With an overwhelming access to knowledge, this generation often finds itself ten feet wide and one inch deep. Knowing a little about everything but never enough about one thing to matter. We have no shortage of words, rather we have a shortage of the right words.
Poetry has been defined as: The best words in the best order. But I believe it goes beyond a poem. The right words listed in concert and color can articulate a comprehensive and deep meaning in just a few characters. A meaning that can fasten your fears to the floor and allow you to step into progress. Anchors that keep us straight and hold us tight – almost like an injection of clarity and control for our most uncertain of times.
Ultimately, words are the stones that bridge the gap to our furthest destinations. From incomprehension and overcoming indifference to closing a sale and believing in God. Words make up how we think, what we know, and who we become.
But the right words change your life. They can change your story.
Here's the words that have changed mine.
1. “Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
Who Said It?: My Grandmother
How It Has Helped Me:
Getting lost in something you love often results in getting lost in general. We live in a culture that measures our success by how much money we make rather than the fullness of our lives. Over the 13 years I've spent building businesses, I've learned the months that feel weighted to one side typically follow a season spent living in the absence of this quote.
2. “Speak to people how they need to hear it, not how you want to say it.”
Who Said It?: My Mentor
How It Has Helped Me:
Empathy is a difficult virtue to master. As an entrepreneur, the best marketing is performed by those who can step into the customer's pain. To put words to their emotions and to create products that solve their most trying problems. As leaders, we must not forget that thoughtfulness is the most effective form of communication.
3. “Your greatest weakness is often the overextension of your greatest strength.”
Who Said It?: Jason Benham
How It Has Helped Me:
I'm a natural teacher. Speaking, selling, and convincing others is almost instinctive to me. But far too many times I've been kicked in the leg by my wife for not shutting my mouth. As I've matured, I'm learning that the overuse of our inherent gifting can backfire. The secret is learning to take it to the very edge, and stop.
4. “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Who Said It?: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
How It Has Helped Me:
A designer is someone who can make something more beautiful than someone else with the same tools at the same cost. Beauty is my secret weapon. But the more I practice design, the more I realize its purpose is not to draw our eyes to many things, but one thing. So whenever I dislike the aesthetics of something I'm working on, whether it's landscaping my backyard or designing a new website, my first step is to take something away.
5. “The goal of an argument is to win their heart, not just their mind.”
Who Said It?: Matthew L. Jacobson
How It Has Helped Me:
I used to HATE arguments. For a season, I was even passive. But arguments, debate, and marketing are all important pieces of the persuasion family. In my experience, the secret to removing a fear of confrontation is to re-establish your respect for others. It's to realize our thoughts are directly connected to our hearts. Winning an argument and losing their heart is a cause for hurt. But winning both is a cause for respect. Remember, people don't care what you know, until they know that you care.
6. “It's impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.”
Who Said It?: Peter Scazzero
How It Has Helped Me:
Nothing is independent. Over the years I've learned my relationship with God can only go as far as my capacity to connect with His people. Too often, I find myself trying to simplify my spirituality to a one-dimensional experience – as if I can compartmentalize my faith absent of others. But I can't. Because maturity in any area requires maturity in all areas.
7. “We change when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing.”
Who Said It?: Dr. Henry Cloud
How It Has Helped Me:
The old saying, “if there's no pain, there's no gain” reigns true. But in life, pain doesn't always equal bad. I've learned to re-associate pain with growth or new or beginning. It's helped me to not spend my life avoiding pain but instead identifying pain that is good for me. The pain that grows me. The pain that changes me. The pain that forms me into the person I was intended to be.
8. “Who we listen to will determine who we will become.”
Who Said It?: Unknown
How It Has Helped Me:
I don't give my eyes and ears to many. Because my history tells me those I give permission to speak into my life will determine the direction of my actions. It decides the life that I'll end up creating. It calls for a change in behaviors that will ultimately adjust my current state of existence. Be cautious of who you lend your ears to. If we let the wrong person in, we could find ourselves far from who we want to become.
9. “Success occurs when we shift our efforts from making a million dollars to helping a million people.”
Who Said It?: Dharmesh Shah
How It Has Helped Me:
I spent many years trying to make money to make money. It felt hollow and empty. And surprisingly… I didn't make much money either. It wasn't until I had a genuine heart for helping others that I saw a significant jump in my income. Success is often counterintuitive. What looks like the answer to many is often the path to mediocrity. Instead, the harder path is typically the right path. The path to a more sincere prosperity.
10. “If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs.”
Who Said It?: Unknown
How It Has Helped Me:
This quote is a bit like of a backhanded encouragement. It's harsh, but it's true. You can either use your resources (time, energy, passion, etc.) to build the life you want or you will be used as a resource to build the life someone else wants. For me, this quote has been the motivation I needed to become a creator instead of a supporter.
Are you looking to start something of your own? Are you looking to put your resources into building the business and life you love? Starting a business can be intimidating. Maybe you need help boosting your confidence, removing the blindspots, and preparing yourself to succeed on your own. Consider my program:
What quotes have changed your life? I would love to hear about them. Let me know in the comments below.
The post 10 Powerful Quotes That Made Me A Millionaire appeared first on StartupCamp.
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