Personal Productivity Quotes 11 December 2008 24 Comments image The right words, said the right way, at the right time can change your life t least give you a new lens and vantage point.
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I m a fan of quotes, but one of the issues I ve had is finding the right quotes when I need them. Since I m doing some productivity research, I decided to share my collection of pe rsonal productivity quotes. It s not complete or exhaustive by design. Instead, it s a "good enough for now" c ollection where I can quickly find some of the most relevant quotes. I ve framed the quotes to make them easy to traverse. In the words of Bruce Less "absorb what is useful." rite productivity quotes, I d love to hear them. Top 10 Productivity Quotes
If you have a set of favo
Here are my top ten favorite quotes: "Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically you r own. Bruce Lee Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. Pet er Drucker Fall seven times, Stand up eight. Japanese Proverb If you love life, don t waste time, for time is what life is made up of. Bruce L ee It s not knowing what to do, it s doing what you know. Tony Robbins Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most peo ple overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! Tony Robbins "Success breeds success." The path to success is to take massive, determined action. Tony Robbins "The perfect is the enemy of the good." Voltaire Words may show a man s wit but actions his meaning. Benjamin Franklin Personal Productivity Frame To organize the quotes, I created a frame. The frame is simply a set of buckets or "hot spots": Action Approach Efficiency / Effectiveness Energy Management Failure Focus Goals Improvement Motivation and Mindset Planning Opportunity Self-Awareness Time Management The hot spots helped me find the most relevant quotes and cluster them around me
aningful areas. Action You always succeed in producing a result. Tony Robbins A real decision is measured by the fact that you ve taken a new action. If ther e s no action, you haven t truly decided. Tony Robbins You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action. Tony Robbins The path to success is to take massive, determined action. Tony Robbins The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment. Tony Robbins Remember, a real decision is measured by the fact that you ve taken new action. If there s no action, you haven t truly decided. - Tony Robbins It not knowing what to do, it s doing what you know. Tony Robbins In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consi stent actions. It s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently. Tony Robbins Success comes from taking the initiative and following up persisting eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to p roduce a new momentum toward success in your life? Tony Robbins If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you ll never get it done. Br uce Lee An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox. Lao Tzu Great acts are made up of small deeds. Lao Tzu The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Lao Tzu Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. Thomas A. Edison Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Thoma s A. Edison The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmo il. Thomas A. Edison The value of an idea lies in the using of it. Thomas A. Edison There is no substitute for hard work. Thomas A. Edison "The perfect is the enemy of the good." Voltaire Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate o ne s garden. Voltaire All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those th at are movable, and those that move. Benjamin Franklin If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing. Benjamin Franklin It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the mis erable man. Benjamin Franklin Never confuse motion with action. Benjamin Franklin Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. Benjamin Franklin Words may show a man s wit but actions his meaning. Benjamin Franklin Approach Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.
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bins We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn. Peter Dru cker "Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically you r own. Bruce Lee All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns. Bruce Lee Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important t han any established style or system. Bruce Lee Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or wil
low survives by bending with the wind. Bruce Lee A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. Lao Tzu Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you f eed him for a lifetime. Lao Tzu I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These th ree are your greatest treasures. Lao Tzu In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In co nflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. Lao Tzu In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for at tacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. Lao Tzu It is better to do one s own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as hi s own nature reveals it, never sins. Lao Tzu Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Lao Tzu One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him. Lao T zu The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Lao Tzu The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, We did it ourselves. La o Tzu Those who have knowledge, don t predict. Those who predict, don t have knowledge. Lao Tzu Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Lao Tzu Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is producti on or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, syst em, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing. Thomas A. Edison Hell, there are no rules here we re trying to accomplish something. Thomas A. Ed ison I start where the last man left off. Thomas A. Edison The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are: Hard work, St ick-to-itiveness, and Common sense. Thomas A. Edison Efficiency / Effectiveness Efficiency is doing better what is already being done. Peter Drucker Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. Pet er Drucker The most efficient way to produce anything is to bring together under one man agement as many as possible of the activities needed to turn out the product. Pet er Drucker There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be don e at all. Peter Drucker It s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential. B ruce Lee The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be. Bruce Lee Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. Lao Tzu It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work. Thomas A. Edison There s a way to do it better find it. Thomas A. Edison A place for everything, everything in its place. Benjamin Franklin A small leak can sink a great ship. Benjamin Franklin Energy Management The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce
outstanding results. Tony Robbins Passion is the genesis of genius. Tony Robbins The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions t o link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose. By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we will instantly change our behaviors. Tony Robbins Live with passion! Tony Robbins Energy and persistence conquer all things. Benjamin Franklin Failure There is no such thing as failure. There are only results. Tony Robbins Whatever happens, take responsibility. Tony Robbins Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. Bruce L ee I have not failed. I ve just found 10,000 ways that won t work. Thomas A. Edison Many of life s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to s uccess when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is a lways to try just one more time. Thomas A. Edison Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand th ings that won t work. Thomas A. Edison Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. Thomas A. E dison They say President Wilson has blundered. Perhaps he has, but I notice he usua lly blunders forward. Thomas A. Edison To have a great idea, have a lot of them. Thomas A. Edison When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes. Thomas A. Edison What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of fr ailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other s folly that is the first l aw of nature. Voltaire Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out. Benjamin Franklin Write injuries in dust, benefits in marble. Benjamin Franklin "I don t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please e verybody." Bill Cosby "There is no failure except in no longer trying." Elbert Hubbard "I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate." George Burns "Indecision and delays are the parents of failure." George Canning "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Henry Ford Fall seven times, Stand up eight. Japanese Proverb "You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don t try to forget the mistakes, but you don t dwell on it. You don t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." Johnny C ash "The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail." Napoleon Hill "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." Ralph Waldo Emerson "If you don t accept failure as a possibility, you don t set high goals, you don t branch out, you don t try you don t take the risk." Rosalynn Carter "Many people dream of success. To me, success can only be achieved through r epeated failure and introspection." Soichiro Honda "If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate." Thoma s Watson, Sr "It s not whether you get knocked down. It s whether you get up again." Vince Lo mbardi "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." W inston Churchill
Focus Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command whe n we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. Tony Rob bins "One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular." Tony Robbins If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. Lao Tzu Goals People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals that is, goals that do n ot inspire them. Tony Robbins Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Ton y Robbins Management by objective works if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of t he time you don t. Peter Drucker Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter Drucker The best way to predict the future is to create it. Peter Drucker A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at. Bruce Lee At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. Lao Tzu Improvement If you do what you ve always done, you ll get what you ve always gotten.
