Character shows us the way

John C. Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor

Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thought.

John C. Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor 

Character allow us to stay in the game of life for a long time.

Denis Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant 

View life as a continuous learning experience.

Denis Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant 

There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.

Mike Krzyzewski - Basketball coach

There’s nothing more important than attitude, and it’s YOUR choice.

Roy T. Bennett - Author

Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.

Denis Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant  

Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.

Muhammad Ali - American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist 

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Epictetus - Greek Stoic philosopher

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. 

Brian Tracy - Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.

Brian Tracy - Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

Albert Einstein - Theoretical physicist

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

Edwin Louis Cole - Founder of the Christian Men's Network and author

Attitude determines the altitude of life. 

Unknown 

Every moment matters! 

Alexander the Great - King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon

With the right attitude, self imposed limitations vanish.

Roy T. Bennett - Author

Happiness depends on your mindset and attitude. 

Roy T. Bennett - Author

Turn your obstacles into opportunities and your problems into possibilities. Discipline Your Mind to Think Positively: Discipline your mind to see the good in every situation and look on the best side of every event.

John Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor

Doesn't matter how difficult is, ask always: ”What good thing is going to come out of this.”

Og Mandino - American author

Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity.

Charles R. Swindoll - Evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher 

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

James Allen - British philosophical writer

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.

Jim Rohn - American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker

Character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into who you want to be.

Samuel Smiles - Author and government reformer

"Where there is a will there is a way," is an old and true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement. To think we are able, is almost to be so - to determine upon attainment is frequently attainment itself.

Michelle Gielan - One of the brightest stars in positive psychology and an eloquent champion for rethinking the way we communicate

Instead of running from the negative, I've started running towards the positive.

Marie Forleo - American entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author

Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness. 

David Brooks - Political and cultural commentator who writes for The New York Times 

We don't have the choice to control our emotions, but we do have the power to educate our emotions. And we do that through literature and through art and music to give ourselves a repertoire of emotional experiences.

Joseph Campbell - American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.

William James - American philosopher and psychologist, and the "Father of American psychology"

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

Neil A. Fiore - Renowned psychologist, lecturer, trainer, and bestselling author

The fear of failure, the fear of being imperfect (perfectionism), and the fear of impossible expectations (being overwhelmed) that prevent us from acting on and attaining humanly possible goals and relationships.

Jim Loehr - World-renowned performance psychologist

Thankfulness and gratitude are the foundation of character and being able to serve others.

Marci Shimoff - Celebrated transformational leader and motivational expert

Everything we think and feel is creating our future. If you're worried or in fear, then you're bringing more of that into your life throughout the day.

David Emerald Womeldorff - Celebrated creator of leadership frameworks proven to powerfully boost teamwork and productivity

Everything can be taken from a (person) but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

David Joseph Schwartz, Jr. - American motivational writer and coach, best known for authoring The Magic of Thinking Big in 1959

How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking.

Marcus Aurelius - Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

Jose Silva - Mexican-American self-taught parapsychologist and author of the "Silva Method"

Negative thinking is guilt, worry, insecurity, fear, jealousy, suspicion, hatred, antagonism, anger, despair, mourning, and self-doubt. Negative thinking is being out of step with people and things around you. Positive thinking is love, appreciation, optimism, security, courage, cooperation, compassion, generosity, friendliness, patience, helpfulness, and ambition. Positive thinking is being in step — in harmony — with people and things around you.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series

Your "I CAN" is more important than your IQ. 

Esther Hicks - American inspirational speaker and author. She has co-written nine books with her late husband Jerry Hicks, presented numerous workshops on the law of attraction

If something you want is slow to come to you, it can be for only one reason: You are spending more time focused upon its absence than you are about its presence.

Russ Harris - Internationally acclaimed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer and author of the best-selling ACT-based self-help book The Happiness Trap

Genuine confidence is not the absence of fear; it is a transformed relationship with fear.

Russ Harris - Internationally acclaimed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer and author of the best-selling ACT-based self-help book The Happiness Trap

The feeling of love comes and goes on a whim; you can't control it. But the action of love is something you can do, regardless of how you are feeling.

Russ Harris - Internationally acclaimed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer and author of the best-selling ACT-based self-help book The Happiness Trap

Commitment isn’t about being perfect, always following through, or never going astray. Commitment means that when you (inevitably) stumble or get off track, you pick yourself up, find your bearings, and carry on in the direction you want to go.

