Catalyst Quotes

“Break Through a Rut; Today is Your Day”

“The two best ways to break through a rut and to make an impact:

• Find things that others have accepted as the status quo and make them significantly, noticeably and remarkably better.
• Find things that you are attached to that are slowing you down, realize that they are broken beyond repair and eliminate them. Toss them away and refuse to use them any longer.

When a habit has too much inertia to be fixed, when it’s “unbetterable,” you’re better off without it.  Eliminating it will create a void, fertile territory for something much better to arrive.”      (Seth Godin)

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”      (Eleanor Roosevelt)

“In dwelling, live close to the ground.

In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.

In governing, don’t try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy.

In family, be completely present.”      (Tao Te Ching)

 “Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.     So …  get on your way.”      (Dr. Seuss)

“You’ve Failed Many Times; Recipe for Greatness”

“Keep these concepts in mind:  You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember.  You fell down the first time you tried to walk.  You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim.  …. Don’t worry about failure.  My suggestion to each of you:  Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.”       (Sherman Finesilver, Chief Judge, US District Court)

“I’ve never met a person, I don’t care what his condition, in whom I could not see possibilities.  I don’t care how much a man may consider himself a failure, I believe in him, for he can change the thing that is wrong in his life any time he is ready and prepared to do it.  Whenever he develops the desire, he can take away from his life the thing that is defeating it.  The capacity for reformation and change lies within.”           (Preston Bradley)

“The Challenge –

Let others lead small lives, but not you.

Let others argue over small things, but not you.

Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.

Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.”       (Jim Rohn)

“Recipe for Greatness –

To bear up under loss, to fight the bitterness of defeat and the weakness of grief, to be victor over anger, to smile when tears are close, to resist evil men and base instincts, to hate hate and to love love, to go on when it would seem good to die, to seek ever after the glory and the dream, to look up with unquenchable faith in something evermore about to be, that is what any man can do, and so be great.”       (Zane Grey)

“Life – Rocks, Pebbles, Sand & 2 Beers”

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. 

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2″ in diameter.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.  So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He then asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with a unanimous — yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar — effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, and your children–things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.  The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.  The sand is everything else.  The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.  The same goes for your life.  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups.  Take your partner out dancing.  There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

“Take care of the rocks first — the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.  The professor smiled.

“I’m glad you asked.  It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”        (Author Unknown)

“What You Do Speaks So Loud”

“The Pope is coming.

Whether you run a hotel or a retail store or a parts supply store (or whatever business you run), things change when you find out the Pope is coming for a visit.

The fresh flowers get delivered, the beds are made a little tighter and your best staff is waiting out front.  Everything is a little bit cleaner and shinier.  Maybe, a few staff brings in their kids to sing a song or two.

The thing is, everyone enjoys this extra work.  It’s fun to stretch a bit.  It doesn’t feel quite as much like work when you’re doing something special.

You probably guessed the punch line: The Pope isn’t coming to your place of business this trip.  He won’t be reading your blog or calling your customer service line either.  Sorry for the confusion.  Go ahead and rent out that room or give away that table you were saving.

But since it’s so much fun, why not do it for someone who isn’t the Pope?  Like your next customer?    (Seth Godin)

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

“I Sent An Angel to Watch Over You”

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”     (The Alchemist, Paolo Coelho)

“My secret is that I need God — that I am sick and can no longer make it alone.  I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love.”    (Douglas Coupland)

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”     (Henry David Thoreau)

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.

If you are anxious you are living in the future.

If you are at peace you are living in the present.”       (Lao Tzu)

“Tonight I sent an angel to watch over you, but it came back.  When I asked why, it told me that angels don’t watch over other angels.”        (Unknown)

“Do For Ourselves or Do For Others?”

“Each person comes into this world with a specific destiny — he has something to fulfill, some message has to be delivered, some work has to be completed.  You are not here accidentally — you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you.  The whole intends to do something through you.”       (Osho)

“You must constantly ask yourself these questions:

Who am I around?

What are they doing to me?

What have they got me reading?

What have they got me saying?

Where do they have me going?

What do they have me thinking?

And most important, what do they have me becoming?

Then ask yourself the big question:  Is that okay?”       (Jim Rohn)

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”     (John Powell)

“Don’t wait until everything is just right.  It will never be perfect.  There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions.  So what.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”       (Mark Victor Hansen)

“What we do for ourselves dies with us.  What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”       (Albert Pine) 

“Some of Us Have Great Runways”

“Instead of making others right or wrong, or bottling up right and wrong in ourselves, there’s a middle way, a very powerful middle way. . . . Could we have no agenda when we walk into a room with another person, not know what to say, not make that person wrong or right?  Could we see, hear, feel other people as they really are?  It is powerful to practice this way . . . . true communication can happen only in that open space.”        (Pema Chodron)

“Mystically speaking, there’s no difference between you and another person.  A weird concept, perhaps, but nevertheless valid.  This explains why you can’t hurt another person without hurting yourself.  You share the same Source energy with everyone, and consequently, you must begin to think and act in a way that reflects your awareness of this principle.”     (The Power of Intention, Dr. Wayne Dyer)

“Knock,

And He’ll open the door.

Vanish,

And He’ll make you shine like the sun.

Fall,

And He’ll raise you to the heavens.

Become nothing,

And He’ll turn you into everything.”       (Rumi)

“Spirituality is all about depth, the depth beneath the surface, the meaning and significance that don’t always meet the eye.  . . . The surface realities of our jobs are a little like the foam on a glass of beer.  It’s an unsatisfied person who just sucks off the foam and never drinks deeply of the beer itself.  If we could all enjoy a deeper view of what life is all about and connected to that, a deeper view of the work we do; if we could free ourselves of those illusions that dance across the surface of our daily endeavors; and if, as a consequence, we could experience the positive energy that comes from living a robustly spiritual approach to life day to day, we would find a much greater sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in our work.  And, connected with that, I am convinced that as a result we would do better work ….”        (If Aristotle Ran General Motors, Tom Morris)

“Some of us have great runways already built for us.  If you have one, TAKE OFF!  But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.“       (Amelia Earhart)

“This Is To Be My Symphony”

“Life is without meaning.

You bring the meaning to it.

The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be.

Being alive is the meaning.”       (Joseph Campbell)

“Live with compassion. Work with compassion. Die with compassion. Meditate with compassion. Enjoy with compassion. When problems come, experience them with compassion.”         (Lama Zopa Rinpoche)

“Commitment is a line you must cross … it is the difference between dreaming and doing.”  “Pride is a personal commitment; it is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity.”   (Anonymous)

“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden, and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.”       (William Henry Channing)

“Imagine Where You Want to Be; Your Reservations Have Been Made”

“In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing. . . . But somehow we cannot start. . . . Every moment we expect the spell to break . . . but it does continue, pulse after pulse, and we float with it. . . .”       (William James)

“My great mistake, the fault for which I can’t forgive myself, is that one day I ceased my obstinate pursuit of my own individuality.”          (Oscar Wilde)

“It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”     (Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross)

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred . . . unforeseen incidents, meeting, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”     (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

“Do you really want to be happy?  You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got.”       (Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh)

“Close your eyes and imagine where you want to be.  Imagine the complete journey you need to take in order to get there.  Now go pack.  Your reservations have been made.”        (Michelle Ustaszeski)