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Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Quoted, relatively

I'm working my way through a fair bit of writing this eve, so I've got precious little time to write anything coherent here. Then again, when do I ever write anything coherent? (Don't answer that!)

Still, I came across a quote from Albert Einstein that I'd like to share. Why him? Because he never fit the mold. He failed math and generally had difficulty fitting into life's established order. He blazed his own road and in doing so redefined how we look at the world - and beyond. Imagine if he had listened to the naysayers and followed the conventional route.

I know, frightening. Now think of all the people around you - or even you, yourself - who are at risk of tumbling into the same trap. Have you ever doubted yourself because someone dismissed you or your gift? This ought to change your focus a bit:
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
Albert Einstein

Your turn: what quotations do you use to keep yourself pointed in the right direction?

7 comments:

  1. To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  2. "Don't meet trouble halfway." -- my grandma.

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  3. "There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say:
    What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!"

    ~Terry Pratchett

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  4. The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. Alfred Lord Tennyson

    Leanne

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  5. "No good deed goes unpunished."

    Where did this originate? I want to say Lillian Hellman but I don't think that's correct.

    How many times I have seen the truth of this statement in all aspects of life. No wonder so many people just crawl into a hole and give up.

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  6. I've always like Ayn Rand's quote (and I'm going to screw it up here, but you get the idea...)

    "By accepting mediocrity we destroy the pursuit of excellence."

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  7. "Creativity takes courage."
    Henri Matisse

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