"Mind you, hard work guarantees nothing in realms of creativity. (Nothing guarantees anything in realms of creativity.) But I cannot help but think that devotional discipline is the best approach. Do what you love to do, and do it with both seriousness and lightness. At least then you will know that you have tried and that—whatever the outcome—you have traveled a noble path."
-- Elizabeth Gilbert
"Simple daily disciplines—little productive actions, repeated consistently over time—add up to the difference between failure and success."
-- Jeff Olson
"“We see things not as they are, but as we are,” wrote Immanuel Kant. Your self-image is the lens through which you see the world. If you cannot see yourself being successful at something, you will probably talk yourself out of trying. Or, if you can see you have a talent for something, you may find all sorts of inner strength and external help. All your decisions are based on what you see you are capable of and, also, what you think you deserve."
-- Robert Holden
"THE BETTER YOU THINK, the better results you will get and the more successful you will be in every area. The most important measure, the only measure of the quality of your thinking, is the results you get, the consequences of what you decide to do as a result of the decisions you make."
-- Brian Tracy
"When we do not see our mindsets as being a key part of our lack of success, we generally incorrectly blame either external factors (e.g., don’t have enough money, time, or resources) or the wrong internal factors (e.g., intelligence, abilities, or personality). This misdiagnosis is problematic for at least two reasons. First, blaming these factors is closer to an excuse than a solution, because we generally cannot control these factors, at least not as easily as our mindsets. Because these factors are largely outside of our control, we hide behind them as an excuse for giving up, accepting a fate of living below our potential. We fail to recognize that others with less ideal circumstances and abilities have reached the levels of success we are seeking. Second, even if we can influence or change these factors, focusing on them instead of our mindsets means that our mindsets will likely to stay the same and continually prevent us from thinking, learning, and behaving in ways that will lead to greater success."
-- Ryan Gottfredson
"Devote the back half of your life to serving others with your wisdom. Get old sharing the things you believe are most important. Excellence is always its own reward, and this is how you can be most excellent as you age."
-- Arthur C. Brooks
"You are innately designed to use your personal power. When you don’t, you experience helplessness, paralysis and depression—which is your clue that something is not working as it could. You, like all of us, deserve everything that is wonderful and exciting in life. And those feelings emerge only when you get in touch with your powerful self."
-- Susan Jeffers
"You are making that choice, every day, every hour, and the impact of those choices—for better or for worse—will spread out over the surface of your life like a thick blanket of water hyacinth."
-- Jeff Olson
"Ask more. Tell less. Get curious. And not just about technical issues. Ask, What can I do to get people more engaged? What can I do to get people working collaboratively? What do others need from me? What do they have to contribute that I haven’t been noticing?"
-- Marilee Adams
"Stoics recommend that when we experience a setback, we make a point of consciously framing it as a kind of test. Allow ourselves to get frustrated, and we get a low grade; allow ourselves to become angry or despondent—or even worse, regard ourselves as victims—and we fail. Ideally, the setback won’t give rise to negative emotions within us, not because we are successfully concealing our distress but because we have no distress to conceal."
-- William B Irvine
