Lesson of the wine palm nut. This nut takes 3 years to sprout and sometimes does not sprout at all. It has been found that if you put the seed in water and you let it swell then dry it out it never germinates. But if it is frozen, then has boiling water poured on it, then it is emersed in water it will sprout in under 6 months. The harsh treatment proves beneficial.

Answer any of the following:

What life lessons do you think as people we can learn from this nut?

Why is this nut lesson not taught more?

Have you heard of this before?

Do you have any other life lessons like this from the world to share?

"Happiness is found in doing not merely in possessing"

I have found in life that when I focus too much on receiving happiness from having something I end up not satisfied. I have found more joy in giving than possessing and in the process of attaining than the attaining itself.

What do you think?

I thought I would do an F word day given that it is Friday.





4-Positive F words

Faith – This is something that really helps me.

Father – I have an amazing father, he has been an excellent role model for me and a great source of support, inspiration and wisdom.

Ford, Henry – His life is one of the highlighted ones in Think and Grow Rich.

Friends – I have great friends.


2 (4) letter positive F words

Free – I like to give things for free especially when they have value. It shocks people and draws them to you. It also makes them curious about you having an angle. It is entertaining when they find you do not have an angle.

Food – Healthy food is very positive in life for me. I eat as many of the top 20 foods that I can daily. Top – based on bodybuilding, health and fitness and medical studies. Green tea, blueberries, salmon (wild), 85 percent dark Cocoa, almonds, egg whites and water.

So when I hear a negative F word, now I just think of all of the positive F words that are out there. What positive F words do you know?

There are so many great people that read my blog when I read their blogs I am inspired to do better in my life as well. People get knocked down but they come right back up with a positive outlook regardless of circumstance. I really love that trait in people the fight to live out their dreams.

I know that I have more female readers of my blog than male readers for whatever reason so that inspired me to write about a great female success story. The lady is Yrma Rico and she has been an incredible performer in the business world. She was a single mother of 2 and she ended up being one of the founders of a company that turned into Univision (a 21 station hispanic television network) and now runs an autodealership.

What really impressed me was her willingness to work three jobs to make it happen and to be able to support 2 kids at the same time.

It really is very inspiring to read about people doing well in circumstances when doing well in not expected.

The following story is about one of the top motivating people in my life. I have read this story over and over and I can always hardly beleive that it is true. How can a guy walk on his hands for 160 hours plus without sleeping? If a person is able to have his legs blown off and is still able to not only remain positive but to go to higher heights than the average even dreams about. What is possible in my life? What is the most I am capable of? What can I do to improve in my life? Is this person here to show the world what is possible? Does this person exist to remind us what most of us have to be grateful for? I get tons of questions that flow through my mind as I read stories like this.

Thank you again for all of the kind emails and letters of encouragement.


My favorite part is where he says "they took my legs not my heart". Incredible.





WHEELCHAIR-BOUND INSPIRATION

Bob Wieland, who lost his legs in Vietnam 34 years ago, finished the Los Angeles marathon Saturday, March, 8, 2003, after 173 hours and 45 minutes. It took 57-year-old Wieland of Arcadia, Calif., more than one week to cover the more than 26 miles. He used only his hands and torso.

Bob Wieland lost his legs in Vietnam, but that did not stop him. He is known for his walk across America. Last week during the LA marathon, he walked without sleeping for 163 hours and met a homeless person who is now working for him!

“Mr. Inspiration”, as Bob is known, was featured as the Person of the Day on Connie Chung on her March 10th show. He is scheduled to be on an upcomong Bryant Gumble show. The unstoppable Bob Wieland has truly inspired the world with his amazing achievements.

Bob Wieland’s life sparkles with courage and greatness. Bob lost his legs in Vietnam via a mortar round while trying to rescue a fellow soldier. Bob was born and raised in Greenfield, Wisconsin and was an all-star athlete well on his way to being a professional baseball player. Rather than dwelling on his lost baseball career, Bob chose to focus on the challenges that were ahead. In his words, “I lost my legs, not my heart.”

Bob Wieland is one of those rare few who can speak from the depth of a LIFE ACHIEVEMENT. What’s more, his passionately motivating style creates a desire to excel in audiences. He’s a role model whose words you hang on to for inspiration, because he’s THE REAL THING. In thousands of appearances from 10 to 10,000 strong. Bob has a way of touching hearts… making people want to give just a measure more.

