The more things you have, the more things you have to manage. Simplicity isn’t merely cheaper, it’s easier.

-James Clear, Author

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Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t – you’re right.

-Henry Ford, American Industrialist

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Success consists of going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm. 

-Winston Churchill, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible.’”

-Audrey Hepburn, Actress and Icon

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I love you and I believe in you, and I believe in your ability to change your life.

-Mel Robbins, Author, Podcaster, and Motivational Speaker

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Everything I lose creates space for everything I need.

-Kristin McGee, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates Instructor

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Many situations in life are similar to going on a hike: the view changes once you start walking.

You don’t need all the answers right now. New paths will reveal themselves if you have the courage to get started.

-James Clear, Author

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Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett, Irish Playwright and Poet

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Greatness takes guts. And often, it’s the courage to eliminate the things you can do fairly well so you have the capacity to do one thing exceptionally well. Have the courage to take more off your plate.

-James Clear, Author

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You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. 

-Mary Pickford, Canadian-American Film Actress

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The grass is only greener if you’re obsessed.

It’s easy to talk yourself into a new opportunity because everyone else is excited about it or the upside seems high, but the energy that comes from hype is different than the energy you need to make something part of your daily lifestyle.

It might be a good opportunity on paper, but if it isn’t the type of thing you want to spend all day working on, then you probably won’t stick with it. And if you won’t stick with it, then it’s not a good opportunity for you.

-James Clear, Author

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You can waste your life drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.

-Shonda Rhimes, American Television Producer and Screenwriter

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When things don’t go well it’s easy to wonder, “Why me?” It’s easy to point fingers. It’s easy to wallow in frustration or defeat.

But it is also easy to ask, “What is this teaching me?”

You can’t remove the frustrations from life, but you can always try to come out a little wiser on the other side.

-James Clear, Author

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My favorite type of mental toughness is not forcing one path, but being open to many paths: Whatever comes my way, I can handle it. Whatever resources I have, I can make it work. Whatever the day brings, I can thrive.

-James Clear, Author

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Earlier this week I read a line that stood out to me, “Your goal in life should be to reduce the amount of time it takes you to get out of a bad state.”

The ability to bounce back quickly is a key skill in life.

My wife once told me, “When you’re five, you can be mad for a day. When you’re ten, you can be mad for an hour. By the time you’re thirty, you get ten minutes—and then you have to move on.”

Life is full of moments of frustration and disappointment. Growth and maturity is learning to pull yourself out of a bad state faster.

-James Clear, Author

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I realized that I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life. It’s a trip more wonderful than I could have imagined.

-Kerry Washington, American Actress

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Blessed are those who give without remembering and take without forgetting.

-Elizabeth Bibesco, Haven, Actress and Writer

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Each day, spend some time on two things:

Working toward something that will pay off years from now

Appreciating something that is happening right now.

-James Clear, Author

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The only failure is quitting. Everything else is just gathering information.

-Jen Sincero, Author 

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It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

-Epictetus, Greek Philosopher 

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When you listen as fiercely as you want to be heard, when you respect the idea that you are sharing the earth with other humans, and when you lead with a nice foot forward, you will win, every time.

-Kristen Bell, American Actress and Singer

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You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed in you don’t try.

-Beverly Sills, American Operatic Soprano

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The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.

-Margaret E. Sangster, “The Christmas Tree”, American Poet and Writer

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Don’t be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed.

-Jane Wagner, American Writer and Director

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Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.

-Mary Tyler Moore, American Actress and Film Producer

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Youth is the time of getting, middle age of improving, and old age of spending.

-Anne Bradstreet, Poet

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Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.

-Barbara De Angelis, American Consultant and Lecturer

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Have the courage to accept that you’re not perfect, nothing is, and no one is – and that’s OK.

-Katie Couric, American Journalist and Presenter

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What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.

-Gretchen Rubin, American Author and Blogger

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Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering – because you can’t take it all in at once.

-Audrey Hepburn, British Actress

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I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.

-Serena Williams, American Former Tennis Player

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What we have once enjoyed we can never lose… All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.

