Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Game Changing Woman

I read. A lot. Not books — and I should change that — but short articles from lots of different sites: Read Write Web, Big Think, Eloqua Blog, 85 Broads, etc.

The “founding members” of 85 Broads were women who worked for Goldman Sachs at 85 Broad Street in New York City. It now includes women from all over the world. Recently, they posted an article that really captures the power women have to make a difference. To all you women who read my blog, remember this when you're feeling down. To all you men, you're probably married to a game changing woman. Make sure you let her know that.
We’ve been getting this question fairly often lately. “What makes a woman a game changer?” In order to describe it more deeply than “Well, you know, she’s awesome.” We came up with a few ideas:
She has swagger. She is love. She can run four blocks in heels. She can run a marathon. She can swim bike run and/or play a musical instrument and/or change a tire all on her own. She’s independent. She’s warm. If she’s a mother/wife/girlfriend, it is to someone that she chose. Not because she needs a partner, but because they make her more herself. She laughs with her whole self. She breathes. Slowly. Sometimes to take it all in. Sometimes to keep from blowing up. She is courageous and fiery and ferocious if need be. She kisses boo boos. She can parallel park like a champion. She has an invisible crown, halo, superhero cape and magic wand. She takes the good with the bad. She goes after everything she wants in life. Without guilt. She leaves it all on the field. She gives it everything she has. She fails. She succeeds. Most importantly, she tries. She’s in the game. Not on the sidelines. She revels in quiet, calm stillness. She makes sure she is heard when she has something to say. She can be afraid, but respects fear and moves forward anyways. She makes babies. She makes money. She makes up her own mind about when and where and with whom to do both. She is joy, happiness, determination and perseverance all rolled into one. She is any and all of the above. She knows herself, loves herself and above all, she is always herself. She’s a game changer.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Copying What Works

I usually don't post things without my own commentary. However, today is an exception. I love this! Worth sharing without my thoughts getting in the way.


"Perhaps your anxiety is specific to magicians"

I found that quote in a strangely-translated instruction manual for an obscure but beautiful trick.
But it has wide applicability.
Perhaps your anxiety is specific to artists or musicians or to anyone who has to stand up and stand out and stand for something.
It turns out that your anxiety isn't specific at all. Perhaps it is due to the fact that you're trying to control things that you can't possibly control.
Your anxiety might merely be a sign that you care deeply about your work.
Anxiety is almost never a useful emotion to carry around. Even for magicians.
Now that you've been reminded that you care, it pays to let the anxiety go. Good riddance.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Riddikulus

Sometimes I laugh at the things that pop out of my mouth. What I mean to say sounds so normal in my head, but when the words actually are said, they sound so ridiculous. Tonight I was out shopping with my roommate and while contemplating the inevitable purchase that we both knew was coming, these words slipped out: I really can't afford to buy this. I just bought a website today.

No. I didn't buy a website, but I did buy a domain name for a project I'm working on. Yes. I bought the outfit.

Monday, May 7, 2012

My Mother's Day Tribute





For a mom who caught all the pain I couldn’t heal, who wore the cape when I was too tired, who always had a supply of chocolate and an extra set of rain boots. She taught me how to see the world when the world was dark and cold. And when I was blind, she showed me how to find the ocean and to taste all that lay before me. My eyes shine because of her. She is my mother.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

There’s a wonderful poem that reads: “Oh snail / Climb Mount Fuji / But slowly / Slowly.” My advice is to work hard, find inspiration in unconventional places, and don’t rush it. You will get there when you stop trying to get there. —Joe Chernov

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Life Lessons Learned

Today KSL highlighted an article with Elizabeth Smart. In the article she said something that resonated with me and I hope that I can live my life with the same optimistic outlook.

"Nobody is trial-free, but we have a choice. We can choose to allow our experiences to hold us back, and to not allow us to become great or achieve greatness in this life. Or we can allow our experiences to push us forward, to make us grateful for every day we have and to be all the more thankful for those who are around us."

Monday, April 9, 2012

Quote of the Day

‎"There is no royal road to anything worth having. We must work for what we get. The prizes are not for the weaklings and triflers, but for the persistent, earnest individuals who will “hang on” until they succeed." -Theron Q. Dumont

Friday, April 6, 2012

Spring Morning


Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Thoughts of the Day

Instead of creating a bunch of different blog posts, I thought you'd enjoy the random thoughts that go through my head each day.

