“The people you admire, the ones who seem to be able to successfully handle and deal with adversity and difficulty, what do they have in common? Their sense of equilibrium, their orderly discipline. On the one-yard line, in the midst of criticism, after a heartbreaking tragedy, during a stressful period, they keep going. Not because they’re better than you. Not because they’re smarter than you. But because they have learned a little secret. You can take the bite out of any tough situation by bringing a calm mind to it.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 386)
Role Model Quotes
“We like to say that we don’t get to choose our parents, that they were given by chance—yet we can truly choose whose children we’d like to be.”
Seneca, On The Brevity Of Life, via The Daily Stoic (Page 173)
Seneca Quote on Using Rulers To Make What’s Crooked, Straight.
“Without a ruler to do it against, you can’t make crooked straight.”
Seneca, The Daily Stoic (Page 36)
Beyond the Quote (Day 393)
Role models serve as rulers for our lives. Without role models, there’s no reference to compare the line of our lives against. How to know which direction is “straight” and which is “crooked?” It’s like when you’re lost at sea. Having a reference point like the North Star or a compass to guide your direction is everything. Otherwise, who knows which direction leads to land? All direction is arbitrary without a guide. This is how it is in our lives, too.
Read More »Seneca Quote on Using Rulers To Make What’s Crooked, Straight.“I now understand that trying to be the ‘next’ anyone is as foolish as it sounds. The shoes you dream of filling have already been worn ragged through their soles. You’ve gotta step into your own kicks and just do you.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 38)
Viktor Frankl Quote on Influence and How To Nurture Greatness in Others
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.”
Viktor Frankl, Brain Pickings
Beyond the Quote (323/365)
For those who are trying to influence greatness in others I suggest this: don’t demand greatness; create the environment for greatness and let greatness flower as it may. Of course when you take the time to plant a seed, you want it to flower to its full potential—to become the greatest flower it has the potential to be. After all, you’re investing all of this time and energy into preparing its soil, watering it daily, protecting it from leaf-eating predators, and ensuring it has bountiful access to sunlight. Nobody wants to invest all of that time and energy into a seed that fails to flower to its full potential.
Read More »Viktor Frankl Quote on Influence and How To Nurture Greatness in OthersJiawei Han Quote on Expectations and How To Separate The Person From The Idea Of The Person
“You just like the idea of me. You like the person I present myself under circumstances that I can control. I choose what I say and how I say things. It’s like being attracted to a fictional character in a book. They are scripted and made up. If you think about it, through writings, we all script and make ourselves up. I don’t share the person I become when I am upset. I don’t show you how I look like when I sleep. I don’t tell you about all the times I’ve made someone cry. All the guilty things I’ve done and the bad thoughts I’ve had.”
Jiawei Han
Beyond the Quote (243/365)
And so is all too often the case in today’s world. Who are we really falling in love with? Who are we idolizing and emulating? Who are we really putting on a pedestal? Is it really the person or is it really just the idea of the person? More often than not, after careful introspection, you’ll find that many people in our lives are really just a product of ideas that represent idealistic and unrealistic images of the people we wished for them to be. We don’t see them for who they are, we see them as a projection from our mind—and perception is reality.
Read More »Jiawei Han Quote on Expectations and How To Separate The Person From The Idea Of The Person
John C. Maxwell Quote on Leading By Example
“People may teach what they know, but they reproduce what they are.”
John C. Maxwell, Leadership Gold
Beyond the Quote (160/365)
Let’s say you are driving and a friend is following you in a separate car, but to the same destination. While driving, you suddenly realize that you’ve made a wrong turn. You quickly think to yourself that there’s still time for your friend behind you to make the proper turn, so you stick your hand out the window and try to point them in the proper direction. Yet, rather than make the proper turn they still follow you in the wrong direction.
Read More »John C. Maxwell Quote on Leading By Example“Find people you admire and ask how they got where they are. Seek book recommendations. Add experience and experimentation on top of this. Put yourself in tough situations. Accept challenges. Familiarize yourself with the unfamiliar. That’s how you widen your perspective and your understanding. The wise are still because they have seen it all. They know what to expect because they’ve been through so much. They’ve made mistakes and learned from them. And so must you.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 66)
How to Deal with Challenging Students – Proactively and In 3 Steps
Excerpt: Dealing with challenging students can be, well, challenging. Read our 3 steps and learn how to deal with challenging students – proactively.
Read More »How to Deal with Challenging Students – Proactively and In 3 Steps
How Tony Robbins Got His Start—From Broke Janitor to International Sensation
Excerpt: Tony Robbins. Ever heard of him? I’m guessing you have. Click here to read about how Tony Robbins got his start—from Janitor to World Icon.
Read More »How Tony Robbins Got His Start—From Broke Janitor to International Sensation
“If you were a role model to millions of children who closely followed you and your life choices, how would you change your behavior? …What if only your own kids were noticing you and being affected?” ~ Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“If you could gain any one ability or quality you admire in someone else, what would you choose? Do you think you could develop that ability or quality just by working at it?” ~ Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
