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motivational quotes

“All of my life I have always had the urge to do things better than anybody else.” - Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of the greatest athletes to ever live – not just one of the greatest female athletes to ever live.  This gal was a phenomenon.  She could run, throw, jump, ride, play baseball, basketball, golf, and who knows what all!

In the 1932 Olympic tryouts, she won five first places in track and field. Five.  In the Los Angeles Olympics she placed second in the high jump, first in the women’s 80-meter hurdles, and first in the javelin throw.

Many people would have been satisfied with these achievements and simply lived out their life in the fame and glory that surrounded them.  I mean, why risk more?  If you’re on top already, why chance a slip?

Thankfully Babe didn’t think like most people any more than she played like most people.  She pushed the boundaries back even further by taking up the game of golf.

Preparation: Babe Didrikson  found herself a wonderful instructor and studied the game.

Practice: She worked on her swing until it was perfect.  She practiced on her long game and her short game.  She mastered the game by first studying the game, then practicing her mechanics until they were perfection in motion.  She spent hours on practice tees, sometimes hitting a thousand range balls in a single afternoon.

Push: Think about it.  Babe was known for her power and strength – but she pushed her boundaries with a game that now called for finesse.  Sometimes she would spend s much time hitting balls that her hands would become so red and sore that it hurt to grip the club.  She’d stop long enough to tape them up, then she’d push on. Determination is a beautiful thing, wouldn’t you agree?

Pay Off: Babe Didrikson won the U.S. national woman’s amateur and British woman’s amateur championships.  She became a symbol of courage all over the world, not just on the track and greens.  She faced cancer with the same gritty determination and courage.  She remains, to this day, one of our nation’s most beloved athletes.

Look at how they progress:  Preparation.  Practice.  Push.  Pay Off.  If we take any of the first 3 out, we’ll never see the 4th… and if we aren’t going to get to the 4th, why in the world bother?!?!

More Babe Didrikson Zaharias Quotes:

t has been argued that Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the greatest woman athlete ever. [u]More About Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Selected Babe Didrikson Zaharias Quotations

  • You can’t win them all — but you can try.
  • Study the rules so that you won’t beat yourself by not knowing something.
  • I am out to beat everybody in sight, and that is just what I’m going to do.
  • You have to play by the rules of golf just as you have to live by the rules of life. There’s no other way.
  • The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration.
  • Before I was in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be: I wanted to be the best athlete who ever lived.
  • The more you practice, the better. But in any case, practice more than you play.
  • It’s not enough just to swing at the ball. You’ve got to loosen your girdle and let ‘er fly.
  • Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised, besides being a necessary part of golf.
  • Good golf is easier to play — and far more pleasant — than bad golf.
  • Before I was ever in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. My goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived.
  • As long as I’m improving, I will go on, and besides, there’s too much money in the business to quit.

And my favorite Babe Didrikson Zaharias quote? – - – -The Babe is here. Who’s coming in second?

I believe in animal rights, and high among them is the right to the gentle stroke of a human hand.Robert Brault

Photo Credit: The one website I’m on at least 3 times a day, I Can Has Cheezburger.comThe only thing I’m on more than ICHC is caffeine.

Continued from How to Get What You Want in Life Part 1

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DESIRES MATERIALIZE by Elsie Lincoln Benedict, 1923

A friend in Denver once told me she “wanted a new spring suit more than anything.”  We were walking down Sixteenth Street a few days later and there in a front window she saw the VERY suit she was looking for – for $35.  In the olden days$35 actually bought a suit good enough for anybody, you remember?

“How lovely,” I exclaimed, “and to think you have the $35 right in your purse.  Let’s go right in and get it before somebody else does!”

Would she?  No.  She had said she wanted that suit more than anything else in the world.  But she didn’t even want it as much as she wanted the $35.

She WISHED she had a new suit like this one, but what she really WANTED was the money.

