Excellence Blog

“Only the disciplined ones in life are free.  If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods and…

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”  -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe We all have…

“We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love.” – Sigmund Freud Love requires vulnerability. Love means giving…

“It is a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering.” – Stephen Colbert I don’t often talk about it,…

“Most entrepreneurial ideas will sound crazy, stupid, and uneconomic, and then they’ll turn out to be right.”  -Reed Hastings, Founder…

“No business school would recommend gambling as a financial strategy, but sometimes it pays to be a little crazy early…

“Unless you’re dying, it’s ingrained in our culture to play.  Pain doesn’t hurt, it’s just pain.”  -Chris Pronger Pain is…

“Every team writes its own story.” – Martin Brodeur Through the first 75 games of the 2000 Major League Baseball…

“Coaching is the catalyst for transformation.” -Vikram Kapoor Those who want improvement and greatness know that they can rarely achieve…

“The day you hear someone call you ‘coach’ is the day you have made a difference in someone’s life.” —…

“I’d rather be in a good position in the playoffs and holding up a World Series trophy than holding up…

“October baseball is what it’s all about.” – James A. Winnefeld, Jr. Offseason training.  Preseason instruction and game simulations.  162…

“October is the month of painted leaves.”  -Henry David Thoreau Sun streaming through the gold and red leaves of the…

“October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.” — Nova Beir The fire casts light and warmth, tribe…

“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I…

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves change.”  -Elizabeth Lawrence Yesterday as I left a meeting, I…

“The fruit is what really matters, not how gnarly or beautiful the apple tree is.” -Aiden Wilson Tozer When you…

“Millions saw the apple fall but Newton was the one who asked why.”  -Bernard Baruch Every once in a while…

“Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all.” -Johnny Depp Constant adventure on your own…

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”  -Steve Jobs The routine of the military has…

“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” –George S. Halas I see young advisors fail regularly, and in their…

“Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” –Mike…

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” – Phil Collins  “Son of Man” There is an…

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”  -Bob Talbert Schools are starting for the…

“Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.”– Anatole…

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”– Martin Luther King Jr.…

“…to do something great in your life, you’re gonna have to realize your failures. You’re gonna have to embrace them…

My 13-year-old autistic son and I had an unexpected adventure that led to bonding, leadership lessons, and an unexpected treasure.…

“Get better at what you’re doing.  Everything else is a complete waste of time.” – Jerry Seinfeld A few years…

“There is something in the Olympics, indefinable, springing from the soul, that must be preserved.”– Chris Brasher Every Olympiad there…

“For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.“– Mary Lou Retton For all athletes, there is one…

“Success is not about being a genius or getting lucky. It’s about working hard and never giving up.” – Hope…

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills We live in a society predicated on convenience. …

“The thing about parenting rules is there aren’t any. That’s what makes it so difficult.” -Ewan McGregor When I was…

“Perhaps it takes courage to raise children.” –John Steinbeck Being a parent is not for the weak-willed, and that is…

“A one day holiday can at times be better than a one week vacation if you totally unplug for that…

“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.” – Earl Wilson The…

“Is childhood ever long enough, or a happy time, or even a beautiful summer day?” — Eugene Kennedy No.  The…

“‘Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about.”  –John Mayer What is it that…

“If you don’t have dreams, you don’t have a life.” Bryce Harper What is it that you dream of even…

“I just keep focused on the next day and what we gotta do to win.”  Aaron Judge Success eats itself…

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires.  Seek discipline and find your liberty.”  Frank Herbert Those who seek a…

“Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell When Power is uncertain,…

“All men by nature desire knowledge.”  Aristotle To crave understanding is human, from the baby exploring the limits of their…

“I am solving the problem of poverty.”  Ulysses S Grant To feed his family, the future leader of both the…

“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.”  Sun Tzu Iron and water do not dwell together…

“Fame, money and the size of the market are not very important to me.  What is, is writing a book…

“Your training is nothing.  Will is everything.” -Ra’s al Ghul Many people wrongfully believe that hard work and dedication to…

Last month an individual that I was consulting to tried to insult me by calling me “arrogant”.  I thanked him…

