Ive always have this penchant for inspirational positive quotes.

Its amazing what those mere strings of words can do. Seemingly simple. Yet interestingly profound. If youve some time today, I invite you to join me in this self discovery journey as we go through this 50 wonderful inspirational positive quotes. Indulge in the tranquil moment as you read with both your eyes and heart. Remember, eyes may provide sight. But its the heart which gives insight. Enjoy. Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought. - Henri L. Bergson I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. Hellen Keller Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough. - Josh Billings Even if youre on the right track, youll get run over if you just sit there - Will Rogers Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning. - Mahatma Gandhi You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. - Christopher Columbus

To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both. - St Catherine of Siena When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we took so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened up for us - Helen Keller We dont see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are. - Talmund Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you dont have any problems, you dont get any seeds. - Norman Vincent Peale If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. - Dr Wayne Dyer The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. - Theodore Rubin Pessimist : A person who says that O is the last letter of ZERO, instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY. - Anonymous Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas A Edison Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting - Elizabeth Bibesco Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. Thats why we call it the present. - B. Olatunji When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on. - Franklin D Roosevelt Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude. - Zig Ziglar If youre going through hell, keep going. - Winston Churchill The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching. - Dennis Green Champions arent made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will

must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. - Dale Carnegie So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. - Christopher Reeve Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some dont turn up at all. - Sam Ewing There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because theres virtually no competition. - Steven J Ross Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - Confucious Many of lifes failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up. - Thomas A Edison The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. - Stephen Covey Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things. - Peter Drucker Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing! - Donald Gardner Success is what you attract by the person you become. - Jim Rohn You have to Be before you can Do and Do before you can Have. - Zig Ziglar You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people to get what they want. - Zig Ziglar The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others wish to join us. - Hubert Humphrey

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus when the limo breaks down. - Oprah Winfrey Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune. - Jim Rohn It isnt what the book costs. Its what it will cost you if you dont read it. - Jim Rohn You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi The future has several names. For the weak, it is the impossible. For the fainthearted, it is the unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is the ideal. - Victor Hugo There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice. - Po Bronson Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Waldo Emerson Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. - Henry van Dyke Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric. - Bertrand Russell History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. - Winston Churchill Life isnt about finding yourself. Lifes about creating yourself. - George Bernard Shaw Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vintage point. - Harold B Melchart The tragedy of life doesnt lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach. - Benjamin Mays More often in life, we end up regretting the chances in life that we had, but didnt take them, than those chances that we took and wished we hadnt. - Anonymous

An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded. - Pope John Paul I Dont wish it were easier, wish you were better. Dont wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Dont wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom. - Earl Shoaf

Have Big Goals, Big DreamsIt was 27th of January. I was coming back to my home from my hometown. Because the train was late, I reached Noida around 9 in the morning. Then I got ready for office and went to the nearest auto stand and boarded. On that beautiful morning, I was destined to meet this guy; a good looking educated guy who was in middle or late 30's, driving the auto. Just as I boarded, we struck up a conversation. Initially we talked about his daily routine and crime in Noida. Then we started talking about education and he told me that he graduated with a B.A. degree in 1993. He continued by telling me about his first job - a cleaner in an office where he used to get 500 Rs per month. Later he changed his job and his salary went to 1000 Rs per month. From there he was promoted to a clerical job, where his salary reached around 3000 Rs per month. But somehow the story of growth was stopped suddenly by fate and he lost his job. He told me of times when he used to gather chapattis, thrown by his neighbors, and then put them into water and again make an eatable roti for his kids and that he and his wife went hungry for a few days just to feed their children. Then one day a guy asked him to deliver cylinders from one place to another. He started delivering 3 cylinders, each, twice in a day and started earning 20 Rs per cylinder which sums out to be 120 Rs per day. Then he started delivering more cylinders and his earning reached around 50 Rs per cylinder. Then he came to know the hidden truth - he could earn around 200 Rs per cylinder, if he could buy his own cylinders. Somehow he managed to buy docs for 10 cylinders and that cost him around 10k. With some more money, he bought an auto. He was not happy being an auto driver as he gave his reasons that this job is not a job of pride and even rickshaw pullers come up and say expletives to him. On a personal level, being an educated guy, it hurts him to drive an auto. But the best part he said is, "Now my children don't go to sleep hungry at night. I don't have to pick others' thrown away food." This guy has now risen to the level where he can now keep his family happy and is earning handsome money. He plans to buy a new auto rickshaw. His children study in English medium school and he is proud to give them the best. But there was one thing he was worried about and still is: whether his children will think about him the way he thought about himself? And then, on the next turn he said, "I am quite optimistic that whatever good I will do today, will result in a much better future for me tomorrow." I don't know his name, I don't know who he was but he taught me a few lessons that will remain with me forever.

