“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”
We often wait for conditions to be perfect to begin certain things. So, those things end up being procrastinated indefinitely. However, this quote, by Alan Cohen, reminds us that simply beginning helps make the conditions perfect. When we begin and not wait, we may not have all the pieces perfectly in place. But once we begin, we may find that’s the exact moment the pieces do start to fall into place.
“Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.”
When an artist paints a picture, they are constantly working through mistakes. They might realize a color is slightly off, a brush stroke is too thick or in the wrong direction, or an object in the painting isn’t where they want it to be. So they adjust things–and it’s all in their power to do so. In the same way, we are the artists of our own lives. As this quote by Guy Finley reminds us, we have the power to let go and start over. And no person or thing can stop us from turning a new page, mixing new colors, and adjusting as we go. Meanwhile, we can…
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.”
Being intensely motivated to do something is such a great feeling. You feel like you can take on the world. You’re full of energy, inspiration, and spirit. But that feeling doesn’t always last. This quote, by Zig Ziglar, reminds us that being motivated is not something that automatically happens each day. Sometimes, our motivation wanes. Often it’s because we’ve begun to lose sight of why we started doing something. Therefore, we have to come up with ways to re-motivate, re-energize, and remind ourselves of our why. And maybe that needs to happen each day. So, when your motivation begins to fade, remember your north star–your reason. Remind yourself why you…
“The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.”
This quote is from the children’s book, The Secret of Saying Thanks, by Douglas Wood. In reading this book and quote, we are reminded that it’s impossible to be thankful and unhappy at the same time. That’s because gratitude has a way of bending our attitude toward happiness. And this is something we can begin to recognize at a young age. If it’s difficult to have gratitude, you can practice it by simply writing something you’re thankful for each day. Perhaps you challenge yourself to write something different each day. By the end of the year, you may surprise yourself with 365 different things to be thankful for and 365…
“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”
Sometimes we try at something and experience defeat. And that’s ok. According to this quote, by George Edward Woodberry, not trying at all is the worst kind of failure. Without actually doing something, we automatically fail. But that’s not all. We fail without ever knowing what could have been if we only tried. So, we will always wonder, what if. Additionally, we may not realize what could be our potential. Lastly, we may miss out on whatever life lessons a failure might teach us.
“If something is wrong, fix it now. But train yourself not to worry, worry fixes nothing.”
When something goes wrong, the natural reaction is to worry about it. But at the end of the day, that worry does absolutely nothing to make the problem go away. In fact, it can paralyze us and make it harder to do something about it. This quote, by Ernest Hemingway, reminds us that the problem is still going to be there unless we do something. So we have to make an intentional effort to act more and worry less. The more we train ourselves to do so, the more natural it becomes.
“The things you are passionate about are the real reason for your existence on this planet.”
Finding our purpose is something we all strive to do. But sometimes, that pursuit can take a whole lifetime. And quite often, when we feel like we’ve found our purpose, we aren’t entirely sure. This quote, by Hiral Nagda, makes the search quite simple. We have to examine the things we’re passionate about. Perhaps the things we are naturally drawn to is our purpose, and they were placed in our hearts for a reason.
“You never fail until you stop trying.”
This anonymous quote forces us to ask ourselves at which point we can legitimately say we failed at something. The simple answer? We can only say we’ve failed when we’ve stopped working at it. When we stop trying, we put and end–a full stop–to whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. Technically, that’s when it fails. So, if there’s something you really want that you feel has failed, ask yourself if you’ve stopped trying. If not, then technically it hasn’t failed. It’s still in motion.
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.”
Sometimes the best lessons we learn in life come from the worst experiences. Unfortunately, the experiences come first–the lessons later. This makes experience a hard teacher. However, it’s the best teacher. This quote, by Vernon Sanders Law (aka Vern Law), reminds us to try to find the lessons inside the experiences in which we are “tested.”
“Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.”
Tim Blixseth wears many different hats–real estate developer, songwriter, record producer, and he’s been involved in the timber industry. Clearly, he has many different ideas and aspirations. So his quote about executing great ideas is very reflective of how he’s carried his life. It’s not enough to have great ideas if you’re never going to execute them. At the same time, it’s not enough to be good at executing things without any ideas to execute. It’s important to have both. So if you find you’re a great executioner without ideas, challenge yourself to be more creative and think outside the box. And if you notice you have all the ideas…
