If you had only one more day on this earth, how much sharper your senses would be. The beauty of nature, the simple pleasures of life, would be indescribably wonderful, and every moment would present an opportunity to spend quality time with your family and strengthen relationships with friends, acquaintances, and business associates. Every thought would be laser-sharp in that highly focused state. Well, today is that last day on earth for today’s opportunities. Don’t let them pass you by.”
– Napoleon Hill

“One of the fundamental equations of our self-narrative is: If I only had more support, I could accomplish even more.

Part of this is true. With more education, a stronger foundation, better cultural expectations, each of us is likely to contribute even more, to level up, to make a difference.

The part that’s not true: “If only.”

It turns out that every day, some people shatter our expectations. They build more than they have any right to, show up despite a lack of lucky breaks or a cheering section. Every day, some people stretch further.

You might not be able to do much about the support, but you can definitely do something about the stretching. It’s under your control, not someone else’s.

And practicing helps.”
– Seth Godin

“Most of what we’re chasing is that which we’ve had all along.
In our culture, the getting is ever more important than the having.
There’s nothing wrong with getting, of course, as long as the process is in sync with the life you want to lead.”
– Seth Godin

“It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses.”
– Dag Hammarskjold

“Far too many people spend their entire lives waiting for that glorious day when the perfect opportunity presents itself to them. Too late, they realize that each day held opportunity for those who sought it out.

If you have not formulated a plan for what you would like to accomplish in your life, don’t waste another minute. When you have Definiteness of Purpose fueled by a burning desire to reach your objectives, nothing can stand in your way. Don’t wait around waiting for life to happen to you. When you know what you want and how you expect to earn it, life will agree to your terms, not the other way around.
– Napoleon Hill

“Integrity includes but goes beyond honesty. Honesty is telling the truth – in other words, conforming our words to reality. Integrity is conforming reality to our words – in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. This requires an integrated character, a oneness, primarily with self but also with life.”
– Stephen R. Covey

“There is only one person who is in charge of your career progression, and that person is you. Lee Iacocca is said to have written his entire career plan on the back of a business card. On it were the promotions he expected to earn and the dates he expected to receive them – until he was named CEO of the company. Successful people know that they must create their own opportunities and be ready for them when they arrive.

Some organizations have clearly defined career paths while others are more informal in their approach, but if you study the senior people in the company, you can quickly identify the kind of education and experience you need to advance. If you are with the right company, one that excites and enthuses you, identify the career moves you’d like to make and get to work making yourself qualified for the job you want.”
– Napoleon Hill

“Some things are races, but not many.

A race is a competition in which the point is to win. You’re not supposed to enjoy the ride, learn anything or make your community better. You’re supposed to win.

At the end of a race, people congratulate the winner, and point out how well she did by winning.

The rest of the field, the losers, well, hey, you tried.

Once you see it that clearly, so many things are clearly not races. And when we treat life that way, we cheat our customers, the people we seek to serve, as well as ourselves.

We sometimes abbreviate, “he won a particular race,” to, “he’s a winner.”

They’re not the same thing.”
– Seth Godin

“If you cultivate the habit of always keeping the promises you make, you build bridges of trust that span the gaps of understanding between you and others.”
– Stephen R. Covey

“Success is more of a process than an event. Great success is achieved after a long string of small successes. Most of us earn our stripes one step at a time, and we work our way up through the ranks. When we begin our careers, we are given assignments that are commensurate with our skill and experience. As we prove our worth to the organization, we are gradually entrusted with more responsibility and increasingly larger projects. As you assume responsibility for one position, do so with an eye toward the next one. Do your absolute best every day in your job, but always plan for the future. View each day as an opportunity to learn something that will make you more valuable to the company or organization so that when the time arrives for promotions, your name will be the first one that comes to your boss’s mind.”
– Napoleon Hill