Ask not what you can do for a quote, ask what a quote can do for you.
Written By Jeffrey Gitomer
@GITOMER
Ask not what you can do for a quote, ask what a quote can do for you.
“Give me liberty or give me death!” A quote by Patrick Henry that is arguable the most remembered and respected in America.
People love quotes. They are printed in books of 1000 pages, printed on posters, hung on banners, used in speeches to inspire, posted in office cubicles, and written on bathroom and subway walls.
Sometimes they are embedded in a song lyric. “Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.” From the Eagles Hotel California is my all time favorite.
Quotes are meant to make you think and act in a new better way. They inspire, or bring reality to your perspective. They can make you smile, or say to a friend, “Hey, read this.”
“If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.” Cowboy Wisdom
See what I mean? Now-a-days they pass with the speed of light through the internet email all over the world.
I collect them. So should you.
I am always inspired by the wisdom of others. I look at quotes a different way than most. When I read them, I learn, but I am also inspired to write them. To solidify my own thinking through writing.
When I read: “There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein ~ it made me begin to write simple truths of my own. Here are a few:
“Your wealth of knowledge is not measured by your wealth of dollars.But your mortgage payment is.” ~ Gitomer
“If people would LIVE the example rather than PUSH the example – others would be attracted rather than repelled.” ~ Gitomer
“When you’re the BEST — the only people that think “something is wrong” is the competition. ~ Gitomer.
Have you ever written your own thoughts down? It will help you in business and in life. And here’s a secret when you’re writing: Try to make the quote active or live.
Here’s an example: “The future will be here sooner than you think.” is a passive quote. I re-wrote it to say: “Make the future arrive the way you want it to by starting to prepare for it today.” That’s an active quote. It makes you contemplate action for the betterment of yourself.
Here are a few more memorable quotes I’ve saved and savored. I invite you to read, think about, smile from, learn from, pass along to others and save for yourself.
“The heart sees better than the eye.” ~ Hebrew Proverb
“If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive.” ~ Bhagavad-Gita ~ (c. BC 400, Sanskrit Poem Incorporated Into the Mahabharata)
“I forgive myself for having believed for so long that I was never good enough to have, get, or be what I wanted.” ~ Ceanne DeRohan
“He who has a ‘why’ to live for can bear almost any ‘how’. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” ~ Norman Cousins
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” ~ Agatha Christie
And on the lighter side of life and smiles…
“Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which you put your money in your pants pocket and give your coat to your creditors.” ~ Sam Goldwyn
“I once wanted to become an atheist but I gave up… they have no holidays.” ~ Henny Youngman
“My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.” ~ Benjamin Disraeali
“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something.” ~ Jackie Mason
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” ~ Woody Allen
“Marriage is a wonderful institution. But who wants to live in an institution?” ~ Groucho Marx
“With the collapse of vaudeville, new talent has no place to stink.” ~ George Burns
“It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say, and then don’t say it.” ~ Sam Levenson
“Don’t be humble; you are not that great.” ~ Golda Meir
And one of my own personal favorite kick-in-the-attitude quotes: “We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.” ~ Earl Nightingale ~ Flip your own switch, baby.
Want some more cool quotes? Write your own!
Free GitBit… Want more inspirational quotes? Sure you do, they’re irresistible. Go to www.gitomer.com – register if you’re a first time user, and enter the words INSPIRE ME in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts internet training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com
