This page was inspired by a folder of clippings given to my husband by his father.  He's collected them over the years, and I hope you find encouragement and inspiration in them.  Please bookmark this page and check back often to read something to inspire you, challenge you, or make you laugh.  If you would like to contribute something to this page, simply send me an email at:  MelodeeBrooks@EdinaRealty.com

Success is never final, and failure is never fatal;  it's courage that counts.

- Unknown

All the significant battles are waged within the self.

- Sheldon Kopp

In order to succeed we must first believe we can.

- Michael Korda

- Whatever THE MIND OF MAN can CONCEIVE and BELIEVE it can ACHIEVE!

- There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.

- Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.

- Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the Seed of an equivalent or a greater Benefit.

- Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

"Failure is a disappointment but not a defeat."

Aristotle Onassis, one of the world's richest men, once said, "You don't fail until you give up."

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently."  - Henry Ford (By the way, Henry Ford failed at almost every enterprise outside of cars.)

"The danger is not in a fall, but in failing to rise."

"Failure is the path of least persistence."

No one got successful making problems into excuses:

Colonel Sanders was "too old" to start a business.

The Wright brothers knew that no one had ever flown.

Florence Chadwick knew that others had died trying to cross the English Channel.

Henry Ford faced a "lack of demand" for his automobiles.

David was too young, too unskilled, and too poorly equipped to face Goliath.

After Fred Astaire's first screen test, the memo from the testing director at MGM, dated 1933, said, "Can't act, Slightly bald!  Can dance a little!  Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.

An "expert" said of Vince Lombardi, "He possesses minimal football knowledge.  Lacks motivation."

Someone said of Albert Einsten, "He doesn't wear socks and forgets to cut his hair.  Could be mentally retarded."

- Speaker's Library of Business

"What I do today is important because I am paying a day of my life for it.  What I accomplish must be worthwhile because the price is high."

- Unknown

"Success doesn't come to you... you go to it."

- Marva Collins

"The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.  The great opportunity is where you are."

- John Burroughs

"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act."

"Ideas are funny little things.  They won't work unless you do!"

- Unknown

"The great successful men of the world have used their imagination.... they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but  steadily building--steadily building."

-Robert Collier

"This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything."

- Scott Reed

"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going."

- Earl Nightingale

"If you don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?"

- Basil Walsh

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:  decide what you want."

- Ben Stein

"The man who goes the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.  The sure thing boat never gets far from shore."

- Mark Twain

"He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't.  This is an inexorable, indisputable law."

- Orson Swett Marden

"For the resolute and determined there is time and opportunity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."

- Walt Disney

Friday, September 22, 2006

Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, "I like you.  You make me happy.  I am glad to see you." 

That is why dogs make such a hit.  They are so glad to see us they almost jump out of their skins.  So, naturally, we are glad to see them. 

A baby's smile has the same effect.

Professor James V. McConnell, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, expressed his feelings about a smile.  "People who smile," he said, "tend to manage, teach and sell more effectively, and to raise happier children.  There's far more information in a smile than a frown.  That's why encouragement is a much more effective teaching device than punishment."

The effect of a smile is powerful - even when it is unseen.  Telephone companies suggest you smile when talking on the phone.  Your "smile" comes through your voice.

- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Always view problems as opportunities in work clothes.

- Henry Kaiser

He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses courage loses all.

- Cervantes

Always remember that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any thing else.

- Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

When you cease to dream you cease to live.

- Malcom S Forbes

There is no right way to do something wrong.

- Unknown

Our aspirations are our possibilities.

- Robert Browning

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

- Napoleon Hill

Thursday, September 14, 2006

What may seem to be a difficult proposition is, as I have pointed out, hard or easy in proportion to how we think about it.  It may be said that three men vitally affected the thought processes of Americans - Emerson, Thoreau, and William James.  Analyze the American mind even to this late date and it is evident that the teachings of these three philosophers combined to create that particular genius of the American who is not defeated by obstacles and who accomplishes "impossibles" with amazing efficiency.

