"Start Where You Stand" by Berton Braley

Start where you stand and never mind the past; 

The past won't help you in beginning new, 

If you have left it all behind at last 

Why that's enough, you're done with it, you're through;

This is another chapter in the book, 

This is another race that you have planned, 

Don't give the vanished days a backwards look, 

Start where you stand.

The world won't care about your old defeats 

If you can start anew and win success; 

The future is your time, and time is fleet 

And there is much of work and strain and stress;

Forget the buried woes and dead despairs, 

Here is a brand-new trial right at hand, 

The future is for him who does and dares, 

Start where you stand.

Old failures will not hald, old triumphs aid, 

To-day's the thing, tomorrow will soon be; 

Get in the fight, and face it unafraid, 

And leave the past to ancient history.

What has been has been; yesterday is dead 

And by it, you are neither blessed or banned; 

Take courage, man, be brave and drive ahead, 

Start where you stand.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach

you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,

because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who

are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

10 Uplifting Quotes About Having Fun With Your Life

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller

“I have learned that you can go anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do and buy all the things that you want to buy and meet all the people that you want to meet and learn all the things that you desire to learn and if you do all these things but are not madly in love: you 

have still not begun to live.” ― C. JoyBell

“Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun.” – Nina Dobrev

“There’s no fear when you’re having fun.” – Will Thomas

“I am going to keep having fun every day I have left, because there is no other way of life. You just have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore.” - Randy Pausch

“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.” ― Bill Watterson

“Do anything, but let it produce joy.” ― Walt Whitman

“The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.” ― Leo Babauta

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” ― Andy Rooney

“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” ― Hans Christian Andersen

Struggles of our Life

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her, he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer”, he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. Life is all about leaning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.