The Ships of Life
             A William Pearce Project!
     William was born into a family of humble means.  His life began with a medical condition that put him in a lower body cast as an infant to correct club feet.  He was already a miracle as doctors had told his mother she shouldn’t have more children. Two years previous to William’s birth she had a daughter who died at six months of congenital heart failure.  As William grew, to avoid a toxic relationship between his parents that ended in divorce when he was 14, he played sports.  William became very good at baseball, basketball, and football.  He went on to be a Punter for the football team at Northeastern State University and graduated with a bachelors in business management.  He married and after five years they had their first daughter but didn’t feel fulfilled in his career.  William made the decision to return to school where he could help others with their physical challenges.  When his daughter was four years old, she watched her father receive a Masters degree in Physical Therapy.  He went on to have a career as a Commissioned Corp Officer in Public Health Service. He was a Physical Therapist in the Federal Prison System and at clinics and hospitals for Indian Health Service.  Although it was a difficult road to reassess and make the decision to change his career at  the age of  32, the things most worth having in life are the ones we work the hardest for.
      William, a member of the Lord’s Church, spent his life serving others.  This booklet is dedicated, in his memory, to be an inspiration for others and for you to overcome the storms of life.

    We are starting a grass-rout effort to eliminate a worldwide pandemic.   This pandemic has caused more damage to our society than we will ever know.  Yet with your help, a cure is in site.  This pandemic is better know as illiteracy.  The pen is mightier than the sword is a powerful statement, yet it’s power is lost to those who cannot read.  The words of a pen are useless and all that is left is the sword.
By Michael Sainato from the Observer:
“An often overlooked aspect of mass incarceration and the criminal justice system in the United States is the abhorrent illiteracy rates in prisons throughout the United States. The Literacy Project Foundation found that three out of five people in U.S. prisons can’t read and 85 percent of juvenile offenders have trouble reading. Other research has estimated that illiteracy rates in prisons are as high as 75 percent of the prison population. This unaddressed issue in the United States’ prison system is inextricably linked to high recidivism rates. In 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Research has shown that arming inmates with a solid education is one of the surest ways of reducing the rate at which they end up back behind bars after being released. Officially, California has embraced education as an important form of rehabilitation, but the reality is far different. Just six percent of inmates are in academic classes, and five percent attend vocational classes.” This issue is rampant in prisons across the country.”
     75% of Americans who receive food stamps perform at the lowest 2 levels of literacy, and 90% of high school dropouts are on welfare.  Teenage girls between the ages of 16 to 19 who live at or below the poverty line and have below average literacy skills are 6 times more likely to have children out of wedlock than girls their age who can read proficiently.  Together we can change the world!
     Please make the time to read this booklet.  It is designed to be taught in a class setting to those that cannot read.  In our prisons, by the Chaplains, in our schools, by Reading Specialists, in our homes, by our friends that can read.  There are two ways you can help.

1. Contribute to The Perfect 10 Charity to pay for the publication of the booklets.  We will distribute them for free to any group that requests them.   Or you can provide the booklets and distribute them as needed in your community.
2. Provide eReaders for those that complete the class and have the desire to improve their reading skills.  These audible readers need to be preloaded with a learn-to-read program and access to some predetermined free book downloads.

      If you are able to help, send you donations to:
                             The Perfect 10 Charity
                              P O Box # 10
                              San Antonio, Florida 33576
      If you are unable to help, please pass this information on to someone that can make a difference.  Contact a Ships of Live Navigator, Bill Schroder:  352-636-0550


                   This too shall pass!


           Here's a look at some of history's worst pandemics.
                                   The Spanish Flu
    The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic that spread around the world between 1918 and 1919, according to the CDC. It was caused by an H1N1 virus, with an avian (bird) origin, though it's unclear exactly where the virus originated. The CDC estimates that about 500 million people (or one-third of the world's population) became infected with the virus. It ultimately caused at least 50 million deaths worldwide with about 675,000 deaths happening in the U.S.
                                    The Black Death
    The Black Death, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an approximately 75 to 200 million people across Europe and Asia, between 1347 to 1351. The Black Death resurfaced in London in 1665 for the Great Plague of London, killed 20% of London's population, in just 18-months, about  100,000 people died.
    About Coronavirus:   Basic Information
    Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. It was a new infectious disease and was caused by new type of virus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 is a cause of an outbreak of respiratory disease. Cases of COVID-19 has spread to well over 190 countries. WHO declared a global pandemic in March 2020.  Globally, as of July 28th, there have been 16,301,736 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 650,069 deaths reported.
     It is easy to see the devastating results of a world wide pandemic.  Every country on the planet is desperately searching for a cure.  Yet there is another pandemic that has ravaged humanity since the beginning of time and that pandemic is illiteracy.  Our leaders can require us to wear masks and self isolate, but are hesitant to have a reading skills requirement.  I am convinced that improving the reading skills of the population will decrease the number of people in prison, the number of people on welfare and break the circle of poverty.
    As with any pandemic, your goal is to eradicate the virus.  This passionate energy must be applied to the eradication of illiteracy.  When we as a people focus on this goal, monumental progress will be achieved.
     As you know, if the parents cannot read, the children cannot read.  Your main goal as a parent is not to raise children but to raise adults.  Our goal as a nation must be the elimination of illiteracy.
    The Perfect 10 Charity is sponsoring this booklet to entice the downtrodden to read.  If you are motivated to support this effort, mail a donation to:
                                The Perfect 10 Charity
                                 PO Box # 10
                                 San Antonio Fl. 33576

    
​​
​
​
​
                   The Ships of Life,
      a free booklet that will change the way
                     You live your life!
            Compiled by Bill Schroder    
                                                          Foreword
My father would say, “When something bad happens, look for the good,” or  “When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  I am writing this booklet in an effort to make something good out of the CoronaVirus pandemic.
      These words are written for the sole purpose of inspiring you to make some wise choices that will change your life.  Once you become wise enough to control yourself, everything else is easy.  Look into a mirror.  You are looking at the one person that can make the most improvements in your life.   
Proverbs 12:15
                   “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
                      but a wise man listens to advice.”
     Every day we have the same 24 hours to use wisely.  There are 3 parts to time.  The Future, The Present and the Past.  We are blind to the Future, the Present is a blur and the Past can be seen clearly.  Wisdom is like money.  You work hard and save some for the future.  When you make a purchase, your money has value in the present.  After it is spent, you can see clearly where it went.  Wisdom cannot help you in the future or change the past.   Wisdom only has value when it is spent on the choices you make every day of your life.
James 1:5-6
    “ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
    This booklet is designed for those who are having a hard time with life. It is our goal that every person in prison, every person on welfare, every person that is behind in reading would study this information.  It is a collection of facts that will have a dramatic affect on your life.   Thanks to the donations of the wise, these words, like wisdom, are free.   Copy and paste as needed.
                          


