"MOTIVATION"
EARLY - Page 2



"I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be."
--- Ainsley Carry


"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better."
--- Robert Hege --- North Carolina


"And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people."
--- Leo Tolstoy
--- Contributed by Robyn Mauza --- B.C., Canada



"Insist upon yourself, never imitate!!!"
--- Sent in by Jody C. Burnett --- California


A feather aloft in the air,
Carrying the dream that thwarts despair
A feather of a beautiful dove,
Bearing the dream of unyielding love
That feather I will follow,
For my dream shall not be hollow.
--- Copyright © 1998 William G. Andrews
--- Permission to reprint



"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
--- Aristotle
--- Contributed by Paul Lehman



"Do not be afraid to give up the good for the great."
--- Robert Hege --- North Carolina


"Music is a medicine for many... Silence is a poison for some..."
--- Jacqui Webb


"Having a place to go - is a home. Having someone to love - is a family. Having both - is a blessing."
--- Donna Hedges
--- Sent in by Tom Bassett



"Sometimes I would rather that people take away years from my life than take away a moment."
--- Pearle Bailey
--- Contributed by Kitiara --- Philippines



"Celebrations are the juice of life."
--- John D. Hofbrauer, Jr.
--- Contributed by Richard Chorley --- Amsterdam



"Babies come into the world,holding joy in their hands. And when they open those small fingers, the whole world's supply is replenished. Again."
--- Author Unknown
--- Contributed by Kari Scarlett --- Alberta, Canada



I love you not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.
I love you not only for what you have made of yourself,
But for what you are making of me.
You have done it without a touch, without saying a word.
You have done it by being yourself.
--- Excerpt from Roy Croft's poem: Love
--- Contributed by Katie
--- Completed by Angela Huffer --- Virginia



"Naturally intelligent people are like lumps of coal. Eventually, we turn into diamonds, and the people we once envied, turn into coal."
--- Kevin R. Hutson


You may search my time-worn face,
You'll find a merry eye that twinkles
I am NOT an old lady
Just a little girl with wrinkles.
--- Edythe E. Bregnard
--- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery



"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
--- Plato
--- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery



We do not understand Joy,
Until we have felt sorrow;
Faith until we are tested;
Peace, until we are faced with conflict;
Trust, until we are betrayed;
Love until it is lost;
Hope, until we are faced with doubts.
--- Author Unknown
--- Contributed by Fran Sawyer --- Florida



"Time is like a river. It flows one direction, but with a little force you can go back. But like a river, everything you do has a ripple."
--- Kevin R. Hutson


"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; knows not the livid loneliness of fear."
--- Amelia Earhart
--- Contributed by L. Modany --- Pennsylvania






"Stay true to your convictions and harvest happiness eternal."
--- Lori Hard


"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."
--- Og Mandino The Greatest Salesman in the World
--- Contributed by Tara Waters --- North Carolina
--- Contributed by Anoure Fenstermaker --- Pennsylvania



"Great ideas begin with ..."I"..."
--- Duane Stephens --- Missouri


"Remember to always say what you mean. If you love someone, tell them. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it is the right time, it might be too late.
Seize the day!"
--- Author Unknown
--- Contributed by Fran Sawyer --- Florida



TODAY

Outside my window, a new day I see

Only I can determine what kind of day it will be.

It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay,

Or boring and cold, unhappy and grey.

My own state of mind, is the determining key,

For I am only the person I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help,

Or be selfish, and think just of myself,

I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun,

Or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone.

I can be patient with those who may not understand,

Or belittle and hurt them as much as I can.

But I have faith in myself, And believe what I say.

And I personally intend to make the most of each day.
--- Jan Lavalley
--- Submitted by Linda



"You see things that are and say Why? But I dream things that never were and say Why not?"
--- George Bernard Shaw
--- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery



"Change is the end result of all true learning. Change involves three things: First, a dissatisfaction with self - a felt void or need; second, a decision to change - to fill the void or need; and third, a conscious dedication to theprocess of growth and change-the willful act of making the change; Doing Something."
--- Leo Buscaglia
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you."
--- H. Jackson Brown Jr.
--- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery



"From the highest mountains in the world, men seek for higher places to climb, when in their heart, it is where the climb always continues."
--- Jason Berg


