Source of Inspiration

An article on the top 10 "inspirational" quotes caught my eye. I guess we are all looking for something to inspire us. These people are all very prominent thinkers in their own way. But which one would inspire you? Is there one that stands out as being part of your own search for inspiration?

*I'll go through these and just briefly give my own thoughts.

1. Mark Twain
"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 the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

* One of the things I've always said I don't want on my gravestone is, "Karen kept a clean house" and that one of my biggest fears is regret. I think the disappointment he is referring to is when fear stops you from doing something you've always wanted to do. :) "I wish I would have" can be haunting. But my own Mother took up guitar lessons just a few years before she died. She obviously thought it was never too late to start something. She was really good at it too. She learned many cool diminished chords too not just a few. Cool.
I also love the word "discover". Too often we think our world ends at our window looking out. There is an amazing world out there. I recommend the Planet Earth series from the BBC. Breath-taking!

2. Luigi Pirandello
"In bed my real love has always been the sleep that rescued me by allowing me to dream."

*I've only just nicely over this past year and during the making of the last record realized that sleep truly is a gift. I now guard my sleep like sheep from wolves! Very sacred.

3. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

*Know the phrase, "to psyche yourself out"? That was me for a very long time! It still can happen too! It happens when I allow the negativity to take over and make decisions. Faith makes me feel like a little girl. It makes me feel a little more fearless and hopeful.

4. Zig Ziglar
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

* Ah yes. One day at a time is good for starting over when yesterday was bad. I liken this quote to filling up at the gas station. Car can't run on empty and we need something to fill us up daily. Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally. This world can deplete!!! I know this all too well!

5. T. S. Elliot
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

* I adore many quotes from Elliot. I find risk increasingly difficult when I am around people who don't take risks. I think we tend to measure our risks by the percentage of population who do something. But, I am reminded that most of the people I respect and respond to are in fact risk-takers. I haven't jumped from an airplane though and I'm not sure I will by simply surrounding myself by people who do. HA!

6. Buddha
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

* I'm not sure I have seen a quote so open to interpretation but I think most Buddha quotes are open enough to make them apply to our own situation much like perception of art at the Art Gallery. I guess even if someone else has heavily shaped who we are be that positively or negatively, it's ultimately how we view ourselves which defines us.

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

*Emerson may be one of my favorite thinkers. The words are always so lovely. I do agree with this quote as I tend to go off the path a lot but I don't necessarily feel a strong need to leave a trail behind me. I guess I just don't worry about it.

8. Peter F. Drucker
"We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it."

*I don't even know what to do with this quote. I know he's written dozens of books, he must have been motivated to do so.

9. Nora Roberts
"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place."

*This reminds me of a friend of mine who said he's probably asked 200 girls to go out with him before one said yes. Tenacity, huh?

10. Stephen Covey
"Begin with the end in mind."

*While I don't tend to really look at the potential end, I think this may be a good exercise in momentum and assuring we move ahead.

Overall, I find people who are over-comers inspiring. The people who have hit below the bottom and came back.

That was actually a good exercise to get my gut reactions on each. If nothing else, it focused the topic a lot more for my own situation. I don't expect you to type as much, but I personally found it helpful, maybe you will too!
Perhaps you have strong thoughts on one or two of them?

Hope you find your inspiration!
Karen

PS Don't think I need to add another quote at the end. lol