“
Pay attention. The momentum of change is building.
”
”
C. Toni Graham
“
Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era—the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant. . . .
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time—and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.
My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights—or very early mornings—when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder's jacket . . . booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that. . . .
There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .
And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
”
”
Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
“
I knew him instantly, even though he'd...changed. I think in a crowd of a million people, I would have recognized him. The connection between us would allow nothing else. And after being deprived of him for so long, I drank in every feature. The dark, chin-length hair, worn loose tonight and curling slightly around his face. The familiar set of lips, quirked now in an amused yet chilling smile. He even wore the duster he always wore, the long leather coat that could have come straight out of a cowboy movie.
[...]
The eyes. Oh God, the eyes.
Even with that sickening red ring around his pupils, his eyes still reminded me of the Dimitri I'd known. The look in his eyes—the soulless, malicious gleam—that was nothing like him. But there was just enough resemblance to stir my heart, to overwhelm my senses and feelings. My stake was ready. All I had to do was keep swinging to make the kill. I had momentum on my side...
But I couldn't. I just needed a few more seconds, a few more seconds to drink him in before I killed him. And that's when he spoke.
"Roza." His voice had the same wonderful lowness, the same accent...it was just colder. "You forgot my first lesson: Don't hesitate.
”
”
Richelle Mead (Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4))
“
Seven Ways To Get Ahead in Business:
1. Be forward thinking
2. Be inventive, and daring
3. Do the right thing
4. Be honest and straight forward
5. Be willing to change, to learn, to grow
6. Work hard and be yourself
7. Lead by example
”
”
Germany Kent
“
One play can change your momentum forever.
”
”
Sherman Alexie
“
Because our power is motivating, and gives momentum and ownership of changes to those who dream of failure.
”
”
Lisa McMann
“
The basic principle is that the very things that can be your downfall in life can be used to raise yourself. If you simply change your perspective, what is down can be up. What is a downward chute can be used as an upward process. Whatever draws you into compulsive nature, you use that to become conscious. You use that momentum to grow.
”
”
Sadhguru (Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga)
“
Have you ever thought that if one thing hadn't happened, a whole set of things never would have either? Like dominoes in time, a single event kicked off an unstoppable series of changes that gained momentum and spun out of control, and nothing was ever the same again. Don't ever doubt that a mere second can change your life forever.
”
”
Kimberly K. Jones (Sand Dollar Summer)
“
What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua...that's the only name I can think of for it...like the traveling tent-show Chautauquas that used to move across America, this America, the one that we are now in, an old-time series of popular talks intended to edify and entertain, improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer. The Chautauquas were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, movies and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement. Perhaps because of these changes the stream of national consciousness moves faster now, and is broader, but it seems to run less deep. The old channels cannot contain it and in its search for new ones there seems to be growing havoc and destruction along its banks. In this Chautauqua I would like not to cut any new channels of consciousness but simply dig deeper into old ones that have become silted in with the debris of thoughts grown stale and platitudes too often repeated. "What's new?" is an interesting and broadening eternal question, but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question "What is best?," a question which cuts deeply rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt downstream. There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible, and nothing new ever happened, and "best" was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose, flooding the lowlands, disconnecting and isolating the highlands and to no particular purpose other than the wasteful fulfillment of its own internal momentum. Some channel deepening seems called for.
”
”
Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1))
“
One play can determine the course of a game. One play can change your momentum forever.
”
”
Sherman Alexie
“
Jupiter's fly-by had been carried out with impeccable precision. Like a ball on a cosmic pool table, Discovery had bounced off the moving gravitational field of Jupiter, and had gained momentum from the impact. Without using any fuel, she had increased her speed by several thousand miles an hour.
Yet there was no violation of the laws of mechanics; Nature always balances her books, and Jupiter had lost exactly as much momentum as Discovery had gained. The planet had been slowed down - but as its mass was a sextillion times greater than the ship's, the change in its orbit was far too small to be detectable. The time had not yet come when Man could leave his mark upon the Solar System.
”
”
Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #1))
“
We shall demonstrate once again that in this great, inventive land man’s idlest dreams are but the blueprints and mockups of emerging realities, technologies and poems. Here in the fashion of our pioneer forefathers, who confronted the mysteries of wilderness, mountain and prairie with crude tools and a self-generating imagination, we are committed to facing with courage the enormous task of imposing an ever more humane order upon this bewilderingly diversified and constantly changing society. Committed we are to maintaining its creative momentum.
”
”
Ralph Ellison (Juneteenth)
“
What is the point. That is what must be borne in mind. Sometimes the point is really who wants what. Sometimes the point is what is right or kind. Sometimes the point is a momentum, a fact, a quality, a voice, an imitation, a thing that is said or unsaid. Sometimes it's who's at fault, or what will happen if you do not move at once. The point changes and goes out. You cannot be forever watching for the point, or you lose the simplest thing: being a major character in your own life. But if you are, for any length of time, custodian of the point-- in art, in court, in politics, in lives, in rooms-- it turns out there are rear-guard actions everywhere. To see a thing clearly, and when your vision of it dims, or when it goes to someone else, if you have a gentle nature, keep your silence, that is lovely. Otherwise, now and then, a small foray is worthwhile. Just so that being always, complacently, thoroughly wrong does not become the safest position of them all. The point has never quite been entrusted to me.
”
”
Renata Adler (Speedboat)
“
A little action often spurs a lot of momentum.
”
”
Noah Scalin (The Design Activist's Handbook: How to Change the World (Or at Least Your Part of It) with Socially Conscious Design)
“
Unwavering incremental change can create remarkable and monumental results.
”
”
Ryan Lilly
“
He’d always stubbornly insisted he was right. Momentum. His life had been about momentum. Problem was, it was all too easy to gather momentum in the wrong direction, and it became harder and harder to change course.
”
”
Brandon Sanderson (Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5))
“
Achievement is devastating, or at least disorienting, and they don't warn you in advance. It's the sudden change of momentum and direction, I think.
”
”
Lois McMaster Bujold (Komarr (Vorkosigan Saga, #11))
“
God’s plan to suicide himself could not work, though, as long as He existed as a unified entity outside of space-time and matter. Seeking to nullify His oneness so that He could be delivered into nothingness, he shattered Himself—Big Bang-like—into the time-bound fragments of the universe, that is, all those objects and organisms that have been accumulating here and there for billions of years. In Mainländer’s philosophy, “God knew that he could change from a state of super-reality into non-being only through the development of a real world of multiformity.” Employing this strategy, He excluded Himself from being. “God is dead,” wrote Mainländer, “and His death was the life of the world.” Once the great individuation had been initiated, the momentum of its creator’s self-annihilation would continue until everything became exhausted by its own existence, which for human beings meant that the faster they learned that happiness was not as good as they thought it would be, the happier they would be to die out.
”
”
Thomas Ligotti (The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror)
“
Two: Trust yourself. If you don’t, nobody will believe in you. Confidence is infectious and builds momentum. Share your faith in yourself. You’ll be surprised how quickly others will come to have faith in you, too.
”
”
Kirsten Gillibrand (Off the Sidelines: Speak Up, Be Fearless, and Change Your World)
“
Re is a prefix, which when used in front of a word, changes its meaning to convey a fresh beginning, a do-over, a repeat, a shift in perspective, or an opportunity to create something new. When you add the prefix Re, you are activating the power of the word to head in a new direction to build momentum for positive change and transformation.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
No one is perfect. The important thing is to keep trying and to not beat yourself up over anything you did or didn't do. Just keep moving forward. Remember, you can't change the past. The power you hold to change anything is right now.
”
”
Akiroq Brost
“
The Starter Step is a kind of mental jujitsu—it has a surprising impact for such a small move because the momentum it creates often propels you to the next steps with less friction. The key is not to raise the bar. Doing the Starter Step is success. Every time you do it, you are keeping that habit alive
”
”
B.J. Fogg (Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything)
“
The revolution had been slow and ponderous, but it had weight, and that weight built up a momentum, and when that momentum finally broke forth, it was with a great and accumulated force. This force washed out the monsters who worked in public spaces, allegedly for the public, but it carried farther, into the homes and schools. It touched everyone; it made change. People started by believing the victims, and once this was apparent that it was safe to report monsters now, more and more people did so. The monsters always tried to apologize when they were caught, using the same slippery words that had worked for them before. They thought it would be enough, that some time would pass and they would be welcomed back as if nothing had happened. They were wrong.
”
”
Akwaeke Emezi (Pet)
“
A unified team is a force to be reckoned with. When teams pull together to serve a higher purpose, the synergy builds momentum and helps everyone head in the right direction. When people reunite, pull together, have each other’s backs, and strive to achieve a clearly defined purpose, the culture is empowered to produce extraordinary outcomes.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
Whatever your storybook carries within its pages, own it with love, courage and compassion. Remember that you can change your story at any time- nothing is fixed and we all have free will. We should not seek to love someone else’s journey more than we love our own; the swords of comparison are sharp and cutting to our soul and innermost values. We are all designed unique with our own original paths to walk through; we lose momentum and our natural impulses for creativity and progression when we focus our energy on other people.
”
”
Christine Evangelou (Rocks Into Roses: Life Lessons and Inspiration for Personal Growth)
“
Too often, we think of sin as self-contained, point-in-time choices with no interconnection or momentum. But sin refuses to remain contained in the moment it is conceived.
”
”
James MacDonald (Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God's Changeless Truth)
“
Change has to be hard because you're fighting against inertia.
”
”
James Thornton
“
Stocks usually change slowly. They can act as delays, lags, buffers, ballast, and sources of momentum in a system.
”
”
Donella H. Meadows (Thinking in Systems)
“
Sometimes, awareness is not enough. Some of your habits have such strong momentum that they will pull you in a direction you don’t want to go.
”
”
Yong Kang Chan (Reconnect to Love: A Journey From Loneliness to Deep Connection (Spiritual Love Book 1))
“
Take it slow, little by little. Remember, every small step you take now is adding to bigger change later. Change builds exponentially, with increasing momentum, multiplying on itself.
”
”
Susan Rose Blauner (How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me: One Person's Guide to Suicide Prevention)
“
Complexity theory shows that great changes can emerge
from small actions. Change involves a belief in the possible, even the “impossible.”
Moreover, social innovators don’t follow a
linear pathway of change; there are ups and
downs, roller-coaster rides along cascades
of dynamic interactions, unexpected and
unanticipated divergences, tipping points
and critical mass momentum shifts. Indeed,
things often get worse before they get better
as systems change creates resistance to and
pushback against the new.
Traditional evaluation approaches
”
”
Michael Quinn Patton (Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use)
“
This book argues that evolution is happening all around us. It is the best way of understanding how the human world changes, as well as the natural world. Change in human institutions, artefacts and habits is incremental, inexorable and inevitable. It follows a narrative, going from one stage to the next; it creeps rather than jumps; it has its own spontaneous momentum,
”
”
Matt Ridley (The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge)
“
you break a negative feedback loop by giving it a positive input instead, it will spin into a positive feedback loop. That creates a kind of snowball effect, which takes on a life of its own. Make a small, incremental change today, and it will gather momentum the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that… until you’re surprised at what you’ve accomplished.
”
”
Ian Tuhovsky (The Science of Self Talk: How to Increase Your Emotional Intelligence and Stop Getting in Your Own Way (Self Discipline Training Book 6))
“
Initiative is The Start of All Good Things. Your ship will never come in if you don’t send any out. Have you ever found yourself dreaming, hoping, and waiting passively for things to change or for your life to get better?
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
peer pressure, on its own, isn’t enough to sustain a movement. But when the strong ties of friendship and the weak ties of peer pressure merge, they create incredible momentum. That’s when widespread social change can begin.
”
”
Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business)
“
There is humility in confession. A recognition of flaws. To hear myself say out loud these shameful secrets meant I acknowledged my flaws. I also for the first time was given the opportunity to contextualize anew the catalogue of beliefs and prejudices, simply by exposing them to another, for the first time hearing the words ‘Yes, but have you looked at it this way?’ This was a helpful step in gaining a new perspective on my past, and my past was a significant proportion of who I believed myself to be. It felt like I had hacked into my own past. Unravelled all the erroneous and poisonous information I had unconsciously lived with and lived by and with necessary witness, the accompaniment of another man, reset the beliefs I had formed as a child and left unamended through unnecessary fear. Suddenly my fraught and freighted childhood became reasonable and soothed. ‘My mum was doing her best, so was my dad.’ Yes, people made mistakes but that’s what humans do, and I am under no obligation to hoard these errors and allow them to clutter my perception of the present. Yes, it is wrong that I was abused as a child but there is no reason for me to relive it, consciously or unconsciously, in the way I conduct my adult relationships. My perceptions of reality, even my own memories, are not objective or absolute, they are a biased account and they can be altered. It is possible to reprogram your mind. Not alone, because a tendency, a habit, an addiction will always reassert by its own invisible momentum, like a tide. With this program, with the support of others, and with this mysterious power, this new ability to change, we achieve a new perspective, and a new life.
”
”
Russell Brand (Recovery: Freedom from Our Addiction)
“
Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era—the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run… but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant.…
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of "history" it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time—and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.
