“Do not take the agenda that someone else has mapped out for your life.”

“This helps me ‘keep the main thing, the main thing,’ since I am so easily distracted.” You may want to do something similar,

“Several years ago Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s book, Psycho-Cybernetics, was one of the most popular books on the market. Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who often took disfigured faces and made them more attractive. He observed that in every case, the patient’s self-image rose with his and her physical improvement. In addition to being a successful surgeon, Dr. Maltz was a great psychologist who understood human nature. A wealthy woman was greatly concerned about her son, and she came to Dr. Maltz for advice. She had hoped that the son would assume the family business following her husband’s death, but when the son came of age, he refused to assume that responsibility and chose to enter an entirely different field. She thought Dr. Maltz could help convince the boy that he was making a grave error. The doctor agreed to see him, and he probed into the reasons for the young man’s decision. The son explained, “I would have loved to take over the family business, but you don’t understand the relationship I had with my father. He was a driven man who came up the hard way. His objective was to teach me self-reliance, but he made a drastic mistake. He tried to teach me that principle in a negative way. He thought the best way to teach me self-reliance was to never encourage or praise me. He wanted me to be tough and independent. Every day we played catch in the yard. The object was for me to catch the ball ten straight times. I would catch that ball eight or nine times, but always on that tenth throw he would do everything possible to make me miss it. He would throw it on the ground or over my head but always so I had no chance of catching it.” The young man paused for a moment and then said, “He never let me catch the tenth ball—never! And I guess that’s why I have to get away from his business; I want to catch that tenth ball!”

“POSITIVE ATTITUDE: THE FIRST KEY TO WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU”

“The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be.”

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.”

“Have to sow excellent seeds to have an excellent life. Must start with sowing excellent thoughts.”

“Believe while others are doubting. Plan while others are playing. Study while others are sleeping. Decide while others are delaying. Prepare while others are daydreaming. Begin while others are procrastinating. Work while others are wishing. Save while others are wasting. Listen while others are talking. Smile while others are frowning. Commend while others are criticizing. Persist while others are quitting.”

“I believed that if you have the heart to make a difference, there is always an answer, but if you have a heart of indifference, there is never an answer.”

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”

“Anytime you are in front of other people to communicate— whether it’s on a stage, in a boardroom, on a ball field, or across a coffee table—the visual impression you make will either help or hinder you.”

“Vision isn’t enough—it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.”

“A great team with no bench eventually collapses. The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork”

“My Influence My life shall touch a dozen lives Before this day is done. Leave countless marks of good or ill, E’er sets the evening sun. This, the wish I always wish, The prayer I always pray; Lord, may my life help others’ lives It touches by the way.7”

“What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” —RALPH WALDO EMERSON”