Competitor

"The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time."  - Henry Ford -

Seed

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit."  - Napoleon Hill -

Future

"We can not change the future; but we can help shape it."  - Unknown author -

Pencil

"A blunt pencil is better than a sharp mind." - Unknown Author -

Us

"I don't know "us" and I don't think that we know "us" either, because - whoever we are - we have not met before."  - W.R. Bion -

Love

"To love and be loved is the greatest happiness of existence."  - Sydney Smith -

Childhood

"It is never too late to have a happy childhood."  - Tim Robbins -

Astound

"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison -

Dream

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allan Poe -

Smile

"A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home."  - Author Unknown -

To pray

"Lord, help me to notice everything You want me to see today."  - Author unknown -

Weave

"Weave in faith and God will find the thread."  - Author unknown -

Cherish

"Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age."  - Christopher Morley -

Destination

"It matters not which way the wind blows, I can adjust my sails to reach my destination." - Author unknown -

Friendship

"The treasure of friendship is your richest possession, because it goes with you beyond this life."  - Swami Yoganandaji -

Mind

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."  - Plutarch -

Exploration

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time..."  - T S Eliot in The Four Quartets -

Try

"God does not require us to succeed, he only asks us to try."  - Mother Teresa -

Future

"There are two futures, the future of desire and the future of fate, and man's reason has never learnt to separate them." - JD Bernal -

Happy

"Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue what you want"  - Jim Rohn -

Everything

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."  - Thomas H. Huxley -

Decision

"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Self-education

"Traditional education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune."  - Jim Rohn -

Choose

"We can not choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them."  - Epictetus -

Disturb

"People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them."  - Epictetus -

Waterfall

"A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path."  - Author unknown -

Civil

"Be civil to all, sociable to many, familiar with few, friend to one, enemy to none."  - Benjamin Franklin -

Beginner's mind

"A beginner's mind takes you where you need to go" - a traditional Zen saying -

God

"You may call God love, you may call God goodness, but the name for God is compassion." - Meister Eckhart -

Family

"All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." - Leo Tolstoy -

Fall

"When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You can't plan that kind of falling. When you abandon yourself utterly to life, the river will flow, and the log jam will free. Impossible is another word for grace. Who would've thought it, life takes another turn, and you are gathered up into a whole different way of seeing and being." - Roger Housden -

Mysterious

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." - Albert Einstein -

Useless

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."  - Peter Drucker -

Feel

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  - Maya Angelou -

Simplicity

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  - Steve Jobs -

Chance

"Do you want to spend the rest of the life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world."  - Steve Jobs & John Sculley -

Convince

"A person can have the greatest idea in the world.  But if the person can't convince enough other people, it doesn't matter."  - Gregory Berns -

Can do

"All powers are within you, you can do anything and everything." - Swami Vivekananda -

Communication

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."  - George Bernard Shaw -

Simplicity

"Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough."  - Charles Dudley Warner -

Change

"Nothing changes, until you do." - Lazaris -

Simplicity

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."  — Dr. Koichi Kawana -

Purpose

"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."  - E M Gray -

Discipline

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."  - Jim Rohn -

I've learned

"I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned.... That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
 
I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned.... That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned.... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned ... That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done."

- Andy Rooney -

Common sense

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."  - Buddha -

Kind

"Three things in life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind."  - Henry James -

People

"When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity." - Dale Carnegie -

Hostility

"If we could read the secret histories of our enemies, we would find in each man's life a sorrow and a suffering enough to disarm all hostility."  - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -

True work

"Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; just let God work, it is HIS business." - Swami Vivekananda -

I was right

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." - Abraham Lincoln -

Fight one more round

"FIght one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired you wish your opponent would crack you one in the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round - remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped." - James J. Corbett -

Choice

"Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice." - Ayn Rand -

Discovery

"The most poignant discovery in science comes when one suddenly sees the truth that was open to view all the time." - Raymond A. Dart -

Work

"I you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life." - Confucius -

Belief

"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success." - Norman Vincent Peale -

Homage

"The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them. Thus they are able to reign over all the mountain streams. So the sage, wishing to be above men, putteth himself below them; wishing to be before them, he putteth himself behind them. Thus, though his place be above men, they do not feel his weight; though his place be before them, they do not count it an injury." - Lao Tsze, a Chinese sage -

Soft

"He who treads softly goes far." - Chinese proverb -

Nothing

"One thing only I know and that is that I know nothing." - Socrates -

Argument

"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man by argument." - William G. McAdoo -

Credit

"You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit." - Harry S. Truman -

My influence

"My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
E'er sets the evening sun.