-Helen Keller, American Activist, Author, and Educator

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Ambition is not a dirty word. It’s just believing in yourself and your abilities.

-Reese Witherspoon, Actress

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, and a little more loving, have a little more empathy, and maybe we’d like each other a little bit more.

-Judy Garland, American Actress and Singer

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I love being part of nature. I love walking alone. It is therapy. One needs to be alone, to recharge one’s batteries.

-Grace Kelly, American Actress 

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I’ve always said, “No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I’m going to come right back up.”

-Doris Day, American Actress and Singer

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Always work hard and have fun in what you do, because I think that’s when you’re more successful.

-Simone Biles, American Gymnast 

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Be forgiving with your past self. What’s done is done. Take the lessons with you and release the guilt.

Be strict with your present self. Win the moment in front of you right now.

Be flexible with your future self. There are many paths to success. You don’t need life to be a certain way to live well.

-James Clear, Author

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Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.

-Nikki Giovanni, American Poet and Writer

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Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

-Vivian Greene, American R&B Singer-Songwriter and Pianist 

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Don’t look for big things; just do small things with great love.

-Mother Teresa

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If you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.

-Emma Watson, Actress

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We look into mirrors but we only see the effects of our times on us – not our effect on others.

-Pearl Bailey, American Actress and Singer

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The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.

-Madeline L’Engle, American Writer

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You may never be good enough for everybody, but you will always be the best for somebody.

-Rihanna, Barbadian Singer and Businesswoman

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We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

-Frederick Koenig, German Inventor

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You must be the best judge of own own happiness.

-Jane Austen, Novelist, Emma

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Stay curious. It’s much more important to stay interested than to be interesti

-Jane Fonda, American Actress and Activist

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Every twist and turn in life is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself, your interests, your talents, and how to set and then achieve goals.

-Jameela Jamil, British Actress and Activist

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No darkness lasts forever. And even there, there are stars.

-Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

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You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt, Activist and Former First Lady of the United States

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Be confident that your difference is what makes your ability to innovate unique. 

-Ayanna Howard, American Roboticist and Entrepreneur 

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You get to choose what monsters you want to slay.

-Carrie Fisher, American Actress and Writer

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Whenever you are stuck searching for the optimal plan, remember:

Getting started changes everything.

-James Clear, Author

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You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing you have.

-Bob Marley 

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You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities. If you know that, you can do anything.

-Oprah Winfrey, American Talk Show Host, Television Producer, Actress, Author

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The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.

-Albert Einstein, German-born Theoretical Physicist 

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Worrying about the future is like watching a leaf fall and trying to predict where it will land. Stop trying to guess where the wind will blow and get to work.

-James Clear, Author

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Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else too.

-Meryl Streep, American Actress

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If you’re kicking yourself for not having accomplished all you should have by now, don’t worry about it. Even without any “big” accomplishments yet, you are enough.

-Lauren Graham, American Actress and Author

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I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.

-Georgia O’Keefe, American Painter

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You cannot have positive life and a negative mind.

-Joyce Meyer, American Christian Author

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There are many elements of living a good life, but the first and most foundational is to love yourself and enjoy spending time with yourself.

Go do things on your own so you learn to trust your mind and view it as a welcome companion. If someone declared, “Tomorrow you must spend the day alone” the hope is that you would reply, “That sounds like a good day!”

The person who is at ease within finds every other space larger and more enjoyable.

-James Clear, Author

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Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.

-Jodi Picoult, American Writer, Sing You Home

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The first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it, and the first step to any form of action is awareness.

-Mellody Hobson, Author and American Businesswoman

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It’s OK to feel different right now. You are supposed to be feeling weird a lot of the time. You have a lot going on. And you are supposed to feel uncomfortable and awkward because it’s a good thing, and it helps you grow. 

-Megan Rapinoe, American Former Soccer Player

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In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few. 

-Shunryn Suzuki, Japanese Zen Monk, Author, and Teacher

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Embrace who you are. Literally. Hug Yourself. Accept who you are.

-Ellen Degeneres, American Comedian and Actress

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Strangely, life gets harder when you try to make it easy.

Exercising might be hard, but never moving makes life harder.

