After over a year and a half hiatus from posts, The Woodsman returns with way too many Starred Thoughts, in alphabetical order, stolen of course from somewhere else, as always, although he can't seem to remember where from . . . Anyway,
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Act now. For now is all you have. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success. Action will destroy your procrastination. All men must stumble often to reach the truth. All nature is a circle of moods and you are a part of nature and so, like the tides, your moods will rise; your moods will fall. All your problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. Always let your reach exceed your grasp. Always raise your goals as soon as they are attained. Always strive to make the next hour better than this one. Always take another step. If that is to no avail take another, and yet another. One step at a time is not too difficult. Any act with practice becomes easy. Apply all of your efforts to become the highest mountain of all and strain your potential until it cries for mercy. Avoid with fury the killers of time. Bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed. Bathe me in good habits that the bad ones may drown. Be happy. Be hungry for success. Be prepared to control whatever personality awakes in you each day. Become master of yourself. Begin now to accent your differences. Beginning today, you can increase your accomplishments of yesterday by a hundredfold. Bury doubt under faith. Cherish each hour of this day for it can never return. Chuckle and your burdens will be lightened. Concentrate your energy on the challenge of the moment. Confidence will take away your fear. Consider each obstacle as a mere detour to your goal and a challenge to your profession. Consider each obstacle as a mere detour to your goal. Count your blessings today. Cultivate the habit of laughter. Destroy procrastination with action. Dismember fear with confidence. Do not allow yesterday's success to lull you into today's complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. Do not be satisfied with yesterday's accomplishments or indulge in self-praise for deeds which are too small to even acknowledge. Do not commit the terrible crime of aiming too low. Do not dwell on the past. Do not judge a man on one meeting. Do not listen to those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Do not make vain attempts to imitate others. Do not permit the petty happenings of today to disturb you. Do not think of yesterday or tomorrow. Do not waste a moment mourning yesterday's misfortunes, yesterday's defeats, or yesterday's aches of the heart. Drink every minute to its fill; savor its taste and give thanks. Drive a bad habit from your life and replace it with one which will bring you closer to success. Each day will be triumphant only when your smiles bring forth smiles from others. Each failure to sell will increase your chances for success at your next attempt. Each frown you meet only prepares you for the smile to come. Each minute of today will be more fruitful than the hours of yesterday. Your last must be your best. Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them and you throw away your future. Each struggle, each defeat sharpens your skills and strengthens your courage and your endurance. Enjoy today's happiness today. Failure does not course through your veins as you were not delivered into this world in defeat. Failure no longer will be my payment for struggle. Failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough. For now you know one of the greatest principles of success; if you persist long enough you will win. Forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of your life. Fulfill today's duties today. Good habits are the key to all success. Grant me compassion for weaknesses in others. Grasp each minute of this day with both hands and fondle it with love for its value is beyond price. Green grass grows where dry desert ends. Greet the sunrise with cries of joy. Happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal. Have confidence that this will be the best day of your life. I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why would the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today? I consider poverty to be the mark of a lack of ability or a lack of ambition. I have a choice and I will not let my life be fed to swine nor will I let it be ground under the rocks of failure and despair to be broken open and devoured by the will of others. I have not time to hate, only time to love. I need not wait for I have the power to choose my own destiny. I shall live this day as if it is my last. And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. I will be successful. I will command, and I will obey mine own command. I will do the work that a failure will not do. I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will form good habits and become their slave. I will greet this day with love in my heart. I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed. I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends. I will laugh at evil and it will die untasted. I will look on all things with love, and I will be born again. I will love all mankind. I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they may be hidden. I will love myself. I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace. I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will persist until I succeed. I will persist and I will win. I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late. I will talk when the failure remains silent. I will think naught of my profession when I am in my home for this will dampen my love. I will toil and I will endure. I will walk where the failure fears to walk. