We cannot wait for great visions from great people, for they are in short supply. It is up to us to light our own small fires in the darkness.
Interpretation
We must take initiative and create our own opportunities rather than rely on others.
This quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and initiative in achieving our goals. Rather than waiting for significant insights or inspirations to come from influential figures, we are encouraged to find our own motivation and ignite our passion, even in challenging or uncertain times. It speaks to the power of individual action and the potential impact of small efforts in overcoming difficulties.
In practice
In a motivational speech to encourage team members to take ownership of their projects.
The companies that survive longest are the one's that work out what they uniquely can give to the world not just growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.
The first step is to measure whatever can easily be measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide.
Why don't we teach our children in school what they are? We should say to them, 'You are unique... you have the capacity for anything. You are a marvel'.
To learn anything other than the stuff you find in books, you need to be able to experiment, to make mistakes, to accept feedback, and to try again. It doesn't matter whether you are learning to ride a bike or starting a new career, the cycle of experiment, feedback, and new experiment is always there.
I believe that a lot of our striving after the symbols and levers of success is due to a basic insecurity, a need to prove ourselves. That done, grown up at last, we are free to stop pretending.
Creativity needs a bit of untidiness. Make everything too neat and there is no room for experiment.
Today is a day of completion; I give thanks for this perfect day, miracle shall follow miracle and wonders shall never cease.
It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.
Never lose the childlike wonder. Show gratitude... Don't complain; just work harder... Never give up.
Up in this air you breathed easily, drawing in a vital assurance and lightness of heart. In the highlands you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be.
The only thing a star asks is to be allowed to twinkle.
I promise you the Lord will bless you in your efforts, for this is His work, and He will guide your prayerful efforts to bring the ordinances and covenants to your ancestors....you can make a powerful contribution. Begin now. I promise you that the Lord will help you find a way. And it will make you feel wonderful.
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