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ns It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. Tony Robbins We will act consistently with our view of who we truly are, whether that view is accurate or not. Tony Robbins Using the power of decision gives you the capacity to get past any excuse to change any and every part of your life in an instant. Tony Robbins There s always a way if you re committed. Tony Robbins There s no abiding success without commitment. Tony Robbins How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I m committed to? Tony Robbins I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk. Tony Robbin s If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you w ant and copy what they do and you ll achieve the same results. Tony Robbins Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answ ers. Tony Robbins Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character. Tony Robbins Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. Peter Drucker Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it van ishes. Peter Drucker A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. Bruce Lee Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and g rowth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one s potential. Bruce Lee If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It w ill spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are onl y plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. Bruce Lee
When you are content to be simply yourself and don t compare or compete, everyb ody will respect you. Lao Tzu If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound oursel ves. Thomas A. Edison Employ your time in improving yourself by other men s writings, so that you sha ll gain easily what others have labored hard for. Socrates The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to app ear. Socrates An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them. Benjamin Franklin Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjam in Franklin Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement , and success have no meaning. Benjamin Franklin Motivation and Mindset You see, it s never the environment; it s never the events of our lives, but the meaning we attach to the events how we interpret them that shapes who we are tod ay and who we ll become tomorrow. Tony Robbins It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute that gives meanin g to our lives. Tony Robbins Take control of your consistent emotions and begin to consciously and deliber ately reshape your daily experience of life. Tony Robbins The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of hav ing pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you re in control of your life. If you don t, life controls you. Tony Robbins We are the only beings on the planet who lead such rich internal lives that i t s not the events that matter most to us, but rather, it s how we interpret those e vents that will determine how we think about ourselves and how we will act in th e future. Tony Robbins What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs a bout who we are. Tony Robbins Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning t hat disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives. Tony Robbins In life you need either inspiration or desperation. Tony Robbins It s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what thos e events mean. Tony Robbins My definition of success is to live your life in a way that causes you to fee l a ton of pleasure and very little pain and because of your lifestyle, have the people around you feel a lot more pleasure than they do pain. Tony Robbins I ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually lay ing the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of liv ing I now enjoy. Tony Robbins Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution ex perience life s deepest joy: true fulfillment. Tony Robbins The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. Peter Drucker Accept the fact that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer. Peter Dr ucker All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great thing s in that which is small. Lao Tzu Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens. Lao Tzu Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realiz e there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Lao Tzu Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Conf idence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy. Lao Tzu
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve. Lao Tzu Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head , the heart and the senses. Lao Tzu To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty. Lao Tzu Discontent is the first necessity of progress. Thomas A. Edison I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success. Thomas A. Edison I never did a day s work in my life. It was all fun. Thomas A. Edison Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That s not the place to become discoura ged. Thomas A. Edison What you are will show in what you do. Thomas A. Edison A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleepi ng enough in the grave. Benjamin Franklin Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Fran klin Gain may be temporary and uncertain; but ever while you live, expense is cons tant and certain: and it is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fue l. Benjamin Franklin Many people die at twenty five and aren t buried until they are seventy five. B enjamin Franklin Planning By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin Franklin The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, John Steinbeck "Failures don t plan to fail; they fail to plan." Harvey Mackay Opportunity Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibili ty to give something back by becoming more. Tony Robbins The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call l uck. Tony Robbins To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities. Bruce Lee Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don t resist them that onl y creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in w hatever way they like. Lao Tzu I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accide nt; they came by work. Thomas A. Edison Just because something doesn t do what you planned it to do doesn t mean it s usele ss. Thomas A. Edison Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and lo oks like work. Thomas A. Edison There is far more opportunity than there is ability. Thomas A. Edison Diligence is the mother of good luck. Benjamin Franklin To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions. Benjam in Franklin "Success breeds success." Self-Awareness To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Bruce Lee He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty. Lao Tzu He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mi ghtier still. Lao Tzu He who is contented is rich. Lao Tzu
He who knows others is clever; He who knows himself has discernment. Lao Tzu He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. Lao Tzu He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. Lao Tzu Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering ot hers is strength; mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect. Lao Tzu Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have. Thomas A. Edison He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nat ure. Socrates I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know noth ing. Socrates The unexamined life is not worth living Socrates True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. Socrates True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand abou t life, ourselves, and the world around us. Socrates He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself. Benjamin Franklin Time Management Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most peo ple overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! Tony Robbins Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be ma naged. Peter Drucker If you love life, don t waste time, for time is what life is made up of. Bruce L ee Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Socrates Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of. Benjamin Franklin Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure. Benjamin Franklin Lost time is never found again. Benjamin Franklin Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste. Benjamin Franklin You may delay, but time will not. Benjamin Franklin
