Life Is What We Make It

"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be."
– Grandma Moses
 

                              About Grandma Moses

American folk artist Anna Mary Robertson, better known as Grandma Moses, began painting in her late 70's when arthritis made it difficult for her to wield an embroidery needle. She was born in 1860 in rural New York and lived most of her life as a farmer's wife until an art collector discovered her work gathering dust in a shop window. She became a success at age 80 for her colorful, primitive depictions of country life and her feisty, down-home personality. She died in 1961 at age 101.


With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Hope & Expectation

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something wonderful tomorrow."
– Orison Swett Marden

                          About Orison Swett Marden

Orison Swett Marden, the American writer who is considered the forerunner of motivational authors, wrote an average of two books a year from 1894 to 1924. He was born on a New England farm in 1850. During college, he worked in hotel management. He then used his seed money to buy a resort in Rhode Island. Wanting to inspire people as he himself had been inspired by British author Samuel Smiles, he began writing books like You Can, But Will You? and founded Success Magazine. He died in 1924.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

The Economy Of The Heart

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart.…forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits."
– Hannah More
 

                                      About Hannah More

English writer and philanthropist Hannah More, one of the most influential women of her time, is seen as a proto-feminist because she argued for true education for women. She was born near Bristol in 1745. When her long engagement to a local landowner ended badly, he gave her a yearly stipend in apology, which allowed her the freedom to move to London and write plays. She later shifted to philanthropic work and writing popular religious tracts. She died in 1833.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Goals Aren't Just For Hockey

February 22, 2009 Quote of the Day "The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." – Benjamin Mays

 

                              About Benjamin Mays

African-American minister Benjamin Mays laid the foundation for the civil rights movement with his books and speeches and as a mentor to Martin Luther King. He was born in 1894 in South Carolina to tenant farmer parents. His study, The Negro's Church, co-written with Joseph Nicholson, was a groundbreaking look at the black religious experience. Mays served as president of Morehouse College from 1940 to 1967. His work emphasized the inherent dignity in all people. He died in 1984.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Being Discontent Can Be A Blessing

This is true for me right now - February 19, 2009, at 4:50 a.m. ---

"Discontent is the first step in progress. No one knows what is in him till he tries, and many would never try if they were not forced to."
– Basil Maturin

                                About Basil Maturin

British cleric Basil Maturin, renowned for his oratory skill, was ordained as an Anglican but later converted to Catholicism. He was born in 1847 in Ireland. He ministered in Philadelphia before returning to England in 1888 to resolve his conflict about his religious identity. He died on board the Lusitania when it was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. He was observed giving last rites as the ship sank, looking pale but calm.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

A Very Special Tevye

   One of the great privileges I enjoy is to witness a live stage performance, be it music, dance, or drama. Every performance is a unique expression of talent, even if the production has been done thousands of times. 
   The priceless value is that each show is dynamic. The performers usually want to improve their presentation in every show. Equally important is that each audience can participate by feeding the actors with its energy.   
   I get to participate in a live show without involving my inadequate talent, yet the performers feel it, respond to it. 
   That means I get an original art work every time, unlike films or videos that always are the same. Their good scenes are always good and their gaffs always remain a flubber. I can throw a pillow at the TV set and the video does not change.
   However, in live performances there never can be identical ones, never another one exactly like the one I attended. Live performances never have the same audiences and the energy in the theater is always slightly different. 
   Each show always is "one of a kind."
   Therefore, with great anticipation I went to the Boulder (Colorado) High School presentation of Fiddler on the Roof. Not only was I not disappointed, I was amazed with the precocious talent of several of the actors, especially Noah Kloor who portrayed Tevye.
   Noah was not just "good for his age." He was good - period. For me Tevye now will always look, sound, and act like Noah Kloor of Boulder in 2009. He will succeed wherever he goes to college. 
   
With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Imagination Is The Beginning

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."
– George Bernard Shaw

                      About George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw, the witty British playwright best known for Arms and the Man and Pygmalion, is the only person to win both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award. He was born in Dublin in 1856 but moved to London in the 1870s to begin his literary career. He wrote five novels, all rejected, before becoming a music critic; he began writing plays after a stint as drama critic. He was an outspoken Democratic Socialist; his plays include highly political prefaces. He died in 1950.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

High Inspirations

Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."
– Louisa May Alcott
 

                           About Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott, the beloved American author, is best known for her semiautobiographical novel, Little Women, which was made into a movie five different times. Born in 1832 near Philadelphia, she grew up in Massachusetts. Her family lived in the genteel poverty depicted in her fiction. She wrote lurid stories anonymously to bring in money but gained fame under her own name with young adult novels, which held readers with their warm characterizations and simple, engaging style. She died in 1888.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com