The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked me to the car.

We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

Author unknown from A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1997 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty & Meladee McCarty

Quotations

Timing

Don't wait. The time will never be just right.
- Napoleon Hill

Growth

The minute a man ceases to grow,
no matter what his years,
that minute he begins to be old.
- William James

Optimism

A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities
and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.
- Harry Truman

Quality

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
- Wyatt Earp

Every calling is great when greatly pursued
- Anonymous

Courage

Success is never final and failure is never fatal.
It's courage that counts.
- Jules Ellinger

Perception

You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
- Herb Cohen

Decisions

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Winning

If you don't quit, and don't cheat, and don't run home when trouble arrives, you can only win.
- Shelley Long

Honesty

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Integrity

Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: Integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire somebody without the first you really want them to be dumb and lazy.
- Warren Buffety>