We are always being given advice such as:

“Never settle for anything less than your best.”

But what is your best? How can we tell? I Like this definition of our best:

Earl Nightingale
We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.

We also know that as human beings, we are simply not always at our best. You don’t have to be perfect.

     “God makes three requests of his children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now”  African-American Proverb

I”ll have some more thoughts on the topic from Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as some of my own reflections this Sunday morning. Join us for a chance to discuss some inspiring idead, lots of joyful music, plus refreshments from the Farmers Market.

11:00 Lots of music and something to think about.

12:00 Refreshments

12:30 Wisdom Circle

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips:

Some films aren’t revelations, exactly, but they burrow so deeply into old truths about love and loss and the mess and thrill of life, they seem new anyway. A Single Man is one such film, one of the best of 2009.

No time to prepare my usual, formal announcement. The mediation over the lawsuit lasted until 7 PM Monday, and at 7 AM Tuesday I was on my way to the mojave desert to help a friend paint and fix up her property.

Generosity in the Mojave
As I spend the week here, I am thinking how difficult the mediation was, and how easy it is to be generous with my time and effort for a friend. All of this is fodder for my reflections this Sunday Morning. You are invited to come see where all this leads.

11:00 Lots of music and something to think about.

12:00 Refreshments

12:30 Health Circle

Drumming Circle

After refreshments, we have Drumming for Health and Healing at 12:30. You are invited!

Francois FéNelon
Most people I ask little from. I try to give them much, and expect nothing in return and I do very well in the bargain.

Howard Baker
The most difficult thing in any negotiation, almost, is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts. And there was a considerable challenge to that here and understandably so.

Max Markson
Quite often, your indifference can be the greatest negotiating weapon you have.

Robert Estabrook
He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat.

B. C. Forbes
Any business arrangement that is not profitable to the other person will in the end prove unprofitable for you.

Harri Holkeri
If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing.

Chester L. Karrass
In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.

Brian Koslow
During a negotiation, it would be wise not to take anything personally. If you leave personalities out of it, you will be able to see opportunities more objectively.

Max Markson
The first thing you have to do, whether you are the buyer or the seller, is find out what the other party’s budget is. If you are buying, your offer should be ridiculously low so you have room to go up. If you are selling, start ridiculously high so you can come down.

Lance Morrow
Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously.

Anonymous
The two keys to negotiating are superior information and learning to smile and say, “No, no, no, no, no” until your tongue bleeds.

Lord Chandos
Flattery is the infantry of negotiation.