My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights—or very early mornings—when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder's jacket… booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change)... but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that…
There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda.… You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning.…
And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.…
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
”
”
Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
“
In this Chautauqua I would like not to cut any new channels of consciousness but simply dig deeper into old ones that have become silted in with the debris of thoughts grown stale and platitudes too often repeated. “What’s new?” is an interesting and broadening eternal question, but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question “What is best?,” a question which cuts deeply rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt downstream. There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible, and nothing new ever happened, and “best” was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose, flooding the lowlands, disconnecting and isolating the highlands and to no particular purpose other than the wasteful fulfillment of its own internal momentum. Some channel deepening seems called for.
”
”
Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
“
To build up your speed and create momentum, do you need to be pushed or pulled? Successfully shifting gears requires synchronization, coordination, and a sense of speed, whether fast or slow. Sometimes it is simply a matter of shaking up your routine to get things rolling in the right direction.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
When we become curious about the dissatisfying defaults in our world, we begin to recognize that most of them have social origins: Rules and systems were created by people. And that awareness gives us the courage to contemplate how we can change them. Before women gained the right to vote in America, many “had never before considered their degraded status as anything but natural,” historian Jean Baker observes. As the suffrage movement gained momentum, “a growing number of women were beginning to see that custom, religious precept, and law were in fact man-made and therefore reversible.
”
”
Adam M. Grant (Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World)
“
This is the threat to our lives that we all face today. Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes? How do you relate to the system so that you are not compulsively serving it? It doesn't help to try to change it to accord with your system of thought. The momentum of history behind it is too great for anything really significant to evolve from that kind of action. The thing to do is learn to live in your period of history as a human being. That's something else, and it can be done.
”
”
Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth)
“
The Law of Reciprocity demonstrates that when we give something from or of ourselves, the receiving party feels an inclination to give back. And in turn, when someone does something nice for you, you naturally want to return the favor. Reciprocity begins a momentum for mutual caring and sweet reward.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
From a scientific perspective, ‘destroy’ isn’t really accurate. Nothing has disappeared. All the matter that used to be there is still there, and so is all the angular momentum. It’s only the arrangement of matter that has changed, like a deck of cards being reshuffled. But life is like a straight flush: Once you shuffle, it’s gone.
”
”
Liu Cixin (Death's End (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #3))
“
Although Manmohan Singh, the helmsman, got the credit, it was Rao who took the tough and aggressive decisions and provided the energy and political support. He was shrewd and knew how to deal with dissent. The manner in which he pushed through the industrial policy in the cabinet is an example. At the same time, the reforms would not have happened without Manmohan Singh. To the extent that there was one, he created the road map. In a brilliant move, he set up a set of committees—bank reform under Narsimhan, tax reform under Chelliah, and insurance reform under Malhotra—and they provided crucial intellectual sustenance and legitimacy for reform measures in these areas. It needed Manmohan Singh to come and change the nation’s mind-set to growth. But Manmohan Singh is a reticent man and cautious by nature. On his own, without Rao’s constant support, he would not have done it. The new trade policy would not have come about as speedily without Chidambaram. Varma was a terror as the head of the steering committee and he provided the momentum for the implementation of the reforms for two years. He knew the system well, and he played it in favor of the reforms. Varma’s crucial contributions, I believe, have not been understood or appreciated. In the end, all three—Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, and Varma—derived their strength from Narasimha Rao.
”
”
Gurcharan Das (India Unbound)
“
But I think that so many of the rest of us do what we can to avoid this math because if we do the subtraction, do the addition, our own personal sum will be unbearable sorrow, terror, and a feeling of being entirely out of control. I think many of us do what we can to avoid this math because we know that if we do the subtraction, do the addition, our psyches and our consciences and our lives will forever be changed; and we know that no matter how fierce the momentum that leads to this subtraction and addition, no matter our fears that we may be crushed (or perhaps more fearsome, ridiculed), that we will be led in some way to oppose the subtraction of life and the addition of toxics to this planet that is our only home.
”
”
Derrick Jensen (The Myth of Human Supremacy)
“
trying to change too many things at once is sometimes overwhelming. being consistent with a few changes, applying them in your life until they become integrated as new positive habits, helps you build a strong foundation for future transformations. setting yourself up for victory helps you build momentum; it makes the consistency required to achieve greater goals in the future much more attainable.
”
”
Yung Pueblo (Inward (The Inward Trilogy))
“
These days, virtue is constantly and loudly signaled but seldom practiced. Freedom is called oppression, mindless violence is called justice, and science bends to the demands of culture. The world has changed so fast, shaped by the powerful with reckless indifference to the lessons of history, and the momentum of change promises that in twenty years, the new world that follows this one will be crueler.
”
”
Dean Koontz (The House at the End of the World)
“
Many argue that individual action doesn't matter in an issue as global and enormous as the climate crisis. They are wrong. Individual actions matter, but perhaps not in the way you think. You alone will not solve the climate crisis. Neither will I. But if you intentionally live a more sustainable life and connect with your community about your practice of One Green Thing, you can build momentum for culture change to shift policy.
”
”
Heather White (One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet)
“
One reason we resist change is that keeping things the way they are requires almost no effort. This helps explain why we get complacent. It takes a lot of effort to build momentum but far less to maintain it. Once something becomes “good enough,” we can stop the effort and still get decent results. The inertia default leverages our desire to stay in our comfort zone, relying on old techniques or standards even when they’re no longer optimal.
”
”
Shane Parrish (Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results)
“
At our most instinctive, physiological level, “change” translates to something dangerous and potentially life-threatening. No wonder why we build our own cages and stay in them, even though there’s no lock on the door. Trying to shock yourself into a new life isn’t going to work, and that’s why it hasn’t yet. You don’t need to wait until you feel like changing to start changing. All you need is to make one microshift at a time and then let the energy and momentum build.
”
”
Brianna Wiest (The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery)
“
Over time, Musk has ended up thinking that his brain has the equivalent of a graphics chip. It allows him to see things out in the world, replicate them in his mind, and imagine how they might change or behave when interacting with other objects. “For images and numbers, I can process their interrelationships and algorithmic relationships,” Musk said. “Acceleration, momentum, kinetic energy—how those sorts of things will be affected by objects comes through very vividly.
”
”
Ashlee Vance (Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future)
“
After all, this world isn’t the one in which she grew up; it’s changed radically. There’s a disquieting otherness about it. These days, virtue is constantly and loudly signaled but seldom practiced. Freedom is called oppression, mindless violence is called justice, and science bends to the demands of culture. The world has changed so fast, shaped by the powerful with reckless indifference to the lessons of history, and the momentum of change promises that in twenty years, the new world that follows this one will be crueler.
”
”
Dean Koontz (The House at the End of the World)
“
But in America, the tilt toward isolationism was gaining momentum and intensity. On September 4, a group of Yale Law students founded the America First Committee to oppose involvement in the war. The organization grew quickly, winning the energetic support of no less a celebrity than Charles Lindbergh, a national hero ever since his 1927 flight across the Atlantic. And Willkie, urged by Republican leaders to do whatever he could to pull ahead in the presidential election, was about to change strategy and make the war—and fear—the central issue in the campaign.
”
”
Erik Larson (The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz)
“
The practice is to train in not following the thoughts, not in getting rid of thought altogether. That would be impossible. You may have thought-free moments and, as your meditation practice deepens, longer expanses of time that are thought free, but thoughts always come back. That’s the nature of mind. You don’t have to make thoughts the villain, however. You can just train in interrupting their momentum. The basic instruction is to let the thoughts go—or to label them “thinking”—and stay with the immediacy of your experience. Everything in you will want to do the habitual thing, will want to pursue the story line. The story line is associated with certainty and comfort. It bolsters your very limited, static sense of self and holds out the promise of safety and happiness. But the promise is a false one; any happiness it brings is only temporary. The more you practice not escaping into the fantasy world of your thoughts and instead contacting the felt sense of groundlessness, the more accustomed you’ll become to experiencing emotions as simply sensation—free of concept, free of story line, free of fixed ideas of bad and good.
”
”
Pema Chödrön (Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change)
“
Throughout history there have been men who have launched movements that have changed the world. Men like Genghis Khan or Adolf Hitler. At one point in their climb to power all of these men could have been stopped. But once their plans gained momentum, no one could stop them until their revolution had run its course. It is a cycle too familiar in history. By the time the world starts taking these revolutions seriously, it’s already too late. They are like pythons in the jungle. The smallest child can crush a python egg. But let the snake hatch and grow and the python will squeeze and devour the child.
”
”
Richard Paul Evans (Hunt for Jade Dragon (Michael Vey, #4))
“
The most-studied evidence, by the greatest number of economists, concerns what is called short-term dependence. This refers to the way price levels or price changes at one moment can influence those shortly afterwards-an hour, a day, or a few years, depending on what you consider "short." A "momentum" effect is at work, some economists theorize: Once a stock price starts climbing, the odds are slightly in favor of it continuing to climb for a while longer. For instance, in 1991 Campbell Harvey of Duke- he of the CFO study mentioned earlier-studied stock exchanges in sixteen of the world's largest economies. He found that if an index fell in one month, it had slightly greater odds of falling again in the next moth, or, if it had risen, greater odds of continuing to rise. Indeed, the data show, the sharper the move in the first, the more likely is is that the price trend will continue into the next month, although at a slower rate. Several other studies have found similar short-term trending in stock prices. When major news about a company hits the wires, the stock will react promptly-but it may keep on moving for the next few days as the news spreads, analysts study it, and more investors start to act upon it.
”
”
Benoît B. Mandelbrot (The (Mis)Behavior of Markets)
“
The result that Noether obtained was stunning. She showed that to every continuous symmetry of the laws of physics there corresponds a conservation law and vice versa. In particular, the familiar symmetry of the laws under translations corresponds to conservation of momentum, the symmetry with respect to the passing of time (the fact that the laws do not change with time) gives us conservation of energy, and the symmetry under rotations produces conservation of angular momentum. Angular momentum is a quantity characterizing the amount of rotation an object or a system possesses (for a pointlike object it is the product of the distance from the axis of rotation and the momentum). A common manifestation of conservation of angular momentum can be seen in figure skating-when the ice skater pulls her hands inward she spins much faster.
”
”
Mario Livio (The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry)
“
People sometimes refer to the uncertainty principle in everyday contexts, outside of the equation-filled language of physics texts. So it’s important to emphasize what the principle does not say. It’s not an assertion that “everything is uncertain.” Either position or momentum could be certain in an appropriate quantum state; they just can’t be certain at the same time. And the uncertainty principle doesn’t say we necessarily disturb a system when we measure it. If a particle has a definite momentum, we can go ahead and measure that without changing it at all. The point is that there are no states for which both position and momentum are simultaneously definite. The uncertainty principle is a statement about the nature of quantum states and their relationship to observable quantities, not a statement about the physical act of measurement.
”
”
Sean Carroll (Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime)
“
When researchers with the National Weight Control Registry examined the tactics used by successful dieters, they found that two characteristics, in particular, stood out. People who successfully maintain weight loss typically eat breakfast every morning. They also weigh themselves each day. Part of the reason why these habits matter is practical: Eating a healthy breakfast makes it less likely you will snack later in the day, according to studies. And frequently measuring your weight allows us—sometimes almost subconsciously—to see how changing our diets influences the pounds lost. But just as important is the mental boost that daily, incremental weight loss provides. The small win of dropping even half a pound can provide the dose of momentum we need to stick with a diet. We need to see small victories to believe a long battle will be won.
”
”
Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business)
“
Bookshops are oceans and sections are like tides, they grow and they shrink, they grow and the shrink. It depends on the season and what's selling and what new trends are emerging. Scandi Noir, Dystopian YA, Adult Coloring In, Hygge. It only takes one bestseller to start a tsunami of copycats. Just as you think the swell is here to stay, sales start to taper off and the bookshop breathes and contracts and swallows whatever stock didn't sell, reabsorbs it back into the master section, back into crime or YA or crafts and we rearrange everything to fill the gap until the next trend gains momentum. A good bookseller can sense when the tides are turning, when sales are starting to wane. A bad bookseller doesn't adapt to change, will cling to those declining sales instead of embracing the next big thing. A really bad bookseller will favor their personal taste over customer interest.
”
”
Alice Slater (Death of a Bookseller)
“
For the second day running you have burnt my toast!” Let me explain this ludicrous remark. You were this particular prefect’s fag. That meant you were his servant, and one of your many duties was to make toast for him every day at teatime. For this, you used a long three-pronged toasting fork, and you stuck the bread on the end of it and held it up before an open fire, first one side, then the other. But the only fire where toasting was allowed was in the library, and as teatime approached, there were never less than a dozen wretched fags all jostling for position in front of the tiny grate. I was no good at this. I usually held it too close and the toast got burnt. But as we were never allowed to ask for a second slice and start again, the only thing to do was to scrape the burnt bits off with a knife. You seldom got away with this. The prefects were expert at detecting scraped toast. You would see your own tormentor sitting up there at the top table, picking up his toast, turning it over, examining it closely as though it were a small and very valuable painting. Then he would frown, and you knew you were for it. So now it was night-time and you were down in the changing room in your dressing gown and pajamas, and the one whose toast you had burnt was telling you about your crime. “I don’t like burnt toast.” “I held it too close. I’m sorry.” “Which do you want? Four with the dressing gown on, or three with it off.” “Four with it on,” I said. It was traditional to ask this question. The victim was always given a choice. But my own dressing gown was made of thick brown camel’s hair, and there was never any question in my mind that this was the better choice. To be beaten in pajamas only was a very painful experience, and your skin nearly always got broken. But my lovely dressing gown stopped that from happening. The prefect knew, of course, all about this, and therefore whenever you chose to take an extra stroke and kept the dressing gown on, he beat you with every ounce of his strength. Sometimes he would take a little run, three or four neat steps on his toes, to gain momentum and thrust, but either way, it was a savage business.
