Looking for some Inspiration and/or Motivation? Looking for some quotes to use in a team meeting? These slides contain some excerpts and quotes that I have gathered over time.

1. Be “UNCOMMON” tOday!
Be “HUNGRY” Today!
“Remember that what you do
when no one is watching matters.”
“The Man on Top of the Mountain Did
Not Fall There.”
“TALK is CHEAP.”
“It’s not about WHAT you do/say; It’s about
HOW you do/say it.”
Discipline your thoughts.
“The daily grind of hard work
gets a person polished.”
“It takes half your life before you
discover life is a do-it-yourself project.”
“Opportunity is
often dressed in
coveralls and looks
like work.”
EARN IT
Attitude + Effort =
PERFORMANCE

2. “PressUre is sOMethiNg
yOU feel wheN yOU
dON’t kNOw what the
hell yOU are dOiNg.”
-PeytON MaNNiNg

3. Remember – you stand where no one else stands.
Sometimes it’s on the weekend. Sometimes it’s on
the field. Sometimes it’s across the dinner table. You
may never know the impact you’re having on
someone who’s looking up to you because of your
character, your life’s work, your family life, or maybe
just because of your friendship. People respect you,
believe in you, and trust you. In those cases, and
others that will come, you have a platform of
importance in the lives of those you touch – for their
good.
Use it wisely and in an uncommon way.
UNCOMMON – Tony Dungy

4. A POSITIVE MIND FINDS A WAY IT CAN BE DONE. A
NEGATIVE MIND LOOKS FOR ALL THE WAYS IT CAN’T BE DONE.
Someone once said, "There are no truths; there are only
perceptions of truth." Whether or not you accept this
statement, whatever you believe to be true will become
your reality. Your subconscious mind will believe anything
you tell it-if you repeat the words often and with
conviction. When you are faced with a daunting task that
you’ve never attempted before, focus on the potential for
success, not on the possibilities for failure. Break the job
down into smaller elements and tackle each one
separately. The only difference between success and
failure in any job is your attitude toward it.

5. “What you do is not as
important as how you do it.”
KEYS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR CORE:
1. Remember that what you do when no one is watching matters.
2. The means matter as much as the ends, if not more.
3. Hang in there. Character is revealed through adversity.
4. Often we grow as much through the little things as we do through the big ones.
5. Truth is critical. Being truthful is too.
6. Don’t rationalize your way around honesty.
7. Don’t be falsely modest; you have amazing gifts. Just recognize that others do too.
8. Be careful what you do with your resources, gifts, time, and talents. You’ve been
entrusted with them.
9. Some of the most rewarding times in life are when you have to stand alone, even if
you are uncomfortable doing so.
10.Life is hard. Courage is essential.
11.Never give up. NEVER.

6. KEYS FOR ACHIEVING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL:
1. Be Positive. Your mind is more powerful than you think.
2. Build high expectations into others.
3. What is down the well comes up in the bucket. Fill yourself with
positive things.
4. Your education matters. Don’t cut corners – you’ll only cheat
yourself if you don’t learn the material.
5. Find employment that excites you for reasons beyond the salary.
6. Don’t take hassles from work home with you.
7. Goals are important, but make sure they are worthy goals.
8. Don’t fear risk – life is an adventure, not a dress rehearsal.
9. Don’t be afraid to be different.
10.True toughness is how you respond to adversity.

7. Weekly Thought:
“The daily grind of hard
work gets a person
polished.”
- Unknown

8. Weekly Thought:
“You can’t steal
second with your
foot still on first.”

9. "There is one quality that one must possess to
win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the
knowledge of what one wants, and a burning
desire to possess it."
“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all
sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining
that state of mind known as a burning desire to win - essential to
success.”
“It takes half your life before you discover
life is a do-it-yourself project.”
“Your big opportunity may be right
where you are now.”
- Napoleon Hill

10. “Your mind is the one
and only thing over
which you have the
complete, unchallenged
privilege of control.”