                                                        Chapter 1 Readership


Reading:  What advantage has a man who can read and doesn’t, over a man who can’t read?

Wikipedia
      Reading is the complex cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning. It is a form of language processing. Success in this process is measured as reading comprehension. Reading is a means for language acquisition, communication, and sharing information and ideas. The symbols are typically visual but may be tactile. Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between text and reader, shaped by prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and the language community which is culturally and socially situated. Readers use a variety of reading strategies to decode and comprehend. Readers may use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into they're existing framework of knowledge or schema.

Max Roser and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina
First published in 2013; last revision September 20, 2018.
    Literacy is a key skill and a key measure of a population’s education. In this entry we discuss historical trends, as well as recent developments in literacy.
From a historical perspective, literacy levels for the world population have risen drastically in the last couple of centuries. While only 12% of the people in the world could read and write in 1820, today the share has reversed: only 14% of the world population, in 2016, remained illiterate. Over the last 65 years the global literacy rate increased by 4% every 5 years, from 42% in 1960 to 86% in 2015.
     Despite large improvements in the expansion of basic education, and the continuous reduction of education inequalities, there are substantial challenges ahead. The poorest countries in the world, where basic education is most likely to be a binding constraint for development, still have very large segments of the population who are illiterate. In Niger, for example, the literacy rate of the youth (15-24 years) is only 36.5%.  Of the world population older than 15 years 86% are literate.  In many countries more than 95% have basic literacy skills. Literacy skills of the majority of the population is a modern achievement.
     Globally however, large inequalities remain, notably between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. In Burkina Faso, Niger and South Sudan – the African countries at the bottom of the rank — literacy rates are still below 30%.
 Historical change in literacy.   Global literacy has grown substantially in the last two centuries   While the earliest forms of written communication date back to about 3,500-3,000 BCE, literacy remained for centuries a very restricted technology closely associated with the exercise of power. It was only until the Middle Ages that book production started growing and literacy among the general population slowly started becoming important in the Western World.  In fact, while the ambition of universal literacy in Europe was a fundamental reform born from the Enlightenment, it took centuries for it to happen. It was only in the 19th and 20th centuries that rates of literacy approached universality in early industrialized countries.  The historical estimates are based on the percentage of men and women who could sign documents, a very basic definition of literacy that is often used in historical research on education.  The first observations refer to men and women in the diocese of Norwich, which lies to the Northeast of London. Here, the majority of men (61%) were unable to write their name in the late 16th century; for women it was much lower. 
    By 1840 two-thirds of men and about half of women were literate in England. The expansion of education led to a reduction in education gender inequality. Towards the end of the 19th century the share had increased to almost three-quarters for both genders.  As the center of the Industrial Revolution and one of the first countries that established democratic institutions, England was in important aspects the center of the development of modernity.
    The data shows that improvements in literacy preceded the Industrial Revolution and in many ways the rise of living standards became only possible thanks to an increasingly better educated public. Economic growth is possible when we better understand how to produce the things we need, and translate these insights into technological improvements that allow us to produce them more efficiently. Both the development of new technologies (innovation) and their use in production relied on a much better-educated population.    Widespread school education and even basic skills like literacy are a very recent achievement that was enabled and at the same time required by the progress achieved in recent generations

            11 FACTS ABOUT LITERACY IN AMERICA

    Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page.
                After you learn something, Do Something!

  2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. Over 70% of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.[1]
1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.[2]
Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are 4 times likelier to drop out of school. Start a book club to keep your peers reading.  As of 2011, America was the only free-market OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) country where the current generation was less educated than the previous one.[4]
Nearly 85% of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are 4 times likelier to drop out of school. Start a  book club to keep your peers reading. 
As of 2011, America was the only free-market OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) country where the current generation was less educated than the previous one.[4]
   Nearly 85% of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime. More than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate.[5]  53% of 4th graders admitted to reading recreationally “almost every day,” while only 20% of 8th graders could say the same.[6]  75% of Americans who receive food stamps perform at the lowest 2 levels of literacy, and 90% of high school dropouts are on welfare.[7]  Teenage girls between the ages of 16 to 19 who live at or below the poverty line and have below average literacy skills are 6 times more likely to have children out of wedlock than girls their age who can read proficiently.[8]  Reports show that the rate of low literacy in the United States directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year.[9]  In 2013, Washington, DC was ranked the most literate American City for the third year in a row, with Seattle and Minneapolis close behind.[10]  Long Beach, CA was ranked the country’s most illiterate city, followed by Mesa, AZ, and Aurora, CO.


1.  Write Express Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin to Read. Accessed February 24, 2015. . ↩︎
2.  WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin to Read. Accessed April 16, 2014. . ↩︎
3.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation. "Students Who Don’t Read Well in Third Grade Are More Likely to Drop Out or Fail to Finish High School." The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Accessed February 25, 2015. . ↩︎
4.  Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy. "Reach Higher, America Overcoming Crisis In The U.s. Workforce." National Commission on Adult Literacy. Accessed April 16, 2014. . ↩︎
5.  Blankenship, John. "Functional illiteracy continues to grow, but there is help." The Register-Herald. Accessed April 16, 2014. . ↩︎
6.  National Center for Educational Statistics. "The Condition of Education, 2009." U.S. Department of Education. Accessed February 24, 2015. ↩︎
7.  WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin To Read. Accessed February 24, 2015. . ↩︎
8.  WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin To Read. Accessed February 24, 2015. . ↩︎
9.  WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin To Read. Accessed February 24, 2015. . ↩︎
10.  Hess, Alexander E.M., Samuel Weigley, and Michael B. Sauter. "America’s Most (and Least) Literate Cities." 24/7 Wall St.com. Accessed April 16, 2014. . ↩︎
11.  Hess, Alexander E.M., Samuel Weigley, and Michael B. Sauter. "America’s Most (and Least) Literate Cities." 24/7 Wall St.com. Accessed April 16, 2014. . ↩︎



                              Readership Part B
   
Prejudice is rooted in ignorance.  We have a natural fear of the unknown.  The more we learn about something or someone, the less we fear.  Stephen Covey put it best in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Your ability to understand is limited by your ability to read.  This gift is one thing that separates you from all creation.  Reading will open your eyes to the world around you.  Then, one day, you will see that all humanity is related.  We have the same desires, the same feelings, the same faults.
Luke 6:42
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,  when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

What would life be like if we returned to the Dark Ages?

Why was the literacy rate so low?

