Tough Truths About Life No One Wants to Admit

The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard - Excerpts

THE DECLARATION OF PERSONAL POWER:

Why, having been endowed with the courageous heart of a lion, do we live as mice?
When will we be ready to ascend to another level of existence?
WE SHALL MEET LIFE WITH FULL PRESENCE AND POWER.

A life of greater joy, power, and satisfaction awaits those who consciously design their life.
WE SHALL RECLAIM OUR AGENDA.

Our destiny is decided by how well we know our demons of Doubt and Delay, how well we defend against them, and how many battles we win against them each day of our lives.
WE SHALL DEFEAT OUR DEMONS.

Courage is a choice, and... permission to move forward with boldness is never given by the fearful masses.
Seeking change always requires a touch of insanity.
Bold and disciplined initiative is our savior; it allows us to rise, to leap to soar to the heights of true greatness.
WE SHALL ADVANCE WITH ABANDON.

Our supreme duty must be to rekindle the magic of life.
WE SHALL PRACTICE JOY AND GRATITUDE.

Freedom and victory belong to those who remain true and strong despite temptation.
WE SHALL NOT BREAK OUR INTEGRITY.

But hurt has nothing to do with love, and love is unaffiliated with and unaffected by pain.  Ego was hurt, not love.
We must mature and realize that freeing our mind of ancient hurts and opening once more to love shall give us access to divine strength.  To stand emotionally open before the world and give our hearts without fear of hurt or demand of reciprocity - this is the ultimate act of human courage.
WE SHALL AMPLIFY LOVE.

So many people are afraid to demand more - to dare, as have the great leaders of the past, to incite the directionless with bold challenges to rise and contribute. We must do better.
WE SHALL INSPIRE GREATNESS.

Many can only vaguely remember the last time they laughed so hard it hurt, loved so much it led to a beautiful flood., cheered so loudly it strained the vocal chords, felt so deeply it caused a showering of tears, had such a raucously good time that it became legend - moments fully lived. 
WE SHALL SLOW TIME.

Much of the negative energy that pervades our lives comes from despising the inevitable hardhsips of change.

Humanity's story has ony two perennially recurring themes: struggle and progress. We mustn't wish the end of the former, as the latter would be buried alongside it.

Only two things can change our lives: either something new comes into our lives, or something new comes from within. Let us not hope for mere chance to change our story; let us summon the courage to change it ourselves.

ON FREEDOM:
"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality" - Mahatma Gandhi

All things that make life worthwhile to great men and women - the pursuit of happiness, challenge, progress, creative expression, contribution, hard-won wisdom, and enlightenment - derive from our wanting to ascend higher to higher levels of being and giving.

We will always need to work toward self-mastery and social prowess so that we can authentically express who we are and joyously seek what we desire of life.

SOCIAL OPPRESSIONS:
Some of us can remember dramatic times when...we gave away pieces of our integrity in order to get along with others.

Yet the sense of security people get from conformity cannot be understated.

But what if we chase all that and believe in all that and then one day awake to find those things aren't what matters most?

How many have given up their dreams in order to follow a more secure and profitable and socially accepted path?

We can quickly lose ourselves in others and in our culture.

This is the ultimate misery: living a life that is not our own.

We can be individually free but not entirely apart from our culture and those we love.

The more we are true to ourselves, the more we can connect with and contribute to the world.

SELF-OPPRESSIONS:
It is an inside job, a burdening of our spirit by incessant doubt, worry, fear, and distraction.

It is our own inept thinking, our own bad habits that rip the vibrancy from life.

Quotes by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who spent 27 years as a political prisoner in South Africa before becoming President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

Quotes:

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

The greatest glory in living is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

And if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.

What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you have altered.

Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.

We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just, and lasting peace.

I never lose. I either win or learn.

Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.

It is what we make out of what we have given, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.

If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important, and you do that by being genuine and humble.

Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.

When people are determined they can overcome anything.

Forget the past.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.

People respond in accordance to how you treat them.

To deny people their human rights is to deny their very humanity.

Give a child love, laughter and peace.

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.

Quotes by Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the latter often called "The Great American Novel".

Quotes:

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

The lack of money is the root of all evil.

A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.

Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (pause and reflect).

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.

Lying is a lot harder than telling the truth in the end.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

Let us endeavor so to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.