When your gaslight comes on in your vehicle, you fairly quickly detour to get gas so that you don’t run…

We all have a balance between price and value. We can grab that small container at the convenience store because…

As we sit here on the Fifth of May, balanced between Star Wars Day and Revenge of the Sixth, we…

“I wasn’t born to be a champion – I fought to be a champion.”  -Becky Lynch It is a paradox…

“The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.”  -Conor McGregor Only through adversity is there improvement.…

“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.”  -Sean O’Casey I see salespeople all the time…

“Money can’t buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.”  -Spike Milligan Being broke…

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”  -Jonathan Swift Walt Disney flew over hundreds of acres…

“We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion.  The great task in life is to find reality.”  -Iris…

“Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”  -George Bernard Shaw We were all blind, helpless babies.  No…

“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”  -Henry David Thoreau Losses will…

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys…

“Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.” -Paulo Coelho I had a path…

“Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy – the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation.” …

“I guess that’s what disappointment is – a sense of loss for something you never had.”  -Deb Caletti That relationship…

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”  -Alexander Pope It’s sad to say that if…

“Disappointment’s cousin is Frustration.”  Chetan Bhagat You didn’t get the sale.  And you know that you asked enough questions and…

“Be near your brothers.”  -Fyodor Dostoevsky Presence is the greatest of presents. It is good to be around those you…

“Brotherhood is an ideal better understood by example than precept.”  -Paramahansa Yoganada Lots of Fraternities talk about Brotherhood.  How many…

“Brotherhood is a two-way street.”  -Malcom X Treat others as you would wish to be treated.  And when they fail,…

“None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”  -The Prophet Muhammad There is…

“I love you, my brother, whoever you are – whether you worship in a church, kneel in your temple, or…

“Either men will learn to live like brothers, or they will die like beasts.”  -Max Lerner Civilized people can use…

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”  -Martin Luther King Jr. The one good…

“There is always some madness in love.”  -Friedrich Nietzsche “That’s nuts”. “You’re crazy.” “That’s insane.” Whether it is Calvin eventually…

“Where there is love there is life.”  -Mahatma Gandhi Spring is the time of rebirth and love, and is just…

“Love is shown more in deeds than words.”  -Saint Ignatius Words are weak, but actions speak. Time is the most…

“Love her but leave her wild.”  -Atticus She is not a wild horse to be broken, but a fierce and…

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” -Henry David Thoreau If you were to look at the…

“Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.”  -Oscar Wilde Ordinary comes from the Latin “ordo” meaning “order”, something…

“Continue to share your heart with people even if it has been broken.”  -Amy Poehler Fr. Mike Schmitz has a phrase…

“A slap in the face is a great wake up call.”  -Michael Kay Nothing like starting to skid on black…

“It’s always better to shock people and change people’s expectations than to give them exactly what they think you can…

“It’s always good to get a wake-up call and a reminder that you can’t just go there and collect medals.” …

“A painting that doesn’t shock isn’t worth painting.”  -Marcel Duchamp Love it or hate it, you must notice it. If…

“It’s always a wake-up call to get beaten.”  -Usain Bolt The monster Mike Tyson was beaten. The American Dream Team…

“We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences, so called trauma – but we make out of them…

“Sometimes it takes a wake-up call, doesn’t it, to alert us to the fact that we’re hurrying through our lives…

“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.”  -Babe Ruth Today’s GOAT is tomorrow’s goat. If you recline, you decline. What…

“Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great.”  -John D Rockefeller Technology innovators have repeatedly lived out…

“The first one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell.”  -Andrew Carnegie There is something known as the “first…

“Do what you love and success will follow.  Passion is the fuel behind a successful career.”  -Meg Whitman Wayne Gretzky…

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”  -Bill Gates When someone complains, it is because they care.…

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”  -Winston Churchill I have…

“Every problem is a gift – without problems we would not grow.”  -Anthony Robbins If things are easy, there is…

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”  Theodore…

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model…

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”― Mother Teresa…

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”― Andy Warhol There are some people that…

“Change, like healing, takes time.”― Veronica Roth I still miss her at times, but the pain is less as I heal…

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”― Brene Brown Vulnerable means being open, and openness to feedback and new…

