[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“333” caption=“Cheer Up Honey Pie by Auntie P”][/caption]

Kind of ironic how my post titled “Stop whining and improve your life" attracted so much negativity in the comments area. It became very clear to me, however, that most were just too eager to make assumptions about my intention or probably wanted to vent a bit. Those who know me personally or have followed my blog for a while know that I don’t live in a fantasy world (though sometimes Chapel Hill can feel that way) filled with unicorn and cotton candy clouds. I’ll save myself the hassle and will just point the naysayers to what Vinny and Paul had to say.

Anyhow, I wanted to share a couple of quotes that sort of inspire me to be a better person and help me focus on what really matters. Most, if not all, came from “This Year I Will…" by M. J. Ryan, a light but pleasant reading for a lazy afternoon. I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy them too.

"Dreams come a size too big so that we may grow into them." -Josie Bisset “Every successful person I have heard of has done the best he could with the conditions as he found them, and not waited until next year to be better.” - E. W. Howe

"People become really remarkable when they start thinking they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success." - Norman Vincent Peale

"A goal without an action plan is a daydream." - Nathaniel Branden “Be like a postage stamp — stick to one thing till you get there.” - Josh Billings “The truth is that, no matter what kind of game you find yourself in, no matter how good or bad the luck, you can change your life completely with a single thought.” -David Gregory Roberts “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” -Diana Scharf Hunt “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution.” - William A. Foster “Time is a created thing. To say “I don’t have time” is to say, “I don’t want to.”” -Lao Tzu “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” - George Washington Carver “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” - Woody Allen