“In those times when we yearn to have more in our lives, we should dwell on the things we already have. In doing so, we will often find that our lives are already full to overflowing.”
―
Jim Stovall
“wife and two children on the spot of barren dirt that hours before had been his home and everything he owned, he spoke the words I will keep with me always. He said, “We have lost absolutely everything. We have nothing left other than the clothes on our backs.” Then, after a brief pause, he continued, “But I guess we are lucky since our whole family is safe and sound. We have everything important.” To have lost everything and still have everything seems contradictory, but it’s not. As I reflect on the lessons presented by the young father, I realize that we all spend a lot of time accumulating things that in the final”
―
Jim Stovall
“OUR LEGACIES Every footprint that we take Makes a change where we have passed. Small things there beneath our heel Are changing where the print was cast. What then could any difference make When ruthless paths our courses take? Beneath our heel some things will bend Without the strength to rise again. Joye Kanelakos”
―
Jim Stovall
“Only when we try to understand one another's suffering can we begin to bring each other joy.”
―
Jim Stovall
“... sometimes in life, you either laugh or you cry. And I prefer to laugh.”
―
Jim Stovall
“You will hear your heartbeat again when your life is in rhythm, and there is no doubt that you’re doing what you were made to do. That’s your heartbeat; that’s when you’re truly alive and not just existing”
―
Jim Stovall
“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
“experience, and most of those experiences are painful and costly. If you can learn from someone else’s pain and expense, you are a wise person, indeed. I would encourage you to read this book, cover-to-cover, but also keep it as a reference text using the sections and individual columns as a resource you can revisit as your life journey calls for specific wisdom. It is my hope that this is not a one-time encounter that you and I are having. My hope is, in the coming months and years as you travel toward your own personal”
―
Jim Stovall
“In order to be truly happy in the largest sense of that word, we must have something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.”
―
Jim Stovall
“things in this life can be separated into two categories: Things that are valuable and things that matter.”
―
Jim Stovall
“We, here in Western civilization, have failed to master the concept of living in the moment. We spend so much time worrying about yesterday or planning tomorrow that we fail to live today.”
―
Jim Stovall
“manageable problem. “If we are not allowed to deal with small problems, we will be destroyed by slightly larger ones. When we come to understand this fact, we live our lives not avoiding problems, but welcoming them as challenges that will strengthen us so that we can be victorious in the future.”
―
Jim Stovall
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.”
―
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
“Problems can only be avoided by exercising good judgment. Good judgment can only be gained by experiencing life’s problems.”
―
Jim Stovall
