INSPIRATIONAL WORDS by Bangambiki Habyarimana

INSPIRATIONAL WORDS

 

114. “Why do we love heroes? Because life is a fight.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Life is a fight. Nothing is given to us on a golden plate. We must fight to get what we want. Winners are fighters, and they never give up. They are our heroes. Like the ancient heroes, they fight the dragons of life and win. Even if our heroes lose, we still cherish them, because they dared to fight. We cherish them because they dared to die alive rather than live dead. Joseph Campbell puts this beautifully “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” We love people who commit wholeheartedly to their goals. We want to see how they finish their journey. It does not matter how they finish, all we love in them is their full commitment to the cause. They inspire us to live a meaningful life.

115. “There is gravity in human affairs as in the heavenly bodies. It seems anyone who wants to go up is always pulled down.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Of course, that’s called envy. People want you down. To be miserable like them or to be lower than they are. But you must free yourself of this evil gravity that always wants to keep you on the ground. Anytime you want to fly, you are pulled down by the naysayers, the gatekeepers, who are afraid you are going to fly off and win. They want a miserable friend they can boss over. They hold you down because they saw your growing wings, they know you’re a bird and can fly and go where they cannot. Because “birds have wings; they're free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy,” as said Roger Tory Peterson. Fight gravity and fly away. Reach new horizons and expand yourself.

116. One man can save the world. That man is you.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

We all depend on you to save our world, but you keep evading your responsibilities. Wake up, oh Savior and calm the storm that threatens to engulf humanity.

117. The greatest eureka moment is discovering yourself

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

118. “A daily dose of inspiration will keep you moving.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Inspiration is the fuel that propels our minds forward to other galaxies and universes. Inspiration makes us dream, see new possibilities in barren lands; it makes the impossible possible. It is inspiration that creates the creator in you. Inspiration will make you hold your head high and claim the future for yourself as confirms Dietrich Bonhoeffer “The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.” Never forget to get your dose of daily inspiration.

119. “Wake up and live your life on your own terms, you are a king in your own kingdom, a god in your own universe”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

You don’t need permission to live your life. Consider yourself a king in your own kingdom and a god in your own universe. Consider yourself as having all the powers necessary to create and to have what you want.

120. “Everybody say it's impossible, but I'll try to make it possible”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

I met a young man from a poor African country who was trying to cross the Sahara and reach Europe via Libya through the Mediterranean using death boats. I asked him why he was considering the perilous journey knowing that many immigrants had already lost their lives trying to cross the treacherous desert and waters. He told me “I am already dead, I have nothing to lose. It looks impossible, but if necessary I will die trying to make it possible.” This courageous young man inspired me to think that even if everybody says it’s impossible, with determination, there is always something you can do. The last thing is to give up without trying. It looked as if this young man had read these words by Pearl S. Buck “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation." But no, he hadn’t read this, he lived it.

121. “You marvel and applaud big heroes in their big heroic actions, and forget you are a hero in your humble life and have modest heroic actions to complete yourself.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Everyone is a hero in his own life, in his own world. You are the hero of your family, of your wife, husbands, children, parents. You are the hero to your village, your workplace, your church, your mosque. You are expected to be a hero where you live. Can you live up to it? I think you can. Consider yourself as a hero and act as one. Be the pride of your small world where you live. If you can achieve that, you can achieve bigger dreams.

122. “You are not required to perform like them; you are required to perform like you.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

You are first of all you. You are not everybody. You are not them. You are unique and it’s this uniqueness that makes all the difference. You can learn from them but you always act like you. You will perform like you. In seeking perfection, seek it as you. Excel at what you do and you will be pleased when you know you have given your best.

123. “Never give up. There is always something you can do”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

124. “The road to victory goes through the belly of the beast”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Some people sound as if success and victory were easy. It’s not. Victory requires sacrifice as Niccolo Machiavelli observed when he said “Never was anything great achieved without danger.”

125. “Fate smiles to the bold”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Fight against your fate if you can. Fate does not expect to be fought and will reward those who dare to fight against it. “It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate.”

Henry David Thoreau

126. I am not aiming to become anyone or anything else but my full self

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

127. “I believe in fatalism, the positive one.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

If you have to believe in fatalism like most people do, believe in positive fatalism. Believe that all things have been preordained in your best interests. Believe your life has been prearranged so that you will be successful in it and consider current troubles as mere huddles you have to jump to reach your dreams and not as permanent obstacles to confine you to your fate.