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley We barely notice that…

“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.”― Stephen Chbosky The world lost many notable individuals last year. Many…

“Your gift will unlock doors that you prayed for God to open.”― Yvonne Pierre Instead of hoping for the external entity…

“Don’t be one of those lazy ones who are constantly looking for open doors! Be one of those who are…

“Breaking down a closed door is quicker than waiting for someone to answer it.”― Matshona Dhliwayo If you wait for the…

“Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.”–Elmer Leterman I have seen people talk their way into…

“Realize that if a door closed, it’s because what was behind it wasn’t meant for you.” -Mandy Hale You didn’t…

“Having challenges in your life opens doors for you.”  -Payal Kadakia People who have easy lives early rarely accomplish anything…

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.”  -Joseph Campbell Passion can lead to…

“December is a time to reflect on the blessings of the past year and to embrace the opportunities of the…

“December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Every year I close…

“I heard a bird sing in the dark of December. A magical thing.” -Oliver Herford Miracles aren’t always the touchdown…

“December is a month of enormous potential.” -Michael Josephson More charitable gifts are completed in the month of December than…

“December has the clarity, the simplicity, and the silence you need for the best fresh start of your life.” —…

“May and October, the best-smelling months? I’ll make a case for December; evergreen, frost, wood smoke, cinnamon.” — Lisa Kleypas…

“December is a month of invitation to forget ourselves in the service of others.”  -Robert Louis Stevenson Dropping your change…

“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”  -Tommy Franks The fog of war blinds all, muffles the sounds and confuses…

“Today’s tactical victory does not guarantee tomorrow’s strategic success.”  -Peter Pace Winning the war does not guarantee the peace. Gaining…

“Nothing can stop the attack of aircraft except other aircraft.”  -Billy Mitchell A bad person trying to hurt another will…

“Never take counsel of your fears.”   -Stonewall Jackson Fear makes us stupid. Fear slows us down, mentally and physically. Fear…

“Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.”  -Erwin Rommel Sometimes it isn’t worth fighting. When your…

“Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.”  -Carl von Clausewitz Courage is not the absence of…

“I will find a way or make a way.”  -Hannibal My friend Tommy the firefighter trained new firemen and women,…

“I loved you when you opened like a lily to the heat; you see I’m just another snowman standing in…

“Do you want to build a snowman?” – Anna, Frozen Yes. Yes, take the time with your siblings to create magic.…

“I’m glad that life isn’t like a Christmas song, because if my friends and I were building a snowman and…

“It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and…

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” –…

“I tell you, it’s not a proper winter without a decent snowman.”  – Mr. Tumnus, in CS Lewis’  The Chronicles…

“Winter is the king of showmen, Turning tree stumps into snowmen.” -Ogden Nash The end of Fall is not the…

“I get up every day, do the best I can do, and go home and have a good time.”  -Ina…

“Every day is a good day.  There is something to learn, care and celebrate.”  -Amit Ray Dexter from “Dexter’s Laboratory”:…

“Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run.”  -James Clear A little bit better every…

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”  -Ralph Waldo Emerson Want to…

“Every day is a learning day.”  -Winston Marshall Every morning when a toddler opens their eyes they do not say…

“Every morning is a new arrival.”  -Rumi In the almost ten thousand years of recorded human history, the sun has…

“Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day.”  -Tim Grover Is…

“The best place in the world to ski is where you’re skiing that day.”  – Warren Miller The present moment…

“Skiing is a battle against yourself, always to the frontiers of the impossible.” – Jean-Claude Killy As a teenager I would…

“I don’t know if it’s just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving…

“A person should have wings to carry them where their dreams go, but sometimes a pair of skis makes a…

“Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.” – Oprah Winfrey Speed. The thing kids dream of from the…

“It’s better to go skiing and think of God than go to church and think of sport.” -Fridjof Nansen Some…

“Life is like skiing.  Just like skiing, the goal is not to get to the bottom of the hill.  It’s…

“To get great again, we need to recreate what made us great.”  -Peter Schiff How we built our previous success…

“There is a psychological and physical toll from the pressure to recreate ourselves in midlife.”  -Alissa Quart Getting in shape…

