Category Archives: Recreation

Life’s Tug Of War

Life can seem ungrateful and not always kind.
Life can pull at your heartstrings and play with your mind.
Life can be blissful and happy and free.
Life can put beauty in the things that you see.
Life can place challenges right at your feet.
Life can make good of the hardships we meet.
Life can overwhelm you and make your head spin.
Life can reward those determined to win.
Life can be hurtful and not always fair.
Life can surround you with people who care.
Life clearly does offer its ups and its downs.
Life’s days can bring you both smiles and frowns.
Life teaches us to take the good with the bad.
Life is a mixture of happy and sad.
SO…
Take the life that you have and give it your best.
Think positive be happy let God do the rest.
Take the challenges that life has laid at your feet.
Take pride and be thankful for each one you meet.
To yourself give forgiveness if you stumble and fall.
Take each day that is dealt you and give it your all..
Take the love that you’re given and return it with care.
Have faith that when needed it will always be there.
Take time to find the beauty in the things that you see.
Take life’s simple pleasures let them set your heart free.
The idea here is simply to even the score.
As you are met and faced with Life’s Tug of War.

Time to Breathe

If you only knew the reason, For the sudden change in season. For the trouble that was caused, And the life you put on pause. Halting this life in such a way, Made it hard to see a new day. Burning this day in my skull, Made it hard to reach even for a pull. Almost losing all of my grasp, Not much to grab on to nothing to clasp. And in the end the message is clear, With much to lose but nothing to fear. Even though at times with nothing to see, Strong perseverance will set you free.

Be The Best of Whatever You Are

If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley-but be

The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;

If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass-
But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here,

There’s big work to do, and there’s lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.

If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;

It isn’t by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!

Success

Success is more than arriving – it is also attempting; more than realizing -it is also reaching.
Happiness comes not from having much to live on but having much to live for.
Success never resides in the world of weak wishes, but in the palace of purposeful plans and prayerful persistence.
Pessimism achieves no success over persistence.
Temporary defeat never spells total failure; one victory never assures permanent success.
A real success is one who makes his mark in life without smearing others.
Excellence without effort is as futile as progress without preparation
Work can be our friend or foe, or joy or our woe.
Success, like happiness, is more than a destination – it is a venture; more than an achievement – it is an attitude.
The greatest failure is the failure to try.
Alter your attitude and you will change your life.
Who seeks success, let him prepare.
Improvement is the son of discontent; success is the offspring of preparation.
To emphasize the positive – the affirmative – is to travel the high road of joy.

 

How I Made My Millions

I was working all day and took a break for my supper. I was flipping through the channels and just happened to come across a program, ‘How I Made My Millions’ I snickered when I saw the title of the program thinking, oh this must be one of those info commercials that promises to make you millions and most of the time you end up spending lots of money and making nothing.
The program came on and I was truly motivated by watching and listening. These were ordinary people, like you and me, with good ideas. They not only talked about their idea, they took action and persevered even though many people laughed at their idea. The last laugh is, of course, on those who originally laughed. The people featured on this show are now millionaires, and they persevered and took the steps necessary to achieve their success. Yes, they had setbacks, and rejection, but that did not deter them from continuing. And, it truly paid off for them.
So often we have a good idea but we don’t take action. Or, we are discouraged at the challenges that face us. We give up far too easily, we don’t persevere.
I can remember when I worked for a large corporation, making a decent salary, but no longer enjoying the work I was doing. I wanted to work on my websites but I could not see any way to generate an income that would support my family. After years of frustration, I finally left my corporate job and focused on the websites. With focus and perseverance, I was able to learn and apply many different theories – some worked, others were disastrous, but I never gave up. I can’t tell you how many times I read the saying on my desk – “persistence prevails when all else fails:. I am now generating a good income – I am not a millionaire – yet – but I continually learn and push the envelope.
The purpose in sharing this story with you is to encourage you to take action on your ideas, and to persist! Learn from your failures, overcome the challenges; and, as Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Harvard

Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods country folks had no business at Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambrigde. 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 lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn’t. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave, “she told him. He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham and homespun suits cluttering his office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus. “The president wasn’t touched, he was shocked. “Madam,” he said gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.” “Oh, no” the lady explained quickly, “we don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, “A building!! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard!!” For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, CA where they established the University that bears their name…a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about. “You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.”

Promise Yourself

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

 

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind; * To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet; * To make all your friends feel that there is something in them; * To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true; * To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best; * To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own; * To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future; * To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile; * To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others; * To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble; * To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds; * To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.(C.D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them)

It Couldn’t Be Done!!

Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer working for you

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

But he with a chuckle replied
That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so “till he tried.”
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it.”
But he took off his coat and took off his hat
And the first thing he knew he’d begun it.
With the lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Then take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you’ll do it.

Edgar A. Guest

I’ve Learned …

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don’t care back.

I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.

I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to people that’s important. It’s what they do about it.

I’ve learned that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.

I’ve learned that it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I’ve learned that it’s a lot easier to react than it is to think.

I’ve learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I’ve learned that you can keep going long after you think you can’t.

I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I’ve learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned that learning to forgive takes practice.

I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly, but just don’t know how to show it.

I’ve learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I’ve learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I’ve learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down may be the ones to help you get back up.

I’ve learned that I’m getting more and more like my grandma, and I’m kinda happy about it.

I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I’ve learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I’ve learned that you should never tell a child her dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if she believed it.

I’ve learned that your family won’t always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren’t related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren’t biological.

I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend someone is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I’ve learned that sometimes when my friends fight, I’m forced to choose sides even when I don’t want to.

I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions.

I’ve learned that we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I’ve learned that if you don’t want to forget something, stick it in your underwear drawer.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I’ve learned that the clothes I like best are the ones with the most holes in them.

I’ve learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I’ve learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.

I’ve learned that there are many ways of falling and staying in love.

I’ve learned that no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves, get further in life.

I’ve learned that many things can be powered by the mind, the trick is self-control.

I’ve learned that no matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar, you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them most.

I’ve learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I’ve learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned that writing, as well as talking, can ease emotional pains.

I’ve learned that the paradigm we live in is not all that is offered to us.

I’ve learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.

I’ve learned that although the word “love” can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used.

I’ve learned that it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.

I’ve learned that no matter how fast or how far you go, you can’t outrun God.

I’ve learned that no matter how far away I’ve been, He’ll always welcome me back.

I’ve learned that love is not for me to keep, but to pass on to the next person I see.

I’ve learned that even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, it’s still the wrong thing to do.

Things To Remember

When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.

I find what I look for in people. If I look for God, I find God. If I look for bad qualities, I find them. I, in a sense, select what I expect, and I receive it.

A life without challenges would be like going to school without lessons to learn. Challenges come not to depress or get me down, but to master and to grow and to unfold thereby.

In the Father’s wise and loving plan for me, no burden can fall upon me, no emergency can arise, no grief can overtake me, before I am given the grace and strength to meet them.

A rich, full life is not determined by outer circumstances and relationships. These can be contributory to it, but cannot be the source. I am happy or unhappy because of what I think and feel.

I can never lose anything that belongs to me, nor can I posses what is not really mine.

To never run from a problem: either it will chase me or I will run into another just like it, although it may have a different face or name.

To have no concern for tomorrow. Today is the yesterday over which I had concern.

To never bang on a closed door: Wait for it to open and then go through it.

A person who has come into my life has come either to teach me something, or to learn something from me.

 

15 Ways to Enhance Your Day

Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

 

  • Get up early.
  • Look around outside before going to work
  • Relax and enjoy your meals.
  • Spend time with friends.
  • Pace yourself.
  • Find a quiet place to go to.
  • Praise yourself and others.
  • Develop positive relationships.
  • See your mistakes as stepping stones.
  • Keep track of your own moods so you can watch out for them.
  • Say No without feeling guilty.
  • Learn effective time management.
  • Pay attention to health, diet and sleep.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Keep from comparing yourself to others.

 

About Me

Hi, I’m Ustaad Yusuf,

I work through a lot of challenges, but the big idea is this: life gets better with skill.

I help underdogs, leaders, and achievers make the most of what they’ve got. I have a passion for excellence and a passion for getting results. I’m also a fan of better ways for better days in in the pursuit of GREATNESS!

I am an teacher. This is not just my day job but it’s a lifestyle and calling. As part of my calling, I nurture multiple followers on agile goals. Each goal is a new team, a new adventure, and new lessons learned. I’ve authored several blogs, where I write prescriptive guidance to share and scale patterns and practices for success. ustadhyusuf.com is designed to help you make the most of work and life, using success patterns. It’s also a highly effective time management system.

I’m also an avid mentor at work. I regularly work with several mentees to help them improve their effectiveness. This includes everything from improving communication skills to leadership skills or basic project management.

Over the course of leading many projects, many teams, and many adventures, I’ve learned how to get results and balance life. I continuously invest in what I call my “Life Frame”, which is the hot spots in life: Mind, Body, Emotions, Career, Financial, Relationships, and Fun. I continuously study these hot spots on a quest for the best insights and actions, for work and life. I’m a fan of finding and sharing the principles, patterns and proven practices that work in the real-world under extreme conditions.

Happy Reading!!!