Fools you are...

Fools you are...Who like to learn from your own mistakes, I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others, and avoid the costs of my own.

- Otto Von Bismarck

I wish I could get my 7 year old to understand this. Everyone talks about how teenagers know everything. So does my 7 year old. I talked with his teacher the other day, and she was telling me, that he has been in trouble lately, because he wants to get the last word in, because he thinks she is not doing things right. When we confronted him, he told his teacher he only does that because he knows he is right, because that's the way his dad is. He told her he was just like his dad! He doesn't understand that his dad has quite a few years on him, and has learned from his mistakes as well from the mistakes of others.

We all like to think we are right, and barge into new territory, like we are the worlds leading expert. When we make mistakes, it hold us up or pushes us back. If we would take a little time to study or listen to our parents, our teachers or our peers, we could save ourselves a lot of heartache.

When you take a few minutes to study Otto Von Bismarck, you learn, that he was one of the most prominent European statesmen of the nineteenth century. He grew to have immense political power, because he saw the problems of other politicians and nobles, and learned from their mistakes.

Next time you are about to try something new, remember this, and seek out help from someone that has done it before, and learn from the mistakes they have made.

There's a fine line...

There's a fine line between fishing, and standing on the shore like an idiot.

- Steven Wright

What do you say about this, other than it's true? I just think it's funny. I think one of the best things about comedy is, there is always a little bit of truth in it.

If you can dream it...

If you can dream it; you can do it.

- Walt Disney

I got to looking at the last few quotes I have posted, and I noticed that I have talked about a lot of negatives in the world. So I need to cheer it up a little. Who else brings more joy and more cheer, than Walt Disney. He changed the world with his wit, charisma and optimism. Walt was the eternal optimist.

Most people don't know it, but Walt was bankrupt by the time he was 21 years old. Yet he had a dream. He put everything he owned on the line more than once. His first attempts at animation were moderately successful at best. But he never gave up, he kept the dream alive. Then in the summer of 1928, Mickey Mouse was born. It was then that Walt's dream came true. With the birth of Mickey, the world was changed. Today, kids and adults alike all over the world recognize Mickey Mouse.

The great thing about Walt was, once he realized his dream, the dream just got bigger! After numerous successful feature films, he open Disneyland in 1955. And the dream just got bigger! He opened Walt Disney World in October of 1971. These two parks have had hundreds of millions of visitors since.

His name has come to mean different things, Imagination, Creation, Optimism, and good ol' American made Success.

In other words, don't stop dreaming, it CAN become a reality!

It is easy to sit up...

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.

- Al Batt

Not only do I like to collect quotes, I like to know the context in which the person used them. When you refer to quotes by people like Ben Franklin or Will Rogers, they made observations about life. They were just looking to pass some wisdom along.

I love this quote, but I don't know the context in which is was used. So, with that being said, I'll just pass on what I think is means and how we can put it to use.

The President is doing a bad job, we shouldn't be in Iraq, gas prices are too high, I don't make enough money, he has a better car than me, my kids don't mind me, and the list goes on and on. I don't have any of these problems. But everywhere I go, there is always someone complaining about something. Complaining is one of the easiest things in the world to do. Almost everyone has the ability to "take notice". The problem, no one wants to be the one to step up and fix it. Everyboby wants to take the easy way out. It's time people start getting up and taking action.

The next time you start to complain about something, bite your tongue for just a second and think of this quote, and try to figure what YOU can do to fix it. Once you take notice, take the road less traveled, be a part of the solution, not the problem.

The great use of life...

The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.

- William James

ME! ME! ME! My Kids! My House! My Dog! My Cat! My Stuff! That pretty much describes society today. I'm sure there have always been greedy selfish people in the world, but they seem to be every where I go today.

I went Christmas shopping last Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). Everywhere I went people were rude, impolite and down right mean. Everyone was pushing trying to be the first in line, rushing to beat someone to a parking space or snatching things off of shelves. I don't know, maybe its just me, but none of is that important to me. I would rather let the lady that has 2 children in tow, who are screaming and into everything, go ahead of me. I held the door open for people. When you do things like that people look at you like you must me insane. They aren't used to people being helpful. It's a very sad commentary on the world today!

