Five quotes: Jewellery

The jeweler allows me to wear the sapphire blue lake on my finger, the emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go.  Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows.  And if I have to work late, there's nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky.  

Astrid Alauda, 'Office With No Windows'.

My husband gave me a necklace. It's fake. I requested fake. Maybe I'm paranoid, but in this day and age, I don't want something around my neck that's worth more than my head.  

Rita Rudner.

Let us not be too particular.  It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all. 

Mark Twain.

The story of Harold Ross, the New Yorker and me is a mere footnote to the story of our time, and we might as well face the truth that to researchers of the future, poking about among the ruins of time, we shall all be tiny glitters.  But then, so are diamonds. 

James Thurber. 

The most precious jewels are not made of stone, but of flesh.

Robert Ludlum. 

With thanks to The Quote Garden.

Five quotes: Action

A nod,
a bow,
and a tip of the lid
to the person
who coulda
and shoulda
and did. 

Robert Brault, 'A Poem Missing the Word Woulda'. www.robertbrault.com

Men expect too much, do too little. 

Allen Tate.

I believe half the unhappiness in life comes from people being afraid to go straight at things.  

William J. Lock.

Action will remove the doubts that theory cannot solve. 
Tehyi Hsieh.

Carpe diem! 

(Seize the day!) 

Horace. 

Before long, this year will have become last year. If you have plans, enact them now.
Happy new year, everyone.

With thanks to The Quote Garden.

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Perseverance: the new black.

Annie is the jewellery maker of Ferosh Kitty Designs. Recently, she was Zibbet.com's Featured Zibbeter. On reading her interview, a particular sentence caught my eye: "And I’m a believer that perseverance is the new black!"

I love black.
Black is only one colour (in fact technically it's not a colour; it's the absence of light and therefore the absence of colour); it doesn't have shades or tints the way green and blue and other colours do; yet it can be dangerous, formal, mysterious, intimidating, enigmatic, aggressive, clean, precise ... think black cats, ninjas, hit men, top hats, limousines, formal calligraphy, the night sky ...
Black does not compromise. You can't negotiate with it. It is what it is, and if you want a lighter or darker tone then you're just going to have to look elsewhere. Black just is. When all other colours have faded away, all that will be left will be black.
(Literally.)
'Perseverance is the new black'. I like the nod to fashion there. It seems appropriate for artists to talk about perseverance in visual terms. 

Perseverance is a common trait of those who change the world. Research Thomas Edison, Sir Edmund Hillary, Marie Curie, or any other important person, and the chances are high that perseverance was the key to their achievement.

As Calvin Coolidge famously said, 

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

(If, like me, you love quotes, here is an excellent trove of perseverance quotes. You're welcome. :-D)

Perseverance is the new black.

When all other skills and abilities have faded away, perseverance will still be there.
If you want to achieve something great, perseverance is not just the new black: it's the one and only black.

Why do you need to get away?

Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don't need to escape from.

- Seth Godin.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

I'm probably preaching to the converted if you're reading this blog, but I often wonder why people drift through life waiting for the weekend ... for the holidays ... for their lives to become free and interesting.

Why do you wait for your life to change when you could change it yourself?

If the reason you're not changing your life is because you can't really be bothered or you don't really want it badly enough, then stop whining about the life you have now. If you don't like it, change it; if you don't want to change it, stop complaining about it. 
If you feel that change is impossible, you have two options: make change possible, or learn to live with your situation.
But in all honesty, change is rarely impossible. What stops us changing things is not so much our ability as it is our fear.

Roger Ebert

I follow, via E-mail updates, a blog called Copyblogger. Its tagline is 'copywriting tips for online marketing success', but, like most of the blogs I follow, it often talks about things that are bigger than just copywriting or marketing or the Internet.
Let me share this powerful Copyblogger post with you. It's about using what you have, and what you love, to overcome whatever filth life throws at you.

Chris Guillebeau and the Art Of Non-Conformity

 A few weeks ago I discovered a blog called The Art Of Non-Conformity. It is written by a travel writer and entrepreneur named Chris Guillebeau, and if you are at all interested in living a life that is neither normal, boring, average, ordinary, nor expected, I urge you to read it.

His tone is humble, softly-spoken, and gracious, but Chris is on a mission to change the world, and to help other people change the world and realise their dreams. In his quiet, non-confrontational way, he presents two ideas that are both radical and simple: firstly, that we don't have to live our lives the way other people expect us to; and secondly, that it is possible to follow our dreams, earn money, AND help others, all at the same time.
Most of us have been taught that the latter is too good to be true. And some of us have always known, deep down inside, that that is a lie. Why can't we help others, do what we love to do, and get paid for it? Where in the universe is that written? And who says that we can't rewrite it?

I have subscribed to Chris's twice-weekly E-mails and read two (so far) of his free e-books. A link to his blog, The Art Of Non-Conformity, is on the left of this web page. If you are an artist, I recommend his free e-book A Brief Guide To World Domination. Chris uses the metaphor of taking over the world to express the idea that you can have it all: money, fulfillment, and a good conscience. This isn't some motivational tract or hollow, feel-good spiel. It is intelligent, practical, well thought-out, and every word rings true.

In fact, I don't think it matters whether you're an artist, an entrepreneur, a traveller, or something else entirely. If you want to lead a extraordinary life, Chris Guillebeau has something you should listen to.