Bonus
A message from QB Country founder David Morris:
The inspiration for the “Bonus” section comes from my time being coached by David Cutcliffe (now head coach at Duke) and Kurt Roper (now offensive coordinator at Colorado). The “QB Bonus” was the last page or two of the “quarterback test” we took on the eve of game day at Ole Miss. The “QB Bonus” typically had nothing to do with football. Instead, these handwritten quotes and lessons were about being a good man, a good friend and a good leader.
I appreciate the wisdom shared in those lessons more now than I did then. I still have every “Bonus” Coach Cut ever wrote (almost 50 separate groups of quotes over a four-year period). This page pays homage to Coach Cut and continues the “QB Bonus” tradition at QB Country.
Be Inspired!
April 2024
“No one can make us feel inferior without our consent”
Elenor Roosevelt
“Everything is happening for you, not to you”
Author Unknown
“If it entertains you now but will bore you later it’s a distraction.”
Naval
“I can attack a man’s weakness and beat him or I can attack a man’s strength and break him.”
Michael Irvin
September 2018
“You are only free when you realize you belong no place-you belong every place-no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great
Maya Angelou
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity & change”
Brenee Brown
“To create is to make something that has never existed before. There is nothing more vulnerable than that”
Brenee Brown
“Do not think you can be brave with your life and your work and never disappoint anyone. It doesn’t work that way”
Oprah
August 2018
Theodore Roosevelt’s quote is the most applicable Quarterback quote I have ever read. Read it and live it!
“The arena”
“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 them 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, who 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”.
July 2018
“The art of communication is the language of leadership.”
James Humes
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Epictetus
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
Norman Vincent Peale
Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.”
George Eliot
“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”
Buddha
June 2018
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Steve Jobs
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
Charles R. Swindoll
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
Charles R. Swindoll
May 2018
“Winners imagine their dreams first. They want it with all their heart & expect it to come true. There’s no other way to live.”
Joe Montana
“Nearly all men can handle adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Creativity has to be cultivated”
Brene’ Brown
“Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth.”
Doc Rivers
April 2018
“If suffering is life giving then it’s good. If suffering is death giving then it’s bad.”
Parker Palmer
“The joys of winning are great. But I sweep those under the rug so fast…and then i’m thinking about the next game.”
Tom Brady
“Authenticity is rare. Practice it. Be yourself.”
Brene’ Brown
“Courage means core or heart. Take heart…have courage.”
Brene’ Brown
March 2018
“Creativity has to be cultivated.”
Brene’ Brown
“Let go of the need of certainty. It’s ok to be uncertain.”
Brene Brown
“Faith minus vulnerability & mystery equals extremism.”
Brene’ Brown
“Own your own story. Good or bad. It’s the bravest thing you can ever do.”
Brene’ Brown
February 2018
“Stop blaming, complaining & being defensive.”
Brian Kight
“Show up and be seen. Take the risk. Ask for help. Vulnerability is strength & confidence.”
Brene’ Brown
“Be careful of people who always speak in certainties.”
Brene’ Brown
“Start things knowing that they may not work. Even if they fail, you win because you will learn. And the next time you start something you will know better.”
Brene’ Brown
January 2018
“Mediocrity will always try to drag excellence down to its level. Don’t trade your superiority for their inferiority.”
Author unknown
“Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.”
Colossians 3:12-14
“The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
Vince Lombardi
“We are a pilgrim people, journeying through the varied landscapes of life, on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. Let us travel light, unburdened by useless baggage -– material or spiritual -– and sing this pilgrim Psalm to the God who has given us such a glorious goal in life.”
Author unknown
“A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
Muhammad Ali
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
Helen Keller
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.”
Johann Von Goethe
December 2017
“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
James D. Miles
“Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.”
Isaiah 7:9
“People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Leonardo Da Vinci
“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”
Confucius
November 2017
“A mistake is valuable If you do four things with it: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.”
John Wooden
“Money matters only to the man with a small mind. The harder thing is to do the best one can with what one has.”
Author Unknown
“The joys of winning are great. But I sweep those under the rug so fast…and then i’m thinking about the next game.”
Tom Brady
October 2017
“Adversity reveals genius & prosperity conceals it…you find out the best in people when times are tough”.
“Just because you have a negative thought doesn’t mean you have to believe it. Negative thoughts are lies. Don’t believe the lies. Armour yourself with the truth. Speak the truth to the lies & move forward with power”
Jon Gordan
“Talk to yourself. Don’t listen”.
Jon Gordan
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. character is what you really are. reputation is just what people say you are.”
September 2017
“If you don’t address the things you’re not doing well when you’re winning the winning will eventually stop.”
David Cutcliffe
“Loose lips sink ships”
AU
“If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”
Jamey Mosley
“We love O-Linemen”
QB Country
August 2017
“If you lack top talent, make it up with discipline. If you have elite talent, dominate with discipline.”
Brian Kight
“It doesn’t matter. Get better.”
Brian Kight
“People who win in the end usually lose in the beginning.”
Brian Kight
“Truth always wins. Speak it. Hear it. Teach it. Believe it.”
Brian Kight
July 2017
“There is more power in unity than division.”
Emanuel Cleaver
“The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity – or it will move apart.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The one single non-negotiable for prayer is simply this: show up.”
Ronald Rolheiser
“Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
Mattie Stepanek
June 2017
“It’s a good life if you weren’t too busy to live it.”
Author Unknown
“We are not loved because we are good, but hopefully we become good as we experience love.”
Ronald Rolheiser
“Don’t just see people for who they are. See their potential & be a part of them reaching it.”
