Catalyst Quotes

“Listen to Your Life”

“Pooh looked at his two paws.  He knew that one of them was the right, and he knew that when you decided which one of them was the right, then the other was the left, but never could remember how to begin.”    (Winnie the Pooh)

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“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.”    (Charles Bukowski)

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“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”    (Eckhart Tolle)

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“Listen to your life.  See it for the fathomless mystery it is.  In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”  (Frederick Buechner)

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“No one’s life should be rooted in fear.  We are born for wonder, for joy, for hope, for love, to marvel at the mystery of existence, to be ravished by the beauty of the world, to seek truth and meaning, to acquire wisdom, and by our treatment of others to brighten the corner where we are.”    (Deen Koontz, Life Expectancy)

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“Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly.”   (Mother Teresa)

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“In the Time of Your Life, Live.”

“Life has three rules:  Paradox, Humor, and Change.

 – Paradox:  Life is a mystery; don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.

– Humor:  Keep a sense of humor, especially about yourself.  It is a strength beyond all measure.

– Change:  Know that nothing ever stays the same.”    (Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior:  A Book That Changes Lives)

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“The first step to the knowledge of the wonder and mystery of life is the recognition of the monstrous nature of the earthly human realm as well as its glory, the realization that this is just how it is and that it cannot and will not be changed.  Those who think they know how the universe could have been had they created it, without pain, without sorrow, without time, without death, are unfit for illumination.”    (Joseph Campbell)

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“We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often ‘Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.’”    (M. Scott Peck)

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“In the time of your life, live — so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches.  Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.

Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away.  Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world.  Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart.

Be the inferior of no man, or of any men be superior.  Remember that every man is a variation of yourself.  No man’s guilt is not yours, nor is any man’s innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil.  These, understand.  Have no shame in being kindly and gentle … .

In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”    (William Saroyan, The Time of Your Life)

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“We Must Dream as Well as Act”

“From small beginnings come great things.”    (Proverbs)

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“Hold fast to dreams,

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird,

That cannot fly.”    (Langston Hughes)

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“The main reason someone moves mountains, wins friends, influences people, amasses a fortune, or anything else, is because they thought they would.

You can do this.

Shall we ‘Veni, Vedi, Vici!’

        (signed)  The Universe”   (Mike Dooley, Notes From the Universe)

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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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“Do you want to know who you are?  

Don’t ask.   Act!

Action will delineate and define you.”   (Thomas Jefferson)

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“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.  The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.  From now on, you’ll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be.  The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.”    (The Princess Diaries movie)

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“To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.”    (Anatole France)

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“Believe in Yourself + A Tiny Bit of Magic = Your Dreams Can Come True.”

“Mind is everything.  Every thought you create manifests itself in real world; if you don’t achieve something you strive for – you simply didn’t believe in it enough.”    (Mario Novak)

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“Cherish your solitude.  Take trains by yourself to places you have never been.  Sleep out alone under the stars.  Learn how to drive a stick shift.  Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something.  Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees.  Decide whether you want to be liked or admired.  Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here.”   (Eve Ensler)

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“Kindness is the highest form of intelligence.  Negativity is poison and in all things we reap what we sow.  When you are negative without tempering such actions or attitudes with kindness, you create an environment ripe for the breeding of resentment and animosity, hurt feelings are the natural outcome.  The intelligence comes in when you realize that a kind word or action results in reciprocation, it opens the door to love and contentment.  Negativity and criticism may help to develop a thicker skin, but pressed too hard, the skin becomes stone, and have you ever tried to squeeze blood from a stone?”    (Unknown)

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“Trust is the glue of life.  It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication.  It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”     (Stephen R. Covey)

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“If you believe in yourself and with a tiny bit of magic, all your dreams can come true.” (SpongeBob SquarePants)

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“To Achieve the Marvelous, the Unthinkable Must be Thought” / “The Power of Wriggling”

“Both destiny’s kisses and its dope-slaps illustrate an individual person’s basic personal powerlessness over the really meaningful events in his life:  i.e. almost nothing important that ever happens to you happens because you engineer it. Destiny has no beeper; destiny always leans trench-coated out of an alley with some sort of ‘Psst’ that you usually can’t even hear because you’re in such a rush to or from something important you’ve tried to engineer.” (David Foster Wallace)

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“There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.”    (John Lennon)

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“I believe that what we get out of life is what we’ve set ourselves up to get, so there’s no such thing as an inconsequential decision.  Our destinies are the culmination of all the choices we’ve made along the way, which is why it’s imperative to listen hard to your inner voice when it speaks up.  Don’t let anyone else’s noise drown it out.”    (Megan McCafferty, Second Helpings)

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 “If you lack the iron and the fuzz to take control of your own life, if you insist on leaving your fate to the gods, then the gods will repay your weakness by having a grin or two at your expense.  Should you fail to pilot your own ship, don’t be surprised at what inappropriate port you find yourself docked.  The dull and prosaic will be granted adventures that will dice their central nervous systems like an onion; romantic dreamers will end up in the rope yard. …  The price of self-destiny is never cheap, and in certain situations it is unthinkable.  But to achieve the marvelous, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.”     (Tom Robbins)

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“Failure or success seems to have been allotted to men by their stars.  But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their star or against it, and in the whole universe, the only interesting movement is this wriggle.”    (E. M. Forster)

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“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”    (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

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“Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you.”    (Cynthia Kersey)

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“How Far Can You Go?”

“Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need.’  It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge.  If you bring love to that moment — not discouragement — you will find the strength there.  Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life.  What a privilege!! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.  Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures, followed by wreckage, were the incidents that shaped the life you have now.  You’ll see this is really true.  Nothing can happen to you that is not positive.  Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not.  The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”   (Joseph Campbell, A Joseph Campbell Companion)

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“I’ll repeat something you might consider tattooing on your forehead:  What we fear doing the most is usually what we most need to do.”    (Tim Ferriss)

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“A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening ‘outside,’ just by changing the contents of consciousness.  We all know individuals who can transform hopeless situations into challenges to be overcome, just through the force of their personalities.  This ability to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks is the quality people most admire in others, and justly so; it is probably the most important trait not only for succeeding in life, but for enjoying it as well.  To develop this trait, one must find ways to order consciousness so as to be in control of feelings and thoughts.  It is best not to expect shortcuts will do the trick.”    (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

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“Yes, there are times when the gold medal only goes to the winner.  But not in the race of life, where the winners are those who are superior not to others but to their former selves.”  (Robert Cooper)

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“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”    (T.S. Eliot) 

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“A Possibility Was Born the Day You Were Born”

“A possibility was born the day you were born and it will live as long as you live.”    (Marcus Solero)

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“Life can be a constant struggle, filled with hardship and obstacles.  Or it can be a grand adventure filled with challenges and intrigue.  Every second of every day, it’s entirely up to you how you live it.  It all ends the same way.  How you feel when you get there is the only thing you have control over.”    (I Wrote This for You)

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“Don’t become a wandering generality.  Be a meaningful specific.”    (Zig Ziglar)

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“Know yourself fully before making promises to another.  Make many mistakes so you’ll know the right decision when it really matters.  Know when to hold on and when to let go.  Love hard and often, and without reservation.  Seek knowledge.  Open yourself up to possibility.  Keep your heart open, your head high and your spirit free.  Embrace your darkness along with your light.  Never mislead anyone, especially yourself.  Have the courage to admit when you’re wrong.  Awaken to the brilliance of ordinary moments.  See goodness in the world.  Strive to be your best.  Be bold.  Be grateful.  Be wild and gloriously free.  Be you.”    (Jeannette LeBlanc)

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“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.”    (Charles Kettering)

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“The strongest force in the universe is a human being living consistently with his identity.”    (Tony Robbins)

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“Make Your Heartbeat Match the Beat of the Universe”

“Anyone informed that the universe is expanding and contracting in pulsations of eighty billion years has a right to ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’”   (Peter De Vries)

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“Let me tell you something you already know.  The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.  It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.  You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit.  It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.  That’s how winning is done!  Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth.  But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody!  Cowards do that and that ain’t you!  You’re better than that!”    (Rocky Balboa movie, 2006)

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“The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.”   (C. JoyBell C.)

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“A Note From the Universe –

Do you know how to give folks what they most, most, most want from you without even asking them what it is?

In all regards, just be yourself.

That’s what they were after when they manifested you into their lives.     Whoa!

   (signed)  The Universe”    (Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe, June 12, 2013)

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“Until you commit, nothing happens, but when you do commit, the entire universe rallies to your aid.”   (Daniel Acuff)

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“’The goal of life,’ says the mythology scholar Joseph Campbell, ‘is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe.’”    (Philip T. Sudo)

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“I’ll Give You Some Free Advice”

“’Witches are naturally nosy,’ said Miss Tick, standing up.  ‘Well, I must go.  I hope we shall meet again.  I will give you some free advice, though.’

‘Will it cost me anything?’

‘What?  I just said it was free!’ said Miss Tick.

‘Yes, but my father said that free advice often turns out to be expensive.’ said Tiffany.

Miss Tick sniffed. ‘You could say this advice is priceless,’ she said, ‘Are you listening?’

‘Yes,’ said Tiffany.

‘Good.  Now … if you trust in yourself…’

‘Yes?’

‘… and believe in your dreams …’

‘Yes?’

‘… and follow your star …’ Miss Tick went on,

‘Yes?’

“… you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye.”    (Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men)

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“Ever morning, until you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision.  You gone have to ask yourself, ‘Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?’”    (Kathryn Stockett, The Help)

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“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself.  We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem.  We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.”   (Iyana Vanzant)

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“Struggle is the food from which change is made, and the best time to make the most of a struggle is when it’s right in front of your face.

Now, I know that might sound a bit simplistic. But, too often we’re led to believe that struggling is a bad thing, or that we struggle because we’re doing something wrong.

I disagree. I look at struggle as an opportunity to grow. True struggle happens when you can sense what is not working for you and you’re willing to take the appropriate action to correct the situation. Those who accomplish change are willing to engage the struggle.”   (Danny Dreyer)

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“Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.”   (Beatrix Potter)

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“Make Your Soul Grow”

“Study the heart and the mind of man, and begin with your own.  Meditation and reflection must lay the foundation of that knowledge, but experience and practice must, and alone can, complete it.”   (Lord Chesterfield, Letter to his son, June 6, 1751)

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“It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.  It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance.  It is the one who won’t be taken who cannot seem to give.  And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.”   (Bette Midler)

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“I see all this potential, and I see squandering.   …damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars.  Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s**t we don’t need.  We’re the middle children of history, man.  No purpose or place.  We have no Great War.  No Great Depression.  Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives.  We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars.  But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact.  And we’re very, very pissed off.”   (Chuck Palahniuk)

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“There’s a lot of fear connected with the inner journey because it penetrates our illusions.  Taking the inner journey will lead you into some very shadow places.  You’re going to learn things about yourself that you’ll wish you didn’t know.  There are monsters in there – monsters that you can’t control – but trying to keep them hidden will only give them greater power.”    (Parker Palmer, ‘Leader to Leader’)

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“The words ‘I am …’ are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to.  The thing you’re claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.”    (A. L. Kitselman)

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“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.  So do it.”   (Kurt Vonnegut)

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