12 Motivational Quotes by Classical Composers

By any measure, some of the greatest creatives in the world are composers of music. Perhaps not surprisingly some of these musical geniuses also have had a philosophical bent.

Here are 10 motivational quotes by great composers.

    I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings. ~Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    This is the mark of a really admirable man: steadfastness in the face of trouble. ~Ludwig Van Beethoven
    I worked hard. Anyone who works as hard as I did can achieve the same results. ~J.S. Bach
    To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist. ~Robert Schumann
    Even if I know I shall never change the masses, never transform anything permanent, all I ask is that the good things also have their place, their refuge. ~Richard Wagner
    Fortunately, something always remains to be harvested. So let us not be idle. ~Gustav Mahler
    I am hitting my head against walls, but the walls are giving way. ~Gustav Mahler
    I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on. ~Stephen Sondheim
    You believe happiness to be derived from the place in which once you have been happy, but in truth it is centered in ourselves. ~Franz Schubert
    Life is a lot like jazz. It’s best when you improvise. ~George Gershwin
    Why get up in the morning unless you’re going to have an adventure? ~Hans Zimmer
    When a man is in despair, it means he still believes in something. ~Dmitri Shostakovich
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Box? What box? – Day 266 of 365 Days to a Better You

This photo was shared by my friend, Becky Sivley, over on Facebook this morning.

We’ve all heard the phrase – think outside the box. It’s generally regarded as a positive aphorism. However, there’s a subtle but powerfully negative assumption in that phrase.

It assumes you’re starting in a box or that there is even a box to start in. Sure, society is constantly trying to put us in various boxes. What if we simply choose not to play?

What if, instead, we see ourselves and the people around us as genius creatives and empowered agents of this universe capable of just about anything?

Lose the box and your other limits. You don’t need them and they were likely never more than societally planted control mechanisms to begin with.

In case no one else reminds you today, you’re AMAZING you boxless wonder.

Ray

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If You Keep On Doing What You’re Doing – Day 265 of 365 Days to a Better You

Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
~Robert H. Schuller

You know the rest of the aphorism, “You’ll keep on getting what you’re getting.” I’m here to tell you today that’s not always true. This quote is often used to inspire people who are not acting on their dreams to make a change and take some action.

You, though? You’ve been working your plan, doing all the right things, and you just haven’t caught your lightening in a bottle yet. You stopped doing what you were doing a long time ago and you’re wondering, “When will I see my results?”

Good for you! Good for you that you had the courage to try something different and keep at it! If you’re doing all the right things, then keep on doing what you’re doing!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
~Walt Disney

Here are a few quick ways to make sure that doing what you’re doing, will eventually get you what you want.

  1. Test your results – you had a plan at the beginning. Is it working? Do you need to tweak it? If so, what do you need to stop doing, do more of, or do less of?
  2. Time – you may be doing all the right things, but you’re not investing the needed time to get the results as quickly as you’d like. Re-evaluate your time commitment.
  3. Learning – to be really good at anything, you have to keep learning. Are you continuing to build your knowledge in your area of focus? When you “burst onto the scene” in your business or niche or reach your personal objective, all the knowledge you’ve accumulated will be worth and useful.
  4. Investment – are you trying to do the whole thing yourself? With a small investment, could you automate or get some expert advice that will speed up the process and allow you to focus on the most important things.
  5. Distractions – we all have distractions in life. What can you do to minimize yours so that they’re not holding you back.
  6. Mindset – maybe the most important thing you can do is master your mindset. The only person committed to making your dream a reality is you. You may be the only person who really believes in this dream until it makes a splash in the world. You’re the only fan and the only detractor at this point. Which one you choose to be will decide how fast your reach your goals.

Yes! I see you. I see striving. I see you working late into the night or early in the morning around your day job. I see you wanting this SO bad. You just keep on doing what you’re doing and just wait and see what you get!

Love you all. Stay true to your vision of you!

Ray

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9 Inspiring Princess Diana Quotes

For those of us of a certain age, we have a memory of a shy young school teacher suddenly be thrust upon the world stage because she married a prince. We watched that woman – Princess Diana – become a global icon and a tireless voice for a better world.

Then, in what seemed like a nightmare, she was taken from us abruptly. She was one of the few people in the world who was so popular, she could literally speak around media outlets and directly to the people.

  1. Only do what your heart tells you.
  2. I don’t go by the rule book… I lead from the heart, not the head.
  3. I like to be a free spirit. Some don’t like that, but that’s the way I am.
  4. Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.
  5. If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.
  6. Hugs can do great amounts of good – especially for children.
  7. When you are happy you can forgive a great deal.
  8. Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back.
  9. The greatest problem in the world today is intolerance. Everyone is so intolerant of each other.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Ray

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7 Motivational Haiku Poems

Haiku, according to poetry.org, as follows.

A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.

Over the past few years, I’ve written some motivational haiku. Here are some of my best along with beautiful imagery from Pixabay.com.

Express dreams hidden

A fully manifest WE

human slumber ends

Here now there, life is

Expanding, enriching, one

Beauty every way

Challenging questions

Answers unexpected choice

New horizons born

New garden planted

Past failures long forgotten

Bounty on the way

Greatness among us

Opportunity presents

Offer all you are

Waking early bliss

Feet touching welcoming floor

Twenty-four new hours

Gentle winds caress

Breathing life, hope into me

All’s now possible

Cultivating Equanimity – Day 264 of 365 Days to a Better You

The standard dictionary definition for equanimity is mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

In Buddhism, equanimity is one of the four sublime states of being. The Buddhist teacher, Gil Fronsdal, describes it this way.

Neither a thought nor an emotion, it is rather the steady conscious realization of reality’s transience. It is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. While some may think of equanimity as dry neutrality or cool aloofness, mature equanimity produces a radiance and warmth of being. The Buddha described a mind filled with equanimity as “abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will.

Sounds like a quality I’d like to develop more fully, but how?

Broadly speaking, meditation, prayer, or communing with nature can gain you temporary equanimity. The goal, though, is to bottle it so you can take with you into life’s adversity and, “Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs,” as Rudyard Kipling put it.

Buddha described seven qualities that create equanimity. These are qualities you and I can develop with or without Buddhist practice.

  1. Virtue or integrity
  2. Faith
  3. Well-developed mind
  4. Well-being
  5. Wisdom
  6. Insight
  7. Freedom

If this topic interests you and you’re wanting a little deeper dive, I’ve outlined the seven qualities and how to achieve them here.

Have a fantastic evening, my friends! Thank you all for your support of this blog and my work.

Ray

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