Excerpts from my treatise on values:  "WILL U?"

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Billions have come, billions have gone

Throughout their lives they've learned, lost and won

Billions more will come and go

What deep truths will their lives show

 

For their time, for their place, 

for the air that they breathed

For their loves, for their hates, 

for their good and bad deeds

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And now here U rise

one of the billions still here

looking for answers to

who, what, when, where 

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If it’s fame that U want

she’s elusive and demanding

Will U let her own U

or will U stand and keep standing

 

If it’s wealth that U seek

there are sacrifices to gain her

Will U become a slave to her will

or supervise and maintain her

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Order the E-book "WILL U?" here! 

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You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.

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–Henry David Thoreau

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“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

 

― Aesop, Ancient Greek fabulist or storyteller

 

 

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There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.

 

― John Holmes, Army veteran and author

 

 

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We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.

 

― John Lennon, Singer, songwriter and co-founder of The Beatles

 

 

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 It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

 

― Muhammad Ali, World Champion American boxer, civil rights activist and statesman

 

 

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People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.

 

― George Allen, Sr., American football coach

 

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I’ve been at this a long time and still perfection hates me. 

I’ve made my share of mistakes and some people can’t take me. 

I will not be counted out 

& thats why I equate me,

with those who make the world move

‘cause thats how I feel lately.

In spite of all my failings, 

I stand tall & still I strive. 

I’ve had my share of close calls, 

I’m grateful I’m still alive. 

Maybe, it seems beyond U, 

fret not, I hear your loud cries. 

When face to face with setbacks, 

take heart & shout : STILL I RISE!

 

–Jerry L. Burrell, American gymnast, edutainer and 

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.

 

― Bob Moawad, American author

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If you go to a tree with an ax and take five whacks at the tree every day, it doesn't matter if it's an oak or a redwood; eventually the tree has to fall down.

 

― Jack Canfield, American Author

 

 

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I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. 

 

–Michael Jordan, Businessman and former NBA player

 

 

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If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.

 

― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the USA

 

 

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What you believe, has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe. 

 

–Oprah Winfrey, Media mogul and philanthropist.

 

 

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Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

 

–John R. Wooden, American basketball player and coach

 

 

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It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation 

 

–Herman Melville, American Novelist, short story writer and poet. Author of Moby Dick

 

 

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Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

 

–Jim Ryun, American track & field athlete and Olympic silver medalist. First HS athlete to run a sub 4 minute mile.

 

 

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Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear–not absence of fear.

 

–Mark Twain, American author and humorist

 

 

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It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see

 

–Anonymous

 

 

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Fortune sides with him who dares.

 

–Virgil, ancient Roman poet

 

 

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The most amazing thing about being alive is I get to choose. It doesn't matter what. Just the act of choosing is a miracle. Even when I choose not to choose, I've chosen and that too is miraculous. Choice is how I shape my world. Choice is how I inspire. Choice is how I love. Choice is how I leave my legacy. Choice is me! When I abdicate this wonderful gift, It is me choosing to be a puppet: my strings being pulled, words being put in my mouth and my very personhood violated. My choice is really the only thing I control. If I lose that, I lose me. I choose!

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American gymnast, edutainer and 

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he’ll fight and die for it. The way real science goes is that you come up with lots of ideas, and most of them will be wrong.

 

–Francis Crick, British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, most noted for being a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 with James Watson

 

 

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Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.

 

–Washington Irving, American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century

 

 

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Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.

 

–Denis Waitley, American Author

 

 

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A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.

 

–Elbert Hubbard, American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher

 

 

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Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.

 

–Theodore N. Vail, American Telephone Industrialist

 

 

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Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all.

 

–Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer

 

 

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All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.

 

–Michael John Bobak, American Digital artist, singer/songwriter

 

 

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Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.

 

–Robert Collier, American author

 

 

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Opportunities don't happen, you create them. 

 

–Chris Grosser, Photographer

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All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. 

 

–Walt Disney, American entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer

 

 

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Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life--think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

 

–Swami Vivekananda, Indian Hindu monk

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I have been on this planet almost 50 years and what I regret are those moments where in the pursuit of my highest goals & dreams, I have allowed myself to believe 

(just for an instant) 

that it was NOT possible & that it mattered what other people thought. 

