Inspiring Quotes

My work diary contains a quote at the bottom of the page for each day. I've found that every day has brought with it a nugget of wisdom that I can apply to my life. When I'm in really boring meetings I leaf through to find the ones most pertinent to me. And even though I haven't been sitting in boring meetings today (I was at a wedding until late last night instead and thus I'm feeling totally unproductive) I thought I would share the inspiration:

Management means helping people get the best out of themselves, not organising things - Lauren Appley

A special lady peahen brought out the best in this peacock at
Riversands Farm in Joburg after the Colour Run last weekend.

As a management trainee I found this quote extremely enlightening. It sums up exactly what a good manager is meant to be and do and allows you to immediately identify managers that aren't up to standard. If I think of the good managers that I've experienced within my company and outside of my company, all of them have a passion for growing people and pushing them to do well. After reading this quote I have been actively noticing the occasions when I'm encouraging my team mates and colleagues to push themselves beyond what they think they are capable of. I've also noticed that the managers I respect the most are the ones who are pushing me to continually improve, hang in there and to grow my own potential as much as possible.

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit - President Harry S Truman

When you get credit for a job well done, it feels great. When you don't get credit, or someone else take the credit for something you did, it's not so great. Alexander Graham Bell is credited as being the first person to patent the telephone. He revolutionised history, business and daily life on an enormous scale. His patents were challenged over and over again, with others claiming to have invented the telephone before Bell. Imagine now, being someone who had invented a telephone-like device but all the recognition went to Bell. Now imagine that the inventor of the telephone was not credited in a public arena. Instead, people were presented with this idea of a device that could transmit speech and told to improve on this idea. The telephone could have developed in a very different way.

Now, imagine that no work was credited to a name and instead, all those who contributed to make it great did so out of a passion for a job well done and pushing boundaries. I know it's an idealistic view that I have. And I will still look to receive credit where credit is due. But for the day to day work - I'm going to try and be less bothered about who did the work and more bothered about making sure that as a team, we do an awesome job.

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lessons afterwards - Vernon Law

For those that have suffered in order to gain experience, I think this quote speaks for itself. And for those who can't identify with this quote, I would suggest you go out get some experience quickly!

I am indeed rich since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense is equal to my wishes - Edward Gibbon

~Fun times with friends~
Do you see the resemblance to the peacock picture
above - we were inspired by a peacock at the wedding
of another good friend.

I try to live within my means. I don't have a credit card, but I do have huge loans that I need to pay off. Every month, money comes in to my bank account and then the majority goes back towards paying my loans. I have enough left over to buy food and petrol and if I'm lucky I'll maybe have enough to buy a new top or pair of jeans at the end of the month, the day before my next pay day. Even though I don't buy a lot of luxuaries, I am lucky enough to be able to cover my monthly repayments every month, have 3 good meals a day, see my family, boyfriend, friends and every now and then spoil myself with something special. I have enough.

Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life - Harvey Mackay

Would be nice if the Colour Me Crazy Colour Run
counted as a job

I'm still working on this one. I enjoy the challenges of my job, but I would prefer to apply them in a different setting. Ideally I want to improve peoples lives through engineering and education. I don't know how exactly yet, but I'm hoping that it will be revealed to me as time goes on.