10 Quotes to Guide Your Life
Quotes have the power to change your perspective, visualize a goal and lead your life to live it the best possible way.
The older I get, the more I understand the most clichéd quotes and the people who have spoken those words, were just trying to shed some light into our lives.
I enjoy reading quotes because they can help change your outlook of the moment, open your eyes, and help you take action in a flash.
They have gotten me through a lot of good days and bad days.
I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes that could potentially help guide and shape your life.
- “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston
Most of us live for tomorrow or wait for that one specific moment to start something. It’s so important to make the jump today – the most important day in your life. Today is the most crucial time to start to live and do what matters most to you. I think we all forget the powerful effects of small wins, which we can incorporate into our daily lives, easily.
2. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale
You can either spend your time accomplishing the things you have always dreamed of, or you can let the time pass not doing anything and feeling stuck. The choice is always yours. A life spent as a passenger rather than a contributor to help the world, is a life not fully lived.
3. “Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy.” – Ralph Marston
This is a good reminder to stop waiting for that one specifying moment to feel ‘happy‘. You’ll never get there if you keep waiting for that moment because it’s not coming. Rather, happiness is how you choose to perceive things, how compassionate you are, and it’s always living each moment as they come.
4. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
In this day and age, we see so many people doing great things and some are becoming millionaires or billionaires at such a young age, but it’s important to realize that is not how you can measure your worth. You are worth so much more than your perceived definition of success. Your beautiful heart and mind are amazing and you never know how much someone needs and appreciates you.
5. “The moment you’re ready to quit is usually the moment right before a miracle happens. Don’t give up!” – Unknown
This one is a tough one. We all have been there when quitting is so much easier than going through with what’s difficult. But, if you repeatedly do what is easy, I think your life will become hard.
6. “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was a lucky man living out his dream job on this earth. He left this earth with an impact because he followed his passion. If that’s not inspiring to go out and figure out what you are meant to do on this earth, then I don’t know what is.
7. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Theodor Seuss Geisel
It’s important to remind yourself of this daily to appreciate the people around you. Those people won’t always be around and someday you won’t either. This quote is over-said, but not over-done. Many of us forget to appreciate each moment as they are and to be in the moment every day. Technology makes it harder for our generation, but it’s not impossible. It is quite simple to be there for someone, be mindful of their feelings and cherish every moment of it.
8. “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
It’s good to have a self-care routine because let’s be honest, we can’t go back to our parents past a certain age to take care of us. Not even our partners, or loved ones can help us, you need to improve yourself on your own. It’s crucial to do so because you can’t help others before you help yourself. If you can’t give back, then we are all living poorly because we are missing out on what you could have given back to this world.
9. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – Dr. Seuss
A lot of times, we tend to overthink things and over-analyze questions rather than think through the answers, one small step at a time. You don’t need to worry and over-analyze a situation, just take it as what it is and look at the big picture. It doesn’t need to be solved today, but is crucial to be resolved over time. So, stop worrying and start looking for the simple answers today.
10. “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Going back to the first quote, yes, sometimes the most important day is today, but sometimes, some days suck. Some days are awful and you don’t know how to deal. It’s important to know they don’t last forever and tomorrow is always a brand new day. Sometimes, you have done all you can do for that one day and you just need to shut your eyes, sleep and wait for your second most important day – tomorrow.
That is all for some of the quotes that I love and have changed me. If you follow me on Instagram, you know, I love quotes and share many others that resonate with me each day.
If you are feeling to get more inspired, here’s a clip of Steve Jobs’ speech at Standford commencement.
Final note: What is your favorite quote of all time? I would love to know!
Until next time,
Ozzy
Life is Short and Unpredictable — Eat the Dessert First!
Not sure about you, but dessert is always my favorite part of my meal. I always look forward to it the most at holiday parties. This could potentially be because of my sweet tooth…
Growing up, we were always taught to eat your meal first, then you can have your dessert.
You know… follow the rules, and do the “right” kind of thing….
This brings to mind the saying; ‘Life’s too short, eat the desert first.’
I want to take a moment to digest (metaphorically 🙂 ) that saying and to fully understand what that could mean for us.
I fully believe some of the most cliché sayings have the most truth to them. When we take a mindful moment to realize that the people who were here before us left their footprint with these quotes, you realize how significant words truly are and what it could mean for our happiness. Because… (here’s another one) life really is too short to be anything but happy.
So, here we go, lets dive deep in, and see what “Life’s Too Short, Eat The Dessert First” means.
