Things that are done, it is needless to speak about.
Things that are past, it is needless to blame. — Confucius, 551–479 BC
Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances: it was somebody’s name, or he happened to be there at the right time, or it was so then, and another day it would have been otherwise. Strong men believe in cause and effect. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. — David Brinkley
We can choose to throw stones. To stumble on them. To climb over them or to build with them. — William Arthur Ward
Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there. — Will Rogers (1879–1935)
A strong wing may uproot a tree, but it can never uproot a blade of grass that bows humbly before it. — Ching Ning Chu
The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. — Edward John Phelps, diplomat, 1822 -1900
Change does not cause pain; resistance to change is what causes pain. — Anonymous
We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it opresses. — Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist, 1875–1961
To endure all things with a steady and a peaceful mind, not only brings with it many blessings to the soul, but also enables us, in the midst of our difficulties, to have a clear judgement about them, and to support the fitting remedy for them. — St. John of the Cross, mystic, 1542–1591
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” ~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 6
No one wants a hound dog for a friend. Negative thinking and depressed attitudes are like infectious diseases, and most people avoid hound dogs like the plague. — Roger Reece
“We must be prepared, at any moment, to sacrifice who we are for who we are capable of becoming.” — Charles Dubois
Change does not cause pain; resistance to change is what causes pain. — Anonymous
We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses. — Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist, 1875–1961
I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him. — Booker T. Washington, African American Educator
We are all in the gutter. But some of us are looking at the stars.” — Oscar Wilde
“You’re an extraordinary woman; how do you expect to lead an ordinary life?” -Louisa May Alcott
Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous. — Confucius, 6 Century BC
Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appaling waste of energy; you can’t build on it: it is only good for wallowing in. — Katherine Mansfield, writer, 1888–1923
Lay nothing much to heart; desire nothing too eagerly;
rejoice not excessively; not grieve too much for disasters;
be not bent violently on any design; and above all let no wordly cares make you forget the concerns of your soul. — Thomas Wilson, bishop, 1663–1755
The foundation of content must spring up in a man’s own mind; and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happinessby changing everything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless effort, and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove. — Samuel Johnson, writer, 1709–1784
Do not loose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you. — St. Francis de Sales, bishop, 1567–1622
Blessed are the cross-eyed for they will see God twice.” -unknown
“Humor comes from self-confidence. There’s an aggressive element to wit.” -Rita Mae Brown
We can definitely do much more things if we do not regard them as impossible. — Chietien Malesherds
When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank.” -Cicero
“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” -Oscar Wilde
“I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.” -John Keats
To do an evil action is base; to do a good action, without incurring danger; is common enough. But it is part of a good man to do great and noble deeds though he risks everything. — Plutarch
The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.” -Lloyd Jones
“Don’t talk about what you have done or what you are going to do — do it and let it speak for itself.” -Martin Vanbee
“Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can.” -Thomas Carlyle
You see things and say, ‘Why?’, but I dream things and say, ‘Why not?’” -George Bernard Shaw
It is not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left. -Hubert Humphrey
A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. — Walter Gagehot
No explanation ever explains the necessity of making one. — Elbert Hubbard
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been” — George Elliot
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” -Booker T. Washington
To think too long about doing a thing often becomes is undoing. — Eva Young
I want to be all that I am capable of becoming . . .” -Katherine Mansfield
“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.” — Dolly Parton
Lord, when I am wrong, make me willing to change; when I am right, make me easy to live with.
So strengthen me that the power if my example will far exceed the authority of my rank. — Pauline H. Peters
A pessimistic is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. -Harry Truman
What we focus on determines what we miss — and what we become.” -unknown
We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” -Oprah Winfrey
I demand more of myself than anyone else could ever expect.” -Julius Irving
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” -Epictetus
When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us.” -Alexander Graham Bell
“Those who wish to sing always find a song.” -Swedish Proverb
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
It is innocence that is full and experience that is empty. It is innocence that wins and experience that loses.” -Charles Peguy
Duty makes us do things well. Love makes us do thing beautifully. — Anon
“Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.” -Aldous Huxley
“If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can’t buy.” -unknown
“I have this theory — that if we’re told we’re bad, then that’s the only ideal we’ll ever have.” -Jewel
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses. -Alphonse Karr
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” -Sir Winston Churchill
Twixt the optimist and pessimist
The difference is droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut
But the pessimist sees the hole. — McLandburgh Wilson, Optimist and Pessimist
Pessimists complain about the noise when opportunity knocks. — Anon
A person who won’t read has no advantage over the person who can’t read ~ Mark Twain
“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” -Gandhi
Lay nothing much to heart; desire nothing too eagerly; rejoice not excessively; not grieve too much for disasters;
be not bent violently on any design; and above all let no wordly cares make you forget the concerns of your soul. — Thomas Wilson, bishop, 1663–1755
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In business, be competent.
In action, be timing.
No fights: No blame. ~ Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching
Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. — Anonymous
Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were better.
Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills.
Don’t wish for less challenge; wish for more wisdom. — Jim Rohn
“Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out.” — Jim Rohn
“The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably thought and act.” — Orison Swett Marden {1850–1924 Founder of Success Magazine}
A low self-esteem parent can no more instil high self-esteem in a child than it can teach a foreign language it does not speak. — Steve Hein
The mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.- James Allen, “As A Man thinketh”
A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts. — James Allen, “As A Man thinketh”
“Is it you or is it me? How we turn our emotions inside out and blame each other” by Scott Wetzler, Ph.D with Diane Cole
The only good is knowledge and the only evil ignorance. — Socrates
“The most self-destructive thought that any person can have is thinking that
s/he is not in total control of his or her life. That’s when, ‘Why me?’ becomes a theme song.” — Roger Dawson
“…look at that word blame. It’s just a coincidence that the last two
letters spell the word me. But that coincidence is worth thinking about. Other people or
unfortunate circumstances may have caused you to feel pain, but only you control whether
you allow that pain to go on. If you want those feelings to go away, you have to say: ‘It’s up to me.’” — Arthur Freeman
The reason motivation fades is that the world is full of demotivators. The naysaying of friends, the problems that come up, the constant distractions, the temptations to go off track, etc. But the worst demotivators of all are what we do in our own heads. — Zig Ziglar
The cost of continuing mistakes is borne by others, while the cost of admitting mistakes is borne by yourself. — Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate economist, The Theory of Escalating Commitment
Most of us are anxious to improve our circumstances, but are unwilling to improve ourselves — and we therefore remained bound. — James Allen
If you tell a lie, long enough, loud enough, and often enough, the people will believe it. — Adolf Hitler
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~ Character ~
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You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. — James A. Froude
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -Oliver Wendell Holmes
Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength. — Eric Hoffer