I was just looking through my Phi Delta Theta Pledge manual from 1999 and I found a series of note cards that I used to use as speaking points at chapter meetings.  We were in the process of re-founding the fraternity and the following are the quotes I used to light the fire of change with my peers. 

“As you walk through life, you may be solo, but not alone.”
- Unknown

“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 future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

“Guard well your spare moments they are like uncut diamonds.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We are often so caught up in our destination that we forget to appreciate the journey.”
-Unknown

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas, I’m frightened by the old ones.”
-John Cage

“An Idea is salutation by imagination.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.”
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Technorati Tags: quotes, inspiration

I have been moving forward with my show installation bit by bit, and have been working on being diligent with my time while still having time to decompress and relax. Thank you for respecting my need to focus on myself a bit during this potentially stressful period.

I have keeping an old Chinese saying in mind, as excerpted from the Gold Mountain Monastery newsletter based here in San Francisco.

“I make my own destiny and seek my own fortune; fortune and misfortune are not predetermined but acquired by my own actions.”

The newsletter continues…

If we want to stop being muddled and attain understanding, we must first do our best to get rid of our bad habits and faults, for only then can our wisdom shine forth…

This day is already done,
And our lives are that much less.
We’re like a fish in an ever-shrinking pond.
What joy is there in this?
Great assembly!
We should be diligent and vigorous,
As if our own lives were at stake.
Only be mindful of impermanence,
And be careful not to be lax.

Moving forward, I do feel as though my artistic life is at stake at the moment, and I’m investing all my resources to make sure when the opening comes, I’m ready. Procrastination is a fault that I’m growing out of as I have more experience.

I’ve been handing out cards, getting photos ready, and making plans. I also just got a fortune cookie: “You believe in the goodness of mankind”. I do, and I’m excited to share in the joy more each day.

“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils.”
-Francis Bacon

Tags: quotes, Francis Bacon, art,

Pete_Ipp.jpg

Originally uploaded by hypermodern

Leap into GTD. “The people who take to GTD are the most organized people,” David Allen says, “But they self-assess as the least organized, because they are well-enough organized to know that they are fucking up.”

I had this posted over my desk through college, and just found the bit of paper as I am making my scrap book. Thank you to Don Taylor for this inspiring piece.

Success is a by-product of love. I’ve never yet seen anyone achieve greatness without loving what they do. While there is still work involved, if you love what you’re doing, the workload gets lighter.

Success is a by-product of thought. Not thinking of success, but rather think of solving this day’s problems through careful consideration of facts. Thought opens the door of discovery and lets in the light of reason. Sound reason brings clear solutions to difficult problems.

Success is a by-product of focusing on the positive. Only a pessimist succeeds by being negative. By focusing on what you can do, rather than what you cannot, you move forward toward success. Your progress may not be visible to you each day, but you are on your way.

Success is a by-product of planning. Creating a plan will not make you successful. I’ve seen the business plans of some real failures. However, a good plan is a foundation to build on. Executing the elements in your plan will guide you toward success.

Success is a by-product of starting. Many potentially successful projects fail because no one got them started. All success comes from starting. An adage says that well begun is half done.

Success is a by-product of continuing. Thomas Edison achieved great success by starting where others quit. Winston Churchill made a great speech with just six words. He said, “Never, never, never, never give up.” Helen Keller said, “We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.”

Success is a by-product of time well spent. Productive use of your time is a critical success factor. All people are given the same amount of time every day. Some use it dreaming, some denying, some dodging and some doing. Become a doer. Concentrate on results. Use your time wisely.

Success is a by-product of doing. Results are the outcome of actions. Actions are the by-product of doing.

A lifetime of doing what we love in a positive way, while thinking of others, will create some wonderful products and cause success to surround you.

Work toward other goals and successes will overtake you as certainly as night follows day.

“In art, everything is a lie, and the facts of external reality are only a means to the greater guidence of the instincts” (120).
-Aaron Scharf Art and Photography

“…art is not just nature, but is the interpretation of nature through human feeling and human genius.”

-Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran

“…if you take responsibility for what you do, that’s a person’s worth. Just because you have a debt doesn’t mean you’re not valuable…”

-Larry Ippel

I found these in my room hand written with a Bic pen in big letters…they’re dated 4/7/97.

“And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing”

“Man’s needs change, but not his love, nor his desire that his love should satisfy his needs.”

“Trust the dreams for in them is hidden the gate to ETERNITY.”

I found one in my room with the following…

“It’s not how you play the game, it’s if you win or lose.”

More later…