It Depends by Susanna Valjanen at Aalto University.

The number one requirement for literacy is something to write on. The 26 letters of the Roman alphabet (or 29, if you are a Finn) are not that difficult to learn. The big issue is to have something to write on and to read.
The Romans had papyrus. That has one big drawback: it perishes easily. The European climate is cold and humid, and papyrus simply rots away. The Dark Ages (476–800) are “dark” because there are very few surviving literary documents: the only things to write on were parchment, vellum and birch bark.
It is assumed the literacy rate during the Late Roman Empire was around 15% to 25%. The Romans certainly had a literate culture, thanks to papyrus.
The Dark Ages meant the collapse of the papyrus trade, and due to lack of suitable writing medium, the literacy plummeted. It is assumed the literacy rate during the Dark Ages was around 4% to 6% - mostly prominent among clergy and civil servants. The German word Graf for “earl” or “count” means “scribe”, i.e. literate person. In the Dark Ages it was common for even kings to be illiterate. Charlemagne himself was probably dyslexic. Literacy began to rise slowly after the Carolingian renaissance, and it is assumed 10% of Europeans were literate by 1000 AD.


The killer application was paper.  Today we take paper as granted, but in the Middle Ages it was a real game breaker. It is cheap, durable, does not perish on its own if well stored and can be used in many versatile ways. Paper first appeared in Spain, and by the end of the 12th century had spread all around Europe.
This also meant rise of literacy. In the 13th century the literacy rates again were approximately on the same level as in the Late Roman era (15% to 25%); but there is a catch. Only those who could read and write Latin were considered literate. Those who could not master Latin were considered illiterate; but far more people could read and write vernacular. Paper made the true difference, and even small children could scribe their scribbles on scrap paper and learn the alphabet that way.
By the Renaissance, literacy was commonplace, and it is likely towns reached 80% to 90% literacy. The reason is simple: bookkeeping. Capitalism requires bookkeeping, and the required secondary power is literacy.
The first nation to reach 100% literacy was Sweden. The reason was twofold; first, Sweden was dependent on maritime commerce and fleet, and illiterate people make bad sailors and soldiers. Second was the Reformation: the Lutheran Church demanded every Christian had to be able to read the Bible and teach his or her children. An illiterate person could not get married; this chapter was repealed in the Finnish law only in 1923, when it had long became obsolete.


How do we rate as a country compared to the rest of the world?


1st Andorra 100.0 %
2nd Finland 100.0 %
3rd Holy See 100.0 %
4th Liechtenstein 100.0 %
5th Luxembourg 100.0 %
6th Norway 100.0 %
7th Democratic People's Republic of Korea 100.0 %
8th Latvia 100.0 %
9th Estonia 100.0 %
10th Lithuania 100.0 %

125th  United States 86.0 %


What is wrong with this picture?

Every child is born with a severe mental defect. This defect can be completely cured, yet it remains prolific in our society. As a mental disease, it is controlled in stages. The only cure for this disease, illiteracy, is education.
Approximately 32 million adults in America are considered to be illiterate; about 14% of the entire adult population cannot read.  Between 40 and 44 million adults, or roughly 20 to 23% of adults in the U.S., are limited to reading at the basic or below basic proficiency levels. Twenty percent of high school grads haven't developed basic reading proficiency by the time they don their cap and gown. Kids who aren't successfully reading at grade level by the third grade are four times less likely to finish high school. Approximately 85% of youth who come into contact with the juvenile court are considered to be functionally illiterate. About 70% of male and female inmates score at the lowest proficiency level for reading. As many as 75% of welfare recipients struggle to read even the simplest texts. In terms of lost productivity, it's estimated that the portion of the population that can't read costs the nation a staggering $225 billion each year.
Illiteracy often takes a backseat to more pressing issues but based on the statistics we've uncovered, it's clear that it's no less important. Closing the education gap is easier said than done, but if reading rates could be improved, the research suggests that the result would be a win-win for the country as a whole.  As a parent, if you do not require your child to read, you have destined that precious gift to a life of hardship.  We as a nation must focus our efforts on developing the reading skills not only of our children but also on our illiterate adults.

The Perfect 10 Charity in partnership with Make a Difference Charity, have started the Read for a Ride Book Club. This Book Club is a tool to help teachers create an interest in reading for our 3rd - 5th and 6th - 12th, graders.
Any student who is behind in reading skills can be a member of this book club.
Check it out at:
theperfect10charity.com
Read for a Ride Book Club! (A better ride through life club for grades 3 thru 12!)

                 If you cannot read, no one can help you.
                 If you can read, no one can stop you!



             Chapter 2  Stewardship


“He who fails to know his real and true competitor shall never be able to give a good account of his stewardship in life! Your true and real competitor is your real and true solemn duty to your Maker!” 
― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

 Philippians 2:3
  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

Luke 19:11
  “While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.  So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[fn] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’  “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
  “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.  “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ “ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.‘   The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’  His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’  Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.  I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’  “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
  “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’  “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

  As we travel through time on these ships of life, let us ponder the  real meaning of stewardship.  The first thing I think of is loyalty.   A king entrusts his eunuch to care for all of his wives.  This man was chosen by the king for a life of devotion.  A eunuch never thinks of himself but is devoted to the service to others.

Next, I think of passion.  If you really want to enjoy your ride through life, find something you are passionate about.  Passion is the engine that drives us to success.  You know when someone has it and you know when they don’t.  When you are passionate about your work, it becomes a part of you.  The focus is on improving the process and being a good and faithful servant.

  Finally, I think of honesty.  It is impossible to be a good steward if you are dishonest.  There are many ways to be dishonest.  We always think of stealing when we address dishonesty.  How many times do you need to steal before you are labeled a thief?  How many times do you need to cheat before you are labeled a cheater?  How many times do you need to lie before you are labeled a liar?  Once!
  Over the past 60 years I have come to a better understanding of the meaning of life.  We are created in the image of God.  When you believe, you know that God only creates good.  That means you, in his image, can only do good.  For you to do something bad, you must make it good in your mind.  This could be hard to grasp at first, but I want you to think about it.  Eve knew that eating from the tree of knowledge was a bad thing to do.  The serpent made it right in her mind to eat the fruit. Then Adam made it right in his mind and he also ate of the fruit.  If you were there, you would be next in line to eat of this fruit.