“You create your life, and you can recreate it too.”  -Ken Robinson In the past two decades we have seen…

“There’s a rebirth that goes on with us continuously as human beings.”  -Dustin Hoffman You are not who you were…

“A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures.” James E Faust When you have lost everything,…

“We all hope for breakthrough rebirth moments.”  Dane Cook Struggle is necessary for growth, both linear and radical. If you…

“Rain symbolizes darkness but also represents an essential part of rebirth.”  Sabrina Claudio Unless you have plans to go to…

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward A simple,…

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to…

“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you…

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.”  Doris Day I know people blessed with all the material wealth a person could…

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.”  Melody Beattie I grew up as one of six kids, plus…

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that is only…

“Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.” …

“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.”  William Blake The world will grow greater fruits than you can ever use,…

“The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance of blessing previously secured.”  Marcus Tullius Cicero When an athlete…

“Always do your best.  What you plant now, you will harvest later.”  Og Mandino Just because a client is clearly…

“You sow, you wait for good or bad weather, you harvest, but working is something you always need to do.” …

“It is like the seed put in the soil – the more one sows, the greater the harvest.”  Orison Swett…

“With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see.”  Ella Wheeler Wilcox That phone…

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”  Robert Louis Stevenson Overnight…

“Death isn’t sad.  The sad thing is: most people don’t live at all.” Socrates Memento Mori and Carpe Diem are…

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”  Richard Puz The hole…

“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.”  George Eliot One Halloween my mom helped me…

“Every day is Halloween, isn’t it?  For some of us.”  Tim Burton A chance to recreate ourselves, to try out…

“Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves.”  Elvis…

“If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just Halloween.”  Douglas Coupland…

“Halloween is the only time people can become what they want without getting fired.”  -Sylvester Stallone “Dress for the job…

“You can’t handle the truth.”  Col. Jessep in “A Few Good Men” We want the light without the shadow that…

“If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.”  Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction” If you don’t…

“I never look back, darling!  It distracts from the now.” -Edna in “The Incredibles” So they lied.  He stole from…

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”  -Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption“ If you have reached your mid 40’s,…

“We all end up dead, it’s just a question of how and why.”  -William Wallace in “Braveheart” 108 Billion. That…

“But did you die?!”  Chow in “The Hangover” The single greatest movie quote of all time to tell someone to…

“Ain’t got time to bleed.”  Jesse Venture in “Predator” To the sick mom that is taking care of her sick…

“We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.” ― Anton Pavlovich Chekhov People…

“Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is accord. Harmony.” ― Laini Taylor War is the explosion after the…

“Peace and Justice are two sides of the same coin.”  Dwight D Eisenhower Without justice there can be no peace.…

“I prefer peace.  But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live…

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” …

“We make war that we may live in peace.”  Aristotle If someone wishes to do you harm, you must be…

“The meek will enjoy peace and prosperity” (Psalm 37:10-11) Peace and prosperity is what we all seek, as is codified…

“First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault.” —Hopper, A Bug’s Life Jocko Willink calls it “Extreme Ownership”.  Will Smith says…

“Ladies do not start fights … but they can finish them!” —Marie, The Aristocats Do not look for trouble, but if…

“Even miracles take a little time.” —The Fairy Godmother, Cinderella We live in a world that has accelerated in all ways.…

“Our fate lives within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it.” —Merida, Brave You have a destiny,…

“Always let your conscience be your guide.” —The Blue Fairy, Pinocchio If you have been raised in an environment where you…

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” —Thumper, Bambi Sometimes silence is the only response. You say…

“Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.” —Olaf, Frozen When your first thoughts are instantly about them instead of yourself,…

“You’re a sweet kid, but don’t press your luck.” Scrooge McDuck There are limits, even for a cute kid with…

“Oh, boy! I can’t wait to see my pals!” Donald Duck Anticipation creates dopamine, and as long as you don’t…

“If there’s one thing I don’t like about falling off a roof, it’s the pain involved.” – Goofy Oftentimes wisdom…

“The biggest risk is not taking a risk at all.” – Chip Regrets of omission long-term are always more lasting…

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Daisy Duck…

“Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine.”  -Minnie Mouse Even when it is grey and rainy…

“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.”  -Mickey Mouse I remember my great aunts cracking jokes…

“Th-th-that’s all folks!”  Porky Pig We almost always want more, and sometimes need to be told “enough”. To stay in…

“I’m so crazy I don’t know this isn’t possible.” ― Daffy Duck They thought that if a human ran a four-minute mile…

“When I say whoa, I mean whoa!” — Yosemite Sam No means no. Stop means stop.

