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How did you die?

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way With a resolute heart and cheerful? Or hide your face from the light of day With a craven soul and fearful? Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce, Or a trouble is what you make it. And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts, But only how did you take it? You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that? Come up with a smiling face. It’s nothing against you to fall down flat, But to lie there -- that’s disgrace. The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce; Be proud of your blackened eye! It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts; It’s how did you fight and why? And though you be done to death, what then? If you battled the best you could; If you played your part in the world of men, Why, the Critic will call it good. Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce, And whether he’s slow or spry, It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts, But only, how did you die? ~Edmund Vance Cook (1866-1932) ...

Change

I found this on Facebook via my friend, Terry. This is such an awesome reminder and really reiterates something I talked about with the kids earlier in the week.  Thanks for posting this, Terry.   "When we say things like "people don't change" it drives scientist crazy because change is literally the only constant in all of science. Energy. Matter. It's always changing, morphing, merging, growing, dying. It's the way people try not to change that's unnatural. The way we cling to what things were instead of letting things be what they are. The way we cling to old memories instead of forming n ew ones. The way we insist on believing despite every scientific indication that anything in this lifetime is permanent. Change is constant. How we experience change that's up to us. It can feel like death or it can feel like a second chance at life. If we open our fingers, loosen our grips, go with it, it can feel like pure adrenaline. Like at any ...

Do not let your fire go out...

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.  Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."     Ayn Rand

Flying dragons

“I cannot have a man who is afraid of everything, I don't have the time to soothe insecurities and fears, I cannot have a man who is standing on a stone by a creek, watching for the fish to swim by and every time he sees a fish he says "Oh look, this fish scares me, I wonder what this fish means, this fish might mean- this, or this fish might mean- that" for God's sake, they are just fish, and they don't mean anything! Such a sad thing, so many fine, strong men standing on top of little stones, pointing at fish all the time! Such a waste! Such a waste of time! I can only have a man who will leap into the water, not minding the damn fish and whatever other little things that scare him. I need to have someone who is braver than me; if I am a pirate, he has to be the pirate Captain, if I am a pirate Captain he has to be the flying dragon.” --C.JoyBell C.

Beating dragons.

“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” -G.K. Chesterton

Life

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."   - George Washington Carver

Tact

“What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.” ~ Don Williams, Jr.

Problems

I just saw this on my friend Shelly's FB page and INSTANTLY LOVED IT! "Problems are not stop signs." Simple. True. Brilliant.

Power within

“ The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as well as you can do it. ” Lloyd Dobens

Motivation

When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation - it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams. Les Brown

Fitness

I've never regretted doing a workout but have often regretted skipping them.

It seems like oftentimes it is a matter of choice.

“What running teaches is that we can get from where we are to where we want to be, but we have to get there a day at a time.” John Bingham .

Decide

"You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside; you are the person who makes up your mind. Whether you'll lead or will linger behind. Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar. Or just be contented to stay where you are." ~ Edgar A. Guest

cool frank lloyd wright quotes

"The Thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a Thing makes it happen." “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” *Thanks Stacey for sharing!

That's what it's all about!

"My wife and I have an agreement in our marriage, and part of that contract is that we are going to shine our lights on each other.” Ashton Kutcher on his marriage to Demi Moore.

Focus

Whatever we focus on is bound to expand. Where we see the negative, we call forth more negative. And where we see the positive, we call forth more positive. Having loved and lost, I now love more passionately. Having won and lost, I now win more soberly. Having tasted the bitter, I now savor the sweet. -Marianne Williamson

Sentimental

"There's this place in me where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It's the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me." - Gretchen Kemp

Discovery

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." —Alan Alda

It all happened for a reason.

"What you thought before has led to every choice you have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to change who you are physically, mentally, a spiritually, you will have to change what you think." -Dr. Patrick Gentempo

Why I haven't read his books is beyond me.

“That fundamentally undermines your ability to access the best part of your instincts. So my advice to those people would be stop thinking and introspecting so much and do a little more acting.” Malcolm Gladwell (emphasis is allllllllllll mine).