By John C. Maxwell

You can make a decision to have a good attitude, but if you don’t make plans to manage that decision every day, then you are likely to end up right back where you started. But here’s the good news: maintaining the right attitude is easier than regaining the right attitude.

How do you do that? A Chinese proverb I came across gives insight: “Assume a cheerfulness you do not feel, and shortly you feel the cheerfulness you assumed.” Or as editor and publisher Elbert Hubbard says, “Be pleasant until 10 a.m. and the rest of the day will take care of itself.” When you get up in the morning, you need to remind yourself of the decision you’ve made to have a positive attitude. You need to manage your thinking and direct your actions so that they are consistent with your decision.

If you take responsibility for your attitude – recognizing that it can change how you live, managing it every day, and cultivating and developing positive thoughts and habits – then you can make your attitude your greatest asset. It can become the difference maker in your life, opening doors and helping you overcoming great obstacles.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

Author unknown

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.

A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing the sand with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father’s hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide.

“It’s my castle,” he defies.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs…

I don’t know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child’s heart. When the sun sets and the tides take – applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

By Pastor Nathaniel Bronner

Dr. Marilyn spoke at our staff meeting. She took us through exercises as she worked to get our minds and spirits adjusted to a more positive direction.

“Close your eyes and think back to when you were small. What did you want to be? What were your dreams? What did you want to do? Close your eyes and think back.” she instructed.

I closed my eyes and thought back. I remembered what I wanted to be.

Dr. Marilyn then told of her early beginnings as a writer. She told of the articles and the publishing successes that she experienced but so many of them were punctuated by, “I didn’t get paid for that.”

Her words struck me.

I worked in a corner drug store when I was very small. I was below the age limit to work, but the store made an exception. My father owned the store, thus the exception.

I worked long and hard. I treasured my lunch breaks. Not so much for the food or the rest, it was what I did during my lunch breaks that I treasured. I read comic books. I read the action books, not the romance or the comedies, action, pure action.

When I closed my eyes and thought back, I knew instantly what I had aspired to be.

A Super Hero!

Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Ironman were some of my heroes.

In all of the action comics that I read, there were two distinct patterns. Those two patterns were in every action comic book that I can recall.

First, there was always a battle between good and evil. The battle was always tough. The battle was always a close call. No matter how strong or how many powers the Super Hero had, evil pushed him to the very limit and most times almost defeated him.

Second, the Super Hero was never paid for his contribution to society; he always earned his living in his alter ego.

Superman made money as Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter.
Batman made money as Bruce Wayne, a rich industrialist.
Spiderman made money as Peter Parker, a photographer.
Ironman made money as Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries.

None of them were paid for being a Super Hero and the contributions they made as Super Heroes.

As I listened to Dr. Marilyn state how she had never been paid for many things, a light popped on in my mind.

“The real Super Heroes don’t get paid for the Super Hero stuff!”

I pastor a church and have never accepted a salary or taken up love offerings for myself. It’s correct to be fairly compensated but I, like Paul, simply choose not to.

I am the editor of MountainWings and the AirJesus.com websites, and I don’t get any money for that either.

I realized as my eyes were closed that it is Super Hero stuff and my dream has been realized.

You’ve got Super Hero stuff too.

Parenting
Volunteering
Helping a stranger or friend in need
Doing anything beneficial that takes time, effort, energy or resources and where you expect no monetary return is Super Hero stuff.

Use your powers well.

A very special thank you to Pastor Nathaniel Bronner of MountainWings.com for allowing us to share this story.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

In a now-classic commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs dispensed the following advice about life and death.  It perhaps takes on even more meaning since we lost Steve on October 5th:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

For a fifth year, American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are partnering to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to send a touch of home this holiday season to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season.

The process is very simple and takes no time at all – All you need is a pen and piece of paper to share your appreciation for the sacrifices members of the U.S. Armed Forces make to protect our freedoms The Holiday Mail for Heroes mail box is open and ready to receive for your cards. Please send all mail to:

Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Sending a “touch of home” to American men and women who serve our country is the perfect way to express your appreciation and support during the holiday season.  But don’t wait– all mail must be postmarked NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 10th, 2011!

