Catalyst Quotes

“What Can I Do Today to Make a Difference? / Visualize the Impossible”

“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)

____________________

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”     (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

____________________

“If you want to interact effectively with me, to influence me – your spouse, your child, your neighbor, your boss, your worker, your friend – you first need to understand me.  And you can’t do that with technique alone.  If I sense you’re using some technique, I sense duplicity, manipulation.  I wonder why you’re using it, what your motives are.  And I don’t feel safe enough to open myself up to you.” (Stephen R. Covey, Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People)

____________________

“You cannot build a team or organization that believes in different things from you. You can’t make them into something you’re not.  Leadership isn’t just a job; it is a commitment to other people’s excellence.

As an illustration, think of the movie, ‘Remember the Titans.’  One of the highlights of that film was the heated exchange between the white captain and one of the black players, who had experienced firsthand the captain’s lack of acceptance and support.  When the captain confronted the player for deliberately missing a play, the player retorted, ‘attitude reflects leadership, captain.’

We must remember that, unfortunately, too many managers and supervisors who are responsible for developing others haven’t learned the basics of good leadership and development, even for themselves.  They are trying to build organizations or provide services based on a different value system.  It doesn’t work.  Employees quickly observe the disconnect between words and deeds.”    (Don Ritz)

____________________

“The final meditation on followership from Ira Chaleff’s book, “The Courageous Follower” is:   ‘Courage always exists in the present.   What can I do today?’

I am convinced that if more people would assume responsibility for asking themselves each and every day, “what can I do today to make a difference?” that our organizations would experience radical transformation.

Most of your peers are playing it safe.  They don’t want to stand up, stand out, and risk rejection or challenge.  They are content with doing just enough to get by, and by their own behavior our leaders encourage the perpetuation of this pattern.

We can do better, and because we can, we should.  Without courage, this is all just rhetoric.  Courage has to start today, and it has to start with you.

You have a lot more power than you think.  People are watching.”    (Brett L. Simmons)

____________________

“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)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“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)

________ 

“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)

________ 

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

________ 

“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)

________ 

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

________ 

“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)

________ 

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“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)

________ 

“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)

________ 

“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)

________ 

“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)

________ 

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

________ 

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“What Starts Here Changes the World”

Today’s Catalyst Quotes features part of the Commencement Speech given at The University of Texas in Austin (my alma mater) by Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.  This is only an excerpt of the speech; however this small part does not convey the full meaning of his speech. He imparts ten lessons that he learned from basic SEAL training with hopes that they would be of value to the graduating class as they move forward in life.  I encourage everyone to click on the link or cut and paste and watch the complete speech.   

  ________

“The University’s slogan is, ‘What starts here changes the world.’

I have to admit—I kinda like it.  ‘What starts here changes the world.’

Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT.

That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com says that the average American will meet 10,000 people in their life time.  That’s a lot of folks.

But, if every one of you changed the lives of just ten people—and each one of those folks changed the lives of another ten people — just ten — then in five generations — 125 years — the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of 800 million people.

800 million people — think of it — over twice the population of the United States.  Go one more generation and you can change the entire population of the world—8 billion people.

If you think it’s hard to change the lives of ten people — change their lives forever — you’re wrong.  I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad and the ten soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush.

In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-commissioned officer from the Female Engagement Team senses something isn’t right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500 pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers.

But, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decisions of one person, but their children yet unborn — were also saved.  And their children’s children—were saved.

Generations were saved by one decision—by one person.

But changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it.

So, what starts here can indeed change the world, but the question is … what will the world look like after you change it?

(…)

To the graduating class of 2014, you are moments away from graduating. Moments away from beginning your journey through life.   Moments away starting to change the world — for the better.

It will not be easy.

But, YOU are the class of 2014 — the class that can affect the lives of 800 million people in the next century.

Start each day with a task completed.

Find someone to help you through life.

Respect everyone.

Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often, but if take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up — if you do these things, then next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today and — what started here will indeed have changed the world — for the better.”   (Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, at the University-wide Commencement at The University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014)

Link to Commencement Address:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~