Inspirational Quotes

If you're going through hell, keep going.  ~Winston Churchill

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.  ~Barbara Bloom

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it.  ~George Weinberg

The important thing is not how many years in your life but how much life in your years. ~Edward J. Stieglitz 

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.  ~William James 

We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.  ~Author Unknown

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.  ~Maori Proverb  

Einstein's "Secret"

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions."
- Albert Einstein

Vince Lombardi Quotes

"The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary."

"Quitters never win and winners never quit."

Secret of a Full Life

"The secret of a full life is to live and relate to others as if they might not be there tomorrow, as if you might not be there tomorrow. ... This thought has made me more and more attentive to all encounters, meetings, introductions, which might contain the seed of depth that might be carelessly overlooked.

"This feeling has become a rarity, and rarer every day now that we have reached a hastier and more superficial rhythm, now that we believe we are in touch with a greater amount of people, more people, more countries. This is the illusion which might cheat us of being in touch deeply with the one breathing next to us. The dangerous time when mechanical voices, radios, telephones, take the place of human intimacies, and the concept of being in touch with millions brings a greater and greater poverty in intimacy and human vision."

- Anais Nin

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/28/tech/mobile/netiquette-eight-phone-habits/?iref=obinsite

Arnold S's Vision = Success

His success, he said, came in part from his ability to visualize what he wanted as a child.

"I always ... had a vision, and the vision was so real that I really felt that I can accomplish and turn those visions into reality," he said. It took a "hell of a lot of work," Schwarzenegger said, but he was willing to put in the time.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/03/us/schwarzenegger-interview/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

18 Tips For Success From Richard Branson

Melissa Stanger | Sep. 17, 2012, 2:28 PM | 540,940 | 17

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VirginMediaTalent via YouTube

Richard Branson founded Virgin in 1970 at the age of 20, and he hasn’t looked back.

He’s the only entrepreneur to have built eight separate billion-dollar companies in eight different industries — and he did it all without a degree in business.

"Had I pursued my education long enough to learn all the conventional dos and don'ts of starting a business I often wonder how different my life and career might have been," he writes in his new book, Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School. 

We’ve compiled some of the best tips from his book here.

Don't do it if you don't enjoy it.

Hulu

Running a business takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and caffeine). But at the end of the day, you should be building something you will be proud of.

Branson says, "When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire ... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Be visible.

ColeKitchennPML via YouTube

Branson received some timeless advice when building Virgin Airlines from Sir Freddie Laker, a British airline “tycoon.”

“Make sure you appear on the front page and not the back pages,” said Laker. “You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself, whatever it takes. Otherwise you won’t survive”.

Branson always makes a point of traveling often and meeting as many people as he can. This, he says, is how he came by some of the best suggestions and ideas for his business.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Choose your name wisely.

PirhanaMarketing1 via YouTube

The unique name and brand that Virgin employs is one of the things that has made the company a success. Branson makes sure that the name ‘Virgin’ represents added value, improved service, and a fresh, sexy approach.

Branson says that he is asked all the time about the origin of the Virgin name, back when Virgin was just starting. "One night, I was chatting with a group of sixteen-year-old girls over a few drinks about a name for the record store," he says. "A bunch of ideas were bounced around, then, as we were all new to business, someone suggested Virgin. It smacked of new and fresh and at the time the word was still slightly risqué, so, thinking it would be an attention-grabber, we went with it."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

You can't run a business without taking risks.

Jeff Foust via Flickr

Branson thinks of one of his favorite sayings when advising about taking business risks: “‘The brave may not live forever—but the cautious do not live at all!’”

Every business involves risks. Be prepared to get knocked down, says Branson, but success rarely comes from playing it safe. You may fail, but Branson also dares to point out that "there's no such thing as a total failure."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

The first impression is everything. So is the second.

Wikimedia Commons

The first impression you make on customers will probably be when you acquire them. The first impression is extremely important, says Branson, but the second is equally as important.

The second time a customer usually contacts Virgin, it’s because he or she is having problems with the product or service. How you present yourself and your brand in these situations says a lot about how your brand maintains good customer relationships and handles obstacles.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Perfection is unattainable.

"There's an inherent danger in letting people think that they have perfected something," says Branson. "When they believe they've 'nailed it', most people tend to sit back and rest on their laurels while countless others will be labouring furiously to better their work!"

For this reason, Branson never gives anyone a 100% perfect review of their work. He believes that no matter how “brilliantly conceived” something is, there is always room for improvement.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

The customer is always right, most of the time.

The customer is always right... unless they’re wrong. After all, they’re only human too. Your customers’ opinions are important, but “you should not build your customer service system on the premise that your organisation will never question the whims of your clients," says Branson.

Branson warns that many entrepreneurs think if they provide 'the-customer-is-always-right' service that it will improve their businesses. This is only sometimes true. Beware not to damage relationships with customers or staff with your customer service policies.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Define your brand.

VirginMoney via Flickr

When it comes to defining your brand, Branson advises entrepreneurs to do the opposite of what he did with Virgin, which is spreading out all over the place. And while it's true that Virgin branches into many different industries, Branson says the company is actually quite focused on one thing: "finding new ways to help people have a good time."

Stick to what you know. Underpromise and overdeliver. Because if you don’t define your brand, your competitors will.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Explore uncharted territory.

Wikimedia Commons

Branson compares exploring new territory in business to exploring new territory in science or geography.

“We will find new species and better understand the make-up of the deep-level waters,” says Branson.

Business translation: There are still many things out there that haven’t been discovered, invented, achieved. Exploring little- or uncharted areas can spark new ideas and innovations.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Beware the "us vs. them" environment.

