Longing as motivation
/in , /by

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – French writer and aviator (1900-1944), from “Citadelle” (1948)

Progress starts in Little steps
/in , /by

All mankind’s progress has been achieved as a result of the initiative of a small minority that began to deviate from the ideas and customs of the majority until their example finally moved the others to accept the innovation themselves.

Ludwig von Mises – Austrian economist (1881-1973), in “Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition” (1927), Quotations book 2017

Hope
/in , /by

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

Dr. h. c. Václav Havel – Czech writer and politician, 1993-2003 president of the Czech Republik (1936-2011), from “Disturbing the peace: a conversation with Karel Hvížďala”, Chapter 5 (1986), Quotations book 2017

Naděje není to přesvědčení, že něco dobře dopadne, ale jistota, že má něco smysl – bez ohledu na to, jak to dopadne.

Dr. h.c. Václav Havel – český a později politik, 1993-2003 prezidentem České republiky (1936-2011), “Dálkový výslech. Rozhovor s Karlem Hvížd’alou” (1986), Citace knihy 2017

Get further
/in , /by

You can’t get very far until you start doing something for somebody else.

Melvin Jones – American business leader, founder of Lions Club International (1879-1961), Quotations book 2017

Are you in the right game?
/in , /by

If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are … a different game you should play.

Wisdom from Jedi Master Yoda – character from the book and film series “Star Wars”, from the novel “Shatterpoint” (2004), Quotations book 2017

Risk
/in , /by

Our doubts are traitors
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.

William Shakespeare – English writer (1564-1616), from “Measure for Measure”, act 1, scene 4 (1604)

Getting forward
/in , /by

The secret of getting forward is to make the first step.

Proverb, often attributed to Mark Twain – born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, American writer (1835-1910), Quotations book 2017

Take a position
/in , /by

Cowardice asks the question: “Is it safe?”
Expediency asks the question: “Is it politic?”
Vanity asks the question: “Is it popular?”
But conscience asks the question: “Is it right?”
And there comes a time, when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.

Martin Luther King jr. – American civil rights activist and pastor, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 (1929-1968), from his speech “A Proper Sense of Priorities”, held in Washington on February 6th, 1968, Quotations book 2017

Courage
/in , /by

We must constantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

Martin Luther King jr. – American civil rights activist and pastor, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 (1929-1968), in his essay “The Strength to Love” (1963)

John Wooden’s “Seven Point Creed”
/in , /by

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

John Hugh Wooden – American farmer (1882-1950), father of the legendary basketball player and coach John Wooden (1910-2010), whom he gave these lines upon graduation from grammar school, which Wooden kept in his wallet a life Long, Quotations book 2017

Idealism
/in , , /by

There is indeed little merit in being idealistic if the provision of the material means required for these idealistic aims is left to somebody else. It is only where a person can himself choose to make a material sacrifice for a nonmaterial end that he deserves credit.

Friedrich August von Hayek – Austrian economist and social philosopher, Nobel Memorial Prize in economic sciences 1974 (1899-1992), from “The moral Element in Free Enterprise” (1962)

Patience
/in , /by

No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930)

Foresight
/in , /by

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.

Wayne Gretzky – Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1961), Quotations book 2016

Understand
/in , /by

If I wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better.

Johan Cruyff – Dutch football player and coach (1947-2016)

Be yourself
/in , /by

’Become free to be yourself’. Trying to copy others won’t help who you were meant to be. What’s wrong with being that genuine and capable person you really are? Everybody has something unique to contribute. Celebrate yourself and what you have to offer.

Dr. Howard Murad – American physician, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine, founder of Murad Skincare and the worldwide Inclusive Health’ movement (b. 1939)

Risk
/in , /by

The biggest risk is not taking any risk.

Mark Zuckerberg – American company founder: facebook (b. 1984)

Prioriteis
/in , /by

παρὰ τούτοις εἶναι μᾶλλον πρῶτος ἢ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις δεύτερος.

Mallem hic primus esse quam Romae secundus.

I had rather be the first man here than the second man in Rome.

Plutarch – Greek writer (c. 45-125), in “Life of Caesar” (c. 96), Quotations book 2016

Priorities
/in , /by

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes”.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things: your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions. If everything else was lost and only the golf balls remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Play with your children. Take time to get a medical checkup. Take your spouse out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

symbolic story – Quotations book 2016

Perfection
/in , /by

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

Vince Lombardi – legendary American football coach (1913-1970), Quotations book 2016

Possibilities
/in , /by

What is imaginable is also possible.

Ludwig Wittgenstein – Austro-British philosopher (1889-1951), from “Tractatus logico-philosophicus” (1912)

Life
/in , /by

The important thing is not how many years in your life but how much life in your years.

Dr. Edward J. Stieglitz – American gerontologist and author (1899-1958), from “The Second Forty Years” (1947)

Get ahead
/in , /by

Step by step you get ahead but not necessarily in fast spurts.

Charlie Munger – Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1924)

Egna vägar
/in , /by

Man kommer aldrig först om man går i andras fotspår.

Swedish proverb – published in a collection by Gunnel (b. 1941) and Kjell Swärd (b. 1937), Quotations book 2015

Progress
/in , /by

Progress is precisely that which the rules and regulations did not foresee.

Ludwig von Mises – Austrian economist (1881-1973), from “Bureaucracy” (1944), Quotations book 2015

Greatness
/in , /by

It’s not what you take but what you leave behind that defines greatness.

Edward G. Gardner – Amercian company founder: Soft Sheen Products Inc. (b. 1925), Quotations book 2015

Dreams
/in , /by

All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney – American cartoonist and film producer (1901-1966), Quotations book 2015

Strenght
/in , /by

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

Mahatma Gandhi – Indian politician (1869-1948), in “Young India” from August 11th, 1920, Quotations book 2013 and 2015

Relâcher
/in , /by

On ne découvre pas de terre nouvelle sans consentir à perdre de vue, d’abord et longtemps, tout rivage.

André Gide – écrivain français, prix Nobel de littérature 1947 (1869-1951), de “Les Faux-Monnayeurs” (1925), Brochure de citation 2014

Perspective
/in , /by

Car il suffit pour y voir clair de changer de perspective.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry –  écrivain, et aviateur français (1900-1944), de “La Citaelle” (1948), Brochure de citation 2014

Hold on
/in , /by

No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.

Charles Franklin Kettering – American inventor and head of research at General Motors (1876-1958), Quotations book 2007 und 2014

Great
/in , /by

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

Joe Sabah – American motivational speaker (b. 1931)

New paths
/in , /by

It is better to stumble on new paths than to make no headway on the old tracks.

Jochen Mariss – German author, photographer and designer (b. 1955)

Leaving trails
/in , /by

I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.

Muriel Strode – American poet (1875-1964), from “My Little Book of Prayer” (1904)

Luck
/in , /by

Golf is a game of luck. The more I practice, the luckier I get.

Proverb in golfing

Courage
/in , /by

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says: I’ll try again tomorrow.

Mary Anne Radmacher – American writer, artist and speaker (b. 1957)

Survival
/in , /by

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin – Britisch scientist (1809-1882), Quotations book 2016

High Goals
/in , /by

University am 12. September 1962 We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.

John F. Kennedy – American politician, 1961-63 35th president (1917-1963), in his peech at Rice University on September 12th, 1962

Getting better
/in , /by

When you stop getting better, you stop being good.

Franz Türk – Austrian cellarer, vineyard owner and entrepreneur (b. 1970), Quotations book 2016

Personal leadership
/in , /by

Personal Leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey – American author and management consultant (1932-2012)

Perseguir los sueños
/in , /by

No es verdad que las personas dejan de perseguir sus sueños porque envejecen, envejecen porque dejan de perseguir sus sueños.

It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.

Gabriel García Márquez – Columbian writer, Nobel prize in literature 1982 (1927-2014)

Fly
/in , /by

When you are born with wings, you should do anything you can and use them to fly.

attributed to Florence Nightingale- English Nurse, founder of modern nursing (1820-1910), Quotations book 2016

Sow and reap
/in , /by

Whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

The Bible, Galatians 6:7 (ESV) – Quotations book 2016

Hatch or go bad
/in , /by

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

C. S. Lewis – British writer (1898-1963), from “Mere Christianity” (1952), Quotations book 2016

Yardstick
/in , /by

The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard. I always pose it this way, I say: “Lookit. Would you rather be the world’s greatest lover, but have everyone think you’re the world’s worst lover? Or would you rather be the world’s worst lover but have everyone think you’re the world’s greatest lover?”

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), from “Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets” (2009), Quotations book 2015

Front page test
/in , /by

When you get out of bed in the morning and think about what you want to do that day, ask yourself whether you’d like others to read about it on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.
You’ll probably do things a little differently if you keep that in mind.

