Archive for the Casey Comments Category
 I’ve been waiting to send thoughts about Michael Jackson and his passing and I’ve come across a number of Youtube videos that absolutely capture his Genuis (Unique Ability) in action. I had many songs and videos to pick from but I settled on this song and this Video because deep down Michael was dealing ultimately with the Man in the Mirror.
Having experienced massive success and standing ovations in front of 100,000’s of people I can also tell you that quietly after the crowds are gone and you left to your own. The personal issues of self doubt and worthiness cross your mind and sometimes leave you wondering.
Michael Jackson was in my opinion the greatest artisitc innovators of the century! He will be included in that elite group of special artists and individuals that single handly broke all records for Music Sales and Concert Sell outs around the world.
As you watch the video and experience the genuis of his music. You can’t help but be touch at your core with the passion of his performance.
Truly, he was gifted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgtWIx2zLtk&feature=related
Man In The Mirror - Lyrics
I’m Gonna Make A Change,For Once In My Life
It’s Gonna Feel Real Good,Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .
As I, Turn Up The Collar On My Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin’ My Mind,
I See The Kids In The Street,With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind? Pretending Not To See Their Needs
A Summer’s Disregard, A Broken Bottle Top And A One Man’s Soul
They Follow Each Other On The Wind Ya’ Know,’Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That’s Why I Want You To Know
I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah)
I’ve Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love
It’s Time That I Realize That There Are Some With No Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,Pretending That They’re Not Alone?
A Willow Deeply Scarred,Somebody’s Broken Heart And A Washed-Out Dream
(Washed-Out Dream)
They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya’ See Cause They Got No Place To Be
That’s Why I’m Starting With Me
(Starting With Me!)
I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror (Ooh!)
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways (Ooh!)
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)
I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror,(Man In The Mirror-Oh Yeah!)
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways (Better Change!)
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change)
(You Gotta Get It Right, While You Got The Time)
(’Cause When You Close Your Heart)
You Can’t Close Your . . . Your Mind!
(Then You Close Your . . . Mind!)
That Man, That Man, That Man, That Man With That Man In The Mirror
(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)
That Man, That Man, That Man
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Better Change!)
You Know . . .That Man
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah
(Oh Yeah!)
Gonna Feel Real Good Now!
Yeah Yeah! Yeah Yeah!Yeah Yeah!
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah
(Ooooh . . .)
Oh No, No No . . .
I’m Gonna Make A Change, It’s Gonna Feel Real Good!
Come On!
(Change . . .)
Come On!
(Man In The Mirror)
You Know It!
You Know It!
You Know It!
You Know . . .
(Change . . .)
Make That Change.
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In this day and age we are surrounded by messages that virtually scream, “Your life would be perfect if…”
My life would be perfect if I had a different job, a different house, car, nose, spouse, bank account, (fill in the blank). Or my life would be perfect if I could be like some celebrity whose life appears so well-ordered and perfect. I encourage you to stop playing “my life would be perfect if” and start playing “my perfect life.” What’s the difference? Three things: being in the present, an attitude of gratitude, and taking action with what’s available now.When we’re caught up in the “my life would be perfect if” trap, we’ve lost touch with the present. And the moment we detach from the present, we can no longer practice gratitude. Think about it: it’s difficult to be grateful for what you don’t have… and what you don’t have is always somewhere out in future-ville. Look around you right now. Think of 10 things you’re grateful for. Do you have a roof over your head and food to eat? I’m guessing the answer is yes. Do you have at least a few good friends or close relationships? Then appreciate them too, right now. Keep going, and practice being in the present and being grateful for what is here and now at least a couple times a day.You’re also probably sitting there thinking, “yes, but.” Yes, but I want more money, a better relationship, more time to travel, to be thinner, happier or whatever. It’s one of the great mysteries I’ll never figure out. The minute you stop focusing on what you lack, start focusing on what you’ve already got, and add the “magic” ingredient of action, you actually begin to attract more of what you want. It’s an amazing formula for really living your perfect life!
