The Daily Ritual of Champions

THE DAILY RITUAL OF CHAMPIONS : A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

To achieve your purpose and get the most out of your life, perform the following steps as a daily ritual:

1. Count your blessings and be thankful for what you have
2. Live your life as a Champion
3. Enjoy the adventure of life and help others enjoy theirs

This lesson wil explain those steps.

1. BE THANKFUL

No matter what problems you have or how bad things may seem, there is always something to be thankful about. Don't dwell on the negative. Think of the good things you have, and the problems and challenges will soon diminish or even disappear.

Examples

People who have lost all their belongings in a natural disaster often will say, "At least we have our lives and none of us was seriously hurt." That is something for them to be thankfulof, despite their material losses.

Then there is the story about the man who was unhappy because he didn't have any shoes. Then he saw a handicapped person with no feet. He realised how lucky he was.

You Know Whom To Thank

Be thankful. And you know whom to thank every day, according to your beliefs.

2. LIVE AS A CHAMPION

This doesn't mean you must be the world champion. Instead, you are a person who acts and feels like one who can achieve anything. You may also champion a worthy cause to help other people.

In order to be a champion in anything you do, you must fulfill the 5 basic areas in life. We call them the 5 Powers of a Champion.

Be Healthy : Take care of yourself. Strive to be physically, mentally and spiritually healthy. You feel good when you're healthy.

Be Knowledgeable : Always seek to learn, so that you'll be skilled in what you want to do. You feel sure when you're knowledgeable.

Be Excellent : Strive to achieve your goals, do a good job and have confidence and self-esteem. You walk tall, when you know you are worthy.

Be Valuable : Seek to be important and valuable to others. This is the crux of good relationships, as well as business. Value in relationships includes listening and caring about the other person. A good friend is a valuable commodity.

People reciprocate your actions by providing something valuable to you.

Be Honorable : Try to always be honest, courageous and reliable. Try to be a person of good character. Others will respect you for your integrity.

3. ENJOY LIFE AND HELP OTHERS ENJOY THEIRS

Seek to enjoy the adventure of life. Celebrate your achievements. Use your set-backs as challenges to overcome. If you are in a competition, congratulate the winner.

A major part of enjoying your life is to help others enjoy their lives. Help people succeed. That is what it is all about. That is your purpose.

Help to improve society and improve the world.

IN CONCLUSION

Follow this way of thinking every day to make yourself a Champion, as well as others.

by Ron Kurtus (revised 31 May 2003)

About Friends

A man should recognize among his acquaintances those with whom he should associate and those with whom he should not.

The ones with whom a man should not associate are those who are greedy, clever talkers, flatterers or wasters.

The one with whom he should associate are those who are helpful, who are willing to share happinesses as well as sufferings, who give good advice and who have a sympathetic heart.

A true friend, the one with whom a man may safely associate, will always stick closely to the right way, will worry secretly about his friend's welfare, will console him in misfortune, will offer him a helping hand when he needs it, will keep his secrets, and will always give him good advice.

It is very difficult to find a friend like this, and, therefore, one should try very hard to be a friend like this. As the sun warms the fruitful earth, so a good friend shines in society because of his good deeds.

[The above is from The Teaching of Buddha.]

I Found A Handphone

On 1 Aug 2007, my wife and I went for our usual Qi Gong lesson at Bukit Batok. I parked my car next to a lorry full of vegetable at the cargo compartment. It was around 8:05pm and our lesson starts at 8:15pm. As we were about to leave the car, we heard a ringing tone at the cargo compartment of the lorry. It was dark as there was no lamp post within near vincinity. My wife tried to look for the phone but cannot see anything. After a few ringing, the ringing stop. As we were about to leave for our Qi Gong, we heard the same ringing tone again. I went to the back of the lorry and start to look under the container with vegetable in it. Finally, I found the ringing phone. In my mind, I am thinking, the owner of the phone must be looking for his phone. As I was about to answer the phone, the ringing stop again. We walked slowly towards the nearby badminton court where we practice our Qi Gong. I also tried to return a call to the caller. Fortunately, there is missed call ID. When I call back, someone answered the call. I was having some difficulty to understand what he is trying to tell me because he an Indian. But I can understand he is trying to tell me he is now at Choa Chu Kang MRT station and he just lost his handphone. I told him I am trying to return the phone to him but I need to attend to something first and I will call him at 9:30pm.

We rushed for our Qi Gong lesson immediately. After the lesson, I tried to call him but no one answer the phone. It is an old Nokia handphone subscribe to Singtel. On the screen, I can also see there is an outstanding payment of $167 and some IDD call outstanding payment. One of our Qi Gong friend live at Teck Whye area, I give her a lift back. On the way to Teck Whye, we tried to call him again and managed to get him. So I asked him where his location. With his broken English, he told me he is at the McDonald near Choa Chu Kang MRT station. I asked him to wait for me there. We also asked him what was the colour of his shirt. He told us he wore a green wind breaker.

When I arrived at the McDonald, I saw him waiting eagerly, outside McDonald, for me to come. The moment I asked if he is the one who lost a handphone, he answered me "Yes, I am the person we spoke a while ago." I asked him what is the brand and colour of his phone, he quickly answered me " It is a black Nokia phone." I handed over the handphone back to him. I can felt he was very happy to get back his lost phone. He also asked if I would like to eat something at the McDonald. I replied him "No, thank you" and left for home.

I often heard about people losing their handphone but not able to recover it. Well, if I can help someone and make that someone happy, even I do not get anything back in return, why not ? Some may ask : Why do you want to do that ? My answer is very simple : Do good, avoid evil and purified the mind.

When I do good, I feel good.
When I do bad, I feel bad.
That's my religion.
- Abraham Lincoln

ASAP

Ever wondered about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.?
Generally we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way.

There's work to do, deadlines to meet; you've got no time to spare, But as you hurry and scurry- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

In the midst of family chaos, "Quality time" is rare. Do your best; let God do the rest- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

It may seem like your worries are more than you can bear. Slow down and take a breather- ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

God knows how stressful life is; he wants to ease our cares, And He'll respond to all your needs A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed. Courage is fear that has said its Prayers.