Catalyst Quotes

THINK and Make It Happen!

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

“It’s Hopeless, We’re Surrounded” Are You Sure?

“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us … they can’t get away this time.”
(Chesty Puller (USMC, when surrounded by 8 enemy divisions during the Korean War.)

“We’re all in this together if we’re in it at all.”     (Johnny Cash)

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.”    (Jack Welch)

Do you think you would react in the same way that Chesty Puller did when surrounded by the enemy?   Instead of looking at it in a gloomy way and giving up, the message he gave his troops was that ‘we have them just where we want them.’  That put his troops in a different mind-set and also for them not to give up.   To paraphrase Johnny Cash, ‘if we are going to go for it, all of us have to be in it together and work as a team.’ 

As you look at your life at work or at home, do you give up easily when faced with insurmountable odds?   Do you or your team say, “I (we) can’t beat this.”  “I (we) can’t win.”   It’s no use in trying.”   Next time that happens, think about what Chesty told his troops, what Johnny Cash said, and most importantly, take note of what Jack Welch said – “Control your own destiny or someone else will.” 

           You can do it!   Don’t let someone else control your future.    ~  GMUniverse

“Shake it Off, Stomp it Down, and Step Up”

A story is told of a farmer whose mule fell into an abandoned well.   After numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the mule out of the well, the farmer decided it was a hopeless situation.   With sadness, the farmer figured that the only humane thing to do would be to haul truckloads of dirt to bury the old mule, while filling in the dangerous well, at the same time.

He backed up the truck, and began to shovel in the dirt.   The old mule, however, went berserk when the first load of dirt hit its back.   That old mule started shaking off the dirt, stomping it down and stepping up a bit.  Another shovel full of dirt caused the mule to shake off the dirt and firmly stomp it down.   Truckload after truckload, the old mule repeated the same process.   It shook off the dirt, stomped it down and stepped up a bit.  Little by little, that mule was lifting itself out of the hole.

No matter how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought off panic when it realized that no matter how much was dumped on its back all it had to do was shake it off, stomp it down and step up.   And, guess what?  It wasn’t too long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, triumphantly stepped out of the well.

Have you ever noticed that there are different ways people have of dealing with the problems that life dumps on them?   If we respond to our problems positively, and refuse to panic, or fall further into bitterness and despair, the adversities that come along to bury us usually contain within them the potential to benefit and bless us!  Rather than burying us, the adversities and criticisms can make us better, lifting us up, bit by bit.     (Unknown)

Don’t Give Up

“How we handle our tough times stays with us for a long time.  … don’t give up.   Don’t make the mistake of Florence Chadwick.   In 1952 she attempted to swim the chilly ocean waters between Catalina Island and the California shore.  She swam through foggy weather and choppy seas for fifteen hours.   Her muscles began to cramp, and her resolve weakened.   She begged to be taken out of the water, but her mother, riding in a boat alongside, urged her not to give up.  She kept trying but grew exhausted and stopped swimming.   Aids lifted her out of the water and into the boat.   They paddled a few more minutes, the mist broke, and she discovered that the shore was less than a half mile away.   ‘All I could see was the fog,’ she explained at a news conference.   ‘I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”  Take a long look at the shore that awaits you.   Don’t be fooled by the fog of the slump.  The finish may be only strokes away.”     (Facing Your Giants, Max Lucado)

“A prominent salesman summed up his success in three simple words – and then some.   ‘I discovered at an early age,’ he said, ‘that most of the differences between average and top people could be explained in three words.  The top people did what was expected of them – and then some.  They were thoughtful of others; they were considerate and kind – and then some.   They met their obligations and responsibilities fairly and squarely – and then some.'”     (Author Unknown)

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