During the past 25 years, prior to my starting a blog, I had a journal. In that journal I wrote about my life’s trials and tribulations. Along with my pal coffee, writing seemed to be the calming agent I needed and by memorializing it all, made my achievements even sweeter.
Weaved into this same journal were uplifting, common sense approaches and practical insights from the great minds of the past. I never once let hope or love of life fade away; those inspirational whispers spirited from my journal pages forbid it.
I would like to share some of these whispers with you. They can’t help but make a difference.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Daily Dozen
The most interesting thing about any human being is the values by which he or she lives.
- Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasures in simple things.
- Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes of others.
- You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.
- Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.
- Do things you enjoy doing, but stay out of death.
- Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.
- Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities, grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
- Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.
- Don’t hold postmortems. Don’t spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.
- Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
- Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.
Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we all hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have, we will have we not be happy. -anonymous
If the only prayer in your life is ‘thank you’, that would suffice. -Meister Eckart
There are only two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded .-Ralph Waldo Emerson
You Mustn’t Quit
When things go wrong which they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must-but never quit.
Life is queer, with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with one more blow.
Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worse when you shouldn’t quit. -anonymous
Nothing is more difficult , and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. -anonymous
The deepest principle of human nature is craving to be appreciated. -William James
Love is a present that you can give everyday.-anonymous
If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in the beginning. -Mahatma Gandhi
A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. -Alexander Pope
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit. -Aristotle
The deepest principle of human nature is craving to be appreciated. -William James
Always do more than is required of you. -General Patton
Commitment: another word for success. -anonymous
Those folks who succeed simply remain enthusiastic longer than those who fail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated..it is finished when it surrenders. -Ben Stein
When opportunity knocks, a grumbler complains about the notice. -John Hersey
Life is 10% how we make it; 90% how we take it.
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
99% of failure come from people who have the habit of making excuses. –George Washington Carver
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. -Victor Borge
Do or Do not, there is no try. -Yoda
Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you have to say, and say it hot! -D.H. Lawrence
I do the very best I know how-the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end. – Abraham Lincoln
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -Sir Winston Churchill.
If you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot on it and hang on.- Thomas Jefferson
Money is a hard thing to follow but a charming thing to meet. -Henry James
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. -Albert Einstein
Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are and doing things as the ought to be done. -Josh Billings
Substance, sizzle, and soul are the secrets to authentic, contagious communication. -Kathryn Crammer
People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. -Eleanor Roosevelt
Of all the passions, jealousy is that which exerts the hardest service and pays the bitterest wages. -Charles Cotton
To be vain of one’s rank or place is to show that one is below it. -Stanislas I
Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. -Arthur Godfrey
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at time of challenge and controversy.-Martin Luther King
And Finally…My Conclusion
Forgive, forget and move on; love, laugh and kickass! -p.o.martig
Great words of wisdom to live by and a compass to guide you in the right direction!