Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
to the harris boys
Dear Harris Boys: I Know What You're Going Through
By Mike Hess Posted Feb 24th 2010 10:48AM
For Josh and Jake Harris, this February will likely be the worst month they'll ever have to endure in their lives. Their father -- 'Deadliest Catch' skipper Phil Harris, who was not only their dad, but their boss -- died following a stroke on February 9. The pain and emotional void left by the unexpected and all-too-early passing of a father is indescribable, something incomprehensible for most. Unfortunately, I know firsthand, because as they trudge through the awfulness that is their February, my November was equally devastating when my father passed away.
So, Jake and Josh, while we've never met and likely never will, I thought I'd offer what little advice there may be for dealing with something as miserable as what we're going through.
There are quite a few things about your current situation -- and your father Phil -- that remind me of myself and my dad. While nobody can be exactly in your shoes, there's certainly a handful of similarities that bridge us closer than most others. Your dad Phil, who was just 53 when he died, reminds me a bit of my father, Jeff, who passed away at 63 -- 10 years apart, but both certainly going well before "their time" ... whatever that means. You're 24 and 26, respectively, and I'm 30, so we're almost in the same boat.
So, as brothers in loss, here we are.
Our dads were hard-working everymen who knew nothing else but working and providing. They both also would look completely out of character in anything aside from a pair of crusty jeans and work boots. Hair gel and other beauty products never appeared in their toiletry arsenal, unless they were secretly planted there by a wife pleading for them to clean up for a wedding. Your dad was a salty fisherman, and mine was a bloody butcher. When it all boils down, both got paid by providing forms of protein for others to consume and enjoy. Their quiet demeanors made the times when they were truly angry all the more riveting. When my dad yelled, he meant business, and judging from the spats we saw on 'Deadliest Catch,' Phil's red-eyed rants were equally intense.
Firstly, I'll say this: When a parent passes away, there will be a handful of well-meaning people who say that they understand what you're going through, or that they get the pain you're barely able to contain. Unless they've experienced it first-hand, they don't. It's like visiting a friend in a hospital who just snapped his femur and saying you can relate because you once sprained your ankle.
Both of you were lucky enough to have spent a good chunk of time working alongside your father. For weeks at a time, you worked, lived and experienced everything with your father aboard the Cornelia Marie -- and gave the world the gift of watching your family work, fight and laugh on television. His pride in the both of you was blatant, and your adoration for him, even in times of disagreement, was equally prevalent. Few things can bond sons and fathers together like when the kids try their hand at dad's craft. You two fished with your dad. I worked occasionally with mine in his butcher shop when I was younger. I never made it my full-time job -- mostly because he refused to let me, thanks to the hellish hours, low pay and slumping economics of it all -- but I've rubbed blue-collar elbows with my dad just like you: Learning, watching, observing -- bonding. To anyone reading this article who still is lucky enough to have their father with them, I implore you to go out of your way to work with him, whether it's for a day, a week or longer. It's a life-altering experience that will be a part of you for eternity. (For more on my times working with my dad, read my funeral day memoriam here.)
It's now been a little more than three months since my father's passing, and while there's copious amounts of memories I have of him, the most vivid ones seared into my psyche are instances where work was involved. It's that passing-of-the-torch nostalgia that makes those memories essential to me, and I'm sure once you get past the initial shock and disbelief of his passing, you'll come to find the same in your own lives.
The first month of mourning is clearly the worst. Once you get over the sheer insanity of it all and get slowly back to everyday life, you'll have those moments where normally your father would in some way be involved, but he can't be anymore. For me, I'd think about cooking something and want to call him to see what kind of meat he could get me ... and seconds later, I'd remember that that nobody was going to pick up if I called. Or if I'd written an article I think he'd get a kick out of, I'd drop him a quick e-mail with a link to it. Now I've gotten used to closing that e-mail box before hitting send.
You'll likely encounter similar instances. Should you go back to your fishing careers, the empty captain's chair your father once colorfully manned will become not just a jarring memory of him, but a shrine in a sense. Everything you do, see and hear will remind you of him, and some moments will transcend all reality and logic, making you wonder if he's sending you a message from some other place.