Martin Elias Pete Seligman - American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books

Above all, during the interval, change from “ego orientation” to “task orientation.” Think: “I know this seems like a personal insult, but it is not. It is a challenge to be overcome that calls on skills I have.

Martin Elias Pete Seligman - American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books. Seligman is a strong promoter within the scientific community of his theories of positive psychology and of well-being.

Pessimistic prophecies are self-fulfilling.

Martin Elias Pete Seligman - American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books. Seligman is a strong promoter within the scientific community of his theories of positive psychology and of well-being.

Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the optimist as on the pessimist, but the optimist weathers them better.

Martin Elias Pete Seligman - American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books. Seligman is a strong promoter within the scientific community of his theories of positive psychology and of well-being.

Optimism generates hope...hope releases dreams...dreams set goals...enthusiasm follows.

Maxwell Maltz - American cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics, which was a system of ideas that he claimed could improve one's self-image leading to a more successful and fulfilling life

Close scrutiny will show that most "crisis situations" are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.

Daniel Jay Millman - American author and lecturer in the personal development field

Act happy, feel happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.

Rick Hanson - Psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author

The remedy is not to suppress negative experiences; when they happen, they happen. Rather, it is to foster positive experiences—and in particular, to take them in so they become a permanent part of you.

Melanie Robbins - American lawyer, television host, author, and motivational speaker

Hesitation is the kiss of death. You might hesitate for a just nanosecond, but that’s all it takes. That one small hesitation triggers a mental system that’s designed to stop you. And it happens in less than—you guessed it—five seconds.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership 

Things do not necessarily happen for the best, but I can choose to make the best of things that happen.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.

James Allen - British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.

James Allen - British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement

Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him.

Wayne Walter Dyer - American self-help and spiritual author and a motivational speaker

Remove all unloving thoughts from your mind, and practice kindness in all of your thoughts, words, and actions.

Albert Ellis - American psychologist and psychotherapist who founded Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Even injustice has it's good points. It gives me the challenge of being as happy as I can in an unfair world.

Steve Chandler - Author of 30 books that have been translated into over 25 languages. His personal success coaching, public speaking and business consulting have been used by CEOs, top professionals, major universities, and over 30 Fortune 500 companies

Negative thinking is something we all do. The difference between the person who is primarily optimistic and the person who is primarily pessimistic is that the optimist learns to become a good debater. Once you become thoroughly aware of the effectiveness of optimism in your life, you can learn to debate your pessimistic thoughts.

Mark Divine - Creator and founder of SEALFIT and The Unbeatable Mind Academy

To live an uncommon life, one needs learn uncommon disciplines.

David Kent Reynolds - Author and the founder of Constructive Living. He was a faculty member at the UCLA School of Public Health, the University of Southern California School of Medicine and the University of Houston

Every situation, every moment, provides the opportunity for self-growth and development of your character.

Carlos Castaneda - American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.

Carlos Castaneda - American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs

The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse.

William Harry McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command

At some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best.

Michael Bernard Beckwith - New Thought minister, author, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California, a New Thought church with a congregation estimated in excess of 8,000 members

Be for something and against nothing.

Michael Bernard Beckwith - New Thought minister, author, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California, a New Thought church with a congregation estimated in excess of 8,000 members

Problems can only exist if they have your attention.

John Wooden - American basketball player and coach

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

John Wooden - American basketball player and coach

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

John Wooden - American basketball player and coach

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.

Denis E. Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.

Michael Roach - American non-traditional teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. Ordained as a Gelugpa monk, he was the first American to receive the Geshe degree at Sera Monastery in Tibet

If a situation can be fixed, Why get upset about it? If a situation cannot be fixed, What’s the use of getting upset?

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt - American political figure, diplomat and activist. She served as the First Lady of the United States

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt - American political figure, diplomat and activist. She served as the First Lady of the United States

You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn - Australian-American Nobel laureate who is the former President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Experiencing stress and pain is unavoidable. It is part and parcel of being involved in life, of loving and caring for people, caring about issues, and taking risks. Use the challenge response to protect your cells while you engage fully with life.

