Be Great by Peter H Thomas

My favourite quotes from the book:

As pastor Billy Graham once said, "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost."

Legendary musician Elvis Presley once said, "Values are like fingerprints. Nobodys are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do."

To me, absolute freedom is total discipline. Life is about choices. If you want to be free, you need discipline to achieve.

The lesson in this is to enjoy your life every day - don't save up to have a great time later or when you retire, and don't blow it all any one thing. Remember the old adage that it’s the Journey that matter most, not the destination.

There are people who have what it takes to make it happen, people who worked very hard to make it happen, and people who say, "what happened?". People who consciously make choices never have to ask, "what happened"?

The amazing thing about choices is that when they are right, opportunity seems to flow out of them.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more expert, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, but love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life, not life to years."

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Visualization is day dreaming with purpose.

Another way to bring some change to your life is to spend time with people outside your usual circle of friends, acquaintances and co-workers, perhaps by joining a social group or sports club. Ask these "outsiders" their opinions, especially if they know nothing about what you do in life. AKA "coloring outside the lines.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened."

Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive, because your words become your actions. Keep your actions positive, because your actions become your values. Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.