Motivational and Inspirational Quotes

[Mark D]

To make the thought even better for you.... When Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, detonated... only about 1.4%  of the entire fissionable material, about 0.7 grams, exploded.

 

I'm a Cold War kid.  By the time I was in school we didn't bother with air raid drills, because we knew if the bombs started falling crawling under our desks wasn't going to help.  There WERE fall-out shelter signs all over the school though.  Honestly, from the time I was ten or twelve if you asked me if I thought I, or the world, would be here in 2015 I'd have said "Probably not".  We were practically Russian in our fatalism.  Maybe even Finnish.

 

A few years ago I wrote something on my birthday about how the world had changed in my lifetime.  One of the things I wrote was "The Russians wanted to nuke us, but they didn't because they knew we'd nuke them back.  Mutually Assured Destruction kept everyone safe."  

 

Honestly, MAD worked largely because the Russians didn't want to wipe us out badly enough to be wiped out themselves, and vice versa.  Now a group like ISIS getting their hands on nukes is frightening because they don't have that compunction.

 

Unfortunately the nuclear genie is out of the bottle and can't be put back.

[Wild Wolf]

"The Journey is more important than the destination, so enjoy the walk." -Mark Divine of SealFit

 

"Don't QUIT! Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

 

Wolf

[insanity]

I'm a Cold War kid.  By the time I was in school we didn't bother with air raid drills, because we knew if the bombs started falling crawling under our desks wasn't going to help.  There WERE fall-out shelter signs all over the school though.  Honestly, from the time I was ten or twelve if you asked me if I thought I, or the world, would be here in 2015 I'd have said "Probably not".  We were practically Russian in our fatalism.  Maybe even Finnish.

 

A few years ago I wrote something on my birthday about how the world had changed in my lifetime.  One of the things I wrote was "The Russians wanted to nuke us, but they didn't because they knew we'd nuke them back.  Mutually Assured Destruction kept everyone safe."  

 

Honestly, MAD worked largely because the Russians didn't want to wipe us out badly enough to be wiped out themselves, and vice versa.  Now a group like ISIS getting their hands on nukes is frightening because they don't have that compunction.

 

Unfortunately the nuclear genie is out of the bottle and can't be put back.

Yeah... they scare the hell out of me simply because they have no qualms about killing themselves to kill others, and you figure 0.7 (less then a dollar bill) grams of material did Hiroshima in, that would be easy to hide on or in a person that has no problem dying for their cause.

 

 

as for quotes, I really like the sort of sing songy rhyme of "If I can take it, I can make it" from Unbroken, it reminds me of my own quote, but rolls off the tongue a little better.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I'm a Cold War kid.  By the time I was in school we didn't bother with air raid drills, because we knew if the bombs started falling crawling under our desks wasn't going to help.  There WERE fall-out shelter signs all over the school though.  Honestly, from the time I was ten or twelve if you asked me if I thought I, or the world, would be here in 2015 I'd have said "Probably not".  We were practically Russian in our fatalism.  Maybe even Finnish.

 

A few years ago I wrote something on my birthday about how the world had changed in my lifetime.  One of the things I wrote was "The Russians wanted to nuke us, but they didn't because they knew we'd nuke them back.  Mutually Assured Destruction kept everyone safe."  

 

Honestly, MAD worked largely because the Russians didn't want to wipe us out badly enough to be wiped out themselves, and vice versa.  Now a group like ISIS getting their hands on nukes is frightening because they don't have that compunction.

 

Unfortunately the nuclear genie is out of the bottle and can't be put back.

Also a child of the cold war, but being born in the 80's (US) perestroika had already started by the time I started forming memories so the whole "we're gonna get nuked" thing was news to me when I first found out about it. I do clearly remember watching the news when the Berlin wall came down.

