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-Richelle E. Goodrich
A note: This book was written as a graduation gift, dedicated to the author's youngest son. Half the royalties are gifted to him for college expenses, so keep in mind that every purchase is also a donation that helps put this young man through college!
— Bold is determined. —
January 1st
The worst day is always the first day. Changing a habit or instigating
something new is toughest at the start. By means of repetition, however, these
new habits develop. They are strengthened in the course of familiarity.
January 2nd
A vital part of the journey is the beginning. It is perhaps the most
vital part.
January 3rd
Your choices and efforts, be they small or grand, mold and define who
you are. Poor choices and minimal effort will result in the poorest version of
you. Mediocre choices combined with doing just-enough-to-get-by will create a
mediocre you. To be the best version of yourself, to reach your greater
potential, make the very best choices possible. Put forth your highest efforts
in everything. Be intentionally productive with the time you have. Work to do
your best!
January 4th
If you invest nothing, the
reward is worth little.
January 5th
Real change
involves real planning
and real commitment.
Real change
demands real work
and real effort.
Real change
requires real sacrifice
for real achievement.
Real change
is really hard
but really worth it.
January 6th
Friends make everything easier. If you want to succeed at a challenge,
involve your friends. They have an amazing capacity to lighten physical,
emotional, and mental burdens by simply being there.
January 7th
Know what your objective is. Anything that does not contribute to that
objective is unnecessary; let those things go.
January 8th
Don’t quit because you are
not good enough, keep going because you are not good enough yet. You don’t quit driving halfway to
your destination because you are not there, you keep driving because you are
not there yet.
You keep driving until you
get there.
You keep trying until you
are good enough.
January 9th
Work for your dreams and then watch as, little by little, obstacles crumble to make way for success.
January 10th
Success is the result of moving forward. Concentrate
on that fact, regardless of how slow or fast, how poorly or well things seem to
be going. If you are moving forward, you are succeeding.
January 11th
Real, true, key success is
honestly liking yourself.
January 12th
If you own the story, you
can write every chapter in the book.
Own your life; write the
story the way you want it to read.
January 13th
Believing in yourself is enough, but it sure is nice when another's kind words of encouragement kiss your ear. There is genuine strength in verbal expressions of support.
January 14th
Impossible and extremely difficult are as unalike as
the desert and the ocean.
January 15th
Even snails make progress.
Just be sure your progress is in the direction you want to go.
— Bold risks
rejection. —
February 1st
I will admit you are the
finest if not the loveliest rose in the garden. But you see, my dear, I was
looking for a sunflower.
February 2nd
I am falling in love with
you,
but I can’t say a word.
You don’t care for love.
It has bruised you, broken
you, burned you.
You call it a curse. Yet, I fear I am captive of this enemy, love.
You warn of its destructive
power.
Oh, but it warms me like none other! It engulfs me in caressing flames, and foolishly I crave more. I can’t bear to suffer the cold, so I let you feed the fire unwittingly.
I am falling in love with
you.
I am in love with you,
and it’s getting worse.
―from A Heart Made of Tissue Paper
February 3rd
Why do I love you? Because
you looked into my eyes and saw me. Behind the painted beauty, the forced
expressions, the practiced gestures and habitual politeness, you saw me—the pure, vulnerable core that is my
true essence. Somehow, in a kind but knowing glimpse you stripped away the
façade, and I will never forget the relief it was to finally be seen.
February 4th
When you first look at a
woman, you are in fact blind to her beauty. The true beauty of a woman is
revealed only after you get to know her.
February 5th
You are loved by God and angels. You are loved by people in this world and in the world beyond. They—we—are rooting for you, so stand up and keep working things out.
February 6th
I love the way you smile at
me and squeeze my hand like you never noticed the many times I let you down.
February 7th
Always play your best
cards—Love and Kindness. They trump every other card in the deck.
February 8th
God never said to love only
those you deem deserving.
February 9th
“Have
I told you I love you lately?”
“Yes,
my dear, when you opened my door, when you touched my cheek, when you listened
to my stories, and when you warmed my drink—I heard you say it in every sweet
and easy gesture.”
February 10th
He was always thoughtful and affectionate toward her, and so she was a sweetheart to him.