“But what about the person who hasn’t the $35?” I hear you ask.  And the answer is you will find is the utter truth.  It is this:  You can GET it, honestly, legitimately, quickly, and surely, provided YOU WANT IT.

…Decide to restrict yourself because you “can’t get the money for things you want” and the money you do get will come that much harder.

But make up your mind to MAKE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED for the things you want – and from the hour of reaching that decision you will make five dollars easier than you now make one.

The richer you become the easier it is to make money.  The less you have the more difficult it is to get more.

…. All successful men and women who are frank will admit that many good things followed in the wake of that first big effort, and followed almost without further effort.

“Nothing succeeds like success” is an old and true saying.  Another not so old but equally true is that nothing fails like failure.

The world always helps you along whichever way you are going.  If you are headed uphill it will help pull you up.  If you are headed downhill it will give you a push.  We should not complain of this, but awaken to the fact that it IS a law, and instead of fighting it put it to work for us.

If you want to go uphill you must manifest this to the people around you.  They are all driving along Lif’e’s Highway too, and they see you, think of you, and get an impression of you.

If you want to go down all you have to do is to let it be known and you will have plenty of kicks and company.

The world gets one of its deepest impressions of you FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOUR CAR IS MOVING.  Everything about you tells what that is.  Even children and those who catch a glimpse of you for only a moment sense this and act toward you accordingly.

You never deceive them very much of very long in any way. Bluffing and pretending do not deceive anyone.  These only make you resemble a man who tells you he is traveling north when at every corner possible he turns south.

All of life is a journey along the great Highway.  We are always coming to crossroads.  We always make our own choice.  We turn or go straight ahead – as WE CHOOSE.

We come to scores of these corners every day and the world notes the turns we make.  It will give you plenty of time to get to your destination in the North, and many a lift besides, provided at the crossroads you keep heading in that direction.

Another strange thing about it is that the higher up you get the MORE help the world gives you, and the lower down the harder it gets.

You can see it for yourself.  If you haven’t a cent and ask the world for a quarter to keep you from starving, it will not give it to you very quickly or very graciously.  It says it “cant’ encourage that kind of thing.” It is afraid you “might not deserve it.”

But if you are a millionaire, with more money than you know what to do with, people will gladly loan you millions…

To the big dinners the hungry are not invited.  The guests are those already overfed.

“This is all true,” you say, “but how is one to get started in the right direction?  Especially when, as you say, the whole world is busy helping us downgrade already?”

The answer is: Change the CAUSE and you also change the EFFECT.

Your present condition…  is the natural and ineveitable outgrowth of the attitudes and feelings HARBORED in your subconscious mind.

Most people secretly cherish the delusion that this is not a law-ruled universe, and that somehow they will be able to get something for nothing.

Look again at the word “harbored,” for it reveals the crux of your situation.

All kinds of things come into your consciousness.  You can’t help seeing and hearing and even sometimes thinking these destructive things.

But you CAN refuse to HARBOR them.

The things that get down into your subconscious mind come out in your life.

But remember, nothing can get into your subconscious mind save as you dwell upon it and encourage it.

“But how can I start forward NOW, from this very spot?,” you ask.

To begin to go uphill in life instead of down…. it is only necessary that you TURN AROUND.  Other things will come later, but for today this will be enough…

To get anything you want, gently open your mind to the idea that you CAN get it, somewhere, somehow.  Do not dwell upon the things which just now seem to stand in the way of your getting it.

It is a law that two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time.  So, turning your attention toward the good thought drives the bad one out.  Soon this becomes a habit, and then out of your subconscious will comes the ideas of HOW to get what you want.

Old Books

You know all about the love affair I have with old books, or more to the point, authors of old books. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting around the table with men and women who are from another time. Although I can’t totally relate to period of time in which they lived, they have so much to teach me that I overlook the funny clothes – to say nothing of the hairstyles. To be fair, they must think I’m a sight, too.

I often post quotes, articles, and reflections from great authors of the past and I get a tremendous kick out of the response. There’s something remarkable about seeing an author’s teachings from the 1880’s being tweeted. Love it!

