Improvement

• “It’s a constant quest because we’re always raising the bar on ourselves. The better we get, the better we want to be. Part of us wants very much to live in our Zone of Genius. Yet at the same time, we’re tied down by forces around us. The people around us want us to stay in our Zone of Excellence. We’re a lot more reliable there.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks) Page 115
• “I invite you to join me in regularly turning inward to confront there anything we wouldn’t want others to see. It may not be pornography, but it may be arrogance or unkindness, impatience or vanity, or any number of other flaws we need to remedy. Whatever it is let us trim our lamps, add oil, and make those changes necessary that allow us to hold up a brighter candle, a purer light. Christ-focused some of His most pointed opprobrium for the hypocrite. We must never be guilty of that in this battle. Each of us must be the best person we can be in every way we can.” Broken Things to Mend (Jeffrey R. Holland) Kindle Loc. 1262-65
• “According to Richard Posner, a judge for the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and author of The Little Book of Plagiarism, “. . . in Shakespeare’s time, unlike ours, creativity was understood to be an improvement rather than originality—in other words, creative imitation.” He goes on to explain that “the puzzle is not that creative imitation was cherished in Shakespeare’s time, as it is today, but that ‘originality in the modern sense, in which the imitative element is minimized or at least effectively disguised, was not.” In his book, he explains that the concept of originality and plagiarism arose during the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth century. Before this time, it was unusual for artists, architects, scientists, or writers to sign their work. Innovation and creativity were understood to be collaborative efforts in which one idea was copied from another and evolved through incremental enhancements. The concept of plagiarism didn’t exist. Copying and creating were rooted in the same thing. The person who copied had an obligation to improve the copy, that was it.” Borrowing Brilliance: The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others (David Kord Murray) Page 17
• “What was done in the past is done, and it is over now. But this is present time, and you now have the opportunity to treat yourself the way you wish to be treated.” You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) Page 61
• “The bottom line is the change in our hearts – a change that results in a change in living.” (Richard C. Edgley, Ensign, May 1998, 13)
• “We must be the change we wish to see.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
• “Our task is to become our best selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.” (Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, May 1987, 68)
• “Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but . . . life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves. GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty.Page 120.
• “The old saying, “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again,” is so true. It doesn’t mean beat yourself up and try the same old way again. It means recognize your error and try another way — until you learn to do it correctly.”  You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) Page 109
• “You gotta do what you gotta do, and when you’re done, you’ll be stronger.”Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown (Blehm, Eric) page 12
• “Keep your mind positive by accepting complete responsibility for yourself and for everything that happens to you.  Refuse to criticize others, complain, or blame others for anything. Resolve to make progress rather than excuses. Keep your thoughts and your energy focused forward, on what you can do right now to improve your life, and let the rest go.”  Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy, Page 88
• “If we have a failing, if we have a weakness, there is where we should concentrate, with a desire to overcome, until we master and conquer.”   Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, (2013), 228–39
•  April 30th, 1995 – Sunday.  Quito Ecuador… “I just got finished thinking a bit.  For a good while before I was a little scared inside because I wasn’t being as obedient as I know I should’ve been.  I would think a lot of the scriptures, and how the men would always receive punishments or tough trials when they weren’t righteous.  They would receive these things to be reminded of the Lord & to be humbled.  I was always scared that something would happen to me to frighten me to repent or humble me to repent.  At times I even asked for an experience that would change my attitude, that would help me to drop a lot of my carnal desires & sins.  Well, the Lord did answer me.  Because Elder Norris told me that experience of Satan which helped to make a change for the better.  But I still wasn’t even close.  I still had an inner feeling and knowledge that I had to change even more.  Well, I kind of put it in the back of my mind, justifying my little sins – I mean, I was spiritually strong enough – Right??  Yesterday, right when I saw that poor kid dead in the street, a song entered my head that said “Do you hear me?  I can feel you near me.  It’s the answer that I’ve been longing for.”  Seeing this boy woke me up.  It was the answer that I was needing.  It hurts me to think that I didn’t have the common sense or strength enough to repent for myself.  The Lord had to humble me through this experience.  It’s sad for me to think that one of the reasons for this kid’s death was to help me to re-evaluate my life and repent of the picky things that in my mind weren’t too big of a deal.”
•  “It is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures – perhaps measures we have never taken before – to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations.  Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.” President Russell M. Nelson
• “Elder Jeffrey R. Holland told of a young man who was the brunt of his peers teasing during his school years. Some years later he moved away, joined the military, received an education, and became active in the Church. This period of his life was marked with wonderfully successful experiences. After several years he returned to his hometown. However, the people refused to acknowledge his growth and improvement. To them, he was still just old ;so-and-so; and they treated him that way. Eventually, this good man faded away to a shadow of his former successful self without being able to use his marvelously developed talents to bless those who derided and rejected him once again. What a loss, both for him and the community!” Ensign, 2016, General Women’s Session, I Will Bring the Light of the Gospel Into My Home
• May 9, 1995 – Tuesday – Quito Ecuador… “Today was another spiritually uplifting day.  We talked with President Farnsworth for about 4 hours! …..He also explained that the “Discussions are there to wake up what the investigators learned in the Pre-mortal life.”  So the chosen are going to listen & remember only by the Spirit.  The investigators that progress are chosen, those that don’t….we shouldn’t waste our time.  He gave us a lot of advice & knowledge today…..I could see the importance of this missionary work.  We need to find the chosen – and quick!!!  I realize how important and urgent it is to inform the people.  I also realized that the Lord was telling me to get prepared to not forget the changes I’d made here in the mission and to keep growing daily – spiritually.  Man, I have a deep desire to learn more about the gospel and live it.  Now I need to apply it.  The desire doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t act on it.  I pray I can live up to the calling I have now as a missionary and plus my calling I have in my life.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal