Sunday, December 27, 2009

Brad Childress on Truth

The best thing about telling the truth is that you can tell it over and over again.

Brad Childress
Minnesota Vikings Coach

David Lloyd on Laughter

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.

David Lloyd

The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Chuckles Bites the Dust, October 25, 1975
David Lloyd, 1934 - 2009, writer

Thank you, David Lloyd.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Bob Hope on Christmas

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?

Bob Hope

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Song Wisdom: Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Happy Xmas (War is Over)

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
The rich and the poor ones
The road is so long
So happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
And we hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over, if you want it
War is over now

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Music and Lyrics
©1971 EMI Music Publishing

Christmas Song Wisdom

Later on, we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid, the plans that we made
Walking in a Winter Wonderland 


Winter Wonderland
Richard B. Smith, lyrics
Felix Bernard, music
1934

Dr. Seuss on Christmas

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1957

Hamilton Wright Mabie on Christmas

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!

Hamilton Wright Mabie


Source: quotegarden.com

Charles Dickens on Christmas

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

Charles Dickens

Source: quotegarden.com

Monday, December 21, 2009

Sockington Cat Wisdom

LOOK I KNOW THERE ARE SOME HURT FEELINGS ABOUT THE BOOKCASE but I think we need to get past this WHAT'S CLAWED IS CLAWED.

Sockington the Cat


Source: twitter.com/sockington (highly recommended!)

Friday, December 18, 2009

William Arthur Ward on Resolve

Vow to be valiant; Resolve to be radiant; Determine to be dynamic; Strive to be sincere; Aspire to be attuned.

William Arthur Ward

Source: thinkexist.com

Ella Wheeler Wilcox on Resolve

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox


Source: thinkexist.com

Tupac Shakur on Resilience

And 2Morrow

Today is filled with anger
fueled with hidden hate
scared of being outcast
afraid of common fate
Today is built on tragedies
which no one wants 2 face
nightmares 2 humanities
and morally disgraced
Tonight is filled with rage
violence in the air
children bred with ruthlessness
because no one at home cares
Tonight I lay my head down
but the pressure never stops
knawing at my sanity
content when I am dropped
But 2morrow I c change
a chance 2 build a new
Built on spirit intent of Heart
and ideals
based on truth
and tomorrow I wake with second wind
and strong because of pride
2 know I fought with all my heart 2 keep my
dream alive

Tupac Shakur


Source: poemhunter.com

Monday, December 7, 2009

Law and Order Wisdom

Listen, what I don't believe won't hurt me.

Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) to Detective Carolyn Barek (Annabelle Sciorra) in a discussion on a woman claiming to be a voodoo healer.

Marlane Meyer, writer
Law and Order Criminal Intent: The Healer
April 23, 2006
Wolf Films

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Despair, Inc. on Curiosity

Curiosity: Some places remain unknown because no one has ventured forth. Others remain so because no one has ever come back.

Despair, Inc.

Source: despair.com

See the image

Jim Rohn on A Good Life

I wish for you a life of wealth, health, and happiness; a life in which you give to yourself the gift of patience, the virtue of reason, the value of knowledge, and the influence of faith in your own ability to dream about and achieve worthy rewards.

Jim Rohn, 1930 - 2009

Source: jimrohn.com

Jim Rohn Tribute

Jim Rohn on Living

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.

Jim Rohn

Thank you, Jim Rohn.

Source: brainyquote.com

Friday, December 4, 2009

Mike Massimino on Perspective

From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!

Astro_Mike (Astronaut Mike Massimino) at 1:33 p.m. on May 12, 2009
mashable.com's 2009 Tweet of the Year nominee

Source: twitter.com

Friday, November 27, 2009

Cartoon Moose Wisdom

Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what can you believe?

Bullwinkle the Moose


Hokey Smokes! Happy 50th to Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle as well as Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman, Aesop's Fables, Dudley Doright, and Fractured Fairy Tales! Thanks for influencing both my sense of humor and outlook on life in a very good way.

Source: toonzone.net

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Carl Jung on Courage

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely

Carl Jung



Source: thinkexist.com

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fred De Witt Van Amburgh on Gratitude

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.

Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

Source: quotegarden.com

Melody Beattie on Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie


Source: quotegarden.com

Robert Quillen on Gratitude

If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.

Robert Quillen

Source: quotegarden.com

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Jim Rohn on Perspective

Everyday, you've got to stand guard at the door of your mind.

