The shoes story-Positive and Negative thinking.

 You will perhaps have heard this very old story illustrating the difference between positive thinking and negative thinking:

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.
The first salesman reported back, "There is no potential here - nobody wears shoes."
The second salesman reported back, "There is massive potential here - nobody wears shoes."

This simple short story provides one of the best examples of how a single situation may be viewed in two quite different ways - negatively or positively.
We could explain this also in terms of seeing a situation's problems and disadvantages, instead of its opportunities and benefits.

When telling this story its impact is increased by using exactly the same form of words (e.g., "nobody wears shoes") in each salesman's report. This emphasises that two quite different interpretations are made of a single situation.

Lost in the Forest, A Perilous Journey

By: Bibek Karki

I was lost in the forest of Shivapuri (National Park). It was a full moon day during the time of Holi Festival (Festival of color) in Nepal. Instead of celebrating the festival I thought of camping in the forest of Nagi Gomba. I called few of my friends if they were interested to come along with me. Unfortunately, all of them were busy. I decided to venture the forest on my own.

I packed my camping gears such as maps, tents, light, a khukuri (a Nepalese knife), and headed towards Shivapuri. At the entrance, an army officer stopped me and asked, where I was going, I said, “Nagi Gomba”. He asked for my ID and said momentarily, “It is really hostile up in the forest” and questioned why I was going, I replied, “I love camping in the forest, and as part of my Job at the trekking company and also being a Leo leader I am exploring the area”. I further said that I was planning to organize an Eco-Trek and it was a self exploration trip. And after few other questions, officer gave my ID back.

I started walking up in the hill for about ½ hours, and then I spotted a waterfall; I quenched my thirst, observing the beautiful sound of the forest, song of the bird with cool breeze in the air. As I turned around, I saw three army officers pointing guns at me. I surrender, was nervous and speechless. One of the officer asked, who are you? I replied, “I am a student”, and then he asked why I was here? I replied, “For camping”. He asked few other questions before he finally asked for my ID. I approached my bag where my wallet and other belongings were, at this point I was on the ground and soldiers were still pointing guns at me. I found my wallet took out my ID and gave it to the officer who was right next to me. He then handed my ID to a senior officer who inspected and gave it back to me. I was relieved and glad that I was still alive. Gradually, I regained my confidence and asked few questions about the forest, good place to camp, and within few minutes we were making casual conversation. Finally, they let me go. I was free as a bird.

Thinking all the moments that took place with the officers, I found myself calling my own name, laughing with furor, and jumping with excitement. After couple of hours of walk in the forest, I reached Nagi-gomba (2248 M), a monastery of female Buddhist monk. I went in the monastery and saw Ani (female monk) smiling at me.

I said, “Namaste!” she welcomed me and asked why I was there and offered me a tea. It wasn’t an ordinary tea that I was used to drink in the city. It was one of the hearty drinks that I have ever drunk in my life. While enjoying the tea, and watching the Katmandu valley below, I asked, how far was Shiva-puri (my final destination), she replied, “About four hours walk in the forest”. She asked me why I was there, where was I going to stay, do I have enough food with me and so on. I told her that I was planning to stay at Shivapuri and stopped there to rest for a while. She warned me of danger, and told me about the incident of a young boy who was eaten by a leopard few weeks ago. My heart started pumping when she made this remark, but deep in my heart I had decided to go, and there was no turning back. I thanked her for a wonderful tea and greatest hospitality, and left the monastery.

I started walking again; each and every step took me deep in to forest, after an hour I felt my heart is pumping faster, and sense of animals nearby. I asked myself, what would you do if you face a leopard? I had no answer, at that point. I laughed, and realized that I was making myself vulnerable. I took my Khukhuri out of my bag and said to myself “I will kill it”. I started looking for a tree branches and started cutting its wedges in order to make it sharper, and use it for my self defense. I started walking deep into the forest carrying khukuri and self made weapons. Suddenly, I heard a movement. I stopped and looked around but nothing was there. I knew that there was something, as I rolled and glazed my eyes around, I spotted a deer. I thought it was a Leopard. I thank god for his wish not to encounter me with a Leopard at this point. I was nervous but alert, conscious, and determined to reach my final destination. After two hours of walk I reached, Bag-Dwari (Gateway of Tiger).

33 Interesting Facts about Famous People

1. Julius Caeser’s autograph is worth 2 million dollars, but one has not been found yet. 2. Charles Dickens slept facing North. He thought it improved his writing. 3. The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

4. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.

5. The house where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence was replaced with a hamburger stand.

6. The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he invented dynamite.

7. There was a person that paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like It Hot.

8. Mao Rse-Tang, the first chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, was born 26 December 1893. Before his rise to power, he occupied the humble position of Assistant Librarian at the University of Peking.

9. During World War One, the future Pope John XXIII was a sergeant in the Italian Army.

10. Albert Einstein was once offered the Presidency of Israel. He declined saying he had no head for problems.

11. When Albert Einstein died, his final words died with him. The nurse at his side didn't understand German

12. Uri Geller, the professional psychic was born on December 20 1946. As to the origin of his alleged powers, Mr Geller maintains that they come from the distant planet of Hoova.

13. John Glenn, the American who first orbited the Earth, was showered with 3,529 tonnes of ticker tape when he got back.

14. Catherine the First of Russia, made a rule that no man was allowed to get drunk at one of her parties before nine o'clock.

15. During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men's beards.

16. Queen Elizabeth I passed a law which forced everyone except for the rich to wear a flat cap on Sundays

17. Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour during World War II, left school at the age of eleven.

18. Upon the death of F.D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman became the President of America on 12 April 1945. The initial S in the middle of his name doesn't in fact mean anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with 'S', and so Truman's mother didn't want to disappoint either of them.

19. One of Queen Victoria's wedding gifts was a 3 metre diameter, half tonne cheese.

20. Sir Isaac Newton was obsessed with the occult and the supernatural.

21. Marie Currie, who twice won the Nobel Prize, and discovered radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was a woman.

22. John D. Rockefeller gave away over US$ 500,000,000 during his lifetime.

23. John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, had a payphone in his mansion.

24. Sir Winston Churchill rationed himself to 15 cigars a day.

25. Lady Astor once told Winston Churchill 'if you were my husband, I would poison your coffee'. His reply …' if you were my wife, I would drink it ! '.

26. The national flag of Italy was designed by Napoleon Bonaparte.

27. The only person who’s birthday is a legal holiday all across the U.S. is George Washington.

28. While at Havard University, Edward Kennedy was suspended for cheating on a Spanish exam.

29. King Solomon of Israel had about 700 wives as well as hundreds of mistresses

30. Charles the Simple was the grandson of Charles the Bald, both were rulers of France.

31. Englands Queen Anne (1665-1714) outlived all 17 of her children.

32. In 1944, Fidel Castro was voted Cuba’s best schoolboy athlete.

33. Mozart never went to school.

Determination And Persistence

This is a real life story of engineer John Roebling building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed in 1883, after 13 years.

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In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.
As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Important things in life

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."