Fwd: Life Support: Under Construction

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/24/2000 11:10:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

YLSS@... writes:

This kind of reminded me of all of us. We're under construction toward a

better quality of life!!

<< UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I have been on a self-improvement program most of my life. Though

I realize I am continually under construction and will never be

fully completed in a lifetime, I relate to the poet who set these

words to paper:

" Your task is to build a better world, " said God, and I

questioned, " How?

This world is such a vast place and, oh, so complicated now.

And I am so small and useless, there is nothing I can do. "

But God in all great wisdom said, " You just build a better you. "

That was the strategy of the Greek orator Demosthenes some two

thousand years ago. Speaker Nido Qubein (COMMUNICATE LIKE A PRO,

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983) tells that

Demosthenes lived in the " golden age of orators, " when public

disputes were settled by oration. As a young man, he was given

the chance to speak to the assembly on some vital issue. But his

weak voice trembled, his thoughts were muddled and he grew less

confident as the speech progressed. He was finally forced to step

down to the sound of boos and hisses. Humiliated, he withdrew

from public life.

But the young man was not easily defeated. More than anything,

Demosthenes wanted to be a great orator. So he launched his own

self-improvement program. To improve his diction, he practiced

for hours at a time with stones in his mouth. To strengthen his

weak voice, he shouted over the heavy winds blowing in from the

Aegean Sea. To clarify his presentation, he studied the

techniques of the masters. And to overcome his fears, he

practiced with a sharp sword hanging over his head!

An opportunity came again several years later, and this time he

was ready. He stepped in front of the assembly to warn the

national leaders of the great threat posed by Philip II of

Macedonia. He offered concise ideas as to how they should fight

this dangerous intruder. So powerful was his speech and so clear

were his thoughts that, when he had finished, the entire audience

rose as one person shouted, " Let us go and fight Philip! "

You may have no desire to become a great public speaker. But, if

you're like me, there will always be plenty of room for

improvement in areas to which you are well suited. And if you

patiently develop and refine your skills, if you hang out the

" Under Construction " sign and persistently build a better you,

you will be ready when the right time comes. And you will be

unstoppable.

>>

Wanting

to be on the other side,

Cathy in Lenoir, NC

Patient Info Emailed on 5/2/00

BMI 42

" A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step! "