Does today matter all that much when there’s a tomorrow in the wings?

Yes, no question about it.

Setting aside the fact that tomorrow doesn’t come with a guarantee, what about a more personal take on the idea.

Eleanor Roosevelt summed up the importance perfectly.

“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.”

Probably one of the most important sentences you’ll ever hear.

Don’t forget it — live by it.

Image credit: Wikipedia Commons

Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

Sheesh. It seems as if most of the articles I link to and the resulting posts are all focused on fixing or avoiding negative stuff. So this week I wanted to focus on positives, whether quotes, like the ones below, or other positive news. Enjoy and, hopefully, smile.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

Together, these five disparate thoughts pack enough wisdom to live from youth to old age and never go wrong.

“Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.” –Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech (I wonder if all those friends at Facebook and Twitter count?)

“Never let your ego get so close to your positions that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” –Admiral H. G. Rickover (I call it ego merge and it’s a definite no-no.)

“That’s what keeps life moving forward, focusing on what we can do, rather than getting caught up in what we can’t.” –Trisha Meili, The Central Park Jogger (Words of wisdom from a woman who knows.)

“Small Minds Talk About Others, Mediocre Minds Talk About Themselves, Great Minds Talk About Ideas.” –Eleanor Roosevelt (Which do you have?)

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” –John Milton, Paradise Lost (True when Milton wrote it and just as true now.)

Image credit: Joe Shlabotnik

I came across a neat little book of quotes today and thought I’d share some of them with you. Each quote is actually a postcard, but there’s no way I’ll ever tear the book apart and mail them.

A few I chose are fairly well-known, such as Eleanor Roosevelt’s comment, “Remember, no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent” and I’ll add that you should retract it every time you notice you did it.

Jane Austen said, “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery;” good advice, but we all have negative times in our lives.

When you do, remember Katherine Mansfield, who offered a wonderful thought when she said, “I am treating you as a friend asking you to share my present minuses in the hope that I can ask you to share my future pluses.”

Billie Holiday warns, “Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose,” which true, especially in the office.

Lily Tomlin is a woman after my own heart; she said, “If you can’t be direct, why be?” I’m always accused of being too blunt, so now I have a comeback.

We’ve all experienced the truth of Barbara Stanwyck’s comment, “Egotism: usually just a case of mistaken nonentity”

Which leads us to what Fran Lebowitz said, “Children give life to the concept of immaturity,” however, I’ve met quite a number of adults who animate the concept quite adequately.

And that brings us to our final quote from Suzanne Douglass, “To err is human, to forgive takes restraint, to forget you forgave is the mark of a saint.”

I suggest that we all do our best to achieve that mark!

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Image credit: h.koppdelaney on flickr

Together, these five disparate thoughts pack enough wisdom to live from youth to old age and never go wrong

“Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.” –Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech (I wonder if all those friends at Facebook and Twitter count?)

“Never let your ego get so close to your positions that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” –Admiral H. G. Rickover (I call it ego merge and it’s a definite no-no.)

“That’s what keeps life moving forward, focusing on what we can do, rather than getting caught up in what we can’t.” –Trisha Meili, The Central Park Jogger (Words of wisdom from a woman who knows.)

“Small Minds Talk About Others, Mediocre Minds Talk About Themselves, Great Minds Talk About Ideas.” –Eleanor Roosevelt (Which do you have?)

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” –John Milton, Paradise Lost (True when Milton wrote it and just as true now.)

Your comments—priceless

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Image credit: Joe Shlabotnik on flickr

As you know I am a great believer in the power of words.

Words can hurt or heal; they can lift us up or throw us into the darkest chasm; words can do most anything.

Right now times are tough and too many of the people I hear from are down or depressed and some are close to giving up. And words can help that, too.

When times are tough I’ve found some of my best inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt. I find her comments to be pithy and filled with common sense; stuff that’s so solid you can grab hold and it will carry you through the rapids of life. She was an amazing woman.

The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences. (It’s the one thing on which you should always pig out.)

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. (It’s been said many times in many ways, but no matter how bad your situation there’s someone in worse straits whom you can help.)

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. (That which you ignore will ignore you.)

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. (I call it MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and it’s the one thing in life over which you have complete control; where it goes and how it grows are always your choice.

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Image credit: Tony the Misfit on flickr