Wildaid

A workplace should be one in which the boss and his or her employees communicate well and work together toward the same goal. “If employees aren’t associating themselves with their company by using ‘we’, it is a sign that people up and down the chain of command aren’t communicating,” says Branson.

If you think there might be discrepancies or tension between employees and management, Branson advises to check with the middle management first to try to uncover the source of the problem and address it head-on.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Build a corporate comfort zone.

bigthink via YouTube

Employees must feel free and encouraged to openly express themselves without rigid confines so they can do better work and make good, impactful decisions.

"This may sound like a truism," begins Branson, "But it has to be said: It takes an engaged, motivated and committed workforce to deliver a first-class product or service and build a successful, sustainable enterprise."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Not everyone is suited to be CEO.

Wikimedia Commons

A manager needs to be someone who “brings out the best in people,” someone who communicates well with others and helps an employee learn from a mistake instead of criticizing them for it.

Not everyone does this well, and that’s okay.  The founder can but doesn’t have to be the CEO; if the fit isn’t right, he or she should know when the role is meant for someone else.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Seek a second opinion. Seek a third.

ColeKitchennPML via YouTube

Branson says you must learn to be a good listener in order to succeed, and that means bouncing “every idea you have off numerous people before finally saying, ‘We’ll give this one a miss,’ or ‘Let’s do it.’”

That means being thorough and deliberate before executing any decisions. In business, seeking a variety of opinions "can save you a lot of time and money," says Branson. "Don't tell people about others' suggestions until you've heard what they have to say. In the end you may decide that the best advice is to walk away—and later find out it was the very best solution."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Cut ties without burning bridges.

VirginMediaTalent via YouTube

Business ventures with another person, be it a friend or a partner, don’t always work out. If this is the case, successful entrepreneurs know when to part ways.

But just because you decide to go in another direction doesn’t mean things have to end badly, especially with a friend, says Branson. Handle any problems quickly and head-on, and end the relationship as amicably as possible.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Pick up the phone.

Reuters

It’s great to be tech-savvy, but don’t text or email when you should be calling. "The quality of business communications has become poorer in recent years as people avoid phone calls and face-to-face meetings, I can only assume, in some misguided quest for efficiency," Branson says.

Problems are more difficult to solve by text or email, and “there is nothing efficient about allowing a small problem to escalate,” says Branson, when it could have been easily addressed with a phone call.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Change shouldn't be feared, but it should be managed.

david_shankbone via Flickr

“Companies aren’t future-proof,” says Branson, and nothing lasts forever. An entrepreneur should be prepared to adapt, and avoid being nostalgic about the company itself.

"Sometimes you have to take your company in a new direction because circumstances and opportunities have changed." If this is the case, Branson advises that you should "find ways to inspire all employees to think like entrepreneurs ... so the more responsibility you give people the better they will perform."

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

When it comes to making mistakes, bounce back, don’t fall down.

VirginMoney via Flickr

Your decision will not always be the best decision. Everyone makes mistakes, but the best thing you can do in the face of a mistake is own up to it.

Honesty isn’t just the best policy, it’s the only policy, notes Branson. When a mistake is made, don’t let it consume you. Uncover the problem and get to work fixing it.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Be a leader, not a boss.

Branson sees the classic image of “the boss” as an anachronism. Being bossy is not a desirable trait in a manager, he says. A boss orders while a leader organizes.

"Perhaps, therefore, it is odd that if there is any one phrase that is guaranteed to set me off it's when someone says to me, 'Okay, fine. You're the boss!'" says Branson. "What irks me is that in 90 percent of such instances what that person is really saying is 'Okay, then, I don't agree with you but I'll roll over and do it because you're telling me to. But if it doesn't work out I'll be the first to remind everyone that it wasn't my idea.'"

A good corporate leader is someone who doesn't just execute his or her own ideas, but also inspires others to come forth with their own.

Source: "Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School."

Now learn more about the fascinating life of Richard Branson

24 Hours In The Life Of Richard Branson >>

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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/18-tips-for-success-from-richard-branson-2012-9?op=1#ixzz26t0pWRXC

Travel Quotes

New things

“For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it." -- Alex Garland, "The Beach"

Internal discoveries

"One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things." -- Henry Miller, "Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch." 

Packing 

"Packing up. The nagging worry of departure. Lost keys, unwritten labels, tissue paper lying on the floor. I hate it all. Even now, when I have done so much of it, when I live, as the saying goes, in my boxes. Even to-day, when shutting drawers and flinging wide a hotel wardrobe, or the impersonal shelves of a furnished villa, is a methodical matter of routine, I am aware of sadness, of a sense of loss. Here, I say, we have lived, we have been happy. This has been ours, however brief the time. Though two nights only have been spent beneath a roof, yet we leave something of ourselves behind. Nothing material, not a hair-pin on a dressing-table, not an empty bottle of aspirin tablets, not a handkerchief beneath a pillow, but something indefinable, a moment of our lives, a thought, a mood. This house sheltered us, we spoke, we loved within those walls. That was yesterday. To-day we pass on, we see it no more, and we are different, changed in some infinitesimal way. We can never be quite the same again." -- Daphne du Maurier, "Rebecca." 

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/escape/literary-travel-quotes-292552

2. Fame

“The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.” -- Britney Spears, American pop star

3. American tourists

"There's nothing American tourists like more than the things they can get at home." -- Stephen Colbert, talk show host

10. Passport photos

“Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” -- Al Gore, environmental activist

12. Taking photos

“When you hand someone a camera, why do they act like you just asked them to dissemble a bomb? They take it and they're like, 'What do I do … I don’t really ... ha-huh ...' Yeah, it’s the button on the top right where it always is since the beginning of #*@! time!” -- Dane Cook, comedian 

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/20-funniest-things-ever-said-about-travel-015440?page=0,0