"A wish has been defined as a 'goal with no energy behind it.' Hope is not a strategy."
~ Brian Tracy

I don't like work... but I like what is in work -- the chance to find yourself. Your own reality -- for yourself, not for others -- which no other man can ever know.

-- Joseph Conrad

Art establishes and makes tangible a time, a place, a thought, an idea.
Art, properly made, enhances and enriches the lives of others.
Art gives an opportunity to endow new life and new meaning into the ordinary.
Art gives an opportunity to design your own world, and, as in your children, create a significant immortality.
Art is hard-earned work that is its own reward and has a degree of permanence.
Art, because it's so easy to do, and yet so difficult to do well, encourages humility in the human soul.
Art is an apprenticeship that can be stretched into a lifelong education.
Art thrives on democratic ideals, freedom of expression and rugged individualism.
Art permits you to step out of the labyrinth and into a quiet corner of your own private joy.


~ Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

-William James

"In real life, there is real heroism, but its not about saving babies from burning buildings. Its about making an effort, day after day, to be kind to some old people, be patient with some young people, be polite to those who you could get away being rude to. Real life heroism is a marathon, not a sprint."


~ John F. Groom

Is great art out of reach? You can find an emerging artist, a painting, or vase, in your city, for an amount you can afford. The great names are out of your reach. But beauty, without the brand, is not. And the search for beauty will ennoble you.

~ John F. Groom

“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honour; duty; mercy; hope.”

- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

"He plays his tune.Is it beautiful? Are you paying attention? Or do you just want to know if he is famous? Does his fame, or lack thereof, affect the beauty of the song? Can you hear the music, or taste the wine, without knowing the brand?"

~ John F. Groom

“As the body needs physical exercise in order to remain in fit condition, man’s spirit also requires the spiritual exercise derived when he confronts his problems and combats life’s vicissitudes. ”

- William Sahakian and Mabel Lewis Sahakian, describing the philosophy of Epictetus

“I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”

- Leo C. Rosten (1908-1977)

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

"Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." 

~Maya Angelou

"Our real duty is always found running in the direction of our worthiest desires."

-- Randolph S. Bourne (1886-1918)

"An expert is an ordinary fellow from another town."


 (Mark Twain) 

"Life is a song... sing it. Life is a game... play it. Life is a challenge... meet it. Life is a dream... realize it. Life is a sacrifice... offer it. Life is love.... enjoy it." 


Sai Baba

“True friends are those who lift you up when your heart's wings forget how to fly.” 
- Grace Pulpit

"Something we were withholding made us weak until we found it was ourselves."

Robert Frost

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

"Every minute past is a minute gone."

~  Henry Robert Tindale Haws

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”


 - Lao Tzu