Author of One Step At A Time and a member of the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, Bob has been encouraging audiences for over 15 years, creating an awareness of not just his accomplishments, but of time honored PRINCIPLES OF ACHIEVEMENT. He is blessed with a speaking style that makes each person in the audience feel like he is speaking directly to them, one-on-one. His honors and public/product endorsement are extensive. His programs are not crass sensationalism, but a practical complement to your organizational goals.

AWARDS

* 1996, Named “The Most Courageous Man in America” by the NFL Players Association and the Jim Thorpe Foundation
* 1994, Voted “One of the Six Most Amazing Americans in the Past 20 Years” by People Magazine
* 1989, U.S. Marine Corps Marathon, “Most Inspirational” Award
* 1989, Healthy American Fitness Leader Award, United States Jaycees
* 1988, recipient of the prestigious Victory Award
* 1986, Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, California State University
* 1977-78, California’s Outstanding Disabled American Veteran
* 1971-72, Wisconsin’s Outstanding Disabled American Veteran

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

* Strength, flexibility, and motivational coach with the professional football team Green Bay packers
* Walked across America on his arms in three years, eight months, six days in 1982-86
* Former 4-time world record holder in the bench press with best lift of 507 pounds
* Completed the New York, Los Angeles, and Marine Corp Marathons
* Only double amputee to complete the grueling Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii
* Hosting 1992 television talk show Beating the Odds on national Sports Channel America
* Faculty member, outstanding graduate, and alumnus of California State University, Los Angeles
* Completed 6,200 mile bike circuit, twice across America in conjuction with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

I am grateful for a number of people and events.

What are you grateful for in the past two weeks? People or events.

Charities-non-political and non-religious-

I am interested in ideas for charitable giving. I have been very blessed in business, so I look to find ways to give back. I have some of my own ideas but I am more interested in what other people are doing if you have any charities that you give to I would like to hear which ones they are and what you like about them.

J.R. Salzman, is a blogger that I have a great deal of admiration for he has undergone an amputation during his service in the Iraq military. I really feel grateful for people that are able to remain positive while they are going through a challenge. I dropped him a line wishing him the best. It makes me feel good to do that and I hope that it can make a difference. Maybe if every single person that reads this sends him a kind word of encouragement maybe that might make him and the send feel better as well?

Here is an entry from his blog:

“Thursday, December 21, 2006
3:16:24 AM

it is hard for me to tell you all this but i was hurt by an ied here. my right arm has been amputated below the elbow, my left has four working fingers. my legs are fine so l can still logroll! i am on my way to the hospital in germany, then back to the states for more care. i am in high spirits. i am going to be ok, but i will have a long road to recovery. please remember me in your prayers, as well as those who were injured with me. i will let you know more as time passes.”

What great courage the guy has his arm amputated and he is thankful that he can still log roll. That is incredible stuff.

www.jrsalzman.com

This weekend I was reading a story about one of the founders of a large company. He challenged a charitable group he was going to donate to a pull-up contest and he agreed to make a large donation if any of the people in the group could beat him in a pull-up contest. He was over 40 and did 25 pull-ups the best any of the people he competed against did was 15.

I thought this was very clever on his part. He set up a physical challenge not only for them but also for himself. Charity combining with physical fitness like this is something that I found very unique and interesting.

I thought to myself could this challenge others to start doing similar things?

I am always grateful when I can find things like this to read about. It challenged me to get better at pull-ups. Mine has been about 15. Palms facing away is a pull-up.

A few things I have on my daily checklist:

Business activity number

Spiritual activity number

Diet activity number

I am constantly looking for ideas to improve in all of these areas of my life. I am not fat, poor or non-spiritual. I just find it fun improving. I feel like I am living a dream eveyday and I have greater dreams ahead and I am willing to pay the price of improvement to make them come true.

This blog is just a journal of things that I like am inspired by. Now I have to make sure that I can get up to doing that many. I have seen the “I will run miles for comments" on other blogs, maybe I can do pull-ups or pushups or a personal business activity?

I read a story some time back it was about a A mountain climber who cut off his own arm to escape a rock-climbing accident in Utah.

His name is Aron Ralston I have an article about him on my wall in my office that I show to people. Even though the story is not recent I just hung the story up recently and I will keep it there as a reminder of what truely difficult challenges can be and how they can be overcome.

I really enjoy stories of courage like that and I enjoy keeping them around me as reminders. Things like this make me very grateful.

I am so excited sometimes I find it hard to unwind and fall asleep. I love what I do and have so much to be grateful for. I entered the search "I am so excited I can't sleep" to see what other people can not sleep over.

Some of the examples were:

An upcoming trip the next day
Buying a new car the next day
A person getting out of prison the next day

I do not have anything going on at that level, but it feels great.