Action Anything that we have to learn we learn by the actual doing of it ... we become just by
performing just acts, temperate by performing temperate ones, brave by performing brave
ones. Happiness is a state of activity. Adversity Adversity is the diamond dust that heaven polishes it's jewels with. A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner. The storm also beats on the house that is built on the rock. Who indeed can harm you if you are committed deeply to doing what is right? Anger Remember, a chip on the shoulder is a sure sign of wood higher up. The wind of anger blows out the lamp of intelligence. When you feel "dog tired" at night, it may be because you growled all day. The best remedy for anger is delay. Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one. Attitude Attitude determines altitude. There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. The longer I live, the more I realize the
impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more
important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than
appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. Brotherhood There can be hope only for a society which acts as one big family, not as many separate
ones. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. Confidence/Inner Strength Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are
right. Cooperation/Teamwork You lift me, and I'll lift you, and we'll ascend together. Courage/Risk Taking If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster. Only those who do nothing at all make no mistakes... but that would be a mistake. There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the
viewpoint of love, none are necessary. To win without risk is to triumph without glory. He who dares nothing need hope for nothing. Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered
by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much,
because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on. Don't fear, just live right. When our actions do not, our fears make us traitors. A life lived in fear is half lived. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more
important than fear. Critics/Self-Esteem It is not the critic who counts, Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. He who flings mud, loses a lot of ground. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down. Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we
have more confidence in their opinions than we do in our own? Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has
ever been erected to a critic. 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. Effort/Persistence Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this
time more wisely. Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the
difficult may become easy. The willow knows what the storm does not: that the power
to endure harm outlives the power to inflict it. Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back. What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the
fight in the dog. To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we
must not drift or lie at anchor. If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed down hill and don't know it. The heights by great men reached and kept The toughest part of getting to the top of the ladder, is getting through the crowd at
the bottom. Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals. He who seeks rest finds boredom....He who seeks work finds rest. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not
dare that they are difficult. Never, never, never give up. Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn't fall there. The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune. Stopping at third base adds no more runs than striking out. People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't
know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to. It is quite possible to work without results, but never will there be results without
work. The beauties of the world are best seen by those who strive to reach them. The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished. When you reach for the stars, you may not get one, but you
won't come up with a handful of mud, either. Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work
worth doing. Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent, or hinder, or control a
firm resolve of a determined soul. The successful man is the average man, focused. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have
kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. Endurance At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are
found. Enemies/Quarrels/Forgiveness He who has not forgiven an enemy has never yet tasted one of the most sublime
enjoyments of life. Quarrels wouldn't last as long, if the fault was only on one side. Speak well of your enemies ... you made them. Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? Ethics/Honesty The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put
on the armor or light. Let us live honorably, as in daylight... The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. I'd rather be right than President. Honest measures and weights are the Lord's delight. Because we possess this ministry through God's mercy... we repudiate shameful
underhanded practices. We do not resort to trickery or falsify the word of God. We
proclaim the truth openly and commend ourselves to every man's conscience before God. Evil Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow--it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a
lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it,
by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to
cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. Failure My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your
failure. You haven't failed until you quit trying. Success is the proper utilization of failure. You're on the road to success when you realize that failure is only a detour. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. We more frequently fail to face the right problem than fail to solve the problem we
face. How a man plays a game shows something of his character, how he loses shows all of it. Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure
is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. Faith Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks,
the door will be opened. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible
to you. "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone
says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart
but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be
yours." Freedom and Responsibility True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right. Friendship Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows. Fulfillment/Happiness/Motivation And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. The secret to happiness is not in doing what one likes to
do, but in liking what one has to do. Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life. People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes
every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to
risk life, to be needed. Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling. It is not length of life, but depth of life. May you live all the days of your life. The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must
be felt with the heart. Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped
possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born. A man is not old until regrets start taking place of dreams. Generosity/Giving We get to make a living; we give to make a life. When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing. Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there. That which a man willingly shares, he keeps. Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands only that which he has given
away. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, One man gives freely, yet gains even more; Goals/Ideals To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved,
but at what he aspires to. Pep without purpose is piffle. Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like
the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following
them, you reach your destiny. Humility You can't expect people to look eye to eye with you if you are looking down on them. You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what
others say about him. A man never likes you so well as when he leaves your company liking himself. People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. The only job where you start at the top, is digging a hole. Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. Don't be so humble; you're not that great. Independence The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm. Initiative Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Luck is when opportunity knocks, and you answer. The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single
step. Either you run the day or the day runs you. Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to
attain. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. There is a time to let things happen, and a time to make things happen. The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely
better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man
does with what happens to him. One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go
in. Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the
whole staircase, just take the first step. The more often a man feels without acting, the less he'll
be able to act. And in the long run, the less he'll be able to feel. If not me, Who? For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Justice Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with
your God. Only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Kindness Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,
a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of
which have the potential to turn a life around. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity
for kindness. How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with
the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because
someday in life you will have been all of these. Leadership Every time we open our mouths, men look into our minds. Everyone's life is an object lesson to others. Example sheds a genial ray which men are apt to borrow, Tell me and I forget; show me and I remember; involve me and I understand. The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Let's not just transform those in need, we can also find ways to help transform those
in power. One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. The best leader brings out the best in those he has stewardship over. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him
power. We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our
children do. The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to
them their own. Don't call me a saint - I don't want to be dismissed that easily. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your