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2015

Product perception
/in , /by

In the factory we make cosmetics; in the store we sell hope.

Charles Haskell Revson – American entrepreneur, founder of Revlon (1906-1975), Quotations book 2014

Motivation
/in , /by

People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

Zig Ziglar – American author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur (1926-2012), Quotations book 2014

Direction
/in , /by

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.

Zig Ziglar – American author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur (1926-2012), Quotations book 2014

Goalsetting
/in , /by

A goal properly set is halfway reached.

Zig Ziglar – American author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur (1926-2012)

Character, commitment, discipline
/in , /by

It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.

Zig Ziglar – American author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur (1926-2012)

Seeking
/in , /by

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise men of old; seek what they sought.

Matsuo Basho – Japanese poet (1644-1694)

Masterpiece
/in , /by

You can either follow a paint-by-numbers-kit approach to life and stay within the accepted lines or you can decide you want to create a masterpiece.

James C. “Jim” Collins – American business consultant, author and academic (b. 1958)

Age
/in , , /by

Old age is like climbing a mountain. You climb from ledge to ledge. The higher you get, the more tired and breathless you become, but your views become more extensive.

attributed to Ingmar Bergman – Swedish scriptwriter, film and stage director (1918-2007), Quotations book 2013

Union in times of peace
/in , /by

This time the men of western Europe have not lacked courage and have not acted too late. They have done something great and what is remarkable and perhaps unique is that they have done it by renouncing means of force, any constraint, any threat.

Paul-Henry Spaak – Belgian politician, 1956-61 Nato General Secretary (1899-1972), on Occasion of the signing of the Roman Treaties 1957, seen on a bust of Paul-Henry Spaak in front of Brussel’s Central Station , Quotations book 2013

Best wishes
/in , /by

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human,
enough hope to make you happy.

Wish, Quotations book 2013

Hope
/in , /by

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Oscar Wilde – Irish writer (1854-1900), from “Lady Windermere’s Fan: A Play About a Good Woman” (1892)

Watchword 2013
/in , /by

Here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

The Bible, Hebrew 13:14 (NRSV) – Quotations book 2013

Altruism
/in , /by

If you can’t feed 100 people, then feed just one.

Wisdom, often attributed to Mother Teresa – born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Albanian-born Indian nun and order’s founder, Nobel Peace Prize (1910-1997), could not be verified by the Mother Teresa Center, Quotations book 2013

Dream or Goal?
/in , /by

A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a deadline.

Harvey Mackay – American entrepreneur and author of the 2005 New York Times’ N° 1 bestseller “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive” (b. 1932), Quotations book 2013

Change
/in , /by

To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.

Sir Winston L. Churchill – British politician, 1940-45 and 1951-55 Prime Minister, Nobel Prize in literature 1953 (1874-1965), in a congress speech fom january 17th, 1952, Quotations book 2013

Legacy
/in , /by

I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind…
If I can help somebody as I pass along,
if I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
if I can show somebody he’s travelling wrong,
then my life will not be in vain.

If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,
if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,
if I can spread the message as the master taught,
then my life will not be in vain.

Martin Luther King jr. – American civil rights activist and pastor, Nobel Peace Prize 1964  (1929-1968), from his sermon “The Drum Major Instinct” from Februaty 4th, 1968, Quotations book 2012

Setback
/in , /by

A setback is a setup for a comeback.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller – American evangelist and reformed priest (1926-2015), Quotations book 2012

Perfection
/in , /by

Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n´y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n´y a plus rien à retrancher.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – écrivain, et aviateur français (1900-1944), de “Terre des Hommes” (1939), Brochure de citation 2012

Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – French writer and aviator (1900-1944), from “Terre des Hommes” (1939), Quotations book 2012

Development potential
/in , /by

Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further developments.

Julius Sextus Frontinus – Roman engineer, in 10 A.D., Quotations book 2012

Perseverance
/in , /by

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.

Samuel Johnson – English writer (1709-1784), from “The history of Rasselas, Prince of Abessinia” (1759), Quotations book 2012

Change
/in , /by

Who really wants to change something must show respect – but nevertheless be disrespectful.

James Watson and Francis Crick – American (Watson, b. 1928) and British (Crick, 1916-2004) molecular biologist, discoverers of the DNA structure, Nobel Prize in medicine 1962, Quotations book 2011

Live your dream
/in , /by

Don’t dream your life, live your dream.

