03 Apr "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." ~ Albert Einstein
We all need inspiration. What challenges have you faced to get where you are?
I recently reviewed candidates for a prestigious Bay Area Women’s Finance Organization.
These women are smart. Driven. Most importantly, they’ve overcome obstacles that seem like they would have flattened the average person. Yet, they overcame obstacles that took courage and strength beyond imagination.
Some of these women are single mothers raising 6 children. There are those who are refugees, and 1st generation women immigrants. Some are women who have lost everything they’ve ever had; some have had no money at all. These are women, who at a young age lost their parents, have survived illness, war, emotional and physical abuse, famine, and cultural oppression.
When I say that these women are extraordinary, I also tell you that these women have the essence of you and me. What does it take to overcome hardship and move to the life you want? What makes you strive, and what makes you happy?
I ask you this as each woman in this group is worth highlighting. Rather than introduce you to each in this moment, I’d like to let you hear what inspired them.
Here are some of their inspirational quotes and many of my own go-to lines. At the bottom of the post, please tell me, what inspires you?
“One cannot inspire without first being inspired.” ~ Anonymous
“The best time to plant the tree was 20 years ago but the second best time is now.” ~ Chinese Proverb
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” ~ John Lennon
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” ~ Mark Twain
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anais Nin
“Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.” ~ Ancient Indian Proverb
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see.” ~ Confucius
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” ~ Lao Tzu
“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” ~ Sheryl Sandberg
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.” ~ Chinese Proverb
“Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are.” ~ Chinese Proverb
“In our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom.” ~ Buddha
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama
What inspires you?
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Anne Mandler is a business and marketing speaker, educator, and writer. She teaches highly accomplished business owners and organizations effective business strategy. She shows simply how to pay attention to health while growing the business that is your life’s work. She’s a lover of the arts, a proponent of community connection, the mother of 3, and runs 2 successful organizations: Go Get Her Girl and Conscious Living Collective.
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