the traveler's gift

A book by andy andrews that shares the seven decisions that determine personal success.. =)

I've first heard about this book from Ahiya W (chief counselor of college fellowship) during one of our group meetings. During that time, i was feeling confused and angry and faithless.. I started questioning God and even doubting him.. Ahiya W shared the story to the group and i find the story interesting because i felt that somehow i can relate with the lead character of the story and i was curious about the lessons that he had learned during his travel. Ever since then, i've been looking for this book everywhere! (national bookstore, pdf file from the internet, etc) its been almost a year or so i guess, and i still haven't found the book yet!

A few months ago, my family came across a great challenge. we were all placed in a difficult position and sad to say, i began doubting God and and continuously questioned His plans for me and my family. The tension inside the house increases, and relationships turned from good to sour.. I felt so lost and unfeeling that nothing seems to matter anymore.. during this time at college fellowship, we have been regrouped and formed new cell groups. I met Achi H my new counselor, she's very patient with me and always try to answer all my questions no matter how stupid they sound or "faithless". She have the book that i was looking for all year! finally! and she was willing to lend the book to me.. =)

i finished reading the book today and i find it inspiring and rewarding.. it is a self-help fictional book, but the lessons it contain provides great insights regarding life as a whole.

David Ponder is a desperate man. He used to be a successful businessman, and was able to provide a good life for his wife and daughter. Now, he has no money, no job and no self-esteem. After several months of working in a hardware store, he have no way of paying for his house, car insurance and other household bills. To top it all, his daughter is sick and needs to be operated and they have no money. Not a single cent and their credit cards are already maxed out. Feeling frustrated with his life and feeling useless, he decided to take his own life so that his wife and daughter may still benefit from his life insurance. David remembers crashing into a tree and then blank..

he went into a journey wherein he visited 7 great people in History who will teach him the secrets to personal success.

1. Harry Truman - The buck stops here - "i will accept responsibility for my past. i can control my thoughts. i can control my emotions. i am responsible for my success."

• outside influences are not responsible for where you are mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally or financially. you have chosen your pathway to your present destination. the responsibility for your situation is yours.
  
• Your thinking dictates your situations.
  
• instead of always thinking "why me?" you answer with "why not me?" challenges are gifts, opportunities to learn.

2. King Solomon - I will seek wisdom

• wisdom waits to be gathered. she cannot be bartered or sold. she is a gift for the diligent and only the diligent will find her. the lazy man - the stupid man - never even looks. though wisdom is available to many, she is found by few. Seek Wisdom. find her and you will find success and contentment.
  
• my past can never be changed but i can change the future by changing my actions today!
• i will choose my friends with care, i will listen to the counsel of wise men, I will be a humble servant to others. i will seek wisdom!
  

3. Joshua Chamberlain - i am a person of action

• No longer will i dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity. i can do nothing about the past. My future is immediate.
  
• when faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something. i will always choose to act! i seize this moment. I choose now.
  
• i am energetic, i move quickly. I inspire others with my activity. I am a leader.
• I can make a decision. I can make it now. A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their mind slowly. failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly!
  
• i am daring. i am courageous. I do not fear failure for in my life, failure is a myth. Failure exist only for the person who quits. i do not quit.
  

4. Christopher Columbus - I have a decided heart

• i have a decided heart. I am passionate about my vision for the future. I have a dream. It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it. Neither will i ever let it go for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence.
  
• A person without a dream never had a dream come true.
• I will not wait. I am passionate about my vision for the future. My course have been charted. My destiny is assured. I have a decided heart.
  

5. Anne Frank - Today, I will choose to be happy.

• Our lives are fashioned by choice. First we make choices, then our choices make us.
  
• Today, i will chose to be happy. I will greet each day with laughter. Happiness is a choice.
  
• When i chose to smile, I became the master of my emotions. Discouragement, despair, frustration and fear will always wither when confronted by my smile. The power of who i am is displayed when i smile.
  
• I am the possessor of a grateful spirit. In the past, i have found discouragement in particular situations until i compared the condition of my life to other less fortunate. It is impossible for the seeds of depression to take root in a thankful heart.
  
• My God has bestowed upon me many gifts and for these I will remember to be grateful. Too many times I have offered up the prayers of a beggar, always asking for more and forgetting to give thanks. I am grateful for sight and sound and breath. If ever in my life there is a pouring out of blessings beyond that, then i will be grateful for the miracle of abundance.
  

6. Abraham Lincoln - I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.

• The secret of forgiveness is a secret that is hidden in plain sight. It cost nothing and is worth millions. it is available to everyone and used by few. If you harness the power of forgiveness, you will be revered, sought after and wealthy. and not coincidentally, you will also be forgiven by others!
  
• Forgiveness is a gift to be given. When I give forgiveness, I free my own spirit to release the anger and hatred harbored in my heart. By granting forgiveness, I free my spirit to pursue my future happily and unencumbered by the anchors of my past. and forgiveness when granted to others becomes a gift to myself.
  