Some of you may find this a stupid story to tell and some may have their own crux of this story but I just want to share a few morals I learned: There is a new start at every bend in the road. If you can dream big and wish to grow, no one can ever stop you. Sometimes we remain hungry to feed our loved ones and the pain acts as a firing ball forever in the future. There are few people in our life who sacrifice a lot to make their loved ones happy without ever thinking of their own interests and still they are optimistic that they will somehow get something in return. Crisis can show you a path that may be difficult but still leads to the things you aspire, if you have that vision. Even if you give your best, and for the time being you didn't get the returns back, just expect the best and stop brooding or bothering about it. Strength is not measured with the number of toned muscles in your body, it is measured in terms of the strength of your heart - when you remain hungry to feed your children and then grow to give them the best.

It is a true story ... the writer is ME but the actor is HIM. Thanks to HIM for enlightening me with the next few lessons for my life. --- Copyright 2009 Vibhore Jain This is a true story ... He is a person I will never forget in life. He changed a lot in me. Maybe for many India is a land of poors, but for me India is still a land of fighters who fight their fate each day to come out successful. Don't Ever Stop

Even though thoughts, ideas and imagination are very powerful, you can get nothing by just thinking, idealizing or imagining; you must also take action. Action is the bridge between your ideas and their accomplishment. You have to seriously commit to yourself to pay the price, whatever it is. You can do whatever you want only if you believe you can. You can do whatever you set your mind to and you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price. The message is clear; you and only you are responsible for your thoughts, ideas, imagination, health, well being, wealth, life style, economy, happiness, peace, your past, present and future. You and only you are the architect of your fate. You and only you are in the driver's seat. You and only you are responsible for the kind of life you are living now and the way you will live your old age. You are a winner! Be honest, responsible and respectful with yourself so you can see the reality of whom you really are and where you are standing. You are a winner! Don't, EVER, EVER think otherwise. NEVER QUIT! Act, act, act and make your dreams come true. Don't focus on what you DON'T want, even for a second; instead focus ONLY on what you want. The mind cannot have two thoughts at the same time. Walk, walk, walk and keep walking toward your goals.

I know for a fact that when you are totally clear on what you want, have a burning desire to fulfill your dreams, a blind faith and take action, you can do and accomplish all you can imagine and desire. I also know that the more time you spend focusing on what you want and the more time you stick to what you need to do, the more satisfaction and happiness you get and you will feel more the essence of your goals. The more time you spend on getting what you want and the more time you are in contact with your mission, the more familiar you get with what you need to know to accomplish your goal. As a result, you will have plenitude and confidence. The more time you do more of what is expected from you, more opportunities come to your life and definitively more doors will open for you. The more you are willing to give, the more you will be able to get. Of course that is possible! Believe in you! Believe in nothing but in the satisfaction, motivation, experience you are getting during the process and also believe that you will accomplish all you have planned regardless of any circumstance, obstacle or setbacks. DON'T EVER STOP, NEVER, NEVER! YOU CAN! YOU HAVE THE TALENT SKILL AND INTELLIGENCE, AND ABOVE ALL, YOU ARE HEALTHY. If you stop, it is because you need to give yourself time to understand what you need to correct in order to keep acting and walking on the right path. Believe me, at the end of the road there is what you deserve. Every step forward is taking you closer and closer to your goal and fulfillment. And don't forget to be happy during the process! --- Copyright 2009 Eduardo Dominguez