“Once a bad ol’ puddy tat, always a bad ol’ puddy tat.” – Tweety America is the land of redemption…

“Maybe you oughta take a second, let your head catch up to your tongue before it gets all sunburnt.”  Foghorn…

“Oh drat these computers.  They’re so naughty and so complex.  I could just pinch them.”  Marvin the Martian GIGO. Garbage…

“I’m not lost, I’m just temporarily disoriented.”  Bugs Bunny JRR Tolkien famously proclaimed via Gandalf that not all who wander…

“The same hand that can write a poem, can knock you out with one punch – that’s Poetic Justice.”  “Irish”…

“I made the most of my ability and did my best with my title.”  Joe Louis There are those who…

“You can’t learn mental fortitude in a book.  Those things are earned, not learned.”  Caleb Plant You will be knocked…

“Every fight is a must-win because we are winners.”  Shawn Porter My friends that have special needs kids know that…

“Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.”  -Sugar Ray Leonard If you don’t see a brighter future, you…

“If you work hard in training, the fight is easy.” -Manny Pacquiao Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were infamous for…

“Greatness is making your delusion reality.”  Mike Tyson Few great things have been created without a vision that few others…

“The unendurable is the beginning of the curve of joy.”― Djuna Barnes The end of the marriage. The termination from the…

“Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, butfor the heart to conquer it.”― Rabindranath Tagore Ease not my…

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains.”― C.S. Lewis In agony there…

“If pain must come, may it come quickly.” Paulo Coelho Anticipation of pain is a Hell worse than the suffering…

“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”― William Goldman It’s not cupcakes and unicorns every day, or…

“Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain.”― Bob Dylan That perfectly sculpted body you admire required hours and years…

“Work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran My friends in financial services say that “life insurance is a love letter,…

“Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.”  Ann Landers The best line in the movie “The Hangover”: but did you…

“Work is much more fun than fun.”  Noel Coward My nerd friends do nerdy things outside of work.  We calculate,…

“Without labor nothing prospers.”  Sophocles We all have that friend with countless ideas that never brings any of them to…

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth…

“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”  Jonas Salk “Good job, here is more work…

“The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.”  Elbert Hubbard Bodybuilding is a sport of…

“We don’t stop going to school when we graduate.”—Carol Burnett A quarter of Americans haven’t read a book in a…

“Education is the difference between wishing you could help other people and being able to help them.” —Russell M. Nelson…

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”—John Dewey Aristotle held a student underwater, almost drowning him, until…

“Education exposes you to what the world has to offer, to the possibilities open to you.”—Sonia Sotomayor An underclass minority…

“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King Jr. Knowledge without restraint is destructive. Power without…

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”—Malala Yousafzai It does not…

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”—B.B. King Once you acquire knowledge,…

“If there is a Heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached.”  Jimmy Buffett Sailors may hope for…

“Dance with the waves, move with the sea. Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” – Christy Ann Martine…

“To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise.” – Emilia Wickstead Brilliant blue skies. Bright…

“When you walk on the beach at night, you can say things you can’t say in real life.” – Jenny Han…

“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.” – E.E. Cummings…

“At the beach, life is different. “ – Sandy Gingras Beach time is different.  There are no noontime meetings with…

“The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea.” – Kate Blixen Feeling sick?  Get your body moving…

“Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” –…

“Beyond the mountains, more mountains.” – Haitian proverb “Once I get through this project, life will be easier.”  Yeah, right. …

“I take all day to climb mountains and then spend about 10 minutes at the top admiring the view.” – Sebastian…

“The best view comes after the hardest climb.” – Vanessa Gendoma The best beer is the one you have after…

“Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.” – Sir Martin Convey When we level up in life, it is not because…