Jim Rohn

Source: tonyrobbinstraining.com

Russell Ackoff on Perspective

All of our (social) problems arise out of doing the wrong thing righter. The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become. It is much better to do the right thing wronger than the wrong thing righter! If you do the right thing wrong and correct it, you get better!

Russell Ackoff
Business visionary and father of systems thinking

Source: Kare Anderson on facebook

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Paul Johannes Tillich on Perspective

Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.

Paul Johannes Tillich

Source: quotegarden.com

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Magic

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thank you, Carl Ballantine!


Source: thinkexist.com

Phyllis Diller on Frustration

My recipe for dealing with anger and frustration: set the kitchen timer for twenty minutes, cry, rant, and rave, and at the sound of the bell, simmer down and go about business as usual.

Phyllis Diller


Source: thinkexist.com

Clarence Clemons on Soul

The calm mind allows one to connect with the inner self, the Soul, the very source of our being. That's where the music lives. That's where my music comes from.

Clarence Clemons

Source: brainyquote.com

John F. Kennedy on Remembrance

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Henri Nouwen on Friendship

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.

Henri Nouwen

To remember and honor my Dad's friend since high school, Bobby Loar, and their friendship.

Source: quotegarden.com

Mother Teresa on Perspective

Keep in mind that our community is not composed of those who are already saints, but of those who are trying to become saints. Therefore let us be extremely patient with each other's faults and failures.

Mother Teresa


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Lyndon Johnson on Community

The American city should be a collection of communities where every member has a right to belong. It should be a place where every man feels safe on his streets and in the house of his friends. It should be a place where each individual's dignity and self-respect is strengthened by the respect and affection of his neighbors. It should be a place where each of us can find the satisfaction and warmth which comes from being a member of the community of man. This is what man sought at the dawn of civilization. It is what we seek today.

Lyndon Johnson


Source: wisdomquotes.com

George Bernard Shaw on Community

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

George Bernard Shaw


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Frederick Beucher on Community

The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.

Frederick Beucher

Source: wisdomquotes.com

Children's Story Widsom: The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who lived on a farm. She was friends with a lazy dog, a sleepy cat, and a noisy yellow duck.

One day the little red hen found some seeds on the ground. The little red hen had an idea. She would plant the seeds.

The little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me plant the seeds?"

"Not I," barked the lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy cat.
"Not I," quacked the noisy yellow duck.


"Then I will," said the little red hen . So the little red hen planted the seeds all by herself.

When the seeds had grown, the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me cut the wheat?"

"Not I," barked the lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy cat.
"Not I," quacked the noisy yellow duck..

"Then I will," said the little red hen. So the little red hen cut the wheat all by herself.

When all the wheat was cut, the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to be ground into flour?"

"Not I," barked the lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy cat.
"Not I," quacked the noisy yellow duck.


"Then I will," said the little red hen. So the little red hen brought the wheat to the mill all by herself, ground the wheat into flour, and carried the heavy sack of flour back to the farm.

The tired little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me bake the bread?"

"Not I," barked the lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy cat.
"Not I," quacked the noisy yellow duck.


"Then I will," said the little red hen. So the little red hen baked the bread all by herself.

When the bread was finished, the tired little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me eat the bread?"

"I will," barked the lazy dog.
"I will," purred the sleepy cat.
"I will," quacked the noisy yellow duck.

"No!" said the little red hen. "I will."

And the little red hen ate the bread all by herself.

An old, old parable originating in Europe.

Source: enchantedlearning.com

Benjamin Disraeili on Perspective

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.

Bejamin Disraeli



Source: brainyquote.com

Tony Robbins on Perspective

What if you began to realize that everything happens for you (in the end for your greater good) not to you? Hmmm.

Anthony Robbins


Source: twitter.com/tonyrobbins

Friday, November 6, 2009

James Yorke on Options

The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.

James Yorke


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Proverb Wisdom

It doesn't work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps.

American Proverb


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Proverb Wisdom

Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way & expecting a different outcome.

Chinese Proverb

Linda Foor on Communication

If you're talking while I'm talking, you're not listening.

Linda Foor

James Baldwin on Hatred

I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.

James Baldwin



Source: wisdomquotes.com

William James on Relating

Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.

William James

Source: thinkexist.com

Thursday, November 5, 2009

David Brinkley on Resilience

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.

David Brinkley


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Sitcom Wisdom on Reba

You've got to be stronger than the nonsense life throws at you.

