Catalyst Quotes

Compiled by Alex Pena ~ ‘Catalyst’: “to spark, to ignite, energize, mobilize; something that accelerates a reaction (DDI)." Thought-provoking & motivational quotes and stories for you to read, reflect on and move forward in making creative and positive changes in your life.

Archive for the category “Change”

“Live the Life of Your Dreams / We’re in this Alone”

“Life is an adventure of passion, risk, danger, laughter, beauty, love; a burning curiosity to go with the action to see what it is all about, to go search for a pattern of meaning, to burn one’s bridges because you’re never going to go back anyway, and to live to the end.”   (Saul D. Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals)

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“The things to do are:  the things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done.  Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done – that no one else has told you to do or how to do it.”   (R. Buckminster Fuller, architect/designer/inventor)

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“Ever have a dream at night when you wondered in the middle of it whether or not you were dreaming?  Knowing that if you were just dreaming, you could rewrite the scary parts and enhance the happy parts; run faster, jump higher, laugh your head off; summon guides, travel through time, read minds; levitate, manifest, do the impossible.  But then, you thought to yourself, ‘No, this just can’t be a dream, it’s way too real.’

Yeah, you’re having one right now.   Yeah, you really are, and yes, you really can.   (signed)  The Universe   (Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe, 6.12.14)

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“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”   (Oprah Winfrey)

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“Just remember, we’re in this alone.”   (Jane Wagner)

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“Don’t Let Them Scare You”

 

“To stay focused in life:

  • You can’t know everyone
  • You can’t do everything
  • You can’t go everywhere

We have to pick and choose between good and a little bit better.”   (John C. Maxwell)

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“The number #1 reason to focus –

You will care more about the things that aren’t working yet, you’ll push through the dip, you’ll expend effort and expose yourself to fear.

When you have a lot of balls in the air, it’s easy to just ignore the ones that make you uncomfortable or that might fall.

Success comes from doing the hard part.  When the hard part is all you’ve got, you’re more likely to do it.

And this is precisely why it’s difficult to focus.  Because focusing means acknowledging that you just signed up for the hard part.”   (Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog, 6.6.14)

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“Champions have the courage to keep turning the pages because they know a better chapter lies ahead.”   (Paula White)

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“Don’t just accept whatever comes your way in life.  You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life.”   (Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now)

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“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.”   (Pema Chodron)

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“There was a time in the life of every hero, champion, master, and tycoon when they said to themselves, ‘I will not wait any longer.’

And no matter how near or far away their dream then seemed, they began to take action, every day, no matter what.

No matter what.

And that’s how they got their gig.  Seriously, you should see all the openings in the world today for ‘Rockin’, cool, spiritual beings now inhabiting organic matter to exemplify the infinite possibilities for those who dream and take action.  Pay is out of this world, negotiable, and you choose the currencies. Apply Within.’   (signed) The Universe”    (Mike Dooley, ‘Notes From the Universe’ 6.3.14)

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“The first and great commandment is:   ‘Don’t let them scare you.’”   (Elmer Davis)

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“Difficult? Done Immediately / Impossible? Takes a Little Longer”

 

“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’ –  Words and music by Jana Stanfield and Jimmy Scott)

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“The quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are.

Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead.

Learning to lead is about discovering what you care about and value.  About what inspires you

About what challenges you.  About what gives you power and competence. 

About what encourages you.  When you discover these things about yourself, you’ll know what it takes to lead in those qualities out of others.”   (The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner)

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“A leader defines for the team what kind of moment they’re in. 

Is this a moment of transition?  Is this a dangerous moment? 

Your job as conductor (leader) is to get the orchestra (team) to act together — powerfully.

So what do you do?  You can’t be calling out to people, ‘Act now! Act now!’

That creates disorder.  Instead, you say, ‘Here’s where we’re headed.'”   (Roger Nierenberg, Conductor)

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“Ordinary people believe only in the possible.  Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible.”   (Cherie Carter-Scott)

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“Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.”   (Zig Ziglar)

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“The difficult can be done immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.”   (The Army Corp of Engineers)

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“When Nothing Seems to Help / Break Free”

 

“Some defeats are only installments to victory.”   (Jacob Riis)

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“Are you scared?  Or are you not ready?  There is a difference.”   (Unique Quietness)

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“Some people live in cages with bars built from their own fears and doubts. Some people live in cages with bars built from other people’s fears and doubts; their parents, their friends, their brothers and sisters, their families. Some people live in cages with bars built from the choices others made for them, the circumstances other people imposed upon them.  And some people break free.”   (C. JoyBell C.)

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“Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date.  Take a deep breath and try again.”   (KT Witten)

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“I follow four dictates:  face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.”   (Sheng Yen)

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“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”   (Lao Tzu)

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“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” (Jacob Riis)

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“Don’t Wish Away Your Days”

  

“There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad, afraid, confused, without a road map.  The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back.”  (Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill)

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“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score; you’ll be excited and stimulated to know.  Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now.  Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to.  Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you.  It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement.  And it isn’t education.  It’s history.  It’s poetry.”   (J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)

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“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”   (Lou Holtz)

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“Don’t limit yourself.  Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do.  You can go as far as your mind lets you.  What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”   (Mary Kay Ash)

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“The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.”  (Unknown Author)

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“You are what you believe yourself to be.”   (Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello)

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“Believe – If I Lack Love Then I am Nothing at All”

 

“Pascal had it all wrong.  The biggest risk in life is not whether you believe in God, but whether or not you believe in yourself.”   (Park)

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“It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.”   (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

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“It’s probably my job to tell you life isn’t fair, but I figure you already know that.  So instead, I’ll tell you that hope is precious, and you’re right not to give up.”   (C.J. Redwine)

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“Just when you think it can’t get worse, it can.  And just when you think it can’t get any better, it will.”   (Nicholas Sparks)

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“Let me be patient, let me be kind.  Make me unselfish, without being blind. I may have faith to make mountains fall, but if I lack love then I am nothing at all.”   (Lauryn Hill)

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“You were born to win.  But to be the winner you were born to be you must plan to win and prepare to win.