This the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray;
Lord may my life help others lives
It touches by the way."

- Author unknown -

The Student's Prayer

"Don't impose on me what you know,
I want to explore the unknown
And be the source of my own discoveries.
Let the known be my liberation, not my slavery.
The world of your truth can be my limitation;
Your wisdom my negation.
Don't instruct me; let's walk together.
Let my riches begin where yours ends.
Show me so that I can stand
On your shoulders.
Reveal yourself so that I can be
Something different.
You believe that every human being
Can love and create.
I understand, then, your fear
When I ask you to live according to your wisdom.
You will not know who I am
By listening to yourself.
Don't instruct me; let me be.
Your failure is that I be identical to you."

- Umberto Maturana's son - [Former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam wrote about it in The Hindu newspaper today, Nov 12, 2009: came across this poem in a book Spiritual Intelligence, The Ultimate Intelligence by Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall]

Customer

"A Customer is the most important visitor on our premises,
He is not dependent on us; we are dependent on him,
He is not an interruption on our work; He is the purpose of it,
He is not an outsider on our business; He is a part of it,
We are not doing him a favor by Serving him; He is giving us an opportunity to do so."

- Mahatma Gandhi -

Love

"And in the end, the love you take,
Is equal to the love you made."

- Gil Tran and the Beatles -

Leaders

"Leaders are leaders only as long as they have the respect and loyalty of their followers." - Hans Selye -

Wanted:

"A miracle worker who can do more with less, pacify rival groups, endure chronic second guessing, tolerate low levels of support, process large volumes of paper, and work double shifts. He or she will have carte blanche to innovate, but cannot spend much money, replace any personnel, or upset any constituency." - Michael Fullan -

Leadership

"Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it." - Marian Anderson -

Happiness

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise man grows it under his feet." - James Openhelm -

Within

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Mystery of life

"The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced." - Aart van der Leew -

Sayings

"Sayings remain meaningless until they are embodied in habits." - Kahil Gibran -

Peace of mind

"For material progress and physical well being, peace of mind is of utmost importance." - Dalai Lama -

Be

"If you want to be happy, be." - Leo Tolstoy -

Give

"We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers." - Seneca -

Aim of education

"The great aim of education is not knowledge but action." - Herbert Spencer -

Education

"Education is the ability to meet life's situations." - Dr. John G. Hibben -

Power

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln -

God's trust

"God won't trust you with a lot unless you demonstrate he can trust you with a little." - Charles Stanley -

Strength

"The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength." - Swami Vivekananda -

For the next generation

There was an elderly person planting some acorns. A man passing by asked, "Old man, look at your age. Do you think you will live long enough to see the oak trees?" And the man replied, "All the trees that have given me shade and fruits - did I plant all of them? There are people coming behind me too." - Author unknown -

Footprints

"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -

Stand

"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides." - Margaret Thatcher -

Begin it

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it”. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe -

Success

"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him." - David Brink -

Unknown

"In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty. In the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And, in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe." - Author unknown -

Thanks Gillean for sharing this.

Let go

"Keep that which is good and decent in your life. Let go the rest." - Author unknown -

Thanks Gillean for sharing - saw it written on a bulletin board at a homeopathic physician's office.

Yearn

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." - Antoine De Saint-Exupery -

Common sense

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age 18." - Einstein -

Light

"It's better to light the candle than curse the darkness." - Eleanor Roosevelt -

Tomorrow

"If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes. If you don't wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes." - Senegalese proverb -

Journey

"The journey is the reward." - Tao proverb -

Joy

"Every season brings its own joy." - Spanish proverb -

Choice

"Beyond the age of information is the age of choices." - Charles Eames -

If

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give away to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or, walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling -

Tyrant

"The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within." - Mahatma Gandhi -

Give the best

"Look at the sky.  We are not alone.  The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work."  - Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam -

Values

“If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.”  - Barack H. Obama -

Glory

“Glory is not a conceit.  It is not a decoration by valour.  Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in return.”  - John McCain -

Challenge

“Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human action.  If there’s an ocean, we cross it.  If there’s a disease, we cure it.  If there’s is a wrong, we right it.  If there’s a record, we break it.  And if there is a mountain, we climb it.”  - James Ullman -