Curious about Never: What Are Your Nevers? Do They Help Define Your Life and Actions?

Definition of Never: Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past, present, or future. In no degree; not in the least; not.

“Never, never, never give up.” - Winston Churchill, English statesman

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer

From when we are quite young until the present, we are bombarded with nevers. Never is what I call a heavy and ominous word. I am sure that you were told as I was to, “Never say Never.” And, if we think about it, many of the never warnings carried quite a bit of truth, while others just seemed arbitrary.

Today, with all of the doom and gloom about the economy, I knew that if I looked up never quotations for this blog, they would lift my spirit. It worked! I could barely believe how many wise and inspiring quotations I found. Most were short and to the point.

Take some of the following to heart. I know I am:

• “You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” - John Wooden, American coach
• “It is never too late to give up our prejudices.” - Henry David Thoreau, American author
• “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - George Eliot, British author
• “Great lives never go out; they go on.” - Benjamin Harrison, American President
• “Never take anything for granted.” - Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman
• “I never do anything by chance.” - Brigitte Bardot, French actress
• “You can never learn less, you can only learn more.” - R. Buckminster Fuller, American inventor

A few of the longer quotations:

• “Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” - Thomas Jefferson, American President
• “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel, American novelist
• “And I will never, ever respond to anybody - man, woman, vegetable, or mineral - who tells me to keep my mouth shut.” - Janice Dickinson, American model
• “Never explain - your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.” - Elbert Hubbard, American writer
• “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead, American scientist
• “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” – Buddha, Indian Leader

What do you think? What are some of your nevers? We all have them, even though some seem almost ridiculous now.

Finally, three with a lot of background and meaning for me in my life and business:

• “You will never win if you never begin.” - Helen Rowland, American writer
• “You never know what you can do till you try.” - William Cobbett, English politician
• “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” - Vince Lombardi, American coach

Curious about Moderation: How Do You Feel About It? Do You Think We Should Practice Moderation in All Areas, or Not at All?

“Avoid moderation in all things.” – Tom Peters, American businessman and writer. This was the first quotation I saw today, when I turned over the page in my desk calendar. I have enjoyed and learned from this daily Tom Peters’ calendar with sayings from his book, Re-imagine!

And, as you can witness, I have also been inspired by him.

I was especially turned on by today’s quotation, because, frankly, I have become tired of hearing others admonish, “Success is practicing moderation in all things.” I have never been comfortable with moderation.

For examples: I gave birth to five children (and wanted more), I teach twelve fitness classes a week, I have many different careers as part of my “Portfolio Career,” I read several books at a time along with taking several classes at the same time, and always am working on several different projects. I admit that I could be labeled an “obsessive multi-tasker.”

When I started searching for quotations to include in this blog, I found two types and flavors. I will start with those who generally agree with Peters:

• “Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” - W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright
• “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist
• “Saints have no moderation, nor do poets, just exuberance.” - Anne Sexton, American poet
• “Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it.” - Francois de La Rochefoucauld, French writer
• “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” - Barry Goldwater, American politician
• “A little more moderation would be good. Of course, my life hasn't exactly been one of moderation.” - Donald Trump, American businessman
• “Moderation has been called a virtue to limit the ambition of great men, and to console undistinguished people for their want of fortune and their lack of merit.” - Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman

Then, there are those who champion moderation:

• “The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom.” – Plato, Greek philosopher
• “I'll be 65 in September and I work as much as I want to, take cruises with Kay, relax with my family, do everything in moderation, because I want to enjoy my life.” - Frankie Avalon, American actor
• “Be moderate in everything, including moderation.” - Horace Porter, American soldier
• “Temperance is moderation in the things that are good and total abstinence from the things that are foul.” - Frances E. Willard, American activist
• “Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin.” – Tacitus, Roman Historian
• “In order to grow old, you have to experience everything, but in moderation.” - Compay Segundo, Cuban musician

Finally, there are some that express both sides:

“Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.” - Charles Caleb Colton, English writer

“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.” - Thomas Paine, English writer

So, which are you? Do you practice moderation in all things, or only some? What is working for you?

Curious about Balance: How Balanced Are You and Your Life? What Do You Do to Become Balanced?

“Balance is so important in our lives. In our busy world, we can give ourselves balance between thinking and feeling.” - Yakov Smirnoff, Russian comedian

“I learned again that the mind-body-spirit connection has to be in balance.” - Wynonna Judd, American musician

Balance and having balance in our lives and our physical selves is important. In all of the fitness classes I teach and lead, I stress the importance of working on balance. And, just as Wynonna Judd says, our “mind-body-spirit connection has to be in balance.”

