James Baquet

    Mark and Ming chat again about “inspirational quotes” in the common room of their dorm.

    Mark: Hi, Ming. You look a little uncertain. What’s up?

    Ming: Oh, I’m just trying to decide what to do.

    Mark: Maybe I can help. What’s the problem?

    Ming: There’s a job opening at a really big company, but I’m just not sure if I can get it.

    Mark: You’ll never know ‘til you try!

    Ming: Is that another of those inspirational quotes?

    Mark: Yes, I guess it is.

    Ming: Sorry, but I don’t really feel all that inspired. What if I fail?

    Mark: Well, Wayne Gretzky, a great hockey player, said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

    Ming: I guess that’s true. But I’d be so embarrassed!

    Mark: So what? The philosopher Nietzsche said, “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”

    Ming: That’s kind of yucky.

    Mark: But kind of true, don’t you think? Let’s say you fail the interview. But you learn something, right?

    Ming: Uh-huh. So I guess that would make me stronger for the next one.

    Mark: Exactly! Some unknown person said, “You can’t fall if you don’t climb. But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground.”

    Ming: It’s the fall that worries me, for sure. I mean, I’m really scared. How do I get past that?

    Mark: It’s all in your attitude. One of the best ways I ever put this was by Goethe, the great German writer and philosopher.

    Ming: What did he say?

    Mark: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

    “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

    Ming: Boldness? Like bravery?

    Mark: Exactly. Boldness is a way to get past small-mindedness.

    Ming: What’s that?

    Mark: Here’s another quote, from the industrialist Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

    Ming: Ooo, that’s a good one. As long as I think I can’t, I can’t!

    Mark: Yup!

    Ming: But still, how do I conquer my bad attitude?

    Mark: Like Nike says, “Just do it!”

    Ming: Corny! Anything a little deeper?

    Mark: You know about Van Gogh?

    Ming: The Dutch painter. Sure.

    Mark: He said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

    Ming: So the very act of doing it quiets the fear of doing it.

    Mark: Sure! It’s like you’ve proved to yourself that you can. Even just resolving to do it can help.

    Ming: What do you mean?

    Mark: Theodore Roosevelt, an American president, said “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

    Ming: Okay, one more and I think I’ll be ready to go.

    Mark: Get set! Someone named George Addair said, “Everything we want is on the other side of fear.”

    Ming: Wow! And I’m OFF!