This category is all about inspirational quotes and powerful words for our everyday lives. Sometimes, I touted them as thought for the day. But these quotes have a powerful way of shaping our thoughts. It is a collection of ideas, powerful words from famous personalities that continue to inspire us. Most of these quotes are specific to the day and time when they occurred. But they carry a strong message to this day and help us frame our worldview.
We have so many lessons to learn from these wonderful people. The inspirational quotes act as a way of providing a window to their lives and our own. The purpose of these quotes is to make us question ourselves, pause, think and reflect. Ultimately, these quotes must inspire us, question and point us in the right direction. The meaning of these quotes goes well beyond the words into emotions and the actions that we take
Until the lion learns how to write: History is always written by the winner. Whether it is the hunter or the winner of wars - the story that sells the most is the one by the winner. If you think of this logically, the winner will always hold sway in telling the story. If the winner is powerful enough, then the stories that are written by the loser will be destroyed. In other words - the winner's words hold more value than the victim's. Or atleast that used to be the case before the world of social media.
Either you run the day or the day runs you - Jim Rohn
Either you run the day or the day runs you: Take control, lead the day. This is in short what the quote is telling us to do. However, we all know how hard sometimes things are. We just have to follow the motions and get through the day. Although we may never be able to follow this quote to the letter, I like the principle of this quote. The main point for me is that when the day runs us, we get busy and lose track of things. This is exactly how the most important things in our life take a backseat. Because we are so busy responding to the demands of the day, we don't have time to do what's important for us.
Abdul Kalam quotes for inspiration
Abdul Kalam Inspirational Quotes: I've always loved the words of inspiration from Abdul Kalam. They have a sense of unbridled optimism in them. There's a force that says, I will brave all the odds and reach my destiny. It not only fills me with hope but also inspires me to get out of the self-pity and do something about my situation.
What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while
I started reading this book, The Happiness Project in the quest to find my source of inspiration or passion for life. It is as if I'm on a mad rush to find my connection to something that makes me feel completely involved and either give me a sense of purpose or a feeling of satisfaction. The quest however continues, but I did fall in love with this quote - what you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. We are creatures of our habits and these habits have a way of shaping us. It is a funny thing. Initially, we need to actively shape these habits. But over time, these habits have the beautiful way of shaping us completely.
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing - Muhammad Ali quotes
The word impossible has many connotations. But I find nothing more powerful than Muhammad Ali's words - Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men. It not…
Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali Quotes
Champions are different. They are different because they do something beyond what others will. It is not just the physical aspect of doing something. What's more powerful is the internal aspect - the mind which travels well beyond what others do. Everyone goes to the gym - but the champions are those who do this, but also something beyond that takes them to the next level.
There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid - Mahatma Gandhi
If you refused to be afraid: This is such a powerful quote by Mahatma Gandhi. It talks about the power of control we exert on our fears. When we are so scared, it feels like we have no choice and the immediate response is to hide. But the response to fear also is a choice - if we stand tall against this fear, there's a different response that our minds will create. It will bring up the other aspects of our personality such as resilience, fighting spirit, desire to move beyond fear etc. It doesn't suggest us to deny fear, but act on it with diligence and from a position of power.
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory - Mahatma Gandhi Quotes
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment: Success and failure is all about the results - this is what most of us are taught to believe. I can see the logic in this because success comes with results and accolades that help us recognise a victory. This quote by Mahatma Gandhi talks about the effort involved in achieving success. Some of our successes can sometimes be fluke events. Although they give us the results, the satisfaction derived from them is small and in some cases disappointing. This quote brings the focus back to the effort involved and the satisfaction derived from this effort.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - Mahatma Gandhi
First, they ignore you then they laugh at you: This is a typical response for anything people don't agree with. This is the world we live in. New ideas are not always welcome, they will be met with resistance, challenge and sometimes even a fight. This is especially true if your ideas are in conflict with some set of thoughts or you challenge people in power.
Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough - APJ Abdul Kalam quotes on success
Failure will never overtake me: These are powerful words to tell ourselves and make it a part of our belief system. There's no success without failure. But, if we let these failures take over us and shake our foundations, we are doomed. It all comes down to our definition of success and how strong we've built these foundations. These foundations will be shaken through many experiences, some of which will weaken us. We will need to find strength somehow and continue to move on. These moments demand the definition of success to be strong enough to keep us going.