Take, for example, my Valentine's Day. It never really meant a whole lot to me, but having two older sisters, my dad always had a sentimentality towards it -- a total juxtaposition to his brawny, Vietnam Vet, tough guy persona (badass Vietnam photo at right, and yes, that's a bazooka he's holding). He'd always come home with chocolates for the three of us, to which I'd always tease him that it was a bit weird giving his son a "Be My Valentine" gift. He'd just shrug his shoulders. I wasn't looking for a sign from my dad this Valentine's Day ... in fact, for some reason I hadn't thought about his death that much as the holiday approached. Then, I got the clearest (and literally) most painful sign he was watching me that I've had since his death: I pretty much cut off the tip of my thumb.
It was the first cooking injury I've had in 10 years (and I cook constantly, so that's saying something), and for it to happen on Valentine's weekend was blatantly the twisted and hilarious work of dad. As a butcher, slicing through your hand every now and then was an expected hazard of the job. My dad, ever-resilient, a la Capt. Phil, would generally tend to such wounds with the sterile and doctor-approved use of electrical tape and keep on plowing through his day. Sometimes, though, if the culprit of said wound was the bandsaw or another gnarly instrument, actual doctors were employed to sew him back up.
As I stood at the sink with blood running down my arm and the pain so sharp I could feel it in the back of my eye, I began laughing. "You bastard," I said aloud, smiling at my dad, thinking that if me slicing through a digit is his new version of patting me on the back or giving me a box of chocolates ... I'd be just fine with that.
So, Jake and Josh, as you traverse your way through this hell ride called life, trust me: You'll eventually find your moments where you can take a step back, look upward and laugh, no matter how much hurt is in your heart (or hand). Life will never be the same, but you'll learn to live with the pain. It will always be a part of you, like a clicking elbow following a bad fall or how people who have hurt their knees can tell when a storm is coming. It will never be easy or "normal" again, but it's part of you, now -- and part of me as well.
By Mike Hess Posted Feb 24th 2010 10:48AM
For Josh and Jake Harris, this February will likely be the worst month they'll ever have to endure in their lives. Their father -- 'Deadliest Catch' skipper Phil Harris, who was not only their dad, but their boss -- died following a stroke on February 9. The pain and emotional void left by the unexpected and all-too-early passing of a father is indescribable, something incomprehensible for most. Unfortunately, I know firsthand, because as they trudge through the awfulness that is their February, my November was equally devastating when my father passed away.
So, Jake and Josh, while we've never met and likely never will, I thought I'd offer what little advice there may be for dealing with something as miserable as what we're going through.
There are quite a few things about your current situation -- and your father Phil -- that remind me of myself and my dad. While nobody can be exactly in your shoes, there's certainly a handful of similarities that bridge us closer than most others. Your dad Phil, who was just 53 when he died, reminds me a bit of my father, Jeff, who passed away at 63 -- 10 years apart, but both certainly going well before "their time" ... whatever that means. You're 24 and 26, respectively, and I'm 30, so we're almost in the same boat.
So, as brothers in loss, here we are.
Our dads were hard-working everymen who knew nothing else but working and providing. They both also would look completely out of character in anything aside from a pair of crusty jeans and work boots. Hair gel and other beauty products never appeared in their toiletry arsenal, unless they were secretly planted there by a wife pleading for them to clean up for a wedding. Your dad was a salty fisherman, and mine was a bloody butcher. When it all boils down, both got paid by providing forms of protein for others to consume and enjoy. Their quiet demeanors made the times when they were truly angry all the more riveting. When my dad yelled, he meant business, and judging from the spats we saw on 'Deadliest Catch,' Phil's red-eyed rants were equally intense.
Firstly, I'll say this: When a parent passes away, there will be a handful of well-meaning people who say that they understand what you're going through, or that they get the pain you're barely able to contain. Unless they've experienced it first-hand, they don't. It's like visiting a friend in a hospital who just snapped his femur and saying you can relate because you once sprained your ankle.
Both of you were lucky enough to have spent a good chunk of time working alongside your father. For weeks at a time, you worked, lived and experienced everything with your father aboard the Cornelia Marie -- and gave the world the gift of watching your family work, fight and laugh on television. His pride in the both of you was blatant, and your adoration for him, even in times of disagreement, was equally prevalent. Few things can bond sons and fathers together like when the kids try their hand at dad's craft. You two fished with your dad. I worked occasionally with mine in his butcher shop when I was younger. I never made it my full-time job -- mostly because he refused to let me, thanks to the hellish hours, low pay and slumping economics of it all -- but I've rubbed blue-collar elbows with my dad just like you: Learning, watching, observing -- bonding. To anyone reading this article who still is lucky enough to have their father with them, I implore you to go out of your way to work with him, whether it's for a day, a week or longer. It's a life-altering experience that will be a part of you for eternity. (For more on my times working with my dad, read my funeral day memoriam here.)
