Inspiration...

Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness. 

-Brenda Ueland, journalist, editor, and writer (1891-1985)

Say vs. whisper

What I like in a good author isn't what he says, but what he whispers. 

- Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)

...accumulating wealth

The unrestricted competition so commonly advocated does not leave us the survival of the fittest. The unscrupulous succeed best in accumulating wealth. 

-Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (1822-1893)

Comfortably live with

"The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably live with."

 - Tony Robbins 

...of differences

Civilization is the encouragement of differences. 

-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

13 Lessons - Robin Sharma

#1. Excellent things happen to people who do excellent things.

#2. Morning exercise is a game-changer.

#3. The game of leadership is helpfulness.

#4. The things that are hardest to do are the things that are generally the wisest to do.

#5. Creativity shines brightest when we are alone. Make time for silence, stillness and solitude.

#6. Education is inoculation against disruption. Read for an hour each day to protect your hope, refine your craft and grow your knowledge.

#7. The fears you don't face become your walls. And doubts are destroyed by strong action.

#8. What hurts us can help us. Leverage hardship to reclaim your natural heroism.

#9. Cheap costs more.

#10. Mastery takes massive practice, unrelenting patience and vast devotion. It's a very difficult obsession. And one of the best commitments you can make.

#11. An amazing family life sets you up for a glorious business life.

#12. Keep your promises. Never lie. Outwork your peers. Deliver beautiful value. People watch what you do. Even if you think they don't.

#13. You can't inspire others if you are uninspired. Actively work to keep your enthusiasm and inner fire high. Be with art. Go to conferences. Travel. Explore.

Slow & Quick

"We need to learn the slow 'yes' and the quick 'no.'"
-Greg McKeown, author of "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less"

..willing to pay

All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.

- Juvenal

Season's Greetings

go hand in hand

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. 

-Emily Kimbrough, author and broadcaster (1899-1989)

...not forever

Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone? 

-Thomas Wolfe, novelist (1900-1938)

blow out candle

Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.' The stranger is a theologian. 

-Denis Diderot, philosopher (1713-1784)

Stand out of my light

When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: "Only stand out of my light." Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light. 

-John W. Gardner, author and educator (1912-2002)

Can & Can't Buy...

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.

 -George H. Lorimer, editor (1867-1937)

best interpreters

The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.

- James Joyce

has to go through

The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire.

- Richard M. Nixon

Works of art

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. 

-Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (1884-1962)

...to be kind

Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another along the way. 

-Alice Childress, playwright, author, and actor (1916-1994)

Length Vs. Depth

It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Best revenge

Criticize 

need a title?

"You don't need a title to be a leader." 

-Mark Sanborn

Change...

Change before you have to.
- Jack Welch

Billionaries & the working class

Billionaires need the working class. The working class does not need billionaires. 

-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Congress member (b. Oct 13, 1989)

world within...

"The way we experience the world around us is a direct reflection of the world within us."

~ Ritu Ghatourey

Biggest room...

"There's always room for improvement—it's the biggest room in the house."

~ Louise Heath Leber

Change without delay

Tiny Hands, Big Hearts!

In the bustling recreation area of the IKEA store, children were laughing and playing, lost in the world of make-believe. Amongst them was my five-year-old granddaughter, a whirlwind of energy and curiosity.

On this particular day, as the children scampered around, my granddaughter noticed a small boy struggling with his untied shoelaces. Without a second thought, she motioned for him to stop and knelt down before him. With tiny hands and a determined spirit, she carefully re-tied his flopping shoelaces. It was a task she had recently mastered herself.
No words were exchanged, but a silent understanding passed between them. A genuine smile brightened both their faces, and they exchanged shy grins before darting off in different directions, continuing their playful adventures.
In that simple act of kindness, amidst the colorful chaos of a play area, two young souls connected. It was a sweet reminder that compassion knows no age, and even the smallest gestures can create beautiful moments of shared joy and understanding.
~Shane Wyatt

Easy, hard and harder...

"Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder." ~ Mason Cooley

everythig you do...

The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.

- Nadia Boulanger

Poetry of words

I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of Beauty.
- Edgar Allan Poe

ever won...

No battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. 

-William Faulkner, novelist (1897-1962)

The Hollow Men

The Hollow Men: 

Between the idea 

and the reality 

Between the motion 

and the act 

falls the shadow. 

-T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965)

equally outraged..

Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. 

-Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (1821-1881)

previlege of ignoring...

This is what power really is: the privilege of ignoring anything you might find distasteful. 

-Oksana Zabuzhko, writer (b. 19 Sep 1960)

...befriends the

Fortune befriends the bold.
- Emily Dickinson

...being unrelentingly offensive

[Film and theater critic John] Simon has simply discovered the trick used with great effectiveness by certain comedians, talk show hosts and punk rock musicians: people of modest talent can attract attention, at least for a while, by being unrelentingly offensive. 

-Steven Pinker, author and psychology professor (b. 18 Sep 1954)

..more than his share

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." 

-Arnold Glasow

...we did it ourselves

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." 

-Lao Tzu

...times of challenge & controversy

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." 

-Martin Luther King Jr