983. Poem 1. Dr. Seuss

Sometimes I am going to be too busy to write about a specific quote. Today is one of those days so I have left for you one of my favorite poems by one of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You’re on your own.

And you know what you know.

You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

~ Dr Seuss

984. "No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one."

"No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one." Jessica Savitch


It's easy to become complacent after achieving a goal. When they are achieved, the feeling you receive is unmatched. You swell up with happiness, joy, you become ecstatic, and so on. However, you must not forget to set new goals. If you do not set new goals, you will find yourself stuck in a rut in the same routine.


While you must set new goals, it is also to celebrate each goal. Celebrations are always deserved when goals are met. You must be able to bask in the joy of achievement, and once this celebration is done, set new goals and begin again. This will always keep you focused and the reveling in your accomplishments will push you to accomplish more and more.

985. "Right now I'm just delighted to be alive and to have had a nice long bath."

"Right now I'm just delighted to be alive and to have had a nice long bath." Richard Branson


Often times in life we get so caught up to reflect on what is most important. This, of course, is still being alive. If you weren't alive, nothing else would matter. While it is important to be work hard, play hard, make new friends, etc. It is also important to take some time for yourself.


This time for yourself can be relaxing by taking a bath, perhaps escaping by playing a round of golf, or perhaps playing video games. When I need to take time for myself I often turn to blues music. Sonny Boy Williamson II is my personal favorite. The way he plays the harmonica inspires me, relaxes me, puts me in a good mood, and shows me what can be done with something so simple. 


I encourage everyone to take time for yourself. If you have the time, perhaps once a day. If you're a busy man, maybe once a week. And if you're a super busy person, at minimum once a month. Either find something that you love and that you enjoy doing and make sure to create time in your schedule for this activity.

986. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss

Just like you've heard 1000 times, all good things must come to an end. No matter how much you love and enjoyed something, at one time or another it must end. This could be a relationship, a business adventure, a vacation, etc. However, when it does come to an end you shouldn't be upset. Reflect on how great it was and just smile.

It's easy to be upset when something ends, but thats not rewarding at all. I'm going to keep this post short because I want everyone reading it to do something. Think of the last big thing in your life that made you sad when it ended. Now take ten minutes to sit and reflect on the memories, the laughs, the people you met, etc. Then when you're done reflecting, Smile! Have a good weekend and get excited for the next post on Monday.

989. Jimmy Valvano Speech

Sometimes with my posts, I'm going to use some longer quotes, speeches or poems. This is one of them, and one of my favorite:

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."


Ever since I saw this speech, I have been changed. I truly try to do these three things everyday. Its been tough, especially since I was never really an emotional person. The laughing and the thinking came very natural and easy to me. The crying is difficult, and I still don't cry everyday. However, when the opportunity arises, i try not to hold it back. When you do all three of these things in a day, you'll be amazed at how full of a day it really is. Its something special. Below is the full video for those who want to watch and I encourage all to donate the Jimmy V foundation. It is definitely a worthy cause.

990. "A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval." Mark Twain


I believe this goes with being comfortable and having confidence. If you're low in self confidence or uncomfortable with yourself, you will continue to lack confidence and be uncomfortable in life. What I encourage all to do, is try to improve yourself everyday. Set longterm goals and use everyday as a short-term approach. What I mean by that is set large objectives for yourself; lose 20 pounds, or be able to talk to women comfortably, or learn a new hobby. Then each day do something small to help towards these goals. Perhaps exercise or not eat dessert, maybe talk to the girl next to you when you're getting coffee or pumping your gas, and for a new hobby read a new article on the subject or ask someone about it. 

Each of these small tasks will eventually lead you to your ultimate goal. Remember my older post "Every artist was first an amateur." In order for someone to have lost weight, they had to have taken small steps. In order for someone to be a ladies man, they had to have started with small conversation. And in order for something to learn a new hobby, they must have started at the beginning. When you finally accomplish these goals, you'll be amazed at the self-confidence you receive and you will begin to become more comfortable with yourself. Setting goals, and accomplishing them is one of the greatest ways to build confidence, and when you're confidence you will certainly be comfortable with yourself. So start making that list of goals today.

993. "Every artist was first an amateur."

"Every artist was first an amateur." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Practice, Practice, Practice. Going off my last post about having role models and heroes, this post is about how to because others role models and heroes. At one point in time, every CEO was a high schooler, every MLB player struck out for the first, second, third time, etc, and every actor was in his first play. Not many people are born into the limelight (unless your Paris Hilton). 

To become famous, or enviable, you have to put in your time. The "Mona Lisa" wasn't Da Vinci's first attempt at art. His first ever drawing was probably just as bad as yours or mine (maybe a little better). If you have an interest, but think you won't be good at it, just try and keep at it. I'm not musically incline, so I didn't think I could play the harmonica, but now I can. If you want to be good at something, just keep practicing and hustling and you will be eventually. However, you have to start somewhere. Just thinking you would like to be good at something will get you nowhere. So act on you desires, act on your dreams and hustle and practice until you drop. Don't worry about failing and falling, pick yourself up and keep working. Eventually you'll succeed.