It's now been a little more than three months since my father's passing, and while there's copious amounts of memories I have of him, the most vivid ones seared into my psyche are instances where work was involved. It's that passing-of-the-torch nostalgia that makes those memories essential to me, and I'm sure once you get past the initial shock and disbelief of his passing, you'll come to find the same in your own lives.
The first month of mourning is clearly the worst. Once you get over the sheer insanity of it all and get slowly back to everyday life, you'll have those moments where normally your father would in some way be involved, but he can't be anymore. For me, I'd think about cooking something and want to call him to see what kind of meat he could get me ... and seconds later, I'd remember that that nobody was going to pick up if I called. Or if I'd written an article I think he'd get a kick out of, I'd drop him a quick e-mail with a link to it. Now I've gotten used to closing that e-mail box before hitting send.
You'll likely encounter similar instances. Should you go back to your fishing careers, the empty captain's chair your father once colorfully manned will become not just a jarring memory of him, but a shrine in a sense. Everything you do, see and hear will remind you of him, and some moments will transcend all reality and logic, making you wonder if he's sending you a message from some other place.
Take, for example, my Valentine's Day. It never really meant a whole lot to me, but having two older sisters, my dad always had a sentimentality towards it -- a total juxtaposition to his brawny, Vietnam Vet, tough guy persona (badass Vietnam photo at right, and yes, that's a bazooka he's holding). He'd always come home with chocolates for the three of us, to which I'd always tease him that it was a bit weird giving his son a "Be My Valentine" gift. He'd just shrug his shoulders. I wasn't looking for a sign from my dad this Valentine's Day ... in fact, for some reason I hadn't thought about his death that much as the holiday approached. Then, I got the clearest (and literally) most painful sign he was watching me that I've had since his death: I pretty much cut off the tip of my thumb.
It was the first cooking injury I've had in 10 years (and I cook constantly, so that's saying something), and for it to happen on Valentine's weekend was blatantly the twisted and hilarious work of dad. As a butcher, slicing through your hand every now and then was an expected hazard of the job. My dad, ever-resilient, a la Capt. Phil, would generally tend to such wounds with the sterile and doctor-approved use of electrical tape and keep on plowing through his day. Sometimes, though, if the culprit of said wound was the bandsaw or another gnarly instrument, actual doctors were employed to sew him back up.
As I stood at the sink with blood running down my arm and the pain so sharp I could feel it in the back of my eye, I began laughing. "You bastard," I said aloud, smiling at my dad, thinking that if me slicing through a digit is his new version of patting me on the back or giving me a box of chocolates ... I'd be just fine with that.
So, Jake and Josh, as you traverse your way through this hell ride called life, trust me: You'll eventually find your moments where you can take a step back, look upward and laugh, no matter how much hurt is in your heart (or hand). Life will never be the same, but you'll learn to live with the pain. It will always be a part of you, like a clicking elbow following a bad fall or how people who have hurt their knees can tell when a storm is coming. It will never be easy or "normal" again, but it's part of you, now -- and part of me as well.
Success, Failure, & Persistence
“There is no failure except in no longer trying” – Elbert Hubbard
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
“Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.” – Herodotus
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“If you run you stand a chance of losing, but if you don’t run you’ve already lost.” – Barack Obama
“Greatest success comes just one step beyond the point at which defeat overtakes you.”
“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.” – Napoleon Hill
“The greatest achievement was, at first, and for a time, but a dream.” – Napoleon Hill
“No one ever is defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.”- Napoleon Hill
“A Quitter never wins – and – a Winner never quits.” – Napoleon Hill
“Cultivate your desire for success to be greater than the fear of failure; Failure is merely a pitstop between where you stand and success. Failure allows you to learn the fastest; Failure inspires winners and defeats losers.”
