Favorite Inspirational Quotes

I don’t know who my grandfather was. I’m more concerned to know who his grandson will be.

Abraham Lincoln

In my opinion, there are a couple ways to look at this inspirational quote.

First is that it’s more important to focus on what we are doing now and on what we are becoming. The past is no guarantor of what will happen in the future. We are free at any time to change what we are and what we will be. Just forget the past and focus on the now and the future we want to create.

However, there is no reason to totally discard the past. There are lessons to be learned that can help us in the now and in our future. There are past victories which we can use as proof that we have done well and can do so again. If someone else in the past has overcome the odds, so can we.

I can learn valuable lessons from what my grandfather overcame, what kind of man he was, and what he built. If nothing else, I can learn the lesson that the man he was or what he did is something I want no part of and, therefore, choose a different path.

If I see he disdained education and lived as a common laborer all his life, I can choose to educate myself (schooling and life long learning) and create the life of my dreams.

Then again, if he was an immigrant to this country and built a business from the ground up and sent all his children to school to become professionals, then I can see that as a sign of what can be done by work, focus and determination. I can see it as something I can do as well.

So focus on the now and the future but learn from the past.

Tags: favorite quotes