Tag Archives: possibilities

#72: “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.”

Posted on by

– Danny Kaye

Many of us were given a box of crayons or set of watercolor paints as children. As we began drawing or painting, we often made a mess, and went beyond the workbook or the canvas. Our teachers and parents, with the best of intentions, taught us to paint by numbers and draw within the boundaries.

How does this idea relate to the lives that we live today: following the rules, sticking to established procedures, conforming?

Exercise:

What if you are simply a brilliant artist and your life is your masterpiece? How big a canvas, and how much paint, will you need? Consider doubling it.

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

Posted on by

“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.”

Posted on by

“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

Posted on by

“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.