On Success

In the summer of 1905, on the shores of central California, the fishing town of Monterey, suffered a very great economic blow.

Monterey is a picturesque community, 100 miles south of San Francisco. It is situated on the great Monterey Bay.

The Monterey Bay, gave to the city of Monterey all the bounty of the ocean. For decades Monterey fishermen brought back the fruit of the sea, the fish, that fed millions of people in America.

The backbone of this great fishery, and therefore of the economy in Monterey, was the annual catch of sardines.

These sardines were captured, brought to port, and then to Cannery Row – a row of fish canning operations lining the Monterey beach. There, of course, the sardines were packed into silver cans, wrapped in a red and black paper seal declaring them to be high-quality sardines from Monterey, California. They were then shipped throughout America and the world.

And the economy was good.

But, in the summer of 1905, something terrible happened. An economic disaster of unprecedented proportions happened to this bustling fishing town.

The disaster was this: the fishermen and their many boats, and many employees, simply over fished the sardine population. They did it to such a degree, that the sardines couldn’t reproduce their stock – and, suddenly, sardines simply disappeared from the fisherman’s nets! They were gone! And with them, were also, apparent to everyone, the good times for people in Monterey.

But – and this is a very important but – this was not the end of the story. A very great and ominous disaster had happened on their watch, but now something wondrous and hopeful, also took place on their watch.

Here is what, actually, happened: first, the people of Monterey and their churches, prayed. Now, whether you believe in prayer or not, that is secondary to the story. My duty is just to give hope and tell you how the story turned out, in actual history.

Most of the ship owners in Monterey doubled as their own ship captains. There were no big corporate fleets. It was mostly private fishermen who had built their fishing business to the level of having a ship or two, and going out daily and bringing the fish back. They worked hard at it, and they became better and better at what they did, and therefore became more and more successful.

But the sea had always helped them. Now that the sardines were gone, what next? What would happen to the economy, to the ship owners and captains, and to all the crews and their families?

The captains of the ships talked among themselves. As they talked, they told tales that they had heard long ago, about schools of great fish, that a Monterey fisherman and his ship and crew had once found.

But, these great fish, which were only known by the thin thread of perhaps a tall tale, were caught as far out as 200 miles from the shore! No Monterey fisherman and his crew, at least for decades, had gone beyond 20 miles!

No one ever dared to go that far! It had not yet entered the imagination of the people.

They had the vessels for it, and the crews. Now what they needed was some bold and intrepid captains, who would dare to go farther into deeper waters, than anyone ever had before.

And, in a true to life story, several believing captains, with their valiant ships and willing crews, set out to find out if the tales of these great fish had any truth to them.

They went fifty miles. Then eighty miles. Then over a hundred miles. But approximately one hundred and fifty miles out, they saw “boiling water” – a strange occurrence on the surface of the water that far out in the middle of the sea.

The captains and their crews, decided to fish these “boiling waters.” For their efforts, they began to pull in yellowfin tuna anywhere from 100 to 300 pounds! And there was no end to them!

Now, dear reader, understand that until this date in history, no one in the entire world had ever eaten tuna. Well, maybe some long ago sea captain and his crew had. But for the most part, tuna had never been known before. It had never been seen or eaten!

So, the intrepid sea captains and their fishermen returned home to Monterey with great good news – and a big load of great fish!

Think about it. Sardines were only 4 to 8 inches long, and now the fishermen replaced them with tuna that were 4-8 feet long! The sardines weighed a half-pound at best, and the tuna weighed up to three hundred pounds. In fact, later, as fishermen found the will to go farther, they caught bluefin tuna, that weighed up to 1500 pounds!

Thus, by being willing to go further than anyone had gone before ,and by choosing to act in new ways rather than just sit and suffer, although the economy went down with the sardines – now it went up with the tuna! Following what might have been just a tall story by an old salt, turned out to give the people of Monterey a true, and much greater, story. They introduced tuna and tuna fishing to the world. Their ships got bigger. Their crews got paid more. More tourists came to Monterey. The little bustling fishing didn’t go down with the sardines!

Somehow, the town, its people, and its economy all got a new lease on life. They grew. They prospered. And – they fed the whole world to a far greater degree.

In that summer day of 1905, when the sardine stock fell and the bottom dropped out of the sardine business, it shook everybody up. But, they said their prayers, decided to go further than ever before, chose to “seek a greater story” – and, however combined elements made it happen – tuna, much larger than sardines, and a tuna catch, much greater than the total sardine catch had ever achieved, was brought into the history, and to the palates, of the entire world.

