April Quotes: “If you actually want results, make a 5-year commitment…a lesser commitment is largely pointless” (Steve Pavlina)

For a full list of my favorite quotes, see here. Send me yours, I’m always looking for more.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. – Peter F. Drucker

/** Both are crucial to a mission’s long-term success, but from my Hyperink experience I’ve learned that – as a young(ish) entrepreneur – it’s more important to do the right things than to “do things right” which is often conflated with “work really really really hard” **/

To make sure this goal was achieved, I created eight laws of learning, namely, explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, and repetition. – John Wooden

/** Wooden is the man. If you want to learn more about the greatest athletic coach of all-time, read this. **/

A Polish Jew in an Episcopal graveyard in a largely Dominican neighborhood. What could be more New York? – Bloomberg’s eulogy at Ed Koch’s funeral

/** Yet another reason I love New York. The ethnic and cultural diversity is unparalleled. No other city comes close, no matter what its citizens would like to believe. **/

If you actually want results, make a 5-year commitment to a particular path, like building an online business, developing your social skills, becoming a world traveler, etc. A lesser commitment is largely pointless. – Steve Pavlina

/** I love reading Steve’s blog. It can sometimes get weird (for example, polyamory, polyphasic sleep), but that’s just a reflection of his always-pushing-the-limits mentality. It stretches your conception of what is possible in life, which is what people who make a difference do. **/

Life is so filled with disappointments that we are likely to assume that they are built into the human condition. On examination, however, there proves to be something disappointments share in common. Each thwarts an expectation of the individual ego. if the ego were to have no expectations, there would be nothing to disappoint. – Huston Smith

/** We are the expectations generation. **/

Their research suggests that once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder. – Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers

/** Cribbed from Jason’s blog. **/

Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough. – Alain de Botton

/** Have I told you to follow Alain de Botton’s Twitter feed? Well, follow his feed. Please. **/

We should keep a careful diary of our moments of envy – they are our covert guides to what we should try to do next. – Alain de Botton

/** Have you followed his feed yet? **/

What I want out of each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. – Deputy Marshall Gerard in The Fugitive

/** Was reminded of this excellent movie by the one, the only Bill Simmons. And immediately remembered my favorite quote, from Deputy Marshall Gerard :) **/

You know what material this is?

[wait for it…]

…Boyfriend material

/** Super silly but thanks Jasmine! **/

It is exactly of the same nature as the Hindu’s view, that the world rested upon an elephant and the elephant rested upon a tortoise; and when they said, “How about the tortoise?” the Indian said, “Suppose we change the subject.”

/** Hah. Such wisdom. **/

And how could I wrap up this quote without leaving you guys with a little 孔子 wisdom?

If you study, you know. If you know, you’re wise. If you’re wise, you’re fair. If you’re fair, you grow. If you grow, you can manage your family well. If you can manage your family well, you can service the country. If you can serve the country, you can improve the world.

Did I say Alain de Botton had a great Twitter feed? I bet Confucius would put him to shame.

March Quotes: “The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes” (Mark Twain)

For a full list of my favorite quotes, see here. Send me yours, I’m always looking for more.

At 15 my heart was set on learning; at 30 I stood firm; at 40 I had no more doubts; at 50 I knew the mandate of heaven; at 60 my ear was obedient; at 70 I could follow my heart’s desire without transgressing the norm. – Confucius

/** The man is so ridiculously wise and insightful…did you know the Chinese gov’t has setup Confucius Institutes around the world as an investment in soft power? **/

An intellectual giant. The world’s loss now that he’s gone. – random YouTube commenter on David Foster Wallace

/** Just started reading Infinite Jest. It is not easy. It is quite different from anything else I’ve read. DFW is clearly very smart, and a great explainer-of-things. **/

The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes – Mark Twain

/** Another really smart man, and one who is able to tell hard truths by using humor. **/

Comparison is the thief of joy. – Teddy Roosevelt

/** Yup…desire is the root of suffering. **/

Evict your inner wussy – one of David DeAngelo’s 77 Laws of Success :)

/** I’ve had the good fortune to work with Rob Kelly, who is the former CEO of David’s company Hot Topic Media, and he clearly lives by many of these principles (whether consciously or not). Quite inspiring **/

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” – Chinese Proverb

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Thanks for sharing with me Diane!

In the vein of Emerson’s familiar poem (which, interestingly, is not actually Emerson’s!), and among my favorites now. Hope you enjoy!

Go placidly amid the noise and 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 the dull and 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 and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your 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 this not 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 critical 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 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 with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

What we lack most…

What we lack most in the modern world is a sense of a larger purpose to our lives. In the past, it was organized religion that often supplied this. But most of us now live in a secularized world. We human animals are unique—we must build our own world. We do not simply react to events out of biological scripting. But without a sense of direction provided to us, we tend to flounder. We don’t how to fill up and structure our time. – Robert Greene in Mastery

Mastery was a solid read. Could have been condensed to 50 pages, like most self-help books.

February Quotes: “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion” (Michael Jordan)

For a full list of my favorite quotes, see here. Send me yours, I’m always looking for more!!

If you want to be seen as courageous by some and hated by others, just say what you really think. – Tucker Max 

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you. – Oscar Wilde

/** I particularly like these quotes from Tucker and Oscar, because consistently saying what you think is such a difficult thing to do. And you shouldn’t do it all the time, of course, but as honest as I’d like to think I am, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my real opinions and beliefs. This sort of thing requires tons of courage and tons of practice. **/

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

/** I’m a huge fan of travel quotes, in particular of Anais Nin. See here for more. **/

Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will — through work — bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea.’ And the belief in that process, in a sense, is liberating and that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day. – Chuck Close

Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. – Michael Jordan in his HoF acceptance speech

/** Agreed. Work hard, work constantly, and push past your limits. Bruce Lee said this much better than I could :) **/

It’s easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time. – Clay Christensen

/** The older I get, the more this holds true. Exceptions are for the weak. **/

Christoph: Are you sure that’s him?
Django: Yeah
Christoph: Positive?
Django: I don’t know
Christoph: You don’t know if you’re positive?
Django: I don’t know what positive mean

/** A funny scene from Django. **/