Brock (Christopher Rich) to daughter Kyra (Scarlet Pomers) on handling her first break-up.

Kevin Abbot, writer
Reba, Happy Pills, April 30, 2004
20th Century Fox Television

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Borealis Press on Communication

A laugh is the shortest distance between two people.

A Borealis Press Magnet


Source: fridgedoor.com

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Jean de la Bruyere on the Genuine

False greatness is unsociable and remote: conscious of its own frailty, it hides, or at least averts its face, and reveals itself only enough to create an illusion and not be recognized as the meanness that it really is. True greatness is free, kind, familiar and popular; it lets itself be touched and handled, it loses nothing by being seen at close quarters; the better one knows it, the more one admires it.

Jean de la Bruyere

Source: thinkexist.com

Ovid on Human Nature

The high-spirited man may indeed die, but he will not stoop to meanness. Fire, though it may be quenched, will not become cool.

Ovid

This guy passed away sometime around year 17!! Says a lot about human nature, huh?

Source: thinkexist.com

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Davy Jones on Attitude

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.

Davy Jones


Source: biography: Davy Jones

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Barack Obama on Resilience

Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you.

Barack Obama
The President’s Speech to America’s Students
September 8, 2009


Click here to President Obama's Speech.

Fable Wisdom on Critical Thought

One day Chicken Little was walking in the woods when — KERPLUNK — an acorn fell on her head. "Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king."

From the fable: The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little

Published records of this story date back to the early 1800s

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Harriet Tubman on Vision

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

Harriet Tubman


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Matt Berry, Chris Case and Allison M. Gibson on Compassion

There's always someone suffering worse than you... doesn't mean your pain doesn't count.

(A dinner guest at a homeless shelter who looked a lot like Santa (Victor Raider-Wexler) to a lonely Reba (Reba McIntire).)

Reba, Cookies for Santa, 2002
Script by Matt Berry, Chris Case and Allison M. Gibson
Twentieth Century Fox Television

Astrid Alauda on Stress Management

Don't let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.

Astrid Alauda
(the author of Pippi Longstocking)


Source: quotegarden.com

Harry Emerson Fosdick on The Journey

No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it.

Harry Emerson Fosdick


Source: quotegarden.com

Rodney Dangerfield on Ambiguity

Diane (Sally Kellerman): Actually, I'd like to join you, but I have class tonight.
Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield): Oh. How 'bout tomorrow night?
Diane: I have class then, too.
Thornton Melon: I'll tell you what, then. Why don't you call me some time when you have no class?
Diane: [laughs] Alright. Maybe I will.

Thornton Mellon (Dangerfield) doing his best to ask Lit Professor Dr. Diane Turner (Kellerman) on a date.

Back to School, 1986
Screenplay by Steve Kampmann, Harold Ramis, Peter Torokvei, and William Porter
Paper Clip Productions


Source: imdb.com

Og Mandino on Forward Motion

I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person.

Og Mandino


Source: thinkexist.com

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Barack Obama on Reslience

So on this day, we commemorate a tragedy that befell our people. But we also remember that with every tragedy comes the chance of renewal. It is a quintessentially American notion – that adversity can give birth to hope, and that the lessons of the past hold the key to a better future.

Barack Obama
Weekly Address, August 29, 2009
Remembering Hurricane Katrina, 2005


Source: whitehouse.gov

Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Critical Thought

A few timid people who fear progress will try to give you new and strange names for what we are doing. Sometimes they will call it ‘Fascism,’ sometimes ‘Communism,’ sometimes ‘Regimentation,’ sometimes ‘Socialism.’ But in so doing, they are trying to make very complex and theoretical something that is really very simple and very practical.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Discussing Social Security on June 28, 1934.

Source: Applesauce column (All politics is applesauce. Will Rogers) by Pat Cunningham, Rockford (Illinois) Register Star

Caroline Kennedy on Setting Standards

Now Teddy has become a part of history and we have become the ones that have to do all the things he would have done for us, for each other, and for our country.

Caroline Kennedy
at the Sen. Edward Kennedy memorial, August 28, 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

Isak Dinesen on Chemistry

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.

Isak Dinesen (Karen Blicksen)


Source: quotegarden.com

Tony Robbins on Strategy

Don't think about how to do it; see the result.

Tony Robbins


From a video interview with tony Robbins, Frank Kern, and John Reese

Isaac Asimov on Perspective

I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.

Isaac Asimov


Thanks to Kare Anderson.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

George Washington Carver on Compassion

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.