The economy recovered and boomed.

My friends, could it be possible that right now, this very day, that even as you experience the loss of something you long felt secure and that you built your hopes on, just a little farther ahead, with a little willingness to keep your chin and morale up, exploring a little further, pursuing a greater, not lesser, story for you and yours, we might ourselves see our “sardines” not just gone, but our own kind of new, far greater, “tuna” right in front of us replacing our loss with something much better?

I believe that people with the American dream, don’t just get better dreams. They get a better story. It comes complete with the faith, the new vision, the will to try, the solid meat of the fish, the adventures, and the tale to tell all our children about.

The measure of something great is that greater things still come out of it.

Say your prayers, stoke the embers of your dreams and visions. Listen to wise stories. Make your minds and ships go further into the ocean of the Spirit – and I believe either you yourself, or some intrepid captains, are going to come back with the equivalent of boatloads of silver tuna in our time – together with directions how you can get a lot more of them.

by Eric Zehnder
Copyright 2008

The River Deep Within

Just imagine all the creativity within humanity. Each and every person has creative thoughts, dreams, imaginations, and the ability to create pictures within the mind. Look around our world. Everywhere you look you see the fruit of someone's creative thoughts. In buildings, in art, in cities, in communities, in homes and around the world.

Is there something deep within you? A vision, a dream, a creative thought and picture that would add beauty to our world?

Find that river, tap into it and let it flow.

Be Blessed

May you day, week and holiday be filled with blessings.

Holiday Gift Book

The Child Who Learned Dreams Come True is dedicated to children and the child deep within us all. That child who loves to dream, that loves adventure, that believes and hopes for great things.

You see, we all dream. Dreams are a part of our character. They encourage us, mentor us, help us to process life, and even help us to find greatness deep within.

However, there is more. This book is also dedicated to adults who have lost their desire to dream, who have lost that desire for adventure, and feel that life's dreams have passed them by.

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Holy Fire Publishing (August 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1603830987
ISBN-13: 978-1603830980
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches

Order It In Time For Christmas!


Words To Ponder

Sometimes life has it's challenges. In many ways life is like farming. There is a time for sowing and a time for reaping. Sometimes we must cultivate things in life, prepare for the seasons to come, plant our ideas, hopes, desires and water those very dreams. Sometimes we must be patient and allow the seeds to root, to grow and to produce a fruit bearing tree. Then with patience, with persistence and through persevering the seasons, we will reap a harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

The key word is labors. It takes hard work and dedication to be successful. Another key word is seasons. For there is a season for everything.

Sayings From The Teton Mountains

Just imagine spending 40 days and 40 nights in the Teton Mountains and surrounding areas. The beauty, nature, peace, wonderful moments, beautiful sunsets and endless hours of being far from the hustle bustle of life.

Author Eric Zehnder did just that. When Author Eric Zehnder traveled to the Teton Mountains in Wyoming something very profound happened. He started writing quality sayings.

Eric went on to write 4,000 sayings in just 40 days while in the mountains. He then went on to write 8,000 more sayings and has amassed a personal library of over 12,000 sayings.

This book is a collection of wise, fun and humorous sayings. If you read a few, you will be entertained. However, if you apply the sayings in this book to everyday life situations, they will help put you on the path to living a victorious life.

Order your copy now.

My Way

One man will take the "My Way" attitude, while another man will take the "right way" attitude. Both have their rewards. One leads to personal accomplishments and the other leads to great accomplishments that stand and weather time.

TEPG

Smiles

Whenever life seems to drag you down. Dig deep inside and find that special place within that makes everyone smile. People look much better when they smile.

TEPG

Dealing With Stress

As we take in all the news and media surrounding the economic struggles not only in the United States but also globally. Fear, concerns, stress and many other emotions are rising as many wonder what the future holds.

No doubt that it is wise to be cautious and prepare for the seasons that may be ahead. However to walk in fear and allow these things to steal our peace, rob us of our sleep and simply instill more fear is not emotionally, mentally or physically healthy. What will happen, will happen.

Therefore let me encourage you to simply make the best of each day, one day at a time. Today is here, yesterday is gone and tomorrow will take care of its self. Therefore enjoy the day, and make the most of it.

Have A Great Week

May your week be blessed, filled with great things, and overflowing with joy.

May You Be Blessed

I just want to encourage those of you that might be carrying the burden and worries of the economy. This too will pass, and we will all rise above it.

