Words for My Soul

“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), pastor, theologian, [...]

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”
-Lucille Ball (1911-1989); actress, producer

“You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door.”
-Robert Collier (1885-1950); motivational author

Let your hook be always cast. In the stream where you least expect it, there will be a fish.
-Ovid

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”
-Pope John XXIII (1881-1963), 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church

“Listen to the Musn’t’s child, Listen to the Don’t’s. Listen to the Shouldn’t’s, the Impossibles, the Won’t’s. Listen to the Never Haves, then Listen close to me. ANYthing can happen, child, ANYthing can Be.”
-Shel Silverstein (1930-1999), poet, songwriter, musician

“The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser-in case you thought optimism was dead. ”
-Robert Brault