How much confidence do you place in fortune cookies?

 Like you, I usually crack them open, read the fortune, then toss it away and spend the next minute or so chomping on the actual cookie. Some, I assure you, are made of cardboard.

 Well a couple of days ago, I went out a grabbed some quick Chinese take out and brought it back to work. At the end of the meal, I cracked the fortune cookie open and read the message to myself. It said the following;

 "You are the master of every situation."

 I laughed, not quite out loud, but enough to where people around me could hear me. The master of EVERY situation? Granted, I like to be in control and chart my own course as much as possible. Who doesn't. But there are many things in my life that are outside of my control and I just have to deal with them. Or do I? The fortune got me thinking about how people react to the world around them; particularly bad or annoying circumstances. Do you just DEAL with those situaitons or is there action that could be taken to improve them?

 It's amazing what can promopt a mini "life review". The fortune ended up reminding me of a phrase I used to hear a lot growing up: "Some people make things happen, some people watch things happen and some people wonder what happened". I can hear my grandmother's voice clear as day asking me "Which one are you Brian? Are you making, watching or wondering?". I still use that question to gut check myself periodically.

 Leadership must be more than just a word. It must be a thoughtful plan of action which leads to happiness and success. I'm not defining 'leadership' in the business sense but the personal sense. Who is in control of your life? Do you have a thoughful plan of action to make your world better? Or is the world controlling and shaping your life?

 A little food for thought from a fortune cookie.

 Quote Of The Day: "If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." Mickey Mantle

 This Day In History: New Orleans was founded by French settlers and named after the Duke Of Oreleans. It happened on this date, August 25th, 1718.

 Something You Should Check Out: I can't tell if this piece of video is an insightful look at the customs of another culture or if it's just plain weird. This is video of a head massage as performed in India. Let me know what you think.

 All right, that's it for now. Feel free to leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail by clicking here.