”
”
Roald Dahl (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More)
“
Cannabis, the sensation that had reignited in America and helped bring hemp’s recreational usage back to prominence in a quiet, steady British counter-culture, had helped dispel much of the prejudice, entitlement and arrogance that had eluded the careful eye of Simon’s mother, undermining her care during the once-restlessly energetic yet gentle soul’s dedicated mothering of the studious boy. It took root in his thoughts and expectations. Bravado and projection replaced genuine yet understated confidence; much of that which had been endearing in him ceased to be seen, to his mother’s despondency. A bachelor of the arts, the blissfully apathetic raconteur left university, having renounced his faith and openly claiming to feel no connection, either socially or intellectually with the student life and further study. Personal failures and parental despair combined to sober the-21yr old frustrated essayist and tentative poet. Cannabis, ironically sought following the conclusion of his stimulant-fuelled student years, had finally levelled him out, and provided the introspection needed to dispel the lesser demons of his nature. Reefer Madness, such insanity – freely distributed for the mass-consumer audience of the west! Curiosity pushed the wealthy young man’s interest in the plant to an isolated purchase, and thence to regular use. Wracked by introspection, the young man struggled through several months of instability and self-doubt before readjusting his focus to chase goals. Once humorous, Reefer Madness no longer amused him, and he dedicated an entire afternoon to writing an ultimately unpublished critique of the film, that descended into an impassioned defence of the plant. He began to watch with keen interest, as the critically-panned debacle of sheer slapstick silliness successfully struck terror into the hearts of a large section of non-marijuana smoking people in the west. The dichotomy of his own understanding and perception only increased the profound sense of gratitude Simon felt for the directional change in which his life was heading. It helped him escape from earlier attachments to the advantage of his upbringing, and destroyed the arrogance that, he realised with shock, had served to cloud years of his judgement. Thus, positive energy led to forward momentum; the mental readjustment silenced doubts, which in turn brought peace, and hope.
”
”
Daniel S. William Fletcher (Jackboot Britain)
“
Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era - the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were here and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant . . . .
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time - and
which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened. My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights - or very early mornings - when I left the Fillmore half - crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder’s jacket . . .
booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn - off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll - gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I
was: No doubt at all about that. .There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere.
There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. And that, I think, was the handle - that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting - on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high - water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
”
”
Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
“
Autopilot is the enemy of boldness, because autopilot equals tunnel vision.
When you operate on autopilot, you reflexively do the same things, over and over, because you haven’t paused long enough to consider a more conscious choice. On autopilot, you can access just a narrow slice of the possibilities around you. In fact, the aperture is so narrow that you become literally blind to the options. You’re being carried by habit, by momentum, rather than going where you intentionally point your headlights. Hell, on autopilot, you don’t even need to check whether you even have headlights, because you’re not actually driving. You’re just drifting.
But when you get more intentional about the choices you make—no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential—the lens through which you view those choices begins to open up. The realm of what is possible widens and you can see just how many more chances life offers to align to your preferences and values, through your discernment, to your deeper being.
Change starts with acknowledging the life you’re living doesn’t line up with the life you want. From there, it’s about getting off autopilot. Then you can make decisions that honor and support that most holy part within you.
”
”
Becky Vollmer (You Are Not Stuck: How Soul-Guided Choices Transform Fear into Freedom)
“
This mostly restrictionist trend reached an important pivot in 2012. Three major developments prompted this change in direction and momentum. First, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Arizona v. United States opinion, delivering its most consequential decision on the limits of state authority in immigration in three decades. Rejecting several provisions of Arizona's controversial omnibus immigration enforcement bill, SB 1070, the opinion nevertheless still left open possibilities for state and local involvement. Second, President Barack Obama, against the backdrop of a stalemate in comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) in Congress and contentious debates over the role of the federal executive in immigration enforcement, instituted the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program, providing administrative relief and a form of lawful presence to hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth. Finally, Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate whose platform supported laws like Arizona's and called them a model for the rest of the country, lost his bid for the White House with especially steep losses among Latinos and immigrant voters. After these events in 2012, restrictive legislation at the state level waned in frequency, and a growing number of states began to pass laws aimed at the integration of unauthorized immigrants. As this book goes to press, this integrationist trend is still continuing.
”
”
Pratheepan Gulasekaram (The New Immigration Federalism)
“
Chronic anxiety is systemic; it is deeper and more embracing than community nervousness. Rather than something that resides within the psyche of each one, it is something that can envelope, if not actually connect, people. It is a regressive emotional process that is quite different from the more familiar, acute anxiety we experience over specific concerns. Its expression is not dependent on time or events, even though specific happenings could seem to trigger it, and it has a way of reinforcing its own momentum. Chronic anxiety might be compared to the volatile atmosphere of a room filled with gas fumes, where any sparking incident could set off a conflagration, and where people would then blame the person who struck the match rather trying to disperse the fumes. The issues over which chronically anxious systems become concerned, therefore, are more likely to be the focus of their anxiety rather than its cause. This is why, for example, counselors, educators, and consultants who offer technical solutions for how to manage whatever brought the family in—conflict, money, parents, children, aging, sex—will rarely succeed in changing that family in any fundamental way. The anxiety that drives the problem simply switches to another focus. Assuming that what a family is worried about is what is “causing” its anxiety is tantamount to blaming a blown-away tree or house for attracting the tornado that uprooted it. As
”
”
Edwin H. Friedman (A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix)
“
The overwhelming favorites to dominate the race to become the so-called Information Superhighway were competing proprietary technologies from industry powerhouses such as Oracle and Microsoft. Their stories captured the imagination of the business press. This was not so illogical, since most companies didn’t even run TCP/IP (the software foundation for the Internet)—they ran proprietary networking protocols such as AppleTalk, NetBIOS, and SNA. As late as November 1995, Bill Gates wrote a book titled The Road Ahead, in which he predicted that the Information Superhighway—a network connecting all businesses and consumers in a world of frictionless commerce—would be the logical successor to the Internet and would rule the future. Gates later went back and changed references from the Information Superhighway to the Internet, but that was not his original vision. The implications of this proprietary vision were not good for business or for consumers. In the minds of visionaries like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, the corporations that owned the Information Superhighway would tax every transaction by charging a “vigorish,” as Microsoft’s then–chief technology officer, Nathan Myhrvold, referred to it. It’s difficult to overstate the momentum that the proprietary Information Superhighway carried. After Mosaic, even Marc and his cofounder, Jim Clark, originally planned a business for video distribution to run on top of the proprietary Information Superhighway, not the Internet. It wasn’t until deep into the planning process that they decided that by improving the browser to make it secure, more functional, and easier to use, they could make the Internet the network of the future. And that became the mission of Netscape—a mission that they would gloriously accomplish.
”
”
Ben Horowitz (The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers—Straight Talk on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship)
“
This terrifying experiment has already been set in motion. Unlike nuclear war—which is a future potential—climate change is a present reality. There is a scientific consensus that human activities, in particular the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, are causing the earth’s climate to change at a frightening rate.7 Nobody knows exactly how much carbon dioxide we can continue to pump into the atmosphere without triggering an irreversible cataclysm. But our best scientific estimates indicate that unless we dramatically cut the emission of greenhouse gases in the next twenty years, average global temperatures will increase by more than 3.6ºF, resulting in expanding deserts, disappearing ice caps, rising oceans and more frequent extreme weather events such as hurricanes and typhoons.8 These changes in turn will disrupt agricultural production, inundate cities, make much of the world uninhabitable, and send hundreds of millions of refugees in search of new homes.9 Moreover, we are rapidly approaching a number of tipping points, beyond which even a dramatic drop in greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to reverse the trend and avoid a worldwide tragedy. For example, as global warming melts the polar ice sheets, less sunlight is reflected back from planet Earth to outer space. This means that the planet absorbs more heat, temperatures rise even higher, and the ice melts even faster. Once this feedback loop crosses a critical threshold it will gather an unstoppable momentum, and all the ice in the polar regions will melt even if humans stop burning coal, oil, and gas. Therefore it is not enough that we recognize the danger we face. It is critical that we actually do something about it now. Unfortunately, as of 2018, instead of a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the global emission rate is still increasing. Humanity has very little time left to wean itself from fossil fuels. We need to enter rehab today. Not next year or next month, but today. “Hello, I am Homo sapiens, and I am a fossil-fuel addict.
”
”
Yuval Noah Harari (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
“
What was the battle? What were the aims of the romantics? Why was the subject
the focus of such violent interest?
Hugo and his generation were all ‘enfants du siècle’, all, give or take a year or
two, born with the century. Brought up amidst the dramas of Napoleon’s wars,
they had reached manhood to the anticlimax of peace and Bourbon rule. Restless
and dissatisfied, their dreams of military glory frustrated, they had turned them-
selves instead towards the liberation of the arts, their foes no longer the armies of
Europe but the tyrannies of classical tradition.
For thirty years, while the nation’s energies had been absorbed in politics and
war, the arts had virtually stood still in France, frozen, through lack of challenge, in
the classical attitudes of the old régime. The violent emotions and experiences of
the Napoleonic era had done much to render them meaningless. ‘Since the cam-
paign in Russia,’ said a former officer to Stendhal, ‘Iphigénie en Aulide no longer
seems such a good play.’
By the 1820s while the academic establishment, hiding its own sterility behind
the great names of the past, continued to denounce all change, the ice of clas-
sicism was beginning to crack. New influences were crowding in from abroad:
Chateaubriand, the ‘enchanter’, had cast his spell on the rising generation; the po-
etry of Lamartine, Hugo and Vigny heralded the spring. An old society lay in ruins;
the tremendous forces which had overturned it were sweeping at last through the
realms of art and literature, their momentum all the greater for having been so long
delayed.
Nor, despite the seeming stability of the Restoration, had the political impetus
of earlier years been spent. In the aftermath of the Empire exhaustion had brought
a temporary longing for repose. Now, to the excitement of creative ferment was
added a hidden dimension: a growing undercurrent of political dissent, as yet
unexpressed for fear of reprisal. The romantic rebellion, with its claims for freedom
in the arts, cloaked the political revolution once more preparing in the shadows.
”
”
Linda Kelly (The young romantics: Victor Hugo, Sainte-Beuve, Vigny, Dumas, Musset, and George Sand and their friendships, feuds, and loves in the French romantic revolution)
“
Rather, I found through this experience that there is significant similarity between meditating under a waterfall and tidying. When you stand under a waterfall, the only audible sound is the roar of water. As the cascade pummels your body, the sensation of pain soon disappears and numbness spreads. Then a sensation of heat warms you from the inside out, and you enter a meditative trance. Although I had never tried this form of meditation before, the sensation it generated seemed extremely familiar. It closely resembled what I experience when I am tidying. While not exactly a meditative state, there are times when I am cleaning that I can quietly commune with myself. The work of carefully considering each object I own to see whether it sparks joy inside me is like conversing with myself through the medium of my possessions. For this reason, it is essential to create a quiet space in which to evaluate the things in your life. Ideally, you should not even be listening to music. Sometimes I hear of methods that recommend tidying in time to a catchy song, but personally, I don’t encourage this. I feel that noise makes it harder to hear the internal dialogue between the owner and his or her belongings. Listening to the TV is, of course, out of the question. If you need some background noise to relax, choose environmental or ambient music with no lyrics or well-defined melodies. If you want to add momentum to your tidying work, tap the power of the atmosphere in your room rather than relying on music. The best time to start is early morning. The fresh morning air keeps your mind clear and your power of discernment sharp. For this reason, most of my lessons commence in the morning. The earliest lesson I ever conducted began at six thirty, and we were able to clean at twice the usual speed. The clear, refreshed feeling gained after standing under a waterfall can be addictive. Similarly, when you finish putting your space in order, you will be overcome with the urge to do it again. And, unlike waterfall meditation, you don’t have to travel long distances over hard terrain to get there. You can enjoy the same effect in your own home. That’s pretty special, don’t you think?
”
”
Marie Kondō (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Magic Cleaning #1))
“
Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era - the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were here and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant . . . .
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time - and
which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened. My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights - or very early mornings - when I left the Fillmore half - crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder’s jacket . . . booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn - off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll - gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I
was: No doubt at all about that. There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere.
There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. And that, I think, was the handle - that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting - on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high - water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
”
”
Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
“
Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era—the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant. . . .
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time—and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.
My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights—or very early mornings—when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder's jacket . . . booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that. . . .
There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .
And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
”
”
Thompson Hunter S (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
“
unless we’re missing our guess, your life and the gospel probably haven’t always felt in sync on a lot of days, in most of the years since. After the emotional scene with the trembling chin and the wadded-up Kleenexes, where you truly felt the weight of your own sin and the Spirit’s conviction, you’ve had a hard time consistently enjoying and experiencing what God’s supposedly done to remedy this self-defeating situation. Even on those repeat occasions when you’ve crashed and burned and resolved to do better, you’ve typically only been able, for a little while, to sit on your hands, trying to stay in control of yourself by rugged determination and brute sacrifice (which you sure hope God is noticing and adding to your score). But you’ll admit, it’s not exactly a feeling of freedom and victory. And anytime the wheels come off again, as they often do, it just feels like the same old condemnation as before. Devastating that you can’t crack the code on this thing, huh? You were pretty sure that being a Christian was supposed to change you—and it has. Some. But man, there’s still so much more that needs changing. Drastic things. Daily things. Changes in your habits, your routines, in your choices and decisions, changes to the stuff you just never stop hating about yourself, changes in what you do and don’t do . . . and don’t ever want to do again! Changes in how you think, how you cope, how you ride out the guilt and shame when you’ve blown it again. How you shoot down those old trigger responses—the ones you can’t seem to keep from reacting badly to, even after you keep telling yourself to be extra careful, knowing how predictably they set you off. Changes in your closest relationships, changes in your work habits, changes that have just never happened for you before, the kind of changes that—if you can ever get it together—might finally start piling up, you think, rolling forward, fueling some fresh momentum for you, keeping you moving in the right direction. But then—stop us if you’ve heard this one before . . . You barely if ever change. And come on, shouldn’t you be more transformed by now? This is around the point where, when what you’ve always thought or expected of God is no longer squaring with what you’re feeling, that you start creating your own cover versions of the gospel, piecing together things you’ve heard and believed and experimented with—some from the past, some from the present. You lay down new tracks with a gospel feel but, sadly, not always a lot of gospel truth.
”
”
Matt Chandler (Recovering Redemption: A Gospel Saturated Perspective on How to Change)
“
Thanks to our discussion in the last chapter, we can also agree that character is a product of perseverance: “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3–4). I don’t know how that idea strikes you, but it sounds a little backward to me. I would expect that a person with character would find it easier to persevere through difficult circumstances. That makes sense. But how does perseverance produce character? When I look at the world around me, it seems to me that most things actually decay over time rather than grow stronger. The longer we live in our home, the more I see spots that need a paint touch-up. The longer I drive my car, the more I find I need to take it in for tune-ups and repairs. And the longer I live, the more I realize my body isn’t what it used to be! But maybe this process of perseverance leading to character works differently. Surely God is the X-factor. When you add God to the equation, persistence over time builds up character and strength instead of taking it away. Consider, if you will, the snowball. Left by itself, it doesn’t amount to much. It’s just a little round chunk of white frozen water. Yet place that snowball at the top of a steep hill on a snowy day, and things begin to change. If you invest some time rolling that snowball across the ground so it picks up snow and grows into a larger ball, you begin to create something big and heavy. If you invest even more time and energy (this is where perseverance comes in), you might get that ball rolling down the hill. And the longer it rolls, the faster it goes, the bigger it gets. Now you’ve got something powerful. This is a force to be reckoned with. This is when people start running for cover. Your little snowball suddenly becomes a runaway freight train! I believe that equation of suffering, which produces perseverance, which produces character, works in a similar fashion. Our willingness to trust and rely on the Lord in a time of trouble invites His power to work in our lives. The more we trust and depend on Him, the easier it becomes. As the Lord says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). Pretty soon our perseverance enables the Lord to add character to our “snowball”—and the more we persevere, the stronger we grow. We find ourselves rolling downhill toward a godly life. It still might be a bumpy ride, but the size and momentum of our snowball just about guarantees that as long as we are pursuing God’s will for our lives, nothing will stop us.
”
”
Jim Daly (Stronger: Trading Brokenness for Unbreakable Strength)
“
One thought can change the momentum in trajectory of your whole life.
”
”
Dr. Billy Alsbrooks
“
When Smashing magazine published my article and took my ideas global, everything started to change. All of a sudden, people were asking about this content, they were commenting on it, they wanted to hire me to talk with them about it. I started giving a lot of talks about this particular topic in a variety of different places, and to maintain the momentum, I used all the channels available to me: I tweeted, I published on LinkedIn, I started a newsletter, I posted on Facebook and Quora and Medium. I went fishing where the fish were. You could try to create your own blog, and I have one now. But when you’re just starting out, it’s not easy to get people to come to your platform. It’s easier and far more effective to bring your content to the platforms that already have readers.
”
”
Jeff Gothelf (Forever Employable: How to Stop Looking for Work and Let Your Next Job Find You)
“
a quiet, deliberate process of figuring out what needed to be done and then simply doing it, the comparison companies frequently launched new programs—often with great fanfare and hoopla aimed at “motivating the troops”—only to see the programs fail to produce sustained results. They sought the single defining action, the grand program, the one killer innovation, the miracle moment that would allow them to skip the arduous buildup stage and jump right to breakthrough. They would push the flywheel in one direction, then stop, change course, and throw it in a new direction—and then they would stop, change course, and throw it into yet another direction. After years of lurching back and forth, the comparison companies failed to build sustained momentum and fell instead into what we came to call the doom loop.
”
”
Jim Collins (Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't)
“
Endless Love
Like the river never stops, I too shall never stop loving you,
Like those shining stars, I too shall always shine for you,
Like the wind that paces through the forest where I spent few moments with you,
I too shall in that forest of memories always seek you, just you,
Maybe it is my compulsive proneness that I only seek you,
In my wakeful state and in my subconscious slumbers I only think of you,
Maybe it is my memories that refuse to exist without you,
And before this stubbornness of my mind and heart , I surrender and I allow myself to love you, just you,
In the Summer garden where many roses bloom, I find none like you,
Like the desperate butterflies seeking their flowers of choice, in the garden of life, I only seek you, just you,
The roses have wilted, butterfly wings lie strewn on the grass blades, and they all remind me of you,
But unlike the changing seasons, my heart always stays in the perennial state of loving you,
Everything in this universe seems to be seeking something or someone, just like I endlessly seek you,
In the summer joys, in the forest wind, in the gushing river, wherever I see, I just see a reflection of you,
As the palpable world grows around me in these transient forms, I seek my world within you,
In your beautiful eyes, in your smiles, in your scent and in every essence that reflects you,
I transpose these beautiful reflections on this world, until everything looks like you, exactly like you,
Maybe Irma, love is what I feel when I see you, when I touch you, when I just say nothing and simply sit beside you,
And the palpable world transforms into your smile, and I resume loving you,
In the forest of my endless memories of you,
Where I often tread in the brightness of the day and the silence of the night, to be with you, just you,
The river still flows, the stars still twinkle, the forest still grows, and with them your love in my heart grows too,
I have entered a precarious state where there is only one certainty, that to keep on loving you,
And wonder if you feel so too,
I have every reason to believe you do too Irma, because the trails of life we tread together, still remind me of you, and there at discrete corners I hear the echoes of your longings too,
And then my heart whispers, while my mind quietly lets it be its own master, “I love you!”
And the river of my feelings gains a renewed momentum to rush endlessly and forever unto you,
And as lovers, we fill our senses where you become me and I become you,
And what a joy it is to love you,
And say again and again, “my darling Irma. I love you!
”
”
Javid Ahmad Tak (They Loved in 2075!)
“
You Are Most Likely to Do What You Just Did (Short-Term Momentum)
”
”
Stephen Guise (The Magic of Momentum: Escape Any Rut. Build Winning Streaks. Use Forward Motion to Change the Trajectory of Your Life.)
“
If someone struggles with productivity, they probably don't manage their energy well. They either don't use enough of it (resulting in lethargy) or use too much of it (resulting in burnout). If you plan out your entire life in advance, your greatest risk is burnout. If you plan out none of your life in advance, your greatest risk is stagnancy.
”
”
Stephen Guise (The Magic of Momentum: Escape Any Rut. Build Winning Streaks. Use Forward Motion to Change the Trajectory of Your Life.)
“
We named the activist organisation 38 Degrees, the angle at which snowflakes come together to trigger an avalanche. I believe it did cause an avalanche of activism and protest, an unstoppable momentum.
”
”
Gordon Roddick
“
Focus on making tiny changes that are easy to incorporate into your daily routine. As these changes become habits, you'll gradually build momentum and develop a foundation for more significant changes.
”
”
Farshad Asl (Daily Dose of Leadership: From Insight to Influence: Daily Steps to Awareness, Growth, and Leadership Mastery)
“
Don't let the weight of finishing distract you from the easier and more effective decision to start.
”
”
Stephen Guise (The Magic of Momentum: Escape Any Rut. Build Winning Streaks. Use Forward Motion to Change the Trajectory of Your Life.)
“
Inner Odyssey
In the depths of my being, I feel a stirring,
A sense of discontent, a restless yearning.
A voice inside me whispers, "There's more to life,"
And I know that it's time to embrace the strife.
Self-improvement is the call of the day,
A journey that takes us along the way.
To become the best version of ourselves,
We must delve deep and know ourselves.
The first step on the road to self-improvement,
Is to accept ourselves with love and fulfillment.
Acknowledging our flaws, without self-judgment,
Embracing our strengths, with pride and contentment.
Next, we must set our sights on a goal,
Something that inspires, that stirs the soul.
It could be a passion, a dream to chase,
Or a new skill to learn, a challenge to face.
With this goal in mind, we chart our course,
And take the first step with courage and force.
It may not be easy, the path may be rough,
But with each step forward, we gain in rebuff.
The road to self-improvement is not a sprint,
But a marathon, where patience and persistence are the hint.
With every day's effort, we inch closer to our aim,
And as we move forward, we break free from the chain.
Self-improvement requires discipline and focus,
The determination to rise above the hocus-pocus.
To maintain our momentum, we must prioritize,
And make every moment count, as we surmise.
The journey is long, and at times, we may stumble,
But if we keep our eyes on the prize, we will not crumble.
With every setback, we learn and grow,
And with every success, we feel the glow.
Self-improvement is not just about us,
It's about those we touch, those who we fuss.
As we grow, we inspire others to follow,
And to chase their dreams, without any hollow.
We become the beacon of light, a ray of hope,
For those who are lost, a guide to help them cope.
With our words and actions, we inspire change,
And in doing so, our lives are rearrange.
Self-improvement is not a destination,
But a journey that unfolds, without limitation.
As we reach one goal, we set our sights anew,
And in doing so, we discover ourselves anew.
So let us embrace the journey of self-improvement,
And strive to be the best, with every moment.
For as we grow and learn, we enrich our lives,
And in doing so, we touch others' lives.
The journey is long, but the rewards are great,
For as we improve ourselves, we change our fate.
So let us take the first step with courage and force,
And embrace the journey with passion and remorse.
”
”
Manmohan Mishra (Self Help)
“
By the 59th minute, the match was still scoreless when German striker Alexandra Popp ran down a lofted ball into the box. Julie Johnston, chasing, tugged her from behind. Popp fell, and the whistle blew. Penalty kick for Germany. This was it. This was the moment, it seemed, the Americans would lose the World Cup. It was a given, of course, that Germany would score this penalty kick. The Germans never missed in moments like this, and a goal would shift the momentum of the match. Hope Solo did the only thing she could do: stall. As Célia Šašić stepped up to the spot to take the kick, Solo sauntered off to the sideline slowly and got her water bottle. She took a sip. Paused. Scanned the crowd. Another sip. She strolled back slowly toward goal. She still had the water bottle in her hand. She wanted to let this moment linger. She wanted Šašić to think too much about the kick and let the nerves of the moment catch up to her. Finally, Solo took her spot. The whistle blew, and without even a nanosecond of hesitation, Šašić ran up to the ball and hit it, as if she couldn’t bear another moment of waiting. Solo guessed to the right, and Šašić’s shot was going left. But it kept going left and skipped wide. The pro-USA crowd at Olympic Stadium in Montreal erupted into a thunderclap that made the stands shake. The American players cheered as if they had just scored a goal.
”
”
Caitlin Murray (The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women who Changed Soccer)
“
By the 59th minute, the match was still scoreless when German striker Alexandra Popp ran down a lofted ball into the box. Julie Johnston, chasing, tugged her from behind. Popp fell, and the whistle blew. Penalty kick for Germany. This was it. This was the moment, it seemed, the Americans would lose the World Cup. It was a given, of course, that Germany would score this penalty kick. The Germans never missed in moments like this, and a goal would shift the momentum of the match. Hope Solo did the only thing she could do: stall. As Célia Šašić stepped up to the spot to take the kick, Solo sauntered off to the sideline slowly and got her water bottle. She took a sip. Paused. Scanned the crowd. Another sip. She strolled back slowly toward goal. She still had the water bottle in her hand. She wanted to let this moment linger. She wanted Šašić to think too much about the kick and let the nerves of the moment catch up to her. Finally, Solo took her spot. The whistle blew, and without even a nanosecond of hesitation, Šašić ran up to the ball and hit it, as if she couldn’t bear another moment of waiting. Solo guessed to the right, and Šašić’s shot was going left. But it kept going left and skipped wide. The pro-USA crowd at Olympic Stadium in Montreal erupted into a thunderclap that made the stands shake. The American players cheered as if they had just scored a goal. “We knew right then and there that we were going to win the World Cup,” Ali Krieger says. “That was it. That’s when we knew: This is ours.
”
”
Caitlin Murray (The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women who Changed Soccer)
“
I was convinced that the logic of healthcare reform was so obvious that even in the face of well-organized opposition I could rally the American people’s support. Other big initiatives—like immigration reform and climate change legislation—would probably be even harder to get through Congress; I figured that scoring a victory on the item that most affected people’s day-to-day lives was our best shot at building momentum for the rest of my legislative agenda.