128. “If you are waiting for approval to live your life, I am sorry none is forthcoming”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

If you are shy to go out and live your life, waiting for someone to give you a go ahead, no one will. Everyone is busy making sense of his life. And if you cannot dream and realize your own dreams, someone is waiting to get you help them realize theirs. No one is sole owner of life. It’s a commonwealth. Get up and live it. You are the boss. “Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”

Andrew Carnegie

129. “Great nations leave great ruins, great men leave great memories”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Great nations became famous for the great civilizations they left behind. Great men leave great memories and live on in the minds of the people they continue to influence. “Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great” Mark Twain

130. Opportunity and risk come in pairs

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

131. “Try earlier and make errors sooner rather than later and see where you got it wrong while you still have time to improve”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

132. “If you keep comparing yourself to others you will never do anything”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

133. I intend to achieve my goals during my lifetime, but if I fail, I will have no rest even in the afterlife

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

134. “If an ant looked at the towers men build, it could not dig its own hole”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Comparing yourself to others dwarfs your imagination. It’s really hard to stop comparing yourself to men and women who have succeeded in your trade. When you look at how they seemingly easily exceled in their fields, you look like a child still making toys. You quickly forget that it took your role models years of trial and errors to get to where they are today. They acquired experience that makes them do complicated things in a seemingly easy manner. It seems you can’t do anything comparable to what they do and you conclude you must give up because your work will not compare to theirs.

Learn from an ant instead. It looks at the towers men build, it even climbs them, but it still builds its own holes and is comfortable with them.

135. “Genius believing in yourself”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

136. “Gatekeepers will always try to stop you getting in. But as a true hero, you have to snatch victory from death's jaws.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

137. “Power or die”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

In this world we need power to live. We need fuel to move. As a car without fuel cannot move, a man without fuel cannot move either. What fuel do we need? We need physical, emotional and spiritual fuel. All of our life is spent hunting for fuel. Those who suffer in life lack one or more of this type of fuel. Many people die of hunger, others commit suicide for lack of emotional or spiritual satisfaction. Life is a game of power. Power is not a luxury, it’s a must. You have power or you’re dead. You need to use all your energies to get power, for your existence depends on it

138. “A faint hearted man will always be poor”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

139. A loser says "Everything has been said and done, I have nothing to add." A winner says “I am thrilled it’s my turn.”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

140. Encouraging words are hands that pool others from the despair of life.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

141. Be happy when people envy you, you are on the right path

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

142. Perform without being distracted by what other people think about you.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

143. Compare yourself to others for inspiration not competition

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

144. Winning is not only shown in visible accomplishments but also by the state of mind

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

145. Learn to be victorious even in your defeats

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

146. Giving up is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. To know that you can't a win a particular battle is wisdom

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

147. The optimist is a pessimist with a plan

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

148. People who are afraid to become gods say “it's impossible”

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

149. Anything does not exist until it is created. Create what you want

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

150. If you believe you are a god, then anything is possible

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

151. Fortune is a goddess that reveals herself only to people who believe in her

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

152. You may sit home and be safe. But danger and adventure is what makes your life meaningful

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

153. You always say "There are better men than me to do it" and refuse to be the savior the world might have had

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

154. If you think you can you are half there

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

155. You create your future by what you do in the present

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

156. Dream, think, act

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

157. No one respects the weak, but the strong respect each other

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Why would anyone respect the weak? The weak does not threaten anybody. He can be destroyed at any time. On the contrary, the strong respect and control each other. They fight diplomatically. They have no appetite to fight each other as the costs would be high on both sides.

158. Victory is the beginning, not the end

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

159. If you can equate your victory with luck, you haven't won yet. True victory must be repeatable

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

160. Focus all your life energy to whatever goal you set yourself to achieve

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

161. Eternity is today

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Eternity may be unlimited, but to a human being it is limited. It consists of your lifespan. Therefore you have all eternity to do what you can do. After that your own eternity will be over. “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, and find your eternity in each moment.”Henry David Thoreau

162. The day you were born you were given power to create yourself

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

People are afraid when the word create is applied to them. But look around; besides the things nature creates, don’t you see many other things created by men? The clothes we wear, the cars we travel in, the planes, etc. We are also creators. We have the power to create new things. We have the power to improve our lives. Design and produce yourself according to your dreams.

