Crystal > Crystal's Quotes

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

“If you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

“Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”
― Karen Lamb

“It's not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What's hard, she said, is figuring out what you're willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.”
― Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way

“Happiness is not a goal...it's a by-product of a life well lived.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

“If you can sit with your pain, listen to your pain and respect your pain — in time you will move through your pain.”
― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

“No matter how many times you say you'll give up with words, if your heart still says "love", there's nothing to be done.”
― Io Sakisaka

“Don't be scared of scars. They just tell stories that are hard to hear.”
― Ashly Lorenzana

“Never give up on love. Love like you have never been hurt.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

“There is unfairness in life. But seek grace to be just and be gentle.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say 'My tooth is aching' than to say 'My heart is broken'. Yet if the cause is accepted and faced, the conflict will strengthen and purify the character and in time the pain will usually pass. Sometimes, however, it persists and the effect is devastating; if the cause is not faced or not recognised, it produces the dreary state of the chronic neurotic. But some by heroism overcome even chronic mental pain. They often produce brilliant work and strengthen, harden, and sharpen their characters till they become like tempered steel.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

“As long as you think that the cause of your problem is “out there”—as long as you think that anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering—the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim, that you’re suffering in paradise.”
― Byron Katie, Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

“How do you react when you think you need people's love? Do you become a slave for their approval? Do you live an inauthentic life because you can't bear the thought that they might disapprove of you? Do you try to figure out how they would like you to be, and then try to become that, like a chameleon? In fact, you never really get their love. You turn into someone you aren't, and then when they say "I love you," you can't believe it, because they're loving a facade. They're loving someone who doesn't even exist, the person you're pretending to be. It's difficult to seek other people's love. It's deadly. In seeking it, you lose what is genuine. This is the prison we create for ourselves as we seek what we already have.”
― Byron Katie

“Placing the blame or judgment on someone else leaves you powerless to change your experience; taking responsibility for your beliefs and judgments gives you the power to change them”
― Byron Katie

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.”
― Seth Godin

“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth.   Not going all the way, and not starting.”   Siddhrtha Gautama”
― Seth Godin, Poke the Box

“Soon is not as good as now.”
― Seth Godin, Poke the Box

“...treasure what it means to do a day's work. It's our one and only chance to do something productive today, and it's certainly not available to someone merely because he is the high bidder. A day's work is your chance to do art, to create a gift, to do something that matters. As your work gets better and your art becomes more important, competition for your gifts will increase and you'll discover that you can be choosier about whom you give them to.”
― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

“If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
― Shirley Chisholm

“You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
― Shirley Chisholm

“Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread, and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.”
― Shirley Chisholm

“This is the generation that thinks of itself as global citizens but knows little about the world and acts locally. It is the most diverse generation in collegiate history with the strongest relationships between races but they have limited interest in talking about race or reaching across political or generational divides.”
― Arthur Levine

“In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are.”
― Max Depree, Leadership Is an Art

“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
― Max Depree

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.”
― Max DePree

“Only a group of people who share a body of knowledge and continually learn together can stay vital and viable.”
― Max DePree, Leadership Is an Art

“Alignment begins with a constituency of one. These are the individuals whose substance is real, pure and nonnegotiable. They share their vulnerabilities and fears in complement to their strengths. They are comfortable weaving all parts of their lives together in an integrated way. Our level of effectiveness, contribution and integrity of work and life are in direct correlation with our level of integration, self-actualization and total alignment fo body, mind and spirit.”
― Kristin S. Kaufman, Is This Seat Taken?: Random Encounters That Change Your Life

“Alignment is an evolutionary process, which involves continuous questioning and searching.”
― Roger Spitz, The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption: Volume II - Essential Frameworks for Disruption and Uncertainty