The Fruit of Your Labor

"Impossible is just a word invented by wusses, lazy people, and cowards. Nothing is impossible in the hands of a person who's crazy enough to keep trying. 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." This is what I have learned in life in my 9 years as an athlete. This is about the time where I transformed a goal that people thought was absolutely impossible, to something I achieved with excellence. That's not to say that I did not have to sweat, bleed, and cry to achieve it. It was a dark day; one of depression, sorrow and anger. As I climbed out of the pool, after witnessing my time in the 100 yard freestyle, I did not feel obliged to speak to anyone. At that moment, if somebody had walked up to me and tried to speak to me, I would have completely ignored them.

The water dripped off my suit, seeming like each drop that landed on the floor added to my anger. Everything was in slow motion as I walked back to the boy's locker room. I saw the bright, dazzling smiles of swimmers who had just achieved a best time taunting me. However, I had not. I had failed. Or at least that is what I thought at the time. I had not known that the most important ingredient for success is failure. As I was lying on my cool bed, thoughts flew about in my head. I had not talked much to anyone since the big swim meet a few days before. I had thought about my past failures, and how they outnumbered my successes in terms of thousands. This added to my bad mood. I started to pray to God that I could achieve what I was aiming at. Suddenly, like a bolt of thunder, an idea hit my head. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. Just like that, the famous Winston Churchill quote that I had not read for over a year just popped into my head. At practice the next day, I told my swimming teammates about my goal time and they all either laughed or replied with a somewhat similar response like, "You can't do it" or "Probably not." Believe it or not, these are the responses that made my goal achievable. I channeled their responses into my anger each day at practice. When I felt tired, they replayed in my head: you can't do it, that's impossible, don't get your hopes up. All of them, every single one, played back clearly and as if they were taunting me. The smell of chlorine filled my nose as I stroked through the length of the pool. I can do it, no goal is unachievable, no matter how unrealistic it may seem. It was the day of the meet where I would determine if my mental strength and physical practice would pay off, the day I had to prove to myself and others that with belief there is no limit to your achievements. I stood on the block seconds before my race would start and thought about my whole journey to this day. I was willing to die for this, and I would not let myself fail. The ten seconds of thinking seemed like years. I stepped on the diving block and tightened my goggles. I heard the warning: "Swimmers are you ready?" Then the beep sound, marking the beginning of the race, went off. I sprung like a cheetah off of the block and dove with perfect form into the pool. I felt the cool water glide across my back. I gritted my teeth and was off like a fish, bouncing off each turn at the wall as if it was a trampoline. Thoughts ran through my head. I need this! I need this! On the last turn, I came back to the wall with every piece of strength I had. I touched the final wall with my fingertips and I knew that I had swum the perfect race. I sprung my head out of the water, and panned my eyes in slow motion towards the scoreboard that had the times... I had done it! I had achieved my best time!

Joy filled my heart like water fills a cup. Tears rolled down my cheek and I started sobbing more than women after they watch Titanic. I saw the expressions on all of my friend's faces as I climbed out of the pool; their jaws dropped to the ground. I began to laugh and gave them the thumbs up.

In life, it is only those who can visualize success and believe that they can achieve anything, and those who get up after being knocked down, those people will become champions in whatever they are pursuing, whether it is in athletics, business, or life. This is the importance of belief. I have learned in life that having belief in yourself opens all gates. Never forget that anything the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. --- Written in 2009 by Sami I. --- California My name is Samy. I am a 15 year old boy in high school with a strong belief that nothing is impossible. I like motivating and being motivated. I am currently in pursuit of a dream to become an Olympic swimmer gold medalist. Attitude Versus Comfort Zone