Lifeslogan – Quotations book 2011

Aim high
/in , /by

Gentlemen, make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood … Make big plans … aim high in hope and work.

Daniel H. Burnham – American urban designer for Chicago (1846-1912), Quotations book 2011

Act and dream
/in , /by

To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.

Pour accomplir des grandes choses il ne suffit pas d’agir il faut rêver..

Anatole France – born Jacques Anatole François Thibault, French poet, Nobel Prize in literature 1921 (1844-1924), in his inaugural speech at the Académie Française on December 24th, 1896

Experience
/in , /by

Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

The Bible, Jeremiah 6,16 (NIV) – Quotations book 2010

Live simply
/in , /by

We should travel light and live simply. Our enemy is not possessions but excess.

Dr. John W. Stott – British pastor and author (1921-2011), Quotations book 2010

Live
/in , /by

Live your life, as if you are gonna die.

attributed to William Shatner – Canadian actor (b. 1931)

Resolve
/in , /by

Resolve and thou art free.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – American poet (1807-1882), from “The Masque of Pandora”, part VI “In the Garden” (1875)

Obstacles
/in , /by

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

attributed to Henry Ford – American engineer and industrialist (1863-1947)

Aims
/in , /by

I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.

attributed to Michelangelo – born Michelangiolo Buonarroti Simoni, Italian skulptor, painter, architect and poet (1475-1564)

Dreams
/in , /by

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Henry David Thoreau – American writer (1817-1862), from “Walden” (1854)

Entrepreneurs
/in , /by

Entrepreneurs recognize and pursue opportunity without regard to the resources they currently control. They find creative ways to acquire the resources to achieve their goals.

Robert Reiss – American radio host, founder of the “The CEO-Show” (b. 1961)

Goals
/in , /by

People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.

attributed to Anthony Robbins – American author and motivational speaker (*1960)

Meaning of Life
/in , /by

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.

attributed to D. Elton Trueblood – American author, philosopher and theologian (1900-1994)

Secret of success
/in , , /by

The secret of success is constancy to purpose.

Benjamin Disraeli – English writer and politician, 1868 and 1874-80 Prime Minister (1804-1881), in a banquet speech of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations on June 24th, 1872

Dream
/in , /by

You see things as they are and ask “Why?”
I dream things as they never where and ask “Why not?”

George Bernard Shaw – Irish writer, Nobel Prize in literature 1925 (1856-1950), from “Back to Methuselah” (1921)

Donors motivation
/in , /by

It gives me a good feeling.

Walter Annenberg – American philanthropist, who donated paintings worth 1 Billion $ to the New York Metropolitan Museum on his motivation (1908-2002), Quotations book 2004

Priorities
/in , /by

A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman of the next generation.

attributed to James Freeman Clarke – American preacher and author (1810-1888), Quotations book 2009

Charity work
/in , /by

Doing charity work is the opposite of investing – we look for the most difficult problem to solve and the ones that have the lowest possibility of success.

Wisdom- Quotations book 2008

Advertising
/in , /by

The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man is really two men – the man he is and the man he wants to be.

attributed to William Feather – American author and publisher (1889-1981), Quotations book 2008

Change the world
/in , /by

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.® Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has..

Margaret Mead – American anthropologist and ethnologian (1901-1978), Courtesy of The Institute for Intercultural Studies, Inc., New York, Quotations book 2008

Small people
/in , /by

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

attributed to Mark Twain – born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, American writer, (1835-1910), Quotations book 2008

Freedom
/in , /by

Man does not want liberty in order to maximize his utility, or that of the society of which he is a part. He wants liberty to become the man he wants to become.

James M. Buchanan – American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in economic sciences 1986 (1919-2013), Quotations book 2008

Circumstances
/in , /by

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.

George Bernard Shaw – Irish writer, Nobel Prize in literature 1925 (1856-1950), from “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” (1902), Quotations book 2008

Plan
/in , /by

Plan so big that you need God to fulfill your plan.

Dr. William Rohl “Bill” Bright – American evangelist, founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ International (1921-2003), Quotations book 2008

Mission
/in , /by

Every mission risks losing its identity as a mission if it eliminates suffering servanthood in exchange for personal ease on a par with the world’s standards.

Stephen E. Freed – International Director of International Teams (www.iteams.org)

Better
/in , /by

There’s a way to do it better – find it!