David Morris
“Creativity is thinking new things; innovation is doing new things.”
Scott Tindle
“Unmotivated people gravitate toward other unmotivated people because they love to remind each other why it’s everyone else’s fault.”
Bob Shipley
May 2017
“We don’t talk about winning. We talk about what you have to do to consistently be your best. Focus on high standards”
Nick Saban
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“The opposite of depression is delight, being spontaneously surprised by the goodness & beauty of living.”
Ronald Rolheiser
“Every choice is a thousand renunciations. To choose one thing is to turn one’s back on many others.”
Ronald Rolheiser
April 2017
“Look at your problems as problems and they’ll continue to hold you down. See them as blessings in disguise and that’s what they become.”
Author unknown
“Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.”
St. John of the Cross
“Take a moment to wonder through the pages of history and extract from those pages the men and women whom you most admire. Who would they be without courage? Nothing worthwhile in history is achieved without courage. Courage is the father of every great moment and movement in history.”
Matthew Kelly
“All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.”
Flannery O’Connor
“Many a young man and woman have been derailed by the company they keep. You can’t go with the flow and rise to the top.”
Michael Catt
“God can use our weakness as easily as our strength in order to accomplish His will.”
St. Pope John Paul II
“Respect people with less power than you. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful cat in the room. I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful.”
Tim Minchin
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong”
Unknown
“Discouragement itself is a form of pride.”
St. Therese of Lisieux
March 2017
“The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God won’t protect you”
Unknown
“If you would not find enjoyment in living your life countless times over, then you are living wrong”
Unknown
“How do you know you are an effective leader? By life changes in the people you lead.”
Jim Collins
“The most common trait I have found in successful people is that they conquered the temptation to give up”
Steve Gutzler
“The truth has no agenda”
Unknown
February 2017
“Two things happen to negative people. They quit or get fired!”
Rob Weinhold
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator of all I have not seen.”
R.W. Emerson
“Tiny tweaks can lead to great changes”
Unknown
“Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it.”
Unknown
“When your dream is bigger than your goals, you won’t be impressed or satisfied when you achieve your goals”
QB Country founder, David Morris
January 2017
“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.
E. Joseph Cossman
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Leo Tolstoy
“Wisdom begins with respect for God, leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong.”
Footnote to James 1:5
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
Gandhi
December 2016
“If you can talk with crowds & keep your virtue, or walk with kings & not lose the common touch”
Rudyard Kipling
“Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone”
Galatians 6:10
“What you leave behind you isn’t what’s engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven in the lives of others. Your legacy is that which u teach”
Author Unknown
“I used to rule the world. Sea’s would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone…sweep the streets I used to roam”
Coldplay
November 2016
“Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they’re winners.”
Bill Walsh
“Turn your nervous breakdown into a nervous break through!”
Author Unknown
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you”.
Oprah Winfrey
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
Albert Einstein
“Don’t do what is asked of you. Do more.”
David Morris
October 2016
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
Jackson Brown, Jr.
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!
Audrey Hepburn
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.
Steve Jobs
Nobody is so poor that he or she has nothing to give. And nobody is so rich that he or she has nothing to receive.
Pope John Paul II
September 2016
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore Roosevelt
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas A. Edison
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.
James Dean
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung
August 2016
“The Quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves”
Ray Kroc
“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re still thinking about yesterday”
-Unknown
“Un-coachable kids become unemployable adults.”
-Patrick Murphy
“A good leader takes a little more than his share of blame, a little less than his fair share of the credit”
-Arnold Glasow
July 2016
“If you can’t handle stress, you won’t manage success.”
Author unknown
“We rise by lifting others.”
Author unknown
“Don’t practice until you do it right. Practice until you can’t do it wrong.”
Jimbo Fisher
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
Estee Lauder
June 2016
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”
Author unknown
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
African Proverb
“Stand as one. Play as one. Win as one.”
Author unknown
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Learn from it; tomorrow is a new day.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Limits like fears are often just an illusion.”
Michael Jordan
May 2016
“The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.”
Author unknown
“Limitations only exist if you let them.”
Author unknown
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
John Wooden
“Nobody’s a natural. You work hard to get good and then work harder to get better.”
Paul Coffey
April 2016
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
Pablo Picasso
“We are all a collection of our choices.”
Herm Edwards
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”
Author unknown
“Obstacles are the things we see when we take our focus off of our goals.”
Author unknown
“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
Max De Pree
March 2016
“The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.”
Vince Lombardi
“Some people dream of success while others wake up and work for it.”
Author unknown
“It doesn’t take talent to prepare, it takes commitment.”
Herm Edwards
“The best revenge is to accomplish what others say you can’t.”
Author unknown
“The ones who say you can’t are too afraid you will.”
Author unknown
February 2016
“Seek respect, not attention. It lasts longer.”
Author unknown
“There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he’s absolutely free to choose.”
William M. Bulger
January 2016
“It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.”
Hans Hansen
“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”
Steve Jobs
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The smarter you train the luckier you become.”
Author unknown
December 2015
“Life is only as good as your mindset.”
Author unknown
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
Nelson Mandela
“It is true that integrity alone wont make you a leader, but without integrity you will never be one.”
Zig Ziglar
November 2015
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Sharon Mollerus
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
George Addair
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what what makes life meaningful.”
