Excerpt: Anyone can bring meaning into his or her life by undertaking a quest. Don’t believe it? Read these 18 quotes from The Happiness of Pursuit and find out for yourself.
“Every day matters. The awareness of our mortality can help us pursue a goal. We all have a limited amount of time on earth. Those who live in active awareness of this reality are more likely to identify goals and make progress toward them. Or to put it another way: Everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 268)
“It has become ever more clear to me that if I had spent my life avoiding any and all potential risks, I would have missed doing most of the things that have comprised the best years of my life.”
Phoebe Snetsinger, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 262)
“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”
Paulo Coelho, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 257)
“The right time to leave is when you’re ready, not just when someone else makes the decision for you. When a good thing reaches its natural end, don’t drag it out. If you don’t like the menu, leave the restaurant.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 234)
“When you have completed 95 percent of your journey, you are only halfway there.”
Japanese Proverb, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 225)
“The right kind of misadventures—the ones that yield information—can produce confidence.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 222) (Read Matt’s Blog On this Quote)
“If you’re going to worry about something, worry about the cost of not pursuing your dream.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 222)
“Regret is what you should fear the most. If something is going to keep you awake at night, let it be the fear of not following your dream. Be afraid of settling.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 220)
“The long, slow grind of working toward something is all about loving the process. If you don’t love the process, the grind is tough. The grind is also a dangerous time. It’s when you’re tempted to give up, call it a day, or at least cut corners.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 195)
“Understanding what bothers you is just as important as understanding what excites you.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 192)
“Find what troubles you about the world, then fix it for the rest of us.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 179)
“Even with the support of others, it’s hard to struggle through hardship without sufficient motivation of your own.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 175)
“Must a dream have only one owner? Not if two or more minds see the world from the same perspective.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 175)
“If your family or close friends don’t understand your dream, you need to find people who do.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 175)
“Effort can be its own reward if you let it.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 164) (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)
“I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information. As soon as you stop practicing, the pathway begins shrinking back down. Reading that changed my life. I used to wonder, Why am I doing these sets, getting on a stage? Don’t I know how to do this already? The answer is no. You must keep doing it. The broadband starts to narrow the moment you stop.”
Jerrry Seinfeld, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 162)
“We can’t opt out of monotony, but we can choose which form it takes.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 150) (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)
“You know how you meet people and they ask, ‘What do you do?’ You can always say that you’re a teacher or a student, an accountant or an artist, or whatever your vocation. But once you have a quest, you have another answer, too. Your identity isn’t tied to a job; your identity is who you really are. I’m trying to visit every country in the world. I’m on a quest to publish one million processed photos. I’m going to produce the largest symphony ever performed.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 123)
Always keep Ithaca on your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Constantine Cavafy, Ithaca, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 114)