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Dawna Markova

Dawna Markova Books

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“When you have the courage to shape your life from the essence of who you are, you ignite, becoming truly alive. This requires letting go of everything that is inauthentic. When the inner walls to your soul are graffitied with advertisements, commercials, and the opinions of everyone who has ever known and labeled you, turning inward requires nothing less than a major clean-up.”

InspirationalSilenceAuthenticityStillnessDistractions
Book:I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
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“When we find ourselves devoid of passion and purpose, the first thing we need to do is stop. But that's not easy. The rest of the world is zooming by at full speed. Left alone with ourselves, without a project to occupy us, we can become nervous and self-critical about what we should be doing and feeling. This can be so uncomfortable that we look for any distraction rather than allowing ourselves the space to be as we are.”

WorldNeedsShouldFirstsLooksSelfFeelingsPurposePassionLeftEasySpaceProjectsCriticalSpeedNervousUncomfortableAllowingDistractionLeft Alone
Book:I Will Not Die An Unlived Life: Reclaiming Passion and Purpose
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“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible; to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.”

LifeInspirationalHeartDiesFallNextFireRiskGoes OnMy HeartPromiseWingsFruitSeedsConquerFearlessSignificanceBe KindCatchingOvercoming FearTorchesFace Your FearsFears Of LifeFacing FearCatching FireLiving In Fear
Book:I Will Not Die An Unlived Life: Reclaiming Passion and Purpose
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“I don't think anyone 'finds' joy. Rather, we cultivate it by searching for the preciousness of small things, the ordinary miracles, that strengthen our hearts so we can keep them open to what is difficult: delight in taking a shower or a slow walk that has no destination, in touching something soft, in noticing the one small, black bird who sings every morning from the top of the big old pine tree ... I need to give my attention to the simple things that give me pleasure with the same fervor I have been giving it to the complex things with which I drive myself crazy.”

ThinkingNeedsGivingHeartHas BeensBigsJoyDifficultBlackSimpleWalksPleasureAttentionMorningTreeCrazyGratitudeBirdOrdinaryMiracleGive MeComplexesDelightDestinationTouchingEvery MorningShowersSmall ThingsNoticingSimple ThingsFervorPine Trees
Author:Dawna Markova
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“From the time we begin school, if not sooner, we are taught to be blind to our assets and only see our deficits. We are carefully marked on how many we got wrong on a test and, rarely if ever, asked how we know how to spell the ones we got right. By the time we are adults, we are well versed in every one of our limitations, skilled in our incompetence. If we were fish in an aquarium, it would be as if we kept smashing against the glass, and forgot the fact that we were perfectly capable of turning ever so slightly and swimming gracefully in the water all around us.”

IfsKnowsWellsFactsWould BeSchoolWaterEducationKnow HowTaughtCapableAdultsTestsBlindGlassesFishesLimitationAssetsSpellsSwimmingDeficitIncompetenceAquariumsSmashing
Book:I Will Not Die An Unlived Life: Reclaiming Passion and Purpose
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“The practice of kindness is the daily, friendly, homely caring form of love. It is both humble-a schoolboy bringing his teacher a bouquet of dandelions-and exalted-a fireman giving his life to save someone else's. Kindness is love with hands and hearts and minds. It is both whimsical-causing our faces to crack into a smile-and deeply touching-causing our eyes to shimmer with tears. And its miraculous nature is such that the more acts of kindness we offer, the more of them we have to give, for acts of kindness are always drawn from the endless well of love.”

GivingMindWellsHeartHandsEyeFacesFormPracticeKindnessTeacherTearsOffersHumbleCaringEndlessFriendlyCracksTouchingHeart And MindMiraculousExaltedActs Of KindnessWhimsicalFiremanBouquetsDandelionsHomelyForms Of LoveShimmer
Author:Dawna Markova
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“The moments you are given are your true wealth. You don't need power, influence, or fame. The sunlight brings the power; the wind carries the influence. And as for fame, well, when you allow yourself to notice all those hands that have made your growth possible, you will also recognize what you have made possible for countless others — and how famous you already are. In this very moment, one of those others may be telling a story about how you helped them grow forward.”

NeedsWellsMayMadeMomentsStoriesHandsGivenGrowsGrowthWealthInfluenceWindFameCarrieSunlightTrue Wealth
Book:Spot of Grace: Remarkable Stories of How You DO Make a Difference
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“As adults, we must ask more of our children than they know how to ask of themselves. What can we do to foster their open-hearted hopefulness, engage their need to collaborate, be an incentive to utilize their natural competency and compassion...show them ways they can connect, reach out, weave themselves into the web of relationships that is called community.”

KnowsWayNeedsChildrenShowsAsksCommunityNaturalCompassionKnow HowAdultsOur ChildrenReach OutIncentivesHeartedHopefulnessCompetencies
Author:Dawna Markova
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“Through fear of knowing who we really are we sidestep our own destiny, which leaves us hungry in a famine of our own making...we end up living numb, passionless lives, disconnected from our soul's true purpose. But when you have the courage to shape your life from the essence of who you are, you ignite, becoming truly alive.”

SoulEndsPurposeDestinyKnowingAliveBecomingShapesEssenceWho You AreHungryFamineNumbDisconnectedIgniteTrue Purpose
Author:Dawna Markova
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“When cancer first came into my life, people all around me treated it as the enemy. I was told I had to join the medical team and we'd fight together to defeat it. This was the wrong thing to say to someone who was the last one to be picked for any team. I was much happier sitting on the sidelines and encouraging the other players. I was totally unskilled at defeating anything. So I secretly went my own way and decided that I was free to choose the meaning of the healing experience. I decided I would develop a friendly relationship with the cancer, which was something I was good at.”

PeopleWayFirstsTogetherLastsFightingMy OwnHealingEnemyPlayerTeamSittingDecidedDefeatCancerMedicalTreatedFriendlyWrong ThingsSidelines
Book:I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
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“As with any other great force of nature, there is both glory and danger in the stories we tell ourselves. Some are toxic and keep our problems festering. Others are tonic and bring us beyond the limitations of our previous history. To be in a life of our own definition, we must be able to discover which stories we are following and determine which ones help us grow the most interesting possibilities.”

HelpingStoriesProblemAbleForceGrowsInterestingDangerPossibilityGloryDefinitionsDetermineFollowingLimitationToxicMost InterestingForces Of NatureFestering
Book:I Will Not Die An Unlived Life: Reclaiming Passion and Purpose
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