Since the great majority of us already know what attitude is, let's talk about comfort zone: Comfort zone is the mental place surrounded by borders in our mind where we feel secure. Even though this comfort area and its boundaries are just a state of mind that has nothing to do with reality, it plays a huge roll in the progress of our development. Since the comfort zone is limited, there is not much benefit for you inside your comfort zone, but what you already are and have. Nothing new will happen until you open yourself and leave your comfort zone. As long as you still are having the same beliefs, you cannot grow and you cannot expect new things in your life. When you change your beliefs you will change your thoughts, feelings and actions and then, and only then you can expand and grow in all aspects of your life. Even though your background may be affecting your present situation, what really matters is not where you were born, your skin color, race, age, gender, religion, government, or even the poor environment in which you have been living for so many years, but what really matters and makes a big difference in your life is your attitude, to understand your comfort zone, how you limit yourself within it, who you are, why you behave the way you do it, and mainly where you are going. Sadly many people don't go anywhere because they stay within their comfort zone. They accept defeat after defeat before even trying or knowing how capable or valuable they really are. These circumstances are not the cause of our actual situation but the conformism and the poverty of our thoughts and therefore the weakness of our broken spirit. Leave your past behind; constantly transcend your comfort zone! Your past within this comfort zone is nothing but a wasted load that you don't need to carry, at all. Take constant action as many times as it is required and never, never quit. As Napoleon Hill said, "a quitter never wins and a winner never quits. Defeat is never a failure; no circumstance ever is failure until it is accepted by the individual as a failure". Whatever you are thinking, you are feeling, and therefore what you feel is the way you are acting, and this action is what will determine how far you will go and how your future will be. Cheer up your essence; don't let the background of your comfort zone, or any other external circumstance defeat your spirit.

Nothing is impossible for an optimist attitude; everything is possible when we start blindly trusting ourselves, when we have a burning desire to succeed and a blind determination to make our dreams come true; everything is possible when we don't take a no for an answer. Don't be afraid of change, life itself is change, change is growth, and regardless of how painful it may be, change is needed. Change will take you to a place full of new things, blessings and satisfaction, everything is for better. Just focus and only live your present with passion, focus on the things you want and what make you happy. Just believe in yourself, be open minded, open to change, be simple, flexible and take action. --- Copyright 2009 Eduardo Dominguez Miracle By Chance This is a "true story" about how I met my boyfriend (now spouse) on a dating site on the Internet. It's the unbelievable story behind it that's truly amazing!

I used to hang out at a country bar called the "Club Palomino". I loved listening to good bands there and dancing to their country rock music. I used to drag my friend out to see my favourite band playing called "Cheyenne", who were amazing and always packed the place. My friend and I used to get up and dance to their songs. I was interested in the rhythm guitar player in the band. To me, he was the best looking one and I loved his voice along with his rhythm guitar sound. Yes, I had the "hots" for him and would goggle eye him playing his guitar/singing while I was on the dance floor, or just standing at the bar listening and staring. I've always had this thing for bands as I play guitar too and always wanted to play in a band. The sad part about it was I used to see him with a blonde girl, but didn't know if she was his girlfriend or wife. After seeing them playing there for a long time, the "Club Palomino" closed down. Yes, the club had been sold. Wouldn't you know it a huge townhouse sub-division was put up and the club was gone. So were all the bands, including my favourite band, "Cheyenne". When I first found out about the club closing down, I wanted to approach "Cheyenne", particularly the rhythm guitar player and ask where they would be playing in the future. But I didn't have enough courage to do that. I guess things happen for a reason. 15 Years Later... As time went on I met someone and got married. That was a mistake. Eventually we got a divorce. I starting going out to bars, again, got tired of it and not meeting anyone decent enough. I wasn't crazy about the bands playing at other bars either. Later, a friend told me to join a particular dating site on the Internet, which I thought I would never do. But, I thought I would check it out for fun as I heard so much about it through people even meeting their soul mates from that site. Surprisingly enough, I had a few dates, meeting in public places, but just didn't find the right one and

