“Life is what happens while you are planning for the future.”
Uncle
Remain present, while it’s good to have a vision, if that’s all you concentrate on, you won’t ever enjoy the now
“Get in the habit of having good habits.”
John ‘Tarp’ Tarpley ― Emeritus General Surgery Program Director, Vanderbilt University
Just like it says—get in the habit of having good habits. Tarp always encourages us to practice our ‘surgical devotions’ daily by reading from a surgical text for at least 30 minutes, among other things.
“Baby steps.”
Bill Murray as Bob Wiley in ‘What About Bob?’ (1991) ― Movie
While a joke in the context of this movie, this line sums up the concept of breaking down a large and daunting goal or problem into small and achievable parts or milestones. I tend to...
“I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.”
Augusten Burroughs ― Author
This is from one of my favorite books, ‘Magical Thinking’. I tend to focus a lot on mistakes I’ve made and can be very self-critical. I like this quote because it reminds me that while...
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) ― President of the United States, 1963 to 1969
This helps me to recover from a lot of failures. Learning from the mistakes and keeping moving is the main point here. We cannot do anything about the past, but we could learn from it...
“The angels are crying, wondering where I went.”
Byron Borden ― Social entrepreneur
Byron went to church one Sunday and a friend said, “The angels are rejoicing today!” Byron never went to Sunday service, rather spending it on his porch with his Bible. As a child of southern...
“Treat every employee like a volunteer.”
Father
This quote is a spin on the golden rule. Ultimately, jobs and roles are transient and this quote is a reminder that people have the choice to leave at any time. I believe that if...
“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) ― Essayist/philosopher/poet
My favorite quote and wisdom of all time, this quote fully embodies my definition of success.
“Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
Bible verse, Psalm 23
I am not the most religious person, as I think some people use it as a crutch, but this Psalm was on the back of my grandfather’s prayer card, who I was very close with....
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) ― Inventor and businessman
Similar to our class discussion, this quote reinforces the fact that while it is likely I will experience more failures throughout my life, they are valuable learning experiences.