Father in heaven. Limit Stretching Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers. Seldom does an individual exceed his own expectations. Security is a kind of death. You can't do anything about the length of your life, but
you can do something about its width and depth. Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is
your gift back to God. We are like tea bags - we don't know our own strength
until we're in hot water. Anyone who thinks the sky is the limit, has limited
imagination. Love People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best. And now I will show you the most excellent way: The man who does not love is among the living dead. Everyone who loves is begotten of God and has knowledge of
God. The entire law is summed up in a single command,
"Love your neighbor as yourself." He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Materialism If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. Openness Minds are like parachutes, they function only when open. Some minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set. There is only one rule to become a good talker, learn how to listen. Our opinions become fixed at the point where we stop thinking. Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived
notion, follow humbly wherever and whatever abysses nature leads, or you will learn
nothing. He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question
remains a fool forever. Hardening of the heart ages people faster than hardening of the arteries. Opportunities When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed
door that we don't see the one that has opened for us. Perfectionism Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except
those that sang best. Posterity Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold
of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on
to future generations. Potential Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth. No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they
should be. Now put the foundations under them. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't
serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't
feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within
us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Preparation The will to prepare is more important than the will to win. It's easier to prepare and prevent, than to repair and repent. The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Procrastination Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be overcome first. I'm going to stop procrastinating ... once I get around to it. Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans. In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best
thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you've collected a lot of empty
yesterdays. Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. Many of us spend half of our time wishing for things we could have, if we didn't spend
half of our time wishing. There's always free cheese in the mouse traps, but the mice there ain't happy. One does evil enough when one does nothing good. The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions. The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most for what we
want at the moment. He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Whenever I get the energy to exercise, I sit down until it passes. You may be on the right track, but if you just sit there you'll get run over. After all is said and done, there is usually more said than done. Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it. All things come to those who wait, but when they come they're out of date. Quality All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken
with painstaking excellence. Religion/Spirituality We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are
spiritual beings on a human journey. All consumed are their imperfections, The first command is to love God with all your heart and
strength and mind. The second command is like unto it: love your neighbor as yourself. [God says,] "This rather is the practice that I wish: In thought, faith Responsibility Your failures won't hurt you until you start blaming them on others. No individual snowflake ever felt any responsibility for an avalanche. That action is best which procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers. There are two freedoms: the false, where man is free to do what he likes;
the true,
where man is free to do what he ought. How wonderful it is that we can start doing good at this very moment. Self-Control Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. No man is free who is not master of himself. Hell is the knowledge of opportunity lost; the place where the man I am comes face to
face with the man I might have been. We mustn't let our passions destroy our dreams. It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow. There is no pleasure in life equal to that of the conquest of a vicious habit. He who conquers himself has won a greater victory than he who conquers a city. If you would live your life with ease; do what you ought, not what you please. There are many who's tongues might govern multitudes, if they could govern their
tongues. Let him that would move the world first move himself. Strength Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as true strength. Sacrifice You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to
be the greatest investment that you will ever make. Sacrifice is giving up something good for something better. Self-Examination What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him. There are times when a man should be content with what he has, but never with what he
is. Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny. When a man finds no peace within himself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. The most important of life's battles is the one we fight daily in the silent chambers
of the soul. Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies
within us. Are you fit company for the person you wish to become? If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. The greatest battles of your life are fought within the private chambers of your own
soul. If you feel you have no faults ... there's another one. The biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement. When we won't consider suggestions, we reject our own potential - but we have a right
to expect people to be tactful. Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside,
dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. Experience is not what happens to a man, it's what a man does with what happens to him. Every choice one makes either expands or contracts the area in which he can make and
implement future decisions. When one makes a choice, he irrevocably binds himself to the
consequences of that choice. Smile A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home. Smile: if you can't lift the corners, let the middle sag. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. Speaking Out Lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't
speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was
left to speak up. Superstition It's bad luck to be superstitious. The best way to predict your future is to create it. Thought Power Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind. Sow a thought, and you reap an act; You have the power to think what you want. No matter what the circumstance. You live with your thoughts, so be careful what they are. One cannot think crooked and walk straight. There is nothing as remarkable as learning how to think better. The soul is covered with the color of it's leisure thoughts. As you think in your heart, so shall you be. Tolerance I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him. Vision Some make it happen, some watch it happen, and some say, "What happened?" If you're not sure where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else. If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible to set our faces steadily
toward the work required of us. A man's dreams are an index to his greatness. What we see depends mainly on what we look for. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Where there is no vision, the people perish. No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big. You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may
have to work for it, however. The main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies
clearly at hand. We will find only what we look for, nothing more and nothing less. Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. What you see depends mainly upon what you look for. Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and
ask why not. Will Power A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own
path. Wisdom Never live in the past, but always learn from it. He who knows all the answers has not yet been asked all the questions. Wisdom is supreme; therefore make a full effort to get wisdom. Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and
the power to appreciate life. The sublimity of wisdom is to do those things living that are desired when dying. The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about
the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and
earnestly. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Only a fool knows everything. A wise man knows how little he knows. Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child. Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity
and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither
good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. The heart is wiser than the intellect. Experience is a wonderful thing; it enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it
again. I do not think much of a man who does not know more today than he did yesterday. A short saying often contains much wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge, rightly applied.
GOD'S HELP [God says], do not fear, for I am with you; For I am mindful of the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your good and
not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. You call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I heed you. You seek Me and find Me: Now you seek Me with all your heart and I am at
hand for you, says the Lord... Set Aside Fear Who are you that you should be afraid ...do not fear, for I am with you; I will cause you to walk in the straight way... Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Rejoice and be glad...for the Lord God is your exceeding great reward. The Almighty will deliver you from evil. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not lack. Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.
GARY HYINK is a volunteer with Hearts and Minds. Go to his Personal Experience with Homelessness. BILL BLACKMAN is editor and executive director of Hearts and Minds. His bio is with governing board members. Editor's Note: We'll add more quotes. How have we helped you? How can we serve you better?
Assembled by Gary
Hyink, Hearts and Minds Volunteer and |
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