Motivating Words from Petra Kolber

Daily Health Solutions
on October 7, 2008

I often try to remind myself that some of my best living was done while I was going through my cancer treatment. For that year I truly lived the quote, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" I actually have that as a bookmark on my desk and look at it every day.

I think that for many of us the one thing that gets in our way is fear. Not fear of the unknown, but the fear of failure.

FEAR can be an acronym for False Expectations Appearing Real. I try to remind myself that there is no shame in failing.

Another favorite saying is "Life is what happens to us when we are busy making plans.¨ You can read into that sentence in many ways. To me it is so exciting to think that at any moment there may be a phone call or an email that brings an unexpected opportunity our way.

I remember a sermon from the amazing Reverend Michael Beckwith. At his service on that particular Wednesday (Sunday services were just too crowded), he mentioned that between every inhale and every exhale we have the power to choose how we approach the next moment.

I love that thought as it reminds me that throughout every day we have countless opportunities to create new beginnings.

My Favorite Inspirational Quotes

Some of these quotes help me on the days I just don't feel like working out, and others are just cool reminders of how to live life.

  • "Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity."—athlete Michael Johnson
  • "Leap and the net will appear.¨—writer Julia Cameron
  • "Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.¨—Anonymous
  • "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."—opera singer Beverly Sills
  • "Fall seven times, stand up eight."—Japanese proverb
  • "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."—poet T.S. Eliot
  • "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."—motivational speaker Jim Rohn