Showing posts with label Hard Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hard Work. Show all posts
April 24, 2024
July 21, 2022
February 4, 2022
Stop The Excuses
As they say, "adapt or die."
Of course, you can change when you stop:
- Procrastinating
- Being lazy
- Accepting the status quo
- Making excuses
Take control of your life: change yourself before life bites back at you (and maybe hard).
We've got to slay our own demons not only outside, but inside. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
January 10, 2022
Fabric Fabric Everywhere
Red, and pink, and blue, and green, and white, and black, and...
I'm outa breath.
Can you imagine having to make these on a loom like in the olden days?
Ah, not fun for sure.
Maybe that's why some people "go commando."
Better to just kill a bear or something! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
August 3, 2021
You Got To Make It!
You do not find the happy life.
You make it!
Too many people seem to wait for miracles, like manna from Heaven to give them what they need or want.
They don't realize that G-d has gifts us what we need (including strength and determination) to work towards these things ourselves.
We are not the Israelites stuck in the barren desert for 40 years that we need it to rain manna.
Of course, it's nice every once in a while when a miracle shows up and we are given an extra hand (or maybe even a full arm).
But day-to-day, we have to at least try to be self-reliant--as well as work with others--to work towards our goals and fulfill our missions in life.
You got to make it happen if you want it bad enough. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
April 2, 2021
Climbing Up, Falling Down
All paths up are different.All paths down are the same.
Climbing up is challenges and we all have to find our determination, strength, and skill to make it up rung after rung on the ladder of life.
Falling down is when the sh*t hits the fan and the walls come crumbling down and we freefall into the abyss.
The key as we usually learn early in life when we take our first falls is to quickly get back up (on the horse).
Life is never just smooth sailing.
It's not meant to be.
You wouldn't learn or grow if it was.
Be prepared for the occasional fall from grace, and get your tushy back in the saddle and ride again. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
February 26, 2021
It’s Never About Luck
Today is Purim, when we celebrate the Jewish victory over the evil Haman and his conspiracy to annihilate the Jews in the Persian Empire. Haman drew a lottery to determine what he thought was a fortuitous day, the 13th of Adar, to murder the Jewish people and pursued this plot through a decree by King Achashverosh. But as we know, G-d made miracles through Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai, and Haman and his ten sons ended hanging by the noose that he built for Mordechai.
This has been my personal experience as well, as I can see both now and in 20/20 hindsight that there is a definite Divine method and not just a world of random chance and madness.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
December 16, 2020
Row Row Row Your Boat
December 4, 2020
Awesome Vase 4 Shabbat Shalom
October 13, 2020
Born or Trained In Crazy
You don't have to be crazy to work here, we'll train you.
Some places they hire the crazies and other they train them to be crazy.
Perhaps, it's a bad culture or some bad applies, but either way they can turn good, caring employees into some more crazies to add to the office's bunch of bananas.
Fortunate is s/he who works in a normal, good workplace and can do "a decent day's work for a decent day's pay." ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 4, 2020
Shabbat Shalom From DC Duck!
Shabbat is something to look forward to ALL week long.
Time to stop everything.
Look heavenward.
And inward!
Remember why we're here.
Rest and rejuvenate for the next week.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Need to balance and get our lives right.
It's what we do! ;-)
(Credit Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
September 3, 2020
Earning Respect!
From the saying of Dwight Johnson, "The Rock":
Blood, sweat, and respect. First two you give. Last one you earn.
Yes, we respect all people in a humanistic way, but real respect is earned based on what a person does!
Blood and sweat means you're putting out, and trying your best to achieve something.
Make sure your efforts are going to something worthwhile.
Helping people!
Doing your responsibilities!
Being a good influence!
Honoring the Master of the Universe!
That's how you earn R-e-s-p-e-c-t. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 10, 2020
Happy Mother's Day
Even though it's been 6 years since you passed over to Heaven, I can still see you here with me today.
The love and caring you showed for me, my sister, and Dad as well as the grandchildren filled all of our lives.
You always worked hard for the family and to do your best.
Life was not always easy especially coming with your parents from the Holocaust.
Yet, I never doubted for a moment that our family was the world for you.
And both you and Dad still mean the world to me and I know you both are with me always.
I can feel it!
