Thinking of ME!

Happy New Year you reality driven driver!

Nothing heavy here, just the fact that you must be responsible for YOU. That means that you have to improve yourself, constantly, in order to be of value to the human condition. Objectivism is about this given reality. Altruism requires you to debase and ultimately destroy yourself so that someone else can live; this is not good, but it is happening every day in the way we shackle our innovators, tax our creators of prosperity, and ultimately relinquish our freedoms in an ever-growing socialistic trend here in these United States.

We believe in a "hand-up". This is very different than the sanctioned robbery, through taxation and loss of freedoms, so as to create an environment where everyone is the same. Everyone is not the same! Yes, before the law we are to be treated the same. But beyond that, it is our own decisions and ultimately our behaviors that have a significant impact on the progress or lack of progress of our lives.

SO..... tomorrow you have the choice to act on the fact that you are responsible for you, and by doing so, you may find happiness and contentment in that which you create, in union with others, of your own free will.

Happy New Year Driver!

In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

El Pasito

In the Costa Rican culture, the manger and nativity image, were historically the focal center of the household during Christmas time. Families would create magnificent and intricate adornments such as landscapes, lighting arrangements (candles prior to the 20th century), fruits and other miniatures. El Pasito (the manger image) would occupy a large part of the living room space and would come together in the first days of December and be in place until the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th).

During this time families would visit one another; tamales,coffee and sweets breads would be served, and rosaries said in honor of the child Jesus. In most communities these were the most special events of the year. Until the modern era, probably up to the beginning of the First World War, Christmas eve was the epicenter of the season and Christmas day a holy day of obligation with families attending mass, as much of the population was Roman Catholic. Gifts were not exchanged until January 6th, as was the custom in Spain, emblematic of the gifts brought by the Wise Men to the child Jesus some time after his birth.

Today, the globalization of societies provides images of Santa (English and Norwegian), the Christmas Tree (German), and a host of other multicultural adaptations (we received gifts on January 6th by placing the largest shoe in the house (my grandfather's) outside our door - a tradition he brought back from Spain in the mid-1930's, and one which I keep alive with my family - this is a bonus to the "normal" gifts on the 25th - Lovely!).

Yet, El Pasito, continues to be the image that symbolizes the love we have towards one another, in whatever fashion of "family" we may experience. The birth of a child is the ongoing covenant that the human race has the potential to improve itself. El Pasito reminds us of this great hope!



In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

New Banking Belle of the South - Barrons 11-21

UNTIL RECENTLY CHARLOTTE, N.C., WAS THE booming banking hub of the South, home to Bank of America (ticker: BAC) and Wachovia. BofA's woes are well documented, and Wachovia was rescued last year by Wells Fargo (WFC).
In nearby Winston-Salem, meanwhile, the much smaller BB&T (BBT) quietly and profitably has been building a bigger footprint across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The bank now is a big player in its own right, with assets of $165 billion and a stock-market capitalization of $17 billion.
If BB&T's revenue continues to rise and loan defaults subside, its shares could rally at least 30%, into the low-30s, from Thursday's 24.68. BB&T "is going to be a leader coming out of this cycle," says Lisa Welch, portfolio manager of the John Hancock Regional Bank Fund (FRBAX), which owns shares.
Launched in 1872, BB&T bills itself as "The Best Bank in Town," playing up its status as a community bank with strong customer relationships. That business model has helped its stock hold up well. With a total return this year of negative 5%, BBT has outperformed the KBW Regional Banking Index, which is down 28%.

BBT often wins praise for its solid underwriting and strong revenue growth. But its commercial-real-estate portfolio, amounting to roughly 17% of its $107 billion book of loans and leases, has been cause for concern. "It's clear they have somewhat heavier exposure to commercial real estate than some of their peers," says Jerry Senser, co-portfolio manager of MainStay ICAP Equity (ICAUX), a large-cap value fund that owns the stock. "But historically, they have run a very conservative credit culture, and they will ultimately weather this storm and generate strong earnings."
As of Sept. 30, BB&T held $1.3 billion of foreclosed real estate. But the amount of foreclosed property on its books is leveling off. The largest foreclosed asset is valued at $19 million -- chump change compared with many real-estate developments that have gone awry. BB&T doesn't lend money for huge real-estate projects, which has "kept us out of a lot of the high-rise projects that basically have no rents today," says Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible.
Like many banks, BB&T slashed its dividend earlier this year to conserve capital. It now pays out 15 cents a quarter, down from 47 cents, and sports a 2.4% yield. It has repaid the government its $3.1 billion in TARP, or Troubled Asset Relief Program, funds, and its Tier 1 common equity as a share of risk-weighted assets is a solid 8.4%.
Another closely watched measure -- the percentage of net loan charge-offs -- was 1.71% at the end of the most recent quarter, down slightly from the previous quarter. That's far lower than peers such as SunTrust Banks (STI), at 3.33%, and Regions Financial (RF), at 2.86%.
View Full Image

