If you are excited about life and possess passion about yourself and your future, and enthusiastic about your job and your interests, you probably are living in a way that the wise would counsel. Life is long, and it can be very difficult to go through the motions if your heart isn’t in it. Those who experience a joie de vivre more days than not are probably not only happier, but more successful.
You might have heard the famous inventor and scientist Thomas Edison wrote: “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” That’s a wonderful way to encapsulate the fact that having an idea is important, but the follow-through, the work required to make a novel plan come to fruition, is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. What follows are a dozen inspirational quotations that can help inspire the kind of gusto required to get stuff done, create new approaches to problems, and stick to a task until it’s complete.
“It is with our passions as it is with fire and water, they are good servants, but bad masters” noted the 5th century B.C.E. writer, Aesop (of Aesop’s Fables, a must read for every student of wisdom!). He is warning us to do as Plato suggested, and think of “the passions” as powerful steeds which should ideally remain under firm control of the rational, executive, and conscious mind.
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world,” noted uber-woman Harriet Tubman, never one to sit one out. Whatever got her going is worth the price of admission!
“Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful, it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head,” counseled contemporary Indian composer and singer/songwriter, A. R. Rahman. Both are necessary to be a well-rounded human being: the passion to excel and the humility to balance out what success (hopefully) comes as a result.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style,” shares former Poet Laureate, the late/great Maya Angelou. She seems to have the conscience and insight that we all could learn a lot from paying attention to.
“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion,” notes dancer, Martha Graham. I will take her word for it.
Noted cellist Yo-Yo Ma said: “Passion is a great force that unleashes creativity, because if you’re passionate about something, then you’re more willing to take risks.” I think he’s right about that. Clearly he knows – no one can become a world-class musician without enthusiasm and fervor. It just takes too damned much work to do it if you’re not driven by some inner force.
I know that is the case with me and quotations, reading, and philosophy. If I had no database in which to enter the quotes about passion, truth, justice, love, wisdom, creativity and 20 other “values of the wise,” I wouldn’t have probably taken the 1,000+ hours needed to amass a substantial collection. And, likewise, if no one was interested in utilizing the database of fantastic quotes on values, I would feel like I was alone on a desert island with a stack of books. Indeed, it is the joy of reading/researching for the purpose of not only understanding values better, but to be able to enrich peoples’ lives by giving them the building blocks of “a life of value” that spurs me on to ever-greater levels of erudition and collection. So, thank you!
“Grit is that ‘extra something’ that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality,” believes writer on emotional intelligence, Travis Bradberry. Call it grit, gusto, or fire, it gets at the idea that there is something that the successful cultivate and nurture that the lazier, more easily discouraged, and more insecure among us lack.
“Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human,” offers author
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you,” claims mega-mogul and super-success-story, Oprah Winfrey. It is known that serious adventurer and investor extraordinaire, Sir Richard Branson, is a person who absolutely loves risk – like, physical risk. He doesn’t worry too much about the danger involved in going into space or taking a hot air balloon across the Atlantic or whatever because he feels like adventure if the only way to live. Good for him. I am a milder sort, but I still find that the only way for me to blog daily is to be excited about the process, the results, and the ability to reach people with my writing.
“Whatever you do, do with determination. You have one life to live’ do your work with passion and give your best. Whether you want to be a chef, doctor, actor, or a mother, be passionate to get the best result,” advises “Bollywood” actress, Alia Bhatt. It’s sage advice. One could only hope that human beings can muster the will to create, excel, invent, teach, and perform without a steady supply of verbal/social reinforcement, or financial incentives. Why do we respect teachers so? Because they do the challenging work without much praise or pay. They just seem to want to teach because it’s “in them.” They deserve honor.
“The Chairman of the Board, Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra chided someone once: “Don’t ever let me catch you singing like that again, without enthusiasm. You’re nothing if you aren’t excited by what you’re doing.” That’s just neat to think about. Maybe it’s because of the mystique surrounding the man, but it brings a smile to my face thinking of him saying that to a fellow singer. He had a long and glorious career, no doubt due to his intrinsic love of music and performance.
“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be,” offered the fantastic author of children’s books, Roald Dahl. I know my childhood for one was improved by reading many of his books. He was also a spy, fighter pilot, and inventor. No foolin’!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined,” advised Henry David Thoreau. Considering how deliberately he lived, how unique was his vision, and how much earnestness there was to the man, I am persuaded!
I will end with this interesting story. Lisa Beamer, the widow of American patriot Todd Beamer, who died attacking the would-be destroyers of the White House on Flight 93 on 9-11-2001, subsequently found this quote of Teddy Roosevelt while going through Todd’s desk: “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself on worthy causes. Who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement and who, at worst, if he fails, fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Wow, if you know the story of Flight 93, it is an amazing discovery. I hope we all remember the lessons of those brave men who truly tapped their inner strength to save lives. Real heroes.
There are over two hundred other quotations about passion here in the mighty Wisdom Archive – the free and extremely detailed resource for wisdom, quotes, and values found nowhere else!
Here is an external link entitled “10 Ways to Make Life Exciting Again” Come back here when you are done reading!