Then, and only then, can you legitimately expect to win.”   (Zig Ziglar)

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“The world is filled with nice people.  If you can’t find one, be one.”   (Unknown)

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“Do What is Right / Be Real With Yourself / Many Others Follow”

 

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”   (Andy Warhol)

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“There are many persons ready to do what is right because in their hearts they know it is right.  But, they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the first move — and he, in turn, waits for you.  The minute a person whose word means a great deal dares to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.”   (Marian Anderson)

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“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.  In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”   (Eleanor Roosevelt)

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“You have to be real with yourself.  No one is doing that.  People are too concerned with making everything look nice and calm and pretty.”   (Donald Glover)

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“Tell me my dreams are unrealistic, and I’ll tell you yours aren’t big enough.”   (Unknown Author)

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“Did you know that for every smile you smile, more than you give will come your way?

That for every ‘thing’ you think of, it moves closer to you?

And, that for all the love you give, the younger you’ll look, the happier you’ll feel, and the bouncier you’ll walk?

Always go for more bouncy.   (Signed)   The Universe”   (Mike Dooley, ‘Notes from the Universe, May 29, 2014)

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“Always Follow Your Heart, Unless …”

 

“The deeper I go into myself the more I realize that I am my own enemy.”   (Floriano Martins)

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“How much evil throughout history could have been avoided had people exercised their moral acuity with convictional courage and said to the powers that be, ‘No, I will not.  This is wrong, and I don’t care if you fire me, shoot me, pass me over for promotion, or call my mother, I will not participate in this unsavory activity.’  Wouldn’t world history be rewritten if just a few people had actually acted like individual free agents rather than mindless lemmings?”   (Joel Salatin, Everything I Want to Do is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front)

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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”   (Steve Jobs)

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“It doesn’t matter what other people think.  The only opinion that really matters is yours.  We are all the writers of our lives.  We can make our stories comedies or tragedies.  Tales of horror, or of inspiration.  Your attitude and your fortitude and courage are what determine your destiny, Nick.… Life is hard and it sucks for all.  Every person you meet is waging his or her own war against a callous universe that is plotting against them.  And we are all battle-weary.  But in the midst of our hell, there is always something we can hold on to, whether it’s a dream of the future or a memory of the past, or a warm hand that soothes us.  We just have to take a moment during the fight to remember that we’re not alone, and that we’re not just fighting for ourselves.  We’re fighting for the people we love.” [Acheron]   (Sherrilyn Kenyon, Inferno)

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“The problem with hit radio.

When you only listen to the top 40, you’re letting the crowd decide what you hear.

And if you consume nothing but the most liked, the most upvoted, the most viral, the most popular, you’ve abdicated responsibility for your incoming. Most people only read bestselling books.  That’s what makes them bestsellers, after all.

The web keeps pushing the top 40 on us.  It defaults to ‘sort by popular,’ surfacing the hits, over and over.

Mass markets and math being what they are, it’s likely that many of the ideas and products you consume in your life are in fact, consumed because they’re the most popular.  It takes a conscious effort to seek out the thing that’s a little less obvious, the choice that’s a little more risky.

Popular is not the same important, or often, not the same as good.”   (Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog, 5.28.14)

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“Always follow your heart unless it’s been broken, then you must lead it.  Back into love.  Did you know that hearts are never too big to mend, too small to rebound, or too tired to love?” (signed)  The Universe.”     (Mike Dooley, Notes from The Universe, 5.22.14)

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Rest in Peace Maya Angelou – “Life Goes On / But Like Air, I’ll Rise”

 

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.  I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things:  a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.  I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.  I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life.’ I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.  I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.  I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”   (Maya Angelou) 

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 “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!”   (Maya Angelou)

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“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”   (Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter)

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“If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.  Don’t complain.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.  In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.  Life’s a bitch.  You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious.  The desire to reach hearts is wise.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”    (Maya Angelou)

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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“Be Yourself, Accept Yourself / Don’t Be Afraid to Be Human”

 

“Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.”   (Unknown Author)

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“Be your authentic self.  Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you’re supposed to be.”   (Phil McGraw)

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“To be beautiful means to be yourself.  You don’t need to be accepted by others.  You need to accept yourself.”   (Thich Nhat Hanh)

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“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad.  For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”   (John Lennon)

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“In a world pulsating with so much information, the only information that you need is the stuff that will lead you straight to your own soul.  Think of this:  Most of the information that is fed to you is motivated by the desire to earn money.  Forget what the magazines say, what the forums say, what all the experts say.  Your soul does not need to be spoon-fed with stuff it doesn’t need.  Your soul needs to be seen and found, and what leads you to that is the only information that you need.”   (C. JoyBell C.)

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“You know all those things you’ve always wanted to do? You should go do them.”  (livehappy.com)

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“The main thing in life is not to be afraid to be human.”   (Pablo Casals)

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