Happy Memorial Day! It’s a perfect day to relax, spend the day with people you care about, and remember those who were brave enough to dedicate their life mission to protecting us. So it’s the perfect day to talk about favorite quotes for today’s Blogger, May I theme. There are so many good quotations, I had a hard time picking one and actually wrote an entire other post before this one.
To be a good quotation, I think it has to be short, simple, impactful, and incredibly direct..everything this sentence is not. There are two quotes that usually ping around in my brain. One by Abraham Lincoln, and this one from Baron Batch.
Be aware when your time is up.
As I’ve written before, I attended the 2014 TEDx talks back when it was TEDxGrandviewAve (now it’s moved up to TEDxPittsburgh, woohoo!) and heard some great speakers. Of course, I was there for Britt Reints, but I was captivated by Baron Batch.
I didn’t know much about Baron before the talk. I saw on the bio page that he was a former Pittsburgh Steeler and gave that all up to paint. I was ready for some, “Follow your dream, don’t let things get in your way” kind of speech.
But no! It was much more, “Hunt your dreams down, work harder and faster than you ever have, hustle, and strong-arm things out of your way.” I was ready to run through a wall after I heard him speak.
I’ll watch the recorded talk today and still want to run through a wall. Seriously, watch it.
When I went to the Creative Soul Weeknight Retreat, we made boxes with paper or paint or stamps or little plastic dinos or fibers…whatever our little hearts desired. In mine (which I’ll take a photo of and share later..oops forgot!) I have Baron Batch’s quote written out.
Be aware that you only have a little time here on the planet, so make it count. Be aware that there’s always a ticking clock getting closer to the end, so make something worthwhile now. Don’t squander the precious seconds you have – in a relationship, a day at the part with your kids, when you sit down to write. Be acutely aware that time is pulling you away.
I could go on forever, baby. (Bonus points if you know where that is from.)
Britt took that energy of the Creative Soul Weeknight Retreat and unleashed it on a whole weekend. I’m so excited for the Creative Soul Retreat this fall for more time to reflect and create and play with new things.
A weekend of nothing but this laser-focused creative energy sounds absolutely fantasticly like where I need to be. And seriously, it’s at a gorgeous hotel in downtown Pittsburgh with other creative souls. Who’s with me here?
So what’s your favorite quote?
The one that makes you want to run through a wall and get shit done. Or the one that calms you after you’ve run through a wall and need to refocus?
I was not asked to gush about the Creative Soul Retreat in this post, but it seemed like the perfect time to share it. If you’re in Pittsburgh or can make it here, I’d love to see you there. And early bird pricing ends June 1!