I have had the opportunity to speak with some of our local troubled youth.  They were invited to play some tag football on interstate 75.  They laughed and claimed that would be stupid.  We would all be killed by the traffic.
Then I would ask them to help me kill some fire ants.  I hate fire ants and would stand on their nest and stomp them to death.  Once again they would laugh and say how stupid that would be.  I would congratulate them for being smart enough to know not to do these things.  Then I would ask them if you are smart enough not to play in the interstate and stomp on fire ants because that would stupid and hurt, then why are you not smart enough to not smoke, do drugs, steal, lie, cheat and be gang members.  You can only do these things when you make it OK in your mind.  When you do something wrong, your friends help you make it right in your mind.  Think about it!  What’s wrong is wrong even if everybody does it, what’s right is right even if nobody does it!


    Your life is determined by the three choices you make.


You choose to do something good.
You choose to do something not so good.
You choose to do nothing.


If you want to have a smoother ride through life, Choose to do something good!

             Chapter 3,  Workmanship
 
Genesis 2:15
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

The noun workmanship can describe the hard work and skill that go into making something or working at a task — and it can also describe a quality of a handmade object that is skillfully crafted.

80/20 rule:  80 percent of the staff completes 20 percent of the work and vice versa, 20 percent of the staff completes 80 percent of the work.  Once you grasp this concept, it will change the way you manage your operation.  This rule will apply to everything that involves a group of people.  At church we have a 20 percent core group that are very active and 80 percent that just attend.  In our retirement community we have a 20 percent core group that is very active and 80 percent that just live here.
In any work environment, 20 percent of the staff have the company’s best interest at heart while 80 percent have their own.

We are created to work.  It really does not matter what your work is.  Successful people do ordinary things extraordinarily well.  When I have a good golf shot, people are amazed.  When Tiger Woods has a bad golf shot, people are amazed.  When I play baseball and get a hit, people are amazed.  When Babe Ruth did not get a home run, people were amazed.  If you want to be successful, do something, anything, extraordinarily well.

My grandfather worked for the railroad and had a small farm in Ohio. I spent the summers working the farm with him until I was 16.  When I was 12, he retired from the railroad with 50 years of service.  On his last day he was allowed to take me with him to work.  Granddad was a hulk of a man.  He worked on repairing the rail line and replacing the tie beams.  The pay was good but the work was hard.  Near the end of his shift, a locomotive with a club car pulled up next to us on the adjacent track.  A tall, older gentleman called out my grandfather’s name and invited us into the car.  To my surprise, it was the president of the railroad.   He came to congratulate my granddad for his 50 years of service and present him with a gold watch.  Needless to say I was impressed.  After a short visit, they shook hands and my grandfather went back to work.  I said "Granddad, how do you know the president of the railroad?"  He said that they grew up together, went to the same school and were best friends.  They actually started to work for the railroad on the same day.  Then I asked how he was able to become president of the railroad and you worked on the line for 50 years.  My granddad, much wiser now, said: 50 years ago today I went to work for 25 cents per hour.  50 years ago today he went to work for the railroad! Dedicate yourself to learning everything about your work and be possessed with being the best at it.  Success will be with you all of your days.  Workmanship is a gift.  Use it or loose it.
        The sweetness of price is long forgotten after the stench of poor quality remains.                 As you develop your skills, the world is willing to pay for your labors.
                                              Workmanship is your key to success!
   
                Chapter 4  Leadership


There are three types of people.  Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who don’t know what’s happening.  A good leader makes things happen.  No one is born a good leader.  Leadership is a learned skill.
Once you decide to change the direction of your life, you will want to improve your leadership skills.

Much is written on this subject and there is a lot to learn.  The following articles will peak your interest and help you start this journey.  You are where you are today because of a decision you made yesterday.  You will be where you want to be tomorrow because of a decision you make today.

                      The 8 Most Common Leadership Styles &    
                              How to Find Your Own!
                            Written by Braden Becker

1. Democratic Leadership
Commonly Effective
Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like -- the leader makes decisions based on the input of each team member. Although he or she makes the final call, each employee has an equal say on a project's direction.  Democratic leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles because it allows lower-level employees to exercise authority they'll need to use wisely in future positions they might hold. It also resembles how decisions can be made in company board meetings.  For example, in a company board meeting, a democratic leader might give the team a few decision-related options. They could then open a discussion about each option. After a discussion, this leader might take the board's thoughts and feedback into consideration, or they might open this decision up to a vote.
2. Autocratic Leadership
Rarely Effective
Autocratic leadership is the inverse of democratic leadership. In this leadership style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them. Employees are neither considered nor consulted prior to a direction, and are expected to adhere to the decision at a time and pace stipulated by the leader.  An example of this could be when a manager changes the hours of work shifts for multiple employees without consulting anyone -- especially the affected employees.  Frankly, this leadership style stinks. Most organizations today can't sustain such a hegemonic culture without losing employees. It's best to keep leadership more open to the intellect and perspective of the rest of the team.
3. Laissez-Faire Leadership
Sometimes Effective
If you remember your high-school French, you'll accurately assume that laissez-faire leadership is the least intrusive form of leadership. The French term "laissez faire" literally translates to "let them do," and leaders who embrace it afford nearly all authority to their employees.  In a young startup, for example, you might see a laissez-faire company founder who makes no major office policies around work hours or deadlines. They might put full trust into their employees while they focus on the overall workings of running the company.  Although laissez-faire leadership can empower employees by trusting them to work however they'd like, it can limit their development and overlook critical company growth opportunities. Therefore, it's important that this leadership style is kept in check.
4. Strategic Leadership
Commonly Effective
Strategic leaders sit at the intersection between a company's main operations and its growth opportunities. He or she accepts the burden of executive interests while ensuring that current working conditions remain stable for everyone else.
This is a desirable leadership style in many companies because strategic thinking supports multiple types of employees at once. However, leaders who operate this way can set a dangerous precedent with respect to how many people they can support at once, and what the best direction for the company really is if everyone is getting their way at all times.
5. Transformational Leadership
Sometimes Effective
Transformational leadership is always "transforming" and improving upon the company's conventions. Employees might have a basic set of tasks and goals that they complete every week or month, but the leader is constantly pushing them outside of their comfort zone.  When starting a job with this type of leader, all employees might get a list of goals to reach, as well as deadlines for reaching them. While the goals might seem simple at first, this manager might pick up the pace of deadlines or give you more and more challenging goals as you grow with the company.  This is a highly encouraged form of leadership among growth-minded companies because it motivates employees to see what they're capable of. But transformational leaders can risk losing sight of everyone's individual learning curves if direct reports don't receive the right coaching to guide them through new responsibilities.
6. Transactional Leadership
Sometimes Effective
Transactional leaders are fairly common today. These managers reward their employees for precisely the work they do. A marketing team that receives a scheduled bonus for helping generate a certain number of leads by the end of the quarter is a common example of transactional leadership.
When starting a job with a transactional boss, you might receive an incentive plan that motivates you to quickly master your regular job duties. For example, if you work in marketing, you might receive a bonus for sending 10 marketing emails. On the other hand, a transformational leader might only offer you a bonus if your work results in a large amount of newsletter subscriptions.
Transactional leadership helps establish roles and responsibilities for each employee, but it can also encourage bare-minimum work if employees know how much their effort is worth all the time. This leadership style can use incentive programs to motivate employees, but they should be consistent with the company's goals and used in addition to unscheduled gestures of appreciation.
7. Coach-Style Leadership
Commonly Effective
Similarly to a sports team's coach, this leader focuses on identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of each member on his or her team. They also focus on strategies that will enable their team work better together. This style offers strong similarities to strategic and democratic leadership, but puts more emphasis on the growth and success of individual employees.  Rather than forcing all employees to focus on similar skills and goals, this leader might build a team where each employee has an expertise or skill set in something different. In the long run, this leader focuses on creating strong teams that can communicate well and embrace each other's unique skill-sets in order to get work done.  A manager with this leadership style might help employees improve on their strengths by giving them new tasks to try, offering them guidance, or meeting to discuss constructive feedback. They might also encourage one or more team members to expand on their strengths by learning new skills from other teammates.
8. Bureaucratic Leadership
Rarely Effective
Bureaucratic leaders go by the books. This style of leadership might listen and consider the input of employees -- unlike autocratic leadership -- but the leader tends to reject an employee's input if it conflicts with company policy or past practices.
You may run into a bureaucratic leader at a larger, older, or traditional company. At these companies, when a colleague or employee proposes a strong strategy that seems new or non-traditional, bureaucratic leaders may reject it. Their resistance might be because the company has already been successful with current processes and trying something new could waste time or resources if it doesn't work. 
Employees under this leadership style might not feel as controlled as they would under autocratic leadership, but there is still a lack of freedom in how much people are able to do in their roles. This can quickly shut down innovation, and is definitely not encouraged for companies who are chasing ambitious goals and quick growth.

