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 “Inspiration”

19 Nov 2012

“You Are Already a Masterpiece”

“Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?” (Bob Marley)

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.” (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross)

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” (Paulo Coehlo)

“Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it.” (Osho)

Posted in Attitude, Challenges, Inspiration, Life

18 Nov 2012

“Make a Difference in Your Life”

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Let your reason get you back up.” (Les Brown )

“Nearly 100% of innovation … is inspired not by ‘market analysis’ but by people who are supremely pissed off at the way things are. I happened to believe that only pissed-off people change the world, either in small ways or large ways.” (Tom Peters)

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” (Woodrow T. Wilson)

“Four Keys to Success

1. Show Up on Time

2. Do What You Say You Are Going To Do

3. Finish What You Start

4. Say Please and Thank You” (Unknown Author)

“At some time in your life, you probably had someone believe in you when you didn’t believe in yourself. They scripted you. Did that make a difference in your life? What if you were a positive scripter, an affirmer, of other people?” (Stephen R. Covey, Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People)

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” (Cherokee Expression)

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16 Nov 2012

“I Am a Possibilist”

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in the world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” (George Bernard Shaw)

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” (Arthur C. Clarke)

“There are many who are living far below their possibilities because they are continually handing over their individualities to others. Do you want to be a power in the world? Then be yourself.” (Ralph Waldo Trine)

“I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.” (Max Lerner)

“God has entrusted me with myself.” (Epictetus)

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15 Nov 2012

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“Is the Problem Out There?”

“Anytime we think the problem is ‘out there,’ that thought is the problem. We empower what’s out there to control us. The change paradigm is ‘outside-in’ – what’s out there has to change before we can change. The proactive approach is to change from the inside-out: to be different, and by being different, to effect positive change in what’s out there – I can be more resourceful, I can be more diligent, I can be more creative, I can be more cooperative.” (Stephen R. Covey)

“’Life is about lessons, and it’s about learning. … it’s not about feeling bitter and resentful. It’s about moving forward,’” Fisher said. Fisher said that all too often people fall into a ‘victim mentality,’ often blaming others for their plight. While that might be natural to a degree …, it’s not the best way to move on, he said.

In times such as these, it might be easier to feel like a victim. But Fisher said Americans must remain optimistic for the betterment of their future and for the sake of the nation. He advises clients at the end of every day to ask themselves: ‘Did I live my life with truth, honor and integrity today?’

‘Failure is only an emotion, but it becomes a reality when we quit,’ he said.” (CNN Article, Erik Fisher, a psychologist and co-author of “The Art of Managing Everyday Conflict.”)

“You can’t always sit in your corner of the forest and wait for people to come to you… you have to go to them sometimes.” (Winnie the Pooh)

Posted in Attitude, Challenges, Inspiration, Leadership, Life

15 Nov 2012

“Fierce Urgency of Now”

“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, “Too late.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” (Deepak Chopra)

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.” (Napoleon Hill)

“How do you lead people to change? Start with the person in the mirror.” (Jim Clemmer)

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13 Nov 2012

“Bowling or Jazz – Trust Yourself”

“Bowling is all about one number: the final score. And great bowlers come whisker-close to hitting the perfect score regularly. Not enough dimensions for me to be fascinated by, and few people pay money to attend bowling matches.

Jazz is practiced over a thousand or perhaps a million dimensions. It’s non-linear and non predictable, and most of all, it’s never perfect.

And yet … when we get to work, most of us choose to bowl.” (Seth Godin)

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” (Anthony Robbins)

“If you got it, ask yourself why and try to repeat the action. If you failed, ask yourself why and try to learn from the experience.” (Dale Carnegie)

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” (Dr. Spock)

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12 Nov 2012

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“Laughter”

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” (Charlie Chaplin)

“If you know you’re going to look back on today and laugh, you might as well start laughing now.” (Unknown Author)

“Laughing at ourselves is possible when we are able to see humanity as it is – a little lower than the angels and at times only slightly higher than the apes.” (Tom Mullen)

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge – that myth is more potent than history. I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts – that hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” (Robert Fulghum)

“I’ve always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, ‘Ain’t that the truth.’” (Quincy Jones)

Posted in Attitude, Humor, Inspiration, Life

12 Nov 2012

“Make a Promise or Set a Goal?”

“Here are two ways to put ourselves in control of our lives immediately. We can make a promise – and keep it. Or we can set a goal – and work to achieve it. As we make and keep commitments, even small commitments, we begin to establish an inner integrity that gives us the awareness of self-control and the courage and strength to accept more of the responsibility for our own lives. By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods.” (Stephen R. Covey, Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People)

“Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those fought, fell and rose again.” (Unknown)

“Weakness fixing might prevent failure, but strength building leads to excellence. Focus on strength, and manage around weaknesses.” (Marcus Buckingham), coauthor of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strength)

“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heart-breaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.” (B. C. Forbes)

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12 Nov 2012

“Courage Doesn’t Always Roar”

“We’re all afraid of something. The one fear we must all guard against is the fear of ourselves. Don’t let the sensation of fear convince you that you’re too weak to have courage. Fear is the opportunity for courage, not proof of cowardice. No one is born a coward. We were meant to love. And we were meant to have the courage for it.” (John McCain, U. S. Senator)

“The biggest mistake is not taking action. We fear mistakes and failure more than just about anything. We fear mistakes to the point where we don’t even begin to make the changes we know we need to make, or give up when we meet resistance long before the goal has been achieved. And yet, if you’ll allow me to stretch a quote from Buddha just a bit, there are only two mistakes we should fear: not starting and not finishing. Failure and mistakes are not the problem, of course, it is the fear of them which may keep us from starting a difficult journey or force us to give up even after we mustered up enough courage to at least start.” (Garr Reynolds)

“Do not believe in excuses. Believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life’s problems.” (James Cash Penney)

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”. (Mary Anne Radmacher)

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11 Nov 2012

“Delicious Ambiguity”

“Tell me what company you keep, and I’ll tell you what you are.” (Miguel de Cervantes)

“If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don’t tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate. Even if we hear something and we don’t understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions. We make all sorts of assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions.” (Miguel Ruiz,The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom)

“I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man’s self-respect is a sin.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

“I always wanted a happy ending … Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” (Gilda Radner)