Mastering your craft is hard, but having no skills is harder.

Uncomfortable conversations are hard, but avoiding every conflict is harder.

Easy has a cost.

-James Clear, Author

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Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.  Just walk beside me and be my friend.

-Albert Camus, French Philosopher and Author

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You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” …You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt, Activist and Former First Lady of the United States

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In silence, we have an opportunity to reflect, listen, and gain new insights about ourselves. In silence, we can think, feel, and most important of all, breathe. 

-Iyanla Vanzant, American Inspirational Speaker and Lawyer

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If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you’d never think a negative thought again.

-Peace Pilgrim, American Teacher

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Start with the best opportunity available to you. If you make the most of what you have in front of you right now, better opportunities will become available as you go along.

-James Clear, Author

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When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.

-Tony Robbins, Author, Speaker, Motivator, and Life-changer

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You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try – you don’t take the risk.

-Rosalynn Carter, American Activist and Humanitarian & Former First Lady of the United States, Wife of former President Jimmy Carter

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Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.

-Bernadette Devlin, Irish Civil Rights Leader

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Treat failure like a scientist.

Each attempt is an experiment. Each mistake is a clue.

You’re not failing. You’re refining.

-James Clear, Author

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One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving.

-Amy Carmichael, Irish Christian Missionary in India 

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Practice the art of small daily discomforts. Modern life is optimized for convenience and comfort. Your food can be delivered straight to your door. Your car seats can be heated. Your favorite show is available at the press of a button.

We all enjoy convenience and comfort, myself included. But our bodies and souls yearn for challenge. We want to be stretched. A deeper satisfaction awaits after pushing yourself to learn a challenging concept or complete a humbling workout or have an important but difficult conversation.

Should the whole day feel difficult? No, I don’t think that’s necessary. But a good day — a meaningful and fulfilling day — requires small moments of discomfort. Growth demands discomfort. We need something to push against to learn how strong we can become.

-James Clear, Author

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Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things are.

-Marianne Williamson, American Author and Speaker and Political Activist

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To fly, we have to have resistance.

-Maya Lin, American Architect and Designer

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Nothing is impossible; the word itself says, “I’m possible!”

-Audrey Hepburn, British Actress

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The best way to make a difference in the world is to start by making a difference in your own life.

-Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American Actress and Comedian

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We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.

-Martha Grimes, American Writer

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This is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.

-Willa Cather, My Antonia, American Writer

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Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.

-Anne Lamott, American Novelist 

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The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. The most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.

-Barbara Kingslover, American Novelist and Essayist

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Your first task is to find what feels effortless to you.

Your second task is to put maximum effort into it.

-James Clear, Author

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We are not put on this earth to accumulate victories and trophies and avoid failures but rather to be whittled and sand-papered down until what’s left is who we truly are.

-Arianna Huffington, Greek-American Author

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Time will multiply whatever you feed it.

Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.

-James Clear, Author

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To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy.

-Madeline L’Engle, American Writer

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Stress and worry tend to be higher before you act.

Without action, all you can do is worry.

Once you begin, fear shrinks as you start to influence the outcome.

-James Clear, Author

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Embrace the glorious mess that you are.

-Elizabeth Gilbert, American Journalist and Author

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

-Marthe Troly-Curtin, Author of Phrynette Married

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One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

-André Gide, French Author 

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Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look at it squarely in the eye, and say, “I will be bigger then you. You cannot defeat me.”

-Ann Landers, American Advice Columnist and Cultural Icon

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Don’t ask yourself what that world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

-Howard Thurman, American Author and Philosopher

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Very often you are in the right place, at the right time, but you don’t know it.

-Maria Tallchief, Osage and American Ballerina 

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Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.

-Jane Goodall, Zoologist and Primatologist 

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The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing; it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.

-Brené Brown, Research Professor, Author, and Podcaster

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The most important things in life aren’t things.

-Mamie Phipps Clark, Social Psychologist

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It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet, Essayist, Visionary, and Giver

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Success is largely the failures you avoid.

Health is the injuries you don’t sustain.

Wealth is the purchases you don’t make.

