“One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else. The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear. I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
One of my favorite “mentors” from history is Eleanor Roosevelt. An important note about her role is that she was one of the first public “officials” to use mass media to talk about important issues such as civil rights; the rights of children and women; and the value of public service. Because of that, there are many quotes attributed to her that remain relevant today. She continues to inspire me and her words often find their way into my own writing and teachings.
I am drawn to her in part because even as she supported the rights of others, she never lost her passion for lifting up the importance of personal responsibility. This is ultimately the game changer for anyone that aspires to live a life of significance. Her innate curiosity also helps me see a kindred spirit in her.
If she lived today, there can be no doubt that she would be delighted with the power of Social Media and would be leveraging it to make meaningful and powerful change in the world. I can well imagine I would be following her and re-tweeting everyday!
Here are ten pieces of “Eleanor” wisdom that are among my favorites that could be called “Eleanor’s Tweets”….
- No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
- You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.
- With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
- What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?
- Never allow a person to tell you no; who doesn’t have the power to say yes.
- Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.
- A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.
- When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.
- Do one thing every day that scares you.
- Courage is exhilarating.
Hmmmm…. I may just have to send them out for her myself.
