Category Archives: Quotations

Honoring Saint Teresa of Kolkata (Mother Teresa)

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

motherteresaIt’s official.

Earlier today, Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint at a mass in St. Peter’s Square. Two miraculous cures of the sick after Mother Teresa’s death in 1997 have been attributed to her intercession.

Born Agnes Goinsha to Albanian parents, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor. She began her charitable work in the slums of Calcutta and later founded the order of Missionaries of Charity. Today, that network has grown to over 4,500 nuns, operating nursing homes, orphanages, hospices, and other programs around the world.

Honored by many world and religious leaders including Pope John Paul II, Indira Gandhi, and Queen Elizabeth, Mother Teresa has also been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Congressional Gold Medal (1997).

My favorite quotations from Saint Teresa…

Peace begins with a smile.

In this life, we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

Some people come in your life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.

Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

You have never really loved until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

If you do something out of duty, it will deplete you. But if you do something out of love, it will energize you.

Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

Happy Birthday Dalai Lama!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Today, the Dalai Lama celebrates his 81st birthday. The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he continues to inspire us with messages of non-violence and universal compassion.

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Here are ten of my favorite quotes from His Holiness…

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.

Someone else’s action should not determine your response.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman’s hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion.


Happy Summer!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

summer-solstice-clipartLonger days and shorter nights…Today marks the start of the summer solstice.

The term “solstice” is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). The sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days. The rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt on its axis—roughly 23.5 degrees—causes the sun’s path in the sky to rise and fall from one day to the next.

Here are ten of my favorite “summer” quotations:

Summer’s lease hath all too short a date. ~ William Shakespeare

Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.
~ Jenny Han

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime! ~ Kenny Chesney

Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds. ~ Regina Brett

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. ~ Sam Keen

Summertime is always the best of what might be. ~ Charles Bowden

I love how summer just wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket.
~ Kellie Elmore

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~ Celia Thaxter

The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ~ Wallace Stevens

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Remembering Mr. Hockey

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

gordiehowe1Yesterday, Gordie Howe, a.k.a. “Mr. Hockey,” passed away at the age of 88. Gifted on the ice and humble off it, he’s considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Born in the small farming town of Floral, Saskatchewan, he put on a pair of ice skates at the age of four years. He played in an organized league and had a tryout with the NHL’s New York Rangers at age fifteen but failed to impress. A year later, a Red Wings scout discovered Gordie Howe and two years after that, in October 1946, he scored a goal in his NHL debut in what proved to be the start of one of the game’s most prolific careers.

He went on to become a 23-time All-Star, won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player six times, and led the league in scoring six times.

Over his professional career, Gordie Howe played a remarkable 2,421 games, including playoffs. He is second on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 801, behind Wayne Gretzky with 894, and fourth on the points list with 1,850.

My favorite Gordie Howe quotes…

You’ve got to love what you’re doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains, and continue to play for a long, long time.

I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you’re the one talking.

There’s always something in the game you wish you would have done different. That’s why players improve, because they learn from what they did before. They might have been guessing before, but now they know.

You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave—win or lose.

Age has nothing to do with it. Heck, I played until I was 52 so I could play with my sons, Mark and Marty. In fact, at 52, I was leading scorer on the team until Christmas before they benched me.

My philosophy is never start talking about ‘if,’ ‘and,’ ‘but’ or the past, because 90 percent of what follows will be negative.

Love this oldie-goldie recorded by Big Bob and The Dollars in 1963:


Honoring Muhammad Ali

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Eloquent. Colorful. Controversial. Inspiring. These are only a handful of descriptors that come to mind when Mohammad Ali’s name is mentioned. Known as “The Greatest,” he reached his peak in the 1970s and was among the most recognizable faces on Earth. This past Friday, the three-time boxing champion died in a Phoenix hospital where he was being treated for a respiratory issue.

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Here are ten of my favorite quotations from Mohammad Ali:

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.

Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.

Don’t count the days, make the days count.

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.

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 the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.

The man with no imagination has no wings.


Remembering Dr. Wayne Dyer

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Brilliant. Inspiring. Visionary. Teacher. Speaker. Author.

These are only a handful of descriptors that can be used to describe this pioneer in the personal-development field.

Today would have been Dr. Wayne Dyer’s 76th birthday. I’m honoring his birthday by recalling 10 quotes that have motivated and inspired me for over three decades.