A week or so ago, a guy emailed me on an online dating site. He looked like a nice guy so I responded. We emailed a couple of times until the guy's email last night. He gave me a nickname. Not just any nickname. One I detest. I shouldn't judge him for trying to be flirty, but seriously?! He doesn't know me well enough to shorten my name.

At work today, a co-worker explained that she drank hot water because she heard it was better to drink water that was close to body temperature. Now that just sounded weird to me. Hot water was better than cold water? Does your body care? And wouldn't it require more energy to heat up the cold water which would help you lose weight or even speed up your metabolism? I know I'm not a doctor or nutritionist but random health claims always remind me of my sister. Whenever somebody claims something is all natural, her reply is "So is dirt."

This morning as I was laying in bed I decided I wasn't going to do something. Then as I was getting ready, I had a clear thought that went completely contrary to what I said I wasn't going to do. I should learn not to say "I never" but I did start to wonder. When is it a random thought or something I want to do, and when is it a spiritual impression? I'm over 30. You'd think I'd have that figured out by now, but I don't. I decided that something that clear and specific should be acted upon. Better to act then wonder "what if". However, I'm still not sure on this one.

I found this quote today and thought, "Yes! I'm getting there!" I felt like the spirited me was on the comeback. “The archetypal extrovert prefers action to contemplation, risk-talking to heed-taking, certainty to doubt. He favors quick decisions, even at the risk of being wrong.” I read that after I acted on the thought from the morning. Taking a risk and hoping for the best.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Way With Words

I love this post on Robert Burns. Wish I was as quick-witted with my speech.

In 1791, riled by a recent review that criticised a supposed abundance of "obscure language" and "imperfect grammar" in his poetry, celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns channelled his anger and wrote the following magnificent letter to the critic responsible. (Source: The Works of Robert Burns, Volume 4)

Ellisland, 1791.

Dear Sir:

Thou eunuch of language; thou Englishman, who never was south the Tweed; thou servile echo of fashionable barbarisms; thou quack, vending the nostrums of empirical elocution; thou marriage-maker between vowels and consonants, on the Gretna-green of caprice; thou cobler, botching the flimsy socks of bombast oratory; thou blacksmith, hammering the rivets of absurdity; thou butcher, embruing thy hands in the bowels of orthography; thou arch-heretic in pronunciation; thou pitch-pipe of affected emphasis; thou carpenter, mortising the awkward joints of jarring sentences; thou squeaking dissonance of cadence; thou pimp of gender; thou Lyon Herald to silly etymology; thou antipode of grammar; thou executioner of construction; thou brood of the speech-distracting builders of the Tower of Babel; thou lingual confusion worse confounded; thou scape-gallows from the land of syntax; thou scavenger of mood and tense; thou murderous accoucheur of infant learning; thou ignis fatuus, misleading the steps of benighted ignorance; thou pickle-herring in the puppet-show of nonsense; thou faithful recorder of barbarous idiom; thou persecutor of syllabication; thou baleful meteor, foretelling and facilitating the rapid approach of Nox and Erebus.

R.B.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Mutual Weirdness

This just makes sense to me.

Good Intentions and New Direction

My goal this weekend was to post about my trip to Washington DC, New York, and Disneyland. Well, guess who forgot to bring her power chord home? Yep. Me. But how, may you ask, am I posting right now? Well, I forgot the power chord to my work computer and the battery has now died. So I'm using my home laptop which doesn't have any of my recent pictures and posts about trips are no good without a visual aid. Never fear, I'll get those posted this week.

And now for the new direction. I'm finally, I think, out of the funk I've been in for the past while. In being so, I've decided to be a bit more honest on my blog. You all know I have a blog tracker. I seem to have regular visitors and most of you are friends and family. I have nothing to hide and hope that my life experiences can bring a smile to your face or insights into your own lives. Which means all of this may become a lot more personal. Now the really personal stuff will go into my journal. I'm starting that back up again because I needed to document some good things that happened recently. Nothing life changing. Just a tender mercy of the Lord. He does hear and answer prayers. You'll get that story soon.

To end this post, I wanted to share a quote from one of my new favorite shows Once Upon a Time. On tonight's episode, Grumpy says to Snow after her heart was broken (you have to see the episode because it really is cute), "I need my pain. It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy." I love this line. It helps me realize that turning off the pain or trying to drown it out doesn't help us one bit. All the adversity, struggles, and disappointments have made me who I am. It makes me Thamina.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2012 Theme Addendum

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."
—Martin Buber

Excited to discover the secret destinations of this life's journey.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Welcome to a New Year

I've reflected much on the past year. 2011 brought many unexpected events that I wasn't quite sure how to deal with. In everything that I had to confront and overcome, I found a resilient strength in me that I didn't know existed but that I attribute to the Lord and the consistency of family and friends.

