“that we would receive the overwhelming message that the vast majority of adults feel they have no talent in these areas. On the other hand, if we were to conduct the same poll among 4-year-olds, we would find that virtually all of them are convinced they can sing, and virtually all of them have confidence in their ability to dance. Most of the 4-year-olds have little or no real talent, but, instead, they are endowed with incredible confidence in their own potential. This confidence, or certainty of success, is something we were all born with but we later traded in for a strong dose of what we call realism. Shortly after we reach school age, we are taught lessons about the world that revolve around us, limiting our vision and becoming realistic.”
―
Jim Stovall
“It is impossible to experience fear, hate, or defeat when we are laughing.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Love is a treasure for which we can never pay. The only way we keep it is to give it away.”
―
Jim Stovall
“I defy you to find a statue or a monument ever erected to anyone because they were realistic. All dreamers, all achievers, all great people kept their child-like faith in their own dream and their ability to carry it out, and these great people had an inordinate gift to disregard the word's cries for reality.”
―
Jim Stovall
“What we all seek is not necessarily success but our own comfort zone.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Remember that a wish held fervently turns into belief, and a belief held diligently becomes reality.”
―
Jim Stovall
“A journey should never be judged by the destination or mode of transportation. It should be judged by the friends who accompany us on the trip.”
―
Jim Stovall
“gentlemen have leant their talent, time, and energy to this project. Please note that the columns appear here just as they were printed in publications around the world. Some of them are more than a decade old at this writing, but the wisdom is eternal, and the context creates points”
―
Jim Stovall
“Conventional wisdom would say that the less you give, the more you have. The converse is true. The more you give, the more you have.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Anything good, honorable, and desirable in life is based on love. Anything bad or evil is simply life without the love involved.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even if no one is watching.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Happiness is often elusive and fleeting. There are three elements that, when combined, always result in happiness. Like a three-legged stool, they work in tandem. Any two of the three”
―
Jim Stovall
“believed that God is always a good God. Facing difficulties, he lost his job. His home was about to be taken and all seemed hopeless. Braxton prayed”
―
Jim Stovall
“I have always found it ironic that the people in this world who have the most to be thankful for are often the least thankful, and somehow the people who have virtually nothing, many times live lives full of gratitude.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Tournament. For months, every team in the country has a goal of making it to the tournament. Then, at the end of the season, 64 teams are selected from various parts of the country. As the tournament progresses, teams are eliminated one-by-one until, at the end of the season, the team remaining is named the national champion. Among all of the participants who began at the beginning of the season, and among all the top 64 who actually made the tournament, only one team comes out on top. If this is our only goal, the majority of us are doomed”
―
Jim Stovall