"Don't break when things push you too far. Bend a little, then bounce back."
--- Carol A. --- Michigan


"Remember that another time, all of you. A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference."
--- Eeyore in A. A. Milne's "Winnie-The-Pooh"
--- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery



"The vast population of this earth, and indeed nations themselves, may readily be divided into three groups. There are the few who make things happen, the many more who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens. Every human being is born into this third and largest group; it is for himself, his environment and his education to determine whether he shall rise to the second group or even to the first."
--- Nicholas Murray Butler
--- Contributed by Jim L. --- California



"Sometimes when learning comes before experience, it doesn't make sense right away."
--- Richard Bach
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington ---Michigan



"Don't ever stop trying to get to where you always wanted to be. The moment you stop trying, is the moment your dream stops coming true."
--- Rebekah --- Japan


"Hands that help are holier than lips that pray."
--- Vinod Reddy --- India


"It is not the critic who counts, not that man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doers of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
--- Theodore Roosevelt
--- Contributed by Leslie --- Minnesota



"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him/her his/her own."
--- Benjamin Disraeli
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life,lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom."
--- Albert Einstein
--- Contributed by Mr. Jamie Yosha



"Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly."
--- St.Francis De Sales
--- Submitted by Dennis Kiley



"Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive!"
--- Anonymous
--- Contributed by Paul Byrne



"It is at precisely the moment, when we are at our lowest ebb, that the tide begins to turn."
--- Sent in by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
--- Eleanor Roosevelt
--- Contributed by L. Modany --- Pennsylvania



"It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing, while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them."
--- George Elliot
--- Contributed by Hilary Walker



"If God intended for today to be perfect, He would not have invented tomorrow."
--- Author Unknown
--- Submitted by Kim McQuitty --- Michigan



"A mile is easiest run one step at a time."
--- Submitted by Dan Kelly and all his friends --- Illinois


"Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine, and the automobile. For these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - daydreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain machinery whizzing - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to invent, and therefore to foster, civilization."
--- L. Frank Baum
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations all drive us forward, impel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core, and they are loaded with vital information about who we are and who we can become. Keeping track of our wishes helps us tap into the energy that propels us to go after our happiness."
--- Barbara Ann Kipfer
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
--- Anne Bradstreet
--- Contributed by Hilary Walker



"Everything good that has ever happened in this world, started with a thought."
--- Pete Zafra --- California


"Be good to yourself, Be patient, Be kind, Be forgiving, After all... You're all you've got!!!"
--- Sent in by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"They say that death kills you, but death doesn't kill you. Boredom and indifference kill you."
--- Iggy Pop
--- From Dennis --- NSW, Australia



Frank Morgan as the Wizard of Oz:
To Tin Man:

"..and remember, my sentimental friend,
that a heart is not judged by how much you love,
but by how much you are loved by others."

And the lesson Dorothy learned...
"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again,
I won't look any further than my own backyard.
Because if it isn't there,
I never really lost it tobegin with."
--- Contributed by Melissa Slusher --- Virginia


"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves."
--- William Arthur Ward
--- Contributed by Hilary Walker



"The greatest challenges of your lifetime, and thus the greatest rewards, should be the ones you create, because you are the only one that can look deep inside your inner self to determine what fears must be conquered."
--- Gary Harrington --- Michigan


"The experience to be gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning whereas the experience gained from actual life is of the nature of wisdom. And a small store of the latter is worth vastly more than a stock of the former."
--- Samuel Smiles, (Self Help -1859)
--- Submitted by Dan Kelly and all his friends --- Illinois



"We do not attract what we want, but what we are."
--- James Allen
--- Contributed by Christine Lane



QUIT YOUR WAY TO THE TOP!
Quit complaining!
Quit blaming the past for your present!
Quit making excuses!
Quit procrastinating!
Quit blaming others if things don't turn out right!
Quit being close-minded!
Quit doubting yourself!
Quit being afraid!
Quit saying "If only"!
Quit basing your life on what other people say or think!
Quit refusing to get up after a fall!
Who ever said a quitter can't win?
You just need to choose what to quit on and
NEVER QUIT ON THE BASIC ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS IN LIFE...
Whatever they may be for you.
Good luck and always enjoy life!
--- Pete Zafra --- California


