Accomplishment quotes
Here are my 10 favourite quotes on accomplishment. They are from wildly different types of people. Sports stars to politicians in very different eras. Thankfully, their messages are consistent. Their advice is timeless.
I love this quote. It reminds me of the joke, "What's the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time." If you want to achieve anything significant, you need to break it up into tiny pieces that you can tackle one at a time. Doing so is the best way to get started and the only way to finish.
I think this quote is more relevant today than when Ralph said it in the early 1800's. These days we have so many distractions and our lives are so public. People's expectations and opinions are imposed upon us more frequently, although in a more subtle way. Having the strength to ignore those expectations and chart our own path towards happiness is more important now than ever.
This reminds me of Stephen Covey's famous quote. "Begin with the end in mind". What I like about this quote from Oprah is that she is not just speaking about the specifics of the destination. She is referring to your attitude and the way that you think about yourself when beginning the journey.
I'm doing this at the moment! :) Locking myself away from the world to see what I can achieve in a year (or two) as a solo developer / entrepreneur. It's not the traditional path that I could be taking, with a high salary and stable job. But, I am trying to design my life for the next 30 years. That justifies some short-term hardship.
Setting and achieving goals is at the heart of Angstrom. I deeply believe that without vividly knowing what you want in life you'll never achieve it and more importantly, know when you have achieved it. The journey is more fun and dynamic when you kow where you want to go. The twists and turns are not as jarring if you have a compass and you can re-calibrate after each. I should write my own quotes :) "Goals are the compass that keep us on track after an unexpected detour" - Kelvin
The problem with accomplishing great things is how daunting the mountain looks from the bottom. Being content with just taking that first step is important. Enjoy each step. Everything imporessive seems impossible at first. These things are far less impressive to the person who achieves them because they know how many steps there were and none of them were magic.
Love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life. If you can design your work so that it feels like play, everything will be easier and you'll accomplish far more than those less fortunate than you that hate what they do. Most people hate their jobs. Even though it takes up most of the time they have on this planet. It is such a shame.
This is very true but with a caveat. That sense of accomplishment does not last very long. After the achievement you sometimes think about it and smile or give yourself a metaphorical pat-on-the-back. But. If you enjoyed the journey it was truly an achievement.
Enthusiasm is undervalued today. I get these sense (and I could be wrong) that it is associated with naivety. We become cynical the older we get and lose enthusiasm or even hide it for fear of appearing foolish if we fail. But enthusiasm is fuel. Not just for you. It is fuel for everyone around you. Don't underestimate how your enthusiasm for something positively impacts your mood and the resolve of those around you.
This is important. Ambitious projects are daunting. You must see the smaller stages as accomplishments in themselves. Celebrate them. Enjoy them. They give you the fuel to keep going and make it to the end. They help you to enjoy the journey more when things are hardest.
If anyone would know it would be JFK. His moon speech in 1962 is a perfect example of this. That audacious decision was a stupidly ambitious public proclamation to make. But the decision was enough to focus minds and resources to achieve something great. If you had to make a stupid and and audacious decision for your own life, what would it be?
Dominate your life.
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