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” – Barry Finlay The secret to finishing a marathon…

“We cannot lower the mountain, therefore we must elevate ourselves.” – Todd Skinner The world is tough and always has…

“There’s always peace in a strong cup of coffee.”  -Gabriel Ba Close your eyes and breathe in the smell of…

“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?”  -Cassandra Clare While in the concentration…

“But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all.”  -David Lynch Better to have half…

“Without my morning coffee, I’m just like a dried up piece of goat.”  -JS Bach Without coffee we would not…

“Coffee, the favorite drink of the civilized world.”  -President Thomas Jefferson Tired people do dumb things. Stressed people make bad…

“I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create…

“Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.” – Earl Wilson Informal weak…

“Without error there can be no brilliancy.” Emanuel Lasker Madness and genius are one step apart. Great risks are required…

“The Pawns are the soul of the game.” Francois Andre Danican Philidor The Bishops wield power and the Towers provide…

“Life is like a game of Chess, changing with each move.” Chinese Proverb What you did yesterday determines the set…

“Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack.” Wilhelm Steinitz When it isn’t your turn you can’t…

“Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation.” Max Euwe The best laid plans of mice and men collapse upon contact with…

“Excellence at Chess is one mark of a scheming mind.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Most people react, they do not…

“Chess is a school of silence.” Marcel Duchamp When your mouth opens, your eyes and brain lose power so you…

“Be stronger than your strongest excuse.”  Alan Maiccon The timing is never perfect, whether it is to have a kid…

“If it is important to you, you will find a way.  If not, you’ll find an excuse.”  Ryan Blair If…

“Suck it up.”  Barbara Templin When you are one of a half dozen or more farm kids, there isn’t a…

“When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.”  Terry Bradshaw One of my business associates told…

“Don’t complain.  Just work harder.”  Randy Pausch Didn’t get the promotion?  Did you deserve it?  Work harder and smarter. Lost…

“Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were terrified of missing it.”  Confucius You…

“The road to Paradise starts in Hell.”  Tim Grover If you want to reach Heaven you have to pass through…

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game.”  Prof. Randy Pausch Some people are…

“It should be noted that the games of children are not games, and must be considered as their most serious…

“The score never interested me, only the game.”- Mae West The dancer becomes the dance, the artist becomes the work. …

“The goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning.” Reiner Knizia The very…

“Competition is a by-product of productive work, not its goal. A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve,…

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“Ehhhrrrhaaaahrrrrr!”  Godzilla Sometimes the only answer is a primordial scream and to break stuff.

“But perhaps the monsters needed to look out for each other every now and then.”― Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows Many…

“You should be a monster. An absolute monster. And then you should learn how to control it.” — Jordan B.…

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” Friedrich Nietzsche I…

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.  They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”  Stephen King Dr. Gabor…

“The real world is where the monsters are.”― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief In the beginning, Hell was the absence of God,…

“Everyone carries around his own monsters.”  – Richard Pryor We all have issues, and anyone that claims they have never…

“Success is dependent on effort.”  Sophocles I was told early in my career: the harder I work, the luckier I…

“Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes.”  Antisthenes Competition is a spotlight that…

“Educate the children and it won’t be necessary to punish the men.”  Pythagoras The newest salesperson will either adopt good…

“Grand results require great ambitions.”  Heraclitus A goldfish will only grow to the size of its bowl. A person will…

“A man is a being in search of meaning.”  Plato A dog is a dog, and does dog things. If…

“False words are not only evil themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”  Socrates Lies are poison. Lies are…

“It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.” Democritus We are…

“Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day…

“Some of your best ideas come when you’re on vacation.” – Gautam Singhania Some of the greatest insights in human…

“Trips and vacations are so much more. These experiences show you what’s possible and challenge you to examine the paths…

“The vacation we often need is freedom from our own mind.” – Jack Adam Weber The hippie saying of “Wherever…

“To get away from one’s working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one’s self; and this is…

“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” – Elbert Hubbard Anyone that…

“There’s no vacation from being a parent.” – Chevy Chase When I was 11 my family went on a weeklong…

“Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur.” “Anything said in Latin sounds profound.”― Unknown Multisyllabic utterances craft an illusion of erudition. Big…

