I’m a HUGE fan of quotes. In fact, I actually have a notebook that I use to write down my favorite quotes whenever one strikes me in a particular way. I typically carry it in my backpack along with a few books, my laptop, headphones, and sometimes a newspaper – and I’ll go to a coffee shop and read or write for an hour or so.
I’m always amazed at some of the hereditary traits you get from your family members that aren’t necessarily physical. Yes, mannerisms are something you pick up on, but I’m starting to notice more particular behaviors exhibited between myself and other Brennan generations. My grandpa, dad, and myself have all been voracious readers, we love doing crossword puzzles and we love reading, writing and reciting great quotes about life. I wasn’t particularly close with my grandpa since he passed away when I was 11 but I’m starting to see some of his familiar traits in myself and it’s pretty funny to watch it play out as I get older.
Sometimes I’ll run in to a longer form story or article that is way too long to write down but now this blog is the perfect forum to keep records of my favorite stories and articles.
This one from Woodly Allen has always been one of my all-time favorites. It’s probably meant to be just a funny observation but I find the thought of living life backwards incredibly profound.
“In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people’s home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!” – Woody Allen
- Speak only if it improves upon the silence. – Mahatma Gandhi
- The best revenge is massive success. – Frank Sinatra
- Blowing out someone else’s candle, doesn’t make yours shine brighter. – Unknown
- Youth is wasted on the young. – George Bernard Shaw
- Only dead fish go with the flow. – Unknown
- Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. – Unknown
- The master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried. – Unknown
- Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument. – Unknown
- We can not solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein
- Work hard in silence. Let success make the noise. – Unknown
- The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog. – Mark Twain
- Stop telling people more than they need to know. – Unknown
- Stay away from “still” people. Still broke, still complaining, still hating, still nowhere. – Unknown
“Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” ― Jon Krakauer
-KB