Inspirational Quotes For The Soul

I’ve always enjoyed inspirational and motivational quotes.  They can be thought provoking, funny, enlightening, and even comforting.  Although usually short, their message can speak volumes. For me, inspirational quotes are often just plain, old fashioned good advice.

"A smart man learns from his mistakes; A wise man learns from the mistakes of others".

I have no idea who said this but it’s an excellent example of the power of quotes.  We can learn from the words of others.

Here is are my Top 10 Favorite Inspirational Quotes:

1. "The world is but a canvas to the imagination."

~Henry David Thoreau

2. "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart."

~Helen Keller

3. "Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

4. "Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

5. "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

~Buddha

6. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."

~Aristotle

7. "Do or do not. There is no try."

~Yoda

8. "The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."

Wanna hear a great procrastination joke?  OK, I’ll tell you tomorrow.

Yes, it’s easy to joke about procrastination but in truth, it’s no laughing matter.  When we procrastinate it may seem like a fun thing to do at the time, but all we’re really doing is hurting ourselves.  It’s like that old saying, "Procrastination is a lot like masturbation; in the end you’re just screwing yourself."  That may be a bit crude but it does make a good point.

Let’s say there’s something you really want to accomplish and you know the project will take about 20 hours to complete.  You might be tempted to think, "How am I ever going to find the time to do that?" So you keep postponing your task.

A better approach would be to simply spend an hour on your project each day.  Then, three weeks from now you will have a completed project.  You may be wondering where you will get this extra hour each day.  That’s easy, you’ll just spend less time doing unproductive things such as checking e-mail, watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone, reading the newspaper or whatever.  Now I know if you read the paper regularly you may be wondering how you could possibly give it up.  Don’t worry, the world won’t come to an end if you skip the news for a while.  Since most of the news is depressing anyway you won’t miss a thing.  Plus, others will definitely tell you about the really important stuff.

Perhaps the biggest key to ending procrastination is just getting started.  That may sound like an oversimplification but I believe it really is that simple.  Recently, I was sick with an upper respiratory infection and I didn’t do my fitness routine for 2 weeks.  Right after that I had a guest for a week and again, I skipped my workouts.  This week I have no valid reason except that I simply haven’t got back into the habit.

Don’t let procrastination be the roadblock that keeps you from attaining everything you desire in life.  Focus on your desires and let them motivate you to take action.  Since a healthy life and a good level of fitness are things I desire, I’m going to do my workout as soon as I finish this post.  It’s time to remove another roadblock.

Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states that unless acted upon by an outside force, a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. In its simplest form it can be said that a body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion. This is known as inertia.

Usually inertia is used to describe the movement of inanimate objects. I’d like to explore this idea as it pertains to people and their actions. I believe the law of motion can help us achieve goals. Since many people are unhealthy, overweight and more specifically, overly fat, I’d like to focus on this area of concern. Before we examine the law of motion as it pertains to your health, let’s develop a better understanding of how the concept works.

According to Wikipedia , on the surface of the Earth the nature of inertia is often masked by the effects of friction, which brings moving objects to rest relatively quickly unless they are coasting on wheels, well lubricated or perhaps falling or going downhill, being accelerated by gravity. This is what misled classical theorists such as Aristotle, who believed objects moved only so long as force was being applied to them.

So then, inertia can be halted by friction and sustained by lubrication. This got me thinking about something my Dad said. He recently lost about 15 pounds and is now back to his "perfect" weight. He told me that the first three weeks were slow going and he didn’t see many results. Then he began to pick up momentum and started losing weight. It’s as if the cumulative effect of his food choices and exercise finally kicked in. His metabolism was working better and he had achieved momentum. In fact, he had so much inertia he was concerned he might lose too much weight. At that point, he had to make a conscious effort to keep this from happening.

The human body is designed to be in motion. When we were young, we were constantly in motion and it felt great. Even in my twenties and thirties, it felt great to be in motion and it just didn’t feel right to sit for long periods. That’s because a body in motion tends to stay in motion. At some point, I began to develop bad habits and sitting around started to feel natural and exercise didn’t. It’s as if the equation had shifted. I think you know what that means! A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
The fat that’s made itself at home on my abdomen and thighs has become an unwelcome guest to say the least. I haven’t always been successful in the fat loss department. What happens is that just I’m about to get momentum, or "momo" as I like to call it, I stop making an effort because I’m not seeing results. I usually quit just before I develop inertia.

I’ve decided on a new approach. It works like this: When you have a goal ask yourself if you are providing friction or lubrication. Having this dialog with yourself will allow you to see if you are halting your inertia or sustaining it.

If I don’t exercise, I’m providing friction. If I decide to have a snicker doodle and a café mocha, I’m providing friction. If, on the other hand, I decide to exercise and I opt for a café latte with skim milk, I’m providing lubrication. OK, maybe a café latte with skim milk isn’t exactly lubrication, but I wouldn’t call it friction either so it’s a step in the right direction! In addition, the more you exercise the more enjoyable it becomes as your fitness level increases. Then, momo kicks in and you begin to see results. Now the whole endeavor has inertia and it will be much easier to stay in motion and get the healthy body you desire.

Here are some great examples of people with vision.  To them, failures are not failures, but merely stepping stones.

Famous Failures

I’ve heard it said that if you were to take all the money away from the wealthy and redistribute it evenly among everyone, that within one year an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class would re-emerge. I believe this to be true because some people would see opportunities and take advantage of them as they arise. Others would save or invest their money and possibly take advantage of a few opportunities. The remainder would blow their money, ignore opportunities, and make excuses as to why they no longer have the kind of life they desire.

