Category Archives: Possibilities

Each night, when I go to sleep, I die

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“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die, and the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”

⏤Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India

Image of a man sleeping on the sofa with his bulldog

Image from Flickr by Andrew Roberts

When I first read this quote, I felt pretty down at the thought of dying each evening, with a sense of finality that something⏤in this case, my day⏤was over.

Many of us experience similar feelings when our weekends, vacations, or other happy times come to an end.

Consider that the same is true for bad times, and uncomfortable events we may want to wish away.

To wake up and be reborn each new day excites me with the possibilities of new and wondrous things I can intentionally do, with a fresh perspective and a fresh canvas to draw upon.

EXERCISE:

How can you interpret today’s quote to make the very best of each new day you are fortunate enough to experience?

Great Flames follow little sparks

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“A great flame follows a little spark.”

—Dante Alighieri, Late Middle Age Italian Poet

Image of hand flicking a lighter

Image from Flickr by Jeffrey

When was the last time you experienced a spark of genius, or a really good idea?  What happened to this spark once you saw its small but brilliant glow?

Did it go out quickly, or in keeping with today’s quote, did you add more fuel and oxygen until it burst into flame?

EXERCISE:

Examine the projects and the people in your world that represent the sparks of possibility and greater potential.

How can you fan and fuel these projects and people so they can burn brightly and light the way for others?

what is possible

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“What is possible for you is dictated by your hunger, not your history.”

-Brendon Burchard, American Motivational Author

Image from playbuzz.com

Image from playbuzz.com

A few weeks ago, I had an engaging breakfast meeting with a friend who is applying for a new, high profile position. He expects to be vying for this job with a good number of other people.

Through our discussion and inquiry, we fueled the flame of his hunger for this position. He was clear that, based on his history and experience, he was highly qualified for the role. He also saw this position as the role of a lifetime, and that attaining it was his professional destiny.

EXERCISE:

How likely do you think it is that the interviewers will sense his genuine hunger and passion for the position and put him at or near the top of the list?

Where can you use your own insatiable hunger – not just your history – to achieve your deeply held desires?

“A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.”

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“A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.”

– Søren Kierkegaard

How often do you dream or daydream? How often do you ask yourself questions that begin with “What if…?” “How can I …?” or simply “What’s possible here?”

Martin Luther King had a dream. John F. Kennedy saw a man going to the moon. Orville and Wilbur Wright saw man-made flight become a reality.

Man is a journeyer; our species has a restless urge to go beyond its limits. What about you?

Exercise:

Ask and answer the question, “What is possible today?” each morning. Take a moment to choose at least one of your answers and follow it.

Feel free to share with me what successes you achieve, by replying to this email.

#95: “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it…”

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“…without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.”

– Gilda Radner, actress

I never knew Gilda Radner in any other way than in her comedic role on Saturday Night Live. I do remember how devastated Gene Wilder, her husband, was upon her passing.

There is now a wonderful organization, Gilda’s Club, named after her. It aims to help individuals and their families make the most of the challenges of cancer and similar diseases.

Perhaps her life was a form of improv when she took each moment and each situation and made the best of it. After her death, people were inspired to make the best of even that situation – by setting up Gilda’s Club.

Exercise:

How can you play and dance with the ambiguities of life and make more of your moments delicious?

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#57: “When one door closes, another opens…”

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“… but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”

– Alexander Graham Bell, scientist and inventor

Life is filled with many endings and beginnings. It has many twists, turns, and even its share of dead ends. How can we maintain life’s momentum when we come to a real or apparent ending, instead of stopping too long to ponder or dwell on our past?

It often takes us a while to turn our heads and look forward, to grasp the doorknob of the future and open it with excitement and enthusiasm.

Exercise:

What doors in your life have you recently closed, and what new openings are available for you to pursue?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

Nothing happens unless first a dream

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“Nothing happens unless first a dream.”

– Carl Sandburg, 20th Century Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet

Close up image of a blue eye

Image from Unsplash by Daniil Kuželev

A dream, a vision, a goal, an objective: Words that convey a view of the future. When we envision the future, a magical attractive power begins to pull us towards its realization.

Without this first thought of what we want to see, we are left exactly where we are – with something neither good nor bad unless we make it so. However, the moment we think about, imagine, and envision a future, we find the ability to reach our destiny.

Exercise:

What are your personal and professional dreams?
How can you exercise your personal and professional capacity to envision your future, and use this capacity to enhance your world?

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

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“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

—Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist

Image from Twitter

As humans, we have a unique capacity to think and to interpret our world. In this regard, we are also time travelers: we can envision the beginning of time and the Big Bang all the way to, perhaps, the end of our universe.

Let’s get real for a moment. This is not what we actually do on a daily basis, except for theoretical physicists. We do, however, visit the past often and fortunately or unfortunately, relive it. We often live in the future of possibility and “what if” and lose what’s right in front of us and the “now.”

Exercise:

How can you use the lessons of the past to live a more fulfilling life today?

How can your hopes and dreams for the future help you take action today to realize your tomorrows?

How can you savor each and every moment of today as a glorious bridge between the past and the future?

When I let go of what I am

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“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

– Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism

We all love to be right, to have the correct answer, to know the truth. We think we will then find clarity, stability, and even peace of mind. But what if in being “right” about ourselves we have defined ourselves into a safe and limited box?

Defining something limits it. Perhaps, instead, we could distinguish ourselves and open up the possibility of who we could be.

Exercise:

How and in what ways can you rediscover yourself, by releasing yourself from self-limiting beliefs?

If you find this difficult, ask a family member or a close friend for their perspective.