”
”
Barack Obama (A Promised Land)
“
Susan Sewell 5-Star Review
"A supercomputer enhanced with artificial intelligence causes havoc in the life of its creator in the thrilling and suspenseful science-fiction fantasy, AI Beast by Shawn Corey. Since he was a child, Professor Jonathan Anthony Edwards dreamed of creating a sentient computer. Finally, his dream is coming to fruition, and his AI computer program, Lex, is almost ready to launch. To add to his delight, he has found someone with whom he can share his life. Beverly is an enchanting and beautiful woman who captivates Jon at first sight. In an unbelievable coincidence, her son, Nigel, is a student of quantum computing and is excited to be a part of Lex's debut. One day, while Jon and Nigel are working alone with Lex during a storm, something goes very wrong, and Jon is injured and sent into a coma by a blaze of light. When he finally regains consciousness, everything has changed at the University, and Nigel is in charge of Lex. While he has been out of commission, Nigel, Lex, and powerful world leaders seem to be working together to alter the world and humankind. What happened to Nigel and Jon that stormy day? Did Lex modify their psyches to use them to enact her secret plans?
Incorporating prophecy from the book of Revelation and combining it with the element of artificial intelligence, AI Beast by Shawn Corey is a brilliant blend of science fiction and religion. Filled with suspenseful and intense, action-packed scenes, the tale chillingly portrays the terrifying conceptualization of a viable source that could be responsible for the fulfillment of the Bible's prophesied end times. From the beginning, the story flows at a quick pace, building momentum and culminating in a dramatic and explosive finale. Well-written with a solid, riveting plot, fascinating characters, and an intricately woven storyline, it is a stunning novel that is impossible to put down. The book contains deceit, passion, and exciting action scenes that will enthrall fans of Christian thrillers and science-fiction novels with a biblical influence. Due to some sexually intimate scenes, the book is more suitable for mature readers.
”
”
Shawn Corey
“
While every coach and every startup manager has to make decisions on the fly, there are tricks that can help you in managing through the chaos. The first is to make brutally efficient use of your time, and figure out a way to get as much of it as you can. In the last minutes of a tied championship game, with thousands of fans yelling and all your players desperately looking to you for the right play, managing the clock is critical. Every coach caught up in a tight game knows that the best weapon can be a “time out,” where she can change the flow of the game, disrupt the other team’s momentum, and re-establish her own strategy.
”
”
Carl J. Schramm (Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do)
“
But in order to benefit fully from this time between stories, it’s necessary to let go not just of action, but of attachment to outcome. The Tao Te Ching asks: “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water becomes clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?”15 Knowing when to gather together our resources and go all-out to change a situation seems easier somehow than recognizing instead when to sit quietly and surrender to its momentum. But the best of all strategies is simply to stay present, because the only certain way through uncertainty is through it.
”
”
Sharon Blackie (Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life)
“
Figure-eight between-the-legs pass. This is a gentle warm-up and a surprisingly good conditioning movement for the legs and core. It involves elements of coordination and body awareness, which makes it challenging and engaging. To perform this exercise, pick up the kettlebell and hold it in front of you with either hand with feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees (see figure 7.7a). Pass the kettlebell from the left hand to the right through your legs from front to back (see figure 7.7b). Continue the momentum to circle back in front of the body and pass to the other hand (see figure 7.7c). Exhale as you switch hands. This will automatically create an inhalation at the other movement points. Continue this continuous figure-eight pattern. Change direction and pass from back to front. KEY PRINCIPLES As you pass the kettlebell between the legs, maintain a neutral spine position and crease in the hips. Keep the kettlebell close to the body, being careful not to hit yourself with it.
”
”
Steve Cotter (Kettlebell Training)
“
Snatch. The kettlebell snatch is a total-body exercise with special emphasis on the entire posterior chain. It simultaneously develops strength, explosiveness, structural integrity, cardiorespiratory capacity, and virtually every attribute on the athletic continuum. There are six stages to the snatch: Inertia swing Acceleration pull with hip and trapezius Hand insertion deep into the handle Overhead lockout Direction change into the drop Grip change into the backswing To perform this exercise, with the kettlebell on the floor in front of you, load your hips and grip the kettlebell with your fingers as you would for the swing (see figure 7.21a). Swing the kettlebell back between your legs as you begin to stand, further loading the hips (see figure 7.21b). As with the swing and clean, various thumb positions can be used in the downswing and upswing portion of the snatch. The most common is to rotate the thumb back at the end of the downswing and transition to a 45-degree angle (thumb up) at the beginning of the acceleration pull. Keep your arm connected to your body and extend your knees and hips, allowing the inertia of the kettlebell to pull your arm forward (figure 7.21c). Just as the arm begins to separate from the body, accelerate the kettlebell vertically as fast as you can by rapidly pulling with the hip, followed by a shrug of the trapezius. If you are snatching with your right hand, push forcefully with your left leg, pull back your right hip, and shrug with your right trapezius (see figure 7.21d). As the kettlebell is accelerating upward, release your fingers and insert your palm deeply into the handle (see figure 7.21e). Allow the momentum to carry the kettlebell all the way to the top and lock out your arm in the fully extended elbow position (see figure 7.21f). This overhead lockout position is identical to the overhead position in the push or push press (thumb facing back, no or minimal rotation). To drop the kettlebell back down, first shift your weight to the opposite foot (if snatching with the right hand, shift to the left foot) and lean your upper body back (see figure 7.21g). Keep your hips and torso extended maximally and let your triceps connect to your torso. Finish the downswing by changing grips and pulling your hand back to catch the handle with your fingers (see figure 7.21h), and tighten the fingers as you follow the kettlebell between your legs into the backswing (see figure 7.21i). Use the rhythmic motion to continue the snatch for the desired repetitions.
”
”
Steve Cotter (Kettlebell Training)
“
Run. Run faster. Daniel clapped and cheered for her. She gulped in huge breaths and felt power course through her. The grass flicked up in the air as her paws sank into the turf and ripped out little tufts. She headed back toward Daniel when she saw him pull the ball out of his pocket. She pranced sideways, fighting her momentum to change direction. “You want it, girl?” Daniel
”
”
Christopher Greyson (Jack and the Giant Killer (Jack Stratton, #4))
“
Our best intentions are often thwarted by external forces—forces that we ourselves set in motion long ago. Decisions, especially bad ones, create their own kind of momentum, and momentum can be a bitch to stop, as every athlete knows. Even when we vow to change, even when we sorrow and atone for our mistakes, the momentum of our past keeps carrying us down the wrong road. Momentum rules the world. Momentum says: Hold on, not so fast, I’m still running things here. As a friend likes to say, quoting an old Greek poem: The minds of the everlasting gods are not changed suddenly.
”
”
Andre Agassi (Open)
“
is often when night looks darkest, that one senses the gathering momentum for change.
”
”
Laurie B. Friedman (Not What I Expected (The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair, #5))
“
From the size of the candlestick body, we can gauge the strength of the price direction. The longer the candlestick’s body, the stronger is the price momentum. Long Body indicates heavy trading in the ongoing direction, that is, the session has witnessed strong buying or selling as the case may be. In other words, long body implies heavy commitment by buyers in the case of white candle and by sellers in the case of black candle. That is, a long white candle signifies that the trading session was dominated by bulls and a long black candle signifies that the trading session was dominated by bears. Small body implies that very little buying and selling happened during the session; neither bulls nor bears could move the price as they liked during the session and prices closed at or near to the open. Candlestick with no shadow implies a strong trend in a single direction because all the price changes were upward in the case of white candle and downward in the case of black candle without facing rejection at any point of time during the session.
”
”
Arulpandi P (DON'T TRADE BEFORE LEARNING THESE 14 CANDLESTICK PATTERNS: These 14 most reliable candlestick patterns provide to traders more than 85% of the trade opportunities emanating from candlesticks trading.)
“
Light breaks forth captivating darkness with
its energetic grandiose appearance visibly
amplifying, in great thunderous momentum,
epic proportions of love. Trembling at the
thought of change, though distancing itself
further from grotesque ornamental habits
because of the unfamiliar, though inviting,
warmth of it, the darkness moves forward
into a stable position of, what it knows to be,
progress, finding itself progressing even
further into a transpiring ordeal slowly
transforming into something beyond
anything it could have imagined itself
to be. LIGHT.
”
”
Calvin W. Allison (A Peace in the Spirit)
“
Too many people start with goals and other visions of a desired end state. Start with the challenge, and diagnose its structure and the forces at work. Once you do that, your sense of purpose and the actions you consider will change. In that diagnosis, find the crux. That is the most critical part of the challenge that you can actually expect to solve. Don’t pick a challenge you cannot yet deal with—attack the crux of the situation, build momentum, and then reexamine your position and its possibilities.
”
”
Richard P. Rumelt (The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists)
“
Even the best advocacy efforts focused on 10% solutions may still take away effort or momentum from the 100% solutions that are really needed.
”
”
Solomon Goldstein-Rose (The 100% Solution: A Plan for Solving Climate Change)
“
No society wants you to be wise. It’s a painstaking fact. As the winds gather momentum and their energy is felt on the bellies of the wise, the fools are led to the epicenter of death. The world has changed so many books were hidden from a black man, under the skies of colonialism the majority forced from knowledge and we built a culture of straight education which is not education but instilling slogans of slavery. Lone reading, lone understanding, lone accumulation is what we fought for, just a social forgery we are still under post colonialism barbarism
”
”
Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche (Depth of colour)
“
when we are doing nothing, life never stands still. It is an ever-changing and dynamic experience, and you will only start to live your best life when your perception of life changes. Life is a training academy—we are always learning and always growing. Your education shouldn’t stop because you’ve graduated from college or high school. When you sit still for too long, you run the risk of losing momentum. There is no “opt-out” clause in life—you are either practicing going in the winner’s direction or the losing direction. Which direction you choose to take is up to you, nobody can make that choice for you.
”
”
Daniel Walter (The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals)
“
future. Oftentimes, simply being aware of what causes and feeds your blocks is enough to initiate an energy shift. The act of knowing lifts you out of negative states like denial and frustration and into more neutral or positive frequencies. This awareness can act as a stepping stone toward a higher vibration and more positive feelings like gratitude, forgiveness, and love. If you ride the emotional and energetic momentum, you may feel encouraged to cleanse the block. Now sometimes, energy work is not enough to remove a block; you may need to combine it with emotional work to fully release its attachment. I’ve included easy, therapeutic exercises in Part II of this book, so you’ll know where and when in the detox process to do them. Internal influences are the easiest to control. I don’t mean that these are simple to excavate, because they’re not; internal influences just live inside of you, so with enough insight, you can make sense of them and initiate change. Internal factors
”
”
Oliver Nino (Spiritual Activator: 5 Steps to Clearing, Unblocking, and Protecting Your Energy to Attract More Love, Joy, and Purpose)
“
Even in the equations that had been formulated to describe electromagnetism, there is no natural directionality to the interactions of particles; the equations look the same going both directions. If you looked at a video of atoms interacting, you could play it backward and you wouldn’t be able to tell which was correct. It is only in the macroworld of objects, people, planets, and so on, the world governed by entropy, that causation appears to unfold in a single direction. The second law of thermodynamics describes the increasing disorder in the universe at macroscales and is often seen as equivalent to the one-way arrow of time. More and more physicists over the past few decades, sensitive to the nondirectionality that seems to rule at the micro or quantum level, have begun to question the no-teleology rule. Recall that the tiny particles making up the matter and energy of the physical universe are really like worms or strings snaking through the block universe of Minkowski spacetime. Their interactions, which look to us a bit like tiny balls colliding on a billiard table, are from a four-dimensional perspective more like threads intertwining; the twists and turns where they wrap around each other are what we see as collisions, interactions, and “measurements” (in the physicists’ preferred idiom). Each interaction changes information associated with those threads—their trajectory through the block universe (position and momentum) as well as qualities like “spin” that influence that trajectory. According to some recent theories, a portion of the information particles carry with them actually might propagate backward rather than forward across their world lines. For instance, an experiment at the University of Rochester in 2009 found that photons in a laser beam could be amplified in their past when interacted with a certain way during a subsequent measurement—true backward causation, in other words.8 The Israeli-American physicist Yakir Aharonov and some of his students are now arguing that the famous uncertainty principle—the extent to which the outcome of an interaction is random and unpredictable—may actually be a measure of the portion of future influence on a particle’s behavior.9 In other words, the notorious randomness of quantum mechanics—those statistical laws that captured Jung’s imagination—may be where retrocausation was hiding all along. And it would mean Einstein was right: God doesn’t play dice.*23 If the new physics of retrocausation is correct, past and future cocreate the pattern of reality built up from the threads of the material world. The world is really woven like a tapestry on a four-dimensional loom. It makes little sense to think of a tapestry as caused by one side only;
”
”
Eric Wargo (Precognitive Dreamwork and the Long Self: Interpreting Messages from Your Future (A Sacred Planet Book))
“
Before we explore the account setup, let's take a closer look at how Immediate Momentum functions. Understanding the mechanics of this trading software is crucial to comprehend its potential benefits.
According to Immediate Momentum's official website, the software harnesses sophisticated algorithms to analyze cryptocurrency price movements with pinpoint accuracy. It relies on technical indicators and historical data to identify lucrative trading opportunities by monitoring market trends. Immediate Momentum review operates fully automatically, executing every action on behalf of traders.
Users have the flexibility to fine-tune trade parameters to align with their risk tolerance, investment objectives, and experience level. This customization empowers the software to analyze market trends and generate precise trade signals.
Immediate Momentum continually assesses price fluctuations, notifying users of any significant value changes in the cryptocurrencies they're trading. All it takes is twenty minutes to set up the software's parameters, after which it takes over the trading process with efficiency.