994. "As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary."

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." Ernest Hemingway


Think back to when you were a kid. Most of us had heroes, idols, or role models. I know I had many. I idolized Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones. Every chance I had, I tried to emulate these guys. I had Griffey's swing down pat, and I batted righty. I also looked up to Shaq. Since I was taller than everyone in 7th grade, I beasted the boards. The fact is, I probably wouldn't have been as good of an athlete if I learned on my own, instead of emulating this guys. So why stop having role models and heroes when we grow up? It's important to look up to someone at any point in your life. 


People who we regard as heroes are almost always great at what they do. They reached this point not without making mistakes either. So if we aspire to be them, we can possibly avoid the mistakes they made in their life. I currently have taken on a new role model, Richard Branson. The way he puts the customer first in his business endeavors is something I aspire to do (his ability to always leave room for fun is also something I admire). 


Role models and heroes don't have to be in sports, or in business, they can be anyone in your family, Mother Theresa, Christopher Columbus, etc. No matter what age you are, I encourage everyone to always have a hero and aspire to emulate aspects of their life. This will always give you a goal and something to strive for.

996. "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up."

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." Vince Lombardi

Let's face it, no one lives a perfect life. At one time or another you will get knocked down. You might lose your job, a family member, you may pull a Bill Buckner in you High School State Championship. All of these are excellent reasons to get down on yourself and be depressed. However, if you stay too long in this state of mind, the event has beaten you. 

Ive been there before. I once lost a Little League game on the last play, in the Summer League Soccer League Championship, I scored an own goal, and while trying to impress the varsity soccer coach when I was in 8th grade, I broke my leg during a game. All of these could have brought me into a mental state that collapsed my life for an extended period of time. 

Admittedly, each action brought about a brief bit of agony as is only natural. Everyone after an even like these WILL be affected, but it's what you make of these events that determine who you are, determine your character. In each of those events listed above, I eventually prevailed. In Little League, we made it to the championship, in the Soccer League, we came back from trailing 2-0 to win, and when the doctor told me it'd be a full year before I might have the possibility to play sports again, I was trying out for the basketball team after 6 weeks.

The truth of the matter is that anything can be overcome with a proper state of mind. The past can't be changed, but your state of mind can. Accept that something happened, and move on. However, don't FORGET that it happened because it is important to learn something from these moments, So keep a good head on your shoulders, learn something, and eventually you will develop great character.

997. "I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun."

"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun." -Thomas Edison


As a senior in college, I hear this again and again. Find what your passionate about, and find work there. To me, as a business major, it is tough to make sense of this. The job market is as tough as ever, and I'm willing to take whatever job I am offered. My goal is to eventually end up working in a field that I am passionate about e.g. sports, gaming, travelling, etc. But for now its all business.


However, the more I reflect on this quote, the more I see doors opening. I look at my brother, who turned down a job out of college to try and become a movie director in Hollywood. He's a long way from that distinction, and may never reach his goal, but he is surrounded by the industry that he loves. He works 5 days a week 12+ hours a day on a successful T.V. game show. He's move from a general PA to the head PA. While T.V. isn't his end goal, it is the means to get there, and he's having fun doing it.


What this boils down to is, if you're passionate about something, do it. Find a way into the industry and work from the bottom up. If the pay isn't good, work a second job. Eventually if you're passionate about it, and hustle, you will end up in a job you love doing. When you have a job you love doing, you truly will never work another day in your life. Remember, you only live this life once, so if you have the option of working for good money, but being miserable, or doing what you love, go with your heart.

1000. "You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over."

"You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over." -Sir Richard Branson


This quote is actually what inspired me to start this blog. I'm currently at a point in my life (senior year of college) where I am going to be faced with many challenges. I'm going to be entering the 'real world' for the first time, starting a new life soon wherever my job takes me, and meeting new people everyday. I started reading more books in an attempt to 'grow up'. Currently I'm reading 'Business Stripped Bare' by Richard Branson and I stumbled upon this quote.


This quote immediately stuck out to me. In order to get somewhere in life, you have to try. Your endeavors might not always be successful but if you keep at them, eventually you will learn. And that is the biggest take-aways from this quote. Challenge yourself, and don't be afraid to fail. However, when you fail you have to be able to pick yourself up and try again and learn from your mistakes. This quote doesn't mean that you should break the rules and be a rebel, but rather that you shouldn't be afraid of taken the path less traveled. You don't have to fit into a certain algorithm of successes. Learn from your mistakes, dive head first (with some research) into things, and continue to strive for excellence.


This is my first real blog, and I am certainly diving right in, so my posts might not always be great reads, or fancy, or edited properly, but I promise I will learn along the way, listen to my readers and hopefully by the end, will have something special to be proud of.