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25 Great New Year Quotes

Travis McAshan — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:21:09 +0000

In a nutshell… here’s a collection of classic New Year’s quotes.

While these are mostly floating around on the net in other places I wanted to collect them all and have them for reference. There’s some great wisdom, humor, and wry wit in the quotes below, enjoy!

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.”
– Anaïs Nin,
French-Cuban Author

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
– Oscar Wilde,
Irish Writer & Poet

From New Year’s on the outlook brightens; good humor lost in a mood of failure returns. I resolve to stop complaining.”
– Leonard Bernstein,
American Conductor, Composer, Author

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
– Bill Vaughn,
American Columnist & Author

New Year’s Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
– Mark Twain,
American Author & Humorist

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.”
– Brooks Atkinson,
American Theatre Critic

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.”
– T.S. Eliot,
American Playwright & Literary Critic

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.”
– G.K. Chesterton,
English Writer

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”
– Benjamin Franklin,
Author, Inventor & Diplomat

Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.”
– Dave Beard,
Baseball Player

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
– Albert Einstein,
Theoretical Physicist

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
– Oprah Winfrey,
American Media Proprietor

It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.”
– Jim Bishop,
American Journalist & Author

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this — To rise above the little things.”
– John Burroughs,
American Naturalist & Essayist

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson,
American Essayist, Lecturer & Poet

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
– Michael Altshuler,
Speaker & Trainer

Never tell your resolution beforehand, or it’s twice as onerous a duty.”
– John Selden,
English Jurist

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.”
– Hal Borland,
American Author & Journalist

He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.”
– F.M. Knowles,
American Artist

I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.”
– Henry Moore,
English Sculptor & Artist

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!”
– Joey Adams,
American Comedian

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
– William Arthur Ward,
American Writer & Author

The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year’s Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you’re married to.
– P.J. O’Rourke,
American Political Satirist

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
– Edith Lovejoy Pierce,
American Poet & Pacifist

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.”
– Ellen Goodman,
American Journalist

25 Great Quotes on Passion

Travis McAshan — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:01:48 +0000

In a nutshell… here’s a collection of quotes on passion and enthusiasm to keep your fire burning bright.

At the end of the day we all need to remember to keep going. However, just making it another day doesn’t get us where we truly want to be. We must move with vigor, passion, and fixed determination to achieve our goals.

Never, never, never give up.”
– Winston Churchill,
British Statesman

A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm.”
– Charles M. Schwab,
American Steel Magnate

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!””
– Jack Kerouac,
Author

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
– Albert Einstein,
Theoretical Physicist

Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping… waiting… and though unwanted… unbidden… it will stir… open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us… guides us… passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love… the clarity of hatred… and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we’d know some kind of peace… but we would be hollow… Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead.”
– Joss Whedon,
Screenwriter and Director

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
– John Maxwell,
Author and Speaker

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
– Winston Churchill,
British Politician

There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.”
– Federico Fellini,
Italian Film Director

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”
– Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,
German Philosopher

Rest in reason; move in passion.”
– Khalil Gibran,
Artist, Poet and Writer

Passion is the genesis of genius.”
– Anthony Robbins,
Speaker and Author

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”
– Benjamin Franklin,
American Statesman

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
– Howard Thurman,
Author and Philosopher

Renew your passions daily.”
– Terri Guillemets,
Quotation Anthologist

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
– Ferdinand Foch,
French Military Strategist

There is no greatness without a passion to be great, whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an artist, a scientist, a parent, or a businessperson.”
– Anthony Robbins,
Speaker and Author

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson,
American Philosopher

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.”
– T. Alan Armstrong,
Author and Writer

Passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will normally find it’s something you’re tremendously passionate about.”
– Steve Pavlina,
Blogger and Author

Never underestimate the power of passion.”
– Eve Sawyer,
Author and Writer

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
– Denis Diderot,
French Philosopher

When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.”
– John Wesley,
Christian Theologian

One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
– E. M. Forster,
English Novelist

Purpose may point you in the right direction but it’s passion propels you.”
– Travis McAshan,
Entrepreneur and Web Strategist

Enthusiasm is nothing more or less than faith in action.”
– Henry Chester,
Australian Politician

Helpful Advice For Future Web Designers

Travis McAshan — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:58:44 +0000

In a nutshell… my answer to the question of becoming a designer or web developer.

I was recently asked the following question… “Hi, I am a college student currently trying to figure out what I’m doing. I was wondering if I could pick your brain. I’m in my second semester in Computer Science and I have no idea what I want to do with it. I’ve thought about web design. Is Comp Sci the way to go? I hate to admit, but I don’t even know how to start a website. I love design though and I am creative. I’ve just been doubting that Comp Sci is for me. Mainly because I’m struggling with the math and logic behind it. What are some skills and things I would need to work on as a web designer?”

Always Double Check Your Email

The young lady who posed the question above must have given an incorrect or invalid email address because after two tries using different email accounts I could not get the email to go through. I was actually excited about sharing my ideas with her because I love to help people and especially love to inspire people (if at all possible). Instead, I thought I’d just share the exact email I proposed to send to her. Maybe it will help (or inspire) someone else similar in her shoes.

The Email That Was Never Sent…

To Whom It May Concern,

Compsci is more for programmers in my opinion. Unless you like that stuff you might be better off in a design or art school? I just depends on your specialty and talents. Anyone can learn programming with enough time and effort. My personal opinion is that you cannot teach great design. It’s learned but not the same way. It’s like teaching someone rhythm… either it’s there or it’s not.

I have been building websites for the last 10 years. I have worked with some of the best designers and developers in the industry. Typically, I refuse to work with the “do-it-all” (jack of all trades folks). I always specialize the skill sets. In my mind you’re either a great designer or your a great coder. I know there are excellent designers out there that can code but I suggest you choose one or the other. If you truly want to do a good enough job to get hired and paid in the industry specialize and focus on one or the other.

Think about things this way… get so good at something that people would be out of their mind not to work with you or hire you. That’s the ultimate goal. You can’t just hope people will like your work or “feel sorry for you”. Basically, all the people sitting around looking for jobs just don’t have it figured out. If they were really “lynchpins” like Seth Godin states in his book “Lynchpin” (http://bit.ly/fDsjQC) they would have never been let go. And if they were they would be snapped up by a smarter company than the one that let them go. Basically, set your bar so high that if you reach you’re goals NO ONE else will be around you.

Decide what you want and burn with passion for it. Passion is the ONLY thing that will allow you to work until 4am 5 nights straight and it’s the only thing that will allow you to get rejected 50 times and not give up. Read the story of Col. Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken (http://bit.ly/fDsjQC). Remember that in our industry everyone with a computer and an internet connection can claim to be a “web design company”. On top of that you have people that want everything for nothing. You have to bring something significant to the table to make it worth peoples time and hard earned dollars.

Also, always remember that your best sustained success in life is to always ask yourself, “am I happy with what I’m doing now?” If the answer is “no” change something immediately. Even if it makes you poor or temporarily homeless. The worst existence ever is spending the rest of your life in a rut because you didn’t want to risk following your heart. Aside from sleeping, work is what you do more than any other task. I’ll leave you with this…

“Find a job you love and never work a day in your life.” — Confucius

P.S… be a self-learner, here’s a few great books to inspire you.

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Lynchpin by Seth Godin
Life’s Greatest Lessons by Hal Urban

Sincerely,
Travis McAshan

Art and Business

Autumn Morgan — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:37:58 +0000

In a nutshell: Business is like art- stick to a medium but find different angles to make your product shine.

A World Beyond Your World

There is a book out called 365: A Daily Creativity Journal by Noah Scalin, and it is full of amazing, eye-opening ideas for artists. It challenges artists to learn a new medium, to look somewhere other than where they normally go for inspiration, to study a new subject, to look at everyday life different than, well, everyday life- to see it as art! One man was so inspired by the book that he took up a new style of canvas painting. He paints one a day and sells it on eBay. Because he has to have a new subject to paint each day, he is training himself to see his world differently. That is the goal of this book- to help artists realize there is another world beyond their worlds, and that there is another use for something they have always used one way (example, tea bags can stain papers and woods after you use them!).

See Your Business In A Different Light

When we work in our businesses, we often get into a groove, and we keep our heads down and move through a day. We find what works, and go with it. And this is great! However, we need to grow in our work and in our businesses. Keep doing what works, but find another angle, a new approach, a new way to look at something and a new way for your customers to view something. Let’s say you offer 10 products, and they sell well. But what reason do they have to return to your business? By trying new products, you are keeping customers interested in what you have to offer. Stick with what works- Now this doesn’t mean you should jump all over the map. It is important to stick with what you are good at; just try new ways to make it successful. If you sell local wine, don’t branch out and try to sell fuzzy socks. A better idea might be to sell locally designed and printed wine bags. Try new ways to do what you are good at and remember that risk often equals success.

Life Is How You Take It

Travis McAshan — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:22:23 +0000

In a nutshell… how I became a father and the (short) story that led up to it.

How It Was

Less than three years ago I was a bachelor living in a nice apartment on the fourth floor overlooking the beautiful Hill Country of Lake Travis. I was and currently still am, operating as managing director, creative director, salesman, and project manager for Glide. I was also 29 years old and looking to settle down with the right woman.

