Catalyst Quotes

“When Nothing Seems to Help / Break Free”

“Some defeats are only installments to victory.”   (Jacob Riis)

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“Are you scared?  Or are you not ready?  There is a difference.”   (Unique Quietness)

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“Some people live in cages with bars built from their own fears and doubts. Some people live in cages with bars built from other people’s fears and doubts; their parents, their friends, their brothers and sisters, their families. Some people live in cages with bars built from the choices others made for them, the circumstances other people imposed upon them.  And some people break free.”   (C. JoyBell C.)

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“Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date.  Take a deep breath and try again.”   (KT Witten)

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“I follow four dictates:  face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.”   (Sheng Yen)

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“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”   (Lao Tzu)

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“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” (Jacob Riis)

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“Don’t Wish Away Your Days”

“There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad, afraid, confused, without a road map.  The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back.”  (Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill)

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“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score; you’ll be excited and stimulated to know.  Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now.  Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to.  Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you.  It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement.  And it isn’t education.  It’s history.  It’s poetry.”   (J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)

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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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“Don’t limit yourself.  Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do.  You can go as far as your mind lets you.  What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”   (Mary Kay Ash)

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“The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.”  (Unknown Author)

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“You are what you believe yourself to be.”   (Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello)

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“Do What is Right / Be Real With Yourself / Many Others Follow”

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”   (Andy Warhol)

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“There are many persons ready to do what is right because in their hearts they know it is right.  But, they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the first move — and he, in turn, waits for you.  The minute a person whose word means a great deal dares to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.”   (Marian Anderson)

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“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.  In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”   (Eleanor Roosevelt)

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“You have to be real with yourself.  No one is doing that.  People are too concerned with making everything look nice and calm and pretty.”   (Donald Glover)

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“Tell me my dreams are unrealistic, and I’ll tell you yours aren’t big enough.”   (Unknown Author)

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“Did you know that for every smile you smile, more than you give will come your way?

That for every ‘thing’ you think of, it moves closer to you?

And, that for all the love you give, the younger you’ll look, the happier you’ll feel, and the bouncier you’ll walk?

Always go for more bouncy.   (Signed)   The Universe”   (Mike Dooley, ‘Notes from the Universe, May 29, 2014)

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Rest in Peace Maya Angelou – “Life Goes On / But Like Air, I’ll Rise”

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.  I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things:  a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.  I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.  I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life.’ I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.  I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.  I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. 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) 

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 “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!”   (Maya Angelou)

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“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”   (Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter)

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“If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.  Don’t complain.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.  In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.  Life’s a bitch.  You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious.  The desire to reach hearts is wise.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”    (Maya Angelou)

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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”   (Maya Angelou)

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“Be Yourself, Accept Yourself / Don’t Be Afraid to Be Human”

“Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.”   (Unknown Author)

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“Be your authentic self.  Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you’re supposed to be.”   (Phil McGraw)

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“To be beautiful means to be yourself.  You don’t need to be accepted by others.  You need to accept yourself.”   (Thich Nhat Hanh)

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“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad.  For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”   (John Lennon)

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“In a world pulsating with so much information, the only information that you need is the stuff that will lead you straight to your own soul.  Think of this:  Most of the information that is fed to you is motivated by the desire to earn money.  Forget what the magazines say, what the forums say, what all the experts say.  Your soul does not need to be spoon-fed with stuff it doesn’t need.  Your soul needs to be seen and found, and what leads you to that is the only information that you need.”   (C. JoyBell C.)

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“You know all those things you’ve always wanted to do? You should go do them.”  (livehappy.com)

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“The main thing in life is not to be afraid to be human.”   (Pablo Casals)

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“Getting Ready to Live” / “At Least I Tried”

“We are always getting ready to live but never living.”   (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

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“Despite what you may believe, you can disappoint people and still be good enough.  You can make mistakes and still be capable and talented.  You can let people down and still be worthwhile and deserving of love.  Everyone has disappointed someone they care about. Everyone messes up, lets people down, and makes mistakes.  Not because we’re inadequate or fundamentally inept, but because we’re imperfect and fundamentally human. Expecting anything different is setting yourself up for failure.”   (Daniell Koepke)

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“Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much, but you have to crawl into your wounds to discover where your fears are.  Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.”   (Tori Amos)

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“Refuse to fall down.  If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven like a hungry beggar, ask that it be filled and it will be filled.  You may be pushed down.  You may be kept from rising.  But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven – only you.  It is in the middle of misery that so much becomes clear.  The one who says nothing good came of this is not yet listening.”   (Clarissa Pinkola Estés)

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“Renew, release, let go.  Yesterday’s gone.  There’s nothing you can do to bring it back.  You can’t ‘should’ve’ done something.  You can only DO something.  Renew yourself.  Release that attachment.  Today is a new day!”   (Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience)

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“‘You get older and you learn there is one sentence, just four words long and if you can say it to yourself it offers more comfort than almost any other. It goes like this… Ready?’

‘Ready.’

‘At least I tried.’”    (Ann Brashares, Sister Everlasting)

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