“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
This quote, by Martin Luther King Jr., was part of a speech given to students at Spelman college. Although the road ahead for civil rights was daunting, he encouraged them to not be discouraged. Instead of giving up, they should do what they can to keep moving forward. Many did. And collectively, they made a difference. This quote, and its origin, inspires us to run if we can’t fly, walk if we can’t run, and crawl if we can’t walk. Moreover, it reminds us that we don’t need any special super powers to face insurmountable life challenges. We may not be able to fly but we can do the little…
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”
Regardless of how happy we are, we all find ourselves sometimes fantasizing about a future that’s even better—one where we imagine ourselves being even happier. We place conditions on it, like “I’ll be happier when this happens, or that. Often that thing that needs to happen doesn’t come around today or tomorrow. Instead, it’s perpetually in the future. What’s worse, if and when things do fall into place, they may not have the effect we imagined. And so, we can easily find ourselves in an unending and futile pursuit of happiness. As this quote by Jim Rohn suggests, we must do the best we can to cultivate happiness in the…
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
In life, we all start from different starting points–Some with the opportunities and connections that make them prime for success. Meanwhile, others are less fortunate. This quote, by the late professional tennis player Arthur Ashe, is about making the most of what you have from wherever you start. In his lifetime, Ashe defied many odds. He made history as the first black male tennis player to ever win U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open singles titles. This quote encourages us to go the distance and not letting how long that journey might be stop us from doing the most we can from wherever we begin.
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, is known for being one of the most legendary basketball players of all time. However, he admits he’s missed more than 9,000 shots in his career, lost almost 300 games, and missed the game-winning shot 26 times. These are lesser-known and lesser celebrated numbers. What we do tend to remember and document are good statistics. For instance, with 5,987 points, he still holds the record for the most points ever scored in a playoff season. What’s so great about this quote is that it draws our attention away from the good outcomes. It presents us with the bad. And in doing so, it teaches…
Living Life Poetically: Remember the Storms
“Remember the Storms” is an homage to all the challenging times (or storms) we’ve been through. Specifically, the ones we’ve overcome; or perhaps, we’ve come a long way from where we were. We’ve healed substantially. Often, we want to plow forward and not look back at all. But this robs us of the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate how far we’ve come. We all have storms in our past. And unfortunately, they’ll continue to brew in our present and future. Remembering the ones we’ve already gone through can empower and inspire us to face current and future challenges with an ‘I’ve weathered the storm before, I can do it again…
You May Also Like
Five Hard-Hitting Lessons We’re Learning From Covid-19
“When thinking about life, remember this: no amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future.”
“There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”
Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.
The world-famous inventor, Thomas Edison, is known for a few quotes about failure and perseverance. This quote is perhaps not as well known as the others; however, it’s just as powerful. What’s so unique about it is that it says negative results are actually wanted. At first glance, this contradicts logic and common sense. But then the quote goes on with the fact that it’s through those negative results that he, Thomas Edison, was able to determine what works best having learned from what doesn’t. As an inventor, that knowledge would have been very valuable. Now, applying this to life, negative results occur all the time. It’s when things don’t…
Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.
You have a dream or life goal that’s constantly being pushed off for later. Perhaps it’s to go somewhere, see something, or do something. But you just don’t feel ready to take the plunge. This quote, by Les Brown, reminds us that what typically prevents us from chasing our dreams is fear. Basically, we’re not living our dreams because we’re living in fear of all the things that could potentially go wrong if we do go for it. And so, in the words of Langston Hughes, it’s a dream deferred. Fear prevents it from ever coming to pass. Therefore, instead of living our fears, which is a more natural thing…
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me.
A talent isn’t necessarily something flashy like being able to walk on a tightrope or do backflips blindfolded. Rather, talents can be as simple as having a musical ear or an eye for detail. Maybe you’re naturally good with numbers or you possess a high level of emotional intelligence. This quote, by Erma Bombeck, is quite sobering. It makes you ask questions like ‘What are my God-given talents?’ ‘What am I naturally good at?’ ‘Are my using my gifts or wasting them?’ Finally, you might ask the question inherent in this quote, which is ‘Would I be able to say I used everything I was given?’ This quote and the…
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
This seems counterintuitive. It’s more natural to think that if an airplane takes off in the same direction as the wind, the wind will make it gain more speed and take off quicker. It’s natural to think that moving against the wind would create more resistance. Therefore, it would be harder for a plane to get airborne. However, it turns out that going against the wind allows a plane to lift off a lot quicker than it would with the wind. This quote, by Henry Ford, applies this unconventional wisdom to life. It reminds us that when we find ourselves going against the wind experiencing the struggles and challenges life…
Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
This quote by Helen Keller (n. 1880) is very indicative of the kind of life she lived. Before the age of two, she became both blind and deaf. That could have been enough for her to give up on all the hopes and aspirations she had for her life. It may have been tempting or a lot easier to just sit back and let her life unfold before her. But that wasn’t the case. She went on to not only learn to communicate through a unique form of sign language but also author several books and graduate from Harvard University, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelors’s degree.…
You May Also Like
“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.”
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
“Life is like a camera. Focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. And if things don’t work out, just take another shot.”
