The quote that I use in that little quote-box on my Facebook page is probably my favourite:

“Dreams are the touchstone of our character”

This reminds me that my goals and ambitions are a reflection of who I am – my core beliefs and values – and these things need to be aligned.

It’s by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), an American essayist and philosopher, and a very influential man. According to Wikipedia, he influenced the thinking of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and a laundry list of other philosophers, political thinkers and authors. But it’s his simple thoughts on life that resonate with me the most.

He also said:

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”

I love this idea, it’s a motto to live by. It’s important to acknowledge the past and how it got me to here, to think about the future because it’s where I’m going next, but try to spend most of my time being in the present – really seeing and experiencing what is happening in the moment.