That’s Teddy Roosevelt speaking at the Sorbonne a century ago in 1910.

Some truths are timeless: The critics, your critics, will always be there, lurking and worthless.

There’s no storybook about "The Boy Who Followed Somebody Else’s Dream", no movie rights sold for the tale of "It Wasn’t Within My Purview To Consider Alternatives", no Sinatra tune entitled "I Did It The Way My Critics Requested I Do It".

All the songs, all the movies, all the books say the same damn thing about you and your dream for a reason, because it’s true!

You’ll be on a stone slab someday too soon — far too soon — and your children will look at you and you’ll look at yourself, and you’re going to ask, and they’re going to ask, and wherever you are right now just do me a favor and… stop

…and listen to the wind.

And count the years between here and birth — your birth,  — and count the years between here and death.

And count the words of your loved ones, and your family, and your friends, and your kids, and your own words in your own head about who you are and who you want to be and who you always wanted to be. And realize that that is beautiful. And that is what you were made for.

And count the words of the critics and naysayers and the negative people in your life and the words they’ve piled up like stones for you with their wants and their desires and their demands of you.

Count the piles and feel their weight and add them up and ask yourself…
Which one do you want to carry with you to the end? Which one do you want to carry for the rest of your days?

Which one is worthy of you?

The Baal Shem Tov discouraged him, but the hassid persisted. For months he implored the Baal Shem Tov, yet the great master kept rebuffing him. Finally, a few days before Passover, the Baal Shem Tov acquiesced. He told the hassid that he would help him to meet Elijah, but on one condition – he’d have to carry out his instructions exactly as conveyed, without deviating even one iota. The hassid readily agreed.

“If you want to see the prophet, this is what you need to do,” the Baal Shem Tov instructed. “Fill up nine boxes with large quantities of food: fish, meat, matzah, wine, etc. Then, on the day before Passover, travel to the neighboring town with all the food you purchased. At the outskirts of the town, at the edge of the forest, there is a dilapidated house.

Shortly before the holiday begins, knock on the door and ask if they would put you up for the holiday of Passover.”

With enthusiasm, the disciple followed the instructions of the Baal Shem Tov. He purchased parcels of food and drink, and on the designated day traveled to the impoverished home. He knocked on the door. The woman of the house opened it, and he asked her if he could stay with them for the holiday.

“How can I welcome you when I don’t have any food in the house?” she cried. “We are a very poor family.”

“Well, I happen to have plenty of food here with me,” he replied. “I have enough food for all of us.” The woman could not believe her ears and welcomed him into their home, introduced him to her husband and children, and gave him bed to sleep in. Seeing how the entire family was overjoyed, and the children were dancing around, the man guest realized how impoverished they truly were. These poor kids had never seen so much food in their life.

And the parents were the happiest people in the world, feeling that they could finally celebrate Passover properly, with abundant food, matzah and wine. The hassid spent with them the first two days of Passover, celebrating together. All the while, he was eagerly waiting to see Elijah. But to no avail … Elijah never showed up.

Frustrated, he returned to the Baal Shem Tov and complained: “I was in that house for two days, but I did not see Elijah! Why did you disappoint me?”

“Did you do everything I told you?” asked the Baal Shem Tov.

“Yes, I did!” he asserted. “And you didn’t see him?” “No!” “In that case,” said the Baal Shem Tov, “go back to the house for the last days of the holiday, but this time remain outside and just stand near the window, listening.

The hassid wondered about the meaning of this strange instruction. But he followed orders. He went back to the house. He stood near the window. Inside he heard the following conversation taking place between the wife and the husband: “Sarah,” the husband was saying, “Where do will we get food for the last days of the holiday? I am so concerned.”

To which his wife responded: “Why are you worried Yankel? Didn’t we see how God send us Elijah during the first days of Passover with all the packages of delicious food? Surely God will send Elijah again for the last days of Passover!”

And suddenly the man understood what the Baal Shem Tov was telling him. You want to see Elijah? Don’t look for him elsewhere, in the heavens above, or in the holy people living in the mountains or caves.

No! You want to see Elijah? Fill up nine boxes with food, feed hungry children, then take a good look in the mirror and you will see Elijah! You will see Elijah in yourself.

So yes, we can all perform miracles. We all have that power. All we need to do is to not be self-consumed … to be sensitive to others and help anyone we can.

There is a fundamental rule in sales, that applies to life in general: You must sell yourself first before you can effectively sell others. If you can’t believe in the value of your products or service, no one else will either. If you are conning others into an unfair deal, you must work mightily to overcome your internal resistance to doing something wrong. A deal is a good one only when it is good for everyone involved. When each participant has an equal opportunity to profit and the risk is shared among partners who care about one another’s welfare, not only is the likelihood of success far greater, but the journey toward it will also be much more enjoyable.

We all have days to wonder about, because we think too much about our jobs, from our viewpoint, and we have lost sight of our jobs from God’s viewpoint. Our lives are to be a reflection of Him, and our work should be as work for Him. When we forget that, our heart wanders and we need to get pointed back in the right direction, UP.

Every day remind yourself that you are serving God and you can do all things through him, then  you will feel that you can do what he has placed you into. When you listen to your own yetzer hara then you will question if you can or not. Man has a yetzer hara (evil inclination) and a yetzer tov (good inclination). The existence of the two allows man to have the free will to choose good. The yetzer hara will first try to grab a person through a subtle gesture. If an individual falls prey at the early stage he will likely fall deeper and deeper into its clutches. Our goal is to overcome the yetzer hara on its onset because this is when we are strongest and most able to resist its pull.

Stay focused on His Word, and all the rest will fall into place

Such was Jeremiah’s experience: in the previous verse memory had brought him to deep humiliation of soul: "My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me"; but now this same memory restored him to life and comfort. "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope." Like a two-edged sword, his memory first killed his pride with one edge and then slew his despair with the other.

As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before.

Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection, which is so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, "the bosom-spring of joy," and when the Divine Comforter bends it to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know.

•1) Divide Your day up into 3 SFB’s- Sections For Blessings.

•Morning- Afternoon- and Evening- SFBs!

•2) MORNING- What are your Priorities – THEN tasks? How are you going to bless God this morning? Is it a GREAT MORNING or Go into MOURNING?

•3) AFTERNOON- What are your Priorities- THEN Tasks? How are you going to bless God this Afternoon? Is it Afternoon or After Later?

•4) EVENING- What are your Priorities- THEN Tasks? How are you going to bless God this evening? Is it Evening or Eventually?

F.B. Meyer wrote about two Germans who wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They hired three guides and began their ascent at the steepest and most slippery part. The men roped themselves together in this order: guide, traveler, guide, traveler, guide. They had gone only a little way up the side when the last man lost his footing. He was held up temporarily by the other four, because each had a toehold in the niches they had cut in the ice. But then the next man slipped, and he pulled down the two above him.

The only one to stand firm was the first guide, who had driven a spike deep into the ice. Because he held his ground, all the men beneath him regained their footing. F.B. Meyer concluded his story by drawing a spiritual application. He said, "I am like one of those men who slipped, but thank God, I am bound in a living partnership to Christ. And because He stands, I will never perish." – Our Daily Bread.

The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear he asked, "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied, "Whenever it breaks!" – Daily Walk.

The 3-year old felt secure in his father’s arms as Dad stood in the middle of the pool. But Dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, "Deeper and deeper and deeper," as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad’s face registered increasing degrees of panic, as he held all the more tightly to his father, who, of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he’d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water’s depth in ANY part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he’d have drowned. His safety anywhere in that pool depended on Dad.

At various points in our lives, all of us feel we’re getting "out of our depth" — problems abound, a job is lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we feel we’ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that does not change. God is never out of his depth, and therefore we’re safe when we’re "going deeper" than we’ve ever been. – Charles Ryrie.

Wow! Now that our hearts are beating regularly, let’s consider what we have just read over a cup of Java, and thank the Lord that He will never leave us, or forsake us, and also for the power of the Holy Spirit, that reminds us of these powerful promises.

Loving Father, I thank you for the beautiful weekend that I have just had. Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to start off this week, by taking on board some of the advice that I have just read, and to remember that I am safe in my Savior’s arms. In the wonderful and mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died." We are Christ’s heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace. – Watchman Nee.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?" – Hebrews 13:5-6. TNIV

•It is called  God’s “Success Capital.”

•It is what you have to invest daily and get  return on with your Success Investment.

•God expects a return on His Success Capital.

•Like investing in the stock market, you can either get a Return on Investment, or a Loss.

•Most people operate with a loss with their Success Capital- and struggle in life because of it.

“To one He gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.” Matt 25:15