”
”
William
“
In the bustling, culturally diverse city of Hyderabad, an emerging trend has been steadily gaining momentum - the Hyderabad baby photoshoot. These heartwarming photoshoots are not just a reflection of changing times but a testament to the enduring importance of capturing the innocence, joy, and beauty of early childhood.
The Hyderabad baby photoshoot has transformed from a fleeting trend into a celebrated tradition in Hyderabad and around the world. The arrival of a new member in the family brings unbridled joy and wonder, making it the perfect occasion for a professional photoshoot.
In the chaotic rush of life, the early days of a child are fragile and fleeting. Baby photoshoots offer a way to preserve these moments, capturing the beauty, innocence, and love that surround a child's arrival. These photographs are not just images; they are a portal to revisit and cherish the most precious moments of early childhood.
”
”
chickreetu
“
Ross’s “arbitrage pricing theory” and Rosenberg’s “bionic betas” posited that the returns of any financial security are the result of several systematic factors. Although seemingly stating the obvious, this was a seminal moment in the move toward a more vibrant understanding of markets. The eclectic Rosenberg was even put on the cover of Institutional Investor in May 1978, the bald, mustachioed man depicted as a giant meditating guru with flowers in his hair, worshipped by a gathering of besuited portfolio managers. The headline was “Who Is Barr Rosenberg? And What the Hell Is He Talking About?”8 What he was talking about was how academics were beginning to classify stocks according to not just their industry or their geography, but their financial characteristics. And some of these characteristics might actually prove to deliver better long-term returns than the broader stock market. In 1973, Sanjoy Basu, a finance professor at McMaster University in Ontario, published a paper that indicated that companies with low stock prices relative to their earnings did better than the efficient-markets hypothesis would suggest. Essentially, he showed that the value investing principles espoused by Benjamin Graham in the 1930s—which revolved around buying cheap, out-of-favor stocks trading below their intrinsic worth—was a durable investment factor. By systematically buying all cheap stocks, investors could in theory beat the broader market over time. Then Banz showed the same for small caps, another big moment in the evolution of factor investing. Follow-up studies on smaller stocks in Japan and the UK showed similar results, so in 1986 DFA launched dedicated small-cap funds for those two markets as well. In the early 1990s, finance professors Narasimhan Jegadeesh and Sheridan Titman published a paper indicating that simply surfing market momentum—in practice buying stocks that were already bouncing and selling those that were sliding—could also produce market-beating returns.9 The reasons for these apparent anomalies divide academics. Efficient-markets disciples stipulate that they are the compensation investors receive for taking extra risks. Value stocks, for example, are often found in beaten-up, unpopular, and shunned companies, such as boring industrial conglomerates in the middle of the dotcom bubble. While they can underperform for long stretches, eventually their underlying worth shines through and rewards investors who kept the faith. Small stocks do well largely because small companies are more likely to fail than bigger ones. Behavioral economists, on the other hand, argue that factors tend to be the product of our irrational human biases. For example, just like how we buy pricey lottery tickets for the infinitesimal chance of big wins, investors tend to overpay for fast-growing, glamorous stocks, and unfairly shun duller, steadier ones. Smaller stocks do well because we are illogically drawn to names we know well. The momentum factor, on the other hand, works because investors initially underreact to news but overreact in the long run, or often sell winners too quickly and hang on to bad bets for far longer than is advisable.
”
”
Robin Wigglesworth (Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever)
“
Quarks and Waves.
The biggest is equally distant from nothingness as the smallest is. There is equidistance from nothingness to the biggest and the smallest. If we look at an electron, it appears to be a particle and a wave. The notion of a particle as a wave comes from the fact that we cannot measure its position simultaneously when we measure its momentum (velocity). This is Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. If we look at a particle, it is a particle; when we do not look at it, it is a wave. The sheer identification of the particle at the moment we look at it does not mean that we, or instruments, changed its nature but just identified it as such. It is not identified and appears to be a wave when we do not look at it. On this level, being a particle or a wave almost does not make a difference because this is “near” the “point” or “near” the passage from the Ultimate Immaterial Reality to our sensory reality. These are the passages from one sphere into another. At this level of infinitesimal values that instruments cannot even register, we face a wavelike particle behavior moving at an extreme speed.
This feature (or what appeared to be a feature to our senses) of a particle may result from its almost infinitesimal size rather than its intrinsic value. To be more precise, a particle's inherent value is independent of our ability to perceive, measure, or comprehend it. We may grasp it to some extent or point, but its intrinsic value may still be beyond our ability and the ability of the technology or instruments we rely on.
”
”
Dejan Stojanovic (ABSOLUTE (THE WORLD IN NOWHERENESS))
“
Our best intentions are often thwarted by external forces - forces that we ourselves set in motion long ago. Decisions, especially bad ones, create their own kind of momentum, and momentum can be a bitch to stop, as every athlete knows. Even when we vow to change, even when we sorrow and atone for our mistakes, the momentum of our past keeps carrying us down the wrong road. Momentum rules the world.
”
”
Andre Agassi (Open)
“
Watching human rights evolve is a bit like watching hermit crabs race. The pace is pretty slow, and sometimes the crabs turn around and scamper backward a bit before rediscovering their forward momentum. The
”
”
Stephen Snyder-Hill (Soldier of Change: from the closet to the forefront of the gay rights movement)
“
these are the topics that MCAT 2015 will no longer test: General Chemistry Phase equilibria removed Exception: phase diagrams still tested Organic Chemistry Several compounds no longer directly tested Simple organic compounds (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes); Exception: nucleophilic substitution reactions still tested Aromatic compounds Ethers Amines Physics Momentum removed Solids (density, elastic properties, and so on) removed Periodic motion (springs & pendulums) removed Exception: Spring potential energy still tested
”
”
Kaplan Test Prep (MCAT 2015: What the Test Change Means for You Now (Kaplan Test Prep))
“
Coaches are masters of shrinking the change. By pushing their teams to attain a sequence of “small, visible goals,” they build momentum. Psychologist Karl Weick, in a paper called “Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems,” said, “A small win reduces importance (‘this is no big deal’), reduces demands (‘that’s all that needs to be done’), and raises perceived skill levels (‘I can do at least that’).” All three of these factors will tend to make change easier and more self-sustaining.
”
”
Chip Heath (Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard)
“
Social change doesn’t happen overnight: It takes decades for momentum to build and for the once-radical edge to become mainstream.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge
“
Here’s one of my secrets to getting through the tougher times: Hustling during the in-between moments can lead to epiphanies that will alter the course of your existence for the better. The act of the hustle is more important than whatever it is you’re doing, or wherever it is you’re planning to go. Constant motion delivers life-changing results. So focus on the constant motion part, not the destination part. My last book was a #1 bestseller. It took a year to produce. This book is different. I wrote it, edited it, and published it in seven days. That’s right, seven. Why? Because it was a hustle project―and a bit of an experiment. Honestly, I really needed the money. But I also wanted to prove a point to myself: Hustling is powerful. More specifically, building momentum can lead to unthinkable results. Sometimes you have to hustle. You have to make something happen.
”
”
Jesse Tevelow (Hustle: The Life Changing Effects of Constant Motion)
“
Every change we make can be an incremental gain to create a ripple effect in the universe. It can be a ripple, which gains momentum and creates an authenticity movement and gradually demands a revolution of authentic change.
”
”
Talita Ferreira (The Authenticity Dilemma Resolved: Unleashing your passion and purpose to live more authentically)
“
The momentum of all those wheels are too great for one person's passionate will.
”
”
K. Melissa Kennedy (The Innovation Revolution: Discover the Genius Hiding in Plain Sight)
“
Adults don’t have the same growth momentum that children do to help enable and amplify progress. In adults, change comes from hard work, not getting a year older. This means that an ADHD spouse seems more prone to get “stuck” than a child does, and do things over and over again, which is just the opposite of what you would expect:
”
”
Melissa Orlov (The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps)
“
When I use a weapon—just about any weapon—I prefer jabbing over slashing. The motion is much quicker with more force and you’re less likely to get your weapon caught up in anything. In this case, I didn’t even have to jab. The miner’s momentum did my work for me. I just swung the pole up, aimed right below his breastbone, and braced myself.
And he ran straight into it. Complete dumb luck .
Several hundred pounds of force behind a soft, unmuscled congregation of nerves impacting on a fairly immovable piece of wood an inch wide. As I said, it was an extremely lucky hit on my part, but that didn’t change the results.
”
”
Randy Nargi (The River’s Bane: A Bander Novella (The Bander Adventures))
“
I’ve never been out partying in the countryside before, but this dilemma is bringing home to me the brutal reality that cars are few, as are designated drivers. Everyone needs to travel as a group. If Kendra goes back to the villa, we’ll all have to go. The momentum will be lost. And the evening will end here.
Which means I’ll barely have spent any time with Luca.
“Oh no, Kendra, do come!” I hear myself say, loudly and enthusiastically. I give a little jerk of my head over to Elisa. “We’ll have so much fun out with the boys…come on, there’s one for each of us!”
Luca’s eyebrows rise again, his lips quirk in amusement, and I realize that he understands English very well; I’m mortified. Now he’ll think I’m a total party girl. But quick-witted Kendra catches on immediately; she flicks her eyes sideways, taking in Elisa, who now has her hands on her hips, frowning as she watches us. Elisa says something to Ilaria, and they start to walk toward our group: that’s enough to make Kendra’s decision for her.
“Sure, okay, I’m in!” she says, jumping up with an athlete’s speed, and taking Andrea’s proffered arm. “Let’s get going!”
The boys don’t need telling twice; they shoot us off, probably afraid Kendra will change her mind again.
”
”
Lauren Henderson (Flirting in Italian (Flirting in Italian #1))
“
I squat to retrieve the pitcher but Bruno’s faster. He offers it to me and I make the mistake of looking him in the eye. My balance is thrown and I start to fall back. Bruno drops the pitcher and takes hold of both of my wrists to keep my butt from slamming into the ground. He uses my momentum, and in one swift movement, we’re both standing again, face-to-face. Too close. Way too close.
He smells of wine. And basil.
Bruno picks up the pitcher, slowly this time, and loops my fingers through the handle.
“All right?” he asks, his smile big and hypnotizing. I nod. “You should wash this.” I nod again. “And refill it.” Nod. “You agree with everything I say?” Nod. “You like sleeping in my bed last night?”
My face combusts, suddenly very aware of all the customers, especially the table of American hoochies not even five feet away. I steal a glance at them. The brunette’s mouth hangs open and the blond one looks me up and down, her expression simultaneously appalled and impressed. I’m mortified.
And slightly thrilled.
I run through the restaurant and into the kitchen without looking back. I blast the cold water into the sink, let it fill my cupped hands, and dip my face down into it again and again until I’m no longer on fire. When my eyes clear, I notice a hand towel dangling in front of me. Luca.
I take it and quickly pat my face dry. “I--”…have no idea what to say. “Your brother…”
Luca makes an understanding noise. “Bruno is”--he struggles for the world--“loud.”
I would have said something else, but his definition is accurate too. Luca wasn’t even outside but he obviously knows his brother well. Bruno barging in on me while I was changing should have told me everything I needed to know about him.
”
”
Kristin Rae (Wish You Were Italian (If Only . . . #2))
“
Inspiration is not just a short-term momentum. It could take time and generations of change to truly build a culture of creativity.
”
”
Pearl Zhu (100 Creativity Ingredients: Everyone’s Playbook to Unlock Creativity (Digital Master 12))
“
For the billionaires, champagne baths every morning and new Lamborghinis every afternoon couldn’t deplete the fathomless amount of cash on hand. “Your entire philosophy of money changes,” writes author Richard Frank in his book, Richistan. “You realize that you can’t possibly spend all of your fortune, or even part of it, in your lifetime, and that your money will probably grow over the years even if you spend lavishly.” There are dotcom entrepreneurs who could live top 1 percent American lifestyles and not run out of cash for 4,000 years. People who Bill Simmons would call “pajama rich,” so rich they can go to a five-star restaurant or sit courtside at the NBA playoffs in their pajamas. They have so much money that they have nothing to prove to anyone. And many of them are totally depressed. You’ll remember the anecdote I shared in this book’s introduction about being too short to reach between the Olympic rings at the playground jungle gym. I had to jump to grab the first ring and then swing like a pendulum in order to reach the next ring. To get to the third ring, I had to use the momentum from the previous swing to keep going. If I held on to the previous ring too long, I’d stop and wouldn’t be able to get enough speed to reach the next ring. This is Isaac Newton’s first law of motion at work: objects in motion tend to stay in motion, unless acted on by external forces. Once you start swinging, it’s easier to keep swinging than to slow down. The problem with some rapid success, it turns out, is that lucky breaks like Bear Vasquez’s YouTube success or an entrepreneur cashing out on an Internet wave are like having someone lift you up so you can grab one of the Olympic rings. Even if you get dropped off somewhere far along the chain, you’re stuck in one spot. Financial planners say that this is why a surprisingly high percentage of the rapidly wealthy get depressed. As therapist Manfred Kets de Vries once put it in an interview with The Telegraph, “When money is available in near-limitless quantities, the victim sinks into a kind of inertia.
