PositLive Music: “Keep Your Head Up”
“Keep Your Head Up” Written by: Andy Grammer Released: February 24, 2011 Andrew Grammer wrote this song at the beginning of his professional music career. It was written after a long day in the streets, trying to sell his album with little success. It was meant to be a pep talk to himself to not give up–to keep his head up. Ironically, the song he wrote in this low point in his career would end up launching his career. The song was a personal note to himself. However, the message applies to all of us. In those moments when we’re downtrodden, feeling hopeless, or struggling to make ends meet, let…
“If Opportunity doesn’t Knock, Build a Door.”
Sometimes opportunities present themselves right at your feet, and all you have to do is take a small step forward. Better yet, the opportunities come knocking at your door, and you only have to invite them in. This is ideal. However, it’s not always the case. This quote, by Milton Berle, is for the many times opportunities do not come knocking. Building a door means finding an alternate route or creating that opportunity. It may mean a leap of faith. Who knows where that new door you build might lead.
“You can either experience the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The choice is yours.”
The word discipline doesn’t usually make you think of something enjoyable. Having discipline isn’t usually fun. Instead, it can actually be painful, especially when it requires some kind of sacrifice. However, painful discipline is necessary to achieve certain objectives. And the more difficult the objective, the greater the discipline required. This quote (author unknown) reminds us that no matter how painful discipline is, it’s nothing compared to the feeling of regret from not having it. Yes, discipline is not fun. But a little bit of it can go a long way.
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
More often than not, the dreams we have don’t happen over night. They take time. Sometimes they take A LOT of time, or they take time we don’t have much of. So then, we give up on the dream and abandon all the small steps we can be taking toward it. The dream becomes an illusive fantasy that finds a permanent home in our hearts and minds but never in reality. This quote, by Earl Nightingale, reminds us to not allow the amount of time it’ll take to accomplish a dream discouraged us from working toward it. “The time will pass anyway,” so why not use it taking small baby…
“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.”
It’s common for us to have goals–aspirations for our lives. But the plans we execute to achieve these goals don’t always work out. Unfortunately, things not working out can be more common, or just as common, as when they do. But what is even more unfortunate is the temptation, when things do not work out, to not only give up on the plan but to also give up on the goal all together. This quote, by an unknown author, reminds us to keep our eyes on the prize. When you’re driving and you approach one dead end, you don’t just give up on reaching your destination and head back home.…
“It’s only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.”
There are so many stories of people going through “dark hours” only to discover a strength they never knew was there. These stories fill history books, novels, the Bible, and our own lives. Unfortunately, the fact that we would need to go through hard times (or dark hours) to know our true strength, as this quote by Doe Zantamata suggest, doesn’t sound very exciting. It’s a step most of us would rather skip; and understandably so. It would be nice to know our true strength without any unpleasantness or discomfort. But how can we realize it if we’re never faced with situations that require strength to begin with? “It’s only…
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“Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. No person will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. Your happiness will not come to you. It can only come from you.”
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.”
“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s what you’re made of. Not the circumstances.”
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.”
This quote, by Thich Nhat Hanh, is quite appropriate in times of difficulty. Sometimes the present is not so great. There’re so many ways it could be better if we could make it so. However, circumstances that seem beyond our control make changing things even more challenging. In those moments, we must do the best we can. Meanwhile, we must keep our hope alive. “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
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 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…