George Washington Carver


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Dr. Haim Ginott on Awareness

Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.

Dr. Haim Ginott


Source: thinkexist.com

Monday, August 17, 2009

Flash Rosenberg on Coffee

I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.

Flash Rosenberg


Source: quotegarden.com

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Ralph Marston on Resiliency

You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.

Ralph Marston



Source: thinkexist.com

Voltaire on Critical Thought

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.

Voltaire


Source: thinkexist.com

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Forward Motion

Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.

Goethe


Source: thinkexist.com

Malcolm Forbes on Critical Thought

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

Malcolm S. Forbes


Source: criticalthinking.org

Ariana Huffington on Critical Thought

And Investors Business Daily claimed that physically disabled scientist Stephen Hawking would have had his life cut short by the government-run British health care system if he lived in England. Which, in fact, he does. And always has.

Ariana Huffington
The Huffington Post,
Sunday Roundup, August 16, 2009



Source: huffingtonpost.com

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Eileen O'Hare on Perceptions

Sydney Mercer (Catherine Oxenberg): No, I mean Maxwell; I'm not interested in him that way.
Fran Fine (Fran Drescher): Well, what's the matter? He's not good enough for you?
Sydney: It's his gender.
Fran: Oh, believe me, I accidentally saw him in the shower and there's nothing wrong with his gender.
Sydney: Fran, I'm gay.
Fran: (hugs Sydney with relief) You're gay? Oh, thank God... (Sydney continues to hug Fran) I'm letting go and you're not. Why?
Sydney: Aren't you gay too?
Fran:(emphatically) Me? No!
Sydney Mercer: I just assumed. You're over thirty, never been married, there's no man in your life.
Fran Fine: (with a knowing, dismissive hand wave) Oh, honey, I'm not gay. I'm just pathetic.

Fran and Sydney, Mr. Sheffield's new, beautiful publicist, talk about Fran's perception of Sydney's relationship with Mr. Sheffield

Eileen O'Hare, writer
The Nanny: Oy Vey, You're Gay!
1995, Columbia Broadcasting System



Source: imdb.com

Alan Cohen on Change

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.

Alan Cohen


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson on Friendship

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Albert Einstein on The Journey

Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Albert Einstein



Source: wisdomquotes.com

Robert Brault on Pets

The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude.

Robert Brault

Source: quotegarden.com

Leonardo DaVinci on Simplicity

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo DaVinci


Source: quotegarden.com

Friday, August 14, 2009

Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Birthdays

Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again.

Menachem Mendel Schneerson


Source: quotegarden.com

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Forgiveness

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Martin Luther King, Jr.


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Joseph Addision on The Journey

I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable.

Joseph Addison
This guy lived in the late 1600's, early 1700's


Source: bellaonline.com

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Joe Gold on Structure

To keep it simple you run your gym like you run your house. Keep it clean and in good running order. No jerks allowed, members pay on time and if they give you any crap, throw them out. There's peace where there's order.

Joe Gold


Source: brainyquote.com

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Arthur Ashe on Forward Motion

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Arthur Ashe


For Mary Lib

Laurence G. Boldt on Forward Motion

We worry that we might lose face or a job, a mate or a healthy body, a financial fortune or our very lives. We struggle to get and fear to lose, and thus are never at ease. When we act from anxiety, which is another way of saying when we fear to lose, we are never at our best.

Anxiety brings hesitation and desperation, and both confound action. Wu-wei is easy, unforced action, not laziness and passivity. To block action on an inspiration or intuition with the hesitation or paralysis of self-conscious thinking is missing the spirit of wu-wei every bit as much as pushing or forcing a result. Spontaneous easy action is free of ulterior motives and attachment to results. It walks without leaving tracks, leads without force, achieves without leaving a mark.


Laurence G. Boldt

Source: The Tao of Abundance
by Laurence G. Boldt
©1999 Laurence G. Boldt
Penguin Compass

Dorothea Brande on Forward Motion

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right about face which turns us from failure to success.

Dorothea Brande


Source: thinkexist.com

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Benazir Bhutto on Perception

Being nice should never be perceived as being weak. It's not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of courtesy, manners, grace, a woman's ability to make everyone...feel at home, and it should never be construed as weakness.....

Benazir Bhutto



Source: gaia.com

George Soros on America

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society.

George Soros


Source: brainyquote.com

Pope John Paul II on Community

... A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people must git it this soul.