11. There are Two
pains: The pain
of discipline
and The pain of
regreT.

12. “am i commiTTed To excellence?”
You can wall-paper everY room in Your
home wiTh “can-do” slogans , buT onlY Your
acTions can lend These words weighT. The
sTandards You seT for Yourself are The
real measures of Your dedicaTion. You musT
be willing To give everYThing You do
everYThing You’ve goT. don’T do This To
garner approval. do iT because You respecT
Yourself Too much To ever accepT anYThing
less Than Your besT efforTs.
- lou holTz

13. Remember the mind grows strong through use. Struggle makes power.
Napoleon Hill liked to tell a story about his grandfather, a
wagon builder in North Carolina. When the old man cleared the land
for cultivation, he always left a few oak trees in the middle of the field
at the mercy of the elements, unsheltered by other trees in the forest.
It was from those trees that his grandfather made the wagons' wheels.
Because they were forced to struggle against the fury of nature, they
grew strong enough to bear the heaviest load. Welcome difficult
challenges, for the greatest opportunities will come from challenges
that force you to expand your mind as you search for creative
solutions. During life's bleakest hours, take solace in the face that you
are strengthening yourself through struggle so that in the future you
will be prepared to take on even greater challenges. Like the old oak
tree, you grow strong only when you are forced to struggle.

14. A LITTLE HORSE SENSE
There was this guy in Iowa whose car tumbled into a ditch. He called
on a farmer for some help, but the farmer said, “You’d need a team of young
stallions to pull up that car. I only have one horse, Dusty. He’s blind and old.
We’ll bring him over to the ditch, though, and see what he can do. But don’t
expect much.” The farmer hitched Dusty to the car, snapped a whip in the air,
and said, “Pull, Jimmy, pull!” Dusty never moved. The farmer snapped the
whip again and said, “Pull, Sammy, pull!” Dusty still didn’t move. The farmer
snapped the whip a third time and said, “Pull, Charley, pull!” Dusty remained
still. The farmer snapped the whip a fourth time and said, “Pull, Dusty, pull!”
With one mighty tug, Dusty yanked the car out of the ditch.
The grateful driver shook the farmer’s hand and said, “Thanks for
freeing my car, but there’s something I don’t understand. Dusty never moved
when you kept calling those different names. Why didn’t you just call Dusty by
his name from the start?” The farmer replied, “I had to call out those three
names first. Dusty is blind. If he’d thought he had to do all that work by
himself, he never would have even tried.”
Perception. Don’t let yours limit you.

15. Do you remember who broke the four-minute barrier for the mile? That was one feat
that millions had tried to achieve since the days of the ancient Greeks. In fact, there are legends
that say that the Greeks had lions and other wild animals chase runners, thinking that would
make them run much faster. Nothing worked, so they made a decision for everyone, that to run
a four-minute mile was IMPOSSIBLE. For thousands of years, everyone believed it couldn’t be
done. Doctors, Physiologists, Trainers, Scientists said that it was physiologically impossible for a
human being to run a mile in four-minutes or less.
They made the argument that our bone structure was not geared to allow us to achieve it.
Cited as potential setbacks were wind resistance, which would not allow human beings to break
that barrier, as well as inadequate lung capacity. And, there were probably a thousand other
reasons.
Then one guy, one dedicated, focused, human being, proved the doctors, trainers,
psychologists, physiologists, the athletes and the thousands and thousands before him who tried
and failed, were all wrong. He led the way to breaking a barrier and, lo and behold, the year after
Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, more than 30 other runners also broke the four-
minute mile. The year after that, more than 300 runners broke the four-minute mile. It took one
leader to lead the way.
There have not been any great breakthroughs in track and field over the last few years.
Human structure is basically the same as in the last thousands of years and it hasn’t improved.
The answer is: Human attitudes have improved.
You can accomplish your goals if you set
them and you persist until you reach them.