 

It was in those instances that I allowed doubt to creep in & I missed an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to be empowered. The adventure from dream to reality demands conviction, authenticity & a mind’s eye that sees it already accomplished.

 

Go Boldly!

 

–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

 

 

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A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.

 

–Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and executive

 

 

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You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.

 

–Michael Jordan, Former professional athlete, businessman

 

 

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In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it. 

 

–Jane Smiley, American author

 

 

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Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

 

–Maya Angelou, American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer.

 

 

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We become what we think about most of the time, and that's the strangest secret.

 

–Earl Nightingale, American Author

 

 

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I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

 

–Coleman Cox, American Author

 

 

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Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.

 

–A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India

 

 

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The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one's destiny to do, and then do it.

 

–Henry Ford, American Industrialist

 

 

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The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

 

–Anonymous

 

 

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Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, she turned into a butterfly.

 

–Proverb

 

 

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Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successfull personality and duplicate it.

 

–Bruce Lee,  Hong Kong American martial artist, Hong Kong action film actor and the founder of Jeet Kune Do

 

 

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Your problem isn't the problem. Your reaction is the problem.

 

–Anonymous

 

 

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.

 

–Francis Chan, American Preacher

 

 

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If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? 

Not much!

 

–Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and author

 

 

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Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.

 

–John Wooden, American basketball player, coach and teacher

 

 

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Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.

 

–Wayne Dyer, American Teacher/Author

 

 

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You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. 

 

–Margaret Thatcher, Former Prime Minister of the UK

 

 

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If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. 

As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.

 

–Thomas J. Watson, Former CEO of IBM

 

 

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There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to do it themselves and those who are afraid you will succeed.

 

–Ray Goforth, Former Director of SPEEA (Aerospace Union)

 

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Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

 

–Lolly Daskal, Entrepreneur

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Great minds discuss ideas; 

average minds discuss events; 

small minds discuss people.

 

–Eleanor Roosevelt, American political figure, diplomat and activist

 

 

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I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong. 

 

–Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and Founding Father

 

 

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Happiness is not something readymade.  It comes from your own actions. 

 

–Dalai Lama, Spiritual Leader of Tibet

 

 

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The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. 

 

–Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer and poet

 

 

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The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it. 

 

–Charles Swindoll, American Pastor

 

 

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The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. 

 

–Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer and author

 

 

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You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. 

 

–Wayne Gretzky, Former NHL player and coach

 

 

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A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

 

–Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931), Lebanese poet, novelist. 

 

 

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It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. 

 

–Abraham Lincoln, 16th American President

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Education costs money, but then so does ignorance. 

 

–Sir Claus Moser, British statistician and academic

 

 

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The only way to do great work is to love what you do. 

 

–Steve Jobs, American Businessman, Co-founder of Apple

 

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Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 

 

–Eleanor Roosevelt, an American political figure, diplomat, and activist.

 

 

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The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself–the invisible battles inside all of us–that’s where it’s at. 

 

–James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens. American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

 

 

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Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. 

 

–Farrah Gray. American businessman, investor, philanthropist, author, columnist, and motivational speaker.

 

 

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A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. 

 

– Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist

 

 

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Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. 

 

– Ancient Indian Proverb

 

 

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Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

 

–Dale Carnegie. American writer and lecturer

 

 

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Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.  

 

–Booker T. Washington, American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States.

 

 

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The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. 

 

–Ayn Rand, Author

 

 

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It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. 

 

–Confucius, Chinese philosopher

 

 

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If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

 

–Henry David Thoreau. American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher 

 

 

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Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. 

 

–Henry Ford. American Industrialist

 

 

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We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. 

 

–Marie Curie, a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist. Two time Nobel prize winner.

 

 

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I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. 

 

–Stephen Covey, American educator, businessman and author. Wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

 

 

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Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. 

 

–Vince Lombardi, Former American football player, coach and executive

 

 

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Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. 

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–Steve Jobs, APPLE Co-founder and iPhone co-creator

 

 

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We become what we think about. 

 

–Earl Nightingale, American Author

 

 

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Never let the fear of striking out keep you from coming up to bat.

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Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. 

 

It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.

 

I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.

 

–Babe Ruth, American Baseball Player, George Herman Ruth, Jr.

 

 

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Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. 

 

–Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist

 

 

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Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. 

 

–Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses), American folk artist. 

 

 

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Gratitude unlocks the abundance of life.