I have such a profound respect for the knowledge that these authors possess that I’m going to start a weekly tradition on Self Help Daily called, Thursday Throwback. Each Thursday, I will post a “guest article” from one of these authors. Why should their wonderful, rich knowledge lie in a dusty book in a dark basement? It should be brought out into the open and these amazing authors should be given an opportunity to educate, enlighten, and entertain generations of people who, like me, would look downright freaky to them. In spite of our looks, they’d want to reach out to us.

In my very small way, I’d love to give them this chance.

We’ll start with a great article by Isabel Leighton. Isabel Leighton was a journalist, actress, and writer. She began her career in the theater, appearing in several Broadway productions in the early 1920’s. In the 1930’s and 40’s she wrote for various magazines as well as for the North American Newspaper Alliance.

She also served as a naval correspondent in World War II. Can you imagine how fascinating it would have been to sit down and have a cup of coffee with this lady?

Below is an article Isabel Leighton wrote titled, “Meet Trouble as a Friend.”

MEET TROUBLE AS A FRIEND
by Isabel Leighton

“Trouble makes us one with every human being in the world.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
A little more than twenty years ago I spent a treasured afternoon with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes at his Beverly Farms home just north of Boston.  Lingering on the threshold as I took my leave, I asked if I might publish some of the typically rugged, earthy observations he had made during our tea together.
With a firmness that belied the gentle smile dancing at the corners of his mouth he replied, “In my more than ninety  years I have never allowed myself to be quoted, nor will I revise my pattern at this late date.  But write your interview,  child, and if, after twenty years from my going, anything I’ve said still seems to serve a useful purpose, it is yours to do with as you wish.”
During those hours, two decades ago, we spoke of many things:  the granite on which he built his home – and his life; the barberry bushes he never tired of seeing from his windows; the mystery stories he devoured; and, finally, more dismal matters.  Was he not deeply concerned, I asked, over the depression, threats of war and the lack of security in the world?  He shook his head indulgently.
“Oh, you young people, you think you’ve discovered trouble.  If you want to live without trouble, you’ll have to die young!  For if one thing’s sure, it’s that it’s always been with us and always will be.”
“Terrifying, you think?  Rubbish,” he chuckled, “it’s never fazed me.  Been almost grateful for it at times.  Makes us one with every human being in the world – and unless we touch others, we’re out of touch with life.  You might as well be dead as stop growing and if you’re unwilling to feel, yes, feel deeply, you’re only half alive.
“If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I wouldn’t pass it around.  Wouldn’t be doing anybody a favor.  Trouble creates a capacity to handle it.  I don’t say embrace trouble.  That’s as bad as treating it as an enemy.  But I do say meet it as a friend, for you’ll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it.
“No, trouble isn’t the scourge of the world.  The world has its ups and downs.  So have people, and all the speechifying that breath can produce won’t change things or make the millennium come an hour sooner.  You can’t run away from trouble.”
He smiled now more benignly, “Accept it.  Don’t worry about it.  Have faith – and do the needful.”
************

Have faith and do the needful. In one sentence, Oliver Wendell Holmes gave a perfect example of why Thursday Throwback is long overdue.  Blunt, to the point, and powerful.
Mr. Holmes could have been quite the tweeter.   Stop #panicking. Have faith & do the needful.

If you’ve read Self Help Daily or Out of Bounds for very long, you know I’m a huge fan of older writings. I often publish articles from the distant past and never fail to marvel at their relevance. When I was rounding up my favorite motivational quotes about perseverance for this post, I wasn’t totally surprised to find that one of the best showed up to the meeting straight from 1893. The first quote you’ll find below is from an 1893 play, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, written by George Bernard Shaw.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.
– George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, 1893

There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. – Author Unknown

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. – Newt Gingrich

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. – Author Unknown

When the truly great people discover that they have been deceived by the signposts along the road of life, they just shift gears and keep going. – Nido Qubein

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. – Vince Lombardi

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. – Dale Carnegie

More quotes about perseverance.