thought I never would from a dating site. I sort of gave up on it until one night. After getting home from a bar, which I hated, I went on my computer. For some reason I logged in that site again which I was really glad I did. I got an interesting email from a guy and liked his picture. I was also touched by his email and that he was also interested in my picture and profile. From then on we started emailing each other quite a lot from that site. We seemed to have so much in common through our emails. We continued writing and eventually got on MSN, and chatted for quite some time. Our families even lived in the same town of all places. We chatted every night as often as we could. And then, a miracle happened! We started chatting on our computers about music. Wow...we also liked all the same music and we both wrote songs. I told him I liked country music and used to frequent a particular bar about 15 years ago, which had closed down. Of course he asked me the name of the bar back then. I told him the "Club Palomino". He was really surprised and told me he used to play there. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not! He said he would send me a picture of his band. I thought, "yeah right" to myself as I waited patiently in front of my computer for the picture. Lo and behold, a huge picture came up on my screen, "CHEYENNE" "CLUB PALOMINO". I freaked! I couldn't believe it! It was him in the picture with "Cheyenne". The guy I was interested in was the rhythm guitar player in my favourite band. I was so shocked that I went crazy seeing this picture! It was just unbelievable! Like a miracle happened suddenly! Like a fairy tale! We carried on chatting every moment we had for some time, and eventually he gave me his phone number. We started talking on the phone every night. It was just amazing all the things we had in common about everything! Yes, it was too good to be true! After about 3 weeks of talking on the phone every night, chatting on the computer & exchanging pictures, we decided to meet. I was brave enough for him to pick me up at my mother's place as I developed this trust in him, by his voice and his honesty. I met him downstairs in front of my mother's apartment building. He got out of his car, and the first thing we did was look at each other and started laughing and laughing like crazy, and couldn't stop laughing! He took me to the local Canadian Legion where we talked, had a drink together (still laughing) and we got more acquainted. Eventually we went into another room and sat down at a table. After a while, he asked me if I didn't mind if he got up on stage to do a solo. Hey, a man singing with his guitar was like being in heaven. He got up on stage and started playing his guitar and singing in front of an audience. That did it for me. I was hooked! And the guy I admired 15 years ago was performing in front of my eyes, and, was my date! I was in heaven! We dated for about 2 years and it was absolutely wonderful. Eventually we bought a condo and have been living together for over 2 years now. Then, the final surprise! After moving into our condo, we looked out the window and to our astonishment what did we see? The office building of the dating site we joined of all things! What a coincidence that was! In March of 2008, it will be 5 years being together, playing music, and still laughing! We are just two peas in a pod!

He met my friend who I was with at the Club Palomino 15 years ago, and he also remembered seeing us dancing while his band "Cheyenne" played. He also remembered me standing at the bar at times. I used to watch him go to the bar for his coffee and I know our eyes met each other's at that time. It sure is strange crossing one another's paths some 15 years ago - and now, being together in a different time in the future, and remembering! And by the way, that blonde girl he was with at the Club Palomino, was the girl he eventually married which lasted 8 years. He went through a brutal divorce. He did tell me that when I first saw him at the Club Palomino 15 years ago, that I should have approached him and told him "she was bad news". It's funny how life is - it just wasn't meant to be back then. Fate brought us together. We met our "soul mates"! Thanks to the net, we found our true love! --- Copyright 2007 Jeannette Gardner

Failure List of The Famous

When you feel a little discouraged, just remember what these people accomplished when everyone else looked at them as failures. Believe in Yourself! Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school and was considered "unpromising." When Thomas Edison was a youngster, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. He was counseled to go into a field where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality. F.W. Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21, but his boss would not permit him to wait on customers because he "didn't have enough sense to close a sale." Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Bob Cousy, a legendary Boston Celtic basketball player, suffered the same fate, but he too is a Hall of Famer. A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas." Winston Churchill failed 6th grade and had to repeat it because he did not complete the tests that were required for promotion. Babe Ruth struck out 1,300 times, a major league record. A person may make mistakes, but is not a failure until he or she starts blaming someone else. We must believe in ourselves, and somewhere along the road of life we will meet someone who sees greatness in us and lets us know it. --- Author Unknown --- Submitted by Pronab Das --- India