Do you notice that the days when we don’t establish that balance, we have a challenge to stay on task and centered? I know that I do. I have been teaching and experiencing modified Yoga classes for my senior students. I am amazed by how much it is helping – not only the participants – but me to calmly deal with the stress of these challenging times. The breathing and postures follow me to my home and home office.

As you can imagine, I found a plethora of balance quotations from the experts:

• “Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.” - Brian Tracy, American author
• “Man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward.” - Maxwell Maltz, American scientist
• “My private measure of success is daily. If this were to be the last day of my life would I be content with it? To live in a harmonious balance of commitments and pleasures is what I strive for.” - Jane Rule, Canadian author
• “Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them.” - Thomas Kinkade, American artist
• “There's always more demands than there's time to meet them, so it's constantly a matter of trying to balance them.” - Marc Andreessen, American businessman
• “It's all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.” - Philip Green, British businessman

Some quotations with a bit of a twist:

• “I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” - Zig Ziglar, American author
• “I always try to balance the light with the heavy - a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes.” - Bette Midler, American actress
• “Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life.” - Gregory Peck, American actor
• “Everyone spends their lives trying to balance their world between good and evil.” - Laurell K. Hamilton, American writer
• “I don't know if it's a sign of all the chaos that is happening out there or not, but I've lately craved the structure and order of classical music, the balance and symmetry.” - Helen Reddy, Australian actress
• “I love what I do for a living, it's the greatest job in the world, but you have to survive an awful lot of attention that you don't truly deserve and you have to live up to your professional responsibilities and I'm always trying to balance that with what is really important.” – Tom Hanks, American actor

What are you doing to achieve balance? My suggestions are to get and keep fit physically; repeat what you are grateful for every day; re-evaluate your use of time – is it effective; set goals and intentions to keep yourself on track; and pay attention to the balance between the conscious and subconscious.

Two quotations to take with you:

“You need a balance in life between dealing with what's going on inside and not being so absorbed in yourself that it takes over.” - Nigella Lawson, British journalist

“Everything in life... has to have balance.” - Donna Karan, American designer

Curious about Fitness: Do You Pursue It? The Importance of and Top Tips About It

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” - John F. Kennedy, American President

As I have mentioned before, I teach 12 group fitness classes a week. Some would and do say that is a bit obsessive and others question the time involvement in a far-from-high-paying career. Well, all I can say is that the benefits of my exercising, along with helping class participants with their physical fitness, are worth more than I can express.

Physical fitness is beyond wealth and price! I feel wonderful and so do my regular students. I wake up with energy and still have lots of extra energy as the day progresses into evening. I don’t get colds, the flu, or other maladies. The exciting fact is that we are never too old or out-of-shape to pursue exercise. Our bodies and minds react favorably to consistency and patience.

Let me share some quotations from the experts:

• “You must also give mental and physical fitness priority.” - Jim Otto, American athlete
• “It's not about weight, it's about fitness, and one component of being fit is to have relatively low body fat, because fat is not very efficient, whereas muscle is.” - Deborah Bull, British dancer
• “Personally, I need a high level of physical fitness in order to feel at ease.” - Jurgen Klinsmann, German athlete
• “We are involved in youth testing internationally. We want to try to prove without a shadow of a doubt the relationship between physical fitness and health, not just physical fitness and ability to perform.” - Kenneth H. Cooper, American soldier
• “They both go together; you can't be in front of the camera hosting a fitness television show in front of 75 million households and not have trained 6 days per week year round - in a bikini no less.” - Kiana Tom, American model
• “I have long recognized a link between fitness and mental health and I think we need to encourage young people to take part in sports and team activities because we know it has such positive results.” - Tipper Gore, American celebrity

And a few more:

• “My experience as a school nurse taught me that we need to make a concerted effort, all of us, to increase physical fitness activity among our children and to encourage all Americans to adopt a healthier diet that includes fruits and vegetables, but there is more.” - Lois Capps, American politician
• “There are similarities between business and sport, in the pressures involved and in the fitness aspect too.” - Peter Shilton, English athlete
• “As the proud father of two teens and past Chairman to the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, I am committed to educating parents and especially young people on ways to live a long, healthy and active life.” - Lee Haney, American athlete
• “Find fitness with fun dancing. It is fun and makes you forget about the dreaded exercise.” - Paula Abdul, American musician

I urge you to make sure that you set a physical fitness goal and concentrate on making it a reality. When you pick your approach to exercise, keep in mind the following quotation:

“Fitness needs to be perceived as fun and games or we subconsciously avoid it.” – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor

And, write me with your victories and progress. It will take time, but I guarantee that it will be well worth it!