Years ago I picked up the habit of writing down a quote each week in my planner. It might be something I read, or heard, or that spoke to me on the internet. Sometimes, it’s related to the news of the day or a project. In past years, I’ve shared these with a great group of women leaders I know who meet occasionally to inspire and support each other. This year, I’m sharing them with you — and issuing the same challenge we women issue to each other. What is your word for 2019? What is your inspiration? What one quote will help motivate you in this coming year?
Renee’s Quotes for 2018
Words: Self Confidence, Resilience, Reinvention .
Be happy. Be Brave. Be Confident. It’s OK to try new things.
For the year: “Peace is joy at rest. Joy is peace on its feet.”
January: “The goal is to become a little more awake and aware each day. You have come too far to go back to sleep, dear sister.” The Feminine Shift
“Sometimes, the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip toe if you must, but take the step.” Naeem Callaway
“You get what you focus on, so focus on what you want.” Unknown
February: “Time is very slow for those who wait. Very fast for those who are scared, very long for those who lament, and very short for those who celebrate. But for those who love, time is eternal” William Shakespeare
“Our desire to explain so many things, instead of simply feeling them, is part of our own folly.” Thomas L. Qualls
“It’s sometimes an odd proposition to be a woman more likely from Cleverton than Hotsville, and to prefer it.” Kirsten Eamon Shine
March: “We can’t remain the same if we are to stay present. Our old skin cannot hold us.” TLQ
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
“What doesn’t kill you gives you a lot of unhealthy coping mechanisms and a really dark sense of humor.”
“Make your anger so expensive that no one can afford it and your happiness so cheap that people can almost get it for free.”
April: “Listening is not the same thing as waiting for your turn to talk.”
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can save the world.” Malala Yousafzai
“A flower does not think of competing with the flower the next to it. It just blooms.” Zen Shin
“Sometimes, when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried. But you’ve actually been planted.” Christine Caine
“I tried carrying the weird of the world, but only have two hands.” Avicii
May: “You are beautiful. You are strong. You are a girl-turned-warrior trained for the very battle that’s in front of you. You’ve got this.” Michael Thompson
“Can’t win if you don’t play!”
“You never realize how much of your background is sewn into the lining of your clothes.” Tom Wolfe
“She went to Paris looking for answers to questions that bothered her so…” Jimmy Buffet
June: “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” David Bowie
“I am no longer willing to accept the things I cannot change. I’m going to change the things I cannot accept.” Angela Y. Davis
“No pressure, no diamond.” Thomas Carlyle
“For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” Vincent Van Gogh.
“As you move through this life and this world, you change things slightly. You leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leave marks on you. Most of the time, those marks — on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often though, they hurt. “ Anthony Bourdain
July: “Around here, however, we don’t look backward for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney
“I prefer someone who burns the flag and wraps themselves up in the constitution, to someone who burns the constitution and wraps themselves up in the flag.” Molly Ivins
“We can all create our own luck by taking the necessary risks to open the door to change.” Richard Branson
“Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.” John Maxwell
“It’s never too late to get your shit together.” RMW
“My demons are not remotely tackled. They’re just mildly concussed.” Sharp Objects
“It’s impossible to try to ‘be yourself’. You’re indefinable and ungraspable. Relax. Go forward. Become yourself. Unknowable.” JD Landis
“Do sharks complain about Monday? NO! They’re up early, biting stuff, chasing shit, being scary, reminding everyone they’re a fucking shark.”
“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” Andy Stanley
“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” Emory Austin
August: “An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.” Charles Dickens
“Expecting things to change without putting in any effort is like waiting for a ship at the airport.” Unknown
“She was the type to fall in love with the moon and everything that was beautifully unreachable.”
Santi DP
“No amount of guilt can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future. Go easy on yourself for the outcome of all affairs is determined by Allaah’s decree.” Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab
“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally but what you do consistently.” Marie Forleo
“Stress makes you believe that everything has to happen right now. Faith reassures you that everything will happen in God’s timing.” Unknown
September: “You are allowed to be both a Masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously.” Sophia Bush
“Better is good.” Barack Obama
“A great attitude becomes a great day, becomes a great month, which becomes a great year, which becomes a great life.” Mandy Hale
“Discipline gets books written. More than inspiration, more than motivation, you need discipline.” James Patterson
“You attract what you are, not what you want. If you want great, then be great.” Tory Gaskins
“3 simple rules in life: If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no. If you do not step forward, you’ll always be in the same place.” Nora Roberts
“I’ve come to trust not that events will always unfold exactly as I want, but that I will be fine either way. The challenges we face in life are always lessons that serve our soul’s growth.” Marianne Williamson.
“You gotta train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you’ll lose yourself every time.” Unknown
October: “Patience: Everything heals. Your body heals. Your heart heals. The mind heals. Wounds heal. Your soul repairs itself. Your happiness is always going to come back. Bad times don’t last.” Christiana Rutkowski
“Nothing is miserable unless you think it so, and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.” Boethius
“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: The future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.” David Brooks
November: “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago.” Alan Watts
“Writing is more like gardening, where the work is hard and unpleasant but the result is beautiful.” Andy Weir
“Respect your efforts. Respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” Clint Eastwood
“ ‘May the Force be with you’ is charming, but it’s not important. What’s important is that you *become* the Force – for yourself and other people.” Harrison Ford
December: “Love for others and love for oneself are the same. We often lean toward one over the other, but meditation shows us there is room for both.” Unknown
“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” John W. Gardner
“Control what you can control. Focus on what is in front of you.” RMW
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an art but a habit.” Will Durant
“As you begin to change your thinking, start immediate to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you’d like to become.” John Maxwell
“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that it’s going to launch you into something great.” Paul Coelho
Connecting. Creating. 
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