Let’s say you want to lose weight or get in better shape, but you don’t have an hour a day to spend exercising in the gym. Therefore, you’ve pretty well resigned yourself to not losing weight or getting in shape. What if you had five minutes though…just about everyone can find five minutes to exercise, stretch, walk around the block or walk the dog. Would you be willing to be grateful for five minutes and make the best possible use of it? Therein lies the beginning of your perfect life!
Apply the same principle to anything in your life that you want to improve. Maybe your finances are a wreck and you think you need a financial makeover. Before you rush off to a financial planner, take a moment to practice being grateful for what you do have. Then ask how you can improve your finances starting now. Are you consistently “paying yourself first,” as any good financial planner will advise you to do? Even as little as $50 a month can quickly build a nest egg of thousands of dollars, through consistency and the “magic” of compound interest. It’s not the amount that matters, it’s the attitude and the action. Even something as small as cleaning out your wallet and practicing the attitude of gratitude when you sit down to pay bills can signal a shift in your financial picture.
The point is, you already have the life you have. The lessons you need to learn are right in front of you (and me!). The sooner you start accepting (rather than running from) the present, being grateful for what’s right in front of you, and taking positive action, the sooner you will radiate energy, optimism and the can-do spirit that makes you attractive to more and better opportunities.
A simple formula may help you remember how to apply this principle:
BEING PRESENT + AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE + POSITIVE ACTION
= MY PERFECT LIFE
Try it for a day.
Each time you start dreaming about how perfect your life would be if…come back to this moment, give thanks for what is, and do one thing to perfect what you have and who you are right now. There’s a saying that “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” If you’re ready to start perfecting your life, your teachers are all around you.
Are you looking?
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This is a story about a dog who was born on Christmas Eve in 2002. He was born with 3 legs - 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which needed to be amputated.He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him. He was rejected and scorned.His first owner also did not think that he could survive. Therefore , he was thinking of putting him to sleep.. At this time , his present owner Jude Stringfellow came into his life and wanted to take care of him.She was determined to teach and train this dog to walk by himself. She thought , all we need is a little faith.Therefore she named him ‘Faith’
In the beginning , she put Faith on a surf board to let him feel the movements of the water. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and to reward him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dogs at home helped to encourage him to walk. Amazingly , after only 6 months , like a miracle , Faith learned to balance on his 2 hind legs and jumped to move forward. After further training in the snow , he can now walk like a human being.
Faith loves to walk around now.
No matter where he goes , he just attracts all the people around him.
He is now becoming famous on the international scene. He has appeared in various newspapers and TV shows.
There is even one book entitled ‘With a little faith’ being published about him.
He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
His present owner Jude Stringfellow has given up her teaching job and plans to take him around the world to preach, ‘that even without a perfect body , one can have a perfect soul.’
What almost killed ‘Faith’ has now become what has made him world famous!
Perhaps this message will bring fresh new way to think about your situation!
Life is the continual demonstration of the power of and having faith.
Remember… what doesn’t kill you will build you!
Have FAITH!
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How many of us are not seeing the beauty that surrounds us?
Our world has created an environment of “Human Doings”! Only as a “Human Being” can we appreciate the wonderous beauty around us.
Enjoy this true story!
A Violinist in the Washington Metro Station… Would you have stopped?
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up, to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along—hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
Who is he?
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with his 1713 Stradivarius violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100 each.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Washington metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.
The outlines were: in a commonplace environment, at an inappropriate hour, Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing in life?
PS. Gene Weingarten won a Pulitzer Prize for his article describing this event.
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A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science fair. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to “Alarmists” practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. It’s time to start thinking and asking real questions about the subjects that we do not understand!In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”And for plenty of good reasons:
1. It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
2. It is a major component of acid rain
3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
4. Accidental inhalation can kill you
5. It contributes to erosion
6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer
Conclusion:
He asked fifty people if they supported a ban of the chemical.
Excitedly forty-three said yes to the ban of “dihydrogen monoxide”
A total of six were undecided…
Only one knew that the chemical, “dihydrogen monoxide” was water.
The title of his prize-winning project was, “How Gullible Are We?”
The student felt that the conclusion is obvious.
