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viewsYou Can Quote Me
By Giulietta Nardone, Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 15 comments
moved from one end of the office building to the other, everyone jockeyed to get a desk near the windows. Not me. I chose the desk no one wanted way back in the corner. I preferred privacy to a view.
Not that I got much privacy. My micro-managing supervisor invaded my personal space daily. He peered over my shoulder watching my keystrokes, wanted to know my every move, called me into his office constantly to question my actions. Once I got dragged back to his lair from in front of the elevator at 5pm on a Friday.
“Come to my office,” he ordered. “I want to discuss next week’s objectives.” Talk about feeling like a caged wild animal. I daydreamed of escape.
Unfortunately, the career ladder I counted on climbing kept losing rungs. Government cuts reduced the number of available statistics positions and I faced a shrinking pool of jobs in a bumpy economy. I wasn’t married. No opportunities existed for me to quit and fall back on a mate’s salary until the job market picked up. Yet, I feared for my mental health if I didn’t get out of this soul-stifling environment.
Hope arrived in the form of a 3x5 index card left abandoned on the subway seat next to me. I don’t usually touch other people’s refuse, but something told me to pick it up and turn it over. Typed on it was “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt.
I figured Eleanor’s feisty spirit was trying to tell me something, so I stuffed the card in my purse. When I got to work, I taped it onto the scuffed beige wall next to my desk. Even if nothing came of it, her words hid a wall badly in need of a paint job. Later that day, one of my colleagues stopped by my desk and noticed the quote. “I’ve always loved that one,” she said. “Here’s another good one by Erica Jong, ‘And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.’” I scribbled it down and added it to the wall.
That evening I went to the library and checked out a book on quotes. Smitten, I added a new quote daily. In a few months, I’d covered the entire wall. Co-workers stopped by to read the quotes or suggest new ones.
If I started to free-fall into the abyss of job despair, I gently turned my neck to the right and a quote by a famous person jumped out to lend me a helping inspirational hand:
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15 Comments
~~G. Somebody told me
~~G. Somebody told me recently, "Do something scary everyday!" Yes! This is how I want to live, but it's such a struggle when one "Thinks" rather than "Does. When one is too logical rather than risky." Thanks, I need a kick in the butt! Great Essay! ~K
Bravo
...and thanks.
Thank you!
Thanks for your kind comments! Much appreciated. Off to find or make some new quotes!
Giulietta
Insightful
No Risk, No Gain
Hi Pennie,
Glad you stopped by! Good quote from your writing coach. It's all about self-trust ...
Giulietta
Thank you
I needed this post today. Thank you. You may have helped me through a tremendously stressful time....
Kudos from the queen of quotes
I thought I was the queen of quotes, but I bow to you. Loved your blog, and I love Eleanor's words. Now a new one for your wall .... for those occasional dark days when you need a bit of a lift..... Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you. --Maori proverb
Bon voyage. Mimi
I just quit my job four
I just quit my job four months ago and moved to the South. Currently I'm free falling and haven't felt this alive in years. I also haven't heard so many people call me, "Crazy." Your words are very encouraging. I'm excited to see what net appears.
Love all the comments!
Hi all,
Fabulous to get all these comments. I get inspired by everyone's brave words.
MAPetty - Happy to help in anyway! Remember what Winston Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going."
Mimi - Another great quote. Loved Whale Rider about the Maori. (We can be co-quote queens ...) Let's line the inside of subway stations with quotes instead of ads! Thanks for stopping by the blog.
Shea.p - Crazy is good. If people call you that then you know you're onto something. Your net will be beautiful and magical.
Much thx,
giulietta
Here's to you!
Giulietta,
Kudos to you for your courageous move(s)! I love quotes, and more specifically, I love words and how they can be used to motivate and inspire. The quote wall at work is a fabulous way to share that inspiration.
Quote Wall
Hi CK! I'm glad to hear you love quotes too. What would we do without them? I agree that words are wonderful. I used to read the dictionary every day, looking for new words. Did you? Thx! G.
This was great...
mary
Follow the heart!
Hi Mary,
Glad it helped confirm what you already know in your heart! Good luck with your new adventure. Thx! G.
Hi Giulietta, The journey of
Hi Giulietta,
The journey of your inception in to the quote world was very engaging to read. I don't remember how exactly how my affair with quotes started, but I know it's been going on for about 4 years now... :)
I've always felt that quotes find you when you need them to... I'm an engineer by education, was a sales professional by profession...until I came across this very simple quote;
“When an individual can look around and see a connection between a man that has too much bread and the man that has too little, then it becomes his/her obligation to take action. Teaching was my way of action” - Mariyam Farooq, Teach For America Alumni
I quit my job to join Teach for India, I am now a teacher in a low income private school teaching grade 2 ESL kids.
That's how transformative quotes can be.... :)
Glad to have read this, Thanks for the link.
Chaitra
http://tranquilchaos.wordpress.com/
CLASSIC QUOTES
F0r getting lovely collection of quotes follow this link and keep sharing
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