Hello Groovers.
Well, even though it’s only a matter of days since I unpacked my bikini (don’t think about that too much) from my trip to the tropical paradise of Fiji, I now find myself looking desperately through my pathetic wardrobe hoping to find something warm enough to get me through the next ten days in the snow fields of Colorado. That’s right; tomorrow morning I’m off to Keystone Ski Resort (and conference facility) to give a presentation. Someone’s gotta do it and apparently, I’m the guy. It should be an interesting trip for the man who’s never really been on snow and has the motor skills of a new-born foal. If you live anywhere near Keystone, come and say hello to me. I’ll be the one on crutches with the horrible accent.
The fill in…
I’m speaking at a conference being run by an organisation called PTontheNet. The conference is called ‘Meeting of the Minds’ and it brings together some of the best fitness educators from all around the world. And me. Clearly I’m there to make the others look good. Apparently I’m opening the event. Someone must have pulled out. Do you think the Americans will find me offensive? Hmm, thought so. Funny? Thought not. Might have to re-think my presentation.
Nah.
It’s midnight Tuesday here in Melbourne, I fly out in eleven hours (a casual 17 hrs, 35 min. flight from Melbourne to LA!!!), I haven’t packed a thing, not sure where my passport is, just got back from doing some radio and I’m kinda hungry. Can’t wait for some of that quality plane food.
So… for the next few days you may not hear from me too often. Or you may. Not sure what my schedule will be but I will post (write articles) when I can, and I will keep you updated on my skiing progress. Anyway, rather than bore you with any more details of my life, I have a group exercise for you today. I’m always dispensing ‘life lessons’ and today it’s your turn to contribute. Your turn to teach the rest of us something. Even you lurkers may want to shock yourselves and creep out of the shadows.
Today I want you to share your favorite motivational / philosophical / inspirational or educational saying (proverb, expression, scripture, etc.) with the rest of us. I also want you to tell us why it’s your favorite (keep it under a million words). Hopefully it will inspire or enlighten someone else, as it has you.
Two of my faves are:
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give”
(Big Winnie Churchill)
“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are”
(Anais Nin)
Okay, now it’s your turn. Get to work.
Talk to you soon… ish
Group Hug ( )
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Craig,
Read this one just last night. Very timely with your trip to Snowy Colorado.
“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.”
by Verna M. Kelly
Have a GREAT trip!!!(I don’t mean the one head first down the ski hill)
Canadian Di
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do. “
–Eleanor Roosevelt
I think this quotes fits my past well, and helps me deal with my past and helps me close the doors that I struggled to close!
I am from Colorado and would love to see you speak at Keystone!
Diana (Centennial, CO)
“Attitude is altitude”. (Got it from a friend who got it from his grandma.) It’s a great phrase, and pretty self-explanatory. Our attitude influences our outcome in any endeavor.
Welcome to beautiful Colorado, Craig! We just got some fresh snowfall last night, just for you. Hope you have fun in Keystone learning how to ski. DO be careful of the altitude up there. If you’re not used to the thinner air, it can really knock the wind out of your sails! So do yourself a favor and go easy ’til you’ve had a little time to adjust.
Cheers!
Jackie from Boulder, Colorado (This thing won’t let me type my name where I usually put it when I’m writing from work.)
Craig, this American likes you very much. Be yourself. Colorado is too far for me to travel from Arkansas or I would be there. It is not as far as Australia apparently. I live in the South where if we get snow, the whole town shuts down because we don’t know how to drive in snow or ice. Enjoy your skiing and don’t break any bones.
Patricia from Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.”
It reminds me to step outside my comfort zone. Act on things that are not working. Continue to do things that are working. And generally grab life, rip it in two and start over with the life I want, rather than accepting the life I’ve been given.
Jamie
P.S. Remember to cover your head on the slopes. Having lost your hair to old age, we don’t want little Craigy getting cold now, do we?