• I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticizes me unjustly. I will forgive MYSELF.
  

7. Gabriel (Archangel) - I will persist without exception.

• No longer will I live in a dimension of distaction, my focus blown hither and yon like a leaf on a blustery day. i Know the outcome i desire. I hold fast to my dreams. I stay the course. I do not quit.
  
• I will persist without exception. I will continue despite exhaustion. I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.
  
• I will persist without exception. I will focus on result. To achive the results I desire, it is not even necessary that I enjoy the process. It is only important that i continue the process with my eyes on the outcome.
  
• I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.
  "For i know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope nad a future" ---(JEREMIAH).
  
• Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist.
  

David woke up and found himself in the hospital. He suffered from a severe concussion on his head but miraculously he did not sustain any broken bone or neurologic problems. He was pretty disappointed when he realized that it was only a dream, but he hurriedly wrote everything he had remembered from his dream. when the nurse came back and gave him all his belongings, he found all the 7 papers given to him by those people he met on his journey. =)

i thank the writer of this book for creating such wonderful and inspiring story. =) hope more people discover this book and learn something from it too!

ikaw ba to?

selfish people. they're everywhere..walang inisip kundi ang sarili lang nila. may problema sila sige ipapaalam sa lahat. maraming makikinig. maraming makikisymphatize. sumama ka sa kanila. subukan mong ikaw naman minsan ang may problema. wala ka pa sa kalahati ng sasabihin mo iibahin na ang topic. nakakabadtrip diba? pero nasa tabi lang natin mga to.malay mo isa sa mga yan kaibigan mo. lahat ng problema sa isang angle lang tinitignan. malamang sa sariling angle, sa sariling point of view. sinung mukhang kawawa? sila. sinung laging inaapi? sila. magkamali ka minsan pagtatawanan ka. may gawin kang di pagkakamali kahit ganu kaliit imamagnify nila. self gratification? ewan ko nalang. dun ka masaya, niloloko sarili mo. puro ka salita wala naman ginagawa. nakakatawa minsan, parang nagdradrama ka nalang para lang makakuha ng attention. pero jan ka masaya eh ang mapansin ng lahat, to be in the center of attention. sana lang talaga masaya ka sa buhay mong puno ng kasinungalingan.selfish people. they're everywhere..walang inisip kundi ang sarili lang nila. may problema sila sige ipapaalam sa lahat. maraming makikinig. maraming makikisymphatize. sumama ka sa kanila. subukan mong ikaw naman minsan ang may problema. wala ka pa sa kalahati ng sasabihin mo iibahin na ang topic. nakakabadtrip diba? pero nasa tabi lang natin mga to.malay mo isa sa mga yan kaibigan mo. lahat ng problema sa isang angle lang tinitignan. malamang sa sariling angle, sa sariling point of view. sinung mukhang kawawa? sila. sinung laging inaapi? sila. magkamali ka minsan pagtatawanan ka. may gawin kang di pagkakamali kahit ganu kaliit imamagnify nila. self gratification? ewan ko nalang. dun ka masaya, niloloko sarili mo. puro ka salita wala naman ginagawa. nakakatawa minsan, parang nagdradrama ka nalang para lang makakuha ng attention. pero jan ka masaya eh ang mapansin ng lahat, to be in the center of attention. sana lang talaga masaya ka sa buhay mong puno ng kasinungalingan.

what the hell is your problem?!

one thing i don't like is people talking about me behind my back. we don't like that. nobody does. what really burns is that, you thought of this person as your friend and the next thing you know people are laughing at you behind your back because she shared something you did that was suppose to be confidential. i'm not perfect i admit that. im loud (as in 95% of the time), im the what-you-see-what-you-get type of person. and most of the time strangers judge me either as friendly-loud or irritating-loud. but its something that people im close to know from the start and learns to accept as time goes by.

darn you spoiled brat for acting that way! you befriend people for your selfish gain! you think that your problem is so big that you'll simply die because there's nothing you can do about it (hello!? breakup?!) and the reason why you guys broke up is perfectly clear.. its because you are so selfish that everything must revolve around you and how you feel! you feel like you're already a martyr for doing simple things and you magnify things a hundred times just to gain sympathy! you befriended me for your own selfish gain! i thought we were friends but @^%@!&%@&*! you useless bitch! i really really hate you and im pissed off at you! you don't have the right to tell me that im tactless and that im loud.. yeah i know that can't you be more sensitive to the way other people feels?! and for you to say that im actually trying to gain profit from something you're asking me to do well GO TO HELL! do it yourself! im not LIKE THAT! and you don't have the right to say that im that kind of person!

darn you OBACHAN! you ugly snit! I really don't know what the hell is your problem.. wouldn't your day be complete without insulting me?! what the hell is your guys' problem?!