“If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”

– Rosalyn Carter

“The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”

– Stephen R. Covey

“Never be satisfied with what you achieve, because it all pales in comparison with what you are capable of doing in the future.”

– Rabbi Nochem Kaplan

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

– Henry David Thoreau

“The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.”

– Arthur C. Clarke

POSITIONING: Heron stands in the blue estuary, Solitary, white, unmoving for hours. A fish! Quick avian darting; The prey captured.

People always ask how to follow Tao. It is as easy and natural as the heron standing in the water. The bird moves when it must; it does not move when stillness is appropriate.

The secret of its serenity is a type of vigilance, a contemplative state. The heron is not in mere dumbness or sleep. It knows a lucid stillness. It stands unmoving in the flow of the water. It gazes unperturbed and is aware. When Tao brings it something that it needs, it seizes the opportunity without hesitation or deliberation. Then it goes back to its quiescence without disturbing itself or its surroundings. Unless it found the right position in the water’s flow and remained patient, it would not have succeeded.

Actions in life can be reduced to two factors: positioning and timing. If we are not in the right place at the right time, we cannot possibly take advantage of what life has to offer us. Almost anything is appropriate if an action is in accord with the time and the place. But we must be vigilant and prepared. Even if the time and the place are right, we can still miss our chance if we do not notice the moment, if we act inadequately, or if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents an opportunity, we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition. Position is useless without awareness. If we have both, we make no mistakes.

365 Tao: Daily Meditations
Deng Ming-Dao

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.”

– Anatole France

“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”

– Andrew Carnegie