Happiness is the objects you don’t desire.

Peace of mind is the arguments you don’t engage.

Avoid the bad to protect the good.

-James Clear, Author

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If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I have a gift. I am a gift. I give and receive.

-Kristin McGee, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates Instructor

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If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.

-Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher & Founder of Taoism 

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Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

-Ella Fitzgerald, American Singer-Songwriter and Composer

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The secret to winning is learning how to lose. That is, learning to bounce back from failure and disappointment—undeterred—and continuing to steadily march toward your potential. Your response to failure determines your capacity for success.

-James Clear, Author

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If we really love ourselves, everything in our life work.

-Louise Hay, Author & Publisher

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Someone will start with more money than you. Someone will get into a better school. Someone will inherit connections you need to build from scratch. Someone will get picked before you. In other words, you’ll have no problem finding people with a head start.

That’s not the point.

The point is: when you get your opportunity, you make the most of it.

-James Clear, Author

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Setbacks have an upside: they fuel new dreams.

-Dara Torres, American Former Competitive Swimmer

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The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude. 

-Oprah Winfrey, American Talk Show Host, Television Producer, Actress, Author

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The Paradox of Freedom: The way to expand your freedom is to narrow your focus.

Stay focused on saving to achieve financial freedom.

Stay focused on training to achieve physical freedom.

Stay focused on learning to achieve intellectual freedom.

The disciplined become the free.

-James Clear, Author

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You cannot fix a problem that you refuse to acknowledge.

-Margaret Heffernan, Entrepreneur, CEO, Writer, and Keynote Speaker 

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The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

-Jiddu Krishnamurti, Philosopher and Spiritual Teacher

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It’s not the having, it’s the getting.

-Elizabeth Taylor, British-American Actress and Businesswomen

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My comfort zone is like a little bubble around me, and I’ve pushed it in different directions and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fall within the realm of the possible.

-Alex Honnold, Rock Climber

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The sword glitters not because the swordsman set out to make it glitter but because he is fighting for his life and therefore moving it very quickly.

-C.S. Lewis, Writer and Scholar

He reminds us that what looks best is when we stop worrying about looking good and start focusing on doing our best.

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Don’t ever give up on life. Life can be so beautiful, especially after you’ve spent a lot of time with it.

-Yoko Ono, Japanese Multimedia Artist and Singer

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Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously near to wanting nothing.

-Sylvia Plath, American Poet and Author

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Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way, in a nice little box with a yellow bow on top… Opportunities, the good ones, they’re messy and confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.

-Susan Wojcicki, American Business Executive

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It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen.

-Brigitte Bardot, French Former Actress and Singer

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If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.

-Angelina Jolie, American Actress, Filmmaker, and Humanitarian

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The 4 qualities of a great career:

I enjoy it

I’m good at it

I make good money

I’m around fascinating people

Answer in reverse order:

Where are fascinating people?

In what ways can I make money with them?

Which ones am I good at?

Which ones do I enjoy?”

-James Clear, Author

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Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfill something, we can do anything.

-Greta Thunberg, Swedish Activist

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One way to stand out is to look for pockets of low competition.

Wake up early—less traffic, fewer people.

Go deeper or narrower in your field—less noise, more space.

People are drawn to where it is crowded. Look for the quiet spaces inside your areas of interest. Excellence often hides at the edges.

-James Clear, Author

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Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American Lawyer and Jurist

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Worrying is like praying for what you don’t want to happen.

-Denis Morton, Peloton Cycle and Yoga Instructor

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People can sometimes be held hostage by their expectations. They have a dream of something they would like to achieve or a path they intend to follow, but their mindset falls apart when things don’t work out how they had hoped.

The key is to reach for an extremely high bar, but to be adaptable enough to reframe the failures, disappointments, and defeats into fuel for the next thing. Give your best effort, but no matter how it works out, trust that life will be good for you. Focus on how the world is working with you, not against you.

Everything you are given is material for the next move. Everything.

-James Clear, Author

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Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

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It’s the rough side of the mountain that’s the easiest to climb. The smooth side doesn’t have anything for you to hang on to.

