24 QUOTES TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE YOU TO STAY TRUE TO YOUR GOALS

I love quotes and really who doesn’t?!  But I really love inspiring and motivating quotes that are able to quickly inject positivity and put a smile on your face. Whenever I come across a quote or saying on Instagram or Pinterest I take a screenshot and save it to a photo album on my phone and if I am ever feeling a little down or un-motivated I whip out the album of screenshots and come out feeling totally refreshed and recharged – I know, I know, this can seem a little woo woo but it works for me so I embrace it! A couple of weeks ago I shared my go to podcasts to motivation and inspiration - My Top Five Podcasts for Motivation, Inspiration and Knowledge.  So without further ado here are my favorite quotes :).

One

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence” – Vince Lombardi

Two

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it” – Charles Swindoll

Three

“Even if you are on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there” – Will Rogers

Four

“The difference between a successful person and others is not lack of knowledge but rather a lack of will” – Vince Lombardi

Five

“Speak less than you know; have more than you show” – William Shakespeare

Six

“Success is going from failure without losing your enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill

Seven

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have” – Teddy Roosevelt

Eight

“Strive not to be a success, but rather be of value”  - Albert Einstein

Nine

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” – Zig Ziglar

Ten

“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” – Robert Collier

Eleven

“Opportunities don’t just happen. You create them.” – Chris Grosser

Twelve

“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” – Ray Goforth

Thirteen

“Keep on going and chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” – Charles F. Kettering

Fourteen

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn

Fifteen

“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” – John Maxwell

Sixteen

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have” – Maya Angelou

Seventeen

“Obsessed if just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated”  - Russell Warren

Eighteen

“Action is the fundational key to all success”  - Pablo Picasso

Nineteen

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do” – John Wooden

Twenty

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” – Stephen Covey

Twenty-One

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

Twenty-two

“The mind is everything. What you think you become” – Buddha

Twenty-three

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Dr. Robert Schuller

Twenty–four

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

Do you have any favorite go to quotes to give you some quick inspiration? If so, what are they?

4 REASONS SPENDING ALONE TIME IS REALLY GOOD FOR YOU

We live in a truly exciting world of constant interaction with either the physical people around you or the people you converse with online. The constant interaction is not only fascinating and eye opening but it can also be draining, exhausting and destructive to your mind and body. While I love spending time with my family and friends and building connections while perusing social media sites and blogs – I know that every now and then my mind and body needs some alone time. Everyone’s definition of alone time varies and the length we each need will also be different.  My alone time is not very long because I do not feel like I need to completely detach myself for long periods of time – my alone time is usually between 3-4 hours every month or so. Some people find that detaching themselves from everything and everyone is more beneficial if they do it say once a year for a couple of days and take a quick solo getaway. Whatever strategy you think works best for you is the one you should try.

Recharge

Time alone is great opportunity to recharge - as mentioned above the constant interaction we have nowadays is exciting, eye opening and fun but it can also be exhausting. And I truly believe that in order to be fully present during your times of interaction it is super important to allow yourself some alone time to re-charge and re-group your mind and your body by slowing all of the everyday craziness down.

Creativity

Some of the best jolts of creativity have come to me while having some alone time while listening to good music, doing laundry, cleaning or even running errands. Alone time gives your mind a chance to wander off and think freely which will always invite our dear friend creativity to come sweeping in!

Balance

Again, with so many things going on in our lives at any given moment it can get a little crazy and hard to keep things in perspective. Time alone allows me to take a step back and re-prioritize and re-strategize the things that need to get done and the things I want to get done. This is a great way to keep yourself in check and not overload yourself with things you need to do and want to do. Learning how to balance out your life will probably be one of the best gifts you can give yourself!

Productivity

When I spend time alone doing things, like running errands, I get so much more done than if I were to do the same things in the company of other people. While, yes, it is a lot more fun and entertaining to do things with others, sometimes time is of the essence and doing things alone will not only tremendously boost your productivity it is also really healthy for you too!

Are you spending quality time with alone? If yes, what activities allow you to recharge, find creativity, find balance and become more productive?

MY TOP FIVE PODCASTS FOR MOTIVATION, INSPIRATION AND KNOWLEDGE

On my morning commute to work which usually take me anywhere between 25-35 minutes I usually listen to a podcast. I have a total of 40 podcasts in my library which I catch up on from time to time but have definitely come across five podcasts that I listen to with the most frequency out of all of them. I did not jump onto the Podcast band wagon until about a year ago and I was in complete awe of all of the information and knowledge that is available in the podcast universe! The very first podcast I ever came across was After the Jump with Grace Bonney from Design Sponge and I am not embarrassed to admit that I lived and breathed that podcast for a solid month until I listened to EVERY SINGLE episode. I really hope a new season is in the works!  