“Winning means being unafraid to lose.” – Fran Tarkenton
“To be successful you don’t need to do extraordinary things, you just need to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” – Jim Rohn
“It’s been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.” -Henry Ford
“Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” – Sumner Redstone Chairman
“For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” -Mary Kay Ash founder
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Success is 80% attitude and 20% aptitude.” – Funmi Wale-Adegbite
“Success in life is the result of good judgment. Good judgment is usually the result of experience. Experience is usually the result of bad judgment.” – Anthony Robbins
“Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.” – Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture (Book)
“You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.” – Booker T. Washington
“The major difference between the big shot and the little shot is the big shot is just a little shot who kept on shooting.” – Zig Ziglar
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan (Nike ‘Failure’ Commercial)
“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“As soon as anyone starts telling you to be “realistic,” cross that person off your invitation list.” – John Eliot
“I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” — Thomas Edison, when inventing the first commercial light bulb.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” – Michael Jordan
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
“Men are born to succeed, not fail.” – Henry David Thoreau
“One’s best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert Francis Kennedy
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person we become.” – Jim Rohn
“The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching.” – Dennis Green
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player
“Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
“But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” – Rocky Balboa
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
All great changes are preceded by chaos. ~ Deepak Chopra
“Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.” Phillip Adams
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
“Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.” – Herodotus
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“If you run you stand a chance of losing, but if you don’t run you’ve already lost.” – Barack Obama
“Greatest success comes just one step beyond the point at which defeat overtakes you.”
“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.” – Napoleon Hill
“The greatest achievement was, at first, and for a time, but a dream.” – Napoleon Hill
“No one ever is defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.”- Napoleon Hill
“A Quitter never wins – and – a Winner never quits.” – Napoleon Hill
“Cultivate your desire for success to be greater than the fear of failure; Failure is merely a pitstop between where you stand and success. Failure allows you to learn the fastest; Failure inspires winners and defeats losers.”
“Winning means being unafraid to lose.” – Fran Tarkenton
“To be successful you don’t need to do extraordinary things, you just need to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” – Jim Rohn
“It’s been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.” -Henry Ford
“Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” – Sumner Redstone Chairman
“For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” -Mary Kay Ash founder
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Success is 80% attitude and 20% aptitude.” – Funmi Wale-Adegbite
“Success in life is the result of good judgment. Good judgment is usually the result of experience. Experience is usually the result of bad judgment.” – Anthony Robbins
“Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.” – Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture (Book)
“You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.” – Booker T. Washington
“The major difference between the big shot and the little shot is the big shot is just a little shot who kept on shooting.” – Zig Ziglar
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan (Nike ‘Failure’ Commercial)
“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“As soon as anyone starts telling you to be “realistic,” cross that person off your invitation list.” – John Eliot
“I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” — Thomas Edison, when inventing the first commercial light bulb.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” – Michael Jordan
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
“Men are born to succeed, not fail.” – Henry David Thoreau
“One’s best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert Francis Kennedy
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person we become.” – Jim Rohn
“The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching.” – Dennis Green
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player
“Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
“But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” – Rocky Balboa
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
All great changes are preceded by chaos. ~ Deepak Chopra
“Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.” Phillip Adams
Dreams & Passions
“If what you’re doing is not your passion, you have nothing to lose.”
“Do what you love and the money will follow.” – Marsha Sinetar
“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.” – Richard Bach
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.” – Howard Thurman
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau
“No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are – it is never too late to be who you are meant to be. Unless you choose to take action on what you want, nothing is ever going to come out of it.” – Esther & Jerry Hicks
“There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.” – Belva Davis
“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” – Les Brown
“Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” – Niccolo Machiavelli
“No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big.” – Anonymous
“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” – Doug Ivester
“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” – Pursuit of Happyness (Movie)
“We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime.” – Herbert Ottto
“History shows us that the people who end up changing the world – the great political, social, scientific, technological, artistic, even sports revolutionaries – are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.” – John Eliot
“You will not do incredible things without an incredible dream.” – John Eliot
“Instead of thinking about what you are going to do when you retire, think about how you can do that now and make a living from it.”