Helen Keller - American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Stephen Covey - American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Stephen Covey - American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The way we see the problem is the problem.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist.

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

Dale Carnegie - American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving. 

Ryan Holiday - American marketer and author. He is the former director of marketing for American Apparel and a media columnist and editor-at-large for the New York Observer

Your potential, the absolute best you’re capable of—that’s the metric to measure yourself against. Your standards are. Winning is not enough. People can get lucky and win. People can be assholes and win. Anyone can win. But not everyone is the best possible version of themselves.

Josh Waitzkin - American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life

It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. Sharma worked as a litigation lawyer until age 25, when he self-published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality

Victims recite problems, leaders provide solutions.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. Sharma worked as a litigation lawyer until age 25, when he self-published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality

Victim fall in love with excuses.

Neil A. Fiore - Renowned psychologist, lecturer, trainer, and bestselling author

In most cases you are the one who confuses just doing the job with testing your worth. Replace 'I have to' with 'I choose to'.

Neil A. Fiore - Renowned psychologist, lecturer, trainer, and bestselling author

People don’t procrastinate just to be ornery or because they’re irrational. They procrastinate because it makes sense, given how vulnerable they feel to criticism, failure, and their own perfectionism.

Thomas Carlyle - Scottish historian, satirical writer, essayist, translator, philosopher, mathematician, and teacher

No pressure, no diamonds.

James Kerr has 38 years experience in the martial arts and has served as an AAU (American Athletics Union) certified martial arts coach and tournament judge

The challenge is to always improve, to always get better, even when you are the best. Especially when you are the best.

Matthew Kelly - One of the great thought leaders of our time. His enormous success as an author, speaker, and business consultant is the result of his comprehensive worldview which springs forth from the single idea that we are each here to become the-very-best-version-of-ourselves

There will be times of fear and trembling. There will be times of discouragement and disillusionment. Have courage, smile, keep your chin up, laugh often, be kind to yourself, stay focused, be gracious and appreciative, think happy thoughts, and carry on regardless.

Jim Afremow - Sports psychology specialist and licensed professional counselor. He is the founder of Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, a leading sports psychology coaching and consulting practice located in Phoenix, Arizona

Attitude is a decision, and it is also a learned behavior, requiring discipline and energy to sustain.

Tim S. Grover - CEO of Attack Athletics, Inc., which he founded in 1989, and author of the international bestseller Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear. Otherwise, the next day you’re going to have two things you don’t want to do, then three and four and five, and pretty soon, you can’t even get back to the first thing. And then all you can do is beat yourself up for the mess you’ve created, and now you’ve got a mental barrier to go along with the physical barriers.

Ryan Holiday - American marketer, author and bookstore owner. He is the former director of marketing for American Apparel

The only real failure is abandoning your principles. Killing what you love because you can’t bear to part from it is selfish and stupid. If your reputation can’t absorb a few blows, it wasn’t worth anything in the first place.

Marcus Aurelius - Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors, and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire

It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character.

Brendon Burchard - #1 New York Times best-selling author and "the world's leading high performance coach". His latest book, High Performance Habits, was a The Wall Street Journal best-seller and named by Amazon as one of its top three best business and leadership books of 2017

Keeping one’s attitude positive, especially when the world conspires to make us mad, is one of the great accomplishments of life.

Donald Robertson - Cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, writer, and trainer. He specializes in the treatment of anxiety and in the relationship between ancient philosophy and modern psychotherapy

What matters, in other words, isn’t what we feel but how we respond to those feelings.

Ben Bergeron trains some of the world's fittest athletes. A former Ironman triathlete turned CrossFit Games competitor, Ben has coached athletes to six world championships

Positivity, by contrast, is directly linked to improved performance.

Raymond Charles Barker - Leader and author in the New Thought spiritual movement and, specifically, in Religious Science

Where your thinking goes, your affairs follow.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List

Your thinking, more than anything else, shapes the way you live. It’s really true that if you change your thinking, you can change your life.

Jean-Paul Sartre - French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism and phenomenology, and one of the leading figures in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism

No doctrine is more optimistic [than existentialism], since it declares that man's destiny lies within himself.

Barbara Oakley - American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University whose online courses on learning are some of the most popular MOOC classes in the world. She is involved in multiple areas of research, ranging from STEM education, to learning practices

Procrastination is like addiction. It offers temporary excitement and relief from boring reality. 

