“Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” – Mark Twain
Daily Quote
Albert Einstein Quote About Opposition from Mediocre Minds
Inspirational Quote of the Day
I hope that my achievements in life shall be these – that I will have fought for what was right and fair, that I will have risked for that which mattered, and that I will have given help to those who were in need, that I will have left the earth a better place for what I’ve done and who I’ve been. – C. Hoppe
Self Improvement Advice From a Rocking Chair in North Carolina
In a recent newsletter article, author Mary Southerland told about an experience she’d had several years ago. She was living in the mountains of North Carolina (a breathtakingly beautiful part of the country). One of her passions was old-world country stores and the gorgeous handmade “treasures” that filled them.
On one occasion, she was exploring some off roads in search of just such treasure and found herself on a dirt road.
She saw a bearded man sitting on the porch in a rocker with a pile of wooden logs by his side. By the porch railing she noticed a large collection of beautifully carved wooden dogs. The mountain artisan asked her to join him and to feel free to ask any questions.
As she tells it, she had only one, “How in the world do you carve these beautiful dogs out of those ordinary pieces of wood?”
His priceless response? “Well, Missy, it’s pretty simple. I just take me a piece of wood and cut away everything that doesn’t look like a dog.”
Hmph. So I’ve been searching and pondering and pondering and searching for years to put my finger on the secret to self improvement and a man in the mountains of North Carolina knew the secret the entire time?
I can see it now. He’d be sitting across from me at my dining room table. I’d pour him a cup of coffee and give him a slice of Coconut Cake. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind cats, because I’m sure Alexa would be all over him. I’d take a long drink of coffee and ask him, “So, what do you think is the secret to self improvement? Which do you think is more important, positive affirmations, visualization, or motivational speakers? What’s your favorite self help book and who’s your favorite self help author? Have you ever heard of vision boards? How do you feel about mood journals? — What? Oh, yes sir, God did give me the gift of gab. — What’s your favorite motivational quote? How do you feel about goal setting?”
Then, as he finished his Coconut Cake, he’d wipe his mouth and say, “Well, Missy, it’s pretty simple. I just take me a piece of wood and cut away everything that doesn’t look like a dog.”
I’d look at him the way my husband often looks at me, with question marks instead of pupils. I’d start to remind him that this was his approach to making wooden dogs… but then it’d hit me between my question marks. It’s also the way to making the life you want to make.
What if we took a look at our life and cut away everything that didn’t help us to become and be the person we wanted to be? The bad habits, the time-wasters, the worries, etc. You know, the junk! What if we carved away the unproductive and left only the productive?
I think we’d be left with our own little treasure.
A Great Quote About Habits by a Self Help Daily Favorite, Grenville Kleiser
“New habits make new horizons. Silently and imperceptibly you are forming habits which will ultimately determine the degree of you happiness and success.
Closely guard the quality of your thoughts, that they may lead to right habits and thence to right living. Recognize and use such supreme qualities as courage, faith, humility, loyalty, temperance, and integrity.” – Grenville Kleiser, Inspiration and Ideals, 1917
New habits make new horizons. What an amazing quote, what an amazing lesson. I honestly don’t have anything to add to what Grenville Kleiser said in 1917.
Click the following link for an article I just wrote on Out of Bounds. But first, write down Kleiser’s quote!