Archives For joy


Oliver Cromwell, by Samuel Cooper (died 1672)....

Oliver Cromwell

It is said that some of the top leaders of England were at a party with Oliver Cromwell, trying their best to make friends with him in order to win favors. One man apparently had a habit of talking before thinking and saw a homely young lady enter the party with a man.

“Who is that unsightly creature with Lord Smith?” the man asked Cromwell.

Cromwell winced and said “That sir, is my daughter.”

Trying hastily to overcome his mistake the man said “No, no I mean that shocking monster on the other side of him.”

“That, sir, is my wife.”

I don’t know if that story is true or just a joke, but the following is true and I thought it was very interesting because it is the account of a man who rose from obscurity to a very high position.

Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) was an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Born into the middle gentry, he was relatively obscure for the first 40 years of his life. After undergoing a religious conversion in the 1630s, Cromwell became an intensely religious man and he fervently believed that God was guiding his victories.

He was elected Member of Parliament and later entered the English Civil War. Nicknamed “Old Ironsides”, he was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to become one of the principal commanders of the New Model Army. (From Wikipedia)

He later became head of state of England, Scotland and Ireland and changed the course of history. It just goes to show you that your luck can change at any time, and you may be propelled into a wonderful life.

Cromwell was sympathetic to Fox and almost agr...

Cromwell 

Dog jokes

Brad Stanton —  January 30, 2013 — 4 Comments

A dog with no name

A man was passing through a small town and decided to stop for a soft drink. He parked and got out of his car. In front of the store was a boy, about 8 or 10 years old and a dog. The man was impressed by the dog and asked

“Son, does your dog bite?”

“No, my dog doesn’t bite, mister.” the boy said.

The man reached down to pet the dog and suddenly the dog lunged and bit his hand.

“I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite!” the man cried out.

“That’s not my dog” the boy answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was summertime and a man walked past several boys with a dog. “What are you boys doing?” he asked.

“We are competing to see who wins this dog as a prize. Whoever tells the biggest lie gets to keep the dog.” One of the boys said.

The man was shocked at the morals of these young boys, competing to see who could tell the biggest lie. He decided he would do his good deed for the day and encourage them to find a more honest way to compete for the dog.

“Boys, it’s not a good idea to tell lies. Why, when I was a boy I became a Christian at an early age and I didn’t tell lies after that. In fact, I was so blessed by the Lord that I became a preacher.” He talked and talked, going on and on about how bad it is to lie and how he didn’t do that kind of thing. Eventually he paused to see if he had any effect on the boys. They were staring at him with strange expressions on their faces.

“OK, give him the dog. None of us can tell that big of a lie!” one of the boys said.

cute dog on table

Key to success

Brad Stanton —  October 18, 2012 — 14 Comments

 

Keys to success:

Decide what you want in life
(What would you do with your life if you knew you couldn’t fail )
Think about what you do well
Clarify your values
Set goals (don’t be afraid to set high goals)
Believe you can reach your goals
Find other people to work with
Be disciplined and persistent
Enjoy your work, work hard
Never, never give up
pray

A key or set of keys can be the key to success. Many people put their keys in their pocket or purse in the morning and take them out to start their car, unlock their house, possibly other things. Many people take them out of their pocket before bed.

When you touch your key, remember to be thankful for whatever that key unlocks. Take your apartment or house for example. Even if it is not exactly what you want, you can still be thankful for it. If you are reading this it means you have money for an internet connection, which means you are probably in the top half richest people in the world. If you make $50,000 US dollars a year or more, it means you are in the top 1% richest people in the world.

Touch your car key. Think about how grateful you are to have a car. If you have a car you are rich, only a small percentage of the people in the world own cars.

Every morning and every evening, be thankful for what you have. It is important to do it at those times because the thoughts you think before going to sleep help condition your subconscious thoughts and dreams as you sleep. What you think about in the morning helps you set a good mood that will make the whole day go better. I find that the proper thoughts in the morning really are a powerful way to change my day and my whole life.

It may seem surprising, but one of the most powerful things you can do to put yourself on a higher plane spiritually is to praise God. By doing this you are being grateful for God’s love for you. It makes you stronger and it makes your day more joyful, especially if you are doing it for God and not for you.

Reblogged from my post a couple of months ago.


