Notable Quote #28

March 25, 2008
Notable Quotes #28

Good Morning!

I know this is different, but I have a few minutes this morning and thought I would get the Notable Quotes out BEFORE 5:00 p.m.!

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
From The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mangino

“Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.”
Mike Ditka

I have been reading “The Greatest Salesman in the World”by Og Mandino recently and it has really struck a chord with me.  At first I thought it was just for sales people, but it is really for anyone…who is breathing!  It’s interesting on many different levels…one being that it is told as a story, not a typical how-to or self-help book and it’s only 111 pages so it’s a quick read!  It shows how one person can view a situation as failure, another views it as success.  One thing it does not do is under emphasize the importance of hard work, dedication and determination.  This is where the quote from Mike Ditka fits in…”Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.”  At the beginning of the story the main character Hafid struggles to keep going, but that’s when he remembers what his mentor Pathros has said about failure and success, and focuses on his determination to succeed.  I am not going to tell you how the story ends, you’ll have to read it yourself, but it’s worth it.

Success comes in many different shapes and sizes and to each person the definition of success differs, but one constant thing about success is that it [success] seldom comes easy and without work.  Success is something that we can never fully master, but we can always strive to obtain.

Until Next Time,
Heath

Notable Quotes #27

March 18, 2008
Notable Quotes #27

Good Afternoon!

Without any delay here are the quotes! 

“It seems to me that it’s actually harder to invent excuses than it is to be successful.”
Jeffrey Gitomer

“A man should never be ashamed to own that he is wrong,
which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.”
Alexander Pope

For those of you who don’t know me…I am a HUGE college basketball fan and this time of the year always gets my blood flowin’!  That’s right it’s March Madness!!!  It’s that time of year when 64 teams compete to become the #1 team in the nation.  There are those teams that have a legitimate shot at winning like North Carolina, UCLA and my KU Jayhawks!  Then there are those teams that have a harder road to travel like Austin Peay and Belmont and teams like Drake who haven’t been in the tournament for 37 years!  But those are the teams that you have to watch out for!  These are the teams that have nothing to lose!  They will come out and not make any excuses, and will fight until the final buzzer sounds.  When the game is over they can say they gave it all they had and are not ashamed.  There is a possibility of disappointment, but you seldom if ever hear excuses.

That’s how we need to live our lives both personally and professionally.  We need to not make any excuses and make sure that we give it our all no matter what the circumstance is.  Maybe you have been crafting excuses for years as to why you aren’t where you want to be in life.  There are those how have an excuse for everything in the book and those are the people who seldom succeed.  We need to quite making excuses and start living life to the fullest!  Admit our mistakes, learn from them and become a better individual!  One last quote someone who never made excuses, George Washington Carver.

Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
George W. Carver

Until Next Time,
Heath

Notable Quotes #26

March 14, 2008
Notable Quotes #26

Happy Friday!

I hope that you had a great week and that you are looking forward to an even better weekend…I know I am!!  Now for the quotes…

“Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence in seeing how you react.
If you’re in control, they’re in control.”
Tom Landry

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
John Quincy Adams

Leadership is an extremely hot topic right now especially with the Presidential elections coming up.  However I want to look at leadership from a personal point of view.  No matter what position we hold within life we always have the potential to be a leader.  As a parent our children look to us to show them the way.  As an athlete there may be hundreds of people looking to us and how we lead our team to victory.  As an employer/boss we are leading those around us to not only better the company and the bottom line, but we hopefully are helping those people to become better individuals.  You may think you don’t have any leadership potential, but I encourage you to look around you…who do you associate with on a daily basis…Who might you come into contact with that you could give some advice to?  Being a leader doesn’t always mean you are in charge.  Sometimes being a leader requires us to take a back seat and let someone else take the reins.  Being a leader also doesn’t mean that our voice is the only voice that needs to be heard.  Often times we need to lead by example and not with our words.

Think about these few things over the weekend…What type of a leader are you?  Whom do you have influence over?  In what ways can you improve your direct AND indirect leadership skills?  Remember this, being a leader doesn’t always mean being in control.  Have a GREAT weekend.

Until Next Time,
Heath 

Notable Quote #25

March 4, 2008
Notable Quotes #25 

Happy Tuesday!

I hope that this finds you all doing well.  I am at work looking at about 11-12 inches of snow!  The drive home should be fun!!!  Now for the quotes…

“Take risks…you can’t fall off the bottom.”
Barbara Proctor

“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks,
jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you.
If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.”
George Lucas

These are two interesting quotes.  I have been thinking a lot about “risks” lately…Not because I am taking risks, but realizing that if I want to do something worthwhile it may very well include taking risks.  I don’t know of many, if anything worthy has been achieved without risks.  From the founding of our country, to space travel…From successful medicine to successful business ventures.  Those who are willing to take risks will often succeed.  What risks are you avoiding?  What would happen if you took those risks?  Many times when we take risks we end up being successful (aka happy)  We may not be wealthy monetarily speaking, but our lives can be richer because we took the first step and took the risk!

Until Next Time,
Heath