The Quote Digest

Often times, a person can say something that touches you in ways that you never thought words could. People often do not realize the power of words. While words can cut like a knife, they can also uplift the spirit.

I was invited to a seminar once and there was a speaker educating all participants using quotes that really made a difference in my life. Ever since, I have been a quote fanatic. But while there are millions of things that have been said by others, there are certain ones that have made a positive impact on my life.

The following is a list of quotes that helped me to decide to keep on believing in my foreseen destiny. So many times I have heard to follow another path or have been dealt with doubters telling me that I would not make it. But these quotes are motivators that can help one thrust forward and to be strong in what they are pursuing. For me, my goal is to further myself in music, so most of the quotes will be based on music or simply on believing. Following the quotes will be a statement of how the quote can be used to thy own benefit.

"A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them."
- Leonard Louis Levinson

It is amazing how often we come across people who never have anything positive to bring to the table but only shine a negative light. They can often throw rocks our way that can either hurt our feelings and stunt our progressions or say mean and hurtful things just to benefit their own egos. We can either let what they think and have to say hinder us or we can use it as a stepping stone to push harder. I say push. Words and attitudes truly can break us, but it is important to not let judgments from other people be the things that make us. We are better than that.

"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference."
-Jenny Craig

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Matthew 6:21

If you like to sing and want to sign and think you are good and worth it, then sing. So what if somebody else wants to badger your desires. If it is in your heart do it because it is in your heart. But don't just do it once in a while. Work on it every day. If you like to write, write as if you have an article due for a daily newspaper in heavy rotation daily. Don't let mountains come before you and remember that giants do die.

I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Rejection is a part of life. Messing up empowers us to come with a stronger stance. If we let our failures keep us down instead of trying again like "The Writer" in Richard Wilbur's poem, we will never fly free in our destiny. If it is a dream, it is important to believe in you so that your dreams will take you higher, no matter how hard you've fallen on your first attempt. It is harder to forgive ourselves for our own mistakes than to forgive others for theirs. But remember God is a forgiving God and is patient. Being patient is the most important aspect of life. With patience, we can overcome any obstacle.

"Family is Gods way of givin u built in homies > the sane ones of course!"
- Reverend Run

Don't forget that you have family. Let them be the one that root you on. Hopefully you have some this far in life and have someone who has your back. Whoever you consider family can be the people that cheer you on. Show them what you got first and ask their opinions. Not only can it help to validate but to also take you one step closer.

"Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me."
- Zora Neale Hurston, "How it Feels To Be Colored Me"

Often times, when someone sees that you are good and making progress, there will be someone who has some kind of jealousy who wants to cut your spirit down just o do it. But remember that if you have faith in yourself, there is nothing that anyone can say or do that can stop you from your climb. Just keep on moving and don't stop for the haters because for every hater, there is someone who loves what you are doing.

"Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all of the time, made new."
- Ursula K. LeGuin

Keep working at your craft. Good is only good but that does not mean that you are not on a path for better and best. Keep striving for success. Study the greats. Ask advice. Listen and learn. Thrive for more success and never stop trying to refresh and renew. It is funny how you can write a song ten years ago and come back to look at it ten years later and find a way to improve. There is nothing wrong with going for the best of ourselves.

"Nothing in life can defeat me, for as long as this knowledge remains, I can suffer whatever is happening, for I know God will break all the chains." - Helen Steiner Rice

Non-violence is a powerful weapon. It is a weapon unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals. Both a practical and moral answer to the Negro's cry for justice, nonviolent direction proved that it would win victories without losing wars and so become the triumphant tactic of the Negro revolution of 1963.
Martin Luther King Jr

If you know who you are and you know where you are going and know that God is with you and believe in yourself, then you have everything you need. No weapon can form against you if you have faith and believe in what you are doing. Keep doing it. Try not to doubt and remember that if you hold on to God's unchanging hand, your chances of making it in is increased greatly. Oh and another thing. If someone says somethign about you and hurts your feeligns, you can either let it dwell in your heart and be hindered by it, come back cursign and start a fight or use the weapon of knowledge and let them know the full extent of your talent. That willt ell them who you are not. Who you are is a talented individual who loves what you are doing. So keep at it.

"The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either."
- Mick Jagger

"I draw from every situation, everything I come across. That's something I feel really lucky in. I see everything and can apply it to everything else. I make a real easy correlation between things I don't think your average person can make correlations with. I'm always completely thrilled wherever I am."
- Michael Stripe

As painful as our past may be and the failures that we have faced, today is today and yesterday was yesterday. If we let it rule where we are today, we can forget about making it to our goals. Use those same failures as a tool for climbing.

"You have to be a living, breathing part of what is around you."
- Gloria Reed Austin

If you are a singer and you don't get out there and practice your skill where the singers are, you are not experiencing your craft the way that you should. If you are a dancer and you are not out there with all the dancers seeing what they are doing and taking notes, you are not using your craft to the extent. Get out there. Experience it to the fullest. Let others know that you have something. Share and meet new people. Get to know the new and learn how to better improve what you've got. You have to be in it to win it. You have to be out there to get somewhere.

"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness"
- Psalm 29:2

And don't forget to praise God and thank him for your anointing. It was not built into your life by your own hands but his. He gave it to your for a reason. Give him glory for his wonderful love. You've been wonderfully made because of him. Never forget to whom the thanks should be given to for it and also pray for increase. Maybe that is the boost your life has been waiting for and maybe that locked door will miraculously open because you called on his name. Faith in self is good but faith in the higher power is an excellent strength to have.

And remember

I Can Do All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Me.
- Philippians 4:13

Because

"I am like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything I do shall prosper

Bring forth your fruit and continue to walk the walk that you are on. Sooner or later you will fly into your dream because you loved it enough. Don't let anyone or anything keep you from trying. If you don't try you will never know. Believe in you and great things will happen.