61

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

- Aesop -

The world is filled with challenges and suffering. There are people who are struggling and need support and care. As a fellow human being, we can provide whatever support we can, to others through our kind acts.

Even if it is a simple act of helping someone cross the road, providing directions to an address or provide food to a hungry person, everything can make a difference.

So, let us help others whenever we can through our kind actions. Though it may look like the person who receives our kindness is getting benefitted, but in reality, the benefit we get out of our kind actions is far more than the receiver.

The receiver gets material benefits only, but our kind acts purifies our soul and gives us spiritual benefits. It helps us to grow into a better human being. And some day, it will all come back to us. What goes around comes around!

62

The greatest enemy of knowledge
is not ignorance,

it is the illusion of knowledge.

- Stephen Hawkings -

This is the most modern quote that highlights the sign of the times we are in.

Currently, the world is going through a knowledge era, where man has made great progress in acquiring knowledge. And the journey is on-going, where we are still learning and making new discoveries.

But, we also face a huge challenge in disseminating this knowledge. With the advent of modern technologies, it is very easy to spread the knowledge. But, on the flip side, it is also very easy to spread false knowledge.

People make their own conclusions and claim to be experts and start spreading this false knowledge.

Currently, we have not evolved any mechanisms to standardise knowledge and ways to disseminate them. As a result, technology is being used to spread a huge amount of false knowledge. Everybody claims to be an expert and tries to make money by selling this false knowledge, promising life changing benefits.

This problem has seeped into all areas of knowledge. Especially it is very rampant in the spiritual and healthcare domains.

There are spiritual gurus a dime a dozen who promise anything from enlightenment to eternal bliss. There are self-proclaimed healers who can cure all diseases. And people who have the secret herbs from the deepest forests to grow hair back on your head.

And some of this false knowledge can actually do more harm than we can imagine. So, people should be careful about information from non-standard and unverified sources.

Think twice before implementing any changes based on information from public sources.

Think critically before following any gurus. If in doubt, ask questions to get your doubts clarified. If people cannot answer your questions or provide sufficient proof, avoid those gurus.

Do not blindly believe everything. Subject everything to thorough scrutiny before accepting it.

63

Do not judge
You don’t know what storm
he has walked through

- Source: Internet -

All of us are overconfident when we judge others. We think we are smart and intelligent and can judge everyone. So, we judge too early without understanding the real struggle that people have faced in their life.

We tend to become overconfident when we taste a little success in our life. We think we are wise and become completely oblivious of our own shortcomings. We wear an air of wisdom around us, thinking we know it all.

We think we understand everything. But, in reality, we probably have seen only one percent of the harsh realities of life. There are so many things we don’t know yet and we haven’t yet experienced. There are a thousand scenarios which are very different from our own. And each one teaches a different lesson.

So, just because we become successful does not mean that we have learnt all the lessons of life and we can deal with everything and can judge everyone.

There are some lessons which can be learnt, only if we personally go through the same experience. Simple analysis and comparing with our experience will not give an idea of what the other person has gone through.

No two human beings on the planet have had the same kind of experiences in life. We can never compare two people based on their achievements simply because the playing field was never level in the first place. And their experiences are also different.

So, don’t judge anybody too soon. We don’t know yet what life they have had. Try to understand people better before we pass a judgement on them.

64

You can be your worst enemy
or your best friend
You choose

- Source: Internet -

This is one quote that everybody should read and understand.

Everyone lives with the aim of becoming successful and prosperous in life. And we are all making efforts in that direction. And there is only one person who can really help us in achieving that objective. That is you!

A lot of our actions are self-destructive and we probably don’t know it yet. Sometimes, people cheat others and think that they are smart. But the irony of human life is that, they end up cheating themselves.

So, if we resort to wrong action, then one day, the consequences are going to catch up with us and destroy our life. We do not need an external enemy to do this. We are fully capable of doing it ourselves. So, become our own enemy when we resort to a path of vice and malice.

But, if we really want to bat for our welfare, then, we have to make honest and sincere efforts. Cultivate good habits and take the right path.

It will take us to our goal and in the process, we also become a better human being. The right actions ensure our welfare and we become our own friend when we take the right path.

65

Don't promise when you're happy,
Don't reply when you're angry,
Don't decide when you're sad.

