Some Important Lessons Life Teaches You...

 
    1. First Most Important Lesson
 
  During my second month of nursing school, our
 professor gave us a pop
 quiz. I  was a conscientious student and had breezed
 through the questions, until I  read the last one:
                                                                                                                                          "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the
  school?"
 
  Surely, this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
 cleaning woman several  times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her
 50s, but how would I know her name?  I handed in my paper, leaving
 the last question blank.  Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
 "Absolutely," said the professor.  "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are
 significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."
 "I've never forgotten that lesson.  I also learned her name was Dorothy.
 
 2. Second Important Lesson:  Pickup in the Rain
 
 One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing
 on the  side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had  broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those
conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant
console color TV was delivered to his home.  A special note was attached. It read:  "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits.   Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God
bless you for helping me  and unselfishly serving others."  Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
 
3. Third Important Lesson:  Always remember those who serve you

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.  "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.  The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now, more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.  "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied."  The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.  The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice
cream, paid the cashier and  left.  When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies -You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
 
 4. Fourth Important Lesson:  The Obstacle in Our Path
 
 In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway.  Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around  it.  Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching  the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.  After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
 The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our  condition.

 5. Fifth Important Lesson:  Giving when it counts
 
 Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a  little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.  The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the
little boy if he would be  willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,  "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her.." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all
did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks.  Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,  "Will I start to  die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. You see understanding and attitude, after all, is everything.
 
You have 2 choices now:
 
1.  Delete this email
2.  Forward it to people you care about.
 
 I hope that you will choose No. 2 and remember to:
 
"Work like you don't need the money.   Love like you've never been
 hurt, and Dance like you do when nobody's watching."
 
 

I was forwarded this and it is really a great story. I've been trying to learn to be positive and believe me when I say, it makes me feel a whole better and I'm sure the people around me would rather see me this way than the way I was before.  Thanks, Jim, for sharing
 
 
   Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate.  He is always in a good
   mood and always has something positive to say:
 
   When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply,
   "if I were any better, I would be twins!"
 
   He was a natural motivator.
 
   If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the
   employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
 
   Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to
   Michael and asked him, "I don't get it!  You can't be a positive
   person all of the time. How do you do it?"
 
   Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have
   two choices today.
 
   You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad
   mood.
 
   I choose to be in a good mood.
 
   Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can
   choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
 
   Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept
   their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the
  positive side of life.
 
   "Yeah, right, it's not that easy,"  I protested.
 
   "Yes, it is,"  Michael said.  "Life is all about choices.  When you cut
   away all the junk, every situation is a choice.
 
   You choose how you react to situations.
 
   You choose how people affect your mood.  You choose to be in a good
   mood or bad mood.
 
   The bottom line:  It's your choice how you live life."
 
  I reflected on what Michael said.  Soon thereafter, I left the Tower
   Industry to start my own business.  We lost touch, but I often thought
   about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
 
   Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious
   accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
 
   After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was
   released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
 
   I saw Michael about six months after the accident.  When I asked him
   how he was, he replied.  "If I were any better, I'd be twins.  Wanna
   see my scars?"
 
   I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through
   his mind as the accident took place.
 
   "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my
   soon to be born daughter, "  Michael replied.  "Then, as I lay on the
   ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or
   I could choose to die.  I chose to live."
 
   "Weren't you scared?  Did you lose consciousness?"  I asked.
 
   Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great.  They kept telling
   me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw
   the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really
   scared. In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take
   action."
 
   "What did you do?"  I asked.
 
   "Well there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,"  said
 
   Michael.  "She asked if I was allergic to anything.  "Yes, I replied."
 
   The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.  I
   took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity."
 
   Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on
   me as if I am alive, not dead."
 
   Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because
   of his amazing attitude.  I learned from him that every day we have
   the choice to live fully.
 
   Attitude, after all, is everything.
 
   "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
   itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34
 
   After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
 
   You have two choices now:
   1.  Delete this.
   2.  Forward it to the people you care about.
 
   I hope you will choose #2.  I did