Davis Turner/Bloomberg News


Early-stage delinquencies showed some signs of stabilizing, as well. Loans 30 to 89 days past due totaled just under $1.7 billion, below the level of three months ago.
THE MOST NETTLESOME PART of BB&T's commercial- loan portfolio is acquisition, development and construction, or ADC, loans, which bankroll smaller residential developments. As of Sept. 30, nonaccruing assets in that category were a high 12.08%. But these loans, totaling $6.3 billion, account for only about 6% of the portfolio. BB&T Chief Executive Kelly King told analysts last month that the portfolio was "under control" and adequately reserved, though he added the bank expects to see "further deterioration."
BB&T's residential mortgage business doesn't hold a lot of subprime loans. Nonaccruals stood at 4.31% at the end of the quarter, although the percentage was much higher on Florida properties. Fortunately, the bank's exposure to Florida is much smaller than its presence in markets such as the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia. Mortgage banking accounted for income of $144 million, up from $83 million a year earlier.
Amid the downturn, BB&T has been increasing revenue at a healthy clip, thanks to businesses such as mortgage banking and insurance brokerage. And, unlike Regions and SunTrust, BB&T continues to be profitable. It posted earnings of 23 cents a share in the third quarter, down from 65 cents a year earlier. Revenue rose an impressive 16%, helped by a rise of a 12th of a percentage point in net interest margin -- the difference between what the bank receives on its loans versus what it pays depositors.
The Bottom Line
Unlike competitors, BB&T has remained profitable amid the financial crisis. Its shares could rally at least 30%, to the low 30s, from today's 24.65.
A big factor behind that margin expansion was the August acquisition of Colonial Bank, which gives BB&T a bigger foothold in Alabama and Florida. It's a good deal, because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. covers most of the losses on assets acquired from Colonial. The Colonial deal also boosts client deposits, nearly $104 billion at the end of the quarter versus $80 billion a year earlier. Last year's money-market crisis helped BB&T gain new deposits, as did the troubles of competitors such as Wachovia.
If the economy continues to improve, BB&T's stock could gain 30%, says MainStay ICAP's Senser. Other investors see even greater upside. In almost all ways, BB&T is poised to best competitors as the financial crisis recedes.



In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

My Lord God

Shared by my friend Abbot Placid Soliari, OSB - Abbot of Belmont Abbey Monastery at a time of pain and confusion.

MY LORD GOD,

I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannnot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may not know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in he shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to the face of my perils alone.
Thomas Merton - thoughts in solitude.

Re: Liberals vs. Conservatives

I do not often react to the blogsphere or the chain email, please see my comments at the end if so inclined.

Whether you're "liberal" or "conservative", this is an interesting list:

If a conservative doesn�t like guns, he doesn`t buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn�t like a talk show host,he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don�t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn�t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it�s a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

'Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist

' IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!


Mr. X, this is interesting. First it assumes that liberals and conservatives have the means ($'s, power, influence) to legislate or at least influence their peddlers in congress and through the media. Most of my well-to-do latino and non-white amigos are middle-to-right, notably the cubans and well-born whatevers, and they do try to influence accordingly. The vast majority of the poor whites, blacks and others I have encountered, through my wife's work with probono medical assistance, line up for the hand up/or hand out however you want to frame it. In 2009 the poor white is still the most blatant racist given that he is "still better than an X, XX or a XXX ". Yet the poor whites really do not have a voice, more of a rage against what was "once ours" coming through rose colored glasses. The fight is in the middle, where the decline in the % of the white population's "culture" is being riled-up by the vast demographic changes; and the rights mongrels - from civil rights to my "preference rights" - activists wage ferociously or at least loudly.



