Dale Carnegie

"Take a chance!  All life is a chance.  The man who goes the furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare."

— Dale Carnegie

1888 - 1955

Many of us are afraid to take a risk, to try something new.  We keep waiting for the right time.  Unfortunately, there is never going to be a right time.  When we stop risking, we start dying one day at a time.  The more safe we feel the less risk we take.  Security and safety are illusions of the mind.  We are never 100% safe.  Is there a risk that you should be taking but are not?  Take the risk.  

Henry David Thoreau

"The world is but a canvas to the imagination."

— Henry David Thoreau

1817 - 1862

What we create in the world and how we live begins with our imagination.  We can create the life we want to live by simply applying our creativity.  So pick up your paint brush and paint the beauty of your life.  Pick up your pen and write the story of your life.  Your mind is fertile soil for your imagination.

Helen Keller

"Your success and happiness lie in you.  Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invisible host against difficulties."

— Helen Keller

1880 - 1968

We are responsible for our own happiness and success.  Others are not responsible to make us happy.  Not our spouses.  Not our children.  Not our parents.  Life is full of challenges and difficulties.  Nothing is perfect.  If we blame others, we will never be happy.  We must learn to forgive and move on.  We must take charge of our inner world and resolve to be satisfied and happy.

Helen Frankenthaler

"If you have a gift, it is your halo and your cross.  There is no choice.  You are what you are, what you have been born.  And what is inherent in that condition is the loneliness that goes with it."

— Helen Frankenthaler

1928 -

We all have gifts.  Some that we know about and some that we don't. We need to accept our gifts and celebrate them.  The ability to create is a gift.  Whether you are a painter, a poet or a novelist, you have a gift.  Some days you will wish you didn't have the gift.  It will feel like a burden you have to bear.  Other days you will feel as if you are blessed because of your gift.  And there will be those who don't understand your gift.  They won't understand why you have to wake up at 4 am to paint, to write and to create.  They will ask why you can't be normal like everyone else.  And there will be days you ask yourself the same question.  "Why can't I be normal?  Why do I have to write?"  The answer is simple: you are blessed with a gift.  Accept it and thank the heavens that you have been blessed.

Mort Walker

"Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart."

— Mort Walker

1923-

Sometimes the heart grows stale and tired with the routines of life and needs a good spring cleaning.  Laughter is a powerful cleanser that helps to heal the pain we feel and revive our hopes that have been buried under layers of dust.  A deep belly laugh is like a breath of spring air on a winter's day.  Find those special moments of laughter and enjoy them.

Bernie Siegel

"If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you can't help but learn."

— Bernie Siegel

Nature has a way of renewing itself quickly and swiftly.  In the 1970's Lake Erie, which is up the road from where I live, was declared dead.  Today it is alive.  If you ever watch how quickly a forest renews itself after a fire, you will understand the meaning of this quote.  In fact, I believe nature uses adversity has a way of cleansing itself from the rot and finding new opportunity.  One simply has to observe the seasons to understand how nature renews itself.  And since we are a part of nature, we also have this gift.  We can renew and reinvent ourselves as needed.  Let go of your old tired habits and plant new habits.

Henri Matisse

"Look at life with the eyes of a child."

— Henri Matisse

1869 - 1954

A child looks at the world around her with wonderment and joy.  She laughs at new and strange things.  She enjoys the moment without worrying about tomorrow or yesterday.  She smiles at strangers and trusts them.  She shows little fear and puts herself at physical risk.  She sees everything and takes it into herself.  What can you and I learn from a child?  What can the child teach us?  Don't you think it is time we hug life?  That we listen to our hearts?  That we see the world through the eyes of the child we once were?

Opportunity

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Opportunity

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Alice Mackenzie Swaim

"Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow."

— Alice Mackenzie Swaim

1912 - 1996

Strength often comes from unexpected places.  We sometimes misjudge people when we only look at the outside.  Inside is what counts.  As artists, writers and storytellers, we must look deep inside and see the truth beneath the surface.  We must find the courage to tell our story in words and images.

Charles Dickens

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else."

— Charles Dickens

1812 - 1870

Even the most challenging of individuals has redeeming value.  No one is useless.  We all have something to offer our fellow human beings.  Maybe it is a piece of bread.  A handshake.  A pat on the back.  We all have something to give.  The winners in this world are those who give more than they get.  Reach out to those around you and share of yourself.  As artists and writers, we touch the lives of the people who view our paintings or read our writings.  And sometimes, often unknown to us, lives are changed.  So appreciate what you are sharing with the world.  You are not worthless if you make someone's life better.

Ad Reinhardt

"We all name ourselves.  We call ourselves artists.  Nobody asks us.  Nobody says you are or you aren't."

— Ad Reinhardt

1913 - 1967

Edith Wharton

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

— Edith Wharton

1862 -1937

William Wordsworth

"Come forth into the light of things.  Let nature be your teacher."

— William Wordsworth

1770 - 1850

William Blake

"What is now proven was once only imagined."

— William Blake

1757 - 1827

Zig Ziglar

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

— Zig Ziglar

1926 -

Antoine Cozpel

"Painting must do for the eyes what poetry does for the ears."

— Antoine Cozpel

1661 - 1722

Hephzibah Menuhin

"Freedom means choosing your burden."

— Hephzibah Menuhin

1920 - 1981

Henry David Thoreau

“Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.”

— Henry David Thoreau

1817 - 1862

Gustave Courbet

"Art is a wholly physical language whose words are all the visible objects."

— Gustave Courbet
French Painter

1819 - 1877

Karl Barth

"Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God."

— Karl Barth

1886 - 1968

Dean Acheson

"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time."

— Dean Acheson

1893 - 1971

Henry Moore

"To be an artist is to believe in life."

— Henry Moore

1898 -1986

Margaret Atwood

"The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them; there ought to be as many for love."

— Margaret Atwood
Canadian Novelist

1939 -

Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

— Nathaniel Hawthorne
American Novelist

1804 - 1864

Gerard de Nerval

"Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature."

— Gerard de Nerval

1808 – 1855