Most kids just follow the cycle. My grandfather didn't finish high school. My father didn't, and I didn't. But you can break the cycle. You can have a successful marriage and be a good father.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of breaking generational patterns to create a positive future.
In this quote, Eric D. Thomas highlights the cycle of educational and familial struggles that can perpetuate through generations. He emphasizes that despite his family's history of not completing high school, individuals have the power to break this cycle and redefine their future, particularly in terms of relationships and personal success.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles.
Bottom line, I removed myself from the victim mentality and took control of my life. I'm not just going to take responsibility for the success in my life - I'm going to take responsibility for the failures in my life. When you're willing to accept that you're the problem, you immediately become the solution.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world.
Investing in women's lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations - and consequently in our own long-term national interests.
Women have worked hard; starved in prison; given of their time and lives that we might sit in the House of Commons and take part in the legislating of this country.
Someday, our children, and our children’s children, will look at us in the eye and they'll ask us, did we do all that we could when we had the chance to deal with this problem and leave them a cleaner, safer, more stable world?
When we confront facts and fears, we achieve real power and unleash our capacity for change.
It seems very strange ... that in the course of the world's history so obvious an improvement should never have been adopted. ... The next generation of Britishers would be the better for having had this extra hour of daylight in their childhood.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.