A fundamental doctrine of Emerson is that the human personality can be touched with Divine power and thus greatness can be released from it.  William James pointed out the greatest factor in any undertaking is one's belief about it.  Thoreau told us that the secret of achievement is to hold a picture of a successful outcome in mind.

- Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

No legacy is so rich as honesty.

- William Shakespeare

The glory that goes with wealth is fleeting and fragile; virtue is a possession glorious and eternal.

- Sallust

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

- Thomas Jefferson

The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

- Earl of Beaconsfield

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration.

- Evan Esar

Friday, September 08, 2006

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Get up each day knowing that God has great things in store for you.  When you get out of bed, say, "Father, I'm excited about today.  This is the day You have made; I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it.  God, I know you reward those who seek You, so I thank you in advance for Your blessings, favor, and victory in my life today."  Then go out and live with expectancy; live with faith.

Our thoughts contain tremendous power.  Remember, we draw into our lives that which we constantly think about.  If we're always dwelling on the negative, we will attract negative people, experiences, and attitudes.  You are setting the direction of your life with your thoughts. 

The choice is up to you.  Choose to think on something positive!

- Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

"The price of success is perseverance.  The price of failure comes cheaper."

- Unknown

"If there is a way to do it better... find it."

- Thomas Edison

"Opportunity... often it comes in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat."

- Napoleon Hill

Friday, September 01, 2006

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."

-Author Unknown

"The secret to success is to do to the common things uncommonly well."

-J.D. Rockefeller

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

- Will Rogers

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.

-  Benjamin Franklin

Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it.

- J. Petit Senn

I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them.

- John Stuart Mills

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

1.  The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

2.  Show respect for the other person's opinions.  Never say, "You're wrong." 

3.  If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

4.  Begin in a friendly way.

5.  Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.

6.  Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.

7.  Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

8.  Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.

9.  Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.

10.  Appeal to the nobler motives.

11.  Dramatize your ideas.

12.  Throw down a challenge.

- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

Monday, August 28, 2006

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

-Dale Carnegie

Saturday, August 26, 2006

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

- Charles Swindoll

Friday, August 25, 2006

The International Paper Company has statistical evidence supporting their claim that the bigger a person's vocabulary, the bigger the income.  I'm convinced you can build your income, your enjoyment, and change your life by changing your vocabulary.  Take the word "hate" and remove it from your vocabulary.  Don't see it, think it, or read it.  Write, feel, see, and dream the word "love" in its place.  Take the word "prejudice" out of your vocabulary.  Don't see, think, or say the word "prejudice."  In its place put "understand"  Take the word "negative," and substitute the word "positive."  Obviously, the list of words to be be removed and replaced can be virtually endless - as will be the benefits that follow.  Your mind acts on what you feed it.  Change your mental diet and eliminate the negative input.  You will first reduce, then virtually eliminate the negative input.

-Zig Ziglar,  See You At The Top

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Remember that other people may be totally wrong.  But they don't think so.  Don't condemn them.  Any fool can do that.  Try to understand them.  Only wise, tolerant, exceptional people even try to do that.

There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does.  Ferret out that reason - and you have the key to his actions, perhaps his personality. 

Try honestly to put yourself in his place.

If you say to yourself, "How would I feel, how would I react if I were in his shoes?" you will save yourself time and irritation, for "by becoming interested in the cause, we are less likely to dislike the effect."  And, in addition, you will sharply increase your skill in human relationships.

- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

- Mark Twain

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People extols the virtues of being a great listener.  He relates the following story:

Listening is just as important in one's home life as in the world of business.  Millie Esposito of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, made it her business in life to listen carefully when one of her children wanted to speak with her.  One evening she was sitting in the kitchen with her son, Robert, and after a brief discussion of something that was on his mind, Robert said:  "Mom, I know that you love me very much."

Mrs Esposito was touched and said:  "Of course I love you very much.  Did you doubt it?"

Robert responded: "No, but I really know you love me because whenever I want to talk to you about something you stop whatever you are doing and listen to me."