Aristotle
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
Bob Dylan
“Your life is not falling apart. It’s falling into place.” Casting Crowns “You spend first half of life making name, second half using it.” Russian Proverb “A highly credible leader under-promises and over-delivers” John Maxwell “A person who wants something will find a way; a person who doesn’t will find an excuse.” Author unknown “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over.” John Wooden “The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.” Author unknown “The winters will drive you crazy until you learn to get out into them.” Parker Palmer “My life is not only about my strengths and virtues; it is also about my liabilities and my limits, my trespasses and my shadow. An inevitable though often ignored dimension of the quest for ‘wholeness’ is that we must embrace what we dislike or find shameful about ourselves as well as what we are confident and proud of.” Parker Palmer “Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.” Parker Palmer “Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks, we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.” Parker Palmer “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” Parker Palmer “By choosing integrity, I become more whole, but wholeness does not mean perfection. It means becoming more real by acknowledging the whole of who I am.” Parker Palmer “There is as much guidance in what does not and cannot happen in my life as there is in what can and does — maybe more.” Parker Palmer “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Personal vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” Parker Palmer “Personal vocation is something I can’t not do, for reasons I’m unable to explain to anyone else and don’t fully understand myself but that are nonetheless compelling.” Parker Palmer “We listen for guidance everywhere except from within. From first days in school, we are taught to listen to everything and everyone but ourselves, to take in all our clues about living from the people and powers around us.” Parker Palmer “We rise by lifting others.” Robert Ingersoll “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Blaise Pascal, Pensées “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” Hal Borland “The secret of joy in work is contained in one word –- excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” Pearl Buck “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi “Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths instead of your weaknesses … on your powers instead of your problems.” Paul J. Meyer “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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 “By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands —- your own.” Mark Victor Hansen “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” Benjamin Mays “Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty.” William J. Bennett in “The Book of Virtues” “The entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer and actualize. He can visualize something, and when he visualizes it he sees exactly how to make it happen.” Robert L. Schwartz “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 “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” Charles R. Swindoll “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal -— a commitment to excellence —- that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” Mario Andretti “Just remember there is someone out there who is more than happy with less than what you have.” –Author unknown “When the past calls, let it go to voicemail. Believe me, it has nothing new to say.” Author unknown “Rule #1 of life. Do what makes YOU happy.” Author unknown “Walk away from anything or anyone who takes away from your joy. Life is too short to put up with fools.” Author unknown “Love what you have. Need what you want. Accept what you receive. Give what you can. Always remember, what goes around, comes around.” Author unknown “Life has two rules: #1 Never quit. #2 Always remember rule # 1.” Author unknown “No one is going to hand me success. I must go out and get it myself. That’s why I’m here. To dominate. To conquer. Both the world and myself.” Author unknown “The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.” Author unknown “Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” Farrah Gray “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” Joel Brown “Self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. How can anyone see how awesome you are if you can’t see it yourself?” Author unknown “We learn something from everyone who passes through our lives. Some lessons are painful, some are painless. But all are priceless.” Author unknown “Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. it means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” Author unknown “Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.” Larry Winget “Three things you cannot recover in life: the WORD after it’s said, the MOMENT after it’s missed and the TIME after it’s gone. Be Careful!” Author unknown “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” Carl Bard “Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.” Author unknown “Don’t be afraid to stand for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone.” Andy Biersack “The best revenge is massive success.” Frank Sinatra “Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason that it will.” Author unknown “I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.” Albert Einstein “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” Steve Jobs “Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish it.” Author unknown “When you say ‘It’s hard,’ it actually means ‘I’m not strong enough to fight for it.’ Stop saying it’s hard. Think positive!” Author unknown “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” Jack Canfield “Just know, when you truly want success, you’ll never give up on it. No matter how bad the situation may get.” Author unknown “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” Les Brown “I don’t regret the things I’ve done, I regret the things I didn’t do when I had the chance.” Author unknown “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Joshua J. Marine “It’s hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but it’s harder to give up when you know it’s everything you want.” Author unknown “One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don’t feel like doing it.” Author unknown “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” Denis Waitley Ralph Waldo Emerson “The smarter you train the luckier you become.” Author unknown “I will argue that things that happen before 7 o’clock and after 10 are more important than actually what happens during a game.” “When you strip away all the little things that divide us, it’s important to remember how tied we are.” “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “The smarter you train the luckier you become.” Author unknown “If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road.” “No one who ever gave his best regretted it.” “Be the first one to clap — give standing ovations. Appreciate those around you.” “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.” “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want the most.” “The only answer in this life, to the loneliness we are all bound to feel, is community.” “At the end of life, we shall be judged by love.” “Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.” “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.” “Discouragement itself is a form of pride.” “God can use our weakness as easily as our strength in order to accomplish His will.” “Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.” “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” “The best things to do with the best things in life is to give them away.” “It is people who are important, not the masses.” “The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.” “Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” “The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive.” “Confession and forgiveness are the two concrete forms in which we sinful people love one another.” “Pursuing the temptation to be spectacular can sometimes rob us of the subtle beauty of the here and now.” “In the midst of