Pope John Paul II


Source: thinkexist.com

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Og Mandino on Success

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.

Og Mandino


Source: thinkexist.com

Og Mandino on Resiliency

Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.

Og Mandino


Source: thinkexist.com

Barack Obama on America

Today, we are called to remember not only the day our country was born – we are also called to remember the indomitable spirit of the first American citizens who made that day possible.

We are called to remember how unlikely it was that our American experiment would succeed at all; that a small band of patriots would declare independence from a powerful empire; and that they would form, in the new world, what the old world had never known – a government of, by, and for the people.

That unyielding spirit is what defines us as Americans. It is what led generations of pioneers to blaze a westward trail.

It is what led my grandparents’ generation to persevere in the face of a Depression and triumph in the face of tyranny.

It is what led generations of American workers to build an industrial economy unrivalled around the world.

It is what has always led us, as a people, not to wilt or cower at a difficult moment, but to face down any trial and rise to any challenge, understanding that each of us has a hand in writing America’s destiny.


Barack Obama

Source: whitehouse.gov

George Washington on America

The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered... deeply, ...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.

George Washington


Source: thinkexist.com

George Washington on Responsibility

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

George Washington


Source: thinkexist.com

Edmund Burke on Connection

Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.

Edmund Burke


Source: thinkexist.com

Edmund Burke on Experience

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.

Edmund Burke


Source: thinkexist.com

John Locke on Connection

To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.

John Locke


Source: brainyquote.com

Friday, July 3, 2009

John Locke on Perspective

What worries you, masters you.

John Locke


Source: brainyquote.com

Thomas Jefferson on Human Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

from The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
July 4, 1776
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson from June 11th - June 26th, at the age of 33

Read The Declaration of Independence in its Entirety.


Source: National Archives, Charters of Freedom

Louis Pasteur on Opportunity

In the fields of observation, chance favors the prepared mind.

Louis Pasteur
Source: The Circleby Laura Day
©2001 Tarcher Penguin, p. 56

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Jim Valvano on Fathers

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.

Jim Valvano


For Les. Thanks, Dad!


Source: dadcafe.co.uk

Clarence Budington Kelland on Fathers

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

Clarence Budington Kelland




Source: quotegarden.com

Cameron Diaz on Fathers

My dad always used to tell me that if they challenge you to an after-school fight, tell them you won't wait - you can kick their ass right now.

Cameron Diaz


Source: thinkexist.com

Harmon Killebrew on Fathers

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass"; "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys."

Harmon Killebrew, Baseball Great


Source: thinkexist.com

Barack Obama on Fathers

If we want our children to succeed in life, we need fathers to step up. We need fathers to understand that their work doesn’t end with conception -- that what truly makes a man a father is the ability to raise a child and invest in that child.

We need fathers to be involved in their kids’ lives not just when it’s easy -- not just during the afternoons in the park or at the zoo, when it’s all fun and games -- but when it’s hard, when young people are struggling, and there aren’t any quick fixes or easy answers, and that's when young people need compassion and patience, as well as a little bit of tough love.

Barack Obama
A Town Hall on Fatherhood
June 19, 2009


Source: whitehouse.gov

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Albert Einstein on Contributing

A man's value to the community primarily depends on how far his feelings, thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows.

Albert Einstein


Source: Zen and the Art of Making a Living
by Laurence G. Boldt
©1991, 1992, 1993 Laurence G. Boldt, Arkana, p. 135

John Stuart Mill on Progress

Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.

John Stuart Mill


Source: Zen and the Art of Making a Living
by Laurence G. Boldt
(c) 1991, 1992, 1993 Laurence G. Boldt, Arkana, p. 117

Mark Twain on Perspective

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain


Source: Zen and the Art of Making a Living
by Laurence G. Boldt
(c) 1991, 1992, 1993 Laurence G. Boldt, Arkana, p. 104

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Dorothy Thompson on Truth

There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth, the persistent refusal to analyze the causes of happenings.

Dorothy Thompson


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Daniel Patrick Moyhihan on Reality

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Abraham Lincoln on Truth

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.

Abraham Lincoln

Source: wisdomquotes.com

Monday, June 8, 2009

Tim King and Elizabeth Sarnoff on Simplicity

Sometimes still waters are stagnant.

Woody (Jerry O'Connell) to Jordan (Jill Hennessey) in a play on the old adage "Still waters run deep" when encountering a non-responsive witness.

