Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century poet) Robert Frost, a later American poet, wrote something quite similar: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled...
You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream. (C. S. Lewis, late British writer) When is too old too old? There may be a time, of course, when you can’t physically do some of the things you used to do. Play football or do calculus in your head (could...
Maturity is not the one with the most knowledge, but the one whose life has been changed the most by what they know. (Chris Suitt, pastor) Maturity is not just a question of age. Some young people show more wisdom than some older adults. As Suitt notes, it’s not just...
You must do the things you think you cannot do. (Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of 32nd US president) “I just can’t do it” is sometimes our reaction when we’re faced with either a tough job we don’t feel capable of doing or something we just don’t want to do. That kind of...
Thoughts control feelings, which control behavior. (Wyatt Webb, therapist) Youth leader Ryan Hemlock expands on this idea: “The way we think controls the way we act. And the way we act translates to how we perform in our jobs [and] interact with others.” So many...
The most expensive thing in the world is trust. It can take years to earn and just a matter of seconds to lose. (Tupac Shapur, actor and musician) Who can you trust? Our society seems to be more and more political. Most issues are becoming partisan with angry...
Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. (John W. Garner, late U.S. cabinet member) Like words, you can’t look back and change the things you’ve done in the past. You may be able to erase words from paper or delete them on the computer, but you can’t treat life...
Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out. (Toby McKeehan, songwriter and recording artist) As someone else put it, “It’s better to bite your tongue than eat your words.” It is embarrassing to admit that you’ve said something you shouldn’t have. What’s...
Watch, lest prosperity destroy generosity. (Henry Ward Beecher, 19th century social reformer) It’s a puzzle, isn’t it? You would think that the more we have, the more generous we would be. But that doesn’t seem to be the way life really is. Have you noticed that even...
He is a fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. (Jim Elliott, martyred missionary) Practical jokes on April Fool’s Day are often silly and comical. Everybody laughs (except for the victim of the prank). But Elliott was speaking of something far...
What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon. (Denis Waitley, motivational speaker) Our actions are determined beforehand by our thoughts. Occasionally, we may act instinctively without much thought, but that’s pretty rare. Most of the time, we do what we do because...
Our responsibility is not change; it quite simply is choice. (Paraphrased from Josh Grill, psychologist) When we look around at the world’s turmoil, we may wonder what our responsibility is. How can we change society? How can we bring peace to war-torn nations? In...