Problems, why are there so many?

On Christmas Eve 1993, Norman Vincent Peale, the author of all-time bestseller THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING, died at age 95. Norma said that  you have two choices every morning when you wake up: you can choose to feel good about yourself or choose to feel lousy. Norma insisted that positive thinkers get positive results because they are not afraid of problems. He felt like problems were a sign of life, here is one of his stories...

"One day I was walking down the street, when I saw my friend George approaching. It was evident from his downtrodden look that he wasn't overflowing with the ecstasy and exuberance of human existence, which is a high-class way of saying George was dragging bottom.

Naturally I asked him, "How are you, George?" While that  was meant to be a routine inquiry, George took me   very seriously and for 15 minutes he enlightened me on how bad he felt. And the more he talked, the worse I felt.

Finally I said to him, " Well, George, I'm sorry to see you in such a depressed state. How did you get this way?" That really set him off.

"It's my problems," he said. "Problems-nothing but problems. I'm fed up with problems. if you could get rid of all my problems, I would contribute $5,000 to your favorite charity."

Well now, I am never one to turn a deaf ear to such an offer, and so I meditated, ruminated and cogitated on the proposition and came up with an answer that I thought was pretty good.

I said, "Yesterday I went to a place where thousands of people reside. As far as I could determine, not one of them has any problems. Would you like to go there?"

"When can we leave? That sounds like my kind of place," answered George.

"If that's the case, George," I said, "I'll be happy to take you tomorrow to Woodlawn Cemetery because the only people I know who don't have any problems are dead."

This was a good story for me today, my back and neck have been bad for awhile and I am getting a bit nervous on traveling this week. I have never been much of a traveler, but 6 hours on an air plane could just do me in. So I am trying to think positive and realize that I will survive no matter what. I am just concentrating on the fact that I get to see my dear friends in Indiana and Kentucky again. Some of whom I haven't seen in almost 30 years!

Thanks for your support and continued encouragement through my problems, yes positive thinking is vital but so it good friends who are always there for you ... no matter what! Thanks again.

"THE MAN WHO HAS NO PROBLEMS IS OUT OF THE GAME"  ~ Elbert Hubbard

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."              ~ Brian Tracy