Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Silence

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Personal Take:
I find this quote to resonate today, at a time in which our governments have been taking the rights of the people in order to "protect" the people from themselves and capitalism.  While this quote was most certainly significant during the war for civil rights, it is also shockingly accurate for the fight to retain and regain the rights given to us in the constitution.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Leadership

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Personal Take:
I find this quote to resonate particularly since it seems as though throughout my entire adult life (I was 18 in 1995) our presidents have governed as populists rather than leaders.  Yet we proclaim that they are the leaders of the Free World.  Until we find someone who governs by the law of the land and acts on their principles rather than public opinion, our leaders are, in fact, followers.  This quote alone explains why Martin Luther King, Jr. was and will always be a respected leader, whereas our so-called present day leaders will be remembered as anything but. 

Monday, June 28, 2010

Experience

"Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment."

- Fred Brooks

Personal Take:
Exactly. 

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Faith

"Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into."

Mohandas Gandhi

Personal Take:
To me, faith is one of the strongest bonds one can have and is one that a person must ponder and actively think about before accepting it.  Faith is synonymous with trust.  Neither is to be given blindly or taken lightly. 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Listen

"He that speaks much, is much mistaken."

- Benjamin Franklin

Personal Take:
In other words, listen more than you talk...  or don't trust those who speak all the time.  I have often found that when I have actively listened that I have learned innumerable amounts of information from others.  I just wish that action was easily replicable for me! 

Friday, June 25, 2010

Reputation

"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."

- Benjamin Franklin

Personal Take:
It is always easiest to take the short cut or break the rules... until you get caught.  If we kept this lesson in our head, imagine how different the world would be.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Doubt

"When in doubt, don't."

- Benjamin Franklin 

Personal Take:
I cannot tell you how many times I have gone against my gut feeling, only to find it to have been right all along.  It is these experiences from which I find myself needing to trust my instinct, which are also, non-coincidentally, some of my biggest regrets or mistakes.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Success

"To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions."

- Benjamin Franklin

Personal Take:
I find this quote by Franklin to be interestingly worded.  To me, this quote means to take one's time in drawing a conclusion and then jumping at the opportunity presented.  This is key, I find, as it is very easy to waste precious time on bad opportunities.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Experience

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."

- Oscar Wilde 

Personal Take:
Very true.  Unfortunately, we all need to find our own experiences; they are not transferable, no matter how much we try to share them with others.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Truth

"Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth."

Mohandas Gandhi

Personal Take:
Amen!  Too bad there aren't very many people in the world that, seemingly, still believe in the truth being told.  It would be a much better place if it were.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Speak

"Speak ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody."

Benjamin Franklin

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Education

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn."

- Benjamin Franklin

Personal Take:
Each of us is ignorant.  That is just a fact of life.  We cannot know everything.  However, not having a curiosity or a will to learn is the epitome of laziness.  Unfortunately, it seems as though we are facing this issue more and more in today's day in age.  I truly hope that trend changes.  To me, there is hardly anything more thrilling than learning something new and being able to build upon it.  

Friday, June 18, 2010

Time

"Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of."

- Benjamin Franklin

Personal Take:
I took this quote to mean 'don't sweat the small stuff,' which I am seemingly doing all of the time.  In caretaking for my Grandma, I have truly learned just how precious life is and how quickly time passes.  This is especially true the older we become.  We should never take the next day for granted.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Dreams

"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable."

Christopher Reeve

Personal Take:
To put it another way, the path to success, no matter how large the goal, is through taking small steps.  We should all remember this in daily life.  I know mine would be much easier.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hope

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible."

- Christopher Reeve

Personal Take: 
I have been reminded time again that frame of mind has probably the greatest effect in the outcome of one's life than anything else.  And hope, above all, has the greatest effect of all.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Monday, June 14, 2010

Peace

"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances."

Mohandas Gandhi

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Life

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Religion

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness."

- 14th Dalai Lama

Friday, June 11, 2010

Equality

"All men are created equal, it is only men themselves who place themselves above equality."

- David Allan Coe

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Education

"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."

- Malcolm Forbes

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Humor

"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it."

- Bill Cosby

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Hope

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

- Epicurus

Personal Take:
I have a tendency to think of the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence and, therefore, often have a propensity to not fully appreciate that which I already have.  This quote is so, so, so true and is one that I hope to keep in my mind the next time I start wishing for that which I do not have.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Development

"Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position."

Mohandas Gandh


Personal Take:
As I walk through the experience that is life, I often find myself changing my viewpoints on many things.  Yet I sometimes question others on why their opinions have changed, especially those in public office.  It is important, in my opinion, to remember that everyone's perspective changes in time.  Those who claim it does not are people that I am most leery of.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Meaningful

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."

- 14th Dalai Lama 
  

Commentary:
In my early days at university, I prided myself in having many friends and enjoyed knowing as many people as possible.  Shortly thereafter, I realized that having many true friends was not possible and prided myself on having the "cream of the crop" in a handful of friends, friends, whom I thought I would have for the remainder of my life.  Years later, I reached a crossroad that I never thought was possible when that perception also turned out to be an false sense of reality. 

This quote reminds me that nothing is permanent, even the closest of all friendships, and that I should cherish it, like each and every passing day because it is possible that it might not be there tomorrow.  However, this quote also gives me hope that new meaningful relationships are on the horizon, waiting to be discovered.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Difficulty

"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

- Henry Ford


Commentary:
I am sometimes overwhelmed by the size of a particular task or goal.  It is in those times that I find myself procrastinating even taking the first step down that path.  This quote reminds me that even the largest of tasks or goals is made simple if I work on it in small steps.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Reality

"Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be."

- Jack Welch

Commentary:
Many times it is difficult to look at a situation as it is and not as we wish it was or as it used to be.  It is sometimes difficult to step away from our emotions, but often it is the approach most needed in order to reach the best possible place from which to make the best possible decision for oneself.  It has been my experience that the decisions I reached following my emotions have often been those that most harmed me or are those that I later regret.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Change

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."

- Lao Tzu

Commentary:
I think it is important to remind ourselves that we can change whatever we are at any point in time-- all it takes is letting go of our current path and following the one that we choose.  The power of the mind is, in my opinion, the strongest that a human possesses.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Responsibility

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

- Abraham Lincoln


Commentary:  
As much as I wish this quote was not true, it is one that I find myself repeating time and again.  Without failure, I am constantly reminding myself to put my most difficult tasks above all others, knowing full well that each will be there tomorrow and in the days to follow if I do not.  This quote also works hand-in-hand with that of Gandhi's view on confession from yesterday.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

New Feature

A few weeks ago I had a guy's weekend with my best mates, one of whom writes a fantastic blog.

During the course of the weekend, the topic turned to resonatingquotes.com.  It was suggested by this friend, Nate, that I should add a personal touch to the site by revealing why I have chosen to post particular quotes.  I tended to agree with him at the time but chose to think about it before taking action.  After allowing the idea to percolate, I have decided to include my personal insight as to why each of my chosen quotes resonates with me.

Thanks for the feedback, Nate!  I hope that it adds to the quality of blog for each of you.  Please feel free to send me your feedback, positive or negative, at any time.  It is always appreciated!

Confession

"Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession."

Mohandas Gandhi


Commentary:
Regardless of the consequences of my errors, apologizing and clearing my conscience has nearly always the best route to take for all involved parties.  There have only been a handful of occasions in which this was not the case.  However, fear of confession has stopped me many times from doing things that I otherwise might have done and later was thankful that I did not.