My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.
~ Michael J. Fox
Elsewhere, this is 4a1519. — slipbox
Acceptance →
Freedom →
I think freedom, ideally, is being able to choose your responsibilities. Not not having any responsibilities, but being able to choose which things you want to be responsible for.
~ Toni Morrison
Elsewhere, this is 4a1518. — slipbox
Professionalism →
The essence of professionalism is the focus upon the work and its demands, while we are doing it, to the exclusion of all else. The ancient Spartans schooled themselves to regard the enemy, any enemy, as nameless and faceless. In other words, they believed that if they did their work, no force on Earth could stand against them.
~ Steven Pressfield
Elsewhere, this is 4a1517. — slipbox
Review each day →
I will keep constant watch over myself and—most usefully—will put each day up for review. For this is what makes life evil—that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.
~ Seneca
Elsewhere, this is 4a1516. — slipbox
Self employment →
Self employment, for me at least, is a never-ending contest between the world’s worst manager and the world’s laziest employee.
~ Daniel Akst
Elsewhere, this is 4a1514. — slipbox
Magical things →
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
~ Eden Phillpotts
Elsewhere, this is 4a1513. — slipbox
Our limited imagination →
There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
~ Shakespeare‘s Hamlet
Elsewhere, this is 4a1523. — slipbox
Overcoming fear →
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; Then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
~ Steven Pressfield
Elsewhere, this is 4a1512. — slipbox
Solitude →
If we possess inward solitude we do not fear being alone, for we know that we are not alone. Neither do we fear being with others, for they do not control us. In the midst of noise and confusion we are settled into a deep inner silence. Whether alone or among people, we always carry with us a portable sanctuary of the heart.
~ Richard Foster
Elsewhere, this is 4a1511. — slipbox
Conversation as music →
Conversation is a musical thing, like jazz or birdsong: more ‘call and response’ than question and answer. It enables us to travel great distances, but the joy is in the journey not the destination. We are meant to sing and dance along the way, jamming with others, riffing off them, creating something new right here, right now, in a way that no one can alone.
~ Robert Poynton
Elsewhere, this is 4a1509. — slipbox