Orrin Woodward on LIFE & Leadership

Learning is critical to your success and is a lifetime activity.  This is why I spend so much time teaching others how to learn.  When a person learns how to learn – their only limit to their success is their hunger to keep learning.  Here are my favorite quotes on learning.

 

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards. – Vernon Saunders Law

 

 

If you take things for granted heres somethings to ponder about…

 

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

 

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation … you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

 

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death…you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

 

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world.

 

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace … you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

 

If your parents are still alive and still married … you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

 

If you can read this webpage, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

 

Take nothing for granted. – Unknown

 

 

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. – Unknown

Three lessons that will make you think about the way you treat others…

 

First Important Lesson – Cleaning Lady

 

During my second month of college, 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.

 

Second Important Lesson – Pickup in the Rain

 

One night, at 11.30 p.m., 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.

I was notified that the above story about Mrs. Nat King Cole is an urban legend and did not happen.  I have kept the story in for the principles taught and to notify everyone who has previously read this story that it is an urban legend.  Thank you, Orrin

 

Third Important Lesson – Always remember those who serve

 

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 is 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. – Author Unknown

 

 

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. – Mark Twain

 

 

I’ve Learned….

 

I’ve learned – That our background and circumstances

may have influenced who we are,

but we are responsible for who we become.

 

I’ve learned – That sometimes when my friends fight,

I’m forced to choose sides

even when I don’t want to.

 

I’ve learned – That just because two people argue,

it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other

And just because they don’t argue,

it doesn’t mean they do.

 

I’ve learned – That sometimes you have to put

the individual ahead of their actions.

 

I’ve learned – That we don’t have to change friends

if we understand that friends change.

 

I’ve learned – That you shouldn’t be so

eager to find out a secret.

It could change your life forever.

 

I’ve learned – That two people can look

at the exact same thing

and see something totally different.

 

I’ve learned – That no matter how you try to protect

your children, they will eventually get hurt

and you will hurt in the process.

 

I’ve learned – That there are many ways of falling

and staying in love.

 

I’ve learned – That no matter the consequences,

those who are honest with themselves

get farther in life.

 

I’ve learned – That no matter how many friends

you have, if you are their pillar

you will feel lonely and lost

at the times you need them most.

 

I’ve learned – That your life can be changed

in a matter of hours

by people who don’t even know you.

 

I’ve learned – That even when you think

you have no more to give,

when a friend cries out to you,

you will find the strength to help.

 

I’ve learned – That writing, as well as talking,

can ease emotional pains.

 

I’ve learned – That the paradigm we live in

is not all that is offered to us.

 

I’ve learned – That credentials on the wall

do not make you a decent human being.

 

I’ve learned – That the people you care most about in life

are taken from you too soon.

 

I’ve learned – That although the word “love”

can have many different meanings,

it loses value when overly used.

 

I’ve learned – That it’s hard to determine

where to draw the line

between being nice and

not hurting people’s feelings

and standing up for what you believe. – Author Unknown

 

 

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he has already learned. – Anonymous