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” – John Stuart Mill
“At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
“Do what you love and the money will follow.” – Marsha Sinetar
“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.” – Richard Bach
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.” – Howard Thurman
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau
“No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are – it is never too late to be who you are meant to be. Unless you choose to take action on what you want, nothing is ever going to come out of it.” – Esther & Jerry Hicks
“There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.” – Belva Davis
“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” – Les Brown
“Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” – Niccolo Machiavelli
“No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big.” – Anonymous
“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” – Doug Ivester
“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” – Pursuit of Happyness (Movie)
“We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime.” – Herbert Ottto
“History shows us that the people who end up changing the world – the great political, social, scientific, technological, artistic, even sports revolutionaries – are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.” – John Eliot
“You will not do incredible things without an incredible dream.” – John Eliot
“Instead of thinking about what you are going to do when you retire, think about how you can do that now and make a living from it.”
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” – John Stuart Mill
“At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
Mindsets & Beliefs
“How you think is as important as as what you think”
“The only limits on your life are those that you set yourself.”
“Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dreams you take time away from your own.” – Yogi Ramen
“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” – Viktor Frankl
“Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” – William James
“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” – Henry Ford
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” —Lao-Tze
“The only limits on your life are those that you set yourself.”
“Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dreams you take time away from your own.” – Yogi Ramen
“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” – Viktor Frankl
“Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” – William James
“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” – Henry Ford
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” —Lao-Tze
Life
Quotes on Life
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas A. Edison
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what yo truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life… Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” – Viktor Frankl
“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” – Buddha
“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“When nothing you do matters, the only thing that matters is what you do.” – Angel
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas A. Edison
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what yo truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life… Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” – Viktor Frankl
“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” – Buddha
“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“When nothing you do matters, the only thing that matters is what you do.” – Angel
IF
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
~Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
~Rudyard Kipling
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
tips from tony robbins (narrated from dumblittleman)
Focus
"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
Nothing is more critical than focus. If you fail to reach your goal, it is because somewhere along the way your focus was "broken." Focus is power; a focused person can accomplish more than 100 individuals who are merely interested.
Realize That Decisions Decide Destinies
"It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.”
More than anything else, your decisions decide your future. Its how you play the cards that you’ve been dealt that matters most. Decisions decide destinies! The decision to further pursue your education, the decision on who you marry, the decision to start your own business, the decision to just sit around and make excuses; your life is a result of the decisions that you’ve made.
Recognize the Path to Success
"The truth of the matter is that there's nothing you can't accomplish if: (1) You clearly decide what it is that you're absolutely committed to achieving, (2) You're willing to take massive action, (3) You notice what's working or not, and (4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.”
Wow, what a quote! This is the path to success.
Anybody can make excuses and say “you have to be lucky to succeed,” but the truth is, we all have the power to succeed, however we're all not willing to do what it takes to succeed (that’s the difference). Most prefer to sit on the side-line, or play Monday morning quarterback.
Raise Your Standard
“Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming. If you don't set a baseline standard for what you'll accept in life, you'll find it's easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that's far below what you deserve.”
In life you get what you accept and what you expect. What do you expect from yourself? Do you expect to be average; do you expect to live an average life or to have an average job? What are you accepting? Are you accepting living paycheck to paycheck? Are you accepting barely getting along?
To succeed you must raise your standard, you must begin to see yourself differently.
Major in Major Things
"Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.”
Give your time and attention to what matters most. Dedicate your life to doing big things; leave the little things to someone else. Learn to think big, to act big, and your life will take on a new direction.
Major in major things!
Do What You Know To Do
“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.”
Chances are you already have enough information to dramatically transform your life from the inside-out; you’re just not putting that information into action. It’s not enough to possess knowledge, you must act on what you know in-order to change your destiny.
Learn to Follow the Leader
"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results.”
There’s no sense in re-creating the wheel. Find someone who’s succeeding and do what they did. If it worked for them, it will work for you. Follow the leader, think like the leader, act like the leader, and you will become the leader!
"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
Nothing is more critical than focus. If you fail to reach your goal, it is because somewhere along the way your focus was "broken." Focus is power; a focused person can accomplish more than 100 individuals who are merely interested.
Realize That Decisions Decide Destinies
"It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.”
More than anything else, your decisions decide your future. Its how you play the cards that you’ve been dealt that matters most. Decisions decide destinies! The decision to further pursue your education, the decision on who you marry, the decision to start your own business, the decision to just sit around and make excuses; your life is a result of the decisions that you’ve made.
Recognize the Path to Success
"The truth of the matter is that there's nothing you can't accomplish if: (1) You clearly decide what it is that you're absolutely committed to achieving, (2) You're willing to take massive action, (3) You notice what's working or not, and (4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.”