It All Happened So Fast

Next thing I know, I’ve met a beautiful and vivacious young woman (no, not that young, she was 24). We hit it off, dated for a year and I asked her to marry me. Next thing you know we’re moving out of the apartment into our first home with a baby on the way. Apparently I was behind the game and needed to catch up, knocking off three life goals in less than two years. To get married, buy a home, and become a father. Check, check, check!

How It Is

I’m thrilled to be married to my soul mate and best friend. Our new home is less a home and more a house as we’ve yet to really decorate to our creative visions. And my sweet baby girl, Penelope, has already completely and fully captured my heart. I know that life is a journey and I’m sure we’ll have many more life adventures to come but I decided to share these three big ones with you. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Irving Berlin, “life is 10% how you make it and 90% how you take it.”

DIY iPad Stand For FREE!

Travis McAshan — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:20:36 +0000

In a nutshell… why pay when you can make you’re own ipad stand with a coat hanger, rubber band, and a pair of needle nose pliers?

The Source of ALL Inspirato… Google!

I recently purchased my very own magical ipad and was looking for a quality stand. And while the ipad alone set be back quite a few clams I wasn’t prepared to dish out top dollar for a stand I could potentially make myself. So fire up Google I did and found immediate inspiration from other mac loving cheapskate macgyver do-it-yourselfers just like me. When prince said the internet is a fad he must not have thought about transforming trashed rakes, old frying pans and moose antlers into electrical guitars like this guy. This is cool stuff!

Shout Outs Are In Order

Einstein once said, “the secret to creativity is hiding your sources.” However, in this case I have to give props, there were QUITE a few diy ipad stands floating around in cyberspace. Not being one to settle, I decided to “invent a better mousetrap” if you will. Only this time with ipads and coat hangers instead of traps, cheese, and all the business with dead mice. The first inspiration I received was from this guy who made an iphone stand from a simple paper clip. I can respect genius at work and decided to expand on his idea for an ipad version.

Forming the Game Plan

Basically, as a throwback to my college days in Autocad, I mocked up the real size schematics using Adobe Illustrator. After creating the top, side, and front views with accurate measurements, I printed the plans and went to work. After stealing one of my wife’s black coat hangers to match the sleek look of the ipad, I started the bending process. While I could give you the full step by step breakdown I’ll save that for my IKEA style DIY ipad stand instruction guide due out this fall. Or you could download my design files (nicely packaged as printable PDF) and give it a go yourself.

The Photos:

Conclusion

Overall, I made sure to design sufficient support to allow the ipad to rest both portrait and landscape. Also, the piece de resistance, I added a rubber band after finding that pressing on the ipad caused the stand to go sliding across my desk. One last note is that I designed the stand to display the ipad at a 30 degree angle (feel free to change it). All in all, it was a worthwhile exercise and you sure can’t shake a stick at the cost of it all… FREE.

Other FREE and El-Cheapo Ideas:

Do you have “passion” for your Clients?

Travis McAshan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:14:50 +0000

In a nutshell… I received this from Tammy Gentry. She’s a Certified Business Coach with ActionCOACH Team Legacy.

Remember to build a Relationship beyond the invoice. In times like today, and going forward, client retention should be part of every Marketing budget.

As the football season starts, one of the key characteristics that GREAT Players in any sport brings to the game, is the Passion for the game and the competition. Watching your kids compete can bring the same unbridled energy and focus.

Bringing Passion to your Clients builds your Relationship into a Friendship. Clients may terminate vendor relationships. Friends don’t fire Friends.

Elevate your commitment to your Clients!

When you hear the saying, “it’s not personal, it’s only business” … they are missing the potential of Making IT Personal!!

Passion IS a differentiator in today’s changing market!

We all know that sales are really all about “Closing The Sale”. There is not a salesperson alive who does not use a variety of techniques to help them be successful with customers. However, I believe passion is the most underrated and underutilized sales tool in our arsenal because it is too hard to measure and no one has found an effective way to teach it.

Passion is an effective sales tool because it isn’t artificial and can’t be faked for a long period of time. It is displayed in people who genuinely care and are willing to take the time to serve their clients in whatever manner is necessary.

Passion in sales is evident when the salesperson takes the time to listen to their prospect and attempts to really understand what it is they are looking for. It is displayed not only in the questions that are asked, but also in the tone of voice and body language that is used and the follow-up that is demonstrated after the sales call. Sale professionals who have passion are able to create long-term profitable relationships with their customers. They also routinely benefit from referrals by their existing clients and, on many occasions, these prospects come to them ready to buy.

Before you rush out to practice your body language and tone of voice in an attempt to find passion, let me add the secret ingredient: heart. Passion comes from a genuine belief of wanting to help the client in both good times and bad.