Zig Ziglar speaks at the Get Motivated Seminar...

Zig Ziglar speaks at the Get Motivated Seminar at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You have probably heard that when you exercise your body secretes endorphins into your bloodstream. These chemicals give you the “runner’s high.” They make you feel peaceful and happy.

Zig Ziglar writes that when you read motivational, inspirational material, glands in your body secret healthy chemicals that make you high. These chemicals help you become motivated, wide awake, peaceful and happy.

I stopped to think about this, could it really be true? I read that a couple of weeks ago and decided to see if it is true. Recently when I read or listen to motivational, inspirational books I stop and think, is this getting me high? Sure enough, it is! Amazing. So the moral of this story is that you can stay high on healthy chemicals while avoiding the illegal drugs that can blow your mind.

I have met a number of people who used so many illegal drugs that their minds became weak and numb. I recently read that smoking pot lowers the IQ. Some study in New Zealand researched this.

Well, if you want to stay stoned, read my blog, I think it will help. You might also try some of the books I list in the “Recommended Books” page of my blog. http://bradstanton.com/books-i-love/

Happy reading!


I decided to do something lighthearted and silly during the last full moon. After reading the thought provoking book “Full Moon” by Seymore Butz who decides to grin and bare it, (that was after I read “Yellow River” by I.P. Freely) I decided to let my creative juices flow. This train wreck of a post is the unfortunate result.

The picture is Lady Gaga when she was nine. Isn’t she cute? More about her later in this post.

I suppose the inspiring, philosophical quote by Mic Jagger explains it pretty well: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need. Ahhhhh yea.” If we really take these words to heart it can make us a little more whatever. It’s just so….whatever. A quote from a rock guitarist in his usual drug induced stupor that I especially love: “Let him paltry when I don’t remember why I let’s go see and then it was over.” I’m sure he understood what he was talking about…or maybe not.

But it is true we don’t always get what we want. I attended a speech by a man who went to Canada to help people in a certain impoverished area with their spiritual, emotional and physical needs. I thought that was pretty cool. I wanted to go and do the same as I listened to his fascinating stories of making a difference in people’s lives. I knew that if I did that kind of work I would get that nice warm feeling every day. At my present job I only get that nice warm feeling from wetting my pants. But anyway, he told about how his wife found that many women in the rural area felt disconnected. So she started an outreach called Girlfriends Unlimited. He told some of the touching stories of how lonely women found a friend. I was so moved that during the question and answer session I told him I wanted to move to Canada and be a part of Girlfriends Unlimited. That door shut firmly in my face, I think it was sexual discrimination, but I didn’t let it get me down. I can’t always get what I want.

By now, if you are still reading this you probably think I suffer from insanity. No, that is not the case at all. I enjoy being insane.

I certainly didn’t get want I wanted at work the other day. My coworker was talking about his nephew who is making it fairly big in Hollywood and how he had dreamed of that since he was a child. Then he went on to tell about another relative who had dreamed of driving a truck since he was five. I told him I’ve always dreamed of being a Chippendale’s dancer. He ignored the comment. (I don’t really want to do be a Chippendale’s dancer, just wanted to shock him, I’d have to lose weight.) When people cling to a dream long enough, it almost always seems to be fulfilled. The picture of Lady Gaga – notice the flair for fashion, black outfit, wide eyes. She must have been perfecting her routine since childhood.

He asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and what kind of woman I was looking for. He always thinks he needs to get me fixed up. I told him again that I want a woman the way I like my tea– strong, hot and sweet. He ignored that too. I don’t know why he doesn’t take me seriously. Once he even suggested I was demon possessed, but I’m sure the only reason he felt that way is that I forgot to pay my exorcist that month and got repossessed.

He sometimes told me wild, incredible, unbelievable stories, like the time at Christmas he was with all the family and in-laws sitting around the fireplace chatting. He said his father got up a laid a log on the fire. That was really hard for me to believe. For one, his dad is not the kind of person to lay a log in front of everyone, secondly, I’m sure he would burn his butt before he could finish laying the log. I just can’t picture his dad deciding to grin and bare it.

Then he had the gall to suggest maybe I have a drinking problem. I told him I don’t have a drinking problem at all, I can quit drinking any time I want. I quit drinking three times yesterday.

I really got carried away that day…….. by the men in white.