Daily Mood Quotes - January 30, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 249 – January 30, 2012

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

~Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Courage in not standing and yelling in a crowd, it's standing up for what is right long after the crowd is gone.

What will you stand up for today?

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Thank you for reading.

Daily Mood Quotes - January 27, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 248 – January 27, 2012

Hope – Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

~Barack Obama, speech, 2004 DNC Convention

I still believe in a place called Hope, a place called America.

~Bill Clinton, speech at Democratic National Convention, August 29, 1996

A man begins to die when he ceases to expect anything from tomorrow.

~Abraham Miller, Unmoral Maxims

Without the hope for better days ahead, where will the future lead us?

How will you embrace “Hope” today?

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Thank you for reading, have a hopeful day.

Daily Mood Quotes - January 26, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 247 – January 26, 2012

You can never change the past nor control the future, but you can change the mood of the day by touching someone's heart with your smile.

~Unknown author

Help make a better day for someone through a smile, a helping hand or a kind word. 

Be the difference.

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Daily Mood Quotes - January 25, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 246 – January 25, 2012

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain...To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.

~Kevyn Aucoin

Erma Bombeck wrote a book titled, “If life is a bowl of cherries: What am I doing in the pits.” I say, negativity doesn't choose us, we choose it. In an earlier blog I mentioned that I raised my girls to believe that, “PMS is not an excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior is bad behavior, it's a choice.” Being negative, choosing to be angry, choosing to let the negativity of others bring you down, make you quit; that's a choice. You must ask yourself the question, who is in control of your life...you or those around you?

Don't let negativity affect your vision. A lot of people have said harsh things, but I don't let it affect me. If anything it gives me more enthusiasm and pushes me to do better in my career, so I can prove them wrong.

~Nicole Polizzi

I just don't deal with the negativity. I can't get involved in that side of it. I don't understand it, and you can't let it take away from your life and what you are trying to do.

~Rick Pitino

How will you "push past" the negativtiy of others today?

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Thank you for reading and have a positive day.

Daily Mood Quotes - January 24, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 245 – January 24, 2012

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.

~Bruce Burton

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

~Reinhold Niebuhr

And never forget what Dean Acheson said, “Always remember that the future comes one day at a time."

How will you approach today?

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Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quotes - January 23, 2012

Daily Mood Quote
Day 244 – January 23, 2012

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is far worse than the suffering itself, and no heart has ever suffered when it's gone in search of its dream.”
~Paulo Coelho from The Alchemist

It's no secret that the past several months have been very difficult for me and my family, 2011 ended with a goodbye and 2012 has begun with a very rough start. The one thing I keep in mind is my husband's saying, “things that start out rough end up great” lately that's been more of a wish than a proven axiom, I have to believe, I just have to believe.

I Ching (hexagram 3) says (I paraphrase), “Difficulty at the beginning works supreme success...” One interpretation is “Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form. Everything is in motion: therefore if one perseveres, there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger.” Like a plant springing from the soil, and so this year may yet yield great success, but not if I give up and quit (I've got to tell you, I thought about it), so this leads me to my next quote. John F. Kennedy said in his September 1962 Rice Stadium Moon Speech, “If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred.” Determination is the key, it is the “don't stop,” plow ahead, never stop innovating, never stop adapting, never stop period, mind set that helps us to achieve, individually, together and as a country.

Now, it is my time to achieve, I enjoy writing the Daily Mood Quote, it is who I am. But I must pare back some, because it is time for my Master's capstone project and this project is massive in its size and scope. It requires a lot of hours, interviews, research, analysis and writing to prepare for the presentation to experts in my field of study that will determine my grade and acceptance into the PhD program. Yes, I have decided (that's what I have been doing over the past several days, making a decision) to pursue a PhD in the study of leadership and its principles. The study of leaders and leadership has become a passion of mine, it's a mindset of “can do” and positive perseverance. That said, here's how I plan to manage my time for Daily Mood Quotes; I will post a quote every morning to the daily mood quotes blog, and occasionally some commentary, as time permits, along with a movie reference, if it applies. The commentary and movie quotes won't be everyday, but I'll put them in when I can. It takes a lot of time to make sure they're right. I have not made it a secret how important my education is to me. I believe, education is the cornerstone of success, successful communications and successful relationships. I love learning and my end goal is to someday write books on leadership and teach leadership principles. That goal requires me to buckle down to work and focus right now, not tomorrow.