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart. I will work when the failure seeks rest. If all things shall pass, why should I be of concern for today ? If I delay, success will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed. If I stumble I will rise, and my falls will not concern me. If you bring joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to your customers, they will react with joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter and your weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for you. If you feel depressed - sing! If you feel fear, plunge ahead. If you feel incompetent, remember past successes. If you feel insignificant, remember your goals. If you feel poverty, think of wealth to come. If you feel sad - laugh. If you must be a slave to habit, then be a slave to good habits. If you persist long enough, you will win. If you waste today, you destroy the last page of your life. Ignore the obstacles at your feet and keep your eyes on the goals above your head. In setting my goals, I will consider my best performance of the past and multiply it a hundredfold. Increase your knowledge of mankind. It pays to be persistent. Just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger. Just as nature made no provision for your body to tolerate pain neither has it made any provision for your life to suffer failure. Keep work and family separate. Laugh and your life will be lengthened for this is the great secret of long life. Laugh at goodness and it will thrive and abound. Laugh at the world. Laugh at your failures and they will vanish in clouds of new dreams. Laugh at your successes and they will shrink to their true value. Laugh at yourself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously. Leave your problems at home. Lift up a friend in need. Lift your arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day. Live this day as if it is your last. Seal up the container of life so that not one drop spills itself upon the sand. Live this day as if it is your last. Live today as if it is your last chance to prove your love and your greatness. Look upon each obstacle as a lesson to be learned. Look upon misfortune as opportunity in disguise. Love the darkness because it shows you the stars. Love will melt all hearts like the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay. Love yourself! Make every hour count and trade each minute only for something of value. Make love your greatest weapon. Make the hours ahead priceless! Make this day the best day of your life. Many face each obstacle in their path with fear and doubt and consider them as enemies, when in truth, these obstructions are friends and helpers. Many succumb to despair and fail without realizing that they already possess all the tools needed to acquire great wealth. Master your emotions so that each day will be productive. Master your moods through positive action and when you master your moods you will control your destiny. Meditation and prayer feeds the soul. My desire to meet the world will overcome every fear I once knew, and I will be happier than I ever believed it possible to be in this world of strife and sorrow. Nature knows not defeat. Never allow yourself to become so important, so wise, so dignified, so powerful, that you forget how to laugh at yourself. Never be satisfied with yesterday's accomplishments. Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I labor to be happy; rather will I remain too busy to be sad. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. No longer shall my vocabulary include such words as cannot, unable, impossible, and quit. No longer will I fail to call again tomorrow on he who meets me with hate today. Obstacles are necessary for success. Only a habit can subdue another habit. Only action determines my value in the market place. Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor. Only with laughter and happiness can you truly become a success. People will always respond positively to joy and enthusiasm. Persist and develop your skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm. Persist with the knowledge that each failure to sell will increase your chance for success at the next attempt. Practice the art of patience for nature never acts in haste. Put your uniqueness on display in the market place. Rain cleanses the spirit. Remember that as today's dead flower carries the seed of tomorrow's bloom so does today's sadness carry the seed of tomorrow's joy. Remove from your vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. Rewards are great if one succeeds but the rewards are great only because so few succeed. Seek constantly to improve your manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted. Set goals for the day, the week, the month, the year, and your life. Should you concern yourself over events which you may never witness? Should you torment yourself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, think of it no more. Sleep in peace for you have not failed. Small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking. Smile and your digestion will improve. So long as I can laugh, never will I be poor. So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. Strive for happiness and peace of mind. Strive for happiness, to be loved and to love, and most important, to acquire peace of mind and serenity. Strive to become better than you are. Strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts. Success comes to those willing to work a little bit harder than the rest. Success will not wait. Suffer me to know that all things shall pass. The height of my goals will not hold me in awe though I may stumble often before they are reached. The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in their habits. The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. The problems of the market place will be left in the market place. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny. There are good qualities in everyone. There are lessons to be learned from failures. There is no room in the market place for your family, nor is there room in your home for the market. There is not time to hate, only time to love. This day is all you have and these hours are now your eternity. Greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. This is the place. This is the time. This too shall pass. Time teaches all things to him who lives forever, but I have not the luxury of eternity. To conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutters in my heart will vanish. To enjoy success I must have happiness, and laughter will be the maiden who serves me. To multiply your value you must multiply your actions. To surpass the deeds of others is unimportant; to surpass your own deeds is all. Today I begin a new life. Today I shed my old skin which hath too long suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediocrity. Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold. Today I will surpass every action which I performed yesterday. Today you will be master of your emotions. Today, I will act. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday. True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse. Try again, make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails, make another. Try, and try, and try again. Understand and recognize the moods of others. Make allowances for their anger and irritation for they know not the secret of controlling their minds. Unless you act you will perish in a life of failure, misery, and sleepless nights. Unless you put your skills, mind, heart, and body to good use, you will stagnate, rot, and die. Victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. We must have the night to appreciate the day. Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts. Welcome happiness for it enlarges your heart; endure sadness for it opens your soul. What can take place before this sun sets which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries? What is success other than a state of mind? When an act becomes easy through constant repetition, it becomes a pleasure to perform, and if it is a pleasure to perform, it is man's nature to perform it often. When I am burdened with wealth I shall tell myself that this too shall pass. When I am moved to praise, I will shout from the roofs. When I am puffed with success I shall warn myself that this too shall pass. When I am strangled in poverty I shall tell myself that this too shall pass. When I am tempted to criticize, I will bite on my tongue. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full. When you are heavy with heartache console yourself that this too shall pass. Where dry desert ends, green grass grows. Where there are idle mouths I will listen not; where there are idle hands I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not. Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence? With each victory the next struggle becomes less difficult. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts, and in its place, I will build bridges so that my love may enter their souls. Within you burns a flame which has been passed from generations uncounted, and its heat is a constant irritation to your spirit to become better than you are, and you will. Yesterday's joy will become today's sadness; yet today's sadness will grow into tomorrow's joy. Yesterday's success will not lull me into today's complacency. Yesterday is buried forever, think of it no more. You are a unique creature. You are here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. You are nature's greatest miracle. You are rare, and there is value in all rarity; therefore, you are valuable. You can accomplish far more than you have, and you will. You can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles with ambition. You have been given eyes to see and a mind to think. You have but one life and life is naught but a measurement of time. You have unlimited potential. You may encounter failure at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. You will never know how close success lies unless you turn the corner. You must fail often to succeed only once. You must have objectives before your life will crystallize. You must nurture your body and mind in order to fulfill your dreams. You only have time to love. You were conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose. You will become great. You won't know how close success is unless you turn the corner.
Starred Thought: The lasting measure of a man is not what society thinks of him, but rather what his actions teach him that he is. Starred Thought: Divide and rule, a sound motto; unite and lead, a better one. Starred Thought: Commitment is the fuel that drives the common man to complete the uncommon task. Starred Thought: Destiny is not a thing of chance, but of choice. It is not something to be waited for, but to be achieved. Starred Thought: When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. Starred Thought: Either find a way, or make one. Starred Thought: Every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. Starred Thought: Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. Starred Thought: It is not the will to succeed, but the will to prepare to succeed that makes the difference. Starred Thought: Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal. Starred Thought: That which costs little is less valued. Starred Thought: The real secret to success is enthusiasm. Starred Thought: Over every mountain is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. Starred Thought: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Starred Thought: Everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives. Starred Thought: Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision. Starred Thought: You can tell whether someone is clever by their answers. You can tell whether someone is wise by their questions. Starred Thought: Laziness may appear attractive but work gives satisfaction. Starred Thought: A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it. Starred Thought: We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. Starred Thought: When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. Starred Thought: Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Starred Thought: You're never a loser until you quit trying. Starred Thought: Passion holds up the bottom of the universe and genius paints up its roof. Starred Thought: Give the world the best that you have, and the best will come back to you. Starred Thought: You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself. Starred Thought: It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen. Starred Thought: To the timid soul, nothing is possible. Starred Thought: Thorough preparation makes its own luck. Starred Thought: We don't know who we are until we see what we can do. Starred Thought: There is never a better measure of what a person is than what they do when they're absolutely free to choose. Starred Thought: A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of their opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities of their difficulties. Starred Thought: Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities. Starred Thought: The mind is just another muscle. Starred Thought: To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have. Starred Thought: It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Starred Thought: Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Starred Thought: Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. Starred Thought: It's not what you can do; it's not what you will do; it's what you do do. Starred Thought: Caring is a choice of behaviour. Starred Thought: We cannot give to others what we do not have for ourselves. Starred Thought: You control your thoughts. Your thoughts control your feelings. Your feelings control your behaviour. Therefore you control