In Conclusion to recap, effective, good strategic leaders are strong communicators, active listeners, passionate, positive, innovative, collaborative, honest, diplomatic, empathetic, and humble. By taking the steps to embody these qualities, you're already becoming a better leader and can help move your team towards success!
Matthew 7:13  “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
If you know where you are going, the fastest way to reach your destination is to lead the way.  If you don’t do something, who will?


                        Chapter 4 Part B Dictatorship

As we travel through life there is only one person who can steer your ship.   If you are a doctor, you sailed down that river of life.   If you are a salesperson, you sailed down that river of life.  If you are a prisoner, you sailed down that river of life.  The hardest person to control is yourself, everything else is easy.  If your are not satisfied with where you are in life, blame yourself.  The choice you made yesterday determined where you are today.  The choice you make today will determine where you will be tomorrow.  After you choose your destination, there are two options.  First, plan your trip, raise the anchor and sail in that direction.   Second, raise your anchor and drift.  If you ever wondered why things don’t go your way, try not drifting.  As you ponder your life and develop a leadership style, let’s look at the pros and cons of a dictatorship.

What is a Dictator?  Instructor: Amy Kasza
Amy has a master's of library and information science and a master of arts in history.
A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by the absolute rule of one person or a very small group of people who hold all political power. While a dictatorship is a form of government in some nations, just as monarchy or representative democracy is the form of government in others, dictatorships are seen by non-dictatorships as dangerous and cruel because of the way they tend to treat their citizens.


Dictators and Control
You won't find a dictator who calls himself a dictator. Instead, dictators have ordinary titles such as president, emperor, great leader and similar monikers. That's because 'dictator' is a pejorative term assigned to certain rulers by other nations, particularly the developed nations of the West - that is, countries with thriving economies - such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and many others.
To be considered a dictatorship means that a country is known to be run by one person without any checks and balances on his power. Dictators make unilateral decisions that affect their countries without having to consult any other branch of government. That's because there's no other branch of government that is not controlled by the dictator. Human nature being what it is, dictators don't rise to power for the good of their nations (though they usually claim otherwise). They seize power to benefit themselves, their families and their close political allies.
Dictators usually come to power through some kind of violent struggle, rather than the peaceful passage of power that we take for granted in the United States. In modern times, it's not unusual to hear news stories about dictators being elected by their citizens, when in fact the elections are manipulated through intimidation of voters to ensure the dictator's victory.

A cult of personality often surrounds a dictator, driven by myths - typically perpetuated by the government-controlled media - about the ruler that are designed to build him up in the minds of the citizens as an all-knowing divine being who is the only one capable of bringing prosperity to the nation. In cases such as the late Kim Jong-il in North Korea, the ruler is even worshiped as a god.
Life in a Dictatorship
Unfortunately, dictatorships seldom usher in a nation's prosperity. In the most brutal dictatorships, the citizens live in extreme poverty because the government withholds food and supplies in order to keep the people under control. One of the more dramatic examples of this kind of human rights abuse occurred in Myanmar in 2008. When a cyclone swept over the country, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving millions without food or shelter, the country's military dictatorship blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the people until it could hold a sham election.  The rigging of elections is just one example of how citizens in a dictatorship have little to no personal freedom. Unlike in the United States and other similar nations, the people living in a dictatorship have no rights of free speech, freedom of religion, a free press or even the right to hold an opinion in opposition to the ruler and ruling party.  As we close out this section, let me ask you one question.   What time is it?
 Ecclesiastes 3:1
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,a time to love, a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

There are times in life when you need a dictator’s style.  Most of our work environments are managed by a dictator.  Not always the best style, my way or the highway thinking.  Our prison system is managed by the Warden.  Most families are managed by a father and/or mother.  For me, I find that a good mixture of styles works the best.  Study them and develop you own.  As with everything in life, you will find good and bad, depending on how it is used.  Money will support your needs and it will drive you toward evil gain.  Love will fill your heart with passion and it will drive you to lust after evil.  Drugs can save your life and they can destroy your inner being.  Please take a moment and think about a small prayer that will change your life.
                                  Lord, give me the knowledge of good and evil
                      and the wisdom to tell them apart.
     
