Doing Our Best If you can do what you do best and be happy, you are further along in life than most people (Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor) Some people never seem to be happy in doing what they’re doing, whether it’s working at a job, studying at school, or...
Purpose History never looks like history when you are living through it. (John W. Gardner, late U.S. cabinet member) Sometimes commentators say that we’re living in historic times. In reality, of course, all times are historic times—some more so than others, perhaps....
Serving Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. (Muhammad Ali, late boxing champion) Ali’s statement may not be a new or unusual philosophical pronouncement. In fact, it’s quite simple and does suggest a sound life principle. We are not...
Patience Waiting is as necessary as planting and fertilizing. (Charles Swindoll, pastor, author) Swindoll writes of the little boy who plants the seed and then nervously digs it up every day to see if it is growing. That’s the impatience of youth, but it’s not unlike...
Others You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. (Harper Lee, author) Author Toni Sorenson put it another way: “Walking a mile in someone else's shoes isn't as much about the walk or the shoes; it's to be able to think like...
Teamwork Many of us are more capable than some of us . . . but none of us is as capable as all of us. (Tom Wilson, professional athlete) Who would know better about teamwork than an athlete? He or she may be a star, but each is dependent on the support of their...
Opportunity If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles. (Wayne Dyer, self-help author) According to Dyer, the mind-set and attitude you bring to a project will play a large part in its success or failure....
Courage Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength. (Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the U.S.) Often when we think about courage, we envision heroes in wartime or those who have helped in times of natural...
Purpose Fulfill your life purpose. Living with purpose should bring more joy than reaching your goals. (Tom Roy, sports figure, author) We’re often challenged to pursue our goals with diligence and persistence. It’s a worthy challenge, but Roy suggests another...
Loneliness The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. (Audrey Hepburn, late British actress) It’s another way of saying what John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” We have all experienced times of loneliness when we cry out for someone to...
Thinking When all men think alike, no one thinks very much. (Walter Lippmann, 20th century journalist) If we spend all our time with people who think just like we do, we may reinforce our own ideas and opinions, but we won’t learn much about the rest of the world....
Wisdom The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions. (Oliver Wendell Holmes, 19th century physician and poet) With the increasing emphasis on youth, we’re bombarded with commercials and ads that tell us how to stay young with certain exercise...