Have you ever noticed that so many of the wealthy people in this country weren’t even born here? This is something I have always found very fascinating. I’ve heard story after story of people who immigrated to this country and came here with very little or no money. Yet many of them became very successful people, at least in terms of amassing wealth. They do whatever is necessary to acquire their dreams. Many of them achieve this success by initially living as cheaply as possible, working 2 or 3 jobs, and saving their hard earned dollars. Then they learn everything they can in a given field and often go into business for themselves. Sometimes they get small business loans if necessary. Once they achieve initial success with one store, they often go ahead and open a second and then a third. They find good managers to run the additional stores. The power of duplicity is a great way to create wealth because once you train someone to do exactly what you do you can continue duplicating this success over and over again.

Why do so many foreigners take advantage of these opportunities while the rest of us do not? I believe it’s because they see opportunities where we do not. Many of these people grew up in countries that don’t have the endless luxuries that we do.

Imagine if you lived in a shack that you shared with 10 other people. The place has no heating or air conditioning, no refrigeration, and a dirt floor. Food is scarce and you have no running water and have to walk a mile just for fresh water. Suddenly the idea of working two jobs in exchange for living in a place that has flooring and refrigeration would seem like a dream come true. The opportunity to learn about business and actually be able to get a loan for this purchase would be unheard of where you came from. So naturally, when you arrive in this country all you can see is opportunity, everywhere you look. There are even fountains with fresh water and coins in the bottom! This is obviously a place of great abundance.

Now this may be an exaggerated example but I use it to illustrate a point. Why don’t we see the many opportunities that surround us? It’s because when you’re comfortable and all of your basic needs are met it’s harder to see the opportunity. We simply don’t want to take advantage of opportunity because sometimes what’s really an opportunity feels like a tremendous sacrifice. We’re just too comfortable to see what we’ve got. So, we make excuses as to why something won’t work to avoid making what we perceive to be a sacrifice.

We use negative self-talk; getting my degree will take too much time, or owning my own business would require too much work, or getting a loan involves too much risk. Oh, and then, pursuing a certain course of action might take up too much of my time and I’d have to give up watching my favorite TV shows, and so on and so forth.

We’re like spoiled children who get everything handed to them only to take it all for granted. It drives me crazy when I see parents give their kids everything, which teaches them the value of nothing. There, I said it. This opinion might not make me too popular with some, but I don’t care; it’s what I truly believe. We tend to place much more value on things that we have to work for and pay for with our own money especially if we earn them the old fashioned way. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to give your children opportunities and provide them with a wonderful life. However, teaching them the value of working and seizing opportunities is one of the best gifts you can give them.

The following quote is attributed to Helen Keller.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us ."

If a blind and deaf mute could see opportunity then surely all of us can learn from her remarkable attitude. While she may not have had the gift of sight, she certainly possessed vision.

People have been coming to this country for years in search of a better life. After all, this is the land of opportunity. Once you realize this, the possibilities are limitless! If you have sight, but lack vision you might not see every opportunity. If you have vision, you can take advantage of opportunities and create the life you desire. Having sight allows you to see what is. Having vision allows you to see what can be!

This is Sister Madonna Buder.  She is 78 years old and look what she is able to do.  Talk about Amazing Grace!

Sister Madonna Buder.

Have you ever wanted to learn a new skill, start a new career, or take up a new hobby but felt that you were too old? I know I certainly have and on more than one occasion. I remember when I was about 20 years old I considered becoming a Chiropractor. I liked the holistic philosophy of Chiropractic. The idea of treating the problem rather than the symptom made sense to me.

Then I was stricken with fear, yes the dreaded "f" word. I thought that I would be too old by the time I graduated at 26! If I decided to get married someday and have kids, then the schooling might just be a waste of time. Also, it seemed like a long time to wait before beginning a career.

Several years later, after I got married, I toyed with the idea of becoming an Architect. I was probably about 32 at the time and I was working for a builder selling new homes. I enjoyed studying the blueprints and changing things around to make the homes more aesthetically pleasing with improved functionality. Even though I believed I would make an excellent architect, I figured I would be too old by the time I got the degree. Therefore, I didn’t pursue this course of action either.

In retrospect, the whole notion of being too old just seems completely ridiculous: too old for what? If you decide to pursue a goal that takes 10 years to accomplish, then so what? What’s the worst thing that could happen? You could die between now and then and not achieve the goal. What’s the best that could happen? You could still be alive in ten years and now possess a valuable skill that might allow you to earn a very good living. You could master a skill that brings you great joy. Suppose you didn’t pursue this goal. You could look back in ten years regretting that you didn’t follow your dream. You would be asking yourself, "I wonder what would have happened if?"…

I got an e-mail the other day from my good friend, Lisa. She told me about a woman named Sister Madonna Buder and went on to say that this lady was her new hero. Of course, being a nun itself is quite remarkable given the level of sacrifice and dedication that’s required of the position. The thing that really impressed my friend was that this lady participates in triathlons and has even competed in 13 Iron Man triathlons.

An Iron Man consists of a 26.2 mile marathon run, a 2.4 mile swim, and a 112 mile bicycle ride. This would be an incredible accomplishment for the most elite athlete. What makes this feat even more inspiring is that Sister Madonna is 78 years old or in her case, years young. She didn’t take up running until she was 49. She has broken her hip twice, broken her arm, and broken her scapula but she just keeps on going. In fact, she has participated in over 300 triathlons!

Remember it’s not the amount of years in your life that count but the amount of life in your years! If I ever start to feel too old to do something, I’m just going to think of Sister Madonna. Besides, it’s all in how you look at it. Instead of thinking you’re too old just think of how young you’ll stay by pursuing your passions.