All we really control is our actions!

You can’t control others’ acts, but you can control your reaction to their acts, and that is what counts most to you.

No one can make you feel any negative emotion — fear, anger, or inferiority — without your express permission. There will always be people who find perverse enjoyment in upsetting others, or who simply play upon your emotions so that they can use you for their own selfish purposes. Whether or not they are successful depends entirely upon you and how you react to their negative behaviors.

When you are forced to deal with such people, recognize from the outset that they are trying to upset you, not because of something you may have done to them, but because of some problem they have with themselves. Tell yourself, “This isn’t about me. I will not allow this person to upset me. I am in control of my emotions and my life.” 

This is a fine world for the person who knows precisely what he or she expects from life and is busy getting it.

We are happiest when we are striving to achieve a goal. When we achieve one goal, it’s a natural human tendency to set another, usually bigger, one. W. Clement Stone calls it inspirational dissatisfaction — the letdown one experiences after a goal has been achieved and before the next step toward a new one has been taken. When you begin to experience that nagging feeling, it’s time to get into action! Make sure you have a long-range plan in place so that when one short-term goal has been achieved, there is a natural progression toward the next.

Isn’t it peculiar that some people are so clever at inventing alibis and so dull at doing the job that would make alibis useless?

If folks did their jobs with half the effort and creativity they waste in a vain attempt to deceive others, they could achieve great success at anything.