The great majority of that which gives you angst never happens, so you must evict it. Don’t let it live rent-free in your brain.
~ Peter Guber
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Quotes
Wait to respond
I have often regretted acting impulsively when I am feeling angry or frustrated. Now, when I feel that familiar urge to respond defensively or say things I don’t really mean or bang out a wounded response via email or text, I wait. I force myself to breath, take a step back, and wait to respond. Just an hour or two or an overnight retreat makes a world of difference. And if all else fails, I try to obey this message I got in a fortune cookie: Avoid compulsively making things worse.
~ Debbie Millman
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The beginning
Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
~ Fred Rogers
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Slowly
Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.
~ Mae West
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Listen to the answer
Always ask: What am I missing?
~ Strauss Zelnick
…and listen to the answer.
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Fear
Don’t let the weight of fear weigh down the joy of curiosity. Fear is really false evidence appearing real.
~ Peter Guber
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Knowledge of oneself
To resist the influence of others, knowledge of oneself is most important.
~ “Teal’c“
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Busy
Of the many, many excuses people use to rationalize why they can’t do something, the excuse, “I am too busy,” is not only the most inauthentic, it is also the laziest. I don’t believe in, “too busy.” Busy is a decision. We do things we want to do, period. If we say we are too busy, it is shorthand for, “not important enough.” It means you would rather be doing something else that you consider more important.
~ Debbie Millman
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Reality
[…] enter the real world as soon as you can. […] I mean for you to get off of social media, to get out of the big cities, and to re-connect with what’s real: Nature, your soul, your inner child. Respect yourself. Most of the world is asleep today, playing a small role in a gigantic illusion. You don’t have to be. You can choose a different life. It’s all within. You will know the answer when you take the time to find yourself and trust yourself.
~ Jérôme Jarre
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Failure
If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.
~ James Cameron
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Things
The things you own end up owning you.
~ Chuck Palahniuk
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What to seek
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, instead, seek what they sought.
~ Matsuo Bashō
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Overshadowed
Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you. Death overshadows you. While you’re alive and able—be good.
~ Marcus Aurelius
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Inner knowledge
Make yourself proud. I think we spend too much of our time trying to please everyone. And we forget that it’s all already within. Your instinct, your inner child, your soul, all of those know what’s good for you and the world. The public opinion of your friends and strangers online, not so much.
~ Jérôme Jarre
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Connection
After a long time, I realized that people weren’t sitting out there waiting to cruelly judge me. They also weren’t sitting out there waiting to hear me expound on my incredible expertise. What they wanted more than anything else was a sense of connection, and I could provide that by being genuine and present. I realized that what I also wanted was connection, and I didn’t need to be a perfect speaker for that to happen.
~ Sharon Salzberg
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Be polite
Be polite, on time, and work really fucking hard until you are talented enough to be blunt, a little late, and take vacations and even then … be polite.
~ Ashton Kutcher
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Positive impact
In stressful moments, I try to take distance from the situation, take time to reflect. Whatever the problem, I typically ask myself, “Am I able to make a difference right now?” If I don’t see a clear way to make a positive impact, I reflect further. I think that patience in problem-solving can often be underrated.
~ Eric Ripert
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Unharmed
Choose not to be harmed—And you won’t feel harmed.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Don’t feel harmed—And you haven’t been.
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Failure
Turns out they were the best decisions of my life. Because each one of those difficult decisions that looked like failures (at first) took me a bit closer to my real self. Each of them empowered the real me. Each of them woke me up from the illusion. At this point, I can see a clear pattern of rejection every time I try to get closer to my real self, so the feeling of “looking like a failure” has become more of fuel than a burden.
~ Jérôme Jarre
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Risky
My main motivation as an artist has always been to create something different. I think the most that any of us can achieve is to find a way to say something new. But this type of thinking is rarely rewarded when it’s time to publish. Newness is seen as a liability. Publishers want something that has been proven to work. This means that the best art will always be the riskiest.
~ Brandon Stanton
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