Tim King and Elizabeth Sarnoff
Crossing Jordan
Secrets & Lies, Part I, 2001
Tailwind Productions

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Thomas Edison on Perserverence

Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward!

Thomas Edison

Source: brainyquote.com

Jim Rohn on Earning

You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.

Jim Rohn


Source: brainyquote.com

Sophia Loren on Perspective

There is a fountain of youth: It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring in your life and the lives of people you love.

Sophia Loren


Source: thinkexist.com

John Wooden on Perspective

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

John Wooden


Source: thinkexist.com

Saturday, May 30, 2009

John Oliver on Economics

Economics is like the Dutch language; I’m told that it makes sense but I seriously have my doubts.

John Oliver

From the very funny Terrifying Times
Dakota Pictures, 2008
Comedy Central

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

David Angell and Peter Casey on Communication

Niles: He's clearly the one dealing with repressed material, not to mention the obvious Oedipal issues.
Martin: Argle, gargle, gooble, goop.
Niles: What?
Martin: Now you know how it feels. What are you talking about?

Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) and Martin Crane (John Mahoney) talk about Frasier Crane dating a woman who is a doppelganger of his mother.

Frasier
Momma Mia, 1999
Written by David Angell and Peter Casey
Grubb Street Productions



Source: imdb.com

Susan B. Anthony on the Journey

Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.

Susan B. Anthony


Source: quotegarden.com

Art Linkletter on Perspective

Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.

Art Linkletter


Source: quotegarden.com

Tom Brokaw on Commencement

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.

Tom Brokaw


Source: quotegarden.com

Saturday, May 23, 2009

John F. Kennedy on America

We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.

John F. Kennedy


Source: quotegarden.com

Don Marquis on Effort

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you. If you really make them think, they'll hate you.

Don Marquis

Source: wisdomquotes.com

James Baldwin on America

I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.

James Baldwin


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Barack Obama on Never Forgetting

...It’s about remembering each and every one of those moments when our survival as a nation came down not simply to the wisdom of our leaders or the resilience of our people, but to the courage and valor of our fighting men and women. For it is only by remembering these moments that we can truly appreciate a simple lesson of American life – that what makes all we are and all we aspire to be possible are the sacrifices of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our nation’s founding.

That is the meaning of this holiday. That is a truth at the heart of our history. And that is a lesson I hope all Americans will carry with them this Memorial Day weekend and beyond.

Barack Obama

Source: whitehouse.gov

Abraham Lincoln on Never Forgetting

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.


But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate... we can not consecrate... we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government : of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.


Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
November, 1863

Source: wikipedia.com

Tacitus on Courage

In valor, there is hope.

Tacitus, Roman senator, lived 56 to 117 AD

Never forget.

Source: thinkexist.com

Thucydides on Courage

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.

Thucydides, Greek author lived 460 to 404 BC

Never forget.

Source: thinkexist.com

Monday, May 4, 2009

Anthony Robbins on Resolve

I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.

Anthony Robbins

Source: thinkexist.com

Despair Inc. on Pressure

Pressure: It can turn a lump of coal into a flawless diamond, or an average person into a perfect basketcase.

Despair Inc.

Source: despair.com

See the image

Linda Foor on Perspective

You cannot expect rational behavior from an irrational person.

Linda Foor

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Dale Carnegie on Perseverence

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Dale Carnegie


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Dorothy Thompson on Perspective

Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow.

Dorothy Thompson


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Dorothy Thompson on Courage

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

Dorothy Thompson

Dorothy Thompson was the the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934.


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Clare Booth Luce on Courage

Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.

Clare Booth Luce


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Ivy Baker Priest on Transitions

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.

Ivy Baker Priest

Source: gaia.com

Gustave Flaubert on Boundaries

Earth has its boundaries, but human stupidity is limitless.

Gustave Flaubert


Source: thinkexist.com

Daisy De La Hoya on Etiquette

Finally, I find "London" passed out on the floor like a frickin' crime scene. This is Daisy of Love not I Love Liquor.

Daisy De La Hoya
about one of her guests/suitors on
Daisy of Love
VH1
April 26, 2009

Ralph Waldo Emerson on Transition

Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit.

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Source: thinkexist.com

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Dave Chappelle on Consequences

You can't get unfamous. You can get infamous, but you can't get unfamous.