Wow, what a quote! This is the path to success.
Anybody can make excuses and say “you have to be lucky to succeed,” but the truth is, we all have the power to succeed, however we're all not willing to do what it takes to succeed (that’s the difference). Most prefer to sit on the side-line, or play Monday morning quarterback.
Raise Your Standard
“Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming. If you don't set a baseline standard for what you'll accept in life, you'll find it's easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that's far below what you deserve.”
In life you get what you accept and what you expect. What do you expect from yourself? Do you expect to be average; do you expect to live an average life or to have an average job? What are you accepting? Are you accepting living paycheck to paycheck? Are you accepting barely getting along?
To succeed you must raise your standard, you must begin to see yourself differently.
Major in Major Things
"Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.”
Give your time and attention to what matters most. Dedicate your life to doing big things; leave the little things to someone else. Learn to think big, to act big, and your life will take on a new direction.
Major in major things!
Do What You Know To Do
“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.”
Chances are you already have enough information to dramatically transform your life from the inside-out; you’re just not putting that information into action. It’s not enough to possess knowledge, you must act on what you know in-order to change your destiny.
Learn to Follow the Leader
"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results.”
There’s no sense in re-creating the wheel. Find someone who’s succeeding and do what they did. If it worked for them, it will work for you. Follow the leader, think like the leader, act like the leader, and you will become the leader!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
indifference
Elie Wiesel:
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
(Oct. 1986)
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
(Oct. 1986)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
cheshire cat
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go?” - Alice
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to?”
- Cheshire Cat
“I don’t much care where.” - Alice
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” - Cheshire Cat
-Alice in Wonderland
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to?”
- Cheshire Cat
“I don’t much care where.” - Alice
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” - Cheshire Cat
-Alice in Wonderland
the genius of dr seuss
I learned there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead, others come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me.
- Dr. Seuss
Some come from ahead, others come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me.
- Dr. Seuss
nothing is everything
The years go by. The time, it does fly. Every single second is a moment in time that passes oh so quick and it seems like nothing. But when you’re looking back … well, it amounts to everything. -Ray Bradburry, Catch 22
Thursday, February 11, 2010
adversity
The difficult years end up being the greatest years of your whole life, if you survive them. -Brittany Murphy
new beginnings
When a relationship or job ends, look at it as being pushed out so you can be pushed up. It may not feel good right now knowing you've got to start all over again. it may seem unfair and frightening, but just begin to realize there is a reason and season for everything. great things, new things can happen if you can just hold on to your faith, positive attitude and self-determination to rise again. Sometimes a kick in the butt pushes us forward.
make it happen
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get up in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.
a brand new ending
though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. -Carl Bard
the alchemist
http://books.google.com/books?id=FEL8DlqjYEkC&dq=the+alchemist&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=f2t0S57VNs-ztgevzYmrCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
beginnings
I like beginnings because they're so full of promise. The first page of a book, the first day of a job, the first time you buy yourself flowers, the first date with a new man, the first touch, the first kiss, the first kick of a good liquor, the first moment you hold your own baby. I like beginnings because I know there's always more to come. -Shyma Perera, Bitter Sweet Symphony
backround noise.
You ever look at a picture of yourself and see a stranger in the background? It makes you wonder how many strangers have pictures of you. How many moments of other people's lives we've been in. Were we a part of a stranger's life when their dream came true? Or were we there when their dreams died? Did we keep trying to get in - as if we were destined to be there? Or did the shot take us by surprise? Just think, you could be a big part of someone else's life and not even know it. -One Tree Hill
anyway
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you; Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight; Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give your best anyway.
