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Initiative Quotes

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Initiative Quotes

“When we are placed in a set of circumstances where we have to take initiative and be creative, some of us find it hard to transition. Those people have been trained not to think but to obey orders. They are slaves to the training, unconsciously pledging allegiance to the average. Mentally they recite from the manual of mediocrity.”

PeopleThinkingHas BeensHardOrderCreativeCircumstancesTrainingSlaveAverageTransitionMediocrityInitiativeBe CreativeAllegianceManuals
Book:Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive
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“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”

PeopleMenGivingMindMayRealitySpiritSituationSecurityDangerousCircumstancesUnhappySecurePeace Of MindHorizonConformityInitiativeConservatismAdventurousJoy Of LifeNew ExperiencesLife Is An AdventureInspirational AdventureLife AdventureAdventure And LifeAdventurous LifeRoad LifeUnhappy LifeSpirit Of AdventureMonotonous LifeAdventurous Spirit
Author:Christopher McCandless
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“It is well known, that the best productions of the best human intellects, are generally regarded by those intellects as mere immature freshman exercises, wholly worthless in themselves, except as initiatives for entering the great University of God after death.”

HumansWellsLiteratureKnownCreativityExerciseMereUniversityProductionsIntellectInitiativeWell KnownEnteringWorthlessAfter DeathImmatureFreshman
Book:Pierre: Or, the Ambiguities
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“To have the external pressure of a job removed is very astonishing. Your own will is now your only motor and it has no horse-power. Sometimes I think that perhaps the most competent business men, and lawyers and doctors, who must be at the office at nine o'clock every morning, do not realize this and take more credit for initiative and industry than they deserve. And it is why all the bright women of the world, who if more were expected of them, might do important work, but who instead have a chronic feeling of ineffectiveness and sloth.”

IfsThinkingMenWorldImportantSometimesFeelingsMightJobsRealizingWorkMorningIndustryOfficeDeserveDoctorsHorsePressureCreditExpectedLawyerNineEmploymentClockInitiativeEvery MorningIdlenessMotorAstonishingDoctor WhoCompetentSlothBusiness ManImportant WorkIneffectiveness
Author:Brenda Ueland
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“Certainly, young children can begin to practice making letters and numbers and solving problems, but this should be done without workbooks. Young children need to learn initiative, autonomy, industry, and competence before they learn that answers can be right or wrong.”

NeedsShouldChildrenDoneProblemYoungAnswersNumbersPracticeChildhoodDevelopmentIndustryLettersInitiativeProblem SolvingAutonomyCompetenceYoung ChildrenEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood Education
Book:Miseducation: preschoolers at risk
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“The most important step of all is the first step. Start something! What if that idea you have in the back of your head is a really good one, one that might end up helping tens of thousands of people? You owe it to the world ot act. Or maybe it will help only a few people: The same advice applies. If you don't do it, you are missing out on something big, and so are the people who could have been helped.”

PeopleIfsWorldFirstsHas BeensImportantIdeasEndsHelpingBigsMightMotivationalStepsAdviceMissingEntrepreneurshipMaking A DifferenceWhat IfFirst StepsInitiativeCould Have BeenMissing Out
Author:Blake Mycoskie
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“You don't have to be very brilliant. You don't have to have such a wonderful education. You can be an outstanding success if you will only take what little you have, whether it's little or much, and start using it, putting it into operation, doing something about it, and doing something with it. And, of course, that calls for initiative.”

IfsLittlesCoursesWonderfulBrilliantOperationsInitiativeOutstanding
Book:Your Right to Be Rich
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“What the carburetor, sparkplug and self-starter are to an automobile, initiative, private enterprise and executive ability are to industry as a whole, including the wage earner, wage payer, wage spender and wage saver, i.e., the investor. If the sparkplug and self-starter get out of commission, the car will come to a standstill.”

IfsSelfWholeAbilityCarIndustryIncludingEnterpriseExecutivesInvestorsInitiativeAutomobileStartersPrivate EnterpriseStandstillSelf Starter
Author:William J. H. Boetcker
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“What would you call America's most priceless asset? Surely not its limitless natural resources, not its matchless national wealth, not its unequalled store of gold, not its giant factories, not its surpassing railroads, not its unprecedented volume of cheap power. Is not its most priceless asset the character of its people, their indomitable self-confidence, their transcendent vision, their sleepless initiative and, perhaps above all, their inherent, irrepressible optimism?”