”
”
Shane Snow (Smartcuts: The Breakthrough Power of Lateral Thinking)
“
The result was most peculiar, and it took a lot of work to get it laid out properly, but first tests were satisfactory. I called it “Momentum” and told anyone who saw it that it was a biting critique of modernity, representing how the culture of the past (the pergola) was contaminated and overwhelmed by the detritus of consumerist industrialism that was covering over the elegance of civilisation with mass-produced conformity. It was thus both a radical critique of capitalism and a nostalgic vision of traditional society. The essence of the concept lay in the inherent tension that existed between the two competing visions. The explanation, which sounded a lot better in French, was generally met with a look of panic and a rapid change of subject, which was just what I wanted.
”
”
Iain Pears (Arcadia)
“
Although the telling of our story is a learning tool, we must use caution lest we are swept away in the compulsive momentum of automatic, repetitive recitation. A static tale is devoid of life, stuck in the groove of historical limitation. The more we act out in this way, the more we reinforce an addiction to the same false identity. And if we tell ourselves a scary story, we are in fact being re-traumatized at every delivery, providing little room for growth or change.
”
”
Kim Lincoln (Holy Here Wholy You: Discovering Your Authentic Self)
“
Making the right choice, holding to right behaviors, practicing perfect habits, staying consistent, and keeping your momentum is easier said than done, especially in the dynamic, constantly changing, and always challenging world we share with billions of other people.
”
”
Darren Hardy (The Compound Effect)
“
Action is the key to creating the changes needed to propel you toward your chosen outcomes and help you achieve your relationship goals. How are you allocating your time, energy, and activities to ‘activate your awesome’ and contribute to making a positive first impression?
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
In the hit movie, “Pay It Forward,” a middle school child dreams of how he can change the world by being the catalyst for kindness. He begins his “social experiment” by performing a selfless act of kindness, and so begins the domino effect. As each consecutive person receives an act of kindness they, in turn, do something nice for another. The kindness becomes contagious and changes hundreds of lives for the better. Think of the global impact we could make if more people would make it their mission to simply pay if forward by BEING NICE.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
To cultivate bravery and courage, get involved in a cause you are passionate about.
Serving a vision bigger than yourself changes your focus from self-doubt to whatever action is necessary for the vision to succeed. “When in doubt, take it out.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
To cultivate bravery and courage, change your attitude toward failure. Many successful people will tell you that if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying—that failure is an essential precursor to achieving worthwhile endeavors. Failing (no matter how hard) is one of life’s best teachers for winning the next time.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
I remember hearing years ago about a centenarian being interviewed on her birthday. She was asked, “Throughout your life, you have witnessed amazing change and innovation. The past one-hundred years have brought the inventions of the car, television, air conditioning, and microwave ovens. What is the most extraordinary change you have seen in your lifetime?” Without missing a beat, she replied, “That a teenager can say “suck” in front of their parents and get away with it!”
While cultural norms may have changed with the times, being considerate of fellow human beings is not an antiquated notion; its time hasn't ended. Quite the opposite is true. In our world today, kindness and politeness are needed more than ever.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
All compliments are not created equal. Some may change the trajectory of a person’s life, while others fall on deaf ears. Is it well deserved or earned? People will remember you fondly when you have affirmed them in a positive way. Paying compliments creates good will, happy moments, and makes you more likable in return.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
The Service Mindset. When I began my real estate career at the age of twenty-two, I had a fresh Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing in one hand and ‘a tiger by the tail’ in the other. I was on a mission to be successful in life and in business and make a lot of money in the process. Every goal I set was about Me. Me. Me!
I was driven by: How much money could I make? Which property listings paid the biggest commissions? How many calls did I need to make to schedule new appointments? How many listings did I need to have to hit my target?
You can see where I am going with this! Working full-time, nights and weekends, seven days a week, I only made eleven thousand dollars in the first year! I was tired, disillusioned, and knew that I had to either change careers or massively shift my mindset.
I chose the latter. I took ALL focus off me and re-directed my time, energy, and resources to serving my clients. Their hopes, needs, and desires became my primary focus. How could I help solve their problems?
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Rather than being green with envy, realize that a dramatic difference between the “haves” and “have-nots” is the “do” and “do-nots.” If you are seeking positive change and transformation, what can you begin to do?
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
First, take complete responsibility for your life and current outcomes. Then take proactive steps for the necessary action to move forward in your desired direction. This personal choice is at the heart of your achieving impressive results. Taking initiative is the start of all good things born from action . . .
• Growth
• Creativity
• Enterprise
• Invention
• Success
• Solutions
• Accomplishment
• Development
• Positive Change
• Transformation
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Be the Inviter
“When I began my speaking career, I designed and delivered motivational programs for children teaching them success skills for life. Before going into a middle school one year, I interviewed the principal, Alexis Tibbetts, to ask what words of wisdom her students desperately needed to hear from me. She shared, “Kids can be so cruel. Some of the children never feel included or a part of something special. Please tell them that rather than being lonely and getting their feelings hurt, they can start doing the inviting.” Her words were spot-on. Alexis went on to become a well-loved superintendent of schools in Okaloosa County, Florida. Her words of wisdom were game-changing for her students. They can be game-changing for you as well.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Why is this disengagement epidemic becoming the new norm? A few reasons I have witnessed in speaking with companies across the country include . . .
• Information overload
• Distractions
• Stress/overwhelmed
• Apathy/detachment
• Short attention span
• Fear, worry, anxiety
• Rapidly changing technology
• Entitlement
• Poor leadership
• Preoccupation
• Social media
• Interruptions
• Multitasking
• Budget cuts
• Exhaustion
• Boredom
• Conflict
• Social insecurity
• Lack of longevity
These challenges not only create separation and work dysfunction, but we are seeing it happen in relationships and personal interactions.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Service [sur-vis] noun
1. the act of helping, aiding, or doing work for another.
“Does this dictionary definition sound simplistic? Well, it is foundational to delivering world-class, game-changing service. Did you notice it didn’t mention you? True service takes the focus completely off you and devotes it entirely to the needs of another person.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
The Service Mindset. When I began my real estate career at the age of twenty-two, I had a fresh Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing in one hand and ‘a tiger by the tail’ in the other. I was on a mission to be successful in life and in business and make a lot of money in the process. Every goal I set was about Me. Me. Me!
I was driven by: How much money could I make? Which property listings paid the biggest commissions? How many calls did I need to make to schedule new appointments? How many listings did I need to have to hit my target?
You can see where I am going with this! Working full-time, nights and weekends, seven days a week, I only made eleven thousand dollars in the first year! I was tired, disillusioned, and knew that I had to either change careers or massively shift my mindset.
I chose the latter. I took ALL focus off me and re-directed my time, energy, and resources to serving my clients. Their hopes, needs, and desires became my primary focus. How could I help solve their problems? And then EVERYTHING began to turn around . . .
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
13 Simple Ways to Deliver Service Beyond Self
1. Make it Easy for People to Do Business with You.
2. Be an Awesome, Sincere Listener.
3. Listen to Customers’ Words and tone of voice, body language, and how they feel. Ask questions, listen, and meet them on their level. Explain, guide, educate, assist and do what is necessary to help them get the information they need to fully understand regarding their question or issue.
4. Show Enthusiasm. Greet customers with genuine interest. Give them your best. Think, act, and talk with positive enthusiasm and you will attract positive results. Your attitude is contagious!
5. Identify and Anticipate Needs. Most customer needs are more emotional rather than logical.
6. Under Promise & Over Deliver.
Apply the principle of “Service Beyond Self” . . . give more than expected. Meet and exceed their expectations. If you can’t serve their needs, connect them with whoever can.
7. Make them Feel Important.
Our deepest desire is to feel important. People rarely care how much you know until they know how much you care. Use their names, find ways to compliment them—and be sincere.
8. Take Responsibility for their Satisfaction.
Do whatever is necessary to help them solve their problems. Let them know that if they can’t find answers to their questions to come back to you for help.
9. Treat your TEAM well.
Fellow colleagues are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treat your colleagues with respect; chances are they will have a higher regard for customers.
10. Choose an Attitude of Gratitude.
Gratitude changes your perspective and helps you appreciate the good rather than simply taking it for granted.
11. Perform, Provide and Follow-Up.
Always perform or provide your service in a spirit of excellence and integrity. If you say you’re going to do something—DO IT! There is tremendous value in being a resource for your customer. If you can help them to succeed, they are more likely to help you succeed.
12. Use Gracious Words. "Thank you, thank you very much.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
12 Simple Ways to Deliver Service Beyond Self
1. Make it Easy for People to Do Business with You.
2. Be an Awesome, Sincere Listener.
3. Listen to Customers’ Words and tone of voice, body language, and how they feel. Ask questions, listen, and meet them on their level. Explain, guide, educate, assist and do what is necessary to help them get the information they need to fully understand regarding their question or issue.
4. Show Enthusiasm. Greet customers with genuine interest. Give them your best. Think, act, and talk with positive enthusiasm and you will attract positive results. Your attitude is contagious!
5. Identify and Anticipate Needs. Most customer needs are more emotional rather than logical.
6. Under Promise & Over Deliver.
Apply the principle of “Service Beyond Self” . . . give more than expected. Meet and exceed their expectations. If you can’t serve their needs, connect them with whoever can.
7. Make them Feel Important.
Our deepest desire is to feel important. People rarely care how much you know until they know how much you care. Use their names, find ways to compliment them—and be sincere.
8. Take Responsibility for their Satisfaction.
Do whatever is necessary to help them solve their problems. Let them know that if they can’t find answers to their questions to come back to you for help.
9. Treat your TEAM well.
Fellow colleagues are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treat your colleagues with respect; chances are they will have a higher regard for customers.
10. Choose an Attitude of Gratitude.
Gratitude changes your perspective and helps you appreciate the good rather than simply taking it for granted.
11. Perform, Provide and Follow-Up.
Always perform or provide your service in a spirit of excellence and integrity. If you say you’re going to do something—DO IT! There is tremendous value in being a resource for your customer. If you can help them to succeed, they are more likely to help you succeed.
Use Gracious Words. "Thank you, thank you very much.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Have you ever had a friend in need whose only request was the gift of your presence? When major life changes happen or tragedies hit, you can find out very quickly who your real friends are because they are the ones who SHOW UP.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Extend Invitations
"How many times have you sat at home alone feeling jealous or sad that you were not invited to a party or out to dinner? You may have seen people having fun on Facebook and wondered what it would take to be included next time. And when you don’t feel included, it can leave you feeling rejected, dismissed, lonely and excluded. It does not have to be this way. Why do we wait for others to do the inviting? You can change your social life instantly by taking the initiative to reach out and connect with someone.
”
”
Susan C. Young (The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact (The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact, #4))
“
Each of the most basic physical laws that we know of corresponds to some invariance, which in turn is equivalent to a collection of changes which form a symmetry group. The symmetry group describes all the variations that can be formed from an initial seed pattern whilst still leaving some underlying theme unchanged. Thus, for example, the conservation of energy is equivalent to the invariance of the laws of motion with respect to translations backwards or forwards in time (that is, the result of an experiment should not depend on the time at which it was carried out, all other factors being identical); the conservation of linear momentum is equivalent to the invariance of the laws of motion with respect to the position of your laboratory in space, and the conservation of angular momentum to an invariance with respect to the directional orientation of your laboratory in space.
”
”
John D. Barrow (Theories of Everything: The Quest for Ultimate Explanation)
“
research validating Tom’s instincts. When researchers with the National Weight Control Registry examined the tactics used by successful dieters, they found that two characteristics, in particular, stood out. People who successfully maintain weight loss typically eat breakfast every morning. They also weigh themselves each day. Part of the reason why these habits matter is practical: Eating a healthy breakfast makes it less likely you will snack later in the day, according to studies. And frequently measuring your weight allows us—sometimes almost subconsciously—to see how changing our diets influences the pounds lost. But just as important is the mental boost that daily, incremental weight loss provides. The small win of dropping even half a pound can provide the dose of momentum we need to stick with a diet. We need to see small victories to believe a long battle will be won.
”
”
Charles Duhigg (The Power Of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business)
“
Ty slowed and pushed himself up, trailing gentle fingers over Zane’s shoulder blades. His hips were still thrusting into Zane, and his entire body was gleaming with sweat from his efforts and the heat of the fire just feet away. The change in momentum drove another husky wail out of Zane. His back arched almost painfully, and he threw a hand out, his fingers again digging helplessly for some sort of leverage from the rug. “You
”
”
Abigail Roux (Ball & Chain (Cut & Run, #8))
“
A level 4 leader's greatest asset is his ability to engage, empower, and equip his people; this is what creates the momentum for a significant change in the organization. He invests 80% in his people and 20% in the process.
”
”
Farshad Asl
“
In China, the only creatures that can really block forward momentum are the leaders of the Communist Party. Zhu Rongji made his career by taming inflation, which reached an annual rate of 21.7 percent in 1994.
”
”
Gordon G. Chang (The Coming Collapse of China)
“
The mistake people make,” Bingle said, “is thinking that there are different styles.” “All right.” “Force, balance, leverage, momentum—these principles never change. They are your style.
