Stepping Stone

The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong. ~Thomas Carlyle

Autograph your Work with Excellence

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. ~Author Unknown

Roadblocks

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.  ~Michael Jordan

The End of the Day

Each of us are our own greatest inhibitor. And, at the end of the day, if you just get out of your own way and let things come to you, it's amazing what will come to you. 
~Laird Hamilton, champion surfer

Focus

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer. 
~Denis Waitley

Nature

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.  ~Author Unknown

A Walk

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.  ~John Muir

Plant Trees

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.  ~Nelson Henderson

Use Your Power

Today's Affirmation: "It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem." -Coretta Scott King

Price of Excellence

The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment.

~William Arthur Ward

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Secret of the Sea

"My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Ocean

"It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea--whether it is to sail or to watch it--we are going back from whence we came."
- John F. Kennedy

The Sea

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea."
- e.e. cummings

Beach

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun."
~Author Unknown

Summer Day

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."
- John Lubbock

Summer Afternoon

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. 
~Henry James

Summer

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Dad

Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. 
~Author Unknown

Before

Before you talk, listen.

Before you react, think.

Before you spend, earn.

Before you criticize, wait.

Before you pray, forgive.

Before you quit, try.

~Ernest Hemingway

Father's Day Pictures:

Some of the best Father's Day Pictures occur in nature!  Check out these Dads!

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
~Author Unknown
Pictures:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/photogalleries/fathers-day-2009-animal-dads-pictures/index.html

Pain of Regret

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.
~Jim Rohn 

Let Others Lead Small Lives

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone elses hands, but not you. not you. 
~Jim Rohn 

Soar

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."

~ Helen Keller

Laugh often

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. "

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Day

‎"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."
~ Unknown

Motivation

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. "

~ Stephen R. Covey

Breath of Heaven

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...
~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

Shadows of Life

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Extraordinary

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. 
~Jimmy Johnson

The Two Most Important Days in your Life

The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why!
~Author Unknown

Live With Intention

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”
~Mary Anne Radmacher