Thomas Alva Edison – American inventor (1847-1931), Quotations book 2008

Miracles
/in , /by

There are two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as if everything is.

often falsely attributed to Albert Einstein

Own instinct
/in , /by

Follow your own instincts, not those of people who see the world differently.

Sumner Murray Redstone – born Sumner M. Rothstein, American media magnate (CBS, Viacom, b. 1923)

Wilberforce and manners
/in , /by

The almighty LORD set two targets for me: the abolishment of slavery and the reformation of manners.

William Wilberforce – British parliamentarian and philanthropist, who had a relevant contribution to the abolishment of slavery (1759-1833)

Success
/in , /by

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Kenyan proverb – Quotations book 2005

Risk
/in , /by

Risk = exposure to change

Alexander Ineichen – Swiss banker (*1967), from “Asymmetric Returns”

Children
/in , /by

Children’s games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity.

Michel de Montaigne – French writer and philosopher (1533-1592)

Objectives
/in , /by

I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident.

Thomas Alva Edison – American inventor (1847-1931)

Plans
/in , /by

Plans are often worthless, yet the planning process is priceless.

Dwight David Eisenhower – American general and politician, 1953-61 34th president (1890-1969)

Vision
/in , /by

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

The Bible, Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) – Quotations book 2007

Retirement
/in , /by

He who thinks that he has finished is finished. Those who think that they have arrived, have lost their way.

Henri J.M. Nouwen – Dutch theologian and psychologist (1932-1996), Quotations book 2007

Dreams
/in , /by

What dreams would you have if you knew you could not fail?

Inscription at the Crystal Cathedral’s Welcoming Center in Garden Grove, California – Quotations book 2007

Retrospective
/in , /by

When I look back on my life nowadays, which I sometimes do, what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at the time most significant and seductive, seems now most futile and absurd. For instance, success in all of its various guises, being known and being praised, ostensible pleasures, like acquiring money … going to and fro in the world and up and down it like Satan. … In retrospect all these exercises in self-gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called “licking the earth.” They are diversions designed to distract our attention from the true purpose of our existence in this world, which is, quite simply, to look for God, and, in looking, to find him, and having found him, to love him, thereby establishing a harmonious relationship with his purposes for his creation..

Malcolm Muggeridge – English writer (1903-1990)

Aims
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It is important that an aim never be defined in terms of activity or methods. It must always relate directly to how life is better for everyone. … The aim of the system must be clear to everyone in the system. The aim must include plans for the future. The aim is a value judgement.

Prof. Dr. William Edwards Deming – founder of Total-Quality-Management TQM (1900-1993)

Have everything
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You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?

Steven Wright – American Comedian and actor (*1955), Quotations book 2007

The proper ambition
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The Reverend Fred Craddock, a remarkable preacher from Georgia, may have been imagining things –the way preachers are wont to do – but he says this story really happened.

Dr. Craddock was visiting in the home of his niece. There was this old greyhound dog there, just like the ones who race around a track chasing those mechanical rabbits. His niece had taken the dog in to prevent it from being destroyed because its racing days were over.

Dr. Craddock strikes up a conversation with the dog: “I said to the dog, are you still racing?” “No,” he replied. “Well, what was the matter? Did you get too old to race?” “No, I still had some race in me.” “Well, what then? Did you not win?” “I won over a million dollars for my owner.”

“Well, what was it? Bad treatment?” “Oh, no,” the dog said, “They treated us royally when we were racing.” “Did you get crippled?” “No.” “Then why?” Craddock pressed, “Why?” The dog answered, “I quit.” “You quit?” “Yes,” he said, “I quit.”

“Why did you quit?” “I just quit. Because after all that running and running and running, I found out that the rabbit I was chasing wasn’t even real.”

On this day of celebration, achievement, and the commencement of a new phase in your lives, it takes considerable temerity for me to challenge you to consider what kind of rabbit you’ll choose to chase during your careers. I do so only because – this may surprise you – I challenge myself as to whether the rabbit I’ve been chasing all these long years is real.

John C. Bogle – American investment expert and author (b. 1929)

Aim high
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Aim at Heaven and you will get ‚earth thrown in’. Aim at earth and you will get neither.

C. S. Lewis – British writer (1898-1963), Quotations book 2006

Failing
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Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Benjamin Franklin – American politician, writer and scientist (1706-1790)

Risk
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A ship in the harbour is safe… But that’s not what the ships were made for.

Wisdom – Quotations book 2002