 

–Peggy McColl. American author

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u KNOW u are powerful

how u manifest your power

may not be completely clear just yet

and while u may fall short many times

before that clarity is revealed

u KNOW u will make a difference

u can feel it

u can taste it

u KNOW u were born for it

savor those moments of KNOWing

that is your future flexing

it’s your destiny dancing

it's your power pulsing

your power is in the KNOW. Live there!

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. 

 

–Henry Ford, American Businessman

 

 

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The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. 

 

–Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain. American author and humorist.

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The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. 

 

–Chinese Proverb

 

 

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What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. 

 

–Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, artist, and writer

 

 

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It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

 

–From the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, English poet, critic and editor

 

 

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I would rather die of passion than of boredom. 

 

–Vincent van Gogh, Post-Impressionist painter of Dutch origin

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You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have. 

 

–Maya Angelou, American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer

 

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It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. 

 

–Mae Jemison, American physician and NASA Astronaut

 

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“Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success…"

 

–Savas Dimopoulos, particle physicist worked at CERN 1994-1997

 

 

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I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. 

 

–Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer

 

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The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.

 

 –Ralph Waldo Emerson. American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet

 

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Limitations live only in our minds.  But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. 

 

–Jamie Paolinetti, American cycler, writer and filmmaker

 

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A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

 

–Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer

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As a teenager you are both mature and immature at the same time. It is a tough spot to be in and you often navigate it by imitating people you’ve been exposed to in real life or via the media. 

 

Pick carefully those you choose to imitate. You are building a life! Similar to the architect designing a structure, you want it to not only look good but you want it to last and to serve it’s purpose. 

 

Choose nothing but the best materials you can get your hands on. Use nothing but the best equipment you can access. Work with only the best craftsmen you can recruit. Your life is worth the extra effort.

 

Besides, whether you realize it or not, there is someone imitating you!

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

 

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Change your thoughts and you change your world. 

 

–Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author 

 

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I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. 

 

–Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist

 

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You can’t fall if you don’t climb.  But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground. 

 

–Unknown

 

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover. 

 

–Mark Twain, American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer 

 

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“...Life is not fair, but despite that harsh reality, you must keep striving for success through the pain, tears and feeling of lost hope..

Never be afraid to go after your dreams, and regardless of the negative forecast that has been predicted upon us, beat the odds and let the sun shine...

Each step we take is paved with possibilities. Now go unlock the door to your future.” 

 

–Rashema Melson, 18 yr old valedictorian and recipient of full scholarship to Georgetown University (excerpts from her commencement speech)

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There are no guarantees in life but when I've been willing to do whatever it takes, It's made my life richer, fuller and more meaningful.

 

–Jerry L. Burrell, American gymnast, edutainer and 

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

 

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We become what we think about. 

 

–Earl Nightingale, American radio speaker and author

 

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"You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind."

 

–Zig Ziglar: Motivational author and speaker

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Do you want to know who you are? 

Don't ask.

ACT! 

Action will delineate and define you.

 

–Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President

 

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Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be. 

 

— Marsha Petrie Sue, Author, Public speaker and Motivational Coach

 

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One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. 

 

–Tony Robbins, American Author, Coach and Speaker

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In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.

 

-- John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic

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There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

 

—Albert Einstein: Theoretical Physicist

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Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can. 

 

–Arthur Ashe, American Tennis Player & 3 time Grand Slam Champion, 1943-1993

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There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. 

 

–Aristotle, Greek Philosopher

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Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity. Successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.

 

–William James, American Philosopher

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"By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;

Second, by imitation, which is easiest; 

and third by experience, which is the bitterest. "

 

— Confucius, a Chinese thinker and social philosopher

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The world accommodates the man on a mission. What's yours?

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

 

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"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." 

 

–Mark Twain (b: Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835-1910) American Author and Humorist

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When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid. Thank you.

 

–Lupita Nyong'o, Mexican born, Kenyan raised, Yale educated, Academy Award winning actress

 

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Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate accomplishments.

 

–Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American Motivational Speaker

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Be an athlete when it comes to your education

An artist when it comes to designing your life  

An astronaut when it comes to planning your future

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Train your brain like Olympians train their body

Create a life like Da'Vinci and Michelangelo designed masterpieces

Plan your future to go where no man has gone before.

The sky is NOT the limit!

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK

 

 

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Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, "This is the real me," and when you have found that attitude, follow it.

 

–William James (1842-1910) American Philosopher and Psychologist

 

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No man can hope to accomplish anything great in this world until he throws his whole soul, flings the force of his whole life, into it. It is not enough simply to have a general desire to accomplish something. There is but one way to do that; and that is, to try to be somebody with all the concentrated energy we can muster.

 

–Orison Sweet Marden (1850-1924) American Editor and Speaker

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Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

 

–Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President

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The world needs your very best and we can't get that from anyone else but U!

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.

 

– Goran Persson, Swedish Politician 

 

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Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

 

– Calvin Coolidge , 30th US President

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All I would tell people is to hold onto what was individual about themselves, not to allow their ambition for success to cause them to try to imitate the success of others. You've got to find it on your own terms.

 

-- Harrison Ford (1942-) American Actor

 

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In remembrance of Nelson Mandela enjoy wisdom he shared with the world:

 

"Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished"

 

"One of the most difficult things is not to change society - but to change yourself."

 

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

 

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

 

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead." 

 

— Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. 

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The world is populated with:

those who create

those who imitate

those who hate

& those who wait.

What's your trait?

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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Attitudes, ideas & mindsets are contagious - like the flu. All it takes is exposure to them & you can be infected. Some you want to catch; sadly, most you don’t. To help you keep from catching those you don’t want, your immune system has to be strong enough to fight them off. Unfortunately, none of us are completely 100% immune. 

 

One way to build up your immune system is dreaming big, deciding what you want in life and staying focused on getting that. When you don’t know what you want in life, it’s like having a hole that is waiting to be filled. That's when the attitudes, mindsets & ideas of others infiltrate and fill that hole. Once you are infected, it will be easy for them to hijack what little dreams you do have and fool you into thinking you are on a mission, when really you are just a passenger in the back seat of a car you don’t own, being driven by someone else, going anywhere.

 

When you know what you want and are committed to it, your immune system is strong enough to allow in only that which fuels you, energizes you, makes you stronger and even more committed to YOUR journey.  

 

Dream big and remember: Exposure is all it takes to get infected.

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–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

 

 

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When life seems hard, confusing, weird, unfair, wack, a pain in the ass or even unbearable; Stay focused, keep moving forward & just keep living. TRIUMPH is around the corner.

 

–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

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Hear me when I say this. As men, any force that seeks to suck the life out of us cannot remain outside of us if it is to win. It can only succeed if we let it in. 

 

–Jerry L. Burrell, American Gymnast,

Founder / Director, ACRODUNK and USA DUNK

TRIUMPH Manifesto, October 3, 2013

 

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“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.” 

 

― Frederick Douglass

American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman

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What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.

 

–Alexander Graham Bell

Scientist, inventor and innovator most noted as the inventor of the telephone

 

 

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The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.

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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

 

–Theodore Roosevelt

26th US President

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I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.

 

–Lily Tomlin

American actress and comedian

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The work that is really a man's own work is play and not work at all. Cursed is the man who has found some other man's work and cannot lose it. When we talk about the great workers of the world we really mean the great players of the world. The fellows who groan and sweat under the weary load of toil that they bear never can hope to do anything great. How can they when their souls are in a ferment of revolt against the employment of their hands and brains? The product of slavery, intellectual or physical, can never be great.

 

–Mark Twain

American author and humorist

 

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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

 

–Theodore Roosevelt

26th US President

 

Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship in A Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on April 23, 1910

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Money grows on the tree of persistence.

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– Japanese Proverb

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Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?

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– Unknown

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Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.

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– Leonardo DaVinci 

Italian artist and engineer

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A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between he does what he wants to do.

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– Bob Dylan

American Singer-songwriter

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I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.

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–Henry David Thoreau

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Until one commits there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:  That moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

 

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way.

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–William Hutchison (W.H.) Murray

Scottish mountaineer and writer

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You make your mistakes to learn how to get to the good stuff.

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–Quincy Jones

American record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer

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He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

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–Friedrich Nietzsche

German Philosopher

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Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.

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Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.

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–Arthur Schopenhauer

German Philosopher

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Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

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–Vince Lombardi

American Football Coach and NFL Executive

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Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

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–Steve Jobs

American business magnate, inventor, and investor best known as the co-founder of Apple

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Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.

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–Kevyn Aucoin

 American make-up artist, photographer and author

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