Inspiration

Tante Mattie is always givin' us advice. She's our traiteur, our spiritual healer an' guide, an' she does de job very well. I dedicate dis part of de tour to her, b'cause a lot of de t'ings here are like t'ings she'd say. Dat's jus' de way she is. Some of it is meant to be funny, like de first piece, mais, most of it is meant to be inspirin' an' to make you t'ink. An' jus' for de fun of it, at de bottom of de page is a list of some quotes I found over de years dat I love.

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• "This life is a test.
• It is only a test.
• Had it been an actual life
• You would have received
• Further instructions on
• Where to go and what to do!"
• ~Unknown

• If you think you are beaten, you are;
• If you think you dare not, you don't;
• If you like to win, but you think you can't,
• It is almost certain you won't.

• If you think you'll lose you've lost,
• For out in the world we find
• Success begins with a fellow's will---
• It's all in the state of mind.

• If you think you are outclassed, you are
• You've got to think high to rise.
• You've got to be sure of yourself before
• You can ever win a prize.

• Life's battles don't always go
• To the stronger or faster man;
• But soon or late the man who wins
• Is the man who thinks he can.

• To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;
• To talk health, happiness and prosperity;
• To make your friends feel that there is something in them;
• To look to the sunny side of everything;
• To think only of the best;
• To be just as enthusiastic about the successes of others as you are about your own;
• To forget mistakes of the past and profit from them;
• To wear a cheerful countanence and give a smile to everyone you meet;
• To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

• Don't quit when the tide is lowest
• For it is just about to turn.
• Don't quit over doubts and questions
• For there is something you may learn.
• Don't quit when the night is darkest
• For the race is almost won.
• Don't quit when the hill is steepest
• For your goal is almost high.
• Don't quit, for you are not a failure,
• Until you fail to try.

Class never runs scared. It is sure-footed and confident. It can handle whatever comes along.

Class has a sense of humor. It knows a good laugh is the best lubricant for oiling the machinery of human relations.

Class never makes excuses. It takes its lumps and learns from past mistakes.

Class knows good manners are nothing more than a series of small, inconsequential sacrifices.

Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with ancestors or money. Some wealthy "blue-bloods" have no class, while some individuals who are struggling to make ends meet are loaded with it.

Class is real. It can't be faked.

Class is comfortable in it's own skin. It never puts on airs.

Class never tries to build itself up by tearing others down. Class is already up and need not strive to look better by making others look worse.

Class can "walk with kings and keep its virtue and talk with crowds and keep the common touch" (Rudyard Kipling). Everyone is comfortable with the person who has class because that person is comfortable with himself.

• The best day is today
• The greatest deceiver is one who deceives himself
• The greatest mistake is giving up
• The most expensive indulgence is hate
• The cheapest, stupidest and easiest thing to do is to find fault
• The worst bankruptcy is the soul that has lost it's enthusiasm
• The cleverest man is one who always does what he thinks is right
• The best part of anyone's religion is gentleness and cheefulness
• The meanest feeling is jealousy
• And the best gift is forgiveness

• If a child lives with criticism, He learns to condemn.
• If a child lives with hostility, He learns to fight.
• If a child lives with ridicule, He learns to be shy.
• If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
• If a child lives with tolerance, He learns to be patient.
• If a child lives with encouragement, He learns confidence.
• If a child lives with praise, He learns to appreciate.
• If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
• If a child lives with security, He learns to have faith.
• If a child lives with approval, He learns to like himself.
• If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, He learns love is in the world.

• Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
• Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
• Never spend your money before you have it.
• Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap.
• Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
• We seldom repent having eaten too little.
• Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
• How much pain the evils have cost us that have never happened!
• Take things always by the smooth handle.
• When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.

"If there is a higher power at work here, he either has a weird sense of humor or way too much time on his hands." ~Red Green

"If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question?" ~Lily Tomlin

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." ~Hunter S. Thompson

"Cynics see things as they are, not as they ought to be." ~A. Bierce

"The central message of Buddhism is not 'Every man for himself!'" ~A Fish Called Wanda

"Flying is achieved by throwing yourself at the ground, and missing." ~Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

"Good...bad...I'm the guy with the gun." ~Ash: Army of Darkness (dude reminds me of Questa...)

"The one who says it can't be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it." ~unknown

"At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer." ~Marshal Lumsden

"The mind, like a parachute, only functions when open." ~unknown

"Oh yeah?! Define 'well adjusted.'" ~Calvin and Hobbes

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of." ~Burt Bucharach

"Beware the fury of a patient man." ~Dryden

"Vision is the art of seeing the invisible." ~unknown

"Don't panic." ~Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." ~Ellen Parr

"It doesn't matter how many pails of milk you spill. Just don't lose the cow." ~Unknown

"There is danger when a man throws his tongue into high gear before he gets his brain a-going." ~unknown (hmm...t'ink I'm jus' a *wee* bit guilty of dis...!)

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." ~Unknown

"If you are skating on thin ice, skate real fast." ~Unknown