Mikes Blog

Earn the pleasure
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The good times do not last. And that’s precisely why they are so good.

Pleasure has no meaning if it’s the only thing you know. Those times in between the good times are what make the good times enjoyable.

When the party is over, go to bed. When the vacation comes to an end, unpack, do the wash, go back to the office.

Good times will come again, soon enough. In the meantime, live your life, do your work, earn the pleasure that is to come.

Even the most enjoyable experience you could imagine would become drudgery if it never ended. Keep life enjoyable by allowing the joys time to renew and refresh.

Good times end, yet more will come. Bide your time, earn the pleasure, and make the enjoyment even better next time.

— Ralph Marston

Do what you’ve been talking about
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When you have a choice between talking about what you’re going to do and doing it, the best option is clear. Just go ahead and do it.

Everyone knows talk is not action. That’s why no one pays much attention to what you say, no matter how loudly or colorfully you say it.

Lots of people pay attention to what you do. That’s especially true when what you do makes a difference in their lives.

Some folks might believe what you say, but many will not. Yet what you do is impossible to ignore or deny.

If your words are not having sufficient impact, put some positive action behind them. Better yet, skip the words and go straight to the action.

Don’t let yourself be impressed by your own empty words, because no one else will be. Do what you’ve been talking about instead of continuing to talk about what you’re planning to do.

— Ralph Marston

Honest with yourself
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Accept nothing less than complete honesty from yourself. You deserve it from yourself, and you owe it to yourself.

When you seek to deceive yourself, your effort fails on both sides of the transaction. As deceiver and as deceived, you end up with nothing of any value.

Let yourself know what you need to know, to see what is there to see. Allow yourself to feel what you must feel.

As difficult as it may be to deal with truth, it’s better than the alternative. Choose to build your strength in truth rather than watching it be chipped away by falsehood.

Do not treat lightly the wisdom you’ve spent your life accumulating. Listen to it, consider it, act on it, with respect and gratitude.

Be honest with those who trust you, who depend on you, who have given so much to you, who matter to you. That includes, especially, yourself.

— Ralph Marston

Live the promise of now
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Celebrate this moment that is now because now is where you live. Make good use of now because now is what you have, everything that is.

You can conceptualize the past and the future, and that can be useful. Yet now is the only time where you can actually be.

Now is when you can make progress. Now is when you can enjoy the richness of life.

All the things you’ve ever done have brought you to now. You’re already highly invested in now, so be sure to live it fully.

Now also holds great potential for all you can be. What you do with now will impact all the days ahead.

Give now the respect, attention, energy, and action it deserves. Live the promise, reap the value, of now.

— Ralph Marston