―from A Heart Made of
Tissue Paper
February 11th
I don’t think of you as a typical beauty. I never once did.
To me your hair mimics asphalt more than the lustrous feathers of ravens. Comparing your eyes to heavenly lights seems a stretch when they are the common color of dirt. I can’t imagine you as a tall, pole-slender image; your God-given shape is right bulky.
But I never cared about
such pointless things anyway.
What good have trivial attributes ever done the world?
When I look at you, I see you—or in other words, all of you that really matters. I see a kind heart and compassionate arms. I see a patient, gentle spirit abounding with love towards all of God’s creatures. I see the perfect blend of humility and strength of character. I see a wise intellect as well as an endearing sense of humor. I see all the qualities that make you the person I love, regardless of the bodily package you’re bound in.
So forgive me if I don’t
think you’re beautiful, because I find you to be far superior to that worthless
and pointless nonsense the world calls beauty.
February 12th
Physical appearance has
nothing to do with the quality of a person.
February 13th
Yes, love is a superpower. It is the ultimate superpower.
February 14th
Let her know you adore her.
Do not make her heart
guess.
Boldly say how you love
her.
Thy devotion confess.
Let her know you admire
her,
All her talents and dreams.
Boldly reach for her
fingers.
Gently slip on a ring.
Let her know that you need
her,
As a lover and friend.
Boldly kneel and implore
her,
To be yours ’til the end.
February 15th
“You are amazing, my dear,” he said with awe.
She smiled a thank you and told him, “That is because you make me feel amazing.”
— Bold is daring —
March 1st
While observing a breeze
dance over a patch of dandelions that had gone to seed, I realized how easily
delicate things succumbed to the wind. I became suddenly aware that my emotions
are affected in the same way by every minor gust of sentiment.
March 2nd
I found a room, both quiet
and slow,
a
room where the walls are thick.
Where pixie dust is kept in
jars,
and
paper rockets soar to Mars,
and
battles leave no lasting scars
as
clocks forget to tick.
I guard this room, both
small and bare,
this
room in which stories live.
Where Peter Pan and Alice
play,
and
Sinbad sails at dawn of day,
and
wolves cry “boy” to get their way
when
ogres won’t forgive.
With you I’ll share my
hiding place,
this
room under cloak and spell.
We’ll snuggle up inside a
nook,
and
read a venturous story book,
that
makes us question in a look
what
nonsense fairies tell.
In fictive plots and fabled
ends,
Our happy-e’er-afters dwell!
―from A Heart Made of Tissue Paper
March 3rd
The most magical words a
person can utter are “Once upon a time.”
March 4th
Don’t ever quit pretending.
March 5th
Just because it is not what
you pictured doesn’t mean it is not what I described.
March 6th
Above anyone else’s approval, first and foremost be sure to get your own.
March 7th
Those sweet souls who speak
kind words when they could rightly criticize are the most influential beings in
all the world.
March 8th
You do realize that your
looks have virtually nothing to do with what you are capable of accomplishing,
right? Talents and abilities do not hinge on appearances.
March 9th
God cares about you and the
talents you struggle to develop. He understands how enjoyable it is to use and
enhance your talents. Yes, your growth and happiness are important to God.
March 10th
Love. Gratitude. Humility.
Service.
Do these look familiar?
Combined, they are the recipe for happiness.
March 11th
Stand up.
Face the new day.
Reach a little farther.
Do what you fear you cannot
do.
Be bold.
March 12th
Why do we wish on faraway
stars?
Because our desires seem
out of reach.
Why do we wish on four-leaf
clovers?
Because our desires seem
hard to find.
Why do we wish on coins
tossed in founts?
Because our desires seem
worth the cost.
Why do we pray our wishes
to God?
Because then our desires
seem possible.
March 13th
Truly being lucky is
defying the very idea of luck because you never need it.
March 14th
Irish luck, aye, that I’ve
got.
A four-leaf clover—aye,
that too.
I’ll tell ye, lassie, what
I’ve not,
A lucky Irish kiss from
you!
March 15th
When you make a wee wish
on a green four-leafed
clover,
may your belly stay full
and your cup runneth over.
