Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."
But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.
I hope you have a blessed and safe Labor Day!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Top 5 Questions Asked to Brian Tracy
Question # 2
You Asked…I answered
Brian Tracy -
“What is the single biggest question that you want to ask Brian Tracy?”… here are the first 5 top questions asked…
Question # 2: How do you beat procrastination and execute your own potential to perform at your best?
Answer: In my book Eat That Frog! I explain how to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster.
In its simplest terms, the way to overcome procrastination is for you to make a list of everything that you have to do in the coming day and then set priorities on that list.
Identify the one activity or task that is more valuable and important than any other. You then discipline yourself to start on that task first thing, and concentrate on that task until it is 100% complete.
When you develop the habit of starting on your most important task and completing it at the beginning of each day, you will double, triple and increase your productivity as much as four or five times. You will get more things done faster and move ahead more rapidly in your life than with any other single technique.
You Asked…I answered
Brian Tracy -
“What is the single biggest question that you want to ask Brian Tracy?”… here are the first 5 top questions asked…
Question # 2: How do you beat procrastination and execute your own potential to perform at your best?
Answer: In my book Eat That Frog! I explain how to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster.
In its simplest terms, the way to overcome procrastination is for you to make a list of everything that you have to do in the coming day and then set priorities on that list.
Identify the one activity or task that is more valuable and important than any other. You then discipline yourself to start on that task first thing, and concentrate on that task until it is 100% complete.
When you develop the habit of starting on your most important task and completing it at the beginning of each day, you will double, triple and increase your productivity as much as four or five times. You will get more things done faster and move ahead more rapidly in your life than with any other single technique.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Top 5 Questions Asked to Brian Tracy
Question # 3
You Asked…I answered
Brian Tracy -
“What is the single biggest question that you want to ask Brian Tracy?”… here are the first 5 top questions asked…
Question # 3: How important is my “mindset” on the path to success?
Answer: Earl Nightingale once wrote that “Attitude” is the most important word in the language. Your attitude is the way you approach any situation or problem, either positive or negative.
The most profound truth in human history is that “You will become what you think about – most of the time.”
What is it that you think about most of the time? If you think of something positive, constructive, uplifting or happy, you will be a positive and focused person.
Top people think about what they want, and how to get it, most of the time. If one thing doesn’t work, they try something else.
More than anything else, the busier you are working in the pursuit of your goals, the more energy and imagination you will have, you will be more positive and focused. You will feel in complete control of yourself and your life as you get so busy every day working on achieving your most important goals.
You Asked…I answered
Brian Tracy -
“What is the single biggest question that you want to ask Brian Tracy?”… here are the first 5 top questions asked…
Question # 3: How important is my “mindset” on the path to success?
Answer: Earl Nightingale once wrote that “Attitude” is the most important word in the language. Your attitude is the way you approach any situation or problem, either positive or negative.
The most profound truth in human history is that “You will become what you think about – most of the time.”
What is it that you think about most of the time? If you think of something positive, constructive, uplifting or happy, you will be a positive and focused person.
Top people think about what they want, and how to get it, most of the time. If one thing doesn’t work, they try something else.
More than anything else, the busier you are working in the pursuit of your goals, the more energy and imagination you will have, you will be more positive and focused. You will feel in complete control of yourself and your life as you get so busy every day working on achieving your most important goals.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Success Habits
Zig Ziglar's Success Habits: Your Journey to the Top
Personal development icon Zig Ziglar told SUCCESS Magazine, "I'm a constant learner. You need to be a constant student because things change and you have to change and grow. And I emphasize the word grow," he says. Here are Zig Ziglar's five habits for your journey to the top:
1. Be a constant leader.
2. Seek out information that you can learn and teach to others.
3. Encourage others and help them get what they want.
4. Express gratitude. "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions," Ziglar says. "The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for."
5. Recognize the value of relationships and their role in creating balanced success.
Be consistent in your words and actions. "When you make a promise, keep it."
