DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don't give up though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out- The silver tint of clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems far, So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit- It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

HOW TO CHOOSE A PROFESSION

In deciding upon a profession, you must now take a new look at the professions and reconsider what professional activity really implies. It constitutes your service and your contribution to the welfare and progress of the entire society in which you are living. Professional life is self-giving, is giving of oneself for the service of and benefit and happiness of all beings. Its income bringing aspect is secondary and not primary. This must be clearly understood. It must be subordinated to the basic ideals of self-giving and service. Otherwise man is not a man. He is but a beast in human form, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As long as you have a body, you have to work hard for your livelihood. You have to struggle hard to provide yourself with the necessities of physical existence—food, clothing, shelter, medical aid. But your efforts to earn your livelihood should not be immoral, unethical or unrighteous. Right conduct should be the basis of your professional or business activities. Ply a trade, do a business, be a farmer, be a doctor, it will not come in the way of your attaining supreme success in life provided you ever adhere to right conduct. Similarly, your social life should not become mere frivolity, dissipation, extravagant entertainment and a waste of time, energy and money in meaningless status keeping. Social life has to be constructive, creative, ennobled by fellow-feeling, compassion and the spirit of sharing. It must be gainful in terms of increased happiness, welfare and benefit to all beings amidst whom Providence has placed you. Be helpful to your brothers and sisters. Desire to serve your own neighbour. Desire to serve the society, nation, all creatures, even plants and insects. Desire to be serviceful to all. And do not forget that great being who gives us life itself—our Mother Earth. Without pure water and clear air, thick forests and fertile pastures, life on Earth cannot continue in a healthy manner. Already so many species have become extinct due to greed and selfishness. This will be our fate also unless great effort is put forth to turn the tides. Let your time be spent in these worthwhile pursuits.

Four Major Tips on How to Answer Tough Questions

The Major Four

1. Be Calm
The cardinal rule—the number one concept to remember in any Q&A session, no matter the topic or the people—is to be calm. Keep your cool, no matter what. Control your emotion—manage the dialogue.

2. Be Honest
The second rule is to be honest. Honesty doesn’t require work on your part. You say what you know within the bounds of what is legal, ethical, and appropriate. This way, you don’t ever have to strive to remember what you said.

3.Be Available
The third principle for handling Q&A sessions is availability. As CEO, you can’t answer the questions or manage the dialogue if you don’t show up. One CEO makes it a point to hold town meetings at each of his company’s four regional headquarters at least once a year. He speaks for about thirty minutes and then stays as long as several hours to answer employees’ questions. There are a lot of benefits to this practice.

4. Be Open-Minded

The fourth and final guideline for addressing audience questions is to be open-minded. Genuine curiosity will help you win over any audience. Curiosity gets you thinking about other people and allows you to really hear the question. You want to hear not just what they are saying but also what they are feeling. Listen for emotion. Pick up on the question behind the question. Get to the heart of the matter.

More Tips for Answering Tough Questions

 Be gracious. Tough questions are meant to test how you manage pressure. A leader must always be calm, cool, and gracious under pressure.

 Be positive. No one wants to be around a negative person. The job of a leader is to be honest, but do look at the bright side whenever possible.

 Be brief. Too many details can be dull. It’s better to give a short answer—and read the audience to see if they want more—than to talk too long and lose them.

 Be complete. Don’t commit the sin of omission. Omitting facts or important elements of the answer is just as bad as not telling the truth.

 Be specific. Give examples if necessary. If you’re too vague, you sound evasive. You can be specific without giving too much detail—the detail should be relevant.

 Be strategic. Think about how you can turn a negative into a positive, or how you can use a question to promote a value that is important.

History Of Valentine"s Day

For centuries Valentines Day has been the center of love and affection, with small gifts and tokens of affection passing back and forth between lovers and loved ones. But very few people know the real history of Valentines Day. Even though we now associate the holiday with love, cupids, and fanciful dreams of romance, the truth is that February 14th holds far deeper and far older traditions than one might originally think.

St. Valentine



If one looks back into historical texts of the Catholic Church, they will find that the actual history of Valentines Day revolves around the day when a saint by the name of Valentine was martyred for his faith. Apparently, Valentine was killed when he dared to defy the Roman Emperor Claudius II, and performed secret marriages for young lovers.

Other accounts claim that St. Valentine was killed when he helped Christians escape from the clutches of Roman inquisitors who were torturing and killing prisoners. Another interesting thing to note about the history of Valentines Day is that the Catholic Church actually recognizes eleven different saints named Valentine, and three of them share February 14 as their day of recognition.

Chaucer, Love Birds, and the Middle Ages

The first time in the history of Valentines Day that love and lovers are actually associated with the day is during the Middle Ages in a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. After the famous writer mentioned the two love birds that represented the engagement of the young king Richard II to his young bride to be, Anne of Bohemia.

After this first association of love in the history of Valentines Day, the idea quickly grew popular. By the 17th century, it had become custom for young lovers to exchange small tokens and hand written love notes with each other. By the 18th century, greeting cards began to be commercially produced just for the holiday; and by the middle of the 19th century, retailers began offering special gifts for young men to present to the ladies they were suiting.

Although the history of Valentines Day isn't necessarily as romantic as we are led to believe, the fact remains that it has become one of the most popular, and commercially profitable, holidays ever. Today, men often present their wives and girlfriends with chocolates, flowers, and cards; and the day has come to be associated with the highest number of marriage proposals than any other. One fact remains true regardless of the actual history of Valentines Day - and that is the fact that this is the one day of the year when people feel the most able to express their feelings of affection for one another.