Deaily Mood Quotes - February 2, 2012

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 250 – February 2, 2012

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.”

~Albert Einstein

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

~St. Francis of Assisi

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”

~Mark Twain

“The old begin to complain of the conduct of the young when they themselves are no longer able to set a bad example.”

~Francois de la Rochefoucauld

“If you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson, hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example.”

~George Bernard Shaw

The message is, what you choose to put out there, will most likely be returned to you; even though you may not recognize it at the time. As Hogarth Hughes (played by Eli Marienthal) in the movie The Iron Giant said to the Iron Giant (played by Vin Diesel), “ You are who you choose to be.” You get what you choose to give. Our examples are being watched everyday, everywhere, by everyone we interact with.

A mom's question: “So, how would you like it, if someone acted that way toward you?” Sooner or later they will.

What examples are you setting today? Are they worth being returned to you?

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Daily Mood Quotes - January 14, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 240 – January 14, 2012

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

~Gail Devers

Seven months ago, I applied for a job as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. I saw the advertisement on-line, and since I have decided to chase my dream of becoming a writer, I applied. After four months had past, I figured they gave it to someone with a name, or a relative. So I let it go. Yesterday, I got an e-mail saying I didn't make the cut. No big surprise, it's hard to break into any business, including the writing business unless your a name, or you have a relative in the business. I'm not being cynical, just being honest. I have seen and heard so many stories about how people got their jobs and let me tell you it isn't through education, experience or good luck. I wish the Pittsburgh Post Gazette luck with whomever they hire, because giving quality advice is a tough slot to fill. Especially when the truth is put on the back burner for ratings.

“Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.”

~Unknown Author

Master Chief use to tell me, “if you don't try, then how will you know.” Between you and me, I hated that statement because it meant I was going to try. Now I find myself saying that to my children and regularly to myself, when I get the notion to quit, or when I feel defeated by life. What's that old saying, “pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.” Back to the drawing board.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

~Winston Churchill

I have had successes, I have had failures and I can tell without a doubt, the courage to continue matters. A friend once said to me, “if you quit you die” maybe not literally, but eventually courage, determination, resolve, the strength to move forward and try again fade away. You find yourself asking the questions, “why,” or “what happened” and “is it too late?” Know this, as long as you draw breath, it is never to late to find the courage to continue. Success and failure are a part of everyday living and we have the power to control that. For me and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the failure would have been, me not trying. Success will come in its proper time and with continued effort. Onward, upward and ever forward...

“Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow – perhaps it all will.”

~Albert Einstein

Ever heard the saying, “too many irons in the fire?” I have heard that most of my life, it must be a common saying, because everywhere I have ever lived, Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Virginia; I've heard it, I wasn't real sure what it meant, until recently. It goes hand-in-hand with the saying, “never put all your eggs in one basket.” There is a balance to be attained. You have to put yourself out there, let the world know who you are and focus on what your heart says is possible. Don't be shy, apply for all those jobs, talk to all those people, let the world know you are here and you can do it. H.H. Swami Tejomayananda said, “Some are destined to succeed, some are determined to succeed.” Go for it!!!

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

In the movie The Secret of My Succe$$ with Michael J. Fox (Brantley Foster/Carlton Whitfield), a  college graduate who lined up a job in New York, only to be fired the same day he started due to a hostile takeover, suddenly found himself unemployed in a big, hostile, city. Not letting the setback defeat him, he took on New York's business world and ultimately succeeded, his way. It's a movie, but the message stands: Be determined, be resolved and define your destiny. Everyone has one.

How will you define your destiny today?

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Daily Mood Quote - October 13, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 163 – October 13, 2011

An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes.

~Cato

An angry woman can do the same. I know a woman who is so disappointed with her life, the only way she can communicate with people is through yelling and never allowing them to speak. Even on a phone call to someone else, she is in the background yelling and being a distraction to the two people talking on the phone. How does someone get so angry? Stay so angry?

