For a Personalized Autographed copy of “STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME” or “WOODEN & ME” mail a check for $25 to:
Woody Woodburn
400 Roosevelt Court
Ventura, CA 93003
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Words From the Wise (and From Me, Too)
In hopes of self-improvement, I keep a small moleskin notebook in my pocket and jot down words of wisdom I read and hear. On occasion, I write down my own thoughts, egocentric as that may be.
As we get ready to close the book on 2017 and open the front cover on the unwritten story of 2018, here are some entries from my pages this past year . . .
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“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were big things.” – Kurt Vonnegut
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Similarly, from Maya Angelou: “This is a wonderful day – I have never seen this one before.”
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“To play without passion is inexcusable.” – Beethoven
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“If you embrace Mondays with passion and determination, instead of dragging your heels with dread, the wind will be at your back the rest of the week.” – Yours truly
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“Running into a headwind makes one appreciate a tail breeze.” – Me, again
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“Where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time.” – Abdul Baha
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Similarly, from the poet Rumi: “When you do things from your soul you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”
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“If you don’t make an effort to help others less fortunate than you are, then you’re just wasting your time on Earth.” – Wayne Bryan, a dear mentor of mine
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“Don’t tell me about your dreams of a castle, show me the stones you laid today.” – Wayne Bryan, again
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“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” – E.B. White
(This applies to any endeavor, not just writing.)
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Similarly, from John Steinbeck: “When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate.”
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“You can’t achieve uphill hopes with downhill effort.” – Yours Truly
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“Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” – Dale Carnegie
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“Remember to leave room for the unexpected and the little things; lots of happiness rests under unturned stones.” – Greg Woodburn, my wise son
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“In order to fully embrace all the bright potential of the future, we must loosen our grip on the past.” – Dallas Woodburn, my wise daughter
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“Fortune befriends the bold.” – Emily Dickinson
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“A good friend surprises with a nice deed; a rare friend can do no deed so great as to truly surprise.” – Yours truly
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“To the maxim, ‘The more you give, the more you receive’ I would add this caveat: ‘unless your motivation for giving is to receive.” – Me, again
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“I would rather be a rivet that holds things together than a chisel that cuts them apart.” – Me, once more
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“Love people, use things. The opposite doesn’t work.” – author Joshua Fields Millburn
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“Yes, there is joy in anticipation. There is joy in the savoring. But there is also joy in the telling, the retelling, and the remembering.” – Dallas, again
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“Listen with the intent to understand, not to respond.” – Greg, again
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“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” – A. A. Milne (Winnie The Pooh)
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“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh
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“Don’t waste your years by wasting your hours.” – Me, again
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In closing, as 2018 arrives, keep in mind these words from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.”
Or, as Emerson’s friend Henry David Thoreau advised – “Simplify, simplify” – emulate John Wooden’s simplified maxim: “Make each day your masterpiece.”
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
- Personalized signed copies are available at WoodyWoodburn.com
- Unsigned paperbacks or Kindle ebook can be purchased here at Amazon