Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is
to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, for the greater hazard
is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has
nothing and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they
cannot learn,change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitude they are a slave, they have
forfeited freedom.
Only the person who risks is free.

– Leo Buscagalia

And as another has said, "To risk nothing is to risk everything."

Winners don't watch things happen. They make them happen.

The point is, "Quitters never win and winners never quit."

"Winners don't watch things happen. They make them happen."

So, if you want to be a winner, begin today by writing down your goals. Then start working towards their fulfillment immediately. Beginning is the hard part. But once you've begun, you're already half done. Then work towards achieving your goals just one step at a time. As it has been said before, "Inch by inch anything's a cinch—but yard by yard it's miles too hard!"

And remember, even the longest race is run only one step at a time.

And if you want to be a real winner, make sure your goals are in harmony with God's will for your life. He wants you to reach your total potential and become a true winner.

Winning is like God said to Joshua hundreds of years ago: "I have given you the promised land. It's yours for the taking, but you must rise, go and possess it for yourself."

That's what God says to each of us today. "I have a plan for your life. I have a potential for you to reach. I will give you good success, too, if you will follow me. I have the gift of forgiveness of sins, and the gift of eternal life for you. All of these are yours for the taking. But you need to respond to my call, arise and claim them for yourself."

The beginning step is to pray, "Dear God, I want to be a winner on your team. I want to discover your purpose and goal for my life. I respond to your call to follow you. I commit my life to you and trust you to lead me in each step I take."

Commit and trust your life to God every day and you, too, will be a winner. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."