- Ziad K. Abdelnour -

Human beings are a bundle of emotions and that is what makes living our life worthwhile.

But, on the flip side, emotions also tend to cloud our thinking, and we end up taking wrong decisions when we are emotional.

So, it is a good idea to not take decisions when we are emotional. Anger is an emotion that triggers the nasty side of us and we end up doing nasty things and hurt people under its influence.

And sadness triggers despair and hopelessness. We take wrong decisions under its influence.

And happiness is a very elevating emotion. But it also puts us in a very generous mood. We literally end up promising things that we may not be able to fulfil. So, do not take decisions under the influence of emotions.

Be calm and think carefully before taking decisions or before responding. And that will always be the right decision.

66

You can't go back
and change the beginning,

but you can start where you are and
change the ending.

- C.S. Lewis -

This is a golden quote which highlights the importance of focussing on the future while making efforts.

We may have committed errors in our life or had a run of bad luck that could have wrecked our life. And there is no way, we can change what has happened in our life.

So, we should put the past behind and learn from the mistakes and start focussing on the future. And if we make sincere efforts, then it is very much possible to make our life successful going forward.

So, learn from the past mistakes and start moving forward. Do not let the baggage of the past to hold you back.

67

Difficulties mastered are opportunities won

- Winston Churchill -

Everyone should understand the role of difficulties in our life and how they become opportunities.

We go through difficult periods in our life and learn important lessons. If we approach the difficulties with the right attitude, then we will not only end up overcoming them, but also opening the doors of opportunities in our life.

Most of the opportunities are actually hiding behind the difficulties. If we are scared of the difficulties and avoid them, then we end up missing the opportunities as well.

But, if we take on the difficulties head on, then it not only opens the door of opportunities, but also gets us ready, to make full use of the opportunity. So, face the difficulties bravely and prepare yourself for the opportunities.

68

It is not the load that breaks you down
It is the way you carry it

- Lou Holtz -

Holtz tells us that, with the right approach, we can fulfil our roles and responsibilities in life without getting overwhelmed by them.

We need to play different roles in our life, fulfil responsibilities, pursue goals and work hard. And at times, we are bound to feel that the burden is a bit heavy for us to carry.

So, it is important for us to know how we can carry the burden effortlessly. A combination of methods will help us to do that.

The first step is to not treat them as burden. But as something that is going to benefit us in the long run. Most of the stress actually comes from the mind.

When the mind is made to do tasks that it hates, even a small task becomes laborious. But, if the mind likes what it is doing, then even a huge task is simple.

So, convince your mind that it is a simple task that needs to be done.

The second step is to ensure that your body is able to cope with it. If the physical stress is high, then, do not push too hard. Take small breaks in between to recharge yourself. Follow proper diet and exercise and maintain good health.

And finally, keep a positive attitude and do not let negativity affect you. This approach will help us to discharge our roles and responsibilities in an effortless and effective manner.

69

This is no time for ease and comfort
It is time to dare and endure

- Winston Churchill -

This is a golden quote from Churchill which highlights the efforts we should be making to progress in life.

We cannot become complacent and settle into a comfortable life. There is always scope for growth in our life, in terms of career, business, health or spiritual matters.

We should not retire from our efforts and begin a life of ease and comfort. If we have reached our goal, then set up new goals and continue making efforts towards your new goals.

Growth is an on-going process and no one can really say that they have completed the process.

So, continue making your efforts to make your life meaningful and fruitful.

70

The most challenging journey is the one within

- Author -

Our journey of self-discovery is glorified in this quote.

Of all the journeys of life, the most daunting one would be the journey that helps us to understand ourselves.

Easy as it may sound, but in reality, it is a complex journey. It is a separate journey but also overlaps all other journeys.

We learn something from every journey and that knowledge and strength, will be useful in this internal journey. We get to know a little bit about ourselves from every journey and we put the pieces together in this internal journey.

With consistent efforts, we will first get to know a lot of things, and then, with more efforts, we start to convert the knowledge into experience.

The first part is knowing and the second part is becoming. To successfully complete this journey, we will need a lot of behaviour correction, growing up, sacrifice and hard work.

And when we complete this journey, there won’t be any questions left to ask.

All of the knowledge of this universe is already stored within us. And those who complete this journey will get full access to it.

And with that we have come to the end of the quotes section of this book. Here is the list of all the quotes that we have seen in this book:

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