16. I AM THE
MASTER OF
MY FATE.
- EXCERPT FROM INVICTUS – WILLIAM ERNEST
HENLEY

17. “THE AVERAGE PERSON WOULD HAVE QUIT
AT THE FIRST FAILURE. THAT’S WHY THERE
HAVE BEEN MANY AVERAGE MEN AND ONLY
ONE EDISON.”
“Thomas Edison once observed that the reason most folks
don’t recognize opportunity when it comes knocking is
that it is often dressed in coveralls and looks like work.
Edison knew that anything worthwhile never comes
easily; if it were easy, anyone could do it. Great advances
in knowledge are often achieved by people with an almost
fanatical devotion to finding the solution to a problem.
Flashes of inspiration alone are not enough to ensure
success; they must be followed by determined, persistent
action.”

18. THE POWER OF ATTITUDE
“The attitude you choose to assume toward life
and everything it brings you will determine
whether you realize your aspirations. What you
are capable of achieving is determined by your
talent and ability. What you attempt to do is
determined by your motivation. How well you
do something is determined by your attitude.”
- Coach Lou Holtz

19. “Don't measure yourself by what you have
accomplished, but by what you should have
accomplished with your ability.”
“Never mistake activity for achievement.”
- John Wooden

20. FINISHING STRONG
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow
I can accomplish what others can’t.”
-Jerry Rice
“A strong, successful man is not the victim of his
environment. He creates favorable conditions.
His own inherent force and energy compel things
to turn out as he desires.”
- Orison Swett Marden

21. “Make every day
your
masterpiece.”
- John Wooden

22. Fools look to tomorrow;
wise men use tonight.
~Scottish Proverb

23. Time to go Biblical on you…..LUKE 11: 9-10
9
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened
to you. 10
For everyone who asks
receives; he who seeks finds; and to
him who knocks, the door will be
opened.”

24. WHO TOLD YOU IT COULDN’T BE DONE, AND WHAT GREAT
ACHIEVEMENTS HAS HE PERFORMED THAT QUALIFIED HIM TO
SET UP LIMITATIONS FOR YOU?
You will find as you go through life that those who give advice
most freely are precisely the individuals who are least qualified
to do so. Busy, successful people don’t have an interest in telling
you how to live your life. They are busy living their own. Failures
or mediocre people have all the time in the world. They also
delight in seeing you fail, and are quick to say "I told you so"
when you experience a temporary setback. If someone tells you
that what you are attempting to achieve is impossible or not
worth the effort, take a close look at them and what they have
accomplished with their lives. The chances are good that you
will find they haven’t done much. Successful people are
optimistic people. They have the habit of success because they
learned long ago to listen to themselves and not to those who
would like to see them fail.

25. After landing his invasion forces on the shores of some
country, the sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador Hernan
Cortes would immediately burn his own boats. He was sending
his army a message: “We can’t turn back. Either we succeed or
we die here.” Excuses were not an option.
Successful organizations have low alibi thresholds. They either
do or they don’t. Once you stop wasting energy fabricating
excuses, you can start spending energy creating victories. The
next time things aren’t going your way and you’re tempted to
whine or finger-point, remember the words of the wise captain
who said, “People don’t care how rocky the ocean is, they just
want you to bring the ship in.” In other words, no one is
interested in excuses, only results.

26. “The man on the top of the
mountain did not fall there.”
NO ACTION, NO RESULTS.
That’s all there is to it.

