“Only in men’s imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art, as of life.” (Joseph Conrad)
“Why abandon a belief merely because it ceases to be true? Cling to it long enough and … it will turn true again, for so it goes. Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favors.” (Robert Frost)
“Follow your bliss.” (Joseph Campbell)
“Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to make important changes in our lives. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.
We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause.
We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.
And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.” (Jim Rohn)
“One of the most common things I hear is, ‘I’d like to do something remarkable like that …, but my xyz won’t let me; where xyz = my boss, my publisher, my partner, my licensor, my franchisor, etc. Well, you can fail by going along with that and not doing it, or you can do it, cause a ruckus and work things out later.
In my experience, once it’s clear you’re willing (not just willing, but itching, moving, and yes, implementing) without them, things start to happen. People are rarely willing to step up and stop you, and often just waiting to follow someone crazy enough to actually do something. I’m going. Come along if you like.” (Seth Godin)
“You can be as successful as you wish the nanosecond you decide you will not settle for anything less.” (Tom Peters)
“You can understand and relate to most people better if you look at them – no matter how old or impressive they may be – as if they are children. For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much – we simply grow taller. Oh, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.” (Leo Rosten)
“The great enemy of creativity is fear. When we’re fearful, we freeze up … . Creativity has a lot to do with a willingness to take risks. Think about how children play. They run around the playground without thinking about where they’re going. They trip, they fall down, and then they get back up again and run some more. They have a wonderful belief: that everything will be all right. They feel capable; they let go; they play … . No matter how many facts and figures you have, you can’t predict the future. There will always be surprises … . Creativity helps us realize that we don’t have to understand everything. We can enjoy something – feel it and use it – without ever fully comprehending it.” (Faith Ringgold, Fast Company, April 2000)
“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile …. These are the things I learned:
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.” (All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum)
“Dreams are really the thoughts that you have hidden in your heart. When you start a brand new day, let your heart show you the way and make a dream or two come true.” (‘Land of Make Believe’ by Chuck Mangione)
“You can choose beliefs that limit you, or you can choose beliefs that support you.” (Anthony Robbins)
“The thing is, we still live in a world that’s filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity – we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing. You get to make a choice. You can remake that choice every day, in fact. It’s never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment — just one second — to decide. … you have the power to change everything that’s to come. And you can do that by asking yourself (and your colleagues) the one question that every organization and every individual needs to ask today: Why not be great?” (Seth Godin, Fast Company, June 2003)
“You’re good, but you’re going to be great. You’re the best, but you’re going to get better. Sometimes the paths we take are long and hard, but remember: those are always the ones that lead to the most beautiful views. Challenges come along, inevitably; how you respond to them determines who you are deep down inside – and everything you’re going to be. Increase the chances of reaching your goals by working at them gradually. The very best you can do is all that is asked of you. Realize that you are capable of working miracles of your own making. Remember that opportunities have a reason for knocking on your door, and the right ones are there for the taking. You don’t always have to win, but you do need to know what it takes to be a winner. It’s up to you to find the key that unlocks the door to a more fulfilling life. Understand that increased difficulty brings you nearer to the truth of how to survive it – and get beyond it. Cross your bridges. Meet your challenges. Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer and closer to your heart. Get rid of the “if only’s,” and get on with whatever you need to do to get things right. Go after what you want in life, with all the blessings of all the people who care about you. And find out what making your wishes come true really feels like.” (Unknown)
“If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” (Thomas A. Edison)
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” (Walt Disney)
Whenever you are faced with a challenge or you believe that something is impossible, think of the words above and you will rise above your challenges. ~ GMUniverse
“Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something much better: that we can become oak trees.” (E. F. Schumacher)
“We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make the world.” (The Buddha)
“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.
If you can dream it, you can become it.” (William Arthur Ward)
Open your eyes and realize what you can do. To repeat a quote stated in an earlier post, “Control your own destiny or someone else will.” (Jack Welch)
Whether it is at work or at home, you have the power inside of you to determine what you can do positively and not let outside negative forces stop you. Use that power wisely or as a great ‘philosopher’ once said “Use the Force, Luke.” ~ GMUniverse
It’s early in the morning and you are just arriving at work. You get to your office or your workstation and you begin thinking, “How in the heck am I supposed to feel good, be motivated and do a good job when it seems that everything around me is going bad? There are too many changes going on in the company, there are issues at home, the economy is topsy-turvy, and there are some things that I just don’t understand!” With all those thoughts in your head, your mind begins spinning and you feel woozy, and then all of a sudden …
(Background music begins … harp playing … a dream-like state begins)
… you find yourself sitting on a chair in the middle of a large room. You see a line of people coming towards you. You can’t move. As a key floats down to you, you hear a booming voice that says, “Do not worry; you already have the keys to your success.” Then, one by one, each person in line comes to you, gives you a key and says:
“Change your thoughts and you change the world. How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself – so always think positively.” (Norman Vincent Peale)
“Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” (Niccolo Machiavelli)
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” (Colin Powell)
“Trust is enormously powerful in a corporation. The only way I know how to create that kind of trust is by laying out your values and then walking the talk. You’ve got to do what you say you’ll do, consistently, over time.” (Jack Welch)
“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.” (Herb Kelleher)
“Essentially there are two actions in life – performance and excuses. Make a decision as to which you will accept for yourself.” (Stephen Brown)
“In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently that anything we say or do.” (Stephen Covey)
And then poof! …. All of a sudden, you begin to wake up, your mind becomes clearer and you look around your work area and realize it was all a dream. Or was it? “But it made sense,” you say. “I’ve heard those sayings before but I never paid too much attention to them. Could those statements be some of the keys to success?”
It’s now become clear to you that, in order to be successful and create a positive and fun environment at work, (and at home), it all begins with you – the way you perceive events or issues, and the image you project to your employees, your costumers, your friends and your family. As you go back to work, you can’t help but start singing James Brown’s song, “I Feel Good!”
Now, what can YOU do to “think and make it happen?” ~ GMUniverse
“What would I do if I knew I could not fail?
If I believed, would the wind always fill up my sail?
How far would I go, what could I achieve
Trusting the hero in me?
What would I do today if I were brave?” (“If I Were Brave” – lyrics and music by Jana Stanfield and Jimmy Scott
“You were born with potential
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.” (Rumi)
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.” (Adidas TV Commercial)
Don’t underestimate the power of the mind and the will to excel that we all have. Be brave and do it! ~ GMUniverse
Getting Out of Bed
Why do you get out of bed each morning?
Is it your job? Is it to fulfill a hope or dream? Is it the damn alarm clock?
Is it the chance to make a difference, however great, however small, in your work, your family, your community, and possibly even the world in which you live?
Your answer could change your life. It could also change the lives of those around you. (Unknown)
Beginning of the Day
“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind … let it be something good.” (Unknown)
Expectation for the Day
“Be realistic: Plan for a miracle.” (Rajneesh)
Catalyst Quotes 