[Mark D]

"I am Pallas Athene, and I know the thoughts of all men's hearts and discern their manhood or their baseness. From the souls of clay I turn away, and they are blessed but not by me. They fatten at ease like sheep in the pasture and eat what they did not sow like oxen in the stall. They grow and spread like the gourd along the ground, but like the gourd they give no shade to the traveler. When they are ripe death gathers them and they go down unloved into Hell and their name vanishes out of the land.

 

"But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to those who are manful I give a might more than man. These are the heros, the sons of the immortals who are blessed, but not like the souls of clay, for I drive them forth by strange paths that they may fight the titans and the monsters and the enemies of Gods and men.

 

"Through doubt and need and danger in battle I drive them; and some of them are slain in the flower of youth, no man knows when or where; and some of them when noble named and live to a fair and green old age; but what will be their end I know not. Tell me now, Perseus, which of these two sorts of men seem to you more blessed?"

 

Charles Kingsley, Canon of Westminster and Chaplain to Queen Victoria from "Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children"

[Max_Casco]

"Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.â€_ Miyamoto Musashi. 

Probably one of the most famous Samurai's in the world. You can quote him on a bunch of motivational says from his book. Along with other things .. 

 

[ideacrib]

Here's one of my all-time fave quotes:

 

"Every day is your birthday. Every day is a chance to make things right." - the Dalai Lama

 

Just really resonates.

 

 Patricia

[laughing_dog]

有進無退

Always advance, never retreat.

 

[Raze]

有進無退

Always advance, never retreat.

 

 

 

Two quotes from Marines along the same lines i've always liked.

 

"Retreat, hell! We're not retreating, we're just advancing in a different direction" - MAJGEN Oliver P. Smith (during the battle of the Chosin Resevoir during the Korean War)

 

"Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" - CAPT Lloyd W. Williams (After being advised to withdraw by a French officer at the defensive line in June 1918)

[laughing_dog]

I always liked the we're just advancing in retreat quote. That one is fun.

 

I guess I should clarify that the Chinese quote translates more literally to "Have advancement with the absence of retreat" but always advance, never retreat gets the flavor across without sounding awkward.

For today's motivational Chinese quote, I've chosen another four character set phrase "事在人為" shi zai ren wei 

"Every person is the architect of their own fortune"

Literally "enterprise is at "lies in" a person working"

 

[insanity]

Two quotes from Marines along the same lines i've always liked.

 

"Retreat, hell! We're not retreating, we're just advancing in a different direction" - MAJGEN Oliver P. Smith (during the battle of the Chosin Resevoir during the Korean War)

 

"Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" - CAPT Lloyd W. Williams (After being advised to withdraw by a French officer at the defensive line in June 1918)

You'd like Chesty Puller... http://www.military-quotes.com/chesty-puller.htm

[Raze]

You'd like Chesty Puller... http://www.military-quotes.com/chesty-puller.htm

 

Chestys is GREAT

 

Mad dog is right up there with him though.

 

http://www.wearethemighty.com/james-mattis-quotes-2015-01

[insanity]

Chestys is GREAT

 

Mad dog is right up there with him though.

 

http://www.wearethemighty.com/james-mattis-quotes-2015-01

The one about having a plan to kill everyone you meet has always stung a bit, I can remember watching a kid running up to my hummer, and the first thing I did was get myself mentally ready to shoot... the rest of them I do like though, especially the ones that stand out for more than just the military (powerpoint, dream world)

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Nulla tenaci invia est via - for the tenacious nothing is impossible

[Fearkiller]

Max Ehrmann's Desiderata deserves to be here:

(Stumbled upon it via Zenpencils http://zenpencils.com/comic/desiderata/

IMO brings a good story to it. so it's easier to remember)

 

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

 

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

 

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

 

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

 

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

[Fearkiller]

It's not too late... the angel said.
Even though the world's a mess...
Even though you're not as young...
Even though you've made mistakes and have been afraid
It's not too late...
And then I saw the world through the angels' eyes...
I saw the colors I could paint
The bridges I could build
The lives that I could touch
The dreams that could still come true
And it became very clear to me...
That it's not too late.