                  Chapter 5 Worship

When I think of worship, the first thing that comes to my mind is church.  Others worship in temples, synagogues and the like.   This might be hard to grasp, but we were created to worship.  Just look around at all of creation.  We are the only creature that worships anything.  When you worship, you bow down before or allow something to control you.  You can see this in many things that we do.  How about money, family, work, cars, home, tobacco, drugs, alcohol etc.  We do not want to think about this, but these are the things we worship.  We are the only creature who has the knowledge of good and evil.  You are the captain of your ship, you control your destiny.  You are the one who steers your ship down the river of life.  As you travel there will be many obstacles which can be avoided.  Before you make a decision, ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”  Or, ask yourself if you can go home and tell your mother what you have done. Will she will be proud of you or will she be disappointed?
You are created to worship and you have the power to choose the things you want to worship.  It is this power to choose which separates us form all other creation.  Most of the time, if you choose to do something good, good things will happen to you. And most of the time, if you choose to do something bad, bad things will happen to you.  I find comfort in believing that I was created in the image of God.  We are programed to be Godlike.  We are not gods but we do have some of God’s characteristics. You can see the power of God in his creation.  Genesis 2:19  “ Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”  You can only worship things which have a name.  You cannot change the natural order of things that God has created. Try to find one thing in the universe which man has not named.  Our God has made you special, very special!

What is the meaning of Christian worship?The following is the response from, https://www.gotquestions.org

Answer: The meaning of the New Testament Greek word most often translated “worship” (proskuneo) is “to fall down before” or “bow down before.” Worship is a state (an attitude) of spirit. Since it’s an internal, individual action, it could/should be done most of the time (or all the time) in our lives, regardless of place or situation (John 4:21). Therefore, Christians worship all the time, seven days a week. When Christians formally gather together in worship, still the emphasis should be on individually worshiping the Lord. Even in a congregation, participants need to be aware that they are worshiping God fully on an individual basis.

The nature of Christian worship is from the inside out and has two equally important parts. We must worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). Worshiping in the spirit has nothing to do with our physical posture. It has to do with our innermost being and requires several things. First, we must be born again. Without the Holy Spirit residing within us, we cannot respond to God in worship because we do not know Him. “No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11b). The Holy Spirit within us is the one who energizes worship because He is in essence glorifying Himself, and all true worship glorifies God.

Second, worshiping in spirit requires a mind centered on God and renewed by Truth. Paul exhorts us to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:1b, 2b). Only when our minds are changed from being centered on worldly things to being centered on God can we worship in spirit. Distractions of many kinds can flood our minds as we try to praise and glorify God, hindering our true worship.

Third, we can only worship in spirit by having a pure heart, open and repentant. When King David’s heart was filled with guilt over his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), he found it impossible to worship. He felt that God was far from him, and he “groaned all day long” feeling God’s hand heavy upon him (Psalm 32:3,4). But when he confessed, fellowship with God was restored and worship and praise poured forth from him. He understood that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17). Praise and worship toward God cannot come from hearts filled with unconfessed sin.

The second part of true worship is worship “in truth.” All worship is a response to truth, and that which is truth is contained in the Word of God. Jesus said to His Father, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17b). Psalm 119 says, “Thy law is truth” (v. 142b) and “Thy word is true” (v. 160a). To truly worship God, we must understand who He is and what He has done, and the only place He has fully revealed Himself is in the Bible. Worship is an expression of praise from the depths of our hearts toward a God who is understood through His Word. If we do not have the truth of the Bible, we do not know God and we cannot truly be worshiping.

Since external actions are unimportant in Christian worship, there is no rule regarding whether we should sit, stand, fall down, be quiet, or sing praises loudly while in corporate worship. These things should be decided based on the nature of the congregation. The most important thing is that we worship God in spirit (in our hearts) and in truth (in our minds).   You and only you can decide what to worship.  It is these choices that will determine your final destination.


            Chapter 6 Fellowship

​What is Christian fellowship and why is fellowship so important?   CompellingTruth.org
The early Christians clearly emphasized the importance of fellowship. Acts 2:42 notes, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." In the early church, "day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people" (Acts 2:46-47). But why is Christian fellowship important?

The New Testament word for "fellowship," koinonia, expresses the idea of being together for mutual benefit. Hebrews 10:24-25 shares this idea, saying, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Two reasons fellowship with other believers is important are because it helps express love to one another and it encourages good works.

A third important reason for Christian fellowship is its impact on unbelievers. Jesus told His disciples, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). The love Christians have for one another can influence others toward faith in Jesus Christ.

Still another important reason for Christian fellowship is the ability to pray together. Early believers were committed to prayer, both individually and in groups. In James 5:14-16, elders were called together to pray for the sick as well as for those who had sinned. This required being together.

Christian fellowship is also important for church decision-making. In both Acts 6 and Acts 15, the early church gathered together to make important decisions about the future direction of the church. These required community, prayer, and close discussion.

Christian fellowship is required for baptism. A new Christian cannot baptize himself or herself because it is not a public profession of faith. Christians gather together to celebrate a person's baptism and serve as witnesses of the person's commitment to a new life in Jesus Christ.

Christian fellowship is required for communion, or the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper doesn't quite work the same for an online church. This ancient practice requires time together with other believers to remember the blood and body of Christ.

Though many believers today do not recognize the importance of fellowship or local church involvement, Christian fellowship is essential to spiritual growth. Many aspects of our spiritual lives depend on being together with other believers to encourage, teach, serve, and share life together.
As you sail through life, remember that no one travels alone.
 John 15:8
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 
If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.”
John 15:17   “This is my command: Love each other.”
 Mark 8:34
“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Love is one of the most rewarding virtues on earth.  Yet it cannot be bought and it only has value when you give it away.  When was the last time you played a tennis match by yourself?  How about football or baseball?  You were not created to be by yourself.
                                     Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said,
                                             “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

The sixth habit of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to synergize. In basic terms, synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If the sum “1+1 = 3” seems familiar, this is what it’s about. Covey tells us that when properly understood, synergy is the highest activity in all life. He draws a parallel to nature where synergy is everywhere. “If you plant two plants close together, the roots commingle and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than if they were separated”.

The essence of synergy is to value and respect differences, to build on strengths and to compensate for weaknesses. The author says that many of us haven’t actually experienced synergy in our family lives or in other interactions. We’ve been shaped into defensive and protective communications or into believing that life or other people can’t be trusted. Therefore, we have a tendency not to open up to this highly effective principle which “requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure”.

Mental, emotional and psychological differences between us mean that we see the world not as it is, but as we are. Recognizing our own perceptual limitations and appreciating the rich resources available through the interaction with other human beings takes humility and reverence. Covey illustrates the point that two people can disagree and both be right with an illustration similar to this one.


                      What do you see in this picture?
 