the darkest of nights, Jesus took bread and, while breaking it, gave thanks. Eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving thanks.” “Only broken bread can be shared.” “Be strong, we are not here to play, to dream, to drift. We have hard work to do and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle, face it: t’is God’s gift.” “More men fail from lack of purpose than lack of talent.” Billy Sunday “The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help other.” Albert Schweitzer “Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.” David O. McKay “Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.” Tryon Edwards “The secret of success is constancy of purpose.” Disraeli “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” Helen Keller All the below quotes are taken from Tim Minchin’s commencement speech to his alma mater, the University of Western Australia “Be careful of long-term dreams. If you look too far in front of you, you will miss the thing in the corner of your eye. The next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery.” “Don’t aim to be happy. Aim to make others happy and you will be.” “You are lucky. You can’t truly take credit for your successes nor truly blame others for their failures. Be compassionate. Be humble.” “If you’re in doubt about what you’re supposed to do, be a teacher. They are the most important people in the world! Share your ideas. Rejoice in what you learned.” “Define yourself by what you love. Not in opposition to stuff. Express your passion in things you love. Send thank you cards. Give standing ovations.” “Respect people with less power than you. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful cat in the room. I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful.” “Don’t rush. Don’t panic. Most people who were sure of their career path at 20 are having midlife crisis now. You will soon be dead. Life is tiring. You will be happy. You will be sad. You will be old. You will be dead. Life is best filled in by learning as much as you can about as much as you can. Take pride in what you do. Share ideas. Be enthusiastic.” “The world is full of willing people. Some willing to do the work and the rest willing to let them.” “The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost it all.” “A river touches places of which its source knows nothing. God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.” “A wise man once said ‘I never learned anything when I was talking.” “Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die. But love will remain. Love is eternal. Love comes from God and returns to God.” “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” “First we form our habits, then our habits form us.” “Success is never final. Failure is never final.” “The word ‘courage’ comes from the Latin word “cor,” which means ‘heart.’ The heart is the center of our being, the center of all thoughts, feelings, passions and decisions.” “Each action lives first in thought.” “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.” Charles F. Kettering “If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.” Mother Teresa “We are not called to be successful, but faithful.” Mother Teresa “If you judge people you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self” Aristotle “Do small things with great love.” “It’s okay to look back at the past. Just don’t stare.” “Love in action is harsh and dreadful when compared to love in dreams.” “It is people who are important, not the masses.” “The Gospel takes away our right forever to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.” “You will know your vocation by the joy that it brings you. You will know when it’s right.” “Don’t worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.” “It would be considered a theft on our part if we didn’t give to someone in greater need than we are.” “I will never attend an anti-war rally; if you have a peace rally, invite me.” “Spread Love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving Happier.” “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” “We rise by lifting others.” “Everything smaller than heaven bores us because only heaven is bigger than our hearts.” “In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty.” “Happiness is a form of courage.” “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.” “Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.” “Whoso draw nigh to God one step through doubtings dim, God will advance a mile in blazing light to him.” “Have thy tools ready. God will find thee work.” “Have the courage to pursue your life’s work! Pursue your right work, doing what you’re meant to in the world, making the impact you long to, in the way only you can. There will be challenges. Don’t resist what you love because there is another more acceptable path. You will be judged. Follow your heart. You are here for this very reason. This will bring your life meaning and purpose. If you do this, your work will marry everything you’ve ever been, loved and admired, in a unique way only you can.” Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” “The most important virtue of a man is courage. But you can’t have courage without belief or faith. And you can’t have faith without the truth.” “Diversity is divine. Division is diabolical.” “At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you.” “What determines a man’s legacy is often what isn’t seen.” “Have fun but remember clowns can’t run a huddle. Clowns and leaders don’t mix.” “We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it. Purpose keeps you fresh.” “If you do the bare minimum, expect bare minimum results. You want to be great, work to be great. Nothing just happens.” “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” “The most common phrase that appears in the New Testament is, ‘Do not be afraid.’ The most common phrase that appears in the Old Testament is ‘Be not afraid.’ Together, in the Old and New Testaments, this phrase appears more than a 1,000 times. Do you think God is trying to get a message across to us?” “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” “Fear stops more people from doing something with their lives than lack of ability, contacts, resources or any other single variable. Fear paralyzes the human spirit. We are afraid of rejection and failure, afraid of certain parts of town, afraid of suffering and heartache, afraid of change, afraid to tell people how we really feel. We are even afraid to be ourselves.” “Good players inspire themselves. Great players inspire others.” “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator of all I have not seen.” “Take a moment to wander through the pages of history and extract from those pages the men and women whom you most admire. Who would they be without courage? Nothing worthwhile in history is achieved without courage. Courage is the father of every great moment and movement in history.” “Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility. Take full account of yourself!” “Anything worthwhile takes time to build. If we have immediate success, we wouldn’t develop the character needed to sustain true success for life.” “I’m out here chasing something that everybody else wants as well. But this race isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon!” “People don’t follow titles and authority. They follow courage.” “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln “If there is any goodness that I can do or any kindness that I can show let me do it quickly. For I may not pass this way again.” Bishop Brooks “The only preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today. When things go wrong, and they will, don’t go wrong with them!” David Cutcliffe “When stillness comes, you simply realize that it is not important for everybody to love you. It’s more important for you to love them.” Beverly Sills “Impulse decisions usually equal mistakes.” Bill Parcels “A true balance sheet lists both assets and liabilities. Know your strengths and weaknesses.” Author unknown “When faced with a Goliath-sized challenge, how do you look at it? Too big to hit? Or like David, so big you can’t miss!!” Author unknown “The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior, which means ‘to suffer.’ Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong trees. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming.” “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” “Everyday you should do three things: you should laugh, think and your emotions should move you to tears.” “There is a longing in our hearts for a salvation which we cannot give ourselves.” “What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word.” “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” “I wasn’t the strongest kid at that camp. I wasn’t the fastest. I wasn’t the most athletic. I was probably the most skillful.” “For me the starting point for everything – before strategy, managing, organizing, talent, or experience – is work ethic” “The way you overachieve is to know your weaknesses. Your strengths only take you so far. Turning your weaknesses into strengths takes you to new heights.” “Mediocre people don’t like high achievers and high achievers don’t like mediocre people.” “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” “Nobody is so poor that he or she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he or she has nothing to receive” “The most important thing you can do in this life is to make a difference in other people’s lives. This makes your life rich.” “Freedom isn’t the ability to do whatever you want. It’s the strength of character to do what’s good, true and right. Freedom without discipline is impossible.” “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.” “The truest words you can tell yourself are ‘I have a lot of getting better to do.’” “One foot in and one foot back, it don’t pay to live like that.” “Do not go to work out of obligation. Go to work as an investment in your future. And the way you work will change.” “The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage.” “If we magnified our blessings the way we magnify our disappointments, we’d all be a lot happier.” “Night has always pushed up day. You must know life to see decay.” “At the time discipline seems a cause for pain yet later brings peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.” “You don’t take weeks off, YOU don’t take days off, you don’t take periods off, you don’t take plays off.” “Our lives change when our habits change.” “Everything in creation has rhythm.” “What are your weaknesses? Do you know? Most people don’t want to think about their weaknesses. We don’t want to talk about them, and we certainly don’t want anyone else to point them out. This is a classic sign of mediocrity. Great men and women want to know their weaknesses.” “Your weaknesses are the keys to your richer, more abundant future. Your strengths are probably already bearing the fruit they can. They will continue to bear those good fruits in your life, but the plateau effect will set in. It is unlikely they will bear more fruit. Your richer, more abundant future is intimately linked to your weaknesses. By transforming your weaknesses into strengths, the gifts God wants to endow you with will begin to expand.” “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” “The most common phrase that appears in the New Testament is, ‘Do not be afraid.’ The most common phrase that appears in the Old Testament is ‘Be not afraid.’ Together, in the Old and New Testaments, this phrase appears more than a 1,000 times. Do you think God is trying to get a message across to us?” “One man with courage makes a majority.” “Courage is being scared to death … and saddling up anyway.” “Fear stops more people from doing something with their lives than lack of ability, contacts, resources or any other single variable. Fear paralyzes the human spirit We are afraid of rejection and failure, afraid of certain parts of town, afraid of suffering and heartache, afraid of change, afraid to tell people how we really feel. We are even afraid to be ourselves.” “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” “If you use your power to make people do things they don’t want to do, you are not a leader; you are just a dictator or a tyrant. If you can inspire people to do things that are difficult, but good for them & and their community, then you are a leader.” “He who loses wealth, loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses courage loses all.” “People don’t follow titles and authority. They follow Courage.” “Virtue is bold and goodness never fearful.” “Courage, like every other virtue is contagious.” “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up.” “If we have received life, then we are not masters of it.” “Two things happen to negative people. They quit or get fired!” “If all you have is an opportunity, consider yourself blessed and go make the most of it!” “Don’t underestimate the power of your optimism. Every good leader in the history of our world has been optimistic.” “To those high school ballers flying under the national radar, keep dreaming, your opportunities are coming. You can’t measure heart and mental toughness.” “Guilt says you can’t because of what you’ve done. Grace says you can in spite of what you’ve done. I choose grace.” “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” “Two things happen to negative people. They quit or get fired.” “Life is all about relationships. From where else does meaning come?” “The average “star” rating in the 2013 draft class was 3.28.” “Focus is the key to being better than your opponent. Details breed progress.” “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs when your climbing it.” “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” “Embrace your past, both the good and the bad. It’s a big part of knowing yourself as you move forward.” “Prosperity is a great teacher. Adversity a greater teacher.” “In fear, the unknown is scary. In faith the unknown is exciting.” “Fear makes us cling to things making them rot in our hands. Faith gives us the courage to let go and trust in something greater than us.” “You can’t appreciate up until you’ve been down.” “Let your life speak and be proud of what it communicates.” “Progress, not perfection.” “Nobody is so poor that he or she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he or she has nothing to receive.” “Many a young man and woman have been derailed by the company they keep. You can’t go with the flow and rise to the top.” “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” “Where you invest your time, you invest your life.” Author Unknown “With the humble is wisdom.” “In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” “Beginnings often frighten us because they seem like lonely voyages into the unknown. Yet in truth, no beginning is empty or isolated. Embrace beginnings, they are an invitation to open towards gifts and growth stored up for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of self-neglect. Risk may be our greatest ally.” “I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a 1,000 times over.” “There is a certain innocence about beginning with its excitement and promise of something new. But it only comes with a voyage into the unknown.” “The greatest challenge is to begin. Something deep within us wants to remain within safe boundaries and stay the same. Hesitation, consideration and uncertainty claim our hearts for a long time before the act of beginning occurs.” “I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” “Being positive in a negative situation is not naive, it’s leadership.” “Never trade what you know for how you feel.” “Look at your problems as problems and they’ll continue to hold you down. See them as blessings in disguise and that’s what they become.” “I can’t believe that God puts us on this earth to be ordinary.” “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” “Though God is so exalted, his eyes regard the lowly.” “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need.” “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” “One of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.” “Happiness, I have discovered, is nearly always a rebound from hard work.” “Danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” “Wisdom begins with respect for God, leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong.” “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” “Winners imagine their dreams first. They want it with all their heart and expect it to come true. There’s no other way to live.” “I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” “Tell me and I forgot. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” “Simplicity is not a simple thing.” “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” “There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he’s absolutely free to choose.” “Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” “Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It’s dedication and discipline in your life that makes you great.” “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” “When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, educate people.” “Because we are all one when we forgive others we forgive ourselves, which is the first step in the healing process.” “The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” “It’s difficult to follow your dream. It’s a tragedy not to.” “The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.” “Anything I’ve done that was ultimately worthwhile initially scared me to death.” “Even fools seem smart when they are quiet.” “Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.” “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” “It’s not the will to win that matters; everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” “I firmly believe that the only disability in life is a bad attitude.” “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.” “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.” “People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” “The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” “Mediocrity will always try to drag excellence down to its level. Don’t trade your superiority for their inferiority.” “Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.” “The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.” “We are a pilgrim people, journeying through the varied landscapes of life, on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. Let us travel light, unburdened by useless baggage -– material or spiritual -– and sing this pilgrim Psalm to the God who has given us such a glorious goal in life.” “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” “Pride sets subtle snares. Whenever we imagine that we are in control of life – our own or someone else’s – we have fallen prey to the ancient whisper in the Garden: ‘You shall be like gods.” “Before his downfall a man’s heart is haughty, but humility goes before honors.” “God does not want slaves, but children. He respects our freedom.” “Truly humble people are centers of peace because they fear neither their own failure nor others’ success.” “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.” “If sin separates us from God, righteousness will surely be a bond of union with him and a means of setting us at his side with no division between us.” “We ourselves, driven by fear, too often betray true self to gain the approval of others.” “My life is not only about my strengths and virtues; it is also about my liabilities and my limits, my trespasses and my shadow.” “What a long time it can take to become the person one has always been! How often in the process we mask ourselves in faces that are not our own” “In the tradition of pilgrimage hardships are seen not as accidental but as integral to the journey itself.” “If you don’t readily admit your limits, embarrassment may be the only way to get your attention.” “Our strongest gifts are usually those we are barely aware of possessing. They are part of our God-given nature, with us from the moment we drew first breath, and we are no more conscious of having them than we are of breathing.” “Limitations and liabilities are the flip side of our gifts. We will become better teachers not by trying to fill the potholes in our souls but by knowing them so well that we can avoid falling into them.” “In Florence an artist named Donatello refused to accept a block of marble from the quarry because it was not perfect. Michelangelo took this rejected stone and carved his famous statue of David from it How often we fail to look under the surface or seek the worth in what seems worthless. Imperfections often hide beauty.” “There is a short distance between a groove and a rut.” “Our highest human goal is to encounter God. We are born from love, kept alive by love and fullness of life comes when we recognize this love and freely embrace it.” “Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” “You received without pay, now give without pay.” “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” “All who seek truth seek God, whether this is clear to them or not.” “Surrender what you fear into the hands of God. Fear is keeping things in your own hands, Faith is turning them over to God.” “Death is not a mystery. Life is the mystery.” “We’re not happy because we’re always trying to be happy.” “A person with great authority who has nobody to be obedient to is in great spiritual danger. A very obedient person who has no authority over anyone is equally in danger.” “Most people live lives saying ‘I’m too old for this or I’m too young for this.’” “Pleasure cannot be sustained longer than the activity. Happiness is sustained after the experience.” “There are many forms of poverty: economic poverty, physical poverty, emotional poverty, mental poverty, and spiritual poverty. As long as we relate primarily to one another’s wealth, health, stability, intelligence, and strength, we can not develop true community. Community is not a talent show. Community is the place where our poverty is acknowledged and accepted.” “If we put garbage into our minds, we will only get garbage out of our minds.” “If you will not admit your needs, they will never be met.” “Laziness and procrastination are lies. Hard work and fortitude are truth.” “Every lesson in the spiritual life is a lesson in love.” “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” “Intense love does not measure, it just gives.” “Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.” “Always do more than expected of you. Do this as an investment in your future.” “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world but in being able to remake ourselves” “People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient and repent.” “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” “Don’t be a man about ‘success’. Be a man about value.” “As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in unremembering delight, nor with impulsive thoughtlessness. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it’s true that we’ve lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Leave the irreparable past in God’s hands and step out into the irresistible future with Him.” “A wise man once said ‘I never learned anything when I was talking.’” “Life and death are connected by vulnerability. The newborn child and the dying elder both remind us of the preciousness of our lives. Let’s not forget the preciousness and vulnerability of life during the times we are powerful, successful and popular.” “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” “Joy is hidden in sorrow and sorrow in joy. If we try to avoid sorrow at all costs, we may never taste joy, and if we are suspicious of ecstasy, agony can never reach us either. Joy and sorrow are the parents of our spiritual growth.” “Winners come in all shapes and sizes.” “Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.” “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men angels.” “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” “Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” “Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it.” “People are not the most important asset. The right people are.” “For no matter what we achieve, if we don’t spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect, we cannot possibly have a great life.” “Every person’s life is God’s work of art, an expression of his creative love, his goodness, his compassion.” “There is no substitute for hard, smart work.” “Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated one on top of another.” “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” “Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” “The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive.” “Confession and forgiveness are the two concrete forms in which we sinful people love one another.” “Pursuing the temptation to be spectacular can sometimes rob us of the subtle beauty of the here and