Daily Inspirational Message for January 23, 2014

wateringflowers

Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.
– Lao Tzu
 

I recently reread a parable that, in a few words, captured how wise and powerful it is to look for the positive in whatever comes up in our experience. In the late 1800s, a shoe company sent a salesman to Africa to open up that market. A month later, he sent a telegram to the home office: Disaster!Disaster! These people do not wear shoes. Bring me home immediately! The following month, a salesman from another shoe company was sent to Africa with the same assignment. He, too, soon sent a telegram home: Opportunity! Opportunity! These people do not wear shoes. Triple production immediately! Whatever is happening in your life, there are blessings to be found in it; you have only to look for them to find them, and nurture them with positive thoughts and feelings to bring them into full bloom.