That's why I love this quote from the great American philosopher William James. It's not about me, me, me, it's about doing something that matters. Make a mark on the world. One that will make a difference in the lives of others. Donate to a charity, help in a disaster relief program, go on a mission trip with your church, or give some time to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. The list is endless. And remember, just being kind, may make the difference in someone's day. You never know what a difference it might make. So the next time you see a Mom walking through the parking lot with a buggy full of groceries and a couple of kids, how about you remember this and let her go first, I'm sure the 10 seconds that it takes won't make that much difference in your day, but it might for her.

All we have to decide...

...that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil.

- Gandalf the Grey

As a teenager I never read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then when the movies came out, I did not want to see them, because when something is hyped that much, I am usually disappointed.

I ended up getting the first on as a gift. I had it for a couple of months, before I ever watchd it. Needless to say I made a mistake by not seeing it sooner. I loved it so much I went out and bought the books. For those of you out there that have seen the movies, but never read the books, you don't know what you're missing.

These books are filled with hundreds, if not thousands of quotes that are full of wisdom and insight. However, this is probably my favorite one.

If you may remember, Gandalf is giving this advice to Frodo, when they are in the cave near the beginning of their journey. In the book, it is actually much sooner, when Gandalf explains the Ring to Frodo, shortly after Bilbo had left. The meaning is the same, because the context in which he says it is the same.

Frodo is worried that all of these terrible things are happening in his "time". Gandalf quite simply tells him, it is not his place to worry about what happens in his time, but what he will do with the time that is given him.

This is a profound statement, that I think we can all learn something from. We all get tied up in our own lives, and all the bad things going on in the world. We don't need to "worry" about these things. It is our place to decide what we are going to do for the short time we are here. Are you going to make a difference in the world, or are you going to set back and be crushed by all the evil in the world around you!

We all have the responsibility to step up and be the absolute best we can be so that as Mark Twain says, "Let us so live, that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry"

Another related quote is from Jesus himself. It is found in Matthew 6:34; "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Render therefore unto Caesar...

Then said He unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

- Jesus Christ

This really doesn't need any commentary. Tax day is a few days away, and as much as I hate to pay them, this quote says it all.

Do, or do not...

Do, or do not. There is no try.

- Yoda

The Star Wars Trilogies. My all time favorite movies. There is just something about them. Even when I watch them today, I feel like a 7 year old kid again. And of all 6 of the movies, none of them are like The Empire Strikes Back. I don't think anyone can forget, finding out that Darth Vader was Luke's father. Or when we found out that a little elfish figure, was the Jedi Master we were looking for.

Throughout his training, Luke struggles with many things. However when confronted with raising his ship from the swamp, Luke tells Yoda, that he tried, but it is to big. Yoda makes it a point of asking Luke if he judges him by his size. The entire scene has such a wonderful message.

First of all, don't be fooled by appearances. Great things have come from some of the strangest places. Whether big or small, short or tall, we all have the ability to accomplish great feats. Yoda finally tells Luke, don't try. the point is to do it or don't.

To many times we set ourselves up for failure, because we start out thinking we will try. If we will set out thinking we can do it, we have already won half the battle.

Any fool...

"Any fool can know, the point is to understand."

- Albert Einstein

This is actually the title quote from my other blog. When I first started collecting quotes, this was one of the first ones I came across. It was the one that got me interested in collecting them, because of what is says.

Einstein had insight into so many different things. He was a student, a teacher, a philosopher, and humanitarian. Because of this, other than his Theory of Relativity, this quote could be the most profound statement he ever uttered.

It is so simple it almost doesn't need explaining. It is simply his urging to completely understand something beyond simply knowing it.

I know a lot of things, however I completly understand very few. This simple quote is what pushed me to try and gain knowledge from wherever possible.