Category Archives: Be Inspired
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
-Dr. Seuss
Related Posts:
10 Bold Words to Meditate on Today
1. Love…keep the heart pumping and ever expanding…show your partner, your child, your mother & father, and even
strangers some love today.
2. Forgive…let go of yesterday…today offers the perfect opportunity to create new, positive brain waves.
3. Now…have you noticed all of the beauty surrounding you at this very moment? The magic lies in the moment…that’s why we had so much fun when we were kids.
4. Trees…thank goodness for green leaves to create more oxygen for us to breathe. How about being a tree huger for the day…or climbing up one for fun.
5. Path…choose the path that your gut tells you to take. It may be scary and temporarily painful, but at least it beats stagnancy.
6. Hand…this world wouldn’t be what it is today without our hands. “I can change the world…with my own two hands…with my own…with my own two hands” – Ben Harper
7. Eyes…dare not to take for granted that you have eyes with which to experience the world. Open them up a bit more, and you’ll be amazed at what you can experience.
8. Listen…the more we listen, the more we learn. It’s not always easy to stay silent and give time for another being to express himself/herself, but it’s the most loving thing we can do. Practice makes perfect…let’s keep trying to be better listeners.
9. Quiet…minds need time to breathe. Let’s dare to find a nice place where there are no distractions and just be. Clarity and great ideas grow in moments of peace…and quiet.
10. Imagination…it’s OK to daydream a bit and let the mind take flight. How else was the science of flight conceived?…or the iPhone developed?…or the pyramids designed? Why do we not have daydreaming classes in school? Don’t be one of those people who tell your children not to daydream…or that their imagination will lead them to ruin. Join in the fun!
Those who are out there making things happen in the world often have a hard time sleeping at night…their imaginations run wild as they dream up their next creation. Have you bought into the idea that they own some special dreaming license? At birth we were all given the same one…why not use it?
- Jen Engevik
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Memorable Steve Jobs Quotes
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in
life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
“There’s nothing that makes my day more than getting an e-mail from some random person in the universe who just bought an iPad over in the UK and tells me the story about how it’s the coolest product they’ve ever brought home in their lives. That’s what keeps me going. It’s what kept me five years ago, it’s what kept me going 10 years ago when the doors were almost closed. And it’s what will keep me going five years from now whatever happens.”
“Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we’ve been thinking about a problem. It’s ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea.”
“And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”
“These technologies can make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. I’m not downplaying that. But it’s a disservice to constantly put things in this radical new light — that it’s going to change everything. Things don’t have to change the world to be important.”
“Picasso had a saying: ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’ We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas…I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, poets, artists, zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.”
“I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list….That didn’t look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of lomotion for a man on a bicycle and a man on a bicycle blew the condor away. That’s what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”
“My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”
- Project BE Bold
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The Magic of Making A Start by W.H. Murray
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid
plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things can occur to help one that would not otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assurance which no man would have dreamed would come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it. Begin it now.”
- W.H. Murray in The Scottish Himalayan Expidition
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How Encouragement Changed My Day
This morning I awoke a bit in a slumber – not knowing quite how to put one foot in front of the other.
How wild is it that one day I can be amp’d and ready to go and the next feeling as though I am an alien on a strange planet?
This being human thing is so precarious at times. Sometimes we don’t have a concrete reason for feeling a bit off…and yet we do.
Wanting to throw the bed covers over my head and sleep a bit longer, the impulse was interrupted when out of the blue my phone chimed indicating a text message had just zipped its way into my world. It read – “Hey Jen, I hope you have another productive and promising day today!”
It was as though my friend sensed that I needed a few words of encouragement – my soul welcomed it with a beaming smile. It was a simple message, yet profoundly needed. To know that someone cared that I experience a day of productivity and promise was so very touching. I was instantly infused with a new will.
I’m thinking no matter how tough and bold we think we are…deep down inside there is this soft and gooey part of ourselves that needs reassurance. We need to be told that we are relevant and able. We need to know that the universe has some sort of reason for our existence.
Somewhere out there, there is a person in my life…in your life…that needs a quick text message, e-mail or call of encouragement…at this very moment!!
Kind words can turn everything around for a person in a slumber – for the soul that hurts – and the heart that weeps.
Please take a minute out of your day to touch someone’s life. Don’t think twice…just go and do it!!
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” – Plato
- Jen Engevik
Project BE Bold
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Confidence, the Stock Market & Overcoming Fear
I awoke today quite interested in what is going to happen today on the stock market. So many
are concerned after reading articles and listening to the numerous negative news reports on TV. Magically (or really not so magically because what would one expect when fear is in the air?) the market has lost its footing and is beginning to tumble.
