My addiction

I have a confession to make. I've had a habit for many years that I can't break. It's a necessary something that gets me through each and every day. Without it, I would bottom out. I find infinite satisfaction in feeding this habit and when others offer me more of it, I consume voraciously. I am a quote-junkie. I collect the wisdom of others like my mom collects those state quarters. I can't get enough. I have them posted everywhere within sight: on my computer, at home, in my car, in my planner, in my office.

I go for short, concise quips that capture the human experience so precisely and with such humility and authenticity. Now is the time I'm beginning to compile quotes to keep me inspired through Ironman training. I will carry some with me while I race. So I wanted to share some with you. And please share your favorite quotes with us all here.

• Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. ~unknown
• To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. ~unknown
• The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. ~Chinese proverb
• Fall seven times, get up eight. ~Japanese proverb
• The difficulty of success does not relieve one of the obligation to try. ~Bill Clinton
• Don't audit life. ~unknown
• I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing. ~Anais Nin
• The shell must break before the bird can fly. ~Tennyson
• What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Leap and the net will appear. ~Zen saying
• Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. ~proverb
• Knowing others is wisdom. Knowing yourself is enlightenment. ~Lao-Tzu
• Always be a first-rate version of yourself, rather than a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland
• Think with the whole body. ~Taisen Deshimaru
• Have you begun today what you wish to be tomorrow? ~unknown
• I was going to change my shirt, but I changed my mind instead. ~Winnie the Pooh
• Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one's courage. ~Anais Nin
• If we do not change direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed. ~Chinese proverb
• I would rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not. ~Lucille Ball
• Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act. ~Leonard Cohen
• Forever is composed of nows. ~Emily Dickinson
• Until never comes. ~Ron Luyet
• Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right. ~Henry Ford
• I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. ~Thomas Edison
• We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. ~Max de Pree
• One of these days is none of these days. ~Henri Tubach
• Storms make trees take deeper roots. ~Claude McDonald
• Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
• The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
• It's not who you are that holds you back; it's who you think you're not. ~William James
• Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them...and they flew. ~Guillaume Apollinaire
• They may be strikeouts to some, but to me, every one of them was nearly a home run. ~Mickey Mantle
• The best way for your dreams to come true is to wake up. ~Paul Valery