For more details and to watch a video of what one group did, click here.

By Alex W. Miller

For most people, graduation is an exciting day – the culmination of years of hard work. My graduation day… was not.

I remember that weekend two years ago. Family and friends had flown in from across the country to watch our class walk across that stage. But like everyone else in my graduating class, I had watched the economy turn from bad to worse my senior year. We graduates had degrees, but very limited prospects. Numerous applications had not panned out and I knew that the next day, when my lease ended, I would no longer have a place to call home.

The weeks ahead weren’t easy. I gathered up everything I couldn’t carry and put it into storage. Then, because I knew my small university town couldn’t offer me any opportunities, I packed up my car and drove to Southern California to find work. But what I thought would take a week dragged into two, and then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself in the exact same spot as I was before. And the due date to begin paying back my student loans was creeping ever closer.

You know that feeling when you wake up and you are just consumed with dread? Dread about something you can’t control – that sense of impending failure that lingers over you as you hope that everything that happened to you thus far was just a bad dream? That feeling became a constant in my life.

Days felt like weeks, weeks like months, and those many months felt like an unending eternity of destitution. And the most frustrating part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t seem to make any progress.

So what did I do to maintain my sanity? I wrote. Something about putting words on a page made everything seem a little clearer – a little brighter. Something about writing gave me hope. And if you want something badly enough… sometimes a little hope is all you need!

I channeled my frustration into a children’s book. Beyond the River was the story of an unlikely hero featuring a little fish who simply refused to give up on his dream.

And then one day, without any sort of writing degree or contacts in the writing world – just a lot of hard work and perseverance – I was offered a publishing contract for my first book! After that, things slowly began to fall into place. I was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with The Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.

The moral of this story is… don’t give up. Even if things look bleak now, don’t give up. Two years ago I was huddled in my car drinking cold soup right out of the can. Things change.

If you work hard, give it time, and don’t give up, things will always get better. Oftentimes our dreams lie in wait just a little further upstream… all we need is the courage to push beyond the river.

Alex is the author of a new children’s story called “Beyond The River” about a little fish who is looking for answers. Copyright ©2011.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

Author unknown

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. This is my annual “Guilt Trip.”

I got tickets to fly there on “WISH-I-HAD” airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my “baggage,” which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was loaded down with a thousand memories of “what might have been.”

No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town. As I checked into the “Last Resort” Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event — the annual “Pity Party.”

I wasn’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the town’s leading citizens would be there. First, there would be the “Done” family: you know, “Should Have,” “Would Have” and “Could Have.” Then came the “I Had” family. You probably know old “Wish” and his clan. Of course, the “Opportunities” family; “Missed and Lost,” would be present. The biggest family there would be the “Yesterday’s.”

There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share. Of course, “Shattered Dreams” would surely make an appearance. “It’s Their Fault” family would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly applauded by the “Don’t Blame Me” and “I Couldn’t Help It” committee.

To make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full well there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and subsequent “pity parties” COULD be canceled by ME!

I started to realize that I did not have to be there. And I didn’t have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN’T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as being encouraging.

Knowing this, I left Regret City immediately, and didn’t leave a forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I’ve made in the past? YES! But there is no way to undo them. So, if you’re planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel all those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: “Starting Again.”

I like it so much that I made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, “Been Forgiven” and the “We’re Saved” are so very helpful. By the way, you don’t have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either. That load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. Just thank God for salvation.

If you need directions, just look into your heart, and enter by “Grace Way.” No taxes or other cost. God’s Son paid the price, in full, for all sins and transgressions, a long time ago. Look me up if you’re ready for a total change in your life. I now live on “His Will Way.”

Sincerely, “Born Again.”

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

By Bob Perks, from “I Wish You Enough”

I’ve done it myself. Maybe you have, too. In an effort to separate ourselves from life for whatever reason, we attempt to build walls.

