Catalyst Quotes

“Do We Still Have What It Takes”

“I just want to do something that matters.  Or be something that matters.  I just want to matter.”   (John Green, An Abundance of Katherines)

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“Sometimes in life you have an appointment with destiny, and sometimes you just have to get destiny to squeeze you in.”    (Robert Brault)

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“The world has the habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going.”    (Napoleon Hill)

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“Our lives are so hopelessly entangled in the choices of others, we can never have full control over our destiny or fate or purpose or whatever you want to call it.  The choices we make will define us, of course, but so do the choices of everyone around us whether we know them or not.”    (How to Disappear Completely, David Bowick)

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“For most of my life I have thought of grace as a hope of a bright tomorrow in spite of the darkness of today — and this is true.  In this way we are all like Pamela, walking a road to grace — hoping for mercy.  What we fail to realize is that grace is more than our destination, it is the journey itself, manifested in each breath and with each step we take.  Grace surrounds us, whirls about us like the wind, falls on us like rain.  Grace sustains us on our journeys, no matter how perilous they may be and, make no mistake, they are all perilous.  We need not hope for grace, we merely need to open our eyes to its abundance.  Grace is all around us, not just in the hopeful future but in the miracle of now.”   (Richard Paul Evans, The Road to Grace)  

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“Wherever you go, go with inspiration and aspiration.

Whatever you do, do with love and concern.

Whomever you see, see with purity’s beauty

And responsibility’s glory.”     (Sri Chinmoy, The Wings of Joy:  Finding Your Paths to Inner Peace)

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“Is it always to be a winners-losers world, or can we keep everyone in the game?  Do we still have what it takes to find a better way?”    (Robert Fulghum)

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“Jump Out the Window and Grow Wings”

“Life is short, Break the Rules.

Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY.

Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably

And never regret ANYTHING

That makes you smile.”     (Mark Twain)

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“I never think of what I am proud about.  I never look back, except to find out about mistakes.  Because mistakes are hard to remember and to draw conclusions from.  But I only see danger in thinking back about things you are proud of.  When people ask me if I am proud of something, I just shrug and hope to get away as soon as possible.  I should explain that my way is to look ahead, all my pleasant thoughts are about the future.  It has been that way since I was twenty years old.  I start every day fresh.”    (Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann)

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“Dreams come true, that’s what they do.  The only variable is when.

For the slow approach:  Resist.  Attach.  Insist.  Deny.  Stop.  Second guess. Whine.  Argue.  Defend.  Protest. Cry.  Struggle.  And ask others, ‘when you know the answer yourself.’

For the quick approach:  Visualize.  Pretend.  Prepare.  Dodge.  Roll.  Serpentine.  Do not waiver over intentions, but over methods.  Show up, even when nothing happens.  And give thanks in advance.

You knew that,

    (signed)   The Universe          (Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe, 7.25.13)

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“Our great business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”    (Thomas Carlyle)

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“Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down.”    (Ray Bradbury)

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“Hear What Your Heart Already Knows”

“If only the scientific experts could come up with something to get it out of our minds. One cup of fixit fizzle that will lift the dirt from our lives, soften our hardness, protect our inner parts, improve our processing, reduce our yellowing and wrinkling, improve our natural color, and make us sweet and good.”    (Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten) 

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“Heaven’s not a place that you when you die, it’s that moments in life when you actually feel alive, so live for the moment.  Take this advice, live by every word, love is just a hoax so forget anything that you have heard and live for the moment now.”    (‘The Tide’ lyrics by The Spill Canvas)

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 “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity.  Life is eternal.  We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.  This is a precious moment.  It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”  (Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist)

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“The rest of your life is a long time and whether you know it or not it’s being shaped right now.  You can choose to blame your circumstances on fate or bad luck or bad choices.  Or you can fight back.  Things aren’t always going to be fair in the real world.  That’s just the way it is.  But for the most part, you get what you give.”    (One Tree Hill)

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 “Sometimes divine revelation simply means adjusting your brain to hear what your heart already knows.”    (Dan Brown)

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“Changing the World Can Be So Simple”

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”    (Leo Buscaglia)

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“Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push.   A smile.   A word of optimism and hope.   A ‘you can do it’ when things are tough.”   (Richard M. Devos)

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“Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge.”    (Carmelia Elliot)

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“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”    (John Lennon)

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“Remember me and smile, for it’s better to forget than to remember me and cry.”   (Dr. Seuss)

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“One smile has the power to…

Calm fears.

Soften stone walls.

Warm a cold heart.

Invite a new friend.

Mimic a loving hug.

Beautify the bearer.

Lighten heavy loads.

Promote good deeds.

Brighten a gloomy day.