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” “Who watches the Watchmen?”― Décimo Junio Juvenal We give power to others to protect us and ultimately…

“Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit.” ‘Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost.”― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake The only constant…

“VI VERI VENIVERSUM VIVUS VICI.”“By the Power of Truth, I, while living, have Conquered the Universe.”― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta #2…

“Macte virtute, sic itur ad astra.” “Excellence is the way to the stars”― Virgil Orion the Hunter dwells among the stars,…

“Non est ad astra mollis e terris via” “There is no easy way from the earth to the stars”― Seneca The…

“Some day you will know that a father is much happier in his children’s happiness than in his own.” –Honore…

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” –Pam Brown My dad…

“Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again…

“My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” –Clarence Budington Kelland…

“A boy needs a father to show him how to be in the world. ” –Ian Morgan Cron A child…

“That is the thankless position of the father in the family—the provider for all, and the enemy of all.” –J.…

“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” –George Herbert The first model of masculinity a child sees is their…

“It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” ― JK Rowling Harry Potter and The…

“A man with nothing to die for has even less for which to live.”― Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman Dragonlance If you…

“One day you’ll discover that the opinions of worthless people are worthless.”― Piers Anthony, A Spell for Chameleon Don’t listen to those…

“Maybes never are.”― Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsong The root of the word “decision” is “to cut off”, to cut off the branches of…

“It is very hard for evil to take hold of the unconsenting soul.”― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea People…

“All get what they want; they do not always like it.”― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia You have voted for the…

“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place.”   Lewis Carroll “Alice…

“The humble listen to their brothers and sisters because they assume they have something to learn.” Fr. Thomas Dubay I am…

“An appreciative listener is always stimulating.” Agatha Christie There have been numerous studies that show that a person who listens is…

“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.”Zeno of Citium Generally I get…

“The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” Ralph G. Nichols Closing your mouth, opening your ears,…

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway Anyone who knows me knows that I can tell a…

“You can be pretty smart if you shut up.”  Dr. Jordan B Peterson If I listen, I learn. Not listening…

“You’re short on ears and long on mouth.” John Wayne Sometimes my mom would tell one of my siblings “just…

“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt During my divorce there were many times when…

“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.”  Anthony J…

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream: not only plan, but also believe.”  Anatole France…

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.”  Nikos Kazantzakis If President John F Kennedy did not…

“You must be your best on your worst day.”  David Goggins Just because I am having a bad day with…

“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”  A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Running a…

“They must be what they can be.”  Abraham Maslow A tree will reach as high as it can given the…

“Life is like chocolate: you should enjoy it piece for piece and let it slowly melt on your tongue.” –…

“Chocolate is, rather than nectar or ambrosia, the true food of the gods.” – Joseph Bachot Xocolatl was a gift…

“Patience is like chocolate… We never have enough!” – Christine Heurtault The world is a frustrating place, even without being…

“Chocolate without sugar, sometimes can be bitter, but it will always be sweeter than a hurting truth.” – Carlos Barra…

“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food.” -Michael Levine Quick, name a food that makes one amorous, more…

“As long as there is chocolate, there will be happiness.” – Wayne Gerard Trotman Most of us have memories that…

“A Warrior that speaks truth cuts sharper than winter cold”― Kevin Anytime We live in a Society of illusions, from fake…

“You need to really just hone in on that warrior within.”  Luke James Inside everyone is excellence, if we are…

“It will always be relevant and always be inspiring to see somebody turning themselves into a warrior.”  Phoebe Waller-Bridge Warriors…

“The fiercest warriors, do not carry a sword to the battlefield; instead, they are armed with wisdom.”― RJ Intindola A sword…

I am not a warrior because I know what to do in a fight. I am a warrior because I…

“Cowards shrink from challenges, weaklings flee from them, but warriors wink at them.”― Matshona Dhliwayo Give me adversity to test and…

“The warrior is one compelled by an inner, often insensible calling to forge an untouchable sword of discipline .“ Brian…

“Whether the rich eat carrots or candles is no concern to you.”  Mongolian saying I don’t care if a rich…

“It is better to have less thunder in the mouth, and more lightning in the hand.”  Apache saying Elvis sang…

“Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully.”  African Proverb Just because something is different…

“Dawn will come, even if the rooster is strangled.”  Korean saying Killing the messenger does not prevent the news from…

“The truth is told in jokes.”  Romanian saying When I was in graduate school my best friend put on some…

“Measuring things brings knowledge.”  Dutch saying How often have you made an assumption, and been wildly wrong?  Probably more often…

“A good friend is the best mirror.”  Irish saying One of the things about humans is our forward oriented eyesight,…

“The most powerful weapon to prove your point is your silence.” Sukant Ratnakar Lao Tzu observed: he who knows need…

“My education was another weapon…” Sarah J Maas Few of us are born into wealth, but we can become rich…

“Knowledge will always be the best weapon against tyrants.”  Mercedes Lackey The greatest disinfectant is sunlight, burning away the root…

“The tongue is a soft weapon that kills subtly.”  Jaime Teorio Valenzuela A whispered word brings down kingdoms. One phrase…

“Patience is the warrior’s true weapon- a thousand patient breaths brings victory.”  Christine Feehan Do not let the little distractions,…

“The slow blade penetrates the shield.” Frank Herbert through Gurney Halleck (Dune) The rock is not cleaved by the river…

“We need 4 hugs a day for survival.  We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance.  We need 12 hugs…

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”  Jordan Peterson When you see your friend harming themselves and…

“The human mind is not a terribly logical or consistent place.”   Jim Butcher The most complex thinking machine ever created…

“Happiness is an ongoing process of fresh challenges, and it takes the right attitudes and activities to continue to be…

“If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be…

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own soul.”  Carl Jung Few of us will…

“Reality denied comes back to haunt.”  Philip K Dick I had a person I was extremely close to tell me…

“If I had no sense of humor, I would have long ago committed suicide.” Mahatma Gandhi Suicide is definitely not…

“Humor is laughing at what you haven’t got when you ought to have it.” Langston Hughes Life isn’t fair. It…

“I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it.” Frank A Clark When…

“A good laugh makes any interview, or any conversation, so much better.” Barbara Walters Laughter is good for the soul,…

“A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of…

“Humor is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man’s superiority to all that befalls him.” Romain Gary A sense…

“Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society.” William Makepeace Thackeray The world…

“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” Ayn Rand As a child, I used magnifying glasses to concentrate the…

“I write to discover what I know.” Flannery O’Connor Writing is a way of clarifying our thinking, to play with…

“Tears are words that need to be written.” Paulo Coelho Words are an incomplete and weak translation of emotions. We…

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” Jack Kerouac I am still looking for…

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Anais Nin Theodore Roosevelt memorialized his fellow Rough…

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps dead for 1,000 years. To read…

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read…

“How vain is it to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” Henry David Thoreau…

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin The best way to turn a kid off…

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” Stephen King Before we had smart phones, we had magic portals that could take…

“The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.” Mark Twain If you…

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” Fran Lebowitz One of the most critical components of having a plan…

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll…

“Reading is essential to those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”  Jim Rohn The average American adult reads under…

“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?” — Neltje Blanchan A picture is worth a thousand…

“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.”…

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” Virgil A Kraft It’s muddy out. The ground…

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” — Rainer Maria Rilke We…

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” – Leo Tolstoy January 1st might be the official start of the…

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.” — Lewis Grizzard The early morning light slowly…

“The promise of spring’s arrival is enough to get anyone through the bitter winter!” — Jen Selinsky Winter is harsh,…

“It makes a difference to take it easy when things aren’t going right.”  Sergio Garcia A baseball player in a…

“The only thing you can control is your attitude towards the next shot.”  Mark McCumber Next. That is the secret…

“Keep your sense of humor.  There’s enough stress in the rest of your life not to let bad shots ruin…

“Golf is about how well you accept, respond to, and score with your misses much more so than it is…

“Success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character.”  Arnold Palmer Until Tiger…

“Golf is the closest game to the game we call life.  You get bad breaks from good shots; you get…

“The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.”  Gary Player After a dozen times in a…

“I love playing this game and every spring training game fells like the first.” Rickey Henderson Play the game like…