I understand that life will be difficult. It will test your will, skill and patience from time to time. To me, the barometer of success is built around this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson—“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.”

Writing this book is a small yet meaningful step forward in my journey toward success. My hope is that these words inspire, help someone interpret their life’s situations, or simply hit the walls of their heart with care and comfort. If even one reader finds clarity, strength, or a renewed perspective within these pages, then this creation will have served its purpose—to uplift, empower, and remind us that every step forward, no matter how small, holds meaning. Although I wrote these quotes while I sifted through life’s cards I was dealt, these reflections have given me the courage to move forward when the going became tough. Quotes have a unique tendency to resonate with your life frequency, heal numbing pain, shift perspectives and create a vent for your emotions to flow again. Keeping these facets in mind, I’ve arranged these quotes into sections that mirror your thoughts at various stages of your life:

1. Self-Discovery and Growth is about your journey within. It will reinforce your belief that positive thoughts and affirmative actions can move mountains.
2. Love and Relationships speaks of love, loss, pain and healing. With these quotes, it is my hope that you find acceptance with the situation you are faced with.
3. Resilience and Strength will appeal to your ability to persevere in your moments of weakness—that you move forward and find yourself is the overarching theme.
4. Time and Destiny is my version of life events being time bound. The circle of life comes together at the opportune time of preparedness.
5. Mindfulness and Inner Peace lets you absorb everything that is happening around you and collapse it into one single moment of truth. This moment of truth will eventually become your definition of peace.
6. Inspirational Reflection lets you observe events and project them against the walls of your heart. The echoing waves will lead you to beautiful revelations.

I’ve always treated words like pearls and I’ve enjoyed weaving them together to form a necklace. As a wordsmith, it is my responsibility to make you wear this necklace around your heart so the emotions you feel ignite and awaken your soul. That you reflect with words constantly, for a moment, every now and then, can transform the way you observe, think, act and eventually progress.

Seventeen is my magic number. It is the number of years I have taken to find structure and meaning in this life. This collection is a summary of the emotions I have felt in these years while I traversed through setbacks, losses, gains, triumphs and euphoric moments.

It is my sincere wish that you find this collection useful in your everyday life. That’s what it is meant for. That you vibrate with it time and again and sequence it into your life by activating your senses for your personal and professional gain is what I hope to achieve. There will be quotes that you will resonate with more than the others. Write them down, put them up on your wall and share them with your loved ones. After all, to succeed is to be a force of change, for the better.