Our lives and work are filled with so much to do and so little time, making for complications and challenges. What if we could really simplify our lives? Focus on what really matters and let the rest go?
Trust me, it’s not easy–it takes intention and daily practice, but the reward is great enough to make all the effort worthwhile.
Start by letting these great quotes inspire you. I hope they motivate you to uncomplicated your life and work so you have more time for the things that truly matter.
- “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
–– Henry David Thoreau - “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius
- “Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.” — John Kabat-Zinn
- “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.”
— Lin Yutang - “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” — William James
- “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius–and a lot of courage–to move in the opposite direction.” — Ernst F. Schumacher
- “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” — Thor Heyerdahl
- “Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”
— Charles Warner - “Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information.”
— Edward R. Tufte - “If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke - “If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
— Albert Einstein - “The height of sophistication is simplicity.” — Clare Boothe Luce
- “The greatest ideas are the simplest.” — William Golding
- “In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- “There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”
— Leo Tolstoy - “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “A simple man will have only what he needs, and he will know the difference between what he needs and what he wants. We feel that whatever we want, we desperately need. But before we possess the world, to our wide surprise we see that the world has already possessed us.” — Sri Chinmoy
- “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — Steve Jobs
- “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” — Plato
- “Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.” — Martin H. Fischer
- “When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple.” — Paulo Coelho
- “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” — Hans Hofmann
- “Only those who have patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.” — James J. Corbett
- “Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.” — Edwin Way Teale
- “You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.”
— David Viscott
N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R
THE LEADERSHIP GAP
What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world.
Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds
of companies. As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership
program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance
and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.