#courage

Think... of the world which you carry within yourself... and set it above everything that you notice about you. Your inmost happening is worth your whole love, that is what you must somehow work at, and not loose too much time and too much courage in explaining your attitude to people. ↗

— Rainer Maria Rilke

#life #youth #attitude

I was very timid, and bound as with chains in a man-fearing spirit. When I arose to testify I trembled like a leaf, and began to make excuses - O God, send someone else! Then the Lord in a vision caused me to see the bottomless pit open in all its horror and woe. There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It was surrounded by a great multitude of people who seemed unconscious of their danger, and without a moments warning they would tumble into this awful place. I was above the people on a narrow plank-walk, which wound up toward heaven; and I was exhorting and pleading with the people to come upon the plank and escape that awful place. Several started. There was a beautiful bright light above me, and I was encouraging them to follow that light and they would go straight to heaven. "In all these trials God was preparing me and opening the way for the great battle against the enemy of souls and now the great desire of my heart was to work for Jesus. I longed to win a star for the Savior's crown. ↗

— Maria Woodworth-Etter

#testimony #timid #beauty

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will. Integrity is not a search for the rewards of integrity. Maybe all you ever get for it is the largest kick in the ass the world can provide. It is not supposed to be a productive asset. ↗

— John D. MacDonald

#moral-courage #change

If not us, then who? If not now, then when? ↗

— John Lewis

#change #civil-rights #integrity #moral-courage #personal-responsibility

...I’ve discovered that if you want to reach your true potential, it’s much more effective to ignite a new passion for life than to dwell on past problems. ↗

— Neil A. Fiore

#inspirational #inspirational

We should never discourage young people from dreaming dreams. ↗

— Lenny Wilkens

#discourage #dreaming #never #people #should

Quite a few musicians came to our house. And my ma took me to hear many more, hoping to encourage in me a love of music. But she wouldn't consent to my having music lessons, for she feared I might end up as she had done - unable to play except from paper. ↗

— Mary Lou Williams

#consent #done #encourage #end #except

Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts. ↗

— John Wooden

#counts #failure #fatal #final #never

I finished high school, moved to Nashville for college, and set out to break into the music business. Every night when I called home with news of my experiences, my mom and dad would encourage me to keep taking those small steps. ↗

— Trisha Yearwood

#business #called #college #dad #encourage

It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts. ↗

— Boris Yeltsin

#deprived #encourage #especially #every #fresh