Quotes about Empowerment

So the place to begin building any relationship is inside ourselves, inside our Circle of Influence, our own character.

Look at the word responsibility—"response-ability"—the ability to choose your response.

No one can hurt you without your consent." In the words of Gandhi, "They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them.

Don't get into a blaming, accusing mode. Work on things you have control over. Work on you. On be

The power to make and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness. Knowledge, skill, and desire are all within our control. We can work on any one to improve the balance of the three.

Whether we are aware of it or not, whether we are in control of it or not, there is a first creation to every part of our lives. We are either the second creation of our own proactive design, or we are the second creation of other people's agendas, of circumstances, or of past habits.

We are responsible for our own effectiveness, for our own happiness, and ultimately, I would say, for most of our circumstances.

Proactive people can carry their own weather with them.

Whenever someone in our family, even one of the younger children, takes an irresponsible position and waits for someone else to make things happen or provide a solution, we tell them, "Use your R and I!" (resourcefulness and initiative).

Anytime we think the problem is "out there," that thought is the problem.

While the word proactivity is now fairly common in management literature, it is a word you won't find in most dictionaries. It means more than merely taking initiative. It means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen.

Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.