Opportunity for Optimism

March 13, 2013 by  
Filed under Quotable Quotations

To open each day, one of the first things I like to do in the morning is turn up the blinds in my home and let natural light shine through.  Similarly, when I walk into my classroom in the morning and find the dark curtains closed, I immediately open them for a burst of energy to kickstart the day.  

Once I have this natural light streaming in and the energy flowing, there’s one little trick I do to intensify those positive vibes.  Almost considered old school with our iPad screens projecting these days, I scribble a handwritten note on the board.  It can be a quotation or word of the day, a run-down of the day’s agenda, or a simple “Good Morning.”  As messy as my handwriting can be, it’s a surprisingly effective way to lift the spirits.

The act of writing something down – and then reading it – forces our minds to focus on those words and the feelings they create. Try this:  write a happy little note or quotation and put it in a place that you’ll see often: on the refrigerator, on a post-it note stuck onto your bathroom mirror, on a scrap paper tucked inside your wallet or purse… Every time your eyes gaze upon that note, make a point to take a moment and really READ the words. Think about what they mean, why you wrote them, and how they make you feel. Take a moment to try this little trick and I bet your lingering winter days will feel a bit warmer.   By the same token, tuck a handwritten encouraging word into the belongings of someone you love to discover later in the day and, voilà, you’ve just made his or her day a little brighter.  

That’s the power of writing . . .

Here’s something on one of my blackboards at home right now . . .

A positive quotation is a gentle reminder that each day brings another opportunity for optimism.

A positive quotation is a gentle reminder that each day brings another opportunity for optimism.

 

Collaborating Words

January 9, 2011 by  
Filed under Quotable Quotations

Fresh from this evening’s EC Ning Webstitute, “Work with Me:  The Essence of Authentic Collaboration,”

I’m devoting my most recent collection of Quotable Quotations to the art of collaboration.  Teamwork!


  • “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” ~Henry Ford
  • “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” ~Isaac Newton  Ask the experts, work with the best of the best.
  • “Individually, we are one drop.  Together, we are an ocean.” ~ Ryunosuke Satoro
  • “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” ~ Anonymous
  • “Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it.” ~Bill Bradley   . . . a good formula to follow
  • “Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe   A little goes a long way if we all pitch in.
  • “One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up, add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts but team work dynamites.”  ~ Jin Kwon
  • “It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.” ~ Anonymous
  • “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” ~ Henry Ford  Everything has a way of falling into place.
  • “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery . . . The author of one of my favorites, “The Little Prince.”
  • “Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.” ~ Andre Gide  I like this one a lot!!

`