Quotes of The Day - Personal Reminder List
Over the weekend, I visited Reno, Nevada for a quick family trip and picked up a book from a local author G. Brian Benson. Brian wrote his book Brian’s List (http://www.brianslistbook.com/) that presents 26 ½ easy to use ideas on how to live a fun, balanced, and healthy life! The list is long, but nonetheless a good reminder to help bring peace and balance back to life for most people. The opening quotes of each chapter are good references which I summarized below.
From Brian’s List
“Be who you are and what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
- Take a moment for yourself
“Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” – Saint Francis de Sales - Have an open mind
“The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” – Marcel Proust - Clean house
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” – John Wesley - Make amends
“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” – Anthony Robbins
“To err is human, to forgive is divine.” – Alexander Pope - Drink more water
“To understand water is to understand the cosmos, the marvels of nature and life itself.” – Masaru Emoto - Give thanks
“Of all the attitudes that we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is by far the most important and by far the most life-changing.” – Zig Ziglar - Go for a walk
“In every walk with nature, one receives for more than he seeks.” – John Muir - Listen to music
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” – Victor Hugo - Clear out any unwanted or unused items
“It’s easier traveling the road of life when I don’t have so much to carry on my back.” – Silas Weir Mitchell - Read a book
“A library is a hospital for the mind.” – Anonymous - Watch an inspirational show or movie
“Only as high as I reach can I grow,
only as far as I seek can I go,
only as deep as I look can I see,
only as much as I dream can I be.” – Karen Rayn - Treat yourself with respect
“Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” – Benjamin Disraeli - Get more sleep
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker - Go exercise
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw - Write down your thoughts
“Worry is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but won’t get you anywhere.” – Unknown Author - Hang out with positive people
“Where there are friends, there is wealth.” – Titus Muccius Plautus - Set a goal and follow through with it
“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.” – H. Jackson Brown - Try something new, take a chance
“Our deepest fears are like dragons, guardig our deepest treasure.” – Rainer Maria Rilke - Give
“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” – Chinese Proverb - Meditate
“Seek truth in meditation, not in moldy books. Look in the sky to find the moon, not in the pond.” – Persian Proverb - Listen to your heart
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery - Do what you love
“There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer - Live in the moment – be present
“If you surrender completely to the moment as they pass, you live more richly those moments.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
“Time consists of both future and past, neither of which can ever be in the now. The past holds memory, is emotionally based, and is dominated by the emotion labeled guilt. The future holds imagination, is also emotionally based, and is dominated by the emotion labeled fear. The loving essence of your true spirit is spaceless and timless presence.” – The Breakthrough Experience, John Demartini - Eat better, eat less
“You must begin to think of yourself as the person you want to be.” – David Viscott - Leave 10 minutes early
“A first rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected.” – Arnold Bennett - Laugh
“Laughter is instant sunshine.” – G. Brian Benson
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – E. E. Cummings.
26.5. Other ideas… this is up to your imagination…
Brian’s List concluded, “We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” - Ray Bradbury
It is difficult to have a balanced life all the time and, after all, a true life is about balancing and not about balanced (see my blog on improvisation). Balancing life involves personal choices (see my blog on work life balance vs. choice). For me, Dalai Lama’s Instructions for Life is always a good reminder in addition to the following:
- Excellence is a habit.
- Life is a journey. The journey is the reward.
- Be zen, the shortest distance between 2 points is not necessarily a straight line.
- Be disciplined and focused, the ability to speed depends on the ability to stop.
What about yours?