now.” “In the midst of the darkest of nights, Jesus took bread and, while breaking it, gave thanks. Eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving thanks.” “Be strong, we are not here to play, to dream, to drift. We have hard work to do and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle, face it: t’is God’s gift.” “Whatever you do to another, you do to yourself.” “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” “Stop doing lists are more important than to do list.” “If you have a strong, charismatic personality, it is worthwhile to consider the idea that charisma can be as much a liability as an asset.” “Only two things exist in eternity: joy and misery.” “Lead with questions, not answers.” “Leaders create a culture where in people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard.” “Leading does not mean you always have the answers. It means you have the humility to ask questions and for insight.” “In Latin, to bless is benedicere. The word ‘benediction’ that is used in many churches means literally: speaking (dictio) well (bene) or saying good things of someone.” “A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness. I must tell you that claiming your own blessedness always leads to a deep desire to bless others. The characteristic of the blessed ones is that wherever they go, they always speak words of blessing. The blessed one always blesses.” “I had to be in touch with my own goodness to discover the unique goodness in others. As long as my self-doubts and fears guided me, I couldn’t create the space for others to reveal to me their beauty.” “You have your choices … and these are what make man great …. his ladder to the stars.” “We can decide to be grateful or to be bitter in every circumstance. When someone is kind to us, we can question his or her motives; when an event turns out well, it could always have turned out better; when a problem is solved, there often emerges another in its place; when a relationship is restored, there is always the question: ‘For how long’?; when a wound is healed, there still can be some leftover pain. Where there is reason for gratitude, there can always be found a reason for bitterness.” “It is not more vacation we need – it is more vocation.” “Good leaders must first become good servants.” “When you come to personal dealing with your fellow man, remember who you are -– not a special being made up in heaven, but a sinner saved by God’s grace.” “A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” “If you want real change in your life you must look at your past. Where have you been? Look at the present. Where are you now? Look at your future. Where do you want to be?” “If one word sums up Christianity it is compassion.” “Teach us to give and not count the cost. Teach us to fight without fear of being wounded.” “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says “All right, have it your way.” “The best way to make your dreams come true are to wake up and get out of bed.” “Jesus did not marvel in His equality with God. Instead, he emptied himself and gave himself to others, to the point of death on a cross.” “Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.” “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” “If you use your power to make people do things they don’t want to do, you are not a leader; you are just a dictator or a tyrant. If you can inspire people to do things that are difficult, but good for them and their community, then you are a leader.” “The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage.” “He who loses wealth, loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses courage loses all.” “People don’t follow titles and authority. They follow courage.” “Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.” “Courage, like every other virtue is contagious.” “A river touches places of which its source knows nothing. God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.” “The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost it all.” “Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die. But love will remain. Love is eternal. Love comes from God and returns to God.” “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” “It is not so much what we do, but how we do it that matters.” “The world is full of willing people. Some willing to do the work and the rest willing to let them.” “Success is never final. Failure is never final.” “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” “The toughest thing about success is that you have to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point.” “Failure is success if you learn from it.” – Malcolm Forbes “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” “Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.” “Lead with questions not answers.” “Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated one on top of another.” – Jim Collins “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” “Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending.” “The selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.” “You cannot both change and stay the same.” “Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.” “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.”October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Neal Huntington
Bill Clinton
C.S. Lewis
Author unknown
David Morris
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Author unknown
December 2014
Dorothy Day
St. John of the Cross
Fulton Sheen
Flannery O’Connor
St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Pope John Paul II
St. John of the Cross
St. Augustine
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
November 2014
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Leo Tolstoy
Jesus Christ – Matthew 6:34
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
David Morris
Joseph R. Veneroso
Joseph R. Veneroso
Maltbie C. Babcock
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
Author unknown
Author unknown
Henri Nouwen
Author unknown
Henri Nouwen
David Cutcliffe
Author unknown
David Cutcliffe
Matthew Kelly
Author unknown
Teddy Roosevelt
July 2014
“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.”
June 2014
Mother Teresa
Benjamin Dover
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
St. Francis of Assisi
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
May 2014
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Robert Ingersoll
Dr. Peter Kreeft
Christopher Morley
April 2014
Author unknown
Mother Teresa
Henri J.M. Nouwen
Author unknown
Author unknown
Author unknown
Author unknownMarch 2014
“You are where your feet are. Don’t dwell on the past because if it was good, you get complacent. If it was bad, you get depressed. People always want to talk to about the future. The problem about the future is we can’t control it so it creates anxiety.”
Nick Saban
David Morris
Author unknown
Author unknown
Russell Wilson
Bill Parcells
Jon Gordon
J.J. WattFebruary 2014
“Every great comeback first requires a setback. What you’re going through is a season of life, not the end of your life.”
Rick Warren
Stephen R. Covey
Hebrews 11:1
Matthew Kelly
Proverbs 14:23
Matthew Kelly
January 2014
49ers locker room sign
R.W. Emerson
Matthew Kelly
David Cutcliffe
Hugh Freeze
Anthony Boone
Matthew KellyDecember 2013
November 2013
Henri Nouwen
Romans 12:12
Jimmy Volvano
Henri Nouwen
John O’Donohue
Matthew 6:34
Kobe BryantOctober 2013
Bill Walsh
“You fail all the time, but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming someone else.”
Bum Phillips
Author unknown
Nick Saban
Theodore Roosevelt
Peter F. Drucker
Pope John Paul II
Author unknown
September 2013
“‘Stop doing’ lists are more important than ‘to do’ lists.”
Jim Collins
Matthew Kelly
Luke 6:11
David Morris
Avett Brothers
David Morris
Matthew Kelly
Abraham Lincoln
Mumford and SonsAugust 2013
“Belief is more important than knowledge. There are poor and uneducated people with a lot more faith than the rich and educated.”
Author unknown
Hebrews 12
Tom Brady
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
July 2013
“Take a moment to wonder through the pages of history and extract from those pages the men and women whom you most admire. Who would they be without courage? Nothing worthwhile in history is achieved without courage. Courage is the father of every great moment and movement in history.”
