I’m a quotes guy. I love reading quotes, reflecting on these thoughts and sharing them with students, family and friends.
One of the things we often assume with quotes is that a famous person has to say them, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Each of us has thoughts that can motivate and inspire others, and the fact that we’re not famous shouldn’t dilute the power or authenticity of our thoughts, even if similar things have been thought about, said and written before. So with this in mind, here are a dozen thoughts I’d like to share from my experiences in life thus far:
1. In the battle of the heart and head, it’s easy for the head to win the early victories, but always trust your heart. You won’t always win anyway, but if you trust in your heart, you can’t lose.
2. There are more things to do in a city, but there are often more things to appreciate in a small town.
3. We spend so much of our time looking back at things, and a lot of time looking forward to things, but looking within is what matters most.
4. Unless it’s a life and death emergency, please don’t cut in line.
5. True happiness is not measured by the quantity of likes and follows online, but by the quality of our life offline.
6. One of best things you can hear is that you’re the best mom or dad ever. You may often feel far from that…but if you’ve tried, and they think so, that’s all that matters.
7. “So what do you do?” he asked.
“I provide. I create. And though I create messes and mistakes too, I do what I can to cultivate good— good energy, actions and thoughts.”
8. Just like a book is of little use when it is closed, so too are the minds of people.
9. Dear Cyndi Lauper, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for years, so here goes: Boys just wanna have fun too.
10. The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line, but life doesn’t work that way. You’ll miss out on so much in life if you always take the shortest, most direct path. And when you face challenges, you’ll want to twist and bend— after all, the bridge that’s wound perfectly straight and tight across the gap won’t survive the big storms. Embrace life’s bumpiness, dive into its messiness, and be grateful you’re not a straight line.
11. Don’t go to the grocery store hungry, to the movie theatre sleepy, or to bed angry.
12. When you look beyond your country’s borders, remember that the main difference between “us” and “them” is latitude and longitude.