Tony Robbins - American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist. Robbins is known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including the books Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited of what could go right.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everyone around us.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, says you aren’t a failure until you start to blame. What he means is that you can still be in the process of learning from your mistakes until you deny them.

Thomas M. Sterner - Founder and CEO of the Practicing Mind Institute. As a successful entrepreneur, he is considered an expert in Present Moment Functioning

The problem with patience and discipline is that it requires both of them to develop each of them.

Stephen Guise - International bestselling author, blogger, and entrepreneur. His books have been translated into 18 languages. Guise is known for delivering highly actionable, world-class behavior change strategies in a humorous wrapper

"When something is chance based, be stubbornly persistent. There’s no reason to quit a (free) chance-based venture. Ever. It’s irrational to quit unless it costs you something. It’s free to submit guest post articles, ask women to go to dinner with you, apply for dream jobs, or ask your boss for a raise. There can be many upsides if you get positive results, so take action without apologizing. Be the most aggressive person you know! When something fails, try a different approach. Concrete failure, as opposed to chance failure, gives you an opportunity to eliminate that way of doing things (Edison’s failed lightbulb prototypes are a popular example of this). When you suspect a negative result comes from a combination of chance and failure, be persistent, but try varying strategies to the degree that you think it’s failure.”

Jason Selk - One of the premier performance coaches in the United States, with dozens of professional athletes and Fortune 500 executives as his clients

When people focus on problems, their problems actually grow and reproduce. When you train your mind to focus on solutions, guess what expands?

Rory Vaden - One of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc. Magazine. He is a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and has a TEDx talk with millions of views. Rory is a recognized expert and speaker on business strategy and leadership

It’s okay to be scared—do it scared. It’s okay to be unsure—do it unsure. It’s okay to be uncomfortable—do it uncomfortable. Just get started where you are. That is the attitude of the most disciplined and successful people on the planet.

Rory Vaden - One of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc. Magazine. He is a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and has a TEDx talk with millions of views. Rory is a recognized expert and speaker on business strategy and leadership

Discipline is a perpetual process, and the growth is in the journey. Simple, but here’s the part that you won’t like hearing—you don’t get a day off. Ever.

Gary Mack - Leading sports psychology consultant and counselor who has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball

Optimists have a positive expectancy that helps them achieve their goals. Theirs is a can-do attitude. They take action, which is empowering. Pessimists take a passive attitude. They play the blame game or focus on what they can’t do. As a result, pessimists often become victims of self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Matthew Kelly - Author, speaker, thought leader, entrepreneur, consultant, spiritual leader, and innovator

Thoughts create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create character.

Matthew Kelly - Author, speaker, thought leader, entrepreneur, consultant, spiritual leader, and innovator

Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is the strength of character to do what is good, true, noble, and right.

D.C. Gonzalez - Peak performance coach and a bestselling author

A positive attitude never works against you. But a negative attitude will always find a way to work against you.

D.C. Gonzalez - Peak performance coach and a bestselling author

Especially when things are at their worst, your self-talk must be positive, encouraging, and empowering. Shut down the Internal Critic. 

Scott Adams - American artist and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert came to national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience

Positivity is far more than a mental preference. It changes your brain, literally, and it changes the people around you. It’s the nearest thing we have to magic.

Scott Adams - American artist and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert came to national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience

Pessimism is often a failure of imagination.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognised and named the psychological concept of flow, a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity potential energy

Of all the virtues we can learn no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.

Dr. Michael Lardon - One of the premier mental performance coaches in the world, with clients in more than a dozen professional and Olympic sports

Keep things simple so you don’t clutter the mind with extraneous nonsense. Trust your own innate ability; and most important, stay positive and believe in your own God-given ability.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership. As a lecturer at Harvard University, Ben-Shahar created the most popular course in Harvard's history

I can go through life as a victim, blaming others for my misfortunes, and experiencing frustration over my condition. Or I can choose to be an active agent and do what I can do to bring about a positive change in my life.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership. As a lecturer at Harvard University, Ben-Shahar created the most popular course in Harvard's history

Things do not necessarily happen for the best, but I can choose to make the best of things that happen.

