Sunday, September 8, 2013

Inspirational quotes (Part 15)


“Taste success” – Café Sorrentino ad

“A never- quit attitude is your best weapon.”-newspaper headline

“Sometimes I feel illusions are life’s essence.  I can trust them even more than real life that’s full of deceit and covering up.” –Ang Lee, Life of Pi director

“Look,” each story seems to say.  “This is the kind of choices humans are faced with all the time; and even if people usually have fine excuses for not making the right choice, here is what the right choice looks like.”-  Greg Hudson reviewing the book Tenth of December by George Saunders.  (National Post).

“Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.”-Roger Ebert

“If a movie is really working, you forget for two hours your Social Security number and where your car is parked.  You are having a vicarious experience.  You are identifying, in one way or another, with the people on the screen.” -Roger Ebert

“Character is that which can do without success.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson, American author (1803-82)  

“Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.” –Confucius

“If individuality has no play, society does not advance; if individuality breaks out of all bounds, society perishes.”-Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (1825-95)

“Among the cheerful robots of the mass society, not human virtue but human shortcomings, attractively packaged, lead to popularity and success.”-C. Wright Mills, American sociologist (1916-62)

“If you can figure out where you fit into any particular story, you’ll be okay.  When you’re fine not quite sure where you fit in, you try to be too many parts of the story.  You gild the lily.  I see it all the time.  Whereas if you take time early on to figure out where you fit in, you’ll be better for it.  And happier.” –John C. McGinley, actor

Alex Ohlin was at the International Festival of Authors in Owen Sound, Ont. when a woman who was a psychologist, wanted to talk about the broken people who are the characters in her book.

Ohlin: "I always think of that Leonard Cohen line: 'There's a crack in everything, that's how light gets through.'  In this book, a lot of people get broken, or have terrible things happen to them.  But if you went through your whole life and you never made a mistake, or you never lost anything, then surely you would be emotionally stunted."

"It means you were never connected to something in the first place.  So, unfortunately, those moments of darkness are an inevitable byproduct of living, and part of what makes up more complete human beings."

The psychologist says to Ohlin: "In our culture we think of breaking as a permanent thing, but actually the research shows that human beings are extremely resilient, and in 70% of cases people make a complete recovery."

Ohlin: So maybe in a way you don't have to be so afraid of being broken, because, actually, we do come out the other side."

 “Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.”- G.K. Chesterton

2012 horoscopes by Georgia Nichols:

“You’re very good at getting rid of what you no longer need.” –Scorpio

“People in authority are going to be so impressed with you by the year’s end.”-Virgo

“You have survived the test of something you started about five years ago.”-Sagittarius

“Things will become easier without you even trying.”-Leo

“You will continue to broaden your horizons and seek adventure.”-Capricorn

“Your humor and positive point of view will magnetize people to you.”-Pisces

“Start to think about what you really want and where you want to live.”-Aries

“Your home and family life will improve because of your industry.”-Taurus

“A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.”-Rita Mae Brown, author

“If you’re naturally kind, you attract a lot of people you don’t like.”-William Feather, American publisher (189-1981)

“Confidence that one is of value and significance as a unique individual is one of the most precious possessions which anyone can have.”-Anthony Storr, English psychiatrist and author (1920-2001)

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” -Henry David Thoreau

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true, that makes life interesting.”- Paul Coelho, The Alchemist

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”-Socrates

“This holds for societies as much as for individuals.  More knowledge is better than less, wisdom is its own reward, and society as a whole benefits from an educated citizenry.”-Mark Kingswell about the Socrates quote in the Globe and Mail, Oct. 13, 2012

“The Globe and Mail article:

Recipe for Ambition: Aims plus Energy.

‘People with goals but no energy are the ones who wind up sitting on the couch saying, ‘One day I’m going to build a better mousetrap.’-Psychologist Dean Simonton of the University of California, Davis

On the other hand, Dr. Simonton tells Time magazine, people with energy but no clear goals ‘just dissipate themselves in one desultory project after the next.’  Why are some people more ambitious than others?  Time finds no simple answer.  Depending on whom you ask, ambition is rooted in family, culture, gender and genetics.  In other words, understanding the science of ambition is an ambitious endeavor in itself.”

“Trust your intuition, do the research and take action, innovators advised: You cannot find truth through analysis, says Harvard Business Review, so start working it.  ‘Most innovators experience crises of confidence- experts dismiss your underlying assumptions, you can’t validate market demand, discussions with potential partners stall.  If this happens, keep the faith.  Trust your intuition that you are on to a big idea and keep moving forward to test your assumptions.

