Positive Writings from Grandpa's Journal

My late grandfather was a voracious reader (a love I fortunately inherited) and a wonderful motivator. He loved to read books by authors like Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, Robert Schular, Og Mandino and many others. Any books that highlighted peoples ability to acheive via a positive attitude and determination. He was one of those people who everyone loved, because he always made you feel good. He spent most of his career as a teacher here in town and I still have past students remark about the impact he had on them...

Over the years, he compiled excerpts of these books into a handwritten journal. About a year before he died, I asked him if I could have it and he happily turned it over to me. By that point, his Parkinson's had virtually made it impossible to write or read- two things he loved desperately. You could see throughout the journal the progression of his handwriting. It got worse and worse, until the final entry remained unfinished. This book has become a precious possession that I read through periodically, either for my own inspiration or for an opening thought at one of our team meetings.

Periodically I plan on sharing some of his journal entries. Some from authors you might recognize and some sayings or truisms my grandpa coined or picked up over the years.

This first entry is by writer Og Mandino. Og was a World War II pilot and friend of actor Jimmy Stuart. The two flew together in the war. Og later went on to be a writer of business fables, one of them "The Greatest Salesman in the World". In it, he pens the Ten Scrolls of Success. Here they are in all their glory.


Scroll I - Today I begin a new life.
Scroll II - I will greet this day with love in my heart.
Scroll III - I will persist until I succeed.
Scroll IV - I am nature's greatest miracle.
Scroll V - I will live this day as if it is my last.
Scroll VI - Today I will be master of my emotions.
Scroll VII - I will laugh at the world (Keep perspective)
Scroll VIII - Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
Scroll IX - I will act now, I will act now, I will act now.
Scroll X - I will pray for guidance.