Steven Kotler - American author, journalist, and entrepreneur. His articles have appeared in over 70 publications, including The New York Times Magazine, LA Times, Wired, Time magazine, GQ, Discover, Popular Science, Outside, Men’s Journal, Details and National Geographic Adventure

Mindset impacts emotion, which alters biology, which increases performance. Thus, it seemed, by tinkering with mindset—using everything from physical to psychological to pharmacological interventions—one could significantly enhance performance.

Richard J. Davidson - Professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as well as founder and chair of the Center for Healthy Minds

Our brain is continuously being shaped - we can take more responsibility for our own brain by cultivating positive influences.

Thich Nhat Hanh - Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, and founder of the Plum Village Tradition, historically recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism

Even when we're sitting still, with no external stimuli, an endless internal dialogue may be going on in our head. we're constantly consuming our thoughts. Cows, goats, and buffalo chew their food, swallow it, then regurgitate and rechew it multiple times. We may not be cows or buffalo, but we ruminate just the same on our thoughts - unfortunately, primarily negative thoughts. We eat them, and then we bring them up to chew again and again, like a cow chewing its cud.

Jim Rohn - American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.

William James - American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States 

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power. 

Michael Hyatt - American author, podcaster, blogger, speaker, and the CEO and founder of Michael Hyatt & Company. He has written several books about leadership, productivity, and goal setting 

Gratitude is where every positive attitude starts. 

Wallace D. Wattles - American New Thought writer. He remains personally somewhat obscure, but his writing has been widely quoted and remains in print in the New Thought and self-help movements

The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith.

Wallace D. Wattles - American New Thought writer. He remains personally somewhat obscure, but his writing has been widely quoted and remains in print in the New Thought and self-help movements

Nothing can go wrong in this world but yourself ; and you can go wrong only by getting into the wrong mental attitude.

Malcolm Gladwell - English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996

We spend a lot of time thinking about the ways that prestige and resources and belonging to elite institutions make us better off. We don’t spend enough time thinking about the ways in which those kinds of material advantages limit our options.

Malcolm Gladwell - English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996

Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

If you want to change the world… start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!

Will Bowen - Author and speaker who has been featured on/in "Oprah," NBC's "Today Show," ABC's "World News Tonight," CBS "Sunday Morning," "Fox News," "The Wall Street Journal," "Newsweek," "People," "O," "Self," "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and in hundreds of media stories around the world

When you commit that what comes out of your mouth will be positive, your mind will become more aware of positive experiences too.

Fred Rogers - American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001

Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.

Grant Cardone - Businessman and writer, the author of the bestsellers and influential expert in the sphere of SEO international company. He founded the first online university for the sellers, where they are taught how to sell goods and services effectively, how to promote them, and achieve success in this as well

One of the major differences between successful and unsuccessful people is that the former look for problems to resolve, whereas the latter make every attempt to avoid them.

Shad Helmstetter - Author of more than twenty books in the field of personal growth. His ground-breaking classic on the subject of self-talk, "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self," is published in over 70 countries, and is in its 45th printing in 30+ years of publication

If you tell yourself that you cannot, what can the only outcome be?

Shad Helmstetter - Author of more than twenty books in the field of personal growth. His ground-breaking classic on the subject of self-talk, "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self," is published in over 70 countries, and is in its 45th printing in 30+ years of publication

If everything you tell yourself about yourself becomes a directive to your subconscious mind, then anytime you make a statement about yourself that is negative you are directing your subconscious mind to make you become the person you just described—negatively!

Shad Helmstetter - Author of more than twenty books in the field of personal growth. His ground-breaking classic on the subject of self-talk, "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self," is published in over 70 countries, and is in its 45th printing in 30+ years of publication

Leading behavioral researchers have told us that as much as seventy-seven percent of everything we think is negative, counterproductive, and works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as seventy-five percent of all illnesses are self-induced.

Aristotle - Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition

The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.

Aristotle - Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition

Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

I believe ability can get you to the top,” says coach John Wooden, “but it takes character to keep you there.… It’s so easy to … begin thinking you can just ‘turn it on’ automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you’re there. When you read about an athlete or team that wins over and over and over, remind yourself, ‘More than ability, they have character.' 

Twyla Tharp - American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music

Venturing out of your comfort zone may be dangerous, yet do it anyways because our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.