Naturally, after I had listened to every single After the Jump episode I wanted to explore more and find other podcasts that were filled with inspiration, knowledge and motivation – I have given many podcasts a try and many are solid and have great information but the five I have listed below have been the ones I consistently listen to and always look forward to new episodes.  

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

I cannot stress how valuable So Money has been in terms of getting me to become more aware of my finances. Thanks to the valuable information I have taken away from the So Money podcast I doubled my 401k contributions and almost tripled the amount I was putting away for savings. Farnoosh releases one episode a day (talk about dedication!).

She Did It Her Way

I absolutely love listening to interviews but I mostly love listening to inspirational and real interviews with females who share their struggles and their successes while building a business and balancing their health and personal lives. This podcast was created by three brilliant ladies and airs once a week, every Monday.

Elise Gets Crafty

Elise does an AH-MAH-ZING job at bringing a variety of guests that touch upon topics that never disappoint like motivation, creativity, entrepreneurship and inspiration. This podcast is in its third season so if you have not had the pleasure of coming across this podcast you are in for a treat! New episodes are weekly, on Wednesdays.  

Mavenly + Co

This podcast aside from creating informational and engaging content always delivers awesome episodes that range from entrepreneurship to friendship to health to organization. I also love the fact that they allow their interns to conduct interviews – having an experience like that for students getting ready to graduate is a phenomenal experience. Great job Mavenly team!

Millennial

AHH learning how to navigate our 20’s – this podcast gives you a true inside look at what life is like after graduating college, the journey in finding a job and the unspoken truths of our fears and insecurities all while trying to find who we truly are. This is a podcast one must listen to and follow along with. Keep up the great work Megan and team! 

Links: 

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

She Did It Her Way

Elise Gets Crafty

Mavenly + Co

Millennial

How do you make the best out of your commute? If you listen to podcasts which ones are your favorite?

5 QUICK TIPS TO KEEP AN ORGANIZED AND HEALTHY BEDROOM

Keeping a clutter free home is an essential part of leading a healthy and happy life and a keeping a clean bedroom will almost certainly help you sleep better at night. My bedroom is my little oasis and it is the one room in my house that is almost always cluttering free, clean and organized. In general I tend to keep my place organized – unless I am having a very busy week or am feeling under the weather – those are the times my organization falls to the wayside a bit. But the room I sleep in needs to be kept organized and clutter free for my own sanity. Now, this was not always the case my bedroom was a whole different story during my teenage years and early twenty’s but overtime I began to notice how much better I felt and slept when I had a clutter free room – and let me tell you it has been one of the most positive shifts I have made in my life so far.

Only keep what you use

I took everything I did not need or use on a daily basis out of my room. For example, my night table has my bedside lamp, whatever candle I am currently burning and whatever book I am currently reading. That’s all. One of the first steps to keeping an organized room is to take out any and all clutter. If this sounds like a big task for you then I suggest you tackle one section of your bedroom at a time – so one weekend you can focus on your night table, the next weekend you can focus on your dresser and the following focus under your bed.

Make your bed

Making your bed each morning takes no more than 3 minutes! Although 3 minutes may seem like a long time if you are running late in the morning but just think about the satisfaction you will feel when you get into a freshly made bed at the end of the day. Beds are the focal point of any bedroom and the second your bed is made your bedroom will instantly look much cleaner and organized.

Clean regularly

I vacuum and dust my bedroom once a week and about twice a year I move the furniture out of my room and vacuum and clean the areas I cannot easily get to on a regular basis (under my bed, under the dresser and nigh table). Only because you can’t see the dust does not mean it is not there!  Also, I am allergic to dust so keeping my allergies at bay is a bonus to keeping a clean and dust free bedroom.

Wash your sheets

I wash my sheets once a week and my comforter about once a month and while this may seem like common sense it is always a good reminder! Also, I have a hypo-allergenic mattress protector which knowing that my mattress if being kept as clean and as protected as possible provides me with some added peace of mind.

Keep an air purifier

I added an air purifies to my bedroom about two years ago and I am glad I did but upset that it took me so long to get one! Air purifiers help remove dust from the air (which in turn helps immensely for people who suffer from dust allergies and/or asthma). My air purifier has a filter that should be replaced at specific increments of time – mine is anywhere between 4-5 months.