-Aretha Franklin, American Singer-Songwriter and Pianist 

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The greatest danger to our future is apathy. We can’t all save the world in a dramatic way, but we can each make our small difference, and together those small differences add up. Every single person makes an impact on the planet every single day. The question is: What kind of impact do you want to make?

-Jane Goodall, Zoologist and Primatologist

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A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.

-Sonia Sotomayor, American Lawyer and Jurist 

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I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

-Agatha Christie, English Playwright and Detective Novelist

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So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American Lawyer and Jurist

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Stories of failure resonate more than stories of success. Few people reach the top, but everyone has failed—including those who eventually succeed. If you’re teaching people how to succeed in a given field (or talking about your own success), start with how you failed.

-James Clear, Author

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I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way, and I work really, really hard.

-Shonda Rhimes, Screenwriter, Producer, Director, and Author

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Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

-Marie Curie, Physicist and Chemist

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I don’t go by a rule book, because I lead from my heart, not the head.

-Diana, Princess of Wales

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I’ve been told my whole life I’m not up to snuff. Folks always doubt my worthiness until I get it done. Tune it out. Stay focused and positive. Keeping pushing.

-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, United States Representative

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Take all the energy you spend on…

worrying about the past

worrying about the future

worrying about what others think

worrying about if you might fail

… and channel that energy into one useful action within your control.

-James Clear, Author

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I got to this stage by being myself, and I should keep doing that.

-Naomi Osaka, Japanese Tennis Player

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We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that his thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. 

-Marie Curie, Polish-French Physicist and Chemist

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Things that keep people from fulfilling their potential:

Lacking the courage to try

Trying to please everyone

Imitating the desires of others

Chasing status without questioning why

Playing superhero and trying to do it all alone

Dividing attention between too many projects

-James Clear, Author

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The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. When you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always end up having more.

-Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show Host and Television Producer

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A moment of mindfulness is a moment of freedom.

-Sharon Salzberg

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The most important relationship in your life is the relationship you have with yourself. Because no matter what happens, you will always be with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.

-Diane Von Furstenberg, Belgian Fashion Designer

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Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.

-Brené Brown, Researcher and Storyteller

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Comparison is the thief of joy.

-Theodore Roosevelt, United States President

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In theory, consistency is about being disciplined, determined, and unwavering.

In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don’t have much time? Scale it down. Don’t have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day.

Adaptability is the way of consistency.

-James Clear, Author

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To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.

-Reba McEntire, Actress 

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A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words, and deeds is like that.

-Dorothy Day, American Journalist and Social Activist

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Your habits are often a byproduct of convenience. Humans are wired to seek the path of least resistance, which means the most convenient option is often the one that wins. Make good choices more convenient and bad choices less so. Behavior will improve naturally.

-James Clear, Author

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My best successes came on the heels on failures.

-Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Mogul & Business Expert

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We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.

-Helen Hayes, American Actress

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We do not fully inhabit futures that are unlike the past, and past experiences… are not always enough to conjure the future. Our minds can wander only so far. 

-Bina Venkataraman, American Journalist and Author

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You can’t make time go faster or success come sooner. The only thing you can control is the next action.

-James Clear, Author

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I encourage you to pursue the things that make you feel alive.

-Kristi Yamaguchi, American Figure Skater and Author

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Whatever it is, it’s OK because it’s what it is. Don’t be looking for perfection. Don’t be short-tempered with yourself. And you’ll be a whole lot nicer to be around with everyone else.

-Mary Tyler Moore, American Actress and Film Producer

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Exercise should be done  for the love of movement and the vitality it brings, not for the six-pack.

-Jonathan Goodman, Personal Training Development Center

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The world needs your spark. The world needs your energy. The world needs you to show up for your life and take hold of your potential! 

-Rachel Hollis, American Author and Motivational Speaker

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Success isn’t about the end result; it’s about what you learn along the way.

-Vera Wang

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Don’t confuse having a career with having a life. They are not the same.

-Hillary Rodham Clinton, American Politician, Lawyer, and Diplomat

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You are better equipped to deal with stress when you are moving.