all of these. Starred Thought: Failure is a stepping stone to achievement. Starred Thought: There will never be success without failure. Starred Thought: Failing to plan means planning to fail. Starred Thought: A person who does not improve is no better than a person who cannot improve. Starred Thought: The success of any leader is in direct proportion to their ability to produce excellence in the people they are leading. Starred Thought: A mistake is at least evidence that someone tried to do something. Starred Thought: The important thing is this: to be able at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. Starred Thought: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Starred Thought: The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a person's foot long enough to enable them to put the other somewhat higher. Starred Thought: When we think positively and imagine what we want, we risk disappointment; when we don't, we ensure it. Starred Thought: Real leadership comes out of action. Starred Thought: There are no limits to the amount of good you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit. Starred Thought: Act- don't react. Starred Thought: We must deal with what is, not what should be. Starred Thought: The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again . . . who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Starred Thought: Whenever we blame, we give up our power over the situation. Starred Thought: It is often uncomfortable to discuss being uncomfortable. Starred Thought: Where I was is destroyed, where I am stands condemned, where I shall be is just now being built. Starred Thought: You will never do better than you think you can. Starred Thought: We become who we think we are. Starred Thought: Success is not an accident. Starred Thought: The price of success is doing what others don't want to do, or going the extra mile when others have chosen to give up. Starred Thought: Find out what unsuccessful people do, and don't do it. Starred Thought: The truly successful person sees rejection as a chance to learn and grow. Starred Thought: We repeat any behaviour for which we are rewarded. Starred Thought: Enthusiasm makes life worth living. Starred Thought: Enthusiasm is often misinterpreted as cheap theatrics, over-dramatization, or even a substitute for credible information. Starred Thought: Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. Starred Thought: People are more important than titles. Starred Thought: The most effective form of leadership is positive role modeling. Starred Thought: Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can't get it wrong. Starred Thought: Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can. Starred Thought: Nobody can motivate another person. Starred Thought: Motivation is, at all times, an individual choice. Starred Thought: Those at the top of the class don't always prove to be the front-runners in the profession. Starred Thought: If you blame others for your failures, do you credit them with your success? Starred Thought: We will be students forever. Starred Thought: Oversleeping will never make dreams come true. Starred Thought: Rationalization is the archenemy of discipline. Starred Thought: Focus on the solution, not the problem. Starred Thought: To be a genuine individualist requires a great deal of strength and courage. It is never easy to chart new territory, to cross new frontiers, or to introduce subtle shadings to an established colour. Starred Thought: It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping themselves. Starred Thought: Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you want to do it or not, without anybody asking. Starred Thought: Tenacity is an attribute necessary for attaining excellence at any discipline. Starred Thought: Most people never listen. Starred Thought: It is the province of knowledge to speak; it is the privilege of wisdom to listen. Starred Thought: Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Starred Thought: While you're dealing with the fear that it can't be done, somebody else is doing it. Starred Thought: Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Starred Thought: When you devote yourself to an ideal, you become more than just human- you become legend. Starred Thought: Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Starred Thought: Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Starred Thought: Demand excellence from yourself Starred Thought: When you fall, fall forward- at least you're making progress. Starred Thought: Music is feeling, rather than sound. Starred Thought: Don't take life too seriously or you'll never get out alive. Starred Thought: Sometimes you have to let your heart lead you, even if you know it's someplace you know you're not supposed to be. Starred Thought: Resignation is simply a more cynical, self-righteous form of complacency. Starred Thought: Ignorance breeds ignorance, but education breeds understanding.
"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." -Harry, "When Harry Met Sally"
Starred Thought: Don't talk about it: Be about it. (Scott Sweet, TKE)
Starred Thought: We forge our own destinies, take our own measures, yet cannot face hardships or seek the meaning of life without by degrees becoming whatever we expect to find.
Starred Thought: The lasting measure of a man is not what society thinks of him, but rather what his actions teach him that he is.
Starred Thought: "Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite of it, and then it will gradually yield to him." -Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Starred Thought: It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
Starred Thought: Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Starred Thought: The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
Starred Thought: Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Starred Thought: If you forget who you were, you will never really know who you are.
Starred Thought: Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.
Starred Thought: Never let fact interfere with a good story.
Starred Thought: If you are going through hell, keep going.
Starred Thought: If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Starred Thought: Of what one cannot speak, of that one must remain silent.
Starred Thought: They love to tell you to stay inside the lines, but there may be something better on the other side.
Starred Thought: Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
Starred Thought: Remember who you are. Remember why you're doing this.