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

~Mohandas Gandhi

It has always amazed me how a perpetually angry person jumps to conclusions and begins yelling and screaming before all of the information that is needed to make a good decision, or have a civil conversation is completely expressed. I seems to me, these folks don't want to hear anyone else's position or opinion on a subject, because they just might hear and have to face the truth. Or, at least something that may cause them to look at the situation with another eye.

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.

~Albert Einstein

I believe it is alright to get angry. It can be a natural reaction in some situations. However, to stay angry and let it fester and grow then acting out on that anger, or holding a grudge is a different thing. I have learned through conversations with many people of experience and wisdom, that holding on to anger is unhealthy. We are not designed to hate, or to carry anger for a lifetime. Image how dark the days must be, when our lives are filled with anger and every conversation, every action and every interaction is filled with anger...soooo sad. There is another quote by Alfred A. Montapert, “Every time you get angry, you poison your own system.” I've seen it, it is poisonous. To hold onto anger is to drink its venom daily. The system slowly rots away, from the inside out. Why do people do that to themselves?

Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

~Aristotle

But, it is worth it. The anger response is a natural thing and built into all of us by millions of years of fight or flight requirements, but control of that anger and the ability to put it away and move on, is what makes us truly human; truly special among the species of the earth. However, it is the choices we make when confronted by anger, that can build us up or tear our lives asunder. In the movie The Fisher King, with Jeff Bridges and Adam Bryant, Parry (played by Robin Williams) said, “It begins with the king as a boy, having to spend the night alone in the forest to prove his courage so he can become king. Now while he is spending the night alone he's visited by a sacred vision. Out of the fire appears the holy grail, symbol of God's divine grace. And a voice said to the boy, "You shall be keeper of the grail so that it may heal the hearts of men." But the boy was blinded by greater visions of a life filled with power and glory and beauty. And in this state of radical amazement he felt for a brief moment not like a boy, but invincible, like God, so he reached into the fire to take the grail, and the grail vanished, leaving him with his hand in the fire to be terribly wounded. Now as this boy grew older, his wound grew deeper. Until one day, life for him lost its reason. He had no faith in any man, not even himself. He couldn't love or feel loved. He was sick with experience. He began to die. One day a fool wandered into the castle and found the king alone. And being a fool, he was simple minded, he didn't see a king. He only saw a man alone and in pain. And he asked the king, "What ails you friend?" The king replied, "I'm thirsty. I need some water to cool my throat". So the fool took a cup from beside his bed, filled it with water and handed it to the king. As the king began to drink, he realized his wound was healed. He looked in his hands and there was the holy grail, that which he sought all of his life. And he turned to the fool and said with amazement, "How can you find that which my brightest and bravest could not?" And the fool replied, "I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty."

When I read this, it made me think, if people think about how they behave towards others?

How will you find the “correct understanding” today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 17, 2011

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 44 – June 17, 2011

“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are.”

~Bernice Johnson Reagon

Sometimes, I wish the challenges of life would slow down, so that I can catch up. It's been 8 years and 7 months since I found out just how bad my eyesight was. Ever since, I have been working diligently to accommodate and prove, to some degree, that losing your vision has nothing to do with how intelligent a person is. The brain and the eyes are mutually exclusive. Enough said about that.

Life can throw many curves, whether you are ready or not. It doesn't care if you can hit the ball or even how far the ball can fly if you connect. All it seems to care about is the next challenge it will send. Each pitch that life throws at us is an opportunity to learn, grow and be better prepared for the next one. The point is to keep swinging and learning, because eventually you will connect.

In the movie Rocky, Adrian (played by Talia Shire) speaking to her brother Paulie (played by Burt Young) about Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) chances against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) said, “Einstein flunked out of school, twice.” “Beethoven was deaf, Helen Keller was blind, I think Rocky's got a good chance!” Even the best of us have to face the curves and challenges of life. It is one thing to challenge yourself, but something quite different to rise above yourself to meet a challenge. Let's face it the biggest challenge each of us faces is within. It's the attitude you have when faced with a challenge, or life's curve balls. Back then I wanted to give up, because of my eyesight. But by chance, I met a blind attorney, who was at the top of his game. What an inspiration! Maybe it wasn't chance after all... While life may throw curves, it also usually provides a batting coach.