Monday, August 21, 2006

The first place we must win the victory is in our own minds.  If you don't think you can be successful, then you never will be.  If you don't think your body can be healed, it never will be.  If you don't think God can turn your situation around, then He probably won't.  Remember, "As a person thinks in his heart, so he will become."  When you think thoughts of failure, you are destined to fail.  When you think thoughts of mediocrity, you are destined to live an average, just-get-by life.  But friend, when you align your thoughts with God's thoughts and you start dwelling on the promises of His Word, when you constantly dwell on thoughts of His victory, favor, faith, power, and strength, nothing can hold you back.  When you think positive, excellent thoughts, you will be propelled toward greatness, inevitably bound for increase, promotion, and God's supernatural blessings.

- Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now

Friday, August 18, 2006

When you commit yourself to your dream and express it in achievable goals, you provide yourself with a visual reminder of where you're going and how to get there.  It's part of the success process: 

Your dream determines your goals.

Your goals map out your actions.

Your actions create results.

And the results bring you success.

To make the success journey, you have to start with a dream.  But that dream will become a reality only if you bridge the gap between intentions and actions by identifying goals.

- John Maxwell, Your Roadmap for Success

Thursday, August 17, 2006

1.  Take five minutes to identify what you are putting off.

2.  Look at your list of tasks and do one of them right now.

3.  If getting started is the hard part for you, set a designated time slot in the day to work on the task.

4.  Don't worry about perfection.

5.  If what you are putting off involves other people, consult with them.

6.  If you fear the consequences associated with the action you've been avoiding, ask yourself, What's the worst thing that could happen if I did this today?

7.  Vividly picture how you'll feel once the task is done.

- Dennis Waitley, Timing is Everything 

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Many a person lives on Someday Isle.  They're convinced that "someday I'll do that" or "someday I'll go there."

The science of physics recognizes two kinds of inertia - both of which can be related to procrastination.  The first law states, "Standing objects tend to remain stationary."  The second law is the inverse:  "Moving objects tend to stay in motion."

Procrastination is stationary inertia.  We aren't moving, and we therefore don't move!

Procrastination overcome, however, moves us into the arena where the law of motion takes over.  We frequently find that once we've started a project or process, we stay with it until completion.  One of my favorite sayings from my friend Dr. Robert Shuller is posted on my computer:  "BEGINNING IS HALF DONE!"  (I've modified it to say, BEGINNING IS HALF WON.")  The first step toward success will be the biggest one that most people take.

- Dennis Waitley, Timing is Everything

Come back tomorrow to read the seven steps that will help you overcome procrastination!

Monday, August 14, 2006

After Edison's seven-hundredth unsuccessful attempt to invent the electric light, he was asked by a New York Times reporter, "How does it feel to have failed seven hundred times?"  The great inventor responded, "I have not failed seven hundred times.  I have not failed once.  I have succeeded in proving those seven hundred ways will not work.  When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." 

Several thousand more of these successes followed, but Edison finally found the one that would work and invented the electric light.

Failure is an attitude, not an outcome.

- Harvey Mackay, Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt

I hope you are enjoying these words of inspiration each day.  May I ask you a kind favor?  If you know somebody that is looking to buy or sell a house, I would sure appreciate it if you would recommend me to them.  I will go the extra mile to make you look good for expressing confidence in me.  Thank you so much.  

Make it a great day!  Melodee

612-802-5356 or MelodeeBrooks@EdinaRealty.com

Saturday, August 12, 2006

I promise to be kind to myself today.

Negative thoughts I will chase away.

Those cutting remarks and critical words

From my inner voice will not be heard.

This personal battle comes to an end.

My inner child needs time to mend.

Haunting memories of past mistakes

Will no longer cause my heart to ache.

My freedom comes from the inside out--

From letting go of old self doubt.

But my power comes from God above

Who helps transform me with His love.

Friday, August 11, 2006

You many not realize it, but it is extremely selfish to go around always dwelling on your problems, always thinking about what you want or need, and hardly noticing the many needs of others all around you.  One of the best things you can do if you're having a problem is to help solve somebody else's problem.  If you want your dreams to come to pass, help someone else fulfill his or her dreams.

No matter how big your problem is today, somebody else has a bigger problem, a tougher road, a more heartrending story than yours.  You can help make a difference in somebody's life.  You can help ease somebody's burden.  You can cheer somebody up, and give somebody a fresh new hope.

You may say, "Joel, I don't have anything to give."  Sure you do!  You can give a smile.  You can give a hug.  You can mow somebody's lawn.  You can bake somebody a cake.  You can visit someone in the hospital or in a senior citizen's center.  You can write somebody an encouraging letter.  Somebody needs what you have to share.  Somebody needs your smile.  Somebody needs your love.  Somebody needs your friendship.  Somebody needs your encouragement.  God didn't make us to function as "Lone Rangers."  He created us to be free, but He did not intend for us to be independent of each other.  We really do need one another.

- Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now

Thursday, August 10, 2006

There is one all-important law of human conduct. If we obey that law, we shall almost never get into trouble. In fact, that law, if obeyed, will bring us countless friends and constant happiness. But the very instant we break the law, we shall get into endless trouble. The law is this: Always make the other person feel important. John Dewey said that the desire to be important is the deepest urge in human nature; and William James said: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated”.

- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Take a moment to listen today
to what your children are trying to say,
Listen to them, whatever you do
or they won't be there to listen to you.

Listen to their problems, listen to their needs
Praise their smallest triumphs, praise their littlest deeds;
Tolerate their chatter, amplify their laughter,
Find out what's the matter, find out what they're after.

If we tell our children all the bad in them we see,
They'll grow up exactly how we hoped they'd never be;
But if we tell our children we're so proud to wear their name,
They'll grow up believing that they're winners in the game.

So tell them that you love them every single night;
And though you scold them make sure you hold them
and tell them they're all right, "Good night, happy dreams,
Tomorrow's looking bright."

Take a moment to listen today to what
your children are trying to say
Listen to them whatever you do, and
They'll be there to listen to you.

- Dennis Waitley, Seeds of Greatness

Monday, August 07, 2006

When faced

with a mountain

I WILL NOT QUIT!

I will keep on striving until

I climb over, find a pass through,

tunnel underneath - or simply

stay and turn the mountain

into a miracle

with God's help!

- Dr. Robert Schuller

Sunday, July 30, 2006

General Norman Schwarzkopf, the American and allied commander in the Gulf War, tells about one of the most important pieces of advice he ever received as an officer.  When he was promoted to a command at the Pentagon, he asked his senior officer how he should handle the enormous complexities of the position.  His senior officer said these words: "When placed in command, take charge!"  This is the guiding principle of men and women who rise to positions of power and influence within their organization: "Take charge!"

In the Bible a master says, "Oh good and faithful servant, you have been master over small things, I will make you master over large things."  In business, this means that when you accept responsibility and take charge in smaller things, you will be given larger and larger responsibilities to carry out.  Your performance of today determines your opportunities of tomorrow.

- Brian Tracy, Victory

Saturday, July 29, 2006

The most successful people I know have all had their share of failures, some of the monumental.  But their failures contributed to their success in the end:  They never quit trying, and they learned from their mistakes. 

You don't quit trying when you lose, you lose because you quit trying.

- Harvey Mackay

Press On:  Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

- Ray Kroc

Friday, July 28, 2006

Try this recipe guaranteed to cook up a happy marriage.

1 Cup   -  Love              5 Spoons - Hope

2 Cups  - Loyalty           2 Spoons - Tenderness

3 Cups  - Forgiveness    4 Quarts  - Faith

1 Cup   -  Friendship      1 Barrel   - Laughter

Take Love and Loyalty and mix it thoroughly with Faith.  Blend it with Tenderness, Kindness and Understanding.  Add Friendship and Hope.  Sprinkle abundantly with Laughter.  Bake it with Sunshine.  Serve generous helpings daily.

