The Indomitable Life
The author studied Economics at the Eisenhower School in Washington DC and Strategy at the Army's School of Advanced Military Studies.
True success lies in lifting others.
The Purple Stripe
Because you think of yourself as no more than a single thread in the robe, whose duty is it to conform to the mass of people – just as a single white thread seemingly has no wish to clash with the remainder of the garment. But I aspire to be the purple stripe, that is, the garment’s brilliant hem. Don’t tell me to be like the rest.
-Epictetus
The purple stripe made one different in ancient times.
Man in the Arena
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Persist!
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men and women with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, “Press On,” has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.
-Coolidge
Withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, all will be well.
-Winston Churchill
Be Good for Something!
Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight…When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
-Helen Keller
The most difficult thing – but an essential one – is to love life, to love it even while one suffers because life is all, life is God, and to love life means to love God.
-Leo Tolstoy (in War and Peace)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
-Unknown author
Nothing but your Best!
All we have is what we give.
-St. Francis of Assisi
Waste no more time arguing about what a good [person] should be; just be one.
-Marcus Aurelius
It’s better to be good than to be right.
-Epictetus
Make yourself a gift of this present time.
-Marcus Aurelius
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to ensure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering.
-Ben Okri
If we had only fair weather, we should never learn how to sail the boat.
-Author Unknown
Super-Victors
Oswald Chambers writes in his great work 'My Utmost for His Highest' that we are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us. Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer. Let’s apply that to our circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against – tribulation, suffering, persecution – are the very things that produce abundant joy in us.
This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be substituted for impartial fact or advice in legal, political, or personal matters.
© 2021 Fernando Guadalupe Jr