27. All of us should adopt the attitude of the blind man who was being
led down the street by a guide dog. When they came to the corner
of a busy intersection, the dog crossed against the light. The blind
man had no choice but to follow. Cars swerved to avoid them;
drivers honked their horns and swore loudly. Somehow, the duo
reached the other side unharmed. As they stopped on the corner,
the blind man reached into his pocket, pulled out a dog biscuit, and
offered it to the reckless canine. Having just watched the two as
they crossed, a bystander tapped the blind man on the shoulder and
said, “Sir, that dog almost got you killed. The last thing you should
do is give him a biscuit as a reward.” The blind man smiled and said,
“I’m not giving him a reward. I’m trying to find his mouth so I can
kick him in the rear.”
Whenever you find yourself moaning about some difficulty,
remember that blind man. Give adversity a swift kick in the rear
end. Drop the self-pity, throw out the crutches, and trash the
excuses. Do something positive.

28. Sacrifice is the price that excellence demands.
You must be willing to pay the price for it.
Let me leave you with the fable about the Emperor who years ago gathered
together the wisest people in his kingdom and said, “I want you to assemble
all the great knowledge of our civilization so that it is easily available for
future generations.” They worked many years before returning with ten
bound volumes. His Highness glanced at the stack of books, frowned, and
said, “Too long.” The sages scurried from his throne room. They did not
return until they had edited the ten volumes down to one. However, when
they handed it to the Emperor, he refused to open it. “Still too lengthy,” he
said. Over the next two years, the sages condensed the book into one
paragraph. The Emperor wasn’t satisfied. Finally, these wise people came
back with a single sentence inscribed on an index card. The Emperor read it,
smiled, and announced, “This is perfect. Now future generations will
understand why we have been so successful. All the genius we posses is
contained in this brilliant, solitary, phrase.”
The sentence read: “There is no free lunch.” You can dine on whatever
you want; it all depends on how high a price you are willing to pay for the
meal.

29. NO ACTION
=
NO RESULTS

30. DO WHAT YOU LOVE; LOVE WHAT YOU DO
Enthusiasm is a word derived from the Greek, meaning “to be
inspired by God.” I’ve always associated it with success.
Everybody has enthusiasm at one time or another in their life.
Some people have it for thirty seconds, others for thirty years. The
people who maintain it long-term will attain their goals. If you
have enthusiasm for what you do, people will want to share in it.
Mark Twain understood this. Remember when Tom Sawyer
had to whitewash the fence? He hated that chore, but he did it
with a smile and soon convinced all his friends that nothing could
be more fun. Tom’s friends caught his enthusiasm. It’s amazing
what a little fervor can do for any organization. If your salespeople
love their products and transmit sparks when they make their
presentations, customers are going to buy. But if they simply go
through the motions, they won’t get a single order.

31. “in my experience, there is
only one motivation, and
that is desire. no reasons
or principle contain it or
stand against it.”
- jane smiley

32. Many projects fail or succeed before they
begin. The difference is attitude. A salesman
went to an island in the South Pacific to sell
shoes. When he arrived he was shocked to see
that no one wore shoes. Discouraged, he called
his home office and said, “ There’s no reason
for me to stay here. Nobody wears shoes.” A
month later another shoe salesman from a
different company went to the same island in
the South Pacific. When he saw that no one
wore shoes he got excited. He called his home
office and said, “ Send me ten thousand pairs of
shoes. Everyone here needs them.”

33. A foreign exchange student attending school in America, asked his
grandfather from eastern Europe to come and visit him. When he arrived,
the two spent the next few days touring the college campus. On the day
before his grandfather was to leave, the student asked his grandfather to
meet him after class at the school cafeteria for lunch.
The grandfather arrived a little early and sat down at an empty table and
waited for someone to take his order, but nobody did.
Finally, a student with her tray of food sat down opposite him and
informed him how the cafeteria worked. "Start out at that end," she said.
"Just go along the line and pick out what you want. At the other end they
will tell you how much you have to pay."
A few minutes later the young student arrived. Explaining what had
happened the grandfather told his grandson:
“I have learned how everything works here in America. Life's a
cafeteria here. You can get anything you want as long as you are
willing to pay the price. You can even get success, but you will never
get it if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and
get it yourself.”

34. the brick walls are
there to stop the
people that don’t
want it badly
enough. they are
there to stop the
other people.