To me, the quote means, stop following the rational “rules” of the mind and instead follow your heart.
To be able to do the things you love, you must follow your heart, and most often, the path won’t look perfectly in order, but trust me, it’ll be well worth it.
I say eat the dessert first because life never goes in perfect order, and if you want to do something, then you must stop saying:
Someday, I will travel,
Someday, I will lose the weight and become healthy,
Someday, I will get my life organized,
Someday, I will start that dream business…
If you want anything out of your life, you must go at it full force and stop waiting for the perfect moment.
Always, remind yourself perfection does not exist in this lifetime. I know it’s hard to digest that if you are a perfectionist (as I was in the past) — trust me, I totally get you. It feels good to have things organized and not messy. But, you know what else feels good? In the midst of the mess, looking back and knowing you went for it, grew so much, took risks and lived a life with no regrets.
If you want to go after something you’ve always dreamed of, you have to stop thinking it’ll come to you at a different time in place. You can enjoy what you want most right now, in this moment as long as you go after it.
Here Are the 3 Different Ways You Can ‘Eat the Dessert First’:
1) The Right Moment Doesn’t Exist
There is beauty in the imperfect and chaos of everyday life.
Once you see that, and once you embrace it, the second part of your life begins….
You do not need to wait until the right moment comes around because in reality no one is guaranteed this life. You were gifted this life, but death is our reality, as we know it. Since that is all we know in this age, why wait to start your dream life in a different moment in time, and instead, why not create the reality you most desire?
I say have the courage to bring forth what is within you and share your treasures with the world right in this moment. If you have to take a step forward, know that nothing is holding you back, but yourself. You don’t need the right house, the right degree or body to accomplish whatever you are trying to accomplish. You just need to decide and then double down on your goals and go after it full force like a warrior.
2) Perfection Is Overrated
Trying to achieve perfection is a dead end road.
Perfection, in its definition, is flawless.
In reality, perfection is the only impossible thing as we know it on this planet, that I believe is unachievable.
What is perfect, in my opinion, is this life. Life has so much to give to us, and there is so many beautiful things that surround us every single day. All we have to do is take a moment to notice it and fully appreciate it.
To me, this Earth is imperfectly perfect. There is so much beauty in it without it being perfect. In a billion years, this Earth won’t even be around. If you’re reading this right now, that probably doesn’t mean much to you, but if you think about it, it’s very special we get to experience it right now, whereas, there will be a time when people no longer can enjoy this Earth.
In another point, nothing about this life is normal, everything is extraordinary — so, I stay step up, and create a life that is up to the extraordinary standard, whilst learning to find peace in each moment.
Ozzy Balkanli
There is tremendous amounts of beauty in taking action and taking small steps into your goals. I have learned that it is better to make mistakes and learn then to be too timid to start.
More often than not, chasing perfection puts you at a bad place because it is unachievable. All that is achievable is being a better person than you were yesterday and the only day that is ‘perfect’ to do that is today.
So, live each day as a beautiful mess that it is.
3) Your Journey Is Your Own
One of my favorite songs is “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. I know it’s overplayed and there’s a good chance many people don’t like it after the show, “The Hills”, but, give it another listen, and this time, really listen to the lyrics.
It tells you to live life to the fullest and to live your best life creating it EXACTLY the way you want to.
I love how she says: “Feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you.” and “No one else can speak the words on your lips.” Both of those are incredibly meaningful and true. Simple and powerful.
This is your life to live. We are all born as individuals and I realize that that could be part of the big plan of the Universe. It’s to learn that your journey is for you to discover and learn from. Don’t ever apologize for living your life exactly the way that you want to live it.
If you want to have the best part happen now (aka ‘eat the dessert now’), then just GO DO WHATEVER SETS YOUR HEART ON FIRE RIGHT NOW. Go for it! Don’t wait because I would not want you to waste a single moment in our imperfectly, perfect world.
Don’t reach for perfection rather reach for progress and always follow your heart.
I hope your journey is meaningful, loving and I hope it makes the little girl or boy proud. I hope you achieve all of your dreams.
Lastly, I hope you always eat the dessert first because this life is unpredictable and imperfectly your own journey to live out. You get to decide to live the best moments now and most importantly, strive to make each moment memorable.
Your life is a blank book in which you get to create for yourself and like Natasha Beddingfield said – the rest is unwritten.
Now, go write your own story!
Lots of love,
Ozzy