Now, like it or not, there is a vast momentum to "socialize" so as to equalize, frankly it is easier for a communist to become a fascist than it is for a capitalist. The comm/fascist wants totalitarian control, the capitalist wants freedom and small government. So the war is not really between conservative and liberal; it is between freedom and the lack of it. We already know how successful comm/fascist governments have fared; how about taking the chains off so that economic progress can reduce the polarity, even as the fringe will always be with us.


In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

Self-preservation

Moral Judgement is what we inevitably must render upon others relative to their actions and pronouncements. Many confuse this conclusion as outside our authority since it is a common belief that only the "law" and "god" are capable of judging any person or group of persons. Yet, every day, we make assessments through observation, through here-say, and through our own biases about others, individuals and groups. Therefore it is disingenuous and possibly hypocritical that we should not, even as we do. However, we can not and must not evade the optical and conclusive evidence of the moral behavior and beliefs of individuals, groups or institutions. We clearly understand that Nazism was inherently evil in the destruction of fellow human beings different from a chose "higher class" of beings. We know that certain regimes around the world espouse doctrinal and interrelated political and religious beliefs, that when at odds with other forms of societal and religious or non-religious ways, fully disregard these as heretical and propose annihilation of the non-conformist. We are not too far removed in this "post-racial" period of the American experience when individuals of a different race or religious faith or nationality need "not apply" for jobs outside of menial labor; "not in my neighborhood" exclusion from housing and school choices; should worship to the chosen god, but not in my church.

There is a vast difference from bigotry and discrimination without knowledge of the individual in question and the judgement we must levy against others regarding their actions and pronouncements. If Hector is a cheat in his business dealings, then others will find out and avoid doing business with Hector and his economic demise will be certain. If the quality of eduction in a certain school is less than what the norm establishes, then parents will move their children to better schools, and should act to remove the incompetent teachers and administration as just desserts.

Individuals have the need to judge out of self-preservation. If exclusion and oppression is how a group treats certain individuals or others, then it is the responsibility of the oppressed to move away or stand and fight for their moral rights. It is very interesting to see how some people who judged indiscriminately, when faced with the reality of the worth or perseverance of an individual, can choose to evade the reality, but they can not change the reality. Then cognitive dissonance occurs and they must change their beliefs or accept consensual ignorance, which many choose to do so as to remain a member of their "group" for fear of being outcast due to their change in beliefs, which ultimately is becoming a mental slave. Only free people can use reasoning and independent thinking to assess reality, and through induction and deduction, make up their own minds about what is truth and what is not. You can not delegate your thinking, and when you do so, then you cease to be a valid contributor to your society. Things may be what they seem to be, but only you, alone with your own mind and empirical evidence can make that assessment.

Thinking and being are co-dependent and individual actions, the aggregation of such individuals form societies that are either moral or not. You either are or you are not.

Under Attack by Suzanne B. Leitner

Under Attack, 2001
- by Suzanne Baldwin Leitner

When I hear the paws of doubt
come around
claws ragged, pads worn
from scratching at my door
I know hunger drives
this wild dog to my
house. And sorrow. Hunger
and the smell of burning.
Rain blinds it, makes it stop
and sniff at every bush and stump
for a rabbit or scrap
or scent. Its coat is matted
with blood of things it has battled
and dirt from wallowing in holes.
I have to let it in, this wolf
with the high belly, tense haunches
to show it I am not afraid. I know
if I feed it, soothe it
whisper to it
in low tones of the opposites
that lie with, in each other, it
will tame itself back
into the spirit of faith
it used to be.
Then, I might again be me.


In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

My America

The United States of America is the greatest nation conceived by the mind of Man. Our founders brought forth from the Enlightenment the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Freedom. The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the American Constitution are amongst the most significant documents crafted in the history of mankind. This novel "concept" has withstood anarchy, sedition, invasion, economic devastation, and treason, internal and external strife. The entire world, whether they wish us good or ill can not evade the fact that a more perfect union has ever existed. This nation, because of freedom, has not been or is not without it's contradictions, yet it continues to be driven, by the aforementioned values, towards equality before the law. Being "american" is often ridiculed as arrogant, ignorant, and oppressive; most often without merit and some well deserved. Yet, being "American" is desired the world over, that is why so many want to be here. It is the contribution of its early settlers from the British Isles, the Dutch, Africans and Spaniards; then enhanced by Germans, Irish, Italians, Greeks, and Chinese in the 19th century and augmented in the 20th century by Russian Jews, Poles, Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Koreans, Vietnamese and most recently Mexicans and Central Americans that has created a rich, if often controversial, texture unknown since the days of the Pax Romana.