When you feel tense or frustrated or worried, it is difficult to think your way into feeling better. The more you think about the situation, the larger it becomes in your mind. Trying to think your way out of it often leads to a spiral of overthinking and rumination.

The first step is not to think something different, but to do something different. It doesn’t matter what. Stretch on the floor, go for a walk, work on a project. Get out of your mind and move your body.

-James Clear, Author

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The first wealth is health.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. The effect you have on others’ lives is the highest expression of your own.

-Maya Angelou, Author

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Freedom does not mean being free of something, but to be free to do something.

-Angela Merkel, Retired German Politician

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If you want to meet the love of your life, look in the mirror.

-Byron Katie, American Speaker and Author

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Becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see to instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.

-Michelle Obama, Former First Lady

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I find ecstasy in living – the mere sense of living is joy enough.

-Emily Dickinson, American Poet

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Stop paying so much attention to what everyone else is doing and run your own race. How much time is spent reading other people’s posts on social media, watching other people’s exploits in the news, listening to other people’s ideas on podcasts? Go have coffee with a friend. Go make something. Go outside. All those hours spent looking at someone else’s life on a screen could be used to take action in your own life.

-James Clear, Author

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Trying to do it all and expecting that it all can be done exactly right is a recipe for disappointment. Perfection is the enemy.

-Sheryl Sandberg, American Technology Executive, Philanthropist, and Writer

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Limit your “always” and your “nevers”.

-Amy Poehler, Actress and Comedian

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Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get the chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. 

-Dr. Seuss

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At any moment, you are one good choice away from a meaningfully better life.

-James Clear, Author

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Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance.

-Abigail Adams, Wife of United States President John Adams

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Find out who you are and do it on purpose.

-Dolly Parton, Actress

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Out of the darkness and into the light to all that’s good and all that’s bright.

-Kristin McGee, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates Instructor

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Use what you already know. People are so busy searching for a shortcut — or hoping an easier path will reveal itself — they let numerous moments slip by when they could get results simply by doing what is right in front of them.

-James Clear, Author

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I realized that success is not so much how close you come to perfection as how much you overcome along the way.

-Adam Grant, Writer, Podcaster, Presenter, Professor

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Whether it’s about society’s expectations of masculinity or femininity, or how we divide ourselves by race or faith or class or status, everyone has value, and everyone deserves to be heard and respected.

-Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex

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Savor the little victories as much as you criticize the little mistakes.

-James Clear, Author

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I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have learnt, from experience, that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

-Martha Washington, Wife of George Washington (First President of the United States)

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It is neither work nor play, purpose nor purposelessness that satisfies us. It is the dance between.

-Bernard De Koven

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Holding onto anger and resentment is like scuba diving with an anchor. As long as you’re clinging to it, you’re bound to the seabed, limited in movement, unable to appreciate the coral reefs and the colorful fish that dart in and out of view.

Forgiveness is letting go of the anchor. It isn’t about declaring what was done to you is okay, but about unburdening yourself so you can swim freely. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. It’s the gift of letting go of the anchors you’ve been carrying.

-James Clear, Author

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I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.

-Estée Lauder, American Businesswomen & Co-founder of Cosmetic Company

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As you make your way along life’s tumultuous highways, it’s important to note that you should always carry a map, have plenty of fuel in the tank, and take frequent rest stops.

-Octavia Spencer, American Actress

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The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor even touched, but just felt in the heart.

-Anne Sullivan, American teacher & lifelong companion of Helen Keller

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I split problems into two groups: muddy puddles and leaky ceilings.

Some problems are like muddy puddles. The way to clear a muddy puddle is to leave it alone. The more you mess with it, the muddier it becomes. Many of the problems I dream up when I’m overthinking or worrying or ruminating fall into this category. Is life really falling apart or am I just in a sour mood? Is this as hard as I’m making it or do I just need to go workout? Drink some water. Go for a walk. Get some sleep. Go do something else and give the puddle time to turn clear.

Other problems are like a leaky ceiling. Ignore a small leak and it will always widen. Relationship tension that goes unaddressed. Overspending that becomes a habit. One missed workout drifting into months of inactivity. Some problems multiply when left unattended. You need to intervene now.