Happy Mother's Day--we love you! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 28, 2019
The Good Things In Life Are Challenging
"Everything truly pleasurable in life starts with considerable pain." More colloquially in working out, we usually say: “No pain, no gain!” And there really is a lot of truth to this. If you think about it, this concept really applies to everything meaningful and ultimately valuable in life.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 4, 2019
Reaping What You Sow
If you don't say good morning to the tree, it won't say happy new year to you.
Wow, that is pretty wise.
The love and care you put into something every day is what eventually you will get out of it.
According to you work is your reward.
Yes, (generally-speaking) you reap what you sow...that's the fruit of your labor.
Consequences are real and they can be painful if you don't see the connection between your actions and the reactions. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
July 25, 2019
@Bagels and Business with CEO Hair Cuttery, Dennis Ratner
Dennis Ratner, the founder and CEO is a huge success story.
- Puts people first.
- Gives back to the community.
- Believes in vision, planning, and execution.
- Dennis said: "Effort = Reward" and to be "Relentless" in pursuing your passion.
- Great roles model.
(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)
July 24, 2019
Excellence Vs. Mediocrity
The long hours, hard work, and grueling repetition to try to reach near-perfection.
Even then, of course, we need G-d's mercy and blessings and a measure of good luck to succeed.
Also, by definition, not everyone can be "the best" at everything.
I suppose the expectation for most people is that they try at least to excel at the things that they need to do or are most important to them, as well as maintain work-life balance.
In this light, it was interesting to hear a story recently about mediocrity (and not excellence).
When asked to step up on the job, one person responded in the negative saying:
C's get degrees (too)!
Of course, this must have sounded pretty shocking and off-putting.
In other words, they weren't going for the "A" or even a "B". A "C" grade was fine for them--as long as they didn't completely fail with a big "F".
Who knows what circumstances may have led this person to settle for mediocrity--just wanting to pass.
Perhaps they had serious personal or family issues--and had good reason to be taking a step back (for a while).
But I think there could also be more tactful ways to say it too--like explaining if there were mitigating or challenging circumstances in their life right now.
If there really wasn't mitigating circumstances and the person was just "slacking off" or didn't care, one has to wonder why--are they just "milking the system" or is there something more fundamentally wrong?
C's get degrees, but to me the real question is: Are you doing your best given your particular life circumstances? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 22, 2019
Take Responsibility
Responsibility: At the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your success and your failure. And the sooner you realize that, you accept that, and integrate that into your work ethic, you will start to be successful. As long as you blame others for the reason you aren't where you want to be, you will always be a failure. - Erin Cummins
While I agree that we have to take responsibility for our lives and do the work hard to achieve success, at the same time, we obviously aren't in control of everything.
We have to play the hand we're dealt in life and make the very best of it. Whatever challenges that we have, they are there for us to learn from, grow from, and become better human beings from.
Also, success means different things to different people--for some it's money, power and honer; for others it's physical fitness and dashing good looks; still some care more about travel, experiences, partying, and having a good time; and yet for others it's about G-d, family, country, and good deeds.
Whatever we want to achieve requires dedication and hard work from our end, but also a generous dose of prayer and good fortune for "the stars to align." ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
April 22, 2019
You Ended Up In Hell City
It was about being given what appears to be a wonderful opportunity, but in reality it's not all roses.
In short, it went something like this:
There was an exciting competition and a prize at the end.
Everyone prepared and worked hard to win it.
But when the competition was over, what was the prize?
The 2nd place was two weeks in Philadelphia.
The 1st place was one week in Philadelphia.
I had to think about that for a second, but that is really pretty funny and true.
No not about Philadelphia, but about life--that what we often mistakenly want so badly and strive for with all our energies, and then only to find out that it really wasn't as good or amazing for us and our families as we imagined.
Yes, very often you set your sights on certain goals to win the competition, but then you find out that the BIG prize ("first place") is really not something to get excited about, because it's in Philadelphia! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 11, 2018
Blood Libels Unabated
Unfortunately, the anti-Semites continue their refrain of "The Jews control the world" from Wall Street to Main Street to K Street.
But what they are completely missing are the true secrets of Jewish creativity and thought.
I hope you will read the article to learn about Jewish values and our faith. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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