Analysis can only reveal so much.  You can’t be certain you have a good or bad idea until you take action.  Get our of the office and try out your idea in the real world.  However, don’t have blind faith.  Research other innovations and understand what kind of patterns indicate things are working, and which indicate they’re not.” –Adapted from A Few Ideas for Beleaguered Innovators by Scott Anthony.”  -The National Post on Feb. 6, 2012

“The role of art in society is to engage people into thinking and learning about themselves.  Not that artists know better than anyone else but we try to ask relevant questions.” –Jean Grande- Maitre, Alberta Ballet’s artistic director in 2007

“Art is not a thing; it is a way of life.” –Elbert Hubbard

“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.” –James McNeil Whistler

“Culture is the widening of the mind and the spirit.”-Jawaharlal Nehru

“Computing is not about computers anymore.  It is about living.”-Nicholas Negroponte

“The ideas of exploration and adventure, but also the idea of finding your way home and finding your place in the world.  Maps are really great at that.” –Reif Larson, author

“Most people do not believe in anything very much and our greatest poetry is given to us by those who do.” –Cyril Connolly, English intellectual (1903-1974)

“One of these days is none of these days.” –English saying

“It not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” Denis Waitley

“Knowing who you are and believing in yourself helps you attract the kind of relationships that are relevant to your growth.  YOU WIN-THEY WIN.”- Stedman Graham tweet 
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." -- James Baldwin
“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” ― Eric Hoffer, The Temper of Our Time

“Don't set your goals by what other people deem important.” -Jaachynma N.E. Agu, The Prince and the Pauper 


“Only after we lost everything, are we free to do anything.”- The movie Fight Club
“My name is not actually Ashton. Ashton is my middle name. My first name is Chris... It got changed when I was 19 and I became an actor. But there were some really amazing things that I learned when I was Chris, and I wanted to share those things with you guys because I think it's helped me be here today.

I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work. When I was 13 I had my first job with my dad carrying shingles up to the roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job in a grocery store deli, and then I got a job in a factory sweeping Cheerios dust off the ground.  And I've never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was just a stepping stone to my next job. And I never quit my job until I had my next job, and so opportunities look a lot like work.

The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart, and being thoughtful, and being generous.  Everything else is crap … It's just things that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less, so don't buy it.  Steve Jobs said when you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way that it is, and that your life is to live your life inside the world and try not to get into too much trouble.”- Ashton Kutcher at the Teen Choice Awards 2013

“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you're worthy of the trip.”― Glenn Beck, The Christmas Sweater

“‘Mortal fear is as crucial a thing to our lives as love.  It cuts to the core of our being and shows us what we are.  Will you step back and cover your eyes?  Or will you have the strength to walk to the precipice and look out?’  McGrath’s answer was right in front of him all along.”- Kate Carraway’s book review of Night Film by Marisha Pessl.  Globe and Mail, Aug. 24, 2013.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” –C.S. Lewis

“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” –Elvis Costello

“It’s great to create your own things and not rely on others.” –Kimball Hastings, fashion blogger

“Once I got started, I just tried to focus on doing the best job I could.” –Steven Strait, actor

“But I did learn one thing: Your successes don’t define you, your failures do.  Embrace your failures- they keep you going.  If we only had successes, we’d have nothing to live for.  And if you can’t quite crack the code, put it down, but never walk away, even if it takes you 10 years.  It’s just like riding a bike.” –RJ Skinner in his essay “Born to be Wobbly” in the Globe and Mail, Sept. 6, 2013.  It was about him learning to ride a bike in adulthood.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.  It is not the urge to surpass others at all cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” –Arthur Ashe, tennis champion (1943-1993)

“Remember that wherever, your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” –Paul Coelho, The Alchemist

“I said, ‘Take a step back, have a look around and then maybe come up with something you haven’t even thought about and do it…Even if you just do it for a year, six months, two weeks, whatever.  The point is you can do anything.  You haven’t gotta just think, I’ve gotta go out and sing these songs all the time.’  And she could.  The world was her oyster, and she was very talented in a lot of other things that I don’t think she gets credit for.  I spent time discussing all that with her, and reminding her- not that she ever forgot, I don’t think- just sort of reminding her that there was so many possibilities in life, particularly for someone so young who’s in the fortunate position that (they) haven’t got to go out and work everyday.” –Reg Travis talking about Amy Winehouse in the book Amy 27 by Howard Sounes

No comments: