Favorite Inspirational Quotes

Treat you friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.

Jennie Jerome Churchill

This quote from Winston Churchill’s mother reminds me of a chapter I read in John C. Maxwell’s book, Make Today Count.  In the chapter on relationships, there are two different things he says that really go along with this:

Value them by their best moments.

I practice the 101 percent principle.  I look for the one thing I admire in them and give them 100 percent encouragement for it.

What I get from all these quotes is to find the positive in a person, even just one thing, and focus on it.  If you focus on that person’s good point(s), it affects your attitude toward them.  After all, positive will beget positive.  It’s all in how we look at people.

I’ve said before I believe in giving people compliments.  These aren’t just any old compliment.  I’ve complimented salespeople when they do a good job with selling me something.  I’ve complimented people who looked very nice.  You can tell they took their time and appearance is important to them.  I compliment my daughter when she does very well in school.

It’s just a way of seeing someone in “their best light” and focusing on that.  Verbalizing it makes them feel good and I feel good for pointing out a positive.  Who knows what ripples any of it will make?

Tags: good point

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

I believe this quote is telling me that if I am really grateful, if I really appreciate something, then I will act as if I am grateful.

It’s like the kid who is given a present that he doesn’t like.   Mom or Dad tells him to say, “Thank you.”  He does so grudgingly and you know he really doesn’t mean it.  It hurts the receiver of the grudging thanks.  You know he will not take care of it or even play with the item.

It’s the same way here.

I can say thank you for the job I have.  However, if I hate the job I have, I’m just saying the words because someone told me I should be grateful for all the things in my life.

On the other hand, if I really do like or even love my work and I say I am grateful, then I will feel it and you can see I am grateful by the way I act.  I will be glad to go to work.  I will feel fulfilled in my work.  I will laugh at work and I will work with enthusiasm.

I will not just be uttering the words.  I will be living my gratitude for what I have.  If I am really grateful for whatever, I will take care of it.  I will prize it and my actions will show just how much I really appreciate it.

However, let’s not forget that one method of changing our habits and ourselves is to act our way into that change.  Maybe that can apply here as well.  If we act as if we are grateful of the thing we really aren’t then perhaps over time our attitude will change and we will become grateful.  It’s worth a try.

Tags: gratitude

There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time.

Anne Sophie Swetchine

When I think of it, force does seem noisy.  It also tends to raise resistance which is not easily overcome, if it can be overcome at all.  I guess it would depend upon how much force you can bring to bear.

Force is also about a larger expenditure of energy.  How long can you go along trying to force your way to a goal without burning out?  Even the determination of perseverance can wax and wane over time.

I don’t think of perseverance as having the same large shove of using force.  Perseverance is the relentless persistent determination to keep putting one foot in front of the other to reach the goal.  You just keep taking steps even if they are baby steps.  It’s the same power of a drop of water continuously dropping on a stone that will wear a hole into that stone over time, maybe even leading to cracking the stone.

Yes, perseverance is a power that grows with each step, with each breath, and with each effort as you go towards your goal.  The inertia it creates and builds will keep you moving toward your goal even over the obstacles.  And it is the only way to reach a long term goal.

Tags: force