The woman began to speak: “We had a son that attended Havard for one year. He loved Havard and was happy hear. About a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus.”
The president wasn’t touched. “Madam,” he said condescendingly, “We can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Havard and then died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery,”
“Oh no,” She explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Havard.”
The President rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and threadbare suit, then exclaimed: “A building! Do you have an earthly idea how much a building would cost? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the buildings at Havard.”
For a moment she was silent. The president was pleased – he could get rid of them now. But she turned to her husband and said, “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don’t we start out own?” Her husband nodded, and they left.
The president’s face clouded in confusion and bewilderment; Mr.and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away and eventually traveled to Palo Alto, California, where they established the university that bear their name – a memorial to a son that Havard no longer cared about.
The president of Havard and his secretary judged the Stanfords by their “Covering” and missed the opportunity for an enormous endowment. This story (though we cannot verify it validity) points out how important it is to see people as God sees them and not to judge them by what they wear, where they live, what they drive, or how they speak. It really is God’s idea to care for people regardless of what they can give or how they appear. Everyone deserves respect and kindness. You will never regret being kind.
What we do for ourselves alone dies with us; what we do for others is timeless. No one is more deceived or cheated than a selfish person.
No man was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. – Calvin Coolidge
Invest in the success of others. When you help someone up a mountain, you’ll find yourself close tot the summit as well.
Proverbs says. “it is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.”
What I gave, I have;
What I spent, I had;
What I kept, I lost.
– Old Epitath
You and I were created to help others. If you treat a person as they are, they will remain the same. I you treat the, as if they were what they could be, they can become what they could be. Practicing the Golden Rule is not a sacrifice; it’s an incredible investment. You grow to the extent you give out. By giving out, you create more room to grow on the inside. So don’t give till it hurts; give till it feels good. Make this commitment:
I will leave others better than I found them.
If you want others to improve, let them hear the nice things you say about them. People will treat you the way you view them. Find the good in everyone; draw out their talents and abilities. To lead people, let them know that you are behind them. It is the duty of all leaders to make it difficult for others to do wrong, easy to do right.
What means most in life is what you have done for others. Most people can smile for two months of five words of praise and a pat on the back. The best way to encourage someone else.
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others con not keep it from themselves. – James Matthew Barrie.