Today the United States of America is the undisputed economic, military and cultural leader without peers. We can attribute this to our system of government, as maligned as it may often appear to be; to the ingenuity of its people; and finally to the fact that only free men and women can use reason and independent thinking towards their own progress. We enjoy prosperous communities, but not because of some level of mandated sustainment, but because of the economic freedom of our innovators and entrepreneurs, and the fact that pride and self-worth are mostly derived by one's own effort and toil, not from handouts, yet many times sparked by hand-ups.

So, tomorrow we celebrate not only our independence, but the critical ingredients that have shaped and sustained it. And we must never forget that we have pledged our lives and fortunes, over and over again, to defend this precious notion of freedom. We will never be completely secure, we will never be without conflict and we will never be without hardships. In My America I will gladly give up my security than to give up my rights, and for these I am willing to die. Congratulations on being able to enjoy all the benefits of freedom. This new world order is indeed the Pax Americana!

Luis G. Lobo, Frederick, MD


In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

Staying the Course

By BJ Gallagher

Our journey of life is about progress,
not perfection.
It's not about doing one thing
100% better -
it's a matter of doing 100 things,
1% better each day.

Progress is evolutionary
not revolutionary,
and most days we measure our progress
in inches,
not miles.

What matters most
is showing up for your life
whether you feel like it
or not.

Ask yourself,
"What two or three little things
can I do today
that would move me forward?"

You'll be amazed
at how much distance
you can cover
by taking it in increments.

The little things add up;
the inches turn to miles;
and we string together our efforts
like so many pearls.
Before long,
look what you have -
a whole strand!

Ah... beautiful.

For more information or to look inside this beautiful book by BJ Gallagher (my co-author in Learning to Dance in the Rain), please click here.

Live with Passion,

Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths





In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

IF - Shared by my friend of 30 years Justo Garcia

Rudyard Kipling's Verse
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!





In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

Permanent Change - How?

The immutable three steps to permanent change are:

1. It Must be led by Position Power - ie, the driver-leader.

2. We must discuss publicly and constantly "why" are we doing this?....

3. It must be measured down to the individual and made public on a timely basis.

Then, you must take appropriate action - those that are improving get to
play, those that do not can no longer play.


Most organizations get the first two and believe that change will come about because of the "new" process implemented or the fact that we are talking about it "a lot".

The reality is that most do not want to go to #3 because of their own personal judgements of inadequacy. They forget that their avoidance, or evasion, will be the undoing of their own situation and that of their organization. This inaction is also a violation of the value of Justice. It is an injustice to the producer that the unproductive get the same treatment.

So, here we are, having touched the rim after many, many tries. We can not and will not go back. The leaders will continue forward even as their teams change in composition and they rise to their unknown potential.


In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

I received the wretching news of the passing of one of my hang-out friends from HS last night. It is not that we were such great friends, but I guess it allowed me to reflect on the portions of his life that I recall. I do not judge anyone, but recall a tremendous desire to be liked, to be loved, to be accepted - sound familiar? Dead at 48 from a heart attack. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!!!!

Next theme....

Ghandhi's Seven Root Cause of Violence
Wealth without Work
Pleasure without Conscience
Knowledge without Character
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
Politics without Principles
Commerce without Morality





In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

It's Only Rain

Written by my friend Charlie McCurry - see CharlieMcCurry.com



Why all these tears
Why all this pain
Just dry your eyes my child
It's only rain

Beyond these clouds
Sky blue, the same
Just dry your eyes my child
It's only rain

Sometimes this life
can be so cruel
But it won't last too long
It's up to you

Why all these tears
Why all this pain
Just dry your eyes my child
It's only rain
It's only rain
It's only rain

Charlie McCurry

In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

shared by Gerardo Chaves, retired correspondent of La Nacion in Costa Rica, a frind of my father in their youth.

The Pickle Jar

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside
the
dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would
empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar.

