"Apple Seeds" Motivation, Inspiration Quotations, March 2002

Excellence is an Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aristotle, Powerquotes, Vol. 6, # 24

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we, rather, have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Friar’s Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Mychal Judge, OFM

The NYC Fire Dept. Chaplain, Franciscan friar, Mychal F. Judge wrote the following brief prayer. It was found in his pocket after he died in the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack while ministering to others:

Lord, take me where You want me to go;
Let me meet who You want me to meet;
Tell me what You want me to say, and
Keep me out of Your way.

Marshall Ramsey firefighters with flag at World Trade Center

Don’t Kid Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn, JimRohn.com

“Direction determines destination. So here is a question you must ask yourself, ‘Are all the disciplines that I’m currently engaged in taking me where I want to go?’ What an important question to ask yourself at the beginning of the month, the beginning of the week, the beginning of the day. Because here is what you don’t ever want to do—kid yourself. Kid your neighbor, kid me and kid the marketplace, but don’t kid yourself—fingers crossed—hoping you will arrive at a good destination when you’re not even headed that way.

You have to ask yourself often, Am I? Am I doing the disciplines that are taking me in the direction I want to go? Don’t neglect to ask these important questions, questions that help determine your direction, the set of your sail, your destination.”

Regrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney J. Harris, Top Achievement

“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”

Library of Good Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henry Ward Beecher

“Let us pity those poor rich men who live barrenly in great bookless houses! Let us congratulate the poor that, in our day, books are so cheap that a man may every year add a hundred volumes to his library for the price of what his tobacco and beer would cost him. Among the earliest ambitions to be excited in clerks, workmen, journeymen, and, indeed, among all that are struggling up from nothing to something, is that of owning and constantly adding to a library of good books. A little library, growing larger every year, is an honorable part of a young man’s history. It is a man’s duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life.”

On Enlightenment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neale Donald Walsch

“Enlightenment is understanding that there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nobody you have to be, except exactly who you are being right now.”

Celtic Spirituality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esther de Waal, Weavings, II, # 3

“Celtic spirituality was a practice in which ordinary people in their daily lives took the tasks that lay to hand but treated them sacramentally, as pointing to a greater reality which lay beyond them. It is an approach to life which we have been in danger of losing, this sense of allowing the extraordinary to break in on the ordinary. Perhaps it is something which we can rediscover, something which Celtic spirituality can give to us if we would let it renew our vision by teaching our eyes to see again, our ears to hear, our hands to handle.”

An Irish Blessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Andrew Greeley, The Irish, p. 57

“May your hope be…
As determined as the river racing by,
As soft as the cry of the mourning dove,
As sweet and subtle as a lover’s sigh,…
As resolute as the sun rising each day,
As certain as the return each year of spring.
May it break through the darkling clouds
And confirm you against every evil thing.
May Jesus and Mary and Patrick and Brigid
Strengthen your faith and hope and love,
And may God bless you
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

St. Patrick

The Official Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Dickson

Paul Anderson’s Law: I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it the right way, did not become still more complicated.

Golden Principle: Nothing will be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.

Short’s Quotations: Half of being smart is knowing what you’re dumb at. Understanding the laws of nature does not mean we are free from obeying them.”

Up Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward

“Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altars of conformity and popularity.”

“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”

The Aladdin Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Canfield & Mark V. Hansen

3. Fear. We become afraid of rejection, looking foolish, losing face and being vulnerable and hurt by others. As a result of these fears, we become passive. We settle for less than we really want and we sit in judgment of others who are getting what we want.…
The main overriding fear that stops us from asking for what we want is the fear of rejection.

No Room for a Farmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

In the late 1700s, the manager of a large hotel in Baltimore refused lodging to a man dressed like a farmer. He turned the farmer away because he thought this fellow’s shabby appearance would discredit the reputation of his distinguished hotel guests. The man picked up his bag and left without saying a further word to anyone.

Later that evening, the innkeeper discovered that he had turned away none other than the Vice President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson! Immediately, the manager sent a note of apology to the famed patriot, asking him to come back and be his guest in the hotel. Jefferson replied by instructing the messenger as follows, “Tell him I have already reserved a room. I value his good intentions highly but if he has no room for a common American farmer, then he has no room for the Vice President of the United States.”

How often have you been so blind that you’ve pushed people aside because you disregarded their humble circumstances? They may seem to have so little to offer you in return, but, remember, we are exhorted to show a little kindness to the least of these.

The Greatness of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

    In the 1830s Alexis de Tocqueville toured America. When his tour was completed, the French writer made this observation (paraphrased):
    “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her spacious harbors, in the mighty rivers, the streams and the lakes, in the grandeur of her mountains, the verdant fields—and it was not there.
    “I sought for the greatness in her vast industrial might, in the wealth of her mines, the public school system, and in the institutions of higher learning—and it was not there.
    “I looked for the greatness in her democratic Congress and her unsurpassed Constitution—and it was not there.
    “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”

Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!