I've also discovered a bit of personality that I knew was there but for some reason had suppressed. John Adams summed it up best when he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, "I was young, and then very bashful, however saucy I may have sometimes been since." I find myself being much more bold and sassy in conversation, in work, and in my relationships with others. I hope it hasn't come across as arrogance or pretentiousness. But I do like how the challenges of the past have helped me throw caution to the wind and give life my all.

My theme for 2012 comes from a movie quote: "All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and good things happen."

My goal for 2012: To be surprised.

To speak completely in metaphor, last year was the year I rolled a six. This year I get so see where I land.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

I am grateful for the rewards of a hard day's work. I am grateful for the insights the Lord gives me about my life. I am grateful for the beautiful words others have given me to read. Here is a favorite passage from C.S. Lewis.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung, and possibly be broken...Christ did not teach and suffer in order that we should become more cautious of our own happiness, even in our natural loves. If a man is not uncalculating, and in that way reckless in loving his earthly beloveds whom he has seen, how will he be in his love for God, whom he has not seen? We should draw nearer to the love of God, not by attempting to avoid the sufferings inherent in any love, but by accepting them and offering them to him, by throwing away all defensive armor, taking all risks, descending when he so wills, into all tribulations."
--CS Lewis, The Four Loves

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

In Memory of Steve Jobs

In August, I posted one of my favorite Steve Job's quotes. In honor of the passing of this innovative, driven, and hopeful leader, I share with you words from the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Do not therefore consider this life as an object of any moment. Look back on the immense gulf of time already past; and forwards, to that infinite duration yet to come, and you will find how trifling the difference is between a life of three days and of three ages.

Let us then employ properly this moment of time allotted us by fate, and leave the world contentedly; like a ripe olive dropping from its stalk, speaking well of the soil that produced it, and of the tree that bore it.


-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Advice from HBR

I read (or skim) many business articles each day. My favorites come from Harvard Business Review's Management Tip of the Day. These short snippets always get me to read the entire article, because often their advice links well to both my professional and personal life.

Here are two of my recent favorites. The first rang true as many unexpected events seem to happen in my life. It's the subtitle of my blog. It actually reminds me of the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:26 "To act for themselves and not to be acted upon." I have a tendency to fly off the handle when the unexpected comes my way. I'm working on not doing that and these three steps have helped me with that goal.

3 Ways to Handle the Unexpected
Trying to predict the future is futile. Instead, be ready to respond. When the unexpected arrives at your door, do these three things:
Stop. If you feel pressured to make a decision, stop what you're doing. Give yourself a chance to think before acting.
Assess your options. Don't waste time wishing things were different. Think about the best outcome in the given situation, the information you have at hand, and the available resources. Then lay out your options.
Move forward. Based on your new assessment, make a decision and commit. Even if the decision isn't ideal, accept that it's the best under the circumstances.

The second article validated what I was already trying to do: not let stress control my life. Elder Scott once spoke about making choices and understanding the difference between worries and concerns. I've re-read this talk multiple times as I have encountered stressful situations. Learning to deconstruct my own feelings then acting accordingly is still a work in progress.

Turn Stress into an Asset
Stress is unavoidable, but it doesn't have to be damaging. When managed correctly, strain can positively impact productivity and performance. Here are three things you can do to make stress work for you:
Recognize worry for what it is. Stress is a feeling, not a sign of dysfunction. When you start to worry, realize it's an indication that you care about something, not a cause for panic.
Focus on what you can control. Too many people feel bad about things they simply can't change. Remember what you can affect and what you can't.
Create a supportive network. Knowing you have somebody to turn to can help a lot. Build relationships so that you have people to rely on in times of stress.

I really like the last point. My family and friends have been a tremendous support to me. They've been there for the good and bad, and more often than not, carried me through the overwhelmingly stressful times.

Friday, August 26, 2011

My Favorite Steve Jobs' Quote

Much has been written since Steve Jobs announced he was stepping down as Apple's CEO. Being the social media person on my team, I have read many of these articles. All have similar themes: work hard, play hard, be creative, live your dreams, don't give up hope. One of my favorite articles was from the Wall Street Journal that reprinted Jobs' commencement address at Stanford in 2005. I wanted to share with you the thought that touched me the most.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. --Steve Jobs

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Quote of the Day

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.” — Thomas Edison

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Do You Ever Have Days Like This?

"We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?" --Meredith Grey