​Whilst some of us see a duck others will see a rabbit. We’re both looking at the same picture, and both of us are right. We see the same black and white lines but we interpret them differently because we’ve been conditioned to interpret them differently. Thus the author says that “unless we value the differences in our perceptions, unless we value each other and give credence to the possibility  that we’re both right, that life is not always a dichotomous either/or, that there are almost always third alternatives, we will never be able to transcend the limits of that conditioning”. When we see only two alternatives – ours and the “wrong” one – we can look for a synergistic third alternative. According to Covey there’s usually a third alternative, and if we work with a Win/Win philosophy (Habit 4: Think Win/Win) and really seek to understand (Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood), we can usually find a solution that will be better for everyone concerned.
BRITISH DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS FOR FELLOWSHIP
fellowship/ (ˈfɛləʊˌʃɪp) /
noun
The state of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities, etc. A society of people sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities, club, companionship; friendship.
Mutual trust and charitableness between Christians.
A Church or religious association.
 1st John 3:16
“This is how we know what love is:
    Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

    Fellowship is in full bloom when you love someone enough to lay down your life for them.  As we travel through life, we meet many people.  Most are acquaintances that we call friends, but few are those that we would die for.  You can see a stronger relationship between soldiers, police officers, fire fighters and the like.  When your life depends on the actions of others, you develop a bond that will last a lifetime.  This is the same bond that you have with your family.  To risk one’s life to save another is the fullness of fellowship.
    Over the past 40 years my wife and I have developed a fellowship known as the DSW, the Dedmons, the Schroders and the Williams.  We make every effort to get together at least once a week for a meal and game night.  The games range from Bridge to Hand and Foot.  From Mahjong to Tarot, ( a French card game).   We enjoy learning new games that challenge our minds.  Our families have vacationed together since the children were small.  We know that our children and grandchildren will be in fellowship all the days of their lives.
                     The glue that keeps us bound together is the Church.
Even though we live in different cities, worship in different Churches, work at different jobs, have completely different personalities, we have the same love for our Lord.  There really are only two choices when you ask, where did I come from?  Did you ooze out of nothing or were you created?  We choose to believe that we are created in the image of God.  This gift gives us the ability to created things.  Just look around.  What other creature has the ability to make a paper airplane?  How about an aspirin, or any pill of any kind?  How about a typewriter, a computer, a car, a spaceship, a needle or a cure for a virus?  You are a special creature that has a Godlike gift, which is your mind.  No other creature has this gift, your brain.  This gift is alive and the more you feed it, the more it grows.  The food for your mind is knowledge.  Your mind is just like any other muscle, use it or loose it.  You are where you are  today, based on what you did yesterday.  If you want to be someone else tomorrow, do something different today.

          Chapter 7 Sportsmanship


Sportsmanship is fair play   We are all the same, no one wants to be cheated.  We are all created equal.  Look back in history for good and evil.  What is the first thing that enters your mind when you think of:  Hitler ......, bin Laden......,  Saddaim Hussein....,

“As it has been said, there is duality in all things, yin and yang, good and evil. That goes for people, too. It is true that there is good and bad in every person; no person is all good or all bad. “
BY KALINE FORRESTER
FEB 07, 2017

Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord and the main character of the popular Netflix series Narcos, was undoubtedly a bad guy. After all, he was responsible for the deaths of over 600 police officers who were killed under his watch. He had them murdered by young boys he would pay to get the job done, therefore turning them into violent psychos.   He murdered more than just policemen too, and escaped prison to murder even more. He was a ruthless  kingpin who at one time controlled more than 80% of the cocaine shipped to the US Additionally, he was the mastermind behind the bombing of a Colombian jetliner that killed 100 people in 1989.
Basically, he was a pretty bad dude. But that being said... that same bad dude also did a lot of good, if you can believe it. Somehow, the same murdering drug dealer also had a project called "Medellin Without Slums", which built houses for over 400 people that had literally lived on piles of garbage. He created clean water and sewer systems, built new airports and schools, funded churches and sports arenas, constructed a free zoo, and gave everyone a personal budget for medical care. Kind of shocking, isn't it?
Known as the "Butcher of Baghdad", the former president of Iraq (whose rule more closely resembled a dictator's) was Saddam Hussein. It is a name everyone knows, and that most people associate with fear, for good reason. The tyrant oppressed the country of Iraq for more than 30 years, and committed crimes against humanity for which he was tried and ultimately executed in 2006. The thousands of deaths he was responsible for aside, the guy had decent qualities, as well. He was responsible for so many lives cut short, but he was also to credited for education reform in his country. He started a free and compulsory education campaign to eradicate illiteracy, instituted a free public health system that guaranteed free hospitalization, and Iraq's entire agricultural industry was mechanized and modernized. Most people do not remember that the Butcher of Baghdad also earned an award from UNESCO for these projects.
I know, I, too was surprised to find that there was an ounce of goodness in the man most people would deem the most evil in history. But nonetheless, as terrible as he was, there were a few things Adolf Hitler did in his lifetime that, while they could never begin to make up for the horrors he caused, shed a different (if meaningless) light on the Nazi dictator. As Chancellor of Germany, he set up a public banking system, created a thriving economy with no unemployment, emphasized respect for women, funded research into free energy technology, and his Nazis were the first to create environmental protection laws in history. Hitler was the first person in modern history to start an anti-tobacco and smoking campaign, although it was only because he believed smoking would corrupt the pure Aryan race. But mostly, he was such an animal lover that it was forbidden under his rule to harm an animal (his laws were also the first in the world to ban experimentation on live animals). If you were found to be harming animals, Nazi or not, you would be sent to the concentration camps. Too bad he didn't feel this strongly about the well-being of humans.

America (and the rest of the world) hates the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, and for good reason. They are (officially) behind the worst terrorist attacks on American soil in history, 9/11. Although many theorize that actually it is the American government itself that is responsible for the events of that day, the fact remains that Al Qaeda members carried them out, as well as plenty of other atrocities around the globe. However, even though that is what they are known for, that is not all that they do. Surprisingly, besides bombings, beheadings, executions, and assassinations, Al Qaeda is also deeply concerned about climate change. In fact, documents seized from Osama bin Laden's compound urged members not to cut down trees, to contribute to relief efforts in areas affected by climate change (unless the victims are Christian or Hindu, of course), and even outlined step-by-step instructions on how to combat climate change in a video by bin Laden himself, for other governments around the world.

When I look at these people, all that can be seen is evil.  Yet for those sailing on their ship, all they see is good.  As we watch the news or read the paper, most of what we seen is tragic.  One might think that there is no good in this world.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Let’s look at a few good people you might know.

George Jenkins, founder of Publix Supermarkets, the largest employee owned company in the world.  Sam Walton,  founder of WalMart, the world’s largest retailer. Martin Luther King Jr., a world renowned human rights leader.  Mother Teresea,  an advocate for the world’s poor.  Walt Disney, built an entertainment empire.  Bob Hope, could bring a smile on all humanity. This list could go on and on.  Yet they did not sail alone.  Many wanted to travel and be a part of their mission.  Everyone wants to be involved  in something larger than themselves.    One person can make a difference.