Comfort a grieving spirit.

Offer hope to the forlorn.

Send a message of caring.

Lift the downtrodden soul.

Patch up invisible wounds.

Weaken the hold of misery.

Act as medicine for suffering.

Attract the companionship of angels.

Fulfill the human need for recognition.

Who knew changing the world would prove so simple?”    (Richelle E. Goodrich)

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“Peace begins with a smile.”   (Mother Teresa)

“Lottery, God, Devil, Drinking and Celebration. Oh, and the Meaning of Life!”

“I count myself lucky, having long ago won a lottery paid to me in seven sunrises a week for life.”    (Robert Brault)

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“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered.  But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written.  We adjust to new conditions and discoveries.  We are pliable.  Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum.  I am my own god.  We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system.  We are here to drink beer.  We are here to kill war.  We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”    (Charles Bukowski)

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“I want to live my life in such a way that when I get out of bed in the morning, the devil says, “aw shit, he’s up!”   (Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You:  Reflections on Life and the Human Experience)

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“There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”    (Denis Waitley)  

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“That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen.”    (Charles Bukowski, Women)

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“Celebration when your plan is working?  Anyone can do that.  But when you realize that the story of your life could be told a thousand different ways, that you could tell it over and over as a tragedy, but you choose to call it an epic, that’s when you start to learn what celebration is. When what you see in front of you is so far outside of what you dreamed, but you have the belief, the boldness, the courage to call it beautiful instead of calling it wrong, that’s celebration.”   (Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines:  Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)

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“I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know.  Nevertheless, with what I have – I can reflect light into the dark places of this world – into the black places in the hearts of men – and change some things in some people.  Perhaps others may see and do likewise.  This is what I am about.  This is the meaning of my life.”    (Robert Fulghum)

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“Dreams, Miracles and Hope”

“It’s perfectly normal that when waiting for a really big dream to come true it seems like it’s taking forever, you wonder if you’re doing something wrong, and you feel like you should just be happy with less.

But I promise you, no matter how long it takes, once it happens it’ll seem as if time flew, you’ll wonder how you ever doubted yourself, and you’ll feel like you should have aimed a little higher.

Aim a little higher.  I know you like the back of my hand.”        (signed)   The Universe         (Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe, August 9, 2013)     

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“If the dream is held close to the heart, and imagination is applied to what there is close at hand, everything is still possible.”     (Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten)

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“Miracles:  You do not have to look for them.  They are there, 24–7, beaming like radio waves all around you.  Put up the antenna, turn up the volume – snap … crackle … this just in, every person you talk to is a chance to change the world.   (Hugh Elliott, Standing Room Only weblog)

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“Without realizing it, we fill important places in each other’s lives.  It’s that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage, the family doctor, teachers, neighbors, coworkers. Good people who are always “there,” who can be relied upon in small, important ways.  People who teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the dailiness of life.

We never tell them.  I don’t know why, but we don’t.

And, of course, we fill that role ourselves.  There are those who depend in us, watch us, learn from us, take from us.  And we never know.

You may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think.

There are always those who couldn’t do without you.  The rub is that you don’t always know who.”  (Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten)

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“The inability to open up to hope is what blocks trust, and blocked trust is the reason for blighted dreams.”     (Elizabeth Gilbert)   

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“Dream small that your dreams may come true.  Dream large that you may always have a dream.”    (Robert Brault)

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“What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? Go Through and On”

“’What are you going to do with your life?’

In one way or another it seemed that people had been asking her this forever; teachers, her parents, friends at three in the morning, but the question had never seemed this pressing and still she was no nearer an answer… ‘Live each day as if it’s your last’, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that?  What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy?  It just wasn’t practical.  Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference.  Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you.  Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well.  Experience new things.  Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.”     (David Nicholls, One Day)

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“You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward.”    (Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom)

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“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”    (Thadeus Golas)

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“Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself.”    (C. JoyBell C.)

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“It’s daring to be curious about the unknown, to dream big dreams, to live outside prescribed boxes, to take risks, and above all, daring to investigate the way we live until we discover the deepest treasured purpose of why we are here.”   (Luci Swindoll)

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“Instructions For Wayfarers

They will declare:  Every journey has been taken.

You shall respond:  I have not been to see myself.

They will insist:  Everything has been spoken.

You shall reply:  I have not had my say.

They will tell you:  Everything has been done.

You shall reply:  My way is not complete.

You are warned:  Any way is long, any way is hard.

Fear not.  You are the gate – you, the gatekeeper.

And you shall go through and on.”    (Alexandros Evangelou Xenopouloudakis, THIRD WISH, Robert Fulghum, Robert Fulghum Boxed Set, ‘Instructions for Wayfarers’)

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