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“Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.”

“If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t you will see obstacles.”

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”

“Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.”

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.”

“Conflict cannot survive without your participation.”

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”

“How people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours.”

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”

“It’s never crowded along the extra mile.”

Do you have a favorite quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer?

Inspiration Between the Lines

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m thrilled to welcome Soul Mate author Linda Bradley to my blog. Today, Linda shares her favorite quotations and her debut novel, Maggie’s Way.

Here’s Linda!

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It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
Henry David Thoreau

This world is but a canvas to our imagination.
Henry David Thoreau

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.
Vincent Van Gogh
Me: I dream of words and I write them.

Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.
Stephen King

Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.
Stephen King

Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you
Proverb
Me: Dear Bear, Pride is righteous. Let’s not let it destroy the journey.

Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.
Omar Bradley

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.
Jane Austen

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.
Jane Austen

Harry: I have never lied to you, I have always told you some version of the truth.
Erica Barry: The truth doesn’t have versions, okay?
Something’s Gotta Give (Jack Nicholson/Dianne Keaton)
Me: I’m with Erica on this.

Put blinders on to those things that conspire to hold you back, especially the ones in your own head.
Meryl Streep

maggiesway

Blurb

Middle-aged, Maggie Abernathy just wants to recuperate from cancer during the solitude of summer vacation after a tiresome year of teaching second grade. Maggie’s plans are foiled when precocious seven-year-old, Chloe McIntyre moves in next door with her dad, John. Maggie’s life changes in a way she could never imagine when the pesky new neighbors steal her heart. With Maggie’s grown son away, her ex-husband in the shadows, her meddling mother’s unannounced visits, and Chloe McIntyre on her heels, somehow Maggie’s empty house becomes home again.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Bio

Linda’s inspiration comes from her favorite authors and life itself. Her women’s fiction highlights characters that peel away outer layers of life to discover the heart of their dreams with some unexpected twists and turns along the way. Her writing integrates humor found in everyday situations, as well as touching moments that make readers connect with her characters. Maggie’s Way is her debut novel, in her Montana Bound Series. She is currently working on Maggie’s Fork in the Road and Maggie’s Montana.

Linda has an Associates Degree in Interior Design and a Master’s Degree in Reading and Language Arts with undergraduate work in Elementary Education and Fine Arts. She wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled, The Hunter for her Master’s Degree. Linda is a member of RWA, as well as the Greater Detroit Chapter of RWA.

Linda has two grown sons, lives with her husband, and rescue dog in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Where to find Linda…

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Interview with Romance Debuts

Leave a comment – you could win an e-book of Maggie’s Way.


Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

martinlutherking

Today is Martin Luther King Day, an American federal holiday that marks the birthday of an inspirational clergyman, activist, and leader who is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights in the United States.

My favorite quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King…

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

The time is always right to do what is right.


10 Inspiring Quotations for the New Year

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Setting New Year’s resolutions can be daunting. If you struggle with this task why not draw on the collective wisdom of these poets, authors, and leaders.

inspiration

1. Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous New Year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source – a Sower of Dreams – just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true. Sarah Ban Breathnach

2. The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” Melody Beattie

3. Each year’s regrets are envelopes in which messages of hope are found for the New Year. John R. Dallas Jr.

4. For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. T.S. Eliot

5. Maybe this year…We ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman

6. Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. Charles Kettering

7. We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. Edith Lovejoy Pierce

8. And now we welcome the New Year. Full of things that have never been. Rainer Maria Rilke

9. Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’ Alfred Lord Tennyson

10. Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. Oprah Winfrey

Happy New Year!

Happy Autumn!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

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Whenever I look out at Nature’s breathtaking fall palette, I am inspired and invigorated to start anew. Anything and everything is possible during the cool, crisp days of autumn.

Some of my favorite quotations…

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face. John Donne

Autumn, the year’s last loveliest smile. William Cullen Bryant

Autumn, the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. Samuel Butler

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn. Emily Dickinson

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all. Stanley Horowitz

Autumn asks that we prepare for the future—that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go—to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness. Bonaro W. Overstreet

I’ve never known anyone yet who doesn’t suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around…We’re all eight years old and anything is possible. Sue Grafton

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus

Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. Elizabeth Lawrence