"Whenever you cling to the past,
You become unavailable to the present."
--- Sent in by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"Whatever we possess becomes of double value when we have the opportunity of sharing it with others."
--- Bouilly
--- Contributed by Jessica Guidobono --- B.C., Canada



" I'm not afraid of storms for I'm learning how to sail my ship."
--- Louisa May Alcott
--- Contributed by Adriene Oftedahl --- Arizona



"Each of us should do something every day that we do not want to do but we know we should do to strengthen our backbone and put iron in our soul."
--- Henry Hitt Crane -
--- Contributed by Jessica Guidobono --- B.C., Canada



"Senor, only the dead have no fear."
--- Grateful Mexican peasant in the film The Magnificent Seven
--- Contributed by Alan Stedall



I will rise above the rest
Soon I will be the best
Looking back at all I've done
The stadium lights will make it all fun
The day will arrive
Where I reach my last strive
When I'm at this step
I promise to keep my pep
The coaches will think
That player's on the brink
They'll look at me
And then you'll see
You'll realize
I've won the prize
For dedication is the key
To making dreams reality.
--- Heather Kaste


"To experience true loss you must love someone else more than yourself."
--- Author Unknown
--- Contributed by Adriene Oftedahl --- Arizona



"Keep your faith in all beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone."
--- Roy R. Gilson
--- Submitted by Felicia Hong



On a bumper sticker :
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
--- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
--- Author correction by Jacqui 8/24/99



"Think always in terms of the inevitable, not the probable."
--- Arthur --- Sydney, Australia


"If you learn from your suffering, and really come to understand the lesson you were taught, you might be able to help someone else who's now in the phase you may have just completed. Maybe that's what it's all about after all."
--- Anonymous
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"Listen to your inner voice. He or she is usually right."
--- Pete Zafra --- California


Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.
--- Jean Valjean
--- Contributed by Francesca--- Ontario, Canada



"If you don't stand up for something, then you'll fall for anything."
--- 'God's Little Instruction Book'
--- Contributed by Gillian Manson --- North Carolina



"Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you."
--- Walt Whitman
--- Submitted by Estelle ---Luxembourg



"Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes - the big ones come too infrequently. If you don't have all of those zillions of tiny successes, the big ones don't mean anything."
--- Norman Lear
--- Submitted by Josette Olivera --- Florida



"If you don't go fishing because you thought it might rain, you will never go fishing. This applies to more than fishing."
--- Gary Sow


"When you finally think, say, feel, and decide that you can, strange miracles start to happen."
--- Pete Zafra --- California


"Dedication and responsibility, far beyond the laws governed by man, releases the power within you, to attain all the wisdom of the universe."
--- Christine Lane


"Hopes make wishes come true."
--- Contributed by Kristin


"I have to be myself, I can't be no one else..."
--- Noel Gallagher (Oasis' 'Supersonic')
--- Contributed by Q.A.
--- Author's name correctly identified by Chris L.



"Steep thyself in a bowl of summertime."
--- Virgil
--- Contributed by Fran Meier

This quote reminds me to enjoy each moment of the summer:


"Be like a captain of a ship. A ship's master would never leave port, with no destination in mind, intending to simply sail aimlessly around in the ocean. He'd have a definite destination and charts show him how to get there.TOTAL COMMITMENT IN TIME ENERGY & PURPOSE."
--- Leo Aguila --- Taiwan


"Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined."
--- Leo Rosten
--- Contributed by Chris Oakley



"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
--- Carl Hermann Voss
--- Contributed by The Mc Loughlins from Ireland



"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
--- Shawshank Redemption
--- Submitted by Jake Cohen



"A true friend is someone who over looks your flaws and appreciates your kindness."
--- Contributed by Sandy J.H. --- New Jersey


"I am happy with my life, but never content, for the day that I am content, my dreams will cease to exist."
--- Ron Synn --- Washington


"We do not know what the future holds, but we do know WHO holds the future."
--- Submitted by Nancy Roellig


"Letting go is not giving up;  it is going up."
--- 'The Secret of Letting Go' --- Guy Finley
--- Submitted by Cheryl Thomas



"When you pray, move your feet!"
--- Old Quaker Saying
--- Submitted by Gael in Seattle