- Ron Atchison

[Fearkiller]

A long read, but worth it.

Got something in my eyes. Damn allergies. *sniff*

 

Giving the stage to Rhoner:

(https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have_you_ever_picked_up_a_hitchhiker/c18z0z2)

 

"Today you... Tomorrow me."

 

Just about every time I see someone I stop. I kind of got out of the habit in the last couple of years, moved to a big city and all that,

my girlfriend wasn't too stoked on the practice. Then some shit happened to me that changed me and I am back to offering rides habitually.

If you would indulge me, it is long story and has almost nothing to do with hitch hiking other than happening on a road.

 

This past year I have had 3 instances of car trouble. A blow out on a freeway, a bunch of blown fuses and an out of gas situation.

All of them were while driving other people's cars which, for some reason, makes it worse on an emotional level.

It makes it worse on a practical level as well, what with the fact that I carry things like a jack and extra fuses in my car,

and know enough not to park, facing downhill, on a steep incline with less than a gallon of fuel.

 

Anyway, each of these times this shit happened I was DISGUSTED with how people would not bother to help me.

I spent hours on the side of the freeway waiting, watching roadside assistance vehicles blow past me, for AAA to show.

The 4 gas stations I asked for a gas can at told me that they couldn't loan them out "for my safety"

but I could buy a really shitty 1-gallon one with no cap for $15. It was enough, each time, to make you say shit like "this country is going to hell in a handbasket."

 

But you know who came to my rescue all three times? Immigrants. Mexican immigrants.

None of them spoke a lick of the language. But one of those dudes had a profound affect on me.

He was the guy that stopped to help me with a blow out with his whole family of 6 in tow. I was on the side of the road for close to 4 hours.

Big jeep, blown rear tire, had a spare but no jack. I had signs in the windows of the car, big signs that said NEED A JACK and offered money.

No dice. Right as I am about to give up and just hitch out there a van pulls over and dude bounds out.

He sizes the situation up and calls for his youngest daughter who speaks english. He conveys through her that he has a jack

but it is too small for the Jeep so we will need to brace it. He produces a saw from the van and cuts a log out of a downed tree on the side of the road.

We rolled it over, put his jack on top, and bam, in business. I start taking the wheel off and, if you can believe it, I broke his tire iron.

It was one of those collapsible ones and I wasn't careful and I snapped the head I needed clean off. Fuck.

 

No worries, he runs to the van, gives it to his wife and she is gone in a flash, down the road to buy a tire iron.

She is back in 15 minutes, we finish the job with a little sweat and cussing (stupid log was starting to give), and I am a very happy man.

We are both filthy and sweaty. The wife produces a large water jug for us to wash our hands in.

I tried to put a 20 in the man's hand but he wouldn't take it so I instead gave it to his wife as quietly as I could.

I thanked them up one side and down the other. I asked the little girl where they lived, thinking maybe I could send them a gift for being so awesome

. She says they live in Mexico. They are here so mommy and daddy can pick peaches for the next few weeks.

After that they are going to pick cherries then go back home. She asks if I have had lunch and when I told her no

she gave me a tamale from their cooler, the best fucking tamale I have ever had.

 

So, to clarify, a family that is undoubtedly poorer than you, me, and just about everyone else on that stretch of road,

working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took an hour or two out of their day to help some strange dude on the side of the road when people in tow trucks were just passing me by. Wow...

But we aren't done yet. I thank them again and walk back to my car and open the foil on the tamale cause I am starving at this point and what do I find inside? My fucking $20 bill!

I whirl around and run up to the van and the guy rolls his window down. He sees the $20 in my hand and just shaking his head no like he won't take it.

All I can think to say is "Por Favor, Por Favor, Por Favor" with my hands out. Dude just smiles, shakes his head and, with what looked like great concentration, tried his hardest to speak to me in English:

"Today you.... tomorrow me."

Rolled up his window, drove away, his daughter waving to me in the rear view. I sat in my car eating the best fucking tamale of all time and I just cried.

