Wednesday Wisdom: Never Allow a Person to Tell You No Who Doesn't Have the Power to Say Yes

 

On one hand, this quote reminds me a lot of dealing with a particularly frustrating customer service department.  The front-line folks generally have very little power to solve problems, they just listen to your complaint, apologize, and then do nothing.  Don't ever take that as your answer!  Speak to as many people as it takes until you have reached someone who can actually help. 

On the other hand, and in a more big-picture sense, this quote can really make you think about who actually has power over your dreams and goals. 

 

Often, there are people around us that make our dreams seem like impossibilities.  

 

Have you ever allowed another person's negativity to affect your motivation?  Did they tell you that your dream was too big, that your goal was too hard to reach?  Did they go out of their way to remind you of all of the insurmountable (to them) obstacles you would face?  Here's the thing - no matter who that person was - parent, boss, spouse, friend - they don't have the power to make that dream come true for you.  So, don't let them tell you no.  

The one person in the world that has ultimate control over your dreams is... you guessed it, YOU.  Remind yourself of that daily, and keep a silent, reassuring YES always in your heart.

Wednesday Wisdom - Two Roads Diverged in a Wood

Sometimes, a few simple, ordinary words combine in a way that produces magic.

For me, that is what these few lines from a selection of Robert Frost's poetry do.  Taken in context of the entire poem, these words may have a far different meaning.*  But standing alone, these 22 words convey adventure, destiny, freedom and the extraordinary - and make you believe that they are written just for you.

I hope these words of wisdom from one of our greatest literary magicians (whether he intended them to be so taken or not) inspire you to think of your path not just as the road you are walking, but as your own unique destiny, leading you to seldom seen wonders and your own definition of success.  May they also remind you of the futility of regret.

~Jaelyn

*Full text of The Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem is perhaps a tongue-in-cheek look at the inevitable regrets of the indecisive among us, but the magic and beauty of the last three lines has transcended the original poem and taken on a meaning greater than the artist intended.  And after all, isn't that the true value of art?  The ability of each of us to personally interpret the beauty of the creation in a way that reflects our own soul or desires?

Wednesday Wisdom - Everybody Should Believe in Something

Happy Wednesday!

For the majority of my adult life, I have not been much of a coffee drinker - even when working multiple jobs while grinding through college.  I survived what I thought were tough challenges, and green tea (or iced tea, or white tea, or peppermint tea) was always able to get me through.   No reason to drink coffee, right?

And then I had children.  Children who don't sleep.   Thanks to coffee, we have all survived levels of sleep deprivation I didn't know existed.   The babies have long since started sleeping better and I am back to my beloved tea, but forevermore, coffee will have a place in my heart.

So, for those days when you are struggling to get your brain working and just need a warm, delicious cup of energy to get you through, here are your caffeine-infused words of wisdom.

~Anonymous

Now grab your double-shot extra-hot 2-pump mocha latte and tackle all those mid-week tasks like the hyper-focused coffee beast you are!

If you need an even larger dose of energy injected into your day, check out this post.
~ Jaelyn

Wednesday Wisdom - There is Nothing That Cannot Happen

When I feel like I am living a day that has become mired in a steady flow of bad luck, I like to be reminded by this quote that there is nothing that cannot happen.

Even on the days that seem filled with darkness, it's possible that you just might find the light switch!

Mark Twain - one of the most American of Americans.  An ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life with little more than a winning personality and a sense of adventure to help him achieve it.  His humor, wit, camaraderie and appreciation of language made him a legend.   If you haven't yet, read his first major book, The Innocents Abroad.  It was essentially released as a tongue-in-cheek travel guide (travel guides being a popular genre at the time),  and it was enormously popular.  Reading the book today, it provides a very interesting (sometimes cringe-inducing) glimpse into international cultures, peoples and conflicts of the time, from the viewpoint of a witty, wild, unapologetic young journalist from Missouri. 

The quote today is from Mark Twain's Autobiography, and is in reference to discovering that a rather ridiculous character with an outlandish name from his early work, "The Gilded Age," shared a name with an actual person who was none too pleased by the publicity.   What I've shared above is actually a bit of a misquote - Americans seem to have tacked on the "today" over the years, but it still captures the spirit of the original quote, so I'll keep it.

The original quote reads, "Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen.  Even the existence of two unrelated men wearing the impossible name of Eschol Sellers is a possible thing."

Happy Wednesday!