Great writers and speakers leave behind bread crumbs to their success and victories. Earlier this year, I shared 5 profound quotes to set your life clock by. Some have helped to shape my life and are snapshot reminders to me when things don’t go as planned.
Many of these reminders can serve as jump starters for your life or as pick me ups when you get stuck in a rut or go around the mountain one too many times.
The more I read the more wisdom I encounter, so here are 5 more quotes that you can add to your quiver.
You can’t steal second base if you keep your foot on first. ~Mark Batterson.
The great base stealers in baseball are also the ones who get caught — or fail — the most. They take bigger leads, they try to steal a base when others won’t, they take advantage of a pitcher’s or catcher’s weakness. Yes, there is risk involved, but without risk, there is no gain.
Most of the great wars have a story of a general who took a risk and it became a turning point in victory. The great entrepreneurs risked their homes, their livelihoods and, in many cases, the shirts off their back, to gamble on the product, invention or mission they knew would change the way we live.
Sometimes, you have to push all the chips to the middle of the table. Or, you can stay where you are in the status quo. And you know what status quo means: It’s Latin for the mess we’re in!
“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.” ~Russian Proverb.
This one is pretty straight forward. If you want to succeed, if you want to complete a project, if you have a goal, if you have a to-do list, the best instruction is FOCUS. Take one thing at a time, don’t get sidetracked, don’t start the next item on your list until you finish the first one.
It’s especially true if you have a major goal in your life, whether it’s a bucket list or a dream or a huge project like getting a degree, becoming certified in something, starting a business or even getting in shape.
Make your list a list of one thing. Become consumed, be obsessed and put all your effort into one thing.
“We live in an age when nonessential things seem to be our only essentials,” says John Mason. “It’s amazing the amount of work you can get done if you don’t do anything else.”
What one thing can you do today that will change your entire week?
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbor. ~Mark Twain.
This one has a chance to move up to my Top 5 list. Everyone has regrets. Anyone that says otherwise isn’t being completely honest.
Regardless of how old you are, fast forward 20 years. And then look back. What is it that’s burning in your heart, in your spirit? Something that you know you have to do or want to do?
I’ve shared my list before, but I want to write another book and I would love to see a show on the West End in London. In 20 years, if I look back and haven’t done those things, I’ll be disappointed and I’ll feel like I haven’t fulfilled a significant part of my bucket list.
What’s on your must-do list? Don’t wait until Year 19 1/2 to get started! Start planning now. Start putting things in place now. Put a date on it because, without a deadline, it’s not real!
Finally, tell someone else and ask them to check in on your progress every 3-6 months. Accountability will keep you moving forward!
“Right is right even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it.” ~William Penn.
This may be more relevant today than even a few decades ago! Indeed, there are absolutes. There are lines and boundaries in a world that is turning more relative every day.
Think about this: If life is relative, then nothing is true.
Relativity is based on opinion and viewpoint. Truth — or right and wrong — is based on a validated starting point or fact. Relativity says you can determine your own truth, based on circumstances, feelings or wishy-washy desires.
Right and wrong rely on long-standing or inherent truth to be its guide. Yes, there is a moral code. Yes, there is a code of conduct. Yes, there are ethics, values, principles and standards. These are not man-made.
Even six-month-old babies know the difference between right and wrong.
The outcome-based, everyone wins mindset constantly moves the goalposts in a one-size-fits-all mindset that causes a 50 shades of gray society.
In conclusion, don’t fall for the relativity theory. Rather, build your life on real boundaries and long-standing truth and you will always know where you stand.
“God has a university. It’s a small school. Few enroll; even fewer graduate. Very, very few indeed.” ~Gene Edwards.
Today more than ever, people rely on their own strength, on their own insight and on their own wisdom to order their lives.
Everyone needs faith in their lives and everyone needs God. Most Americans will say they have faith and most will say they believe in God. Yet, in our fast-paced, instant gratification culture, most people never “enroll” in God’s university.
When it comes down to it, many who do actually enroll give up in the middle of the fight when the going gets a little tough. It’s part of the reason “fewer graduate”.
In the end, people who spend time with God, through devotions, through quiet time, through reflection and through a relationship with Him, are the ones who have a solid foundation. Your ability to succeed, withstand challenges, endure conflict and overcome everyday battles depends on it.