perspective
The minute you think you're going to lose something, it suddenly becomes the most important thing in your life. -Men In Trees
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
connections
The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours. -The History Boys
failure
Have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling. -Elizabethtown
confession
People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
it doesn't matter where you are
I used to hate this town. I used to hate every single blade of grass on every hill, but he taught me so much. He taught me that it's not the job of this town to make me feel happy. It's not its fault that I don't fit in. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, because it's about where you are in your head. It's about the other world I inhabit. The world of dreams, hope, imagination, and memories. - Cecila Ahern, If You Could See Me Now
circumstance
All things splendid have been achieved by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance. -Bruce Barton
Monday, February 8, 2010
society
You wear the tie because it never occurred to you not to. You eat eggs every morning but never at night. You feel excitement and companionship when rich men you've never met put a ball through a net or over a goal line, you feel guilty and a little suspicious every time you see a Salvation Army Santa ringing his bell, you look down at least half a second if a woman leans forward and your stomach rumbles every time you drive by a golden arch even if you weren't hungry before. Everybody's programmed.- Dollhouse
language
If you ever doubt the power of language, listen more closely. Witness the magic the first time someone whispers "i love you." Watch a woman put on head phones, close her eyes, and have her life changed by a lyric. See a bad moment flipped upside down by a well timed joke. Words propel us, empower us, make us human and more than human. We constantly struggle to say what we mean and mean what we say. To "wrestle with words and meanings." that's what t.s. eliot calls it. But as we whisper and shout, stutter and spin, we create order out of the chaos around us. We are built of words, and we live by them, too. -Hallmark
future vs. past
I was stuck. I was in this place, in between my future and my past and I wasn't sure which one I wanted more. But I guess it was only natural, you know? To dream of a summer love from long ago or nights you spent with your friends you used to know. These people had long since gone and part of you wanted them back and God, you hated to admit it. That was the funny part — like admitting you missed people or things or times long ago made you weak or something, but it didn't. And sometimes, I would curl up by my window and stare off into the stars, dreaming of my future; the love and friends I had yet to come. Part of me just wanted to throw myself into the future and the other part wanted me to hurl myself into my past.
life
These are my words to you: Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact. -William James
like you
Sometimes I wish I had never met you. Because then I could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there. -Good Will Hunting
sleep and awake
You know that place between sleep and awake, where you're still dreaming? that's where i'll always think of you. that's where i'll be waiting -Hook
Thursday, February 4, 2010
life
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
-Howard Thurman
-Howard Thurman
give it all you got
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me".
Erma Bombeck
Erma Bombeck
life's a dance
When I was fourteen I was falling fast
For a blue eyed girl in my homeroom class
Trying to find the courage to ask her out
Was like trying to get oil from a waterspout
What she would have said I can't say
I never did ask and she moved away
But I learned something from my blue eyed girl
Sink or swim you gotta give it a whirl
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There's a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Take a chance on love
Life's a dance
You learn as you go
For a blue eyed girl in my homeroom class
Trying to find the courage to ask her out
Was like trying to get oil from a waterspout
What she would have said I can't say
I never did ask and she moved away
But I learned something from my blue eyed girl
Sink or swim you gotta give it a whirl
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There's a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Take a chance on love
Life's a dance
You learn as you go
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
a rude awakening; perspective
Last night I got home from the gym at 9pm, right at the start of the msu vs. wisco b-ball game, ate subway had a glass of wine, got in bed by midnight. a very relaxing night, until i signed on to facebook for the first time in quite awhile and my old boss from dq im'd me, telling me mrs. barnett passed away from a brain aneursym (http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/brain-aneurysm-topic-overview). Mrs. Barnett was 7 years older than me, I worked part time with her at dq for little bit, i was also in her first class that she student taught, she helped me run the school paper my senior year. Our AD hooked her up with my basketball coach and they soon got married, they had two kids and she was 18 weeks pregnant when she passed away on friday jan 29th. Upon hearing the news I got out of bed, took a shower, and at 1am I drove to detroit for the funeral this morning. It was the largest funeral I've been to. The funeral, the procession, and the cemetery prayer took about 5 hours. There must've been close to 500 people who attended. She passed away so young, yet she left an undeniable mark in our community. I loved her like an older sister. I can't believe how many people she left a positive impact on. It makes me want to be a teacher one day, a better person now, and a mentor like she was to me and many people of hphs. So many people bitch about life, about meaningless work, about petty problems. They don't realize how good we have it. They say that youth is wasted on the young and we don't know what we have until it's gone. It's funny how one's death can make your own life so clear. My friend always says don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small. It really is, we only live one life, what's the alternative... death? It's ashame how many people waste their life, especially when those like mrs. barnett had so much more to give, so much more to live, not to mention her 18 week unborn child will never get to step foot in this world. It just doesn't seem fair.
Everybody dies, but how many of us truly live? "For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."
Everybody dies, but how many of us truly live? "For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."
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