Matthew Kelly
Winston Churchill
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hebrews 11:1
Matthew Kelly
Andrew Jackson
John Wayne
Matthew Kelly
Dorothy Bernard
Matthew Kelly
Cervantes
Matthew Kelly
Shakespeare
Matthew Kelly
Jesse Jackson
June 2013
“Life without liberty is like a body without a spirit.”
Kahlil Gibran
Fabrice Hadjaddj
Rob Weinhold
David Morris
Author unknown
Aaron Rodgers
Hugh Freeze
1 Peter 4:8
May 2013
“How do you pray? Do you ask for a blessing or do you ask to be a blessing? Because if you ask for a blessing you need someone else to do that. If you ask to be a blessing, you can do that.”
Nick Saban
Rob Wineheld
Fr. Greg Lucy
-ESPN
David Morris
Andy Rooney
Aristotle
David Morris
William Hazlitt
April 2013
“Never let failure get to your heart. Never let success get to your head.”
Author unknown
David Morris
Henry Nouwen
Jereme Jones
Author unknown
March 2013
“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.
E. Joseph Cossman
Author unknown
Pope John Paul II
Michael Catt
February 2013
C.S. Lewis
Proverbs 11:2
Mumford & Sons
January 2013
“Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the here and now.”
Henri Nouwen
John O’Donohue
John O’Donohue
John O’Donohue
John O’Donohue
December 2012
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
Author unknown
Booker T. Washington
Author unknown
David Morris
Author unknown
Lou Holtz
Calvin Coolidige
November 2012
“The word ‘encourage’ means to inspire courage. That’s what quarterbacks should do to teammates. Communication is as important as accuracy and arm strength.”
David Morris
Thomas Edison
St. John of Avila
Mother Teresa
Mark Twain
Levi Strauss
David Grayson
Michaelangelo
October 2012
“If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.”
Dwight Moody
Footnote to James 1:5
George Patton
Joe Montana
Winston Churchill
Ben Franklin
Charles Chaplin
John Wooden
September 2012
“I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”
Neil Armstrong
William M. Bulger
Author unknown
Henry Ford
Helen Keller
Jerry barber
Billie King
Erica Jong
Chinese proverb
Author unknown
August 2012
“When you win, say nothing, when you lose, say less.”
Paul Brown
John Burroughs
Author Unknown
Japanese proverb
Betty Bender
Proverbs 17:28
Sri Chinmoy
Robert Collier
Winston Churchill
Paul “Bear” Bryant
Scott Hamilton
Walt Disney
July 2012
James D. Miles
Isaiah 7:9
Leonardo Da Vinci
Confucius
Author unknown
Colossians 3:12-14
Vince Lombardi
Author unknown
Muhammad Ali
Helen Keller
Johann Von Goethe
June 2012
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.”
Matthew 23:12
Matthew 23:12
Author unknown
Proverb 18:12
St. Josemaria Escriva
Author unknown
Matthew 7:15-20
St. Cyril of Alexandria
May 2012
“Vocation is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.”
Frederick Buechner
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer
April 2012
“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
Margaret Thatcher
A. Philip Parham
Author unknown
Gaudium et Spes
Author unknown
Matthew 10:8
Gandhi
Edith Stein
Author unknown
March 2012
“Proud princes will find themselves scattered in the imagination of their hearts, but those who hunger humbly will be filled with good things.”
John Henry Newman
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Henri Nouwen
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Henri Nouwen
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
John Henry Newman
Mother Teresa
February 2012
“If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both.”
Horace Mann
C.S. Lewis
Author unknown
Gandi
Bob Dylan
C.S. Lewis
David Cutcliffe
Author unknown
Author unknown
January 2012
Oswald Chambers
Author unknown
Henri Nouwen
Abraham Lincoln
Henri Nouwen
Author unknown
Henri Nouwen
St. Augustine
December 2011
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
Leonardo da Vinci
St. Francis of Assisi
John Adams
Author unknown
Elburt Hubbard
Jim Collins
Jim Collins
Author unknown
Author unknown
Jim Collins
Gandhi
“Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”
Mother Teresa
November 2011
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Leo Tolstoy
Jesus Christ
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
David Morris
Joseph R. Veneroso
Maltbie C. BabcockOctober 2011
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King
Author unknown
Winston Churchill
Jim Collins
Jim Collins
Henri Nouwen
Jim Collins
Jim Collins
Jim Collins
September 2011
“You can be sure that the more attentive we are to others’ defects the less observant we are of our own.”
St. Ignatius
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
-Mumford and Sons
Henri Nouwen
August 2011
“It’s not practice makes perfect. Nothing is perfect. Practice makes permanent. We are what we practice each day.”
David Cutcliffe
Eleanor Roosevelt
Robert Greenleaf
Oswald Chambers
John Barrymore
Author unkown
Henri Nouwen
St. Ignatius
C.S. Lewis
Paul Valery
Father Greg Lucy
Abraham Lincoln
July 2011
“Take a moment to wander through the pages of history and extract from those pages the men and women whom you most admire. Who would they be without courage? Nothing worthwhile in history is achieved without courage. Courage is the father of every great moment and movement in history.”
Matthew Kelly
Winston Churchill
John Wayne
Dorothy Bernard
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly
Cervantes’ councel
Matthew Kelly
Shakespeare
Matthew Kelly
June 2011
Henri Nouwen
Author unknown
Henri Nouwen
David Cutcliffe
Author unknown
Author unknown
David Cutcliffe
Author unknown
David CutcliffeMay 2011
Mark Twain
Kahlil Gibran
Author unknown
Rick Warren
St. Augustine
Kahlil Gibran
Matthew Kelly
Kahlil Gibran
Author unknown