Erma Bombeck on America

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.

Erma Bombeck

Source: quotegarden.com

Good Advice

Is it plugged in?
Is it turned on?
What changed?

The three standard first-response support questions. Apply as needed.

Source Unknown.

Carl Jung on Perspective

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung


Source: If Life is a Game, These are the Rules
by Cherie Carter-Scott
(c) 1998 Cherie Carter-Scott, p. 86
Broadway Books

Booker T. Washington on Human Relations

I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.

Booker T. Washington



Source: The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Times (In Two Lines or Less)
Edited by John M. Shanahan
(c)1999 Harper Collins

Joseph Campbell on Coping Skills

Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?

Joseph Campbell


Source: Zen and the Art of Making a Living
by Laurence G. Boldt,
(c) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1999 Arkana/Published by The Penguin Group, p. 213

Stephen Schwartz on Resiliency

I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But 'till I try, I'll never know

Elphaba singing Defying Gravity

Defying GravityWicked
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz


Source: musicalschwartz.com

Robert Louis Stevenson on Perspective

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

Robert Louis Stevenson



Source: forbes.com

Saturday Night Live Wisdom

I gotta have more cowbell, baby.

Christopher Walken as producer, The Bruce Dickinson, to the band, Blue Oyster Cult, while recording (Don't Fear) The Reaper.

The VH1 Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult sketch
Saturday Night Live
Season 25, Episode 16
(c) 2000, NBC Studios

Source: http://snltranscripts.jt.org/

Robert Eliot on Coping Skills

Rule Number 1 is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule Number 2 is, it's all small stuff. And if you can't fight and you can't flee, flow.

Robert Eliot


Source: forbes.com

Jon Stewart on Mindfulness

I am getting awfully tired of people we need leaving us.

Jon Stewart

The Daily Show
Moment of Zen
June 23, 2008
in remembrance of George Carlin
(c)2008 Comedy Central

Amen.

Hanna Rion on Gardening

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.

Hanna Rion, writer


Source: quotegarden.com

Ben Wexler on Taking Advice

That's throwing stupid gas on crazy fire.

Judy Miller in response to her sister agreeing to take advice from her husband.

Ben Wexler, writer
Still Standing, Still Advising, 2004
CBS Productions


Source: imdb.com

Erica Jong on Courage

Everyone has a talent; what is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Erica Jong

Source: The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Times (In Two Lines or Less)
Edited by John M. Shanahan
(c)1999 Harper Collins

George Carlin on Life

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.

George Carlin


Source: "Hamster-enabled" georgecarlin.com

Kathy Griffin on Etiquette

I was raised right. I talk about people behind their backs. It's called manners.

Kathy Griffin


Source: From My Life on the D-List, Bravo Network

Sophia Loren on Mothers

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

Sophia Loren

For my neighbor & friend, Sue, on her first day back in the office after the birth of her daughter


Source: happyworker.com

Proverb Wisdom

Hold a true friend with both hands.

Nigerian Proverb


Source: Fridgedoor.com, Borealis Press

Despair Inc. on Indifference

Indifference: It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Despair, Inc.

Source: despair.com

Click here to view image.

Proverb Wisdom

A half-truth is a whole lie.

Yiddish Proverb


Source: worldofquotes.com

Margaret Mead on Being Human

One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night.

Margaret Mead


Source: The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Times (In Two Lines or Less)
Edited by John M. Shanahan
(c)1999 Harper Collins

Anthony E. Zuiker and Ann Donahue on Focus

Horatio Caine: The only thing that matters is the evidence.

Anthony E. Zuiker and Ann Donahue, writers
Exert from CSI:Miami, Season 2, Blood Brothers, 2003
CBS Productions


Source: imdb.com

Jon Stewart on Perspective

There are a hell of a lot of jobs that are scarier than live comedy. Like standing in the operating room when a guy's heart stops, and you're the one who has to fix it!

Jon Stewart


Source: brainyquote.com

Raymond Chandler on Blending In

He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.

Raymond Chandler
From Farewell, My Lovely, (c)1940, Alfred A. Knopf


Source: brainyquote.com

Bruce Springsteen on Self-Respect

It's a sad man, my friend, who's livin' in his own skin and can't stand the company.

Bruce Springsteen


Source: brainyquote.com

Dale Carnegie on Success

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

Dale Carnegie



Source: brainyquote.com

Reba McEntire on Success

Be different, stand out, and work your butt off.

Reba McEntire


Source: brainyquote.com

Free Advice

Be careful what you want and be specific.

Linda Foor

The National Association of Professional Organizers on Clutter

Getting rid of clutter in your home cuts housework by an average of 40 percent.

The National Association of Professional Organizers


Source: Renovation Style magazine, Fall 2006, Meredith Corp., p. 31

Muhammad Ali on Perseverence

Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

Muhammad Ali


Soure: 10ktruth.com

Despair, Inc. on Goals

Goals: It's best to avoid standing directly between a competitive jerk and his goals.
Despair, Inc.


Source: despair.com

Click here to view image.

Earl Woods on Fatherhood

I would be walking along, carrying his bag, and with those long legs of his, he was gone, he'd say, "Hurry up, Dad."

I said, "Are you at your ball yet?"

"No."

"Are you ready for another club?"

"No."

"When you are, I'll be there."

