Oliver Goldsmith said that first, but every moment we get to put that attitude into practice, making it into a habit, by being excellent. As Ralph Marston said…
Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.
Everything is deeply interconnected. Aristotle (or Will Durant) has been oft-quoted, too…
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
Robert F. Kennedy had another variation on this theme, when RFK said,
Only those who dare to fail greatly
can ever achieve greatly.
can ever achieve greatly.
In other words, a fall is not a fail… It is an opportunity to learn. We can remind ourselves of this by singing (or dancing to!) Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping”, boldly declaring…
I get knocked down, but I get up again,
you’re never gonna keep me down…
“Tubthumping” is much catchier than Dwayne Wade’s “fall seven times, stand up eight” commercial, which repurposes an old martial arts line…
…which simply takes us back to our daily reflection and incantation…
Be excellent, for everything is about inclusion.
…so get yourself some rituals…
…don’t just be a cat in a box like all the other cats…
…and practice inner peace, because in the end, only kindness matters…
Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.
ifindkarma. elegance is refusal. 
???"The reason we fall is to learn to pick ourselves up." — Batmanhttp://www.quora.com/Adam-Rifkin/Every-time-you-fall-down-get-up
Comment by Anonymous — March 28, 2011 @ 2:11 pm
Actually, it was Alfred who said, "Why do we fall sir? So we might learn to pick ourselves up…"Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/quotes?qt0470010
Comment by Anonymous — March 28, 2011 @ 6:56 pm
Be excellent.http://ifindkarma.posterous.com/how-to-become-great-awesomesauce
Comment by Anonymous — June 19, 2011 @ 12:56 am
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that’s why I succeed. — Michael Jordanhttp://106miles.net/convo/117/ive-failed-over-and-over-and-over-again-in-my-life-and-thats-why-i-succeed-michael-jordan
Comment by Anonymous — August 9, 2011 @ 4:41 pm
Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. ~ Platohttp://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/13807475453/bekind
Comment by Anonymous — December 6, 2011 @ 2:16 am
Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. ~ Malcolm S. Forbeshttp://www.facebook.com/adam.rifkin/posts/10150406992820415Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that bullshit and just play. ~ Charlie Parkerhttp://www.facebook.com/adam.rifkin/posts/10150406757865415Success is never final, failure is never fatal. ~ John Woodenhttp://www.facebook.com/adam.rifkin/posts/10150405085585415Life = Riskhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzBCI13rJmAThey told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.http://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/13845580405/too-many-people-overvalue-what-they-are-not-and
Comment by Anonymous — December 6, 2011 @ 11:43 pm
There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.http://ifindkarma.posterous.com/there-is-no-way-to-happiness-happiness-is-the
Comment by Anonymous — December 6, 2011 @ 11:43 pm
Life has many different chapters for us.One bad chapter doesn’t mean it’s the end of the book.http://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/13846224101/life-has-many-different-chapters-for-us-one-bad
Comment by Anonymous — December 6, 2011 @ 11:54 pm
If you’ve never failed, then you’ve never lived.Life = Riskhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzBCI13rJmA
Comment by Anonymous — December 7, 2011 @ 1:42 am
Learning is a gift. Even when pain is your teacher.http://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/14287889667/learning-is-a-gift-even-when-pain-is-yourI know that it hurts, but keep trying.http://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/14332748423/i-know-that-it-hurts-but-keep-tryingIt's not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.http://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/14332634365/its-not-whether-you-get-knocked-down-itsIf we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might set the world in the right direction. ~ Martin Kornfeldhttp://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/14331993063/if-we-all-do-one-random-act-of-kindness-daily-we
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Comment by Anonymous — January 17, 2012 @ 11:54 am
Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you. You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.http://ifindkarma.posterous.com/truth-is-everybody-is-going-to-hurt-you-you-j
Comment by Anonymous — January 29, 2012 @ 12:18 am
Having courage does not mean we are unafraid.Having courage and showing courage means we face our fears.We are able to say, "I have fallen, but I will get up."~ Maya Angelouhttp://ifindkarma.tumblr.com/post/17669774566/we-are-able-to-say-i-have-fallen-but-i-will-get
Comment by Anonymous — February 15, 2012 @ 8:44 pm
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Comment by katrinshar — March 26, 2012 @ 2:32 pm