By Nellie Curtiss …
As I look at the dawning New Year, I look for what others see as they look forward. Here are a few quotes I have found from Paul Gibbons Leadership, Bloomsbury Philosphy, and from the Huffington Post. Lean into and relish the new days ahead.
“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey
“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” – Louise Hay
“One is not born, but one becomes a woman.” – Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, philosopher.
“To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things…” – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” –Hannah Arendt
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave nor took an excuse.” –Florence Nightengale
“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” –Eleanor Roosevelt
“Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fantasies. To teach superstitions as truths is a more terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them.” –Hypatia of Alexandria, ca. 400 CE
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” – Helen Keller
“I was smart enough to go through any door that opened.” – Joan Rivers
“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” – Susan B. Anthony
“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” – Rosa Parks
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estée Lauder
“Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” – Beyoncé Knowles Carter
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” – Lucille Ball
“I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say ‘yes, women can.’” – Dilma Rousseff
“Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.” – Edith Wharton
“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong
“You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.” – Leymah Gbowee
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
“If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don’t, you’re simply ducking your responsibilities.” – Ann Richards
“You can’t give up! If you give up, you’re like everybody else.” – Chris Evert
“No matter how difficult and painful it may be, nothing sounds as good to the soul as the truth.” – Martha Beck
“Done is better than perfect.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“Look your best – who said love is blind?” – Mae West
“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” – Madeleine Albright
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” – Condoleezza Rice
“A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution.” – Angela Merkel
“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” – Marge Piercy
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa
Columns by nellie 