- Zig Ziglar, See You At The Top

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Most often success comes as the result of good, old-fashioned tenacity.  B.C. Forbes said, "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed.  They finally won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."  Failure comes easily to everyone, but the price of success is perseverance... The issue is not whether I'm going to fail.  Instead, when I fail, I need to determine whether I'm going to fail backward or forward - that's the real question.  The detours can make a person better or bitter.  It's my choice.  And it's also yours.

- John Maxwell, Your Road Map for Success

Nothing is better at helping you deal with failure than perspective.  Let me give you an example.  Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, and Bill Walsh accounted for nine of the fifteen Super Bowl victories between 1974 and 1989.  Do you know what else they have in common?  They also had the worst first-season records of any head coaches in NFL history.  Isn't that incredible?  If they had judged their potential for success on their first year in professional football, they probably would have quit.  If life were a snapshot and it had been taken during their losing seasons, they would have been in trouble.  But life isn't a snapshot - it's a moving picture.  They were able to overcome their failings and continue on the journey to reaching their potential. 

Their failure was not final, and neither is yours.  The next time you blow it, think about the big picture.  There will be other days.  We all make mistakes, but we can come back.

- John Maxwell, Your Roadmap for Success

1. Respect Your Children's Mother
   One of the best things a father can do for his children is to respect their mother. If you are married, keep your marriage strong and vital. If you're not married, it is still important to respect and support the mother of your children. A father and mother who respect each other, and let their children know it, provide a secure environment for them. When children see their parents respecting each other, they are more likely to feel that they are also accepted and respected.
   
   
2. Spend Time with Your Children
   How a father spends his time tells his children what's important to him. If you always seem to busy for your children, they will feel neglected no matter what you say. Treasuring children often means sacrificing other things, but it is essential to spend time with your children. Kids grow up so quickly. Missed opportunities are forever lost.
   
   
3. Earn the Right to Be Heard
   All too often the only time a father speaks to his children is when they have done something wrong. That's why so many children cringe when their mother says, "Your father wants to talk with you." Begin talking with your kids when they are very young so that difficult subjects will be easier to handle as they get older. Take time and listen to their ideas and problems.
   
   
4. Discipline with Love
   All children need guidance and discipline, not as punishment, but to set reasonable limits. Remind your children of the consequences of their actions and provide meaningful rewards for desirable behavior. Fathers who discipline in a calm and fair manner show love for their children.
   
   
5. Be a Role Model
   Fathers are role models to their kids whether they realize it or not. A girl who spends time with a loving father grows up knowing she deserves to be treated with respect by boys, and what to look for in a husband. Fathers can teach sons what is important in life by demonstrating honesty, humility and responsibility. "All the world's a stage..." and a father plays one of the most vital roles.
   
   
6. Be a Teacher
   Too many fathers think teaching is something others do. But a father who teaches his children about right and wrong, and encourages them to do their best, will see his children make good choices. Involved fathers use everyday examples to help their children learn the basic lessons of life.
   
   
7. Eat Together as a Family
   Sharing a meal together (breakfast, lunch or dinner) can be an important part of healthy family life. In addition to providing some structure in a busy day, it gives kids the chance to talk about what they are doing and want to do. It is also a good time for fathers to listen and give advice. Most importantly, it is a time for families to be together each day.
   
   
8. Read to Your Children
   In a world where television often dominates the lives of children, it is important that fathers make the effort to read to their children. Children learn best by doing and reading, as well as seeing and hearing. Begin reading to your children when they are very young. When they are older encourage them to read on their own. Instilling your children with a love for reading is one of the best ways to ensure they will have a lifetime of personal and career growth.
   
   
9. Show Affection
   Children need the security that comes from knowing they are wanted, accepted and loved by their family. Parents, especially fathers, need to feel both comfortable and willing to hug their children. Showing affection everyday is the best way to let your children know that you love them.
   
   
10. Realize that a Father's Job Is Never Done
    Even after children are grown and ready to leave home, they will still look to their fathers for wisdom and advice. Whether it's continued schooling, a new job or a wedding, fathers continue to play an essential part in the lives of th