Are you dealing with a leak or a puddle?

-James Clear, Author

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If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade.

And yet, we talk ourselves into it all the time. We take promotions that pay more, but swallow our free time. We already have a successful business, but we break ourselves trying to make it even more successful.

Too much focus on wealth, not enough focus on lifestyle.

-James Clear, Author

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You don’t need to worry about progressing slowly. You need to worry about climbing the wrong mountain.

-James Clear, Author

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In the waves of change, I find my direction.

-Kristin McGee, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates Instructor

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Think about the little things you enjoy, then turn around and do them for someone else.

If you feel relief when someone asks a question in class, then other students are probably relieved too. Be the one who asks.

If you love it when a friend calls to check in, your friends probably love it too. Be the one who calls.

If it makes your whole day when someone compliments your outfit, other people probably love it too. Give out more compliments.

-James Clear, Author

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

-Victor Frankl, Jewish psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor

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If you keep showing up, you’ll almost certainly break through — but probably not in the way you expected or intended. You need enough persistence to keep working and enough flexibility to enjoy success when it comes in a different form than you imagined.

-James Clear, Author

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So true is it that nothing is wretched, but thinking makes it so… and conversely every lot is happy if borne with equanimity.

-Boethius

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Simple ways to have a peaceful moment:

Close your eyes and just breathe for two minutes.

Leave your phone in another room for an hour.

Watch a cloud form and then dissolve.

Stand in the sunshine and notice how it warms your skin.

Light a candle and watch the flame dance.

-James Clear, Author

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Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on you mind.

-Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Retired American Track and Field Athlete 

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You will never find one answer to what makes you happy. There are many answers, and they change based on your current state.

People need to relax, but if all you do is sit on the beach, it gets old. People find meaning in work, but if all you do is work, it gets exhausting. People benefit from exercise, but if all you do is exercise, it gets unhealthy.

Happiness will always be fleeting because your needs change over time. The question is: what do you need right now?

-James Clear, Author

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I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it.

-Vincent Van Gogh, Painter/Artist

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Clarity isn’t about knowing what you want to do with your life, it’s about knowing what you want to do this week.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to know your next step.

-James Clear, Author

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It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.

-Madeline Albright, Former United States Secretary of State

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You can cold email nearly anyone, but nearly everyone overlooks how powerful it can be.

Sending one email each week that feels like a stretch can change your life. Will you get turned down? Sure, most of the time. But you only need one to pay off for something amazing to happen.

Take your time, write a thoughtful message, and muster the courage to press Send.

-James Clear, Author

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For a very long time everybody refuses and then almost without a pause everybody accepts.

-Gertrude Stein, American Novelist, Poet, Playwright, and Art Collector

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I’m not the best writer, but it is a strength. I might be a 90th percentile writer.

And I’m not the best marketer, but it is a strength. Again, maybe 90th percentile? I’m better than most, but if you pass 100 people on the street it won’t be hard to find some people better than me.

What I have gradually learned is that it is not your strengths, but your combination of strengths that sets you apart. It is the fact that writing and marketing are mutually reinforcing—and that I enjoy both—that leads to great results.

How can you combine your strength? That’s something I would encourage everyone to think about. You will find talented people in every area of life. It’s the combinations that are rare.

-James Clear, Author

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When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks.

If you want to be an author, you can’t only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can’t only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting.

You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It’s easy to want the public rewards, but also have to want the hidden costs.

-James Clear, Author

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In every challenge or even tragedy, there is an opportunity. And if you train yourself to look for the opportunity, you will be able to take control of the situation and even turn it into a positive or if it can’t be turned into something good, at least something good could come out of it.

-Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rabbi

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Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett

Be courageous, take risks, and don’t mind failure.

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The bad workouts are the most important ones. It’s easy to train when you feel good, but it’s crucial to show up when you don’t feel like it—even if you do less than you hope.

Going to the gym for 15 minutes might not improve your performance, but it reaffirms your identity. It’s not always about what happens during the workout. It’s about becoming the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts.

-James Clear, Author

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Creativity is the focused combination of unlikely things. Your mind locks onto a certain element and then searches widely for something unexpected that fits with it. What can scuba diving teach you about agriculture? What can trees teach you about public speaking? There is always some connective tissue between disciplines. If you wish to be more creative, look for the connections between two previously unconnected things.

-James Clear, Author

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Finding your way in life is like unlocking the combination of a safe. You have to go forwards and backwards. Life is not a direct march from A to B. The twists and turns are progress, not regression. What feels like a setback in the moment is later revealed to have been part of the path all along. Each move was necessary to get to your end goal.

-James Clear, Author

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I have had periods in my career when I have been sprinting full speed and accomplished a great deal and I have had seasons when I have been fairly lazy and coasted on my previous effort.

What I have learned is that I am the major obstruction to getting results. Whether external conditions are favorable or unfavorable makes less difference than whether I am fully engaged and consistent. Even in competitive fields, the competition is primarily within yourself.

-James Clear, Author

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The strategy required to find a great opportunity (lots of saying yes and exploring widely) is different from the strategy required to make the most of a great opportunity (lots of saying no and remaining focused).

-James Clear, Author

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I am grateful for all of the simple joys and blessings all around me.

-Kristin McGee, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates Instructor

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Opportunities are grains of sand. They slide right past drooping fingers, but an active palm can gather whatever is within reach and shape it into a little castle. It is the act of engaging with the material that gives it shape.

-James Clear, Author

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Focus on your likes, not your wants.

You may not want to exercise, but you like how it makes you feel.

You may not want to write, but you like the feeling of accomplishment.

You may not want to wake up early, but you like the calm beauty of morning.

Wanting is the desire you feel before doing something. Liking is the satisfaction you feel after doing something. Let your likes guide you.

-James Clear, Author

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Compete externally and you compare.

Compete internally and you improve.

-James Clear, Author

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Two is twice as good as one, but one is infinitely better than zero.

One minute of making sales calls is infinitely better than zero minutes.

One minute of meditation is infinitely better than zero minutes.

One minute of writing is infinitely better than zero minutes.

Sure, it might be ideal to spend an hour doing these things, but one minute gets you in the game. Now you’re learning. Now you’re improving. Now results are possible. One doesn’t seem like much, but it’s something real. At zero, you’re still dreaming.

-James Clear, Author

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The secret is to do a few things for a long time.

The challenge is…

You need to experiment and explore quite a bit to find the thing that is worth doubling down on. It may take a few years (or a decade) to find the project or relationship or cause that you want to commit to for a long time.

New things are always coming up. Once you find something you want to do for a long time, you need the courage and discipline to say no to the shiny, new opportunities. After years of exploring and experimenting, it can be hard to flip the switch and remain focused.

You have to be willing to explore widely enough to find your thing, then willing to focus narrowly enough to make it something great.

-James Clear, Author

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Focus on what provides value to others, not what impresses others.

Other people spend about as much time thinking about your lifestyle and accomplishments as you spend thinking about their lifestyle and accomplishments. Which is to say, not much time at all.

The things we do to impress others rarely impress them for longer than five minutes. But the things we do to provide value for others can last a lifetime. In the long run, one of the most impressive things you can do is provide exceptional value.

-James Clear, Author

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Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.

-Corrie ten Boom, Dutch Watchmaker and Writer

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Life isn’t a matter or milestones but of moments.

-Rose Kennedy, American Philanthropist, John F. Kennedy’s Mother

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If you look for evidence that people are conspiring to hold you back and the world is working against you, then it will take you no time at all to find precisely that.

If you expect to encounter helpful people and experience a world that is working with you, then you find plenty of evidence to support that view as well.

The raw material for a sweet life or a bitter life is always there. The story you emphasize is the one you notice.

-James Clear, Author

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You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.

-Indira Gandhi, Former Prime Minister of India

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You don’t have to be good at everything, you just need to double down on what you’re naturally suited for.

-James Clear, Author 

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If we assume we’ve arrived: we stop searching, we stop developing.

-Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Northern Irish Physicist 

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Train hard and focus on what you can control.

-James Clear, Author