Dave Chappelle

On Inside the Actor's Studio
Season 14, Episode 2
© 2008 The Actor's Studio


Source: imdb.com

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Elyane Boosler on Safety

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Elayne Boosler

Source: quotegarden.com

Gail Sheehy on Mourning

Pathfinders will step beyond Elizabeth Kübler-Ross' stages of dying (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) when life continues...

If fully completing the four phases of a normal passage -- anticipation, separation, expansion, incorporation -- is essential to successful pathfinding, it could be said that the person who is forged by a life accident into a pathfinder is one who probably has fully completed the mourning process. The critical tasks that I suggest turn adversity into strength are these:

Making sound detachments: In the grip of the most acute pain, anger, fear, and confusion, making extraordinary efforts to separate from the person or situation with thought for the future.

Intervention: Consciously changing our inner image (initially negative) of what we will be like after the accident. Plunging into some constructive action during the recovery process.

Transcendence: Linking up the end of the mourning process with another beginning -- a commitment to a new work, love, idea, or a purpose larger than oneself.

Gail Sheehy

Source: Pathfinders
by Gail Sheehy
©1981, Bantam Books, pages 398 - 404

Betty Lehan Harrigan on Earning a Living

A career afterall, is a complete course or progress extending through life, that can abound in remarkable actions or incidents. Let's face it, there is only one reason to work -- to make money. If you approach working realistically -- that is as a gambling game that everybody plays -- you might find what you're looking for. A job can mean money, a challenge, a chance to use skills and talents you didn't know you had, a marvelous theatre of the absurd to watch and participate in, an opportunity to grow up, to meet all kinds of people, to function in society, to have an impact on that society. And, if you play skillfully, it should only take about forty or fifty hours a week, leaving you plenty of free time to develop an active, meaningful, satisfying private life.

Betty Lehan Harrigan

Source: Games Mother Never Taught You
by Betty Lehan Harrigan
©1977, Warner Books, pages 172 - 173

Playskool on Resliency

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Playskool Weebles Slogan
Hasbro Toys


Source: wikipedia.com

Rabindanath Tagore on Resiliency

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength. Let me not cave in.

Rabindanath Tagore

Source: thinkexist.com

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Dave Barry on Baseball

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.

Dave Barry

Source: quotegarden.com

Dorothy Parker on Literature

This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.

Dorothy Parker


Source: thinkexist.com

Laurence Boldt on Perspective

Change isn't happening to us. We are happening in a sea of change.

Laurence G. Boldt


Source: The Tao of Abundance
by Laurence G. Boldt
©1999 Laurence G. Boldt
Penguin Compass

The I Ching on Living

The greatest virtue between heaven and earth is to live.

The I Ching

Source: The Tao of Abundance
by Laurence G. Boldt
©1999 Laurence G. Boldt
Penguin Compass

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Albert Schwietzer on Gratitude

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Albert Schweitzer


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Barack Obama on The Journey

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.


Barack Obama


Source: barackobama.net

Anthony Robbins on Crossroads

You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully.

Anthony Robbins



Source: thinkexist.com

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Alex Noble on Each Day

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Alex Noble

Source: wisdomquotes.com

Despair, Inc. on Beauty

Beauty: If you're attractive enough on the outside, people will forgive you for being irritating to the core.

Despair, Inc.


Source: despair.com

See image by clicking here.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Carla Harris on Perspective

And we are sitting in a spot where we're under-utilizing ourselves, our gifts, our talents, and in fact if somebody taps you on the shoulder, that may be the wake-up call to say, go for it - you have absolutely nothing to lose. This is the environment where you should be taking risks internally and externally.

Carla Harris

Appearing on Tavis Smiley, PBS
March 26, 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Alex Noble on Success

Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.

Alex Noble

Source: thinkexist.com

Jon Stewart on Inspiration

I can say I draw a line -- I do what I do because of Bruce Springsteen and I'll tell you why. You introduced me to the concept of the other side. You introduced me to the concept of you go through a tunnel, you take a chance, and you can work to get away from your circumstance. And, by working to get away from your circumstance, you can better yourself. The joy of it is chasing that dream.

Jon Stewart to Bruce Springsteen
The Daily Show
March 19, 2009

Amen.

Carl Sandburg on Money

Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings.

Carl Sandburg

Source: quotegarden.com

Dan Millman on Money

Money is neither my god nor my devil. It is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it's greedy or loving.

Dan Millman

Source: quotegarden.com

Errol Flynn on Money

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

Errol Flynn

Source: quotegarden.com

Saturday, March 14, 2009

W.E.B. Du Bois on Change

The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Source: wisdomquotes.com

Abraham Lincoln on Change

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.

