Five Amazing Quotes to Live by

I love literature. I love learning about people in history and I love studying biographies. In my search for illustrious and people of integrity in history, it was simply a matter of time before I came across some of their famous quotes. Some of those quotes have stood out to me as they have resonated deeply in my soul.

In this post, I will share merely five awesome quotes that I believe everyone should live by. I will explain to you why these quotes stood out to me and my interpretation and practical application to our lives. I hope you find them as inspirational as I did!

Quote #5

“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt

This means work. This means doing hard things. This means going gross things. This means being a person of integrity and tenacity. I love how Eleanor hit the nail right on the head with this one. If I have a messy bedroom, who am I to require of my children to have clean rooms?

Are we asking our children to do chores and work around the house to teach them important life skills or a re we doing it because we are lazy to do them? This is definitely something to think about. There is a fine line between the two. Let’s be sure that we are good examples. 😀 Read more about Eleanor Roosevelt here.

Quote #4

“Worry is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.”

~ Vance Havner

Ah! This one was probably written for mothers, more than anyone else! Don’t you agree? I hear this quote many years ago and it really stuck with me. It goes right along with this one “I have suffered many catastrophies in my life. Most of them never happened.” How much time and thought are we giving to worry during our days? What about during our nights?

If we are worried about something, it is important to ask ourselves if there is something we can do about it (other than worry and let it consume us). If there is something we can do, then we need to do it! If there is nothing we can do about it, then we need to let go. I know that sometimes it is easier said than done, but really, we cannot afford to let negative thoughts and worry rule over our lives. Learn more about Vance Havner here.

Quote #3

“We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.”

~ William Ewart Gladstone

In this day and age, we are seeing and experiencing more and more attacks, more terrorism, more fear. There is a big lack of peace because we don’t know what will happen next. It is true that we live in a fallen world and it can be as ugly as it can be breathtaking.

The point of this is for us to aim for peace…to be prepared in any way we know how and to not let fear and worry about the unknown gain momentum in our hearts. Our little ones can sense it when we are scared, fearful and wondering how to best protect our offspring. Let’s teach them the power of love by the way we live with each other. Learn more about William Ewart Gladstone here.

Quote #2

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”

~ Anne Frank

I love this quote and we try our utmost to live by this quote. Who better than Anne Frank to teach us this lesson? She was simply such an example to follow. I highly recommend reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl or watching The Diary of Anne Frank. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” is truer than true.

How do we teach our children to be givers. to be generous? By giving, right? By opening their eyes to the need around them and to power them to show them that they can be a part of the solution. Giving isn’t always monetary. One can give time, effort, things we don’t use or have doubles of or simply give things we love because others have nothing.

Helping out at the soup kitchen, giving to the Angel Tree at Christmas time, visiting an old folks’ home, handing food to the homeless, spending time with those who have no friends are a few examples of giving. To read more on Anne Frank, go here.

Quote #1

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

And here is the most touching quote out of the five. Isn’t it amazing and true? We lead by example and the truth is that no matter what we say, what we do shows who we really are. Our children watch us all the time and they see more than we think and more than we’d like.

Sure, we don’t want our children to grow up watching perfection and then have that kind of pressure on them to perform accordingly, but it is so important that even though they see our mistakes, they see that we try to be better, we say sorry, we own our mistakes and we are pen about it.

In my honest opinion, children appreciate truth. And if we expect our children to be truthful with us, even about their shortcomings, we need to be truthful with them. Understanding that children aren’t completely oblivious to life is paramount. They are smaller version of us. Their brain grasp and internalize so much. Let’ be the best examples we can be to them! To learn more about Ralph Waldo Emerson, go here.