From Cover To Cover

The Child Who Learned Dreams Come True is dedicated to children and the child deep within us all. That child who loves to dream, that loves adventure, that believes and hopes for great things.

You see, we all dream. Dreams are a part of our character. They encourage us, mentor us, help us to process life, and even help us to find greatness deep within.

However, there is more. This book is also dedicated to adults who have lost their desire to dream, who have lost that desire for adventure, and feel that life's dreams have passed them by.

Available online everywhere or at your local bookstore.
ISBN 9781603830980
ISBN 1603830987

Beavers

Sometimes life is like a river flowing. Things seem to be moving along, going well and then all the sudden it's like some beavers show up, build a dam and block the flow of the river.

Make sure you keep the beavers out and the river flowing.

TEPG

From The Eric Zehnder Collection

He who sees greatness,
has greatness within him.

Eric Zehnder & Associates

Keep The River Flowing

Do you have a river inside of you? A river of joy, of creativity, of hope and filled with desires to accomplish great things? I believe that we all do. Let's keep the river flowing.

Stagnant waters are no fun.

Posted by: TEPG

Just For Them


Hot Off The Press
Available Online & At Your Local Book Store
"The Child Who Learned That Dreams Come True"
Author: Eric Zehnder
Pub. Date: August 2008
ISBN-13: 9781603830980

Looking Past Those Difficult Times

Life comes with those difficulties, those trials, the hardships and many other unfortunate situation. However life also comes with blessings. You see, there are many seasons.

Yet let us encourage you regardless of the situations. If we look past whatever life may be throwing at us. We can enjoy the blessings.

Posted By: TEPG

Kingdom Truth

There is but one Kingdom that is Everlasting, and that Kingdom is not of this world. It is a Kingdom of Righteousness, and Truth, and It's Banner is Love.
Posted By: TEPG

Encourage Others

Remember within you is the power to encourage others. Each of us can make a difference in the lives of others, simply through being a encourager.

Eric Zehnder

How To Build A Everlasting Fire

Our first book release should be available within 30 to 45 days.
The Child Who Learned Dreams Come True.
Watch For it!

Eric Zehnder

Sayings From The River Of God

He who sees greatness, has greatness within him.

Eric Zehnder & Associates

Copies Soon Available

Special thanks to all those who have been visiting our blogs and sending us emails. Thank you for stopping in and especially for the wonderful communications.

Some have been requesting information about our new book releases. We will soon have copies available here online, so watch for updates. The new book releases will also be availble in local book stores.

Thanks once again,
Eric Zehnder

Soon To Come

We are working on another project with three soon going to the publisher. This forth project and book is a book of sayings or proverbs as you will, called "Sayings From The River Of God".

All four book released will be available approximately 120 days before the Christmas Holidays or sooner. For further information, please contact us.

Eric Zehnder & Associates
All Rights Reserved

Let Your River Flow

There is a river. A river that needs to flow, be constantly moving, and that was designed to move forward. Let it flow, and let the treasures of that river be known to others.

Eric Zehnder & Associates

One Thousand Sayings

I have over 12,000 sayings in my personal collections of sayings that I have written over the years. The numbers add up fast. Someday I will have to share how I wrote 4,000 sayings in a 30 day period, that's another post.

Currently our team is looking over 1,000 sayings for a book release. Oh, this will be fun.

Eric Zehnder

Something To Ponder

Everything that was ever good started with a person who kept his or her word.

Eric Zehnder
Eric Zehnder & Associates

Poor Thinking

Locking yourself out of your own car...

Eric Zehnder
Eric Zehnder & Associates

Hot Off The Press

Announcing Three New Book Releases Coming Soon!

We are going to press! and will be publishing three new books in the very near future. This project is so fresh and new, I can't even release the title names. So stay tuned for further information and updates.

Eric Zehnder
Eric Zehnder & Associates

Wisdom

Wisdom "The Gift That Keeps Giving".

Eric Zehnder

River Of God Sayings By Eric Zehnder

On Success.

"You Have To Sustain The Campaign
Before You Get To Taste The Champagne"

All Rights Reserved - Eric Zehnder
Eric Zehnder & Associates

Eric Zehnder, Author Online

Eric Zehnder, Author Online. An extention of Eric Zehnder Publications Online.

Eric Zehnder, Online

Living Your Dreams

New Book Release - The Child That Learned Dreams Come True
Eric Zehnder Books