"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."

-- Napoleon Hill, author

"Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try."

Ernest Hemingway

Amongst the crypts in Westminster Abbey in London there is an eulogy carved on the tomb of an Anglican bishop (A.D 1100). It says:

“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.

But it, too, seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.”

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."

Author Unknown

"If you want to leave your footprints on the sands of time, be sure you're wearing work shoes."

-- Author Unknown

"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. "


-- Steve Young, football player

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. "

-- Stephen King, author

"A man's friendship is one of the best measures of his worth"
-Charles Darwin.

"Worry often gives a small thing a great shadow."

-- Swedish Proverb

Destiny can only be delayed but never denied

unknown

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."

Frank A. Clark

Re-quoted for emphasis!

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be overcome first."

Author Unknown

"If you would create something,you must be something."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."

John Muir

"Every artist was first an amateur."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible."

T.E. Lawrence

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."

Lanston Hughes

"Always do what you are afraid to do."

Reiterated by Ralph Waldo Emerson. True author unknown.

"Men's best successes come after their disappointments."

Henry Ward Beecher

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"If you want to succeed in the world must make your own opportunities as you go on. The man who waits for some seventh wave to toss him on dry land will find that the seventh wave is a long time a coming. You can commit no greater folly than to sit by the roadside until some one comes along and invites you to ride with him to wealth or influence."

John B. Gough

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Harold R. McAlindon

jamace:

"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. "


-- Steve Young, football player

I agree. The person in this world I would like to conquer the most is myself.

jamace:

"Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try."

Ernest Hemingway

Terse

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

Francis Bacon

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."

Vince Lombardi

"The virtue lies in the struggle, not in the prize."

Richard Monckton Milnes

"Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself. "

-- Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show Host

"Glory not io wealth if you have it, nor in friends because they are powerful but in God who gives all things and above all desires to give you Himself."

- Thomas A Kempis

Coincidences in Life: The 10 Universal Laws that Shape Our Destiny

1. The Law of Karma
Karma is the unerring force that adjusts effect to cause on the physical, mental and spiritual planes of our being. Its action was stated by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians 6:7 as: “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Whatever energy we send into the Universe in the form of our thoughts, feelings and actions comes back to us in kind. There are no exceptions and no fortuities.
If our goal is to attract more of the positive events into our life, we should focus on thoughts and actions that generate love, compassion, abundance and health.

2. The Law of Creation
Each and every one of us has an unlimited creative potential. Our goal is to fulfill this potential through some form of creative work. It does not matter if we express our feelings through our writing, let our personality shine through our artwork or are writing a new piece of java code. What matters is that we do it wholeheartedly, that we let ourselves be fully emerged by the process, that we feel oneness with the Universe.

3. The Law of Neutrality
The Universe is neutral. It does not play the game of favorites and dislikes, more important or less significant. We are all divine beings created by God and loved equally, deeply and completely.
We are never punished – we are simply given an opportunity to learn something, even through our problems, setbacks and sufferings. We are never rewarded – we are simply given an opportunity to share our blessings with those around us.

4. The Law of Participation
Life does not just happen to us. It requires our active participation. Of course, there are some lessons and accomplishments that were placed on our life path the day we were born, but it is up to us how to perceive and react to them.

5. The Law of Oneness
We are connected by invisible bonds with all living beings on this Planet. We are all consciousness in different manifestations, therefore when we are hurting someone, when we refuse to forgive, when we pass on judgment, we are harmed as well, because we are a part of the Universal equilibrium.
If we want to succeed faster and lead happier lives, we should align our goals with the good of other people. When our objectives compete with the desires and goals of other people, we have greater difficulty in achieving them. Consequently, if we set goals that many people would benefit from, the whole Universe will assist us in their fulfillment.

6. The Law of Acceptance
We will continue to receive what we refuse to accept. If we ignore our problems, they will only get bigger and more urgent. If we refuse to learn our lessons, greater, more serious lessons will be given to us. If we obsessively pursue a goal or idea that is not right for us, it will elude us until we accept that we can live without it.

7. The Law of Growth
There is no such thing as immobility, when it comes to inner growth. We cannot achieve certain levels of spiritual, mental and emotional development and then simply relax and enjoy ourselves. When we are not using our skills, we lose them. Similar, without applying continuous effort in our personal growth, we are doomed to fall back into our old, negative patterns of behavior.

8. The Law of Patience
We may like the idea of instant gratification, but deep down we all know that things of value have to be earned, endured, and awaited. It is a great blessing to be able to do what you are supposed to be doing, without being attached to the result and patiently wait for the reward to come in its own time.

9. The Law of Focus
Despite a very popular concept of multitasking, our mind cannot concentrate on two thoughts at the same time. We cannot wish someone well and feel hatred for another person simultaneously. We cannot feel gratitude for our blessings and experience lack in some area of our lives. By consciously directing the flow of our thoughts in a positive direction, we leave less room for such destructive emotions as anger, greed, jealousy and envy.

10. The Law of the Sacrifice
For everything you gain, you have to give up something else.
If you have trouble achieving certain goals in life, it might be a good idea to ask yourself, what you are willing to sacrifice for it: be it your time, part of your money, or missed opportunities that you will not be able to take advantage of?

"Until you commit your goals to paper, you have intentions that are seeds without soil."

-- Anonymous

"We must not say every mistake is a foolish one."


Cicero

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated."

-- Maya Angelou, poet