These walls are made up of excuses, lies, and denial. Like the ostrich we think by burying our heads in the ground no one can see us.

Life starts closing in on us and instead of pushing back we begin to limit ourselves. The barrier may begin with a refusal to participate in something. A family party, a gathering of friends. We shut the door and lie to ourselves thinking no one cares.

“I won’t be missed. They don’t need me there.”

Then it begins to show at work. We produce less, expect nothing and get nothing in return. We see it as life punishing us and why shouldn’t it? We are simply not worthy of it. Or so the lie goes.

Layer by layer, piece by piece we dig deeper, build higher until we have completely removed ourselves.

Then while inside this invisible wall we have created we begin to blame others for shutting us out. The perceived darkness comes not from the lack of light, but the self induced blindness created by denial.

You begin to believe “There’s no way out!” “There’s no way in.”

But you’re wrong.

There isn’t a fortress, there isn’t a barrier, there isn’t a negative thought, action or ideal that God can’t break through.

Like a leaky basement, a house built of brick, or grave you have mentally dug for yourself, there is always a way.

It begins with a note from a friend. A knock on your door, a spoken word overheard that grabs your attention and pierces your heart.

An email from someone arriving right just as you think you have sealed off the world completely suddenly shakes the very foundation.

In the once stuffy confines you suddenly and dramatically feel a breath of fresh air. There’s someone pounding on the walls relentlessly because they know you’re in there and they won’t stop until you come out.

Why? Because love penetrates all. It softens the hardest hearts. It soothes the most painful loss. It extinguishes the fires of loneliness and surrounds you like a blanket on a cold night.

Buried deep in doubt and depression it takes awhile for your eyes to adjust to the brightness and beauty of the day until the very moment when you look around and realize how very much you are needed and the world does indeed have a place for you in it.

If you shut yourself off, God will break through. He sent me today just to say “I love you.”

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

By Bob Perks

A tiny drop of water washed away the land and buildings fell, floating away with other people’s dreams.

Roadways planned and formed by huge machines and men who sweat and hammer the world into shape, were pushed away with little effort.

People ran and cars clogged highways in an effort to stay ahead of the possible destruction that tiny drop of water could cause.

“Wait!” you say.  ”It was much more than a tiny drop of water. The streams overflowed and the rivers broke through their banks causing a wall of water to destroy those things.”

Yes, but it was made up of tiny drops of water.  Raindrops which together wore a path right through my yard with little effort.  One drop, then two then thousands, millions and all together they changed the world, our world.

Can’t you see the significance in that?

I want to change the world.  I am tired, worn out from weeping at the sight of still another death not just on the field of battle laid out by warriors, but in the streets of every city, in the fields of the impoverished, desolate reaches of the world. They are dying in my country and yours by bullet, by starvation, disease, arrogance, stupidity and pride.

A tiny drop of water gave me hope.

I am but one drop in the sea of humanity, but like the rain I can join together with others and wash away the hatred and pain I anguish over.  One drop, then two, then thousands, millions and all together we can change the world. Our world.

I want to change my life.  I am tired of being in debt.  I am worn out from trying to keep pace with the world.  I have tried my very best to get ahead and find myself falling behind each step of the way.

A tiny drop of water gave me hope.

It fell upon the hillside just behind my house.   One single drop of water joined with others forming a stream.

Like trying one more time.  Like doing one more thing. Like pushing one more inch to reach the goal, the dream I long to touch and make reality. All my little efforts make big changes.

The little stream that ran down my driveway, never having been there before, began as one single drop, until one drop after another, trying again and again, washed the soil away and moved the tiny pebble and eventually the rock.

I cannot push away the fear nor change my life overnight, but if I dedicate myself to one single effort each and every day, I will see the power of changing little things to make a big difference.

A tiny drop of water gave me hope.

I am just one drop in the sea of humanity.  But I have the power to change my life and the sacred obligation to move the world in the right direction.

How?

One drop, then two, then thousands, millions and all together we change the world, our world.

A tiny drop of water gave me hope.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!