Like a little girl. It has been a rough year and nothing has broke my way. This was so out of left field I just couldn't deal.

In the 5 months since I have changed a couple of tires, given a few rides to gas stations and, once, went 50 miles out of my way to get a girl to an airport.

I won't accept money. Every time I tell them the same thing when we are through:

"Today you.... tomorrow me."

 

tl;dr: long rambling story about how the kindness of strangers, particularly folks from south of the border, forced me to be more helpful on the road and in life in general.

I am sure it won't be as meaningful to anyone else but it was seriously the highlight of my 2010.

*edit: To the OP, sorry to jack your thread, this has nothing to do with Hitch Hiking. I sort of thought I could just get this off my chest,

enjoy the catharsis and watch the story languish at the bottom of the page. Glad people like hearing the tale and I hope it moves you to be more helpful in your day to day. *

[Fearkiller]

Trigger warning: Peoples personal accounts of suicide attemps, feelings and situations.

 

"People who attempted suicide, what did you do on your last day?"

 

That thread has some of the most inspiring things I've read.

 

 

ablownmind:

"Have you ever heard of that openbook website? I think that was the name of it.

Basically you could search for a certain word or phrase

and it would search through public Facebook profiles for a match.

One night I searched for "kill myself" and was really shocked at the amount of people just crying out for help

and getting no responses. I sat there for hours sending short, simple messages to every person I could

that a stranger believes their life has meaning and that I want them to stay alive. Every person replied with such gratitude.

Some I spoke to further, giving advice and helping in any way I could.

The one that sticks out the most to me is a boy who was about 14. He had recently come out and felt like no one accepted him.

I talked to him for a long time and in the end, he said he felt better.

About 10 months later he messaged me saying thanks again because what I said still stuck with him.

It meant so fucking much to me that one little thing I did helped someone so much.

 

I've found myself on the reverse side of this so many times. Sometimes it doesn't take very much at all to help someone see things differently.

 

-- Edit: Thank you for the gold! I really appreciate it

 

hIDeMyID

 

"I met an artist once who told me his story.

 

He'd gone out into the woods with a gun. He sat there leaning against a tree for a long time,

crying and trying to work up the nerve to shoot himself. I guess his emotional turmoil exhausted him,

because he fell asleep. When he awoke, a hummingbird was hovering about 2 inches in front of his nose.

He sat absolutely still, marveling at how beautiful it was. For those few moments before the hummingbird flew away,

he felt blissfully happy.

 

He was so glad he hadn't killed himself earlier, or he would have missed that feeling.

He decided that those few moments of joy had made his life worth living for one more day.

He wondered whether something might happen the next day that might give him a few more happy moments.

 

He decided to find out.

 

When I met him, he'd been living on this principle for over 15 years.

 

EDIT: I'm so glad that this story touched so many people. It's helped me get through some tough times, too. Sometimes, just being able to sit outside under a tree and enjoy a warm breeze is enough to get through the day.

EDIT 2: Thank you to whoever gave me gold. I really appreciate your generosity."

 

[Mark D]

"If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl."

 

H. L. Mencken

[Luds]

“The secret is not to dream," [...] "The secret is to wake up. Waking up is harder. I have woken up and I am real. I know where I come from and I know where I'm going. You cannot fool me any more. Or touch me. Or anything that is mine.†

 

Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

 

[weenie131]

Every path is the right path. Everything could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning.

-Mr. Nobody

[insanity]

At one point in time Einstein had to learn to count to ten and Shakespeare had to learn his ABCs.

 

(Heard on a WatchMojo Video)

[K.os]

"Don't live the same year 75 times and call it a life." Robin Sharma

 

"The trouble is you think you have time." Attributed to Budda but probably fake. 

[Leafa]

A quote I've lived by for the past five years, my dad told me as I got in the car to leave for my first year of university: "Anything worth doing is going to be hard."

[Fearkiller]

I love how the whole rebellion, in a way, is one huge inspirational quote