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Archimedes.  He said, “Give me a standing place and I will move the world.“  When I first read this quote (irregardless of how my daughters may think, I wasn’t there to hear him say it), I fell over myself trying to find a pen and paper on which to write the brilliant words.

This quote and I had a magnificent relationship until, some years later, I happened to be reading a collection of quotes by a personal favorite, Goethe.  He said, “Make good thy standing place, and move the world.

Game. Set. Match.

Do you realize how many areas of our lives this “quote off” could touch?  How about the individual who badly wants an elliptical machine or treadmill?  She sits around grieving for exercise equipment and feeling sorry for herself (because she doesn’t have one), feeling angry at the manufacturers (for making them so freaking expensive), and even envious of people who can afford such luxuries (lucky dogs).  Her inner Archimedes screams, “If I had a treadmill I could work out and lose weight!!”

How about the man who drives his web designer and graphic artist bananas with his pickiness?   “If that link color were a deeper blue… If that graphic was a little wider… If the navigation bar were a smidgen lighter…  By God, then I would dominate my niche like it’s never been dominated before!”

How about the college student who believes a laptop would ensure them a place on the Dean’s list?

The examples go on and on and, make no mistake about it, we’d be able to find ourselves in the lineup somewhere.  We’re always convinced that “this” or “that” holds the key to success, happiness, wealth, and/or peace.  We often think that if our own “standing place” were just a little bit better, then magic would happen.

Goethe challenges us to make the magic come to us.

I designed a website for someone once who spent two weeks going back and forth over a shade of blue.  A color!   Because, I suppose, people would either visit her site again or shun her based upon the color of blue in her links?! I get countless e-mails from people asking me about setting up a blog, running a blog, writing posts, etc.  (I’m actually working on a post about the topic right now.)  But the number one thing I always tell people is this:  Get started.  Do something.  Stop stressing over the minute little details and get things in motion.  Don’t be like the golfer who stands over his ball thinking, thinking, thinking.  Or the batter who keeps stepping out of the batter’s box to readjust his batting gloves.  Just step up there and hit the ball!

“Make good thy standing place and move the world. – Goethe

If I didn’t hate needles more than decaf, I’d have the quote tattooed down one arm and up the other.   I’d look a hot mess, but I’d be an inspirational hot mess.

Focus - Concentration Is The Secret Of Strength

Focus: Concentration is the secret of strength.

Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will come. – Perry Paxton

Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts. – Soren Kierkegaard

When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance. – Joel Osteen

I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention. – Diane Sawyer

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. – Marie Curie

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. – Buddha

Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear. – Anthony Robbins

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced. – Swami Vivekananda

We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what’s wrong in your life, or you can focus on what’s right. – Marianne Williamson

Focus on your potential instead of your limitations. – Alan Loy McGinnis

I just try to concentrate on concentrating. – Martina Navratilova

I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work. – Thomas Edison

More Quotes About Focus!

* The breathtakingly beautiful art print at the top of the post is by Brian Horisk. It features one of the most gorgeous, threatened, and misunderstood animals on earth, the wolf.

You can buy the Art Print at AllPosters.com. What a beauty!

turtle making serious progress

Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. – James B. Conant

You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved. They go together. – Earl Nightingale

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

The people who are playing it totally safe are never going to have either the fun or the reward of the people who decide to take some risk, stick out, do it differently. – John Akers

People who take risks are the people you’ll lose against. – John Sculley

You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes, because that’s where the fruit is. – Will Rogers

Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first. – Frederick B. Wilcox

Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s. – Billy Wilder

Nought venture nought have. – John Heywood (1546)

More Quotes about Taking Risks

Imagine. Desire. Believe. Act.

by joi on August 18, 2009

in Daily Quote

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon… must inevitably come to pass.” – Paul J. Meyer

“Try?  There is no try.  There is only do or not do.” - Yoda, Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back

More Motivational Quotes