‘Come on, arse it up’! or ‘we/I should arse it up’!
Meaning, just do it! Get whatever needs to be done out of the way! Show up/get things done!
Just sounds hilarious to me!
Go Craig! Have a FABULOUS time in Colorado, whoohoo, you’re living and doing amazing you legend!
Have fun!
Pip
Hmm Hi Craig…I have discovered Sark, and ‘Succulent wild woman’…there are some doosies in this book…’Choosing succulence is a deliberate act of personal revolution. I means wakinhg up! Embracing your true self, studying your patterns, and letting out your most alive self. We all have one.” (SARK)
http://www.planetsark.com for more info.
logging for followup
One of my favourites comes from Clint Eastwood: “I tried being reasonable. I didn’t like it.”
That tells me not to give in to what other people want all the time, just to be nice. And it goes along with “Well behaved women seldom make history.”
Craig, I’ll give you the advice my mother gave me when I experienced my first snow storm in New Jersey. “Make sure you wear bright colors. That way if you fall into a snow bank the rescue team will be able to find you”
My favorite inspirational quote is also by Anais Nin: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
This is a constant reminder to me that in the long run it hurts me more to play small in my life, when I know can do better. Growing and expanding your horizons can be a little bit scary and sometimes it seems easier to take the path of least resistance and do nothing. When I read this quote I imagine blossoming into the highest version of myself and it makes me a little more brave.
have fun on the slopes
I know most people hate Henry Rollins but i have a thing for him, especially his body and wouldn’t mind giving him a great big lick from the base of his spine right up to his head. I couldn’t keep it to one quote. sorry.
“As long as I tell the truth I feel that nobody can touch me”
“I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone.”
“Keep your blood clean, your body lean, and your mind sharp.”
“My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud”
I have these quotes stuck to the inside of my wardrobe for the last 5yrs? Why? because i want to live these quotes, i want to be these quotes. I want to cut away the fat, drain out the infected pus and completely transform myself because it’s the only way to get to meet my true self. I want to look in the mirror and see accomplishment and know who i am. To not live in fear anymore, fear of others or fear of my own strength. Cause i got it in me, i got it big time and i know it.
Yep Henry Rollins just does it for me.
Ange
“How badly do you want it?” Craig Harper
“Champions get up when others don’t” unidentified.
“Dreams pass into the reality of action.” Anais Nin.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin again.
That last one set me off on a journey and the others help keep me on track.
safe trip
tilly
FAvourite quote that gets me through each day: ‘No-one can go back and make a brand new start my friend; but anyone can start from here and make a brand new end.’ Dan Zadra
the past is past and if you want to do it differently you can – get back on track, don’t dwell and don’t spend energy on the ‘what ifs’. Karen, Adelaide
Ok, today, my favorite quote is…
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…
It’s about learning to dance in the rain!”
The author is unknown but it’s so profound
I’m claiming it as my own… well.. kind of…
It’s significance is probably transparent…
But I’ll alloborate anyways…
Real life is funny, you are either going into a storm,
in the middle of the storm, or coming out of a storm.
Whether the storm is personal, professional, etc.
It’s never smooth sailing all the time…
But I have learned I don’t need perfection to be happy,
I don’t need sunshine and cotton clouds all the time.
There are blessings that come with the rain (tulips and rainbows).
So my goals have changed from waiting for and wanting perfection,
to showing grace and strength in the midst of my storms.
I have a vision of Gene Kelly dancing in the rain with his umbrella
everytime I think of my quote and I realized long ago…
maybe that picture wouldn’t be so vivid and unforgettable
if he were dancing in the streets on a sunny day!
It’s the fact that not even wet socks and soggy shoes could steal his joy!
Powerful!
Besides, I want my children to remember me
as someone who faced adversity with style and grace
… and of course, optimism!
What better legacy could I hope to leave than that?