How will you overcome “challenges” today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 14, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 41 – June14, 2011

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~Dale Carnegie

A very long time ago, nearly 27 years now, a supervisor said to me, “The worst thing that could happen is they say no” and continued with “so what are you afraid of?”

Everyone has that moment in their life that stops them short, or begins the growth of confidence. This was my moment. I turned to him and ask the question, “What if they say no, then what?” I got a simple answer, “You find another way to get to yes.” “Life doesn't end because someone said no, it just means you have to work harder, find a different direction, change the way you do things.” “Your a smart girl, figure it out.” My first task was to figure out why and what I was afraid of. When you are twenty years old, without an education and many unanswered questions about life, every new experience has something to gain and something to lose. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” I did live through it and gained much confidence and courage. I lost only my self-doubt and fear of rejection lost it's hold on me. Thanks Master Chief.

In the movie, Back to the Future, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) says in fear and worry, “What if I take the tape in and they don't like it, what if they say I'm no good, what if they say "Get out of here kid. You've got no future." I just don't think I can handle that kind of rejection.” Words like that can sting but, they are just words, the worst thing they could say is no. I understand words can hurt, especially if those words are from someone you respect. However, if we let those words stop us, then we never give confidence or ourselves for that matter, a chance to grow. Confidence is gained by doing, no matter what you are trying to do in life, there will always be naysayers. There will certainly always be that someone who says; “You can't do that” or “what if you fail?” I say; So what if you fail... get up, dust yourself off and find a way to get to yes. The confidence you gain is another building block for life, that lets you see higher and farther. Everybody who has ever attained anything of value and substance has failed at one point or another. Just look at the lives of Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, or Michael Jordan. Confidence gained by trying is the catalyst that propels us forward, after those failures and what ultimately helps us achieve our own success.

What will you do to "build your confidence" today?

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Daily Mood Quotes - May 23, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 19 – May 23, 2011

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

~Albert Einstein

Growing up in a family that never promoted higher education and never tried anything new, doomed me to making mistakes. I personally have made many mistakes, but I have learned from each and every mistake I've ever made. Sometimes, I would walk away shaking my head saying, “Another lesson learned the hard way.” And sometimes, I failed to learn the lesson the first time. Uneducated, hardheaded and arrogant, I thought I knew it all. So, sometimes I made the same mistake twice.

The issue isn't making mistakes, it's “not learning from them.” It's failing to learn, grow and pass on that knowledge on to the next generation. So far, I have found that the biggest mistake one can make is not trying. It doesn't matter what your doing or what your aim is, if you don't try, it's a guaranteed failure. Fear, laziness, apathy, or ignorance are some of the reasons most of us don't try. Fear is the worst and it is the root of all misery (that's a blog for another day). Lets face it, as humans we are all afraid of something and there is such a thing as healthy fear, but we should never be afraid to try. Another great and relevant quote is by Alfred Lord Tennyson (twisted to fit context, not by me.) “Better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all.”

No one is provided a clear message of their destiny. Mostly, our destinies are fulfilled by growing up, trying, and yes, making mistakes along the way. That's the way it works. Together, trial and error have inched humanity forward for thousands of generations. In the movie, Maid in Manhattan, where Jennifer Lopez played a housekeeper in a posh hotel. She made a mistake, several actually. She took a chance, lost her job and then was subsequently told by Lionel, her manager (played by Bob Hoskins) “What we do, Miss Ventura, does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling.” In the end, it all worked out. She took a chance, moreover she rose above what was and “where she came from” to be the person she always aspired to be and found love in the process. Way to go!

So, don't worry about the mistake(s) that have been made. What will your “anything new” be today?

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