                      If you do not do something, who will?


All of these leaders have two things in common.  They steered the ship and were filled with a passion to serve.  You have learned that it is better to give than to receive, but I say it is better to serve than to be served.  Jesus set the example:   Mar 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   John Kennedy’s inaugural address inspired children and adults to see the importance of civic action and public service. His historic words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” challenged every American to contribute in some way to the public good.  What have you done lately?

Have you ever wondered why we act differently when we are in different groups of people?  How do you act when your are in Church, in a bar, at a ballgame, around your friends or with your mother?  I have a tendency to act like the person I think you think I am.  If I think you think, that I am a good person, I tend to do good things with you.   If I think you think, that I am a bad person, I tend to do bad things with you.  The storms of life are smaller as you travel with good people doing good things as you serve others.  If you think you have nothing to give, try giving yourself.  Find your inner passion for doing good.

You are created in the image of God.  You are the only creature that has the knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 3:22  And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”  You will always know what is right, even if nobody does it.  You will also know what is wrong, even if everybody does it.  The best advice I can find for living a good life is in:  1st John 2:15  “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Here is a list of things that will keep your ship on course.


You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall make no idols.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.


Because you are created in the image of God, there is only one way that you can sin.  You have to make it right in your mind, then you can do it.  You cannot steal until you justify it in your mind.  Examples:  The store will never miss it.  I need it more than they do.  No one will catch me.  No on will ever know, etc.  You cannot murder someone
until you can justify it in your mind.  Examples:  They do not deserve to live.  They cannot hurt me anymore.  I need the insurance money, etc.  This battle between good and evil will rage on in your mind all of your days.  As you look back on your life, you can see the decisions that were made changed the course of your life and destination.

As you sail through life, fill your ship with a crew of like minded shipmates.   The voyage will be filled with joy as you travel the seas of life.  Never venture out without your compass.  Alway start your journey with the end in mind.
Before you make a decision, ask yourself, what would Jesus do?  The gift of God, wisdom, will guide you forever.  The one thing that separates us from all creation is the human brain.  Without this powerful organ we would be just like a cow or a goat.  We would not have the knowledge of good and evil.  Your mind is a muscle. Is yours flabby?  The best way to make it stronger is by reading and living an active life.
      When you look into a mirror, what do you see?  Being created in the image of God means that you are a reflection of goodness.   Does your life shine a light so others can see clearly the best way to travel?   Life is simple.  You have three choices to pick from for every decision you make.  You can choose to do something good.  You can choose to do something bad.  Or, you can choose to do nothing.


           Make it your life’s passion to do something good.

Galatians 6:9
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
James 1:23
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
In closing, here are a few things to ponder.

By Simran Khurana
Updated March 18, 2017
We may think that we know what success is, because we tend to define success as if it were a goal. In reality success is more of a journey than a destination. Read these famous quotes about success to find out more.

William Barclay
We will often find compensation if we think more of what life has given us and less about what life has taken away.

Gary Sinise
When I think of work, it's mostly about having control over your destiny, as opposed to being at the mercy of what's out there.

Malcolm Forbes
Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.

Winston Churchill
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
If you're going through hell, keep going.

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.

Never, never, never give up.

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have come safely through the worst.
Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

I understand a ship to be made for the carrying and preservation of the cargo, and so long as the ship can be saved, with the cargo, it should never be abandoned. This Union likewise should never be abandoned unless it fails and the possibility of its preservation shall cease to exist, without throwing passengers and cargo overboard.


By Simran Khurana
Updated December 05, 2018
Wisdom and knowledge are the foundation of all progress. Without the thinkers, scientists, and leaders of the past, we would not be where we are today. The quotes below capture some of their insights about wisdom and success.

Sir Winston Churchill
"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
Socrates
"The life which is unexamined is not worth living."
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Walter Scott
"For success, attitude is equally as important as ability."
Thomas Jefferson
"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."
Albert Einstein
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."
Bill Gates
"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."
Henry David Thoreau
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
Lord Chesterfield
"In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it,thou art a fool."
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame."
Alfred Lord Tennyson
"Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?"
Confucius
"Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
George Bernard Shaw
"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future."
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."
"Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time."
William Wordsworth
"Wisdom is ofttimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar."
Saint Augustine
"Patience is the companion of wisdom."
Anton Chekhov
"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
Plato
"The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile."
Henry David Thoreau
"Good for the body is the work of the body, and good for the soul is the work of the soul, and good for either is the work of the other."
Charles Dickens
"Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts."
John Muir
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."
Lao Tzu
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
Buddha
"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."

There is nothing new under the sun.  In your journey of life, chart the course of your destiny with the excitement of every new day.  You are created with the ability to learn.  When you look at the past your vision is 20/20.  The ability to read is the number one factor that allows you to see and control your future.  My only goal in compiling this booklet is that you will gain the desire to change your life and sail in a direction that will fulfill your destiny.

          A man that knows how to read and doesn’t has no              
                  advantage over a man that can’t read.


                                                                              QUOTE OF THE DAY :


" If someone asks about your educational background, proclaim boldly that: Church is my college. Heaven is my university. Father God is my counselor. Jesus is my principal. Holy Spirit is my teacher. Angels are my classmates. Bible is my textbook. Temptations are my exams. Overcoming Satan is my hobby. Winning souls for God is my assignment. Receiving eternity is my degree. Praise and Worship are my slogan. If you are a child of God, bless you!” 
-BEN CARSON

If you want to change the world, change yourself.  Your education in the key to your success.  An uneducated, successful leader is hard to find and an educated one is hard to stop.  You are where you are today because of a decision you made yesterday.   You will be where you are tomorrow because of a decision you make today.

I want to close out this booklet with a look at racism. When you look back in history you can see racism in every ethnic group.  We as people justify putting other people down in an effort to elevate our self’s.  Racism is the fruit of prejudice. Prejudice is the fruit of ignorance.  If you really want to change the world, change ourselves.  We are all members of one race, the human race.  You had nothing to do with where you were born but you had everything to do with where you are in life today.

Wikipedia
“Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against other people because they are of a different race or ethnicity. Modern variants of racism are often based in social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. These views can take the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems in which different races are ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities.”

“Prejudice is an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived, usually unfavorable, evaluation of another person based on that person's political affiliation, sex, gender, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, beauty, occupation, education, criminality, sport team affiliation or other personal characteristics.”

As you sail thru life, make every effort to travel with people that are different.  Open your eyes, mind and heart to see the good in all humanity.  Your journey will be filled
joy and hope.                        
                                                                           You can make a difference!
Philippians4:4
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--              
                                           THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS.”

---