First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus

 

“If it is to be it is up to me” (Johnsen, William H., n.d.).

 

The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach; but we shut our eyes, and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it. Seneca (7 B.C. - 65 A.D.)

 

Thomas Jefferson (n.d.) once said " The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat."

 

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly” (Buddha, n.d.).

 

Judge people from where they stand, not from where you stand. — H. Jackson Brown Jr

 

And what is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

The more you write, the more you naturally generate ideas. — Robin Hemley

 

Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail. — Ernest Hemingway

 

Words are the battered trunks that carry remnants of experience across the plains of time. — Ian Robertson

 

Truth can be uncomfortable. It can also be comforting. Whatever it is, it is necessary to speak it. — Donald Maass

 

Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. — James B. Conant

 

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying. — Francis Bacon

 

Be yourself….You will stand out as a real person among the robots. — William Zinsser

 

It is better to wear out than rust out. — Millard Fillmore

 

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. — Thomas Jefferson

 

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. — Oprah Winfrey

 

We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us. — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, 1844–1900

 

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. — Confucius

 

What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. — Dwight David Eisenhower

 

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.” — C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

 

The truth is always the strongest argument. — Sophocles

 

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. — Jack London

 

My father was not a failure. After all, he was the father of the president of the United States. — Harry S. Truman

 

It is by fighting the limitations, temptations, and failures of the world that we reach our highest possibilities. — Helen Keller

 

We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough. Helen Keller

 

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller

 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. Aristotle

 

Doubt whom you will, but never yourself. Christian Nestell Bovee

 

If you would create something, you must be something. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she will make the same effort, and have the same hope and faith. Mahatma Gandhi

 

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

 

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. Leon J. Suenes

 

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will. Jawaharlal Nehru

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. - Nelson Henderson

 

The grand essentials of life are something to do, something to love, something to hope for. Thomas Chalmers

 

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box. Italian Proverb

 

Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. La Bruyere

 

The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live. Elbert Hubbard

 

There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult. Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Reputation is for time; character is for eternity. J. B. Gough

 

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. Henry David Thoreau

 

Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone. Cyrus A. Bartol

 

Character is what you think in the dark. Dwight L. Moody

 

Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time. Elbert Green Hubbard

 

Actions, looks, words and steps form the alphabet by which you may spell character. Johann Kasper Lavater

 

All things change, and we ourselves change along with them. Borhonius

 

The absurd man is he who never changes. Auguste Barthelemy

 

It is a bad plan that admits no modification. Publilius Syrus

 

Nothing endures but change. Heraclitus

 

Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw

 

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. Leo Tolstoy

 

Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better. Richard Hooker

 

By associating with wise people you will become wise yourself. Menander

 

The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom. Thomas Huxley

 

A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, a fool by his own. Latin Proverb

 

Silence does not always mark wisdom. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

 

Never let life's hardships disturb you ... no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages. Nichiren Daishonen

 

Ask yourself this question: "Will this matter a year from now?" Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

 

No longer forward nor behind I look in hope and fear; But grateful take the good I find, The best of now and here. John G. Whittier

 

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. Benjamin Franklin

 

The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable. Seneca

 

How much pain have cost us the evils that have never happened. Thomas Jefferson

 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

 

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. Albert Einstein

 

The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates   It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. Agnes Repplier   Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. Menander   Insist on yourself. Never imitate. Ralph Waldo Emerson   Heaven never helps the man who will not act. Sophocles   Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself. A. Bronson Alcott   If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. Thomas Edison

Hear the meaning within the word. William Shakespeare

 

Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

 

Charity, good behaviour, amiable speech, unselfishness — these by the chief sage have been declared the elements of popularity. Burmese Proverb

 

Arguing with a fool proves there are two. Doris M. Smith

 

Look to be treated by others as you have treated others. Publilius Syrus

 

Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life. Jean Paul Richter

 

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. William Thackeray

 

If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it. Epictetus

 

Do not forget small kindnesses and do not remember small faults. Chinese Proverb

 

Go back a little to leap further.  John Clarke

 

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt

 

I failed my way to success. Thomas Edison

 

Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success. Napoleon Hill

 

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. John F. Kennedy

 

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one. Elbert Hubbard

 

Our greatest glory consist not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Oliver Goldsmith

 

Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

A goal is a dream with a deadline. Napoleon Hill

 

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another. John Dewey

 

Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving. Dennis Waitley

 

If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else. Yogi Berra

 

To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift. Franklin Roosevelt

 

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind. Seneca

 

Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself. J. Howes

 

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