I want to thank everyone in the 100 plus countries who read daily mood quotes and I hope you will continue to read, while I pursue an even higher education. I'll keep you posted. Have a great day.

Are you achieving your dreams? If not now, then when?

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Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quotes - January 18, 2012

Daily Mood Quote

Day 243 – January 18, 2012

But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.

~Colin Powell

Albert Einstein said, “In a healthy nation there is a kind of dramatic balance between the will of the people and the government, which prevents its degeneration into tyranny.” What do we consider to be a healthy nation today? Last night on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, I listened to a story about a Philadelphia area school district that did not have enough money to make it to the end of the school year. The State Department of Education has promised enough money to make payroll for a month. Then they are right back in the same situation. My husband has a favorite saying for this kind of behavior that is becoming an epidemic, “it's a band-aid on a bullet wound!” and if they are willing to “bail” on one school district, how many others will follow? Also, this position sets precedence and exposes the fundamental problem with the “No Child Left Behind Act.” It takes the most money from the districts that need it most. So, instead of leaving one child behind, thousands are being left behind; about 6000 in this particular case... Brilliant!

So, "now to the crux of the biscuit." Why are school districts underfunded? It's really simple, we have abandoned the fundamental premise that our children come first, always. Partisan politics, “what's in it for me” legislation, the fundamental neglect of the very basics of society, have left us crumbling roads, falling bridges and non-competitive and dilapidated schools; who may have tremendous athletic programs, but no money for arts, math and sciences. What's wrong with this picture? There is no easy answer and I'll admit that: It's all wrapped up in a big messy ball of entitlements, tax loop holes, abatements, and a struggling economy. There is not one clear string you can hold onto that isn't connected to something else. Now, it is kind of like a game of pick-up sticks, you can't move one without affecting another. A house doesn’t crumble in a day, it comes apart with time and neglect and that is what we have done to our children's future. While the past two generations enjoyed credit fueled vacations at Disney World and gorged on cheap imported goods, we have let our house, the place where our children spend there time attempting to learn and grow, fall apart board by board member. We only have ourselves to blame for this. Politicians may rattle on about how our government's budget overages will be paid for by our children, while continuing to approve wasteful self-serving projects, congressional junkets and pork barrels; none of which have anything to do with educating our future generations. Then we let them give themselves raises, again and again and again! To quote the cartoon Pogo “I have seen the enemy and he is us.” A generation that has had the advantage of higher education, forged on the sweat of a determined post-depression generation, has chosen to not pass the torch of American ingenuity and community centered drive to our children; but to leave that flame to flicker and die in a heap of Happy Meal boxes and video games.

I realize that it's hard to put down our own self interests of low taxes and easy patches, that don't solve the problems just cover them up; to turn a blind eye to the future of our nation and hope that some new technology will suddenly “pop up” and fix everything. It won't; especially if we aren't putting in a real effort to “teach our children well” (Thanks Crosby Stills, Nash and Young). Its hard to say; yes I'll put down the remote and think before I vote. It's hard to spend time researching our representative's activities, wade through the rhetoric and attack ads, and let them know we disapprove. It's hard to stand up and say “No more!” (thanks Jim Belushi from The Principal). But, as the late John F. Kennedy, in a voice that powered America into space and helped create all the great innovations we now accept as normal, once said. “...not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...” Have we forgotten so soon? None of our best future happens without educating our young people, for they will become what we show them today. Tune in tomorrow for “the rest of the story” (a special thanks and “tip of the hat” to the late Paul Harvey).

How will you view “tomorrow” today?

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Thank you for reading