Passion can actually be measured in a couple of ways. Begin by asking yourself this simple question: “When the day is over and my clients are reflecting back on the people they’ve interacted with and the activities they’ve done, do they think of me in a positive light that contributed to them having a good day?” It is important to consider whether your clients truly believe you are helping improve their day and their business. Another assessment tool is found in analyzing the number of referrals you get. Referrals are an accurate measurement of how your clients view you. If they honestly believe in you, they recommend you to others.

Passion in sales is underrated. Therefore, your ability to genuinely care about your clients, to show an interest in them, and to serve them will determine your long-term business success.

Are you Passionate about Your Customers?
Source: Vic Ciuffetelli, ActionCOACH, Asia Pacific

25 Great Quotes on Passion

7 Ways to Celebrate the Earth

Autumn Morgan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:22:38 +0000

Earth Day (April 22) is one of my favorite days to celebrate because I think the earth is a beautiful place that needs to be taken care of. Like anything precious or of value, our earth should be protected

#1. Plant trees or a garden

One way to spend time with your family, get some fresh air and create a better environment for your kids is to plant trees! I’ll admit, I wouldn’t know the first thing about planting a tree from a seed, but with the help of arborday.org, you can plant a tree that has already begun growing. If you are interested in planting trees in your local park, be sure to contact your parks and recreations department first. You could also start a little herb and vegetable garden in your yard, which we have fun with every year. If you have never grown veggies before, cilantro is the easiest and fastest. Once you get that going, you should feel a little more confident in trying something else.

#2. Find a local farmer’s market

April marked the opening of all of the farmer’s markets in our area. Spring has sprung, so veggies and fruit are ripe and ready to be harvested! Some of my favorite outings with my toddler are going to farms, picking veggies and having a picnic by the garden. Other markets have plenty of activities, such as face paintings, live music, crafts for kids or gardening workshops.

#3. Conduct a neighborhood or park clean up

You can do a simple search online to see if there are any city wide cleanups, such as keepamericabeautiful.org. Otherwise, you can create your own cleanup team with your family or neighborhood. Host a block party or barbeque as a thank you for neighbors who join in your efforts to keep your neighborhood beautiful.

#4. Wear GREEN!

Simple! Easy! I love it! Pick a green shirt from your closet or head to your local thrift store. My favorite idea is to use a shirt that has a stain or a tear on it, and just cover it up with a patch or some paint. Get creative with it- paint or patch a tree a quote or something earth friendly.

#5. Crafts

Visit this site (http://holidays.kaboose.com/earth-day) for fun craft ideas to expose your kids to earth friendly ideas.

#6. Start a recycling bin

Each family in our neighborhood is provided with a recycling bin, and the bin is picked up once a month. You can contact your local water and utilities department to request a bin. If your city does not provide bins, search online for local recycling centers. The last city I lived in, I just had several labeled store-bought bins in my garage that I separated all of our recyclables in, and took them to our local center every couple of weeks. It’s fun to let the kids throw the cans in the big dumpsters at the centers, too!

#7. Everyday is Earth Day!

Use Earth Day to create awareness of how important the earth is and of our responsibility to take care of it. Then just apply your new knowledge and ideas to every other day of the year.

Article: Password security… bahhh!?!

Travis McAshan — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:43:21 +0000

What I long suspected.

After reading this email I now feel fine not worrying about changing my passwords. Some of them I have kept the same for decades. I know I’ve been told to change them but things like this come out and it just feels so good for my procrastination in changing my passwords to be validated by fancy studies.

From the article…

“Now, a study has concluded what lots of us have long suspected: Many of these irritating security measures are a waste of time. The study, by a top researcher at Microsoft, found that instructions intended to spare us from costly computer attacks often exact a much steeper price in the form of user effort and time expended.”

Go READ It

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/04/11/please_do_not_change_your_password/

Creating Opportunity By Jim Rohn

Travis McAshan — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:26:17 +0000

An enterprising person is…

One who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.

To be enterprising is to…

Keep your eyes open and your mind active. It’s to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves… regardless of the economy.

A person with an enterprising attitude says…

“Find out what you can before action is taken.” Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what’s to come.

Enterprising people always…

See the future in the present. Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren’t lazy. They don’t wait for opportunities to come to them, they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition.

Enterprise is two things.

The first is creativity. You need creativity to see what’s out there and to shape it to your advantage. You need creativity to look at the world a little differently. You need creativity to take a different approach, to be different.

What goes hand-in-hand with…

The creativity of enterprise is the second requirement: the courage to be creative. You need courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone if you have to, courage to choose activity over inactivity.

And lastly…

Being enterprising doesn’t just relate to the ability to make money. Being enterprising also means feeling good enough about yourself, having enough self worth to want to seek advantages and opportunities that will make a difference in your future. And by doing so you will increase your confidence, your courage, your creativity and your self-worth, your enterprising nature.