There is a definite lesson to be learned in all of this. It is one that is quite obvious to many, but I’m going to spell it out for my sanity/amusement. When fear becomes the principle guiding force in the economy, within the business world, within our families, or individually – a tailspin is inevitable.
To illustrate my point, I’m going to imagine I’m walking a tightrope across the grand canyon. Let’s say I
believe that the rope I am walking across is so stable & magical that there is no doubt I will make it across. I jump on and begin my journey to the other side. I’m so confident that I dare to dance my way across. I set my gaze on my destination and don’t have a single thought about the possibility of a fall. Half way
through my journey, I’m elated at my progress. And then…a stranger standing below yells to me…”that’s not a magical, sturdy rope! It’s just an ordinary one that I can find at any old rope store!!” All of a sudden I realize the magnitude of what can happen if I lose balance. I buy into his negative talk/doubt and begin to teeter back and forth. Sweat pours from my brow and tears begin to form in the corner of my eyes. “I’m too young to die!” I whisper to the universe. I become certain I am going to fall…the rope begins to sway back and forth and the next thing I know I’m flying through the air toward the canyon floor.
I am not a stock expert, but I’m thinking it’s very possible that if last night we were told we gained a AAAAAA+++++++ credit rating (I know ratings don’t get that high…but I have to be a bit dramatic to make my point…so bear with me :-D) the Dow Jones may reach new heights. Nothing has changed surrounding the companies that people invest in — our fears have just taken over.
Our economy is based on confidence. But how are we supposed to be confident when all we hear is how horrible everything is?
Likewise, on a personal level…how am I (or you) supposed to get anywhere when I don’t believe in what the universe has in store for me? Curling up in the corner and weeping isn’t going to get me anywhere. Fear brings our most monstrous nightmares to life. If you fear the loss of your relationship – you’ll probably do things to lose it. If you fear you’ll be poor, you just may…because you’ll probably freeze in your tracks and fret. If you are creative and fear that someone will steal your idea, you won’t do a darn thing…someone will release a similar idea into the market and you’ll be left saying “if only I were bold enough to make my dream come to life.”
When I look at the US and our amazingly challenged congress and decision makers, I see a group of men and women fearful of losing their jobs – thus their decisions are fear-based. The result is a sinking ship. I’m thinking that we must act out of truth and fearlessness to move ahead. If that means losing a job or risking security then so be it. At what point do we look beyond self-preservation and do something that will truly make a difference?
One day back in my college days, a buddy of mine listened to one of my fear-based rants, looked me in the eye with a fierceness I will never forget and uttered, “fuck fear, Jen….fuck fear!!” He snapped me out of my funk and we both laughed until tears came to our eyes. I’m not one to throw that four-letter word out into the air often; however, eleven years later when I begin to spiral into a fear based tailspin I repeat these words to wake myself up.
Fear is a part of our daily lives – our internal stock market is susceptible to instant crashes. Yet – it takes a second to put on our Superman/woman suits and force our stock back up. Moment by moment. Step by step…we can force fear out of our lives and replace it with confidence.
- Jen Engevik
Project BE Bold
Related Posts:
Hope Solo Officially Named the Boldest Person of July 13, 2011
Hope Solo - Team USA 2011
Project BE Bold solutes Hope Solo as the Boldest Person of the Day! Because of her supreme performance in today’s World Cup Semifinal against France and her amazing work over the past couple of weeks, the US Soccer team is headed to the World Cup 2011 finals.
Hope Solo was born on July 30, 1981 in Richland, Washington where she was a stellar student and athlete. As result of her commitment to excellence, she helped lead Team USA to Gold in the 2008 Olympics and has since been noted by soccer experts as the best female goalie in the sport.
Solo overcame adversity when her father unexpectedly died of heart failure in 2007. A Vietnam Veteran, Jeffery was her first soccer coach when she was just five years old. She once told reporters that she had a “deep, deep love” for her father and was heartbroken when he passed away.
Solo’s approach to life is the epitome of bold. Her philosophy is that true success is possible when one stays focused, keeps connected to goals each day, and lives in the present. Many are unaware that she underwent shoulder surgery in September of last year. As she works tirelessly to protect her team from loss, her shoulder aches – yet she doesn’t complain. She stays in the zone.
“I’ve been prepared for this through heartaches, through personal struggles,” Solo said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s about defying the odds for me. It’s about proving people wrong. It’s about playing the game I’m passionate about. This is what I live for. I’ve prepared my entire life for this moment.”
Project BE Bold solutes Hope Solo and wishes her luck as Team USA goes into the World Cup Finals this coming Sunday at 11:45am PST/2pm EST.
- Project BE Bold