Abraham Lincoln


Source: wisdomquotes.com

Friday, March 13, 2009

Will Rogers on Comedy

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

Will Rogers

Thanks to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show &
Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Hugh Sidey on Perspective

Above all else: go out with a sense of humor. It is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.

Hugh Sidey

To honor Gene Mayer with gratitude.

Source: wisdomquotes.com

Milan Kundera on Relaxing

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.

Milan Kundera

To honor Gene Mayer with appreciation.

Source: quotegarden.com

Zig Ziglar on Enjoying Success

Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember - the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.

Zig Ziglar

Ty Murray on New Experiences

I am approaching the cha cha like bull riding: you're never completely ready, it's just your turn.

Ty Murray
Champion Bull Rider

Said on Dancing with the Stars, March 10, 2009
ABC Television/BBC Worldwide Americas

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Paul Harvey on Perspective

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.

Paul Harvey

Thank you, Paul Harvey and.... good day.


Source: brainyquote.com

Paul Harvey on Government

If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con' what is the opposite of 'progress'?

Paul Harvey

Source: brainyquote.com

Friday, February 27, 2009

Despair, Inc. on Irresponsibility

Irresponsibility: No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.

Despair, Inc.


Source: despair.com

Thich Nhat Hanh on Karma

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Thich Nhat Hanh


Source: quotegarden.com

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Alex Noble on Perspective

I am unhappy about something, and so I complain about it to myself, and to others. My friends, meaning well, give me sympathy. Their sympathy makes me feel more justified in my misery, and becomes an invitation to even greater unhappiness. I tell my unhappy story so many times that it becomes invincible, impenetrable. I take all the bricks of my grievances and build a doorless, windowless room around myself–a room without light or air. I come to believe in my unhappiness so completely that I do not hear even the words of one or two wise friends who refuse to accept my sorrows, and suggest that I stop complaining and start doing my best with whatever good is at hand.

Then, at last, I realize how ridiculous this all is, and how much time, thought, and energy I have been wasting in fruitless negativism. I know better, and resolve to take another approach. My worst failures at trying to make things better must surely be an improvement over my complaints that refuse to see beyond the problem at hand. As Rabinandrath Tagore puts it “When my eyes are filled with tears, I cannot see the stars.” I come to realize that it is a matter of perspective, that misery and complaint only open the way to more misery and complaint, whereas diligent hope and uncomplaining optimism clear out the channels of thought so that true ideas can flow freely toward whatever adjustments, corrections, and enlightenments are needed.

Alex Noble
Taking Another Approach
Christian Science Monitor
October 19, 1979

For my friend Sharon, with love.

Source: csmonitor.com

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

A purpose is the eternal condition for success.

Fortune Cookie
from Q2 Bistro

Monday, February 23, 2009

Emily Dickinson on This Life

This world is not conclusion; A sequel stands beyond, Invisible, as music, But positive, as sound.

Emily Dickinson

Source: hallmark.com

David Kohan & Max Mutchnick on Life

Nathan (Woody Harrelson): We're born, we grow, we live, we die. If we're lucky, we have family and friends who know us and love us. I never knew my dad. But it doesn't matter, because wherever we go and whatever we do, we can know that the spirit of the mother and the spirit of the father are alive in each of us. That everything good already exists within ourselves.

Will, Nathan & Jack toast the father Jack never knew.

David Kohan & Max Mutchnick
Will & Grace
Sons and Lovers, 2001
Komut Entertainment

For Sue Paugh


Source: durfee.net

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Erma Bombeck on Parenting

When a child is locked in the bathroom with water running and he says he's doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911.

Erma Bombeck

Source: brainyquote.com

Paulo Coelho on Perspective

We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.

Paulo Coelho

Source: thinkexist.com

Leonardo Da Vinci on Common Sense

Common sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Source: thinkexist.com

Maya Angelou on Home

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right.

Maya Angelou

Source: quotegarden.com

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Bruce Lee on Achievement

If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

Bruce Lee

Source: brainyquote.com

Richard Bach on Limitations

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours.

Richard Bach

Source: thinkexist.com

Peter Drucker on Leadership

Leadership is not magnetic personality/that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people/that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

Peter Drucker

Source: thinkexist.com

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Dinah Craik on Love

Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

Dinah Craik
A Life for a Life, 1859

Source: quotegarden.com