<p>“Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” (Otto von Bismarck)</p>
<p>“Live long enough to become a burden on your children.” (Bumper sticker; author unknown)</p>
<p>“The more I’m around people, the more I like my dog.” (Bumper sticker)</p>
<p>Thought for the day: “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like no one’s watching.”</p>
<p>We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another.
Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are.
After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.
We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.</p>
<p>We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is there is no better time to be happy than right now.
If not now, when?</p>
<p>Your life will always be filled with challenges.
It’s best to admit this to yourself and to decide to be happy anyway.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza.
He said, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin , real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, and a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”</p>
<p>This perspective helped me to see that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way.
So, treasure every moment that you have.
And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time and remember that time waits for no one.</p>
<p>So stop waiting until you finished school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until Spring, until Summer, until Fall, until Winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or the fifteenth, until your song comes on, until</p>
<p>you’ve had a drink, until you’ve sobered up, until you die, until you’re born again to decide there is no better time than right now to be happy.</p>
<p>Happiness is a journey, not a destination.</p>
<p>Not a quote really but a song lyric. Still it’s one of my favorites.</p>
<p>“Once in awhile you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”</p>
<pre><code> The Grateful Dead (Scarlet Begonias)
</code></pre>
<p>“Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.”</p>
<ul>
<li>Mark Twain</li>
</ul>
<p>Fact without theory is trivia.
Theory without fact is bull*****.</p>
<p>(Heard it in grad school)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Anonymous, I suppose</p>
<p>“If there’s magic in boxing, it’s the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked ribs, ruptured kidneys and detached retinas. It’s the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you.”
– Million Dollar Baby</p>
<p>
Isn’t there a commercial which uses an excerpt from this quote? I can’t quite remember what it’s for though…</p>
<p>
My favorite as well, but you forgot the attribution - Yogi Berra!</p>
<p>“Peace, and Goodwill amongst all Men [Women]”
Anon.</p>
<p>ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. </p>
<p>ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.</p>
<p>DAVID BRINKLEY: A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.</p>
<p>ELAINE MAXWELL: My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.</p>
<p>FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.</p>
<p>FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.</p>
<p>HENRY FORD: If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right.</p>
<p>RICHARD BACH: Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.</p>
<p>THOMAS ALVA EDISON: Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.</p>
<p>VINCE LOMBARDI: Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.</p>
<p>VINCE LOMBARDI: Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.</p>
<p>I like the one my parents have always drilled into my skull</p>
<p>“You don’t win second place, you lose first”</p>
<p>“There’s no word in the language I revere more than ‘teacher.’ My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I’ve honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher.”
–Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides</p>