Developing love and compassion and reducing anger and spite is a universal activity which requires no faith in any religion whatsoever.– Dalai Lama What does that mean? As the Dalai Lama is a religious leader, I believe he is qualifying his statement to let everyone know that anyone can participate. The quote talks about his core…
Failure cannot cope with persistence. – Napoleon Hill What does that mean? To me, it is another way of stating that with some patience and a lot of effort, despite any number of failures, you will eventually succeed. It also helps if you can learn something from each mistake. However, if you keep trying, keep…
Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. – Brian Tracy What does that mean? To me, this speaks of the mental image or picture that helps keep you moving until you achieve the end you had in mind. Without a goal, without a mental image or a picture of where you want to…
With virtue you can’t be entirely poor; without virtue you can’t really be rich. – Chinese Proverb What does that mean? Let’s start with a definition of virtue. Virtue is defined by dictionary. reference. com as “moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.” Substituting into the quote, we get “with moral excellence you can’t be entirely poor; without…
Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on. – Les Brown What does that mean? To me, it talks of the futility of reliving the past. Dragging the anchors of your failures with you as you try to move into the future is not going to let you get very far. After…
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. – Albert Einstein What does that mean? If two people (or two countries – this saying seems to scale fairly well) don’t understand one another, there cannot be a peace. There will be misunderstandings leading to friction, which leads to heated arguments…
Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. – Aristotle What does that mean? Like anything that travels, setting a proper course at the beginning is critical. If the airplane you are in is off course by 30 degrees, and stays that way for an hour or two, you are going to end up…
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. – Confucius What does that mean? This saying has been paraphrased in modern times as “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Does it make sense? If you go into a situation with only your wits, and your opponent has…
The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets. – Will Rogers What does that mean? This is a quote from the cowboy, aviator, humorist, columnist and movie star from the early 20th century. One of his favorite targets for skewering was the government. This is probably one of…
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now & then doesn’t hurt. – Charles Schulz What does that mean? So many of my posts have been kind of heavy of late, so let’s try something a little lighter in nature. Chocolate, that wonderful gift from heaven. 😉 OK, I’ll admit it, I’m a…
I hear & behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least. – Walt Whitman This is another of the Twitter friendly, shortened quotes. The full quote goes like this: “I say to mankind, Be not curious about God. For I, who am curious about each, am not curious about God –…
The greatest conqueror is he who overcomes the enemy without a blow. – Chinese Proverb Also: The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. – Sun Tzu And: To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting. – Sun Tzu What…
Let him that would move the world first move himself. – Socrates What does that mean? I considered the word “move” to be the equivalent of “change.” Someone who has a degree in Ancient Greek Language and Literature can feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Also note that the Ancient Greeks were…
Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and importance, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction. – Margaret Thatcher What does that mean? To my ears, there is an “of” missing before “importance,” so I believe the quote should have read”: “Disciplining yourself to do what you know is…
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. – Confucius What does that mean? To me, he is saying that excellence comes from your desires. The desire to win, to succeed, to extend yourself to reach your full potential. …
