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    “To find perfect composure in the midst of change is to find Nirvana.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki

    Quick-fixes do not work.

      Quick-fixes do not work.

      Picture Quote Text:

      “Quick-fixes do not work.  All lasting inner change requires time and effort.  Persistence is the mother of personal change.  I’m not saying that it will take years to make profound changes in your life.  If you diligently apply the strategies I am sharing with you every day for only one month, you will be astonished at the results.  You will begin to tap into the highest levels of your own capacity and enter the realm of the miraculous.  But to reach this destination, you must not get hung up on the outcome.  Instead, enjoy the process of personal expansion and growth.  Ironically, the less you focus on the end result, the quicker it will come.” ~ Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

        “Yet we are what we read.  We are the educators of our own personalities.  Certainly we have great influence in the crafting of our children.  If we brought half the intelligence to the making of souls that we bring to the making of machines, we would be people of character and imagination.  We would be sharp and therefore less inclined to kill and cheat each other.  We would know where to find the deep pleasures, so we would be less desperate for shallow entertainments and the ephemeral gratifications of gadgets.”

        Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.

          “The way out of the dehumanizing effects of modern capitalism and industrialism is not to change the system but to read good books.”

          Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.

            “We are a population that is satisfied with sound-bite news, instant and opinionated political analysis, manipulative popular psychology, and insubstantial novels and magazines.  At the same time, and understandably, we feel the absence of meaning and are speechless when we learn of atrocities in our society.  We don’t know how to think about them because we don’t know how to think, and we don’t know how to think because we don’t believe that thinking for its own sake is worthy of our attention.  We educate our children to make a good living rather than to become thinking persons, and often we honor as celebrities those who have not made a genuine contribution to society but who mirror our own madness.”

            Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.

              “We make a difference to other people when we give gifts to them, when we bring emotional labor to the table and do work that matters.  It’s hard for me to imagine that this way of living and working is available to only a few.  Yes, the cards are unfairly stacked against too many people.  Yes, there are too many barriers and not enough support.  But no, your ability to create and contribute isn’t determined at birth.  It’s a choice.” ~ Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?

                “It feels much better to contribute to spreading love, than to contribute to destroying hate. Because ultimately, hate only exists from a lack of love. Darkness only exists from the absence of light.”

                Apollo Poetry, Good Men Project

                  “When things get tough or uncomfortable, we tell ourselves: it’s OK to quit, it doesn’t matter, we’ll do it next time, we’re not disciplined enough, we suck at this, we can’t do it, it’s too hard, it would be nice to take a break, life is too short to struggle, we deserve a reward, just this once won’t matter, we’re going to fail, it’s better to fail quietly, we just don’t feel like it right now, let’s not think about this, hey a squirrel!  So what can we do if our story is working against us?  Change the damn story. Create a song to sing about yourself at the epic hero of your dreams. Sing this song daily, and be proud of it. Go after the dream, fight the forces of distraction and dullness and self-doubt, rise up to be your best self. You are the writer of your story, the composer of your song, and every moment is a chance to rewrite it, a new draft ready to be crafted into something better.” ~ Leo Babauta, Blog

                    “So much of our lives takes place in our heads – in memory or imagination, in speculation or interpretation – that sometimes I feel that I can best change my life by changing the way I look at it.  As America’s wisest psychologist, William James, reminded us, ‘The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.’  It’s the perspective we choose – not the places we visit – that ultimately tells us where we stand.  Every time I take a trip, the experience acquires meaning and grows deeper only after I get back home and, sitting still, begin to convert the sights I’ve seen into lasting insights.” ~ Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness