Words to live by...showing up

This weeks Words to Live by (arriving a day late due to yesterday's bank holiday) are taken from something that Woody Allen once said.  

"Eighty percent of success is showing up"

I think that the meaning behind this quote is very dependant on how you read it. To me showing up is not synonymous with simply logging in the hours. I think it's more about being present. Showing up for the opportunities that life is going to give you. It's about being there and ready to grab them.

Have a great week people. 

xx V

Words to live by...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a bearded man in possession of  a rather large walking stick must be the bearer of wise words.

None better for this than the character of Gandalf in JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings books. If you are not a fan of the films, remember they were books first. And if your opinion holds true of the books too well then just take the words as they are. Because he kind of had a way with them did our Tolkein.

Have a great week.

Vanessa

Words to live by - If I should have a daughter

Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet. Before I go any further get rid of all those pre conceptions you have about clicking fingers and coffee house readings. Sarah Kay is a whirlwind of beautiful words and an incredible presence on stage. It is almost as if she is telling you one story with her voice and a second with her hands. She has a pitch perfect tone and just the right balance between eloquent and clutz. 

When I was choosing an excerpt of one of her poems I went back again and listened to her TED talk- where I first heard her. And I wanted to put every word she said into this post. 

But their were two particular pieces from her poems in that talk that had stayed with me so I chose both of them to share with you today. They reference determination and never giving up and I love in particular the imagery the first brings to mind. 

Her poem reminds me of Rudyard Kipling's "If" that he wrote for his son. A letter to

Please, please take a moment and watch the video, it is well worth it. I challenge you not to love it.

Link here or video below 

It's all relative

 

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That is relativity

I went for black background, with white text for this quote, just felt like it suited the theme. I did play around with images of maths equations or the relativity theorem as a backdrop but it was detracting from the words. 

Have a great week peeps. 

xx V

Words to live by...

In honour of the great Daniel Day Lewis and the role that won his that Golden man I give you today's quote 

I actually had a really hard time choosing just one quote by Lincoln. As I'm sure any of you who have seen the film will testify the man had a way with words. He could spin a good yarn as they say. 

Maybe you'll be seeing some more quotes by him soon. But for now this sits well with me this week. Sometimes everything gets a little bit overwhelming,  you want to do this and THIS and THIS and you can get frozen in place. You get paralised by all the things that you should be doing and end up doing nothing. So when this happens remember these words. 

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time"

ONE

DAY

AT

A

TIME

Words to live by

I think that this quote by Oprah Winfrey is a very wise one. 

You can have it all. Just not all at once.

Have a great week. 

xx V

Words to live by...

I remember studying Emily Dickinson's poetry in school and how much I loved her work.

 I recently picked up a book of her poetry (book tokens - Christmas - Thank you) and I've been reintroducing myself to her work. 

These lines from her poem "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" were always one of my favourite by her.

The photograph is one of my own of some dandelion seed heads that I gathered on one of those days when it wasn't raining. Yes we do occasionally have those days in Ireland.

Enjoy

xx V

It must be Monday (barely)

The fact that I am writing this post so close to the end of Monday is slightly ironic given it's theme. These words will be featured on another post I am working on at the moment. But more on that later, for now I give you...

Enjoy 

xx V 

400 strong

Wow, this one snuck upon me. This is my 400th post, 400 little pieces of information originated by me; just floating around in the the great big old... 

And I think this post is the perfect one to be writing today. It is Monday, so it of course time for our quote of the week. This week I am borrowing some words from the work of two Etsy sellers that I love. This week is about concentrating on yourself and your aims, your ambitions.

These are my mantra's for 2013! 

 by Etsy seller The Merriweather Council

by Etsy seller coniLab

DREAM BIG my lovelies because THIS IS YOUR YEAR!

xx V

Words to live by: Who I am

This quote is taken from a video Yokoo did for the Etsy Handmade video series.

I did a post on it forever ago but I had scribbled down the quote in one of my notebooks and I found it again over the weekend. Her words really resonate with me as for me my work is so integral to who I am I cannot imagine not doing what I do.

 

Have a great week people. 

xx V

Words to live by: Ideas

I love quotes that really make me think. I found this quote by Honore de Balzac ages ago but I have read and re read it and It took me quite a while to decide what I thought of it. Did I agree, what did it mean?

I like to think it means that if you have no intention or idea behind your actions then your actions will disappear into the ether. But a deed that is based and founded in a strong idea will survive.
My take:

Your actions should have intention and purpose

what are your thoughts?

Words to live by: We must...

 

John Berryman  US poet and novelist.

1942 

photograph taken in 2009, on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella in Northern Spain.


More words