Tom TollModerator & Life Member  Senior Member Posts:1865  
| 06/01/2009 9:51 AM |
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I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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HuskerCat Veteran Member Posts:762 
| 06/01/2009 11:29 PM |
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Posted By Tom Toll on 01 Jun 2009 09:51 AM
I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
This may be the epitome of all of your advice over the years, Tom. Life's greatest successes are the result of great failures, afterall. Anyone afraid to fail is also afraid to succeed....or due a tidy inheritance.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/02/2009 11:37 AM |
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Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!!!!
STORY NUMBER ONE
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.
And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."
STORY NUMBER TWO
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft
This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
What environment you lived in does not automatically dictate who you are. You have the ultimate choice to be what you want to be and be who you are.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/02/2009 3:43 PM |
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The real purpose of life is just to be happy, to enjoy your life, to get to a place where you're not always trying to get to someplace else. If your spending your life struggling, trying to be someplace that your not, you will never get to arrive. Quit struggling and arrive at your destination.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/03/2009 1:32 PM |
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There are only two options regarding commitment;
you're either in or you're out.
There's no such thing as life in-between.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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| 06/03/2009 3:51 PM |
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I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen.'
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea.
Of unmarked graves in Arlington .
No, freedom isn't free.
Enjoy Your Freedom
and
God Bless Our Troops.
Please stop for a moment
and say a prayer for our servicemen.
Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one.
Sam Ray
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/04/2009 9:41 AM |
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Being big or small isn't the crucial issue.
If you don't move, you won't move.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/04/2009 12:22 PM |
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Clue to good adjusting procedure. Hurricane occurs and you are called in.
1: Find a place to stay that is reasonable and suits you. This must be done quickly.
2: Set up your office.
3: Get files from vendor and determine their procedures.
4: Type up a list of line items that will probably be contained in your estimates. Try to determine 5 good GC's or Contractors, call them and tell them you would like to fax a list of materials for current pricing. When you get the 5 faxes returned, total all the prices, per line item, divide by 5 to determine a mean average. Show this list to vendor and tell them this it the current market on line items and one you intend to use due to currency of prices in area.
5: Set up macros with these line items with current pricing for that area.
6: Contact insured's on all files received and tell them you are the adjuster and are interested in helping them as soon as possible. Encourage them to mitigate their damage, per policy. Tell them you will be calling to set up appointments.
7: Go to Delorme and type all addresses into it. Save that list to a floppy, flash drive, or CD. Pick out addresses close to each other and start calling to set appointments. Tell insured you will be in that area on ? and need to set appointment for that day.
8: Go to appointment, scope, photo, (Lots of them) and discuss loss with insured and contractor if any. Do it right the first time.
9: Go back to your personal office and start estimating and reporting.
10: Depending on the severity of the storm will dictate how many appointments to make per day. Leave time to work on the files that day.
Result: Vendor has confidence in you and insured's are confident in you. End result, you make a decent living, vendor will call you again. End of story!!
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/07/2009 1:30 PM |
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There ain't no free lunches in this country. And don't go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals. You've got to say, 'I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.' Quote from Lee Iacocca and ain’t it the truth. Moaning and groaning about things are not going to help anyone. Take action and the positive motion will start.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/08/2009 11:23 AM |
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The difference between whether you say, 'I wish I would have,' or 'I'm glad I did,' at the end of your life is whether or not you take DECISIVE ACTION during your life. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/09/2009 12:37 PM |
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Today, let's let our heart's dance. We will find no shortage of dance partners, as your feet join in. And your eyes. And your smile. And every part of your body and your feelings. Let's let our heart's dance all day long. Wake up, fellow adjuster's, lets dance.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/10/2009 3:31 PM |
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Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. Fear is good, as it makes you cautious. Too much fear can destroy your ambitions.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/11/2009 11:38 AM |
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If you develop the habits of success, you will
make success a habit.
I will not be here as often for a while. I will post on occasion. I am writing a book which will take some time. So you guys be happy and industrious.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/12/2009 7:18 AM |
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Only two things, to our knowledge, are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, but I am not so sure about the former. Stupidity can be controlled, the universe cannot.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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StormSupportGold Member  Member Posts:203
| 06/12/2009 9:00 AM |
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Here's an awesome music site I just stumbled across...
Enjoy!
Do the right thing, ALWAYS
~Meg~
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/15/2009 1:00 PM |
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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/16/2009 10:28 AM |
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There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts:
1: What we do
2: How we look
3: What we say
4: How we say it
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/17/2009 9:16 AM |
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No theme, just worth watching.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/17/2009 11:47 AM |
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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865
| 06/18/2009 11:51 AM |
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If you're coasting, you're either losing momentum or else you're headed downhill. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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