Personal development icon Zig Ziglar told SUCCESS Magazine, "I'm a constant learner. You need to be a constant student because things change and you have to change and grow. And I emphasize the word grow," he says. Here are Zig Ziglar's five habits for your journey to the top:
1. Be a constant leader.
2. Seek out information that you can learn and teach to others.
3. Encourage others and help them get what they want.
4. Express gratitude. "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions," Ziglar says. "The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for."
5. Recognize the value of relationships and their role in creating balanced success.
Be consistent in your words and actions. "When you make a promise, keep it."
Monday, July 25, 2011
Discipline
by Jim Rohn
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.
All disciplines affect each other. Mistakenly the man says, “This is the only area where I let down.” Not true. Every let down affects the rest. Not to think so is naive.
Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.
The best time to set up a new discipline is when the idea is strong.
One discipline always leads to another discipline.
Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
You don’t have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years.
The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.
All disciplines affect each other. Mistakenly the man says, “This is the only area where I let down.” Not true. Every let down affects the rest. Not to think so is naive.
Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.
The best time to set up a new discipline is when the idea is strong.
One discipline always leads to another discipline.
Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
You don’t have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years.
The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.
Monday, July 18, 2011
"Rattle Some Cages Today!"
"Rattle Some Cages Today!"
Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."Bill Purvis
If your vision isn't big enough to irritate your enemies it probably isn't big enough to motivate your friends.
Whatever happened to thinking the sky's the limit? We tell our children they can be whoever they want to be or do whatever they want to do if they put their mind to it. Yet for some reason that advice is only good for so long. Once we reach a certain age or stage in life those words of wisdom aren't applicable anymore.
We're forced to settle for fourth or fifth tier and become comfortable. We let the world around us convince us that we've reached our full potential. That vision we had once upon a time has now taken a back seat. I don't know what's worse not having a vision at all or having a small one. Both might as well be deemed equal.
Our thought process is what has changed. Maybe between meeting too many naysayers along the path, associating with negative people, or incurring a few obstacles, we've pulled back and slowed our pursuit.
Don't let your mind, your fears or those around you stop your spirit from dreaming and pursuing them. God created you for a higher purpose and bigger impact than you realize. He gets glory in taking those with little potential and countless disadvantages to places that show His power. There's a difference between those who never achieve their dreams and those who do. The achievers haven't let their own minds or the world around them convince them that they cannot obtain their dreams.
It's time to rattle some cages! Start dreaming again! Start believing in a bigger vision for your life today.
Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."Bill Purvis
If your vision isn't big enough to irritate your enemies it probably isn't big enough to motivate your friends.
Whatever happened to thinking the sky's the limit? We tell our children they can be whoever they want to be or do whatever they want to do if they put their mind to it. Yet for some reason that advice is only good for so long. Once we reach a certain age or stage in life those words of wisdom aren't applicable anymore.
We're forced to settle for fourth or fifth tier and become comfortable. We let the world around us convince us that we've reached our full potential. That vision we had once upon a time has now taken a back seat. I don't know what's worse not having a vision at all or having a small one. Both might as well be deemed equal.
Our thought process is what has changed. Maybe between meeting too many naysayers along the path, associating with negative people, or incurring a few obstacles, we've pulled back and slowed our pursuit.
Don't let your mind, your fears or those around you stop your spirit from dreaming and pursuing them. God created you for a higher purpose and bigger impact than you realize. He gets glory in taking those with little potential and countless disadvantages to places that show His power. There's a difference between those who never achieve their dreams and those who do. The achievers haven't let their own minds or the world around them convince them that they cannot obtain their dreams.
It's time to rattle some cages! Start dreaming again! Start believing in a bigger vision for your life today.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Success Is Easy
Maybe this will encourage you in your success journey :)
Success Is Easy, But So Is Neglect by Jim Rohn
People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to do. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to do. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.
In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
It is not the lack of money—banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity—America, and much of the Free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books—libraries are full of books and they are free! It is not the schools—the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.
Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.
Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more... and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of “easy to” and “easy not to” that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy,” but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.
Success Is Easy, But So Is Neglect by Jim Rohn
People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to do. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to do. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.
In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
It is not the lack of money—banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity—America, and much of the Free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books—libraries are full of books and they are free! It is not the schools—the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.
Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.
Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more... and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of “easy to” and “easy not to” that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy,” but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.
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