Favorite Inspirational Quotes

I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good.  I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.

Oprah Winfrey

There’s several things I picked up in this inspirational quote.  As usual, I’ll just ramble on pulling them out.

First off, is the point of her focus. She didn’t focus on victimhood.  “Oh, poor me. I come from a ghetto; I can never get ahead.  The rich people are keeping me down.”  What she focused on was taking responsibility for her own actions and her own thoughts.  She focused on getting herself ahead.  She wanted a better life and she focused on that.

She also had a positive attitude.  Her attitude was she was going to make good.  All her thoughts and beliefs went to making good.

She also knew that she was responsible for where she ended up even if she wasn’t for where she started out (though there are those who are of a different opinion on that which we will just let slide).  It wasn’t just that her focus was on making good, it’s also that she knew that what she did created her circumstances.  Want better circumstances, then create them.

One thing is for sure, whether you are a Winfrey fan or not, she has definitely changed her circumstances and created a world of abundance where she impacts the lives of many.

Tags: make good

One day at a time - this is enough.  Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come.  Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.

Ida Scott Taylor

From this quote, I get that if you look back at the past and it is beautiful, worth remembering because of the beauty, then that’s OK.  Well, I guess if you are focusing on beautiful memories, that’s lots better than grieving over the past.

I sure don’t want to focus on things I would grieve over as such things would be more likely to appear in my life in the present.  I also don’t want to “borrow trouble” with concerns over the future worrying about what may come, though I do believe in being prepared and knowing I can handle whatever may come.

However, the advice to live in the present is always good.  As much as I advocate making plans for the future, there can be too much of remembering the past and looking forward to the future that we forget to celebrate the now.  We need to take time to be aware of and savor the now, the present moment.

I do love the idea of making the present so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.  How do we do that?

I think that taking time to stop and actually become aware of where we are, what is around us, and what is happening is one step.  Taking time out and counting our blessings in this moment is another that let’s us realize how much bounty is really part of our lives.  Maybe another is taking the time to be really here right now with the person we are with, focusing our attention on them rather than wondering about the game tonight or the reports that are due or …

Tags: future

Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life have been the consequence of action without thought.

Bernard M. Baruch

Looks like Baruch knows that you have to do some thinking and some planning before you take action.

It drives me crazy when people around  me do things without spending even five minutes trying to think through the potential outcomes.  The consequences can be as minor as having to do the task over again with the correct tools in the correct manner after whatever breaks again, all the way up to life-changing and even life-threatening results.

There’s another inspirational quote from Mary Beard that goes along the lines of

Study without action is futile.  Action without study is fatal.

So the point of the above quote is rather simple to conclude.  Use you brain!  Think first before leaping - at least long enough to know you’re not leaping off a 500′ cliff.  Look at the situation long enough and think through the possible consequences of your actions.

Yes, action must be taken and is a considerable step in achieving the results you want.  However, try to determine if the actions you want to take will give you the desired result.

Tags: thought