I can't say that I have a mantra per se but I use this one frequently when trying to give advice:

Only Forward

I suppose it means a lot things (which is what is great about a really good saying -- that it can be interpreted to serve different situations) but to me it simply means as long as you are making progress you are good to go. Going backwards or sitting still is not advantageous when trying to get somewhere.

Paolo Friere kicks ass. I think that book should be required reading for all education majors (hell, for EVERY major). :thumbsup:

"God is an iron. ... If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron." - Spider Robinson

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

"The only thing more boring than life is death." - Sam Hain

Pulled this from one of my best friends...

"The future isn't something you enter.. it's something you create."

No one philosophizes like Shaw.

My father told me something which I will share, I think it applies to a lot of people.

'The problem with people who read all the time is they never DO anything.'

People who don't read enough never know what they're missing out on in life with what they're currently doing.

Another one from Bill Shakespeare,


To thine own self be true....

I like this. Actually, this sounds a lot like Karl Marx.

HAHAHA!

Who understands does not preach;
Who preaches does not understand.
- Tao Te Ching

"It could always be worse."

Remembering that there are people out there who are worse off than you really makes you thankful for the things that you do have :)

I have a couple of mantras i pull out occasionally. Lately it been just "roses", said with a very distinct soft mouth. But my favorite is "I'll make pancakes".

I am a huge fan of quotations. I annoy folk with them in fact. I like today.

'Nobody can make you feel inferior without yuor consent'
And,

'It is what we do that defines us, not what is deep inside'

I have a bunch more that pepper my life...but those two sprung to mind.

"Quitters never win, Winners never quit, but those who never win AND never quit are idiots"