As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as
they were dropped into the jar . They landed with a merry jingle when
the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull
thud
as the jar was filled.

I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper
and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun
poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would
sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the
bank.

Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production . Stacked
neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and
me on the seat of his old truck...

Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me
hopefully. 'Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill,
son You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going
to
hold you back.'

Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across
the
counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly 'These
are
for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life
like me.'

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream
cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk
at
the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few
coins nestled in his palm. 'When we get home, we'll start filling the
jar again.' He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar.
As
they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each
other. 'You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and
quarters,'
he said. 'But you'll get there; I'll see to that.'

No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop
his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the
mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a
single dime was taken from the jar...

To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup
over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined
than ever to make a way out for me. 'When you finish college, Son,' he
told me, his eyes glistening, 'You'll never have to eat beans again -
unless you want to.'

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another
town.
Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom,
and
noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and
had
been removed.

A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser
where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and
never
lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith.
The
pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than
the
most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife
Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my
life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how
much
my dad had loved me.

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the
holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each
other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild.
Jessica
began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. 'She
probably needs to be changed,' she said, carrying the baby into my
parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living
room, there was a strange mist in her eyes.

She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me
into
the room. 'Look,' she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on
the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had
never
been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered
with
coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and
pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I
dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying
Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I
knew
he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.


This truly touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes we
are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our
blessings.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture
you can change a person's life, for better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some
way.
Look for Good in others.

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they
must
be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller

- Happy moments, praise God.

- Difficult moments, seek God.

- Quiet moments, worship God.

- Painful moments, trust God.

- Every moment, thank God.




In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL

"Making Peace" by Suzanne Baldwin Leitner

Making Peace

As a child I loved
dandelions.
Once grown, I bought
into the ads, glossy pages
of garden magazines
alerting me to the enemy
status of the weed.
I began to loathe them
spending springtime cursing them
trying to dig them out
while their roots
shrank back in the clay
retreating and curling back
into the ground
burying themselves deeper
for a more glorious resurrection.
I hated them for trying
to grow where they weren’t wanted
and couldn’t admit
they didn’t harm my flowers
if you don’t count the collateral damage
from my violent attempts
at uprooting them.
The more I focused my anger
on them, the better they grew.
This spring I have decided
a truce is in order. Looking out
I recall how, as a child, I loved
those buttery dots that mixed
with the grass and clover behind our house
and on my school’s ball field
the many minutes I spent blowing
on their spider web heads
casting their seeds
onto the wind to find a home.
To multiply with my blessing.

Suzanne Baldwin Leitner

Why detachment brings regret....

Upon the passing of a professional acquaintance become friend I passed on the obituary to another peer in the financial education world, his comments:I, too was stunned by the passing of Joe. Through his press release, I am reminded of the many things we don't know about the people with whom we interact on a regular basis. For example, I did not know that Joe graduated from the University of Georgia, my Alma mater. I did not know that Joe was a native of Georgia, my home state. I did not know that Joe had done a degree in Journalism at UGA,as I did. I did not know that he had worked for so-and-so, an old colleague of mine, against whom I had managed a congressional campaign for a loosing opponent back in 1976. Joe and I had so many apparent connections and I never knew of a one of them. What fun we could have had talking about those connections! It just shows how important it is to truly "connect" with our various business and social associates. Otherwise, we may never experience the unique pleasures to be found with our fellow travelers.
Peace be with you, my friend.....

My grandfathers' advise on how to deal with fear....

These were part of the contents in a letter sent by my maternal grandfather, Andres Arce, from Costa Rica, on my fear of performing in public (guitar was our common bond). I was probably 15-16 at the time living in Linconton, he was already in his mid-70's, of course the letter is in Spanish so the countour of the phrasing may seem odd.

.... in order to play before the public, or wherever the opportunity presents itself. In this manner you begin to erode the fear or anxiety (this is very pertinent to public speaking). These discomforts we all have, but when we are well prepared and launch into action, all fear disappears; as Gd is in all things and with faith and effort we never fail with him. Forward and never a backwards step, as you are starting to live your life and have your entire future before you. Remember, the world belongs to those that are audacious, thus you must not give importance to failure, as there are no infallible human beings. That is why constancy is the mother of success. Do not forget this! With all my love and affection, Andres