Leadership

"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."

- Albus Dumbledore/J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,

Understand Backwards

"Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward. It is only when you stop and look to the rear that you see the corpse caught under your wheel."

- From the book "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

Magic

"Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in the magic will never find it."

- Roald Dahl

Get it Right

What have I done
Wish I could run
Away from this ship going under
Just trying to help
Hurt everyone else
Now I feel the weight of the world
Is on my shoulders

What can you do
When your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down
Cause my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take
Oh how many times will it take
For me to get it right
To get it right

Can I start again
With my faith shaken
Cause I can't go back and undo this
I just have to stay and face my mistakes
But if I get stronger and wiser
I'll get through this
What can you do
When your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down

Cause my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take
Oh how many times will it take
For me to get it right

So I throw up my fist
Throw a punch in the air and
Accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair
Yea I'll send out a wish
Yea I'll send up a prayer
And finally someone will see
How much I care

What can you do
When your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down
Oh my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things
Just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take
Oh how many times will it take
To get it right, to get it right.

- "Get it Right", Glee

Just a Fantasy

Uh, and I know it’s just a fantasy
I cordially invite you to ask why can’t it be?
Now we can do nothing bout the past
But we can do something about the future that we have
We can make fast or we can make it last.

- Lupe Fiasco, "All Black Everything"

Bump in the Road

"Whenever you have any bump in the road, whether it's two weeks or two years, there are so many naysayers. Let it fuel you. Don't take it personally. Go out and prove them wrong."

- Jenny Simpson

Get What You Give

But when the night is falling
And you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget you only get what you give

- New Radicals, "You Get What You Give"

Change It

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it."

- Mary Engelbreit

Destiny

"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."

- Kung Fu Panda

No More Tears

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

- Mumford and Sons, "After the Storm"

Investing

"Where you invest your love, you invest your life."

- Mumford and Sons, "Awake My Soul"

Just Get Up and Go

"Nobody cares if you're not a good dancer. Just get up and dance. The same holds true for racing. Whether first or last, we all cross that same finish line. Just get out there and run."

- Dean Karnazes

Win the Future

"We shouldn't just give our people a government that's more affordable. We should give them a government that's more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past."

- President Barack Obama, State of the Union January 25, 2011

Happiness

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."

- Agnes Repplier

Jar of Hearts

Don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore.
You lost the love I love the most.
I learn to live half alive and now you want me one more time.

Who do you think you are?
Running around leaving scars.
Collecting your jar of hearts.
Tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul.

So don’t come back for me.

- Christina Perri, "Jar of Hearts"

Wonderstruck

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew.
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you."

- Taylor Swift, "Enchanted"

For My Friends and Family

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea
I'll sail the world to find you
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see
I'll be the light to guide you

Find out what we're made of
What we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one, two, three
I'll be there and I know when I need it
I can count on you like four, three, two
And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends
Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh

If you toss and you turn and you just can't fall asleep
I'll sing a song beside you
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
Everyday I will remind you...

...You'll always have my shoulder when you cry
I'll never let go, never say goodbye.

- "Count on Me", Bruno Mars

No Curtain Call

I have no time for fear or people in my ear
Head down and running so fast, try not to dwell on the past
I'm fighting through this pain and things I cannot change
Running right into the flame rather than running away.

As it's winding down to zero I am yours like a hero
I'll see this through, there's so much me and you
Take this enemy together, fight these demons off forever
Forever, forever, forever

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, I won't stop until it's done
No curtain call, I will not fall
This may be the one we've been waiting for
No curtain call, just take it all

- "No Curtain Call", Maroon 5

Hotel Hell

Dwight: Welcome to the Hotel Hell. Check in time now. Check out time is never.
Jim: Does my room have cable?
Dwight: No, and the sheets are made of fire!
Jim: Can I change rooms?
Dwight: No, we're all booked up. Hell convention in town!
Jim: Can I have a late check out?
Dwight: I'll have to talk to the manager.
Jim: You're not the manager...even in your own fantasy?
Dwight: I'm the owner....the co-owner. With Satan!
Jim: Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.
Dwight: But I haven't told you my salary.
Jim: Go.
Dwight: Eighty thousand dollars a year!

Gonna Smack You

"If you swear you're giving up on love, that's when it hits you the hardest. I guess resistance creates intensity. I think love's gonna smack you over the head- or whevever it smacks you- no matter what you do."

- Jake Gyllenhaal, in Parade