()
Tami
PS- Have fun on the slopes Craig!
Hello Groovers… so here I am, nowhere near the slopes, stuck in Melbourne airport delayed for FIVE FREAKIN’ HOURS before I even get going. I might have to try some of that personal development stuff to get me through!! Deep breaths… in, out, in, out.
Hey look, some deep-fried food…
Hi Canadian Di…
Nice words.
Yep, I’ll do my best to have a good trip… just gotta get out of this airport!
Hi Diana from Colorado.
Not sure if the conference is open to the public but come and have a coffee with me and you’ll get your own free conference… one on one.
That’s a good deal
Hi Jackie.. thanks for the skiing tips. I need all the help I can get!
Thanks for the tip Jamie… I am precious!
Cheers.
Thanks Pip. ( )
I love those quotes Sherryl… too funny.
Thanks
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle” – Christian D larson
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… Do the thing you think you cannot do” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Hi Sue.
That’s it; I’m wearing a yellow suit with a pink hat to the snow.
Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for sharing Ange..
Thanks Tilly
( )
Wise words Karen…
Thanks for dropping by
I heard one today that I thought was good ( I was at a wellness meeting). Here goes: “What if the hokey-pokey is what it’s all about?” Hopefully you have that child’s “dance” in Australia too!
My favourite quote involves an offer too good to refuse…
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Jesus, Matthew 11:28-29 from ‘The Message Version’ of the bible (Nothing “weird” just a very modern language translation).
Like I said at the start, that’s an offer too good to refuse so I decided to accept it, and I am recovering my life!
Another quote that helps me…
“I’m not where I want to be, but thank God I’m not where I used to be! I’m ok and I’m on my way”.
This is a quote by Joyce Meyer, Christian minister/speaker/author. It’s a bit corny I know but it helps me walk that fine line between constantly pressing on and growing as a person, and just being far too hard on myself.
Hope they help someone.
Anne
‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the live you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
Can remember who said it but I like it.
Janice
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi
Be who you are and say what you feel… because those who mind, don’t matter and those who matter, don’t mind:)
If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going.
(Chinese proverb)
We all need to take great interest in the future because we will spend the rest of our life there.
Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable.
There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
Little by little, one travels far. J.R.R. Tolkien
It’s never too late to be who you might have been. George Eliot (1819-1880)
Sorry… couldn’t pick just one. They all have significance, and I think they’re all self explanatory.
Have fun in the snow and don’t break anything !
Hi Craig, tough couple of weeks, a contrast in climates and people.
I am sure you will cope enjoy the holiday (conference), throw in a few “at the end of the day” I use it on a daily basis and it is even starting to annoy me. Thanks for the blog Danielson
Hi Craig,
My favourite it by Mother Theresa who said ” I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world”
Looking forward to the skiing pics!
Cheryl
() away from home hug
Hi Craig and All, I’m one of the lurkers who read, enjoy and don’t contribute (v lazy). Today is the day though. Found this one in an exercise mag, “You DON’T have to be great to start but you DO have to start to be great”, love it
One of my favorite quotes is from the Wayne Dyer book, Your Sacred Self. It was said by Nisargadatta Maharaj. He said, “In my world, nothing ever goes wrong.” With the help of this saying, I choose to look at challenges as lessons to be learned instead of things in my life going wrong. I have had some major shifts of perception using these words as my guide.
Patricia, Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
I recieved a poem from a friend, called ‘To Risk’, on my birthday and its a bit long, so I will take the lines that give its message:
‘Because the greatest hazard in life is risking nothing. The person who risks nothing,
Does Nothing
Has Nothing
Is Nothing.’
By William Arthur Ward
It has an amazing message that everyone can take something from – I always get courage to risk more when I read it.
Hi Guys.
Thanks for all your ideas, quotes, stories and thoughts… I’m a little busy at the minute to answer each one personally but I’ve read them all and you all rock…
Group Hug ( )