I can’t really say that I’m someone who thinks about quotes often, or uses them in my daily life at all. But sometimes a string of words will seem to capture a philosophy or way of thinking (or just something you’re already doing) so explicitly that you can’t help but remember them.

The first two of these I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while, the next three I’ve only recently discovered. The last is just a gem which lives in my mind rent free, and usually makes me smile or laugh every time I think about it. Enjoy! . . .

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

I’m explicitly NOT attributing this one because it seems like there’s some debate as to where it actually came from (most think Mahatma Gandhi but I’m seeing evidence for a teacher named Arleen Laurence )

For me, the original author of the quote is not as important, perhaps, as its messaging and how it came into my life. This quote came to me in college by way of my fraternity. I think it’s fair to say that college is a formative period in many people’s lives — a time for searching out and testing different ideals and ways of being — though I wouldn’t say many think of it that way while it’s happening.

In any case, through all the classes, rehearsals, events, concerts and parties, it feels like a bit of a crap shoot what things stay with you, but for whatever reason, this did. And while I don’t often think about it explicitly, I would say it is really at the core of a lot of how I live my life. I will also admit that I don’t always live up to this ideal, but I think it’s important at least to try.

“There’s Always Another Secret” – Kelsier, Mistborn

The full quote comes from the fifth chapter of the first Mistborn book (pg 84). Kelsier has just retrieved a bottle of wine from a hidden drawer and Dockson exclaims that he thought he had found all of the hidden drawers. Kelsier answers that Dockson had and that one of the drawers he found also had a false back. According to Kelsier:

“The trick is to never stop looking. There’s always another secret.”

I love how this has become something of a tagline for the Cosmere and really anything that Brandon Sanderson writes.

In my own fiction writing, I think of it as something of a north star, a reminder of the types of stories I enjoy reading, and a guide to the types of stories I hope to be able to write. I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely (if even ever) am able to achieve this. But as the first part of the quote implies, the trick is that I don’t stop trying.

“You are not crazy. You are just ready to change.” – Nnedi Okorafor

I’ve been a Nnedi Okorafor fan for quite a while now, so I was delighted to see her quoted at the front of a chapter in Jane McGonigal’s Imaginable. It’s clear that Nnedi spends a lot of time thinking and writing about the future, so to see her quoted in a book about thinking about the future just seemed too perfect.

As for the quote itself, I love how reassuring it is. And how it has a bit of destiny about it. The way you feel now is not forever. It’s still a bit new to me so I’m sure I’ll have more to take away from it . . . in the future.

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you don’t belong” – Mandy Hale, author

Mandy Hale is a new name to me (also quoted in Imagineable). Some googling reveals her to be something of a blogging icon, and a champion for single women. A bit outside my demographic, but this quote still resonated with me deeply.

Afterall, who hasn’t felt stuck at some point in their life? Who doesn’t know this pain?

I view this quote as something of an appeal. Keep going. When growth happens — when change happens — it is hard, but being something you’re not is always harder.

“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried when really you’ve been planted.” – Christine Caine

Christine Caine is also a new name to me (Imaginable is really just FULL of quotes). She has written MANY books about her faith in God, and works with a nonprofit, The A21 Campaign, to combat human trafficking. It seems she was raised Greek Orthodox. As an on-again-off-again practitioner of Russian Orthodoxy, I’m curious if her books are written through an Orthodox lens, or if she has moved away from it and is preaching something more unique to herself. I don’t see many books about Orthodoxy in popular culture so I’d say my interest is somewhat piqued.

Whatever the case may be, this quote stood out to me as another kind of reassurance (or perhaps a kind of faith). That we often can’t see how our struggles are shaping us. How they may just be the very thing which leads to our success.

“No man wants to be a coward in front of a cheese.” – Terry Pratchett

We’ve read a lot of hard hitting and heavy quotes in this post, so I thought it was time for a little fun. I also will admit that when I read the prompt which asked, “What is your favorite Quote/s and why?”, this was the quote that came to mind first.

I don’t think I could have ever imagined this sequence of words being strung together, but I also don’t think I can think of any string of words which contains more truth. Who could live with the shame?! It’s a maxim and a guide for writing humor all in one! Thank you Sir Terry. Thank you.

Simply incredible . . .

The End

Well that’s all I have for this post. Thanks for reading all the way through! What are some of your favorite quotes? Leave em in the comments!

See you next time!