Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Even with all the turmoil in the world there are many reasons to be Happy and Optimistic for 2012 but you may have to look in the less obvious places to find them.  Don’t look to governments, the media, or Hollywood.  Look to yourself, your family, and your friends.  Look for ways to make each one better than last year.  Yeah, I know that sounds trite and many will say that’s easier said than done.  Well, I believe it’s easier done than said, and here’s how.

A man decided that he would change the world.
But, he wasn’t successful.

So he decided to change the country.
But, he wasn’t successful.

So he decided to change his community.
But, he wasn’t successful.

So he decided to change his street.
But, be wasn’t successful.

So he decided to change his family.
But, he wasn’t successful.

So he decided finally, to change himself.

AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY CHANGED AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET AFFECTED THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AFFECTED THEIR COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY AFFECTED THE WORLD.

Resolve this year to change something about yourself that will make you a better person.  Something that others will notice.  Something that others will admire.  Something that others will want to emulate.

I’ve heard it takes about 28 days of continuous practice for something to become a habit.  Pick a trait.  “I’ll be honest in ALL of my dealings with others”  Practice it for the month. Pick another one.  “I’ll be kinder to those I find it most difficult to be kind to” Go another month.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

Would 12 new GOOD habits impact your life and the lives of those around you by January 2, 2013?

Give it a shot.

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An Object Lesson in Integrity

“So shines a good deed in a weary world” ~ Willie Wonka

One of my favorite quotes comes from a fictional, eccentric, chocolate maker.  It comes to mind whenever I see acts of kindness, honesty, and integrity.  So it is with this story that comes out of Utah this week.

Josh Ferrin recently closed on a new home in Bountiful, Utah, his family’s first taste of home ownership.  As Josh toured the new home prior to moving his family in he noticed a piece of cloth hanging from an attic door in the garage.  He pulled the cloth, opened the door, and grabbed a ladder to climb up into the attic.  As he entered he saw a black metal box.  He curiously opened it see what, if anything, was inside and that’s when he made a discovery that would probably send chills and thrills up the spine of any one of us.  The box was stuffed with cash, bond certificates, old stamps, and other memorabilia, and there was more.  He found seven other boxes just like it.

All totaled the contents of the box equaled about $45,000.

Ferrin says his first thoughts were what he could do with all that money and then came the next thought…it had to be returned to the rightful owner.  Thought number two won the day.

He called the seller of the home and explained what he had found.  The former homeowner passed away in November 2010 but his youngest son, Dennis Bangerter, the executor of Bangerter’s estate, was the one who sold the home to the Ferrins.  He had no idea his father had stashed all that cash in the attic.

“The house needs some work,” Josh Ferrin said. “I could use the $45,000 for remodeling, but he didn’t save that money for us. He saved it for his family.”

“Going through those boxes, I felt like I had a peek into his life,” Ferrin said about the late Arnold Bangerter who left the surprising find.  I never considered the money mine, you can’t allow yourself to think like that.  This is a beautiful outcome and it feels good to be a part of it. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to do something extraordinarily honest.”

It’s a rare opportunity for the public to share in something so extraordinarily honest as well.  Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Ferrin for such a fine example of what integrity means and the reward that comes from practicing it.

It’s something money can’t buy.

For the full story and video CLICK HERE

Related articles

• Family Finds $45,000 In New Home — Then Returns It (weirdnews.aol.com)
• Big cash discovery becomes lesson in honesty for Bountiful family ()
• Man Finds 40G in House and Returns it to Owners (foxnews.com)
• Family finds $45,000 in new home _ then returns it (seattletimes.nwsource.com)