“Belief creates the actual fact” William James

163. When you say you can't, you stop the creative powers in you; when you say you can you free them

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

164. It’s not a miracle you need; you need a change of attitude

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Sometime people think they need miracles to happen in their lives to attain such and such goals, but we forget that at times we only need to change our attitudes to attain what we want.

I know of a woman who always attends church seeking a miracle. She prays that her partner may turn into a loving husband, return home early and get interested in his household. This woman has prayed for many years but her husband has changed. She attends all the women meetings and has received advice at numerous occasions but the miracle is not forthcoming. She is tired and is considering giving up. As she watches other happy women holding hands and smiling with their husbands, she concludes god has abandoned her. She reminisces about her life to find out why she cannot achieve a happy family. She recognizes that she is always very angry with her husband and nag him a lot which causes him to abandon the home at the first occasion but she vindicates herself that she behave that way because her husband is mean. “I have to be tough with him. He can’t take me for granted,” she muses.

As the marriage was about to break down she had the chance to encounter a friend who gave her this advice “It’s not a miracle you need. You need to change your attitude. Stop competing with your husband. Stop nagging, stop insulting. Serve him as a good wife should. Of course he has good reason to flee a quarrelsome wife who does absolutely nothing but to cause havoc in the house. Show him the fruits of your prayers like patience, forgiveness, understanding and forbearing. Don’t pay evil for evil, stop your revenge attacks, and I am sure your husband will notice the change and you will be happy again.”

165. Visionaries will always meet opposition from weak minds but the seeds they plant always save the world

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

166. Sometimes geniuses create nothing new, they organize already existing material into something completely useful in other ways

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

167. Avoid a problem if you can. It's too late when you try to solve it

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

168. Anyone can fall; but the winner rises up

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

169. If you can't snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, fight even into its belly

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

170. Don't fear defeat, expect victory

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

171. When your project encounters resistance, it's because it's a meaningful project

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

172. Live in your dream. Refuse to wake up until it is completely over. Then dream again.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

173. When your dream turns into a nightmare, rise to the challenge and slaughter the dragons

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

174. Start doing it. Even if you do it badly at least you have done something

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

175. Everybody plans doing something in the future but the winners start today.

176. Failure is an opportunity to learn again

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

177. Sometimes we need to lie to ourselves to continue to live

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

178. When you succeed, you become the professor of the world

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

179. Consider yourself a genius; you will be amazed at what you can achieve

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

180. Think you're a slave and you'll find a master; think you're a master and slaves will find you

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

181. You don't have to finish today, what is important is that you finish. But remember today might be the last day of your life.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

182. We are all heroes of our little worlds.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

183. Consider your goal like a war to win and use whatever strategies you know to succeed

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Winners take their goals seriously. The consider success a matter of life and death.

184. The only way to stop a nightmare is to open your eyes, if perchance you realize you were dreaming

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

185. When you pray for a healing miracle, pray heading to the hospital

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

One night I was flying over my village and people looked up and said "Look! He is flying while he is a man, where did he get the wings? Get down, you are dreaming!" they called out to me and I answered them, “I am not a man. I am a superman, and supermen fly!"

 I am sure I might have fallen if I believed what they told me. Continue flying, continue dreaming, you are a superman.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

186.I have more to thank for than complain about

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

187. Miracles are waiting for you. All you have to do is go and meet them

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

188. Everything in the world is potentially yours. Don't limit yourself to your own means

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

189. Some people quit when victory is around the corner

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

190. If you are creating, forget the critics

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

191. A perfect work of art is not the one that has no mistakes. It is the one people like. Creation is not perfect but god is praised for having created it

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

192. You cannot skip the beginning and hope to reach the end. You will fall as soon as you get there

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

193. Do it today if you can, tomorrow may never comes.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

194. Beware of people who tell you it can't be done. They want to remain on the market alone

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

195. Don't copy, get inspired

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

196. Don't look at what has been achieved, look at what needs to be achieved

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

197. People classify us by what we do repeatedly. Don't repeat what you don't want to be identified with

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

198. Courage is contagious, so is the lack of it

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

199. When you do what you love, you fire your boss.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

200. The hardest form of learning is by experience. You are lucky if you survive to tell the tale. If not, your failure will teach the lesson.

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

201. If you don't have wings, create them

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

202. Genius is when you strike a chord accidently, and the ensuing music is beyond your control

― Bangambiki Habyarimana

203. We are looking for value, guidance, advice, inspiration; for someone to show us the way. When we find him, he is our hero

― Bangambiki Habyarimana