make good
“I want to be known for making good on what I’ve learned.” - Charley Crockett
suffering
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” - Seneca
madness
“Madness is the exception in individuals but the rule in groups.” - Frederich Nietzsche
temperament
“Any army is like a horse, in that it reflects the temper and the spirit of its rider. If there is an uneasiness and an uncertainty, it transmits itself through the reins, and the horse feels uneasy and uncertain.” - Colonel John W Thomason, Jr.
performance
performance = potential - interference
(taken from Coaching for Performance by John Whitmore)
policy
“My policy is to have no policy.” - Abraham Lincoln
limits
“What limits individuals as well as nations is the inability to confront reality, to see things for what they are.” -Robert Greene
safety
“If you count on safety and do not think of danger, if you do not know enough to be wary when enemies arrive, this is called a sparrow nesting on a tent, a fish swimming in a cauldron – they won’t last the day.” - Chuko Liang
nature
“Nature has made up her mind that what cannot defend itself shall not be defended.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
death
“Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.” - William Hazlitt
age
“I was always younger than anyone around me. One day it began to change.”
― Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis
living
“When I look back at the past and think of all the time I squandered in error and idleness, lacking the knowledge needed to live, when I think of how often I sinned against my heart and my soul, then my heart bleeds. Life is a gift, life is happiness, every minute could have been an eternity of happiness! If youth only knew! Now my life will change; now I will be reborn. Dear brother, I swear that I shall not lose hope. I will keep my soul pure and my heart open. I will be reborn for the better.” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
enemies
“Be careful who you choose as your enemy because that's who you become most like.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
activity
“Never mistake activity for achievement.” - John Wooden
the way
“I will either find a way, or make a way.” - Hannibal
genius
“Do not talk about giftedness, inborn talents! One can name great men of all kinds who were very little gifted. They acquired greatness, became "geniuses"….They allowed themselves time for it.” - FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
certainty
“The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.” - Robert Greene
the company you keep
“Whoever makes his way into a tyrants court becomes his slave, although he went there a free man.” - Sophocles
life
"The goal of adulthood is to let go of the other possible existences and to make the best of the one. A successful adult is one who understands that it doesn't matter which life you ultimately pick, only that you live it well." - Chris Ballas
criticism
"Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow. The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce.
Anyone can tear down someone else’s work. The true test of insight is whether you can help them improve it or build something of your own." - Adam Grant