PeopleSelfCharacterAmericaNaturalWealthVisionResourcesGoldOptimismStoresSelf ConfidenceGiantsAssetsFactoriesInitiativeInherentVolumeLimitlessPricelessUnprecedentedNatural ResourcesTranscendentRailroadsSurpassingIndomitableIrrepressible
Author:B. C. Forbes
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“Frank W. Woolworth once told me that the turning-point in his career did not come until he was thrown flat on his back by illness. He was sure that his business would go to pieces during his long, enforced absence. Instead, he discovered that he had in his employ men who could overcome difficulties when given power to exercise initiative. After that Woolworth left many problems and difficulties to be solved by subordinates and turned his attention to big things.”

MenLongProblemBigsLeftGivenAttentionCareersPiecesExerciseOvercomingDifficultyIllnessAbsenceThrownFlatsFrankInitiativeBig ThingsSubordinatesTurning Points
Author:B. C. Forbes
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“America, in the eyes of the world, typifies above all else this quality of initiative. The greatest successes are nearly all the fruit of initiative. Why do we hold in such high esteem the achievements of the Wright brothers? Because they were illustrious examples of initiative and tenacity. And ideas are born of initiative, the children of men and women of initiative. Advancement is applied initiative. Don't imitate. Initiate.”

MenWorldChildrenIdeasEyeAmericaBornQualityExampleBrotherAchievementMen And WomenFruitEsteemInitiativeAdvancementTenacityInitiateGreatest SuccessWright BrothersChildren Of Men
Author:B. C. Forbes
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“In the past we could afford a long gestation period before undertaking major environmental policy initiatives. Today the time for a well-planned transition to a sustainable system is running out. We may be moving in the right direction, but we are moving too slowly. We are failing in our responsibility to future generations and even the present one.”

WellsMayLongRunningTodayPastMovingResponsibilityFailingGenerationsPolicyPeriodsMajorsEnvironmentalTransitionSustainabilityInitiativeFuture GenerationUndertakingsRight DirectionMoving InGestationEnvironmental PolicyMoving In The Right DirectionGestation Period
Author:Kofi Annan
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“The reality is that [Barack] Obama has some 15 countries in the current Libya coalition. President Bush put together close to 50 countries for the Afghan coalition, some 40 countries for the Iraqi coalition, more than 90 countries for the Proliferation Security Initiative and over 90 countries in the Global War on Terror.”

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Author:Donald Rumsfeld
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“I'm amazed by the potential of more companies employing integrated philanthropic initiatives at earlier stages in their life cycle. What if this were done on an even more massive scale? Consider what would happen if a top-tier venture-capital firm required the companies in which it invested to place 1% of their equity into a foundation serving the communities in which they do business.”

IfsDoneHappensCommunityBusinessCompanyStageFoundationScalesFirmCyclesWhat IfMassiveServingInitiativeVentureAmazedEquityIntegratedPhilanthropicEmployingVenture Capital
Book:The Business of Changing the World: Twenty Great Leaders on Strategic Corporate Philanthropy
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“In landing operations, retreat is impossible, to surrender is as ignoble as it is foolish. above all else remember that we as attackers have the initiative, we know exactly what we are going to do, while the enemy is ignorant of our intentions and can only parry our blows. We must retain this tremendous advantage by always attacking rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, and without rest.”

KnowsWarRememberEnemyImpossibleAdvantageIntentionBlowFoolishSurrenderIgnorantOperationsInitiativeRetreatAttackingLandingIgnobleRuthlessness
Author:George S. Patton
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“During the last five years, those four advantages-costs, products, people, goodwill-have been the salvation of Interface during a recession that saw our primary marketplace shrink by 38% from peak to trough-38%! As a heavily leveraged company with over $400 million in debt, we might not have made it without the sustainability initiative and, especially, the support of our customers. This revised definition of success-this new paradigm-has a name: "Doing well by doing good". It is a better way to bigger profits.”

PeopleWayYearsWellsHas BeensMadeMightLastsNamesBusinessCompanyMillionsSupportFiveSawsFourProductsCostAdvantageBiggerSalvationDefinitionsProfitDebtCustomersMade ItPrimariesFive YearsSustainabilityInitiativeShrinksMarketplaceParadigmDoing GoodBetter WaysGoodwillRecessionsInterfacesDefinition Of SuccessLast Five YearsTrough
Author:Ray Anderson
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