Earl Woods, on supporting his son, Tiger, and carrying his bag in junior tournaments


Source: tigerwoods.com

Phil Alden Robinson on Fathers

John Kinsella: Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella: It's Iowa.
John Kinsella: Iowa? I could have sworn this was heaven.
[John starts to walk away]
Ray Kinsella: Is there a heaven?
John Kinsella: Oh yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.
[Ray looks around, seeing his wife playing with their daughter on the porch]
Ray Kinsella: Maybe this is heaven.

Exert from Field of Dreams, 1989
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson

Based on the book, Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella, 1982
Ballentine Books

Christopher Lowell on How We Live

If we are how we live, then what does your home say about you?

Christopher Lowell
from The Seven Layers of Organization
(c)2005 Christopher Lowell Enterprises, LLC

Albert Schweitzer on Finding Refuge

There are two means of refuge from the misery of life - music and cats.

Albert Schweitzer


Source: quotegarden.com

Sparky Anderson on Responsibility

Those of us lucky enough to be part of the game have a tremendous responsibility — we're charged with giving back to the game all the good things the game has given us.

Sparky Anderson


Source: baseball-almanac.com

Michael Maltese on Careful Analysis

Daffy Duck: Let's run through that again.

Bugs Bunny: Okay.

Bugs Bunny: [neutral toned] Would ya like to shoot me now or wait till ya get home.

Daffy Duck: [neutral toned] Shoot him now, shoot him now.

Bugs Bunny: [neutral toned] You keep outta this, he doesn't hafta shoot you now.

Daffy Duck: [with expression] HA! THAT'S IT! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!

Daffy Duck: [to audience] Pronoun trouble.

Exert from Rabbit Seasoning, 1952
Story by Michael Maltese
Distributed by Warner Brothers


Source: imdb.com

Raymond Chandler on Communication

He was a guy who talked with commas, like a heavy novel.

Raymond Chandler
from The Long Goodbye
(c) 1953, 1981 Vintage Books, a division of Random House, p. 94

Laura Day on Obstacles

When you meet an obstacle, the universe is inviting you to deal with it and create a change within yourself.

Laura Day
fromThe Circle
(c) 2001, Putnam Books, p. 94

Despair, Inc. on Mistakes

Mistakes: It could be the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

Despair, Inc.


Source: despair.com

Click here to view image.

Elizabeth Stone on Children

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body.

Elizabeth Stone, historian, novelist, lived in the 1800s

Good Advice

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip.

Author Unknown

For Mary Lib, with love.


Source: quotegarden.com

James Allen on Change

The birds are molting. If only man could molt also - his mind once a year its errors, his heart once a year its useless passions.

James Allen, author, lived mostly during the 1800's


Source: quotegarden.com

James Thurber on Humor

Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.

James Thurber


Source: quotegarden.com

Galileo on Learning

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.

Galileo

Dale Carnegie on Human Relations

Buddha said: "Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love," and a misunderstanding is never ended by an argument but by tact, diplomacy, conciliation, and a sympathetic desire to see the other person's viewpoint.

Dale Carnegie
exert from How to Win Friends and Influence People
(c)1936, 1981 Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, p. 120

Ron Shelton on Fundamentals

This is a simple game. Ya throw the ball. Ya hit the ball. Ya catch the ball.

Skip, Durham Bulls Manager, in Bull Durham, 1988
Distributed by Orion

Sources: imsdb.com and imdb.com

Good Advice

Never assume anything, because it makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.'

Source Unknown.

Bill Dial on Planning

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump) to the WKRP staff after a Thanksgiving promotion gone-bad.
From WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkeys Away," 1978
Screenplay by Bill Dial

Source: imdb.com


Note: Gordon Jump was an alum of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

Good Advice

Measure twice. Cut once.

Source Unknown.

Note: Apply as needed.

Arthur Schopenhauer on Truth

Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident.

Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher, lived in the first part of the 19th century


Source: The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Times (In Two Lines or Less)
Edited by John M. Shanahan
(c)1999 Harper Collins

Deng Ming-Dao on Being Present

Look at a cat as she stretches out contentedly in the sun. There is no thought of the next moment, only the sheer enjoyment of the present. Rest assured that she will still be able to clean herself, still be able to catch mice, and still be able to do all the things that a cat must do. But she is without anxieties and so she is purely and totally who she should be. She acts as if she were nature's favorite. And, who is to say otherwise?

Deng Ming-Dao
From 365 Tao Daily Meditations
(c) 1992 Harper Collins

Albert Einstein on Compassion

Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. 

Albert Einstein

Joseph Duemer on Dogs

There are some simple truths inside the world's complexity, and the dogs know what they are.

Joseph Duemer, writer

Vince Lombardi on Commitment

Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

Vince Lombardi

Samuel Butler on Life

All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it.

Samuel Butler, writer, lived in the 1800's but saw the century change

Peter Steiner on Reality

On the internet, no one knows you're a dog.

Peter Steiner, The New Yorker cartoon, July 5, 1993

Leo Buscaglia on Wisdom

Knowledge is not wisdom! Learning alone is not wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge and facts. Wisdom is realizing you know nothing. Wisdom is saying, "My mind is open. Wherever I am I am just beginning. There is more to be realized by 100-fold than what I know." That's the beginning of wisdom.

Leo Buscaglia from Living Loving and Learning
(c)1982 Ballantine Books
That's Where the Light Is, p. 73

Christian D. Larson on Inner Strength

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Christian D. Larson, writer

Ralph Waldo Emerson on Perspective

Finish this day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rick Smith on Focus

A player needs to know the ball is not going in the direction that they’re not looking.

Rick Smith, golf instructor

Source: dailycelebrations.com