You better start asking questions!
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 In case anyone asks you who a Canadian is . . .An Australian dentist wrote the following editorial to help define what a Canadian is, so they would know one when they found one.
A Canadian can be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan.
A Canadian may also be a Cree, Métis, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native Canadians. A Canadian’s religious beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none.
In fact, there are more Muslims in Canada than in Afghanistan . The key difference is that in Canada they are free to worship as each of them chooses.
Whether they have a religion or no religion, each Canadian ultimately answers only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.
A Canadian is generous and Canadians have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services and the best minds.
But they also welcome the least - the oppressed, the outcast and the rejected.
These are the people who built Canada .
You can try to kill a Canadian if you must as other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world have tried but in doing so you could just be killing a relative or a neighbour. This is because Canadians are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom.
Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, can be a Canadian.
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I’d like to thank my dear friend Robert Rohm for his thoughts about being thankful at this time of the year. Robert so successfully reminds us that, ”there is always something for which you can be thankful!”
As most of you know, here in the United States we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week. I realize that this Tip goes to many other countries where Thanksgiving is celebrated at different times. However, regardless of where you live and when you celebrate it, Thanksgiving is a good time to remember to be thankful and grateful for everything that you have. I have often been reminded that success in life has everything to do with an attitude of gratitude. When a person has a good attitude and a grateful heart, it seems to open doors of opportunity for them that would never be opened otherwise. Not many people who are bitter and ungrateful have prospered very much in their life.
Years ago, I heard the story of an Englishman by the name of Matthew Henry. He was a preacher and well-known Bible scholar who lived from 1662 to 1714. His exposition of the Old and New Testament is a commentary that is still in print to this very day. He was known for his practical application, combined with a well-sustained flow of English literature. Perhaps that is what made the commentary one of the best works of its kind.
One day Matthew Henry was riding his horse through the woods. He was on his way to a church meeting where he was going to be the guest speaker. Suddenly, a masked bandit ran out of the woods with a gun in his hand and demanded that Matthew Henry get off of his horse. Mr. Henry obeyed the robber, as he knew this was a dangerous situation. Even though he tried to talk to the man about God and spiritual matters, the bandit would hear none of it. He quickly took all of Matthew Henry’s money and ran back into the woods. It all happened so quickly that Mr. Henry hardly had time to realize what had happened. Although he was penniless, he got back on his horse and continued on his journey.
His mind took him to the thought that we are supposed to give thanks in everything that happens to us. He asked God how he was supposed to be thankful for being robbed! As he continued on his way, the answer came to him. That night he told the story and concluded his message by sharing the reason he could be thankful for what had happened to him that day.
“First,” he said, “I am thankful I have never been robbed before. Second, I am thankful he took my money and not my life. Third, I am thankful he did not take more; he could have taken my horse and my clothes as well. Next, I am thankful that what I had stolen from me really did not amount to very much. Then I am grateful that what I lost, in time, could be replaced. But, finally, and most importantly, I am thankful that I was the one robbed and not the robber!”
Isn’t that a fantastic attitude of thankfulness and gratitude? I remember reading that story years ago and thinking, “I want to be that kind of person.” Not that I want to put myself in harm’s way and constantly have bad things happen to me! But, I want to be the kind of person who looks for the good, the pure, and the positive in everything that happens in my life. If I believed that life was just a string of random events that haphazardly happened to me, I think I would live in a constant state of depression. I must believe that life has its way of teaching me what it wants me to know. If I will look for ways to have a grateful heart and be thankful, I will find them, just as Matthew Henry did so long ago.
During this time of Thanksgiving, let me encourage you to look at even the most difficult, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching situations that you may be facing right now and look for ways that you can be grateful for what has taken place in your life. In the midst of our darkest moments there is still good to be found.
I don’t know about you, but I have discovered that having a thankful heart really is the basis for everything good that happens in my life and it opens doors of opportunity that I never could have imagined. Have a thankful heart and it will open doors of opportunity for you, too!
Tip: There is always something for which you can be thankful!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Robert A. Rohm Ph.D.
Personality Insights, Inc
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