My Favourite Quotes: Make your own Bible

If you know me at all, you know I love quotes.  I use them all the time and throughout my life they have had significant impact on my attitudes, values and beliefs.  They are a great way to sum up a rule or thought in a simple elegant way helping you to remember the points.

I have stored my meaningful quotes in a simple text file for over 10 years and I got to thinking that it was almost a Bible for me.  It has sections and when I need some specific guidance there are sections that I like to read in different situations that cheer me up or keep me going.  (Keep in mind that I am not religious, it is just a comparison).

So I thought I would encourage everyone to create their own txt file to store quotes that are meaningful to them.  And even perhaps store them in sections, or even further add sections and quote tags so you always know where your quotes are.  I personally have studied mine enough to know many of my quotes off-hand and it helps me remember in certain situations when they are relevant.

I have not only saved famous quotes, but also quotes I have written myself and quotes from other people that I thought were relevant.

Here are my favourite 5, and I will list a few more below.

Top 5 Quotes / Passages (In no particular order):

Quote 1. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is courage that counts.”

– Sir William Churchill

This has kept me going many times.  It helps to keep me from getting an overinflated ego, and from crashing into the dumps.  It simply reminds me to keep working hard and to never lose site of the goal.

Additional Quotes:

  • “Disappointments are Envitable. Discouragement is a Choice.”
  • “You learn you can do your best even when it’s hard, even when you’re tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage.” – Joe Nameth

Quote 2. “Write all the good things said about you in stone and all the negative ones in sand”

– Paraphrased (Can’t find original exact wording)

This one is powerful, because throughout your life, particularly in a career, you often forget about the good things said to / about you.  If someone has taken the time to say something nice about you then you need to appreciate the hell out of it.  If someone says something bad, it often has more to do with their bad day, than with anything you did.  And so I choose to let it blow away with the wind.

Quote 3. “Nothing in this World can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the World is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

– Calvin Coolidge

Every day you need to drive yourself further and further.  Do not give up.  I think this one stands by itself.
Additional Quotes:
  • “If you are going through hell, don’t stop”
  • “Life is about moving forward, at any price, don’t fucking stop, keep doing it, find it out for your self, get the job done, period.”
  • “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.”  – Harry Golden
  • “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work.” – Edison
  • “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus

Quote 4. “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for 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 he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt
“Citizenship in a Republic,”

Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1941

This quote is so powerful.  Too often humanity is happy to simply sit and criticize.  Pull up a lawn chair and watch other people fail.  I think that it takes major amounts of courage to try and keep trying and that is the key to everything in this world.  If you see someone who is successful, they have taken more criticism and failed more entirely than you can every imagine.  Trump went bankrupt only to return stronger.
Another few supporting quotes for this point:
  • “I have failed over and over again, this is why I succeed” – Michael Jordan
  • “There are no failures, just results”
  • “Keep away those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, the really great make you believe that you too can become great”  -Twain
  • “When setting out on a journey, do not seek advice from those who have never left home.” -Rumi
  • “God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas, but for scars.” – Elbert Hubbard
Quote 5. Desiderata (This is a bit of a long one but worth it)
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

— Translated by Max Ehrmann, 1927

— Author unknown

This quote/passage really sums up everything in life.  It says the most simple things so well and is very grounding for me.  I think I end up reading it once or twice throughout the year, but when I do, it always moves me.

An Important Quote and an Incredible Experience

I was sitting in the BCIT computer lab downstairs at my normal spot reading some textbook, taking notes or working on a project.  I was completely oblivious to what was going on.  The seat where I was overlooked a lower area of computers that was about 10 feet down.  And right below me were the copy machines, low enough that you can’t see anyone, but high enough that people could hand you things.

I was minding my own business probably listening to music while doing my work and out of nowhere I see a piece of paper through the little railing coming up from in front of the copy area.  A guy was standing down there with his arm up handing it to me.  I took a look at it, then I took a look at him and he walked away.  It was all pleasant and everything, but I was confused.  I took a look at the paper he gave me and it had this written on it:

The Way I See It

“Our lives are inpired by the dreams we have from the earliest stages of our youth.  When you combine passion and hard work, then success is always possible.  While no road is ever straight, dedication and persistance will always lead you to your dreams.”

– Arte Moreno

I looked up and the guy was nowhere around.  The quote moved me so much I was just flabbergasted that something so unbelievably perfect could have passed to me at the exact time in my life when I was working harder than ever to get through school.  I will never forget it, and it was such an unusual event that I wanted to share it.

________________

Some quotes just hit you and make you think.  And I this one has probably had the most profound effect on my life in a weird way.  I don’t remember where I found it, but I will never forget it.

“Time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted”

It helps me to remember that I can take a break and not feel like a failure.  Gives me permission to play some Xbox or do something for myself, which is extremely important for my mental health.

Make sure you always give yourself time to enjoy life.  Thanks, Mike 🙂

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