”
”
Lev Grossman (The Magician King (The Magicians, #2))
“
Not so. You have been doing that quite frequently now. Rest easy. Later the whole of quantum mechanics will be placed in the context of the ten-dimensional manifold of manifolds, and there reconciled to gravity and to general relativity. Then, if you go that far, you will feel better about how it is that these equations can work, or be descriptive of a real world.” “But the results are impossible!” “Not at all. There are other dimensions folded into the ones our senses perceive, as I told you.” “How can you be sure, if we can never perceive them?” “It’s a matter of tests pursued, just as you do it in your work. We have found ways to interrogate the qualities of these dimensions as they influence our sensorium. We see then that there must be other kinds of dimensions. For instance, when very small particles decay into two photons, these photons have a quantum property we call spin. The clockwise spin of one is matched by a counterclockwise spin of the same magnitude in the other one, so that when the spin values are added, they equal zero. Spin is a conserved quantity in this universe, like energy and momentum. Experiments show that before a spin is measured, there is an equal potential for it to be clockwise or counterclockwise, but as soon as the spin is measured it becomes one or the other. At that moment of measurement, the complementary photon, no matter how far away, must have the opposite spin. The act of measurement of one thus determines the spin of both, even if the other photon is many light-years away. It changes faster than news of the measurement could have reached it moving at the speed of light, which is as fast as information moves in the dimensions we see. So how does the far photon know what to become? It only happens, and faster than light. This phenomenon was demonstrated in experiments on Earth, long ago. And yet nothing moves faster than the speed of light. Einstein was the one who called this seemingly faster-than-light effect ‘spooky action at a distance,’ but it is not that; rather, the distance we perceive is irrelevant to this quality we call spin, which is a feature of the universe that is nonlocal. Nonlocality means things happening together across distance as if the distance were not there, and we have found nonlocality to be fundamental and ubiquitous. In some dimensions, nonlocal entanglement is simply everywhere and everything, the main feature of that fabric of reality. The way space has distance and time has duration, other manifolds have entanglement.
”
”
Kim Stanley Robinson (Galileo's Dream: A Novel)
“
But momentum picked up in Oakland. The fans had been primed—Goodman records were getting good West Coast air play, and the Oakland date was a boost for everyone. They drove into Los Angeles for the Aug. 21 date at the Palomar. This was the night swing was born: it was the watershed, critics would agree, that would change music for the next 15 years.
”
”
John Dunning (On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio)
“
Look at it as a test drive of one to two weeks. If you want to walk an hour a day, don’t start with one hour. Choosing one hour is automatically building in the excuse of not having enough time. Commit to a fail-proof five minutes instead. This is exactly what Dr. Fogg suggested to his sister, and that one change (the smallest meaningful change that created momentum) led her to buy running shoes and stop eating dessert, neither of which he suggested. These subsequent decisions are referred to in the literature as “consonant decisions,” decisions we make to be aligned with a prior decision. Take the pressure off and do something
”
”
Timothy Ferriss (The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman)
“
The matches are highly ritualized: Chinese players all scream the same way after hitting a big point: "Choooo." Players from everywhere approach the table after a rally and wipe their sweaty palms on the front corner of the surface beside the net, locking eyes. In a best-of-five or best-of-seven match, with games to 11, just a few points can change everything. Small swings of momentum become massive tectonic shifts.
”
”
Anonymous
“
To sustain momentum through a period of difficult change, you have to find ways to remind people of the orienting value—the positive vision—that makes the current angst worthwhile.
”
”
Ronald A. Heifetz (Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading)
“
Some of the world’s biggest banks and investor groups have swung behind a pledge to raise $200bn by the end of next year to combat climate change. In a move the UN said was unprecedented, leading insurers, pension funds and banks have joined forces to help channel the money to projects that will help poorer countries deal with the effect of global warming and cut reliance on fossil fuels. The announcement came at the start of a UN climate summit in New York aimed at bolstering momentum for a global agreement to lower planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions due to be signed in Paris at the end of 2015. “Change is in the air,” said UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon. “Today’s climate summit has shown an entirely new, co-operative global approach to climate change.” The summit opened with business and government pledges to make cities greener, create a renewable energy “corridor” in Africa and rein in the clearing of forests for palm oil plantations. The private sector’s contributions marked a “major departure” from past climate summits, the UN said, adding in a statement that financial groups “had never previously acted together on climate change at such a large scale”. One obstacle to the Paris agreement is developing countries’ insistence that richer nations must fulfil pledges made nearly five years ago to raise $100bn a year by 2020 for climate action.
”
”
Anonymous
“
You think the world's decided in fortresses, atop battlements, from afar behind razor wires and fences. It's not, not anymore. The world's decided in countinghouses. We don't listen to the march of boots; we listen to type machines and calculation machines pounding out revenues and budgets. This is how civilization progresses--one innovation at the right time, changing the very way the world changes. It just needs one big push to start the momentum.
”
”
Robert Jackson Bennett (City of Blades (The Divine Cities, #2))
“
you want to add momentum to your tidying work, tap the power of the atmosphere in your room rather than relying on music. The
”
”
Marie Kondō (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Magic Cleaning #1))
“
Wildly Popular House Buying Strategy In A Competitive Environment
It is important for the success of any real estate consulting company to have customers who are happy with their services. Customers who are unhappy with your real estate services business will stop buying your goods and will supply your business with a bad name. To guarantee that your business receives positive reviews, be certain to give your customers the best quality service. We've great ideas about how to create potential customers and keeping current ones satisfied.
Each new employee you bring into your real estate services business could have long-lasting repercussions, so choose them carefully. Prior to inviting someone to join you, be certain that he or she's going to be capable of performing the duties the job will require, and that he or she's certified in any way needed. Whenever a new employee joins your business, you should see that they receive thorough training and could complete the tasks assigned to them. Successful companies have happy staff members that need to help you succeed; they tend to be the product of ongoing training.
A real estate services business that hopes to be competitive in today's business world should have a professionally designed website. As a responsible business owner, you have to hire a professional website designer to build your site if you don't have the necessary skills to do it yourself. The appearance of your website is vital to its success, so be sure to use visually appealing templates and images that support your content. Never discount the importance of virtual retailing to your real estate consulting company's success; today's business climate requires that all companies establish and maintain a strong and authoritative web presence.
Don't give in to complacency, even though your real estate consulting company is doing well. House buying experts universally believe that the very best time to expand your company is when you are gaining momentum. When you have dedication to the project, you could build a successful company. If your company could learn to embrace changes in the marketplace and always strive for something better, you will get through a lot of tough times.
”
”
Uptown Realty Austin
“
new faster, leaner non-profits are springing up everywhere. They engage, they show momentum
”
”
Dan Portnoy (The Non-Profit Narrative: How Telling Stories Can Change the World (The Non-Profit Narrative Series Book 1))
“
To talk of humans as 'transcendent' is not to ascribe to them spiritual properties. It is, rather, to recognize that as subjects we have the ability to transform our selves, our natures, our world—an ability denied to any other physical being. In the six million years since the human and chimpanzee lines first diverged on either side of Africa's Great Rift Valley, the behaviour and lifestyles of chimpanzees have barely changed. Human behaviour and lifestyles clearly have. Humans have learnt to learn from previous generations, to improve upon their work, and to establish a momentum to human life and culture that has taken us from cave art to quantum physics and the conquest of space. It is this capacity for constant innovation that distinguishes humans from all other animals. All animals have an evolutionary past. Only humans make history.
”
”
Kenan Malik
“
It has larger implications. As change gathers momentum, people will STOP arguing over whether there should be alterations to the Accords and START arguing abot what exactly the changes should be or how fast they should happen. If we can get to that point, the end of the Citizenship Accords becomes...inevitable.
”
”
Ambelin Kwaymullina (The Foretelling of Georgie Spider (The Tribe, #3))
“
Archaeologists who want to establish the date of a particular site have a number of techniques they can use. If they find organic material, say the bones of an animal, they can use radiocarbon dating. If they find the remains of wooden structures, a post or lintel say, they can use dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating. If they find a firepit they can use archaeomagnetic dating.
Radiocarbon dating works because, when alive, an organism takes in carbon from the air or through the food chain; carbon contains small amounts of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, which decays into nonradioactive standard carbon at a constant rate; when the organism dies it ceases to ingest carbon, so the proportion of carbon-14 in its remains steadily decays. Measuring the relative amount of carbon-14 content therefore establishes a fairly accurate date for the specimen.
Dendrochronology works because tree rings vary in width season by season according to the rainfall received, and so trees that grow in a given climatic region and historical period show similar ring-width patterns. Comparing the ring pattern to a known and dated local ring pattern establishes exactly the years in which the wood in the structure was growing.
Archaeomagnetic dating works because the earth's magnetic field changes direction over time gradually in a known way. Clays or other materials in a firepit, when fired and cooled, retain a weak magnetism that aligns with the earth's field, and this establishes a rough date for the firepit's last use.
There are still other techniques: potassium-argon dating, thermoluminescence dating, hydration dating, fission-track dating. But what I want the reader to notice is that each of these relies on some particular set of natural effects.
That a technology relies on some effect is general. A technology is always based on some phenomenon or truism of nature that can be exploited and used to a purpose. I say "always" for the simple reason that a technology that exploited nothing could achieve nothing. This is the third of the three principles I am putting forward, and it is just as important to my argument as the other two, combination and recursiveness. This principle says that if you examine any technology you find always at its center some effect that it uses. Oil refining is based on the phenomenon that different components or fractions of vaporized crude oil condense at different temperatures. A lowly hammer depends on the phenomenon of transmission of momentum (in this case from a moving object-the hammer-to a stationary one-the nail).
Often the effect is obvious. But sometimes it is hard to see, particularly when we are very familiar with the technology. What phenomenon does a truck use? A truck does not seem to be based on any particular law of nature. Nevertheless it does use a phenomenon-or, I should say, two. A truck is in essence a platform that is self-powered and can be moved easily. Central to its self-powering is the phenomenon that certain chemical substances (diesel fuel, say) yield energy when burned; and central to its ease of motion is the "phenomenon" that objects that roll do so with extremely low friction compared with ones that slide (which is used of course in the wheels and bearings). This last "phenomenon" is hardly a law of nature; it is merely a usable-and humble-natural effect. Still it is a powerful one and is exploited everywhere wheels or rolling parts are used.
”
”
W. Brian Arthur (The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves)
“
GROWING UP changes one’s definition of what is fun — maturation does that, thankfully — so I hate to admit now that as a boy I thoroughly enjoyed throwing rocks at cars. It was a thrill to wait in hiding, ambush the car driving by, and then make our escape. Occasionally, a driver would stop their vehicle and get out to yell at us. But if we were really fortunate, they would chase us. We would run just far enough ahead to encourage them, but when they got close, we would turn on the afterburners of youth, leaving them far behind while we laughed hysterically. Once in a while, the police would come by — usually in unmarked cars — and the chase would be much more dramatic until we reached the ten-foot-tall fences at the end of the neighborhood field. To the police, it must have appeared as if they had us trapped. They had no idea, however, how practiced we were at vaulting those fences. We treated it like an Olympic event, running at full speed toward the fence and then leaping high into the air, grabbing the chain links, and allowing the momentum of our feet to swing us over the top and down on the other side. We would laugh at the police as we ran off, knowing there was no way they would follow us. Today I have great admiration for the police, who risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our lives, freedom, and property.
”
”
Ben Carson (America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great)
“
Boyd got the idea for “O-O-D-A” loops (he used dashes indicate that the steps are not distinct, but flow into each other) from observing the effects of jerky, unexpected, and abrupt maneuvers in air-to-air combat. After deciding that it was his quick OODA loops that allowed him to fight this way, Boyd defined “agility” in these terms: A side in a conflict or competition is more agile than its opponent if it can execute its OODA loops more quickly. This generalizes the term agility from air-to-air combat and from warfare in general. It also turns out to be equivalent to the definition floated in chapter II, the ability to rapidly change one’s orientation, since it is orientation locking up under the stress of competition and conflict that causes OODA loops to slow and makes one predictable, rather than abrupt and unpredictable. Speed, that is physical velocity, may provide an important tactical option, but it is not The Way.77 In fact, speed increases momentum, which can make one more predictable.
”
”
Chet Richards (Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd, Applied to Business)
“
One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” Michael Korda
”
”
Change Your Life Publishing (Achieve Your Full Potential: 1800 Inspirational Quotes That Will Change Your Life)
“
Step 1: Change your thinking and develop an attitude focused on healing Step 2: Detoxify to promote healing from the inside out Step 3: Eat the best foods to create a healing chemistry in your body Step 4: Supplement your diet correctly to support the healing momentum Step 5: Exercise and rest to speed the healing process.
”
”
Mike Herbert
“
In this chapter we will look at the entire edifice of QFT. We will see that it is based on three simple principles. We will also list some of its achievements, including some new insights and understandings not previously mentioned.
THE FOUNDATION
QFT is an axiomatic theory that rests on a few basic assumptions. Everything you have learned so far, from the force of gravity to the spectrum of hydrogen, follows almost inevitably from these three basic principles. (To my knowledge, Julian Schwinger is the only person who has presented QFT in this axiomatic way, at least in the amazing courses he taught at Harvard University in the 1950's.)
1. The field principle. The first pillar is the assumption that nature is made of fields. These fields are embedded in what physicists call flat or Euclidean three-dimensional space-the kind of space that you intuitively believe in. Each field consists of a set of physical properties at every point of space, with equations that describe how these particles or field intensities influence each other and change with time. In QFT there are no particles, no round balls, no sharp edges. You should remember, however, that the idea of fields that permeate space is not intuitive. It eluded Newton, who could not accept action-at-a-distance. It wasn't until 1845 that Faraday, inspired by patterns of iron filings, first conceived of fields. The use of colors is my attempt to make the field picture more palatable.
2. The quantum principle (discetization). The quantum principle is the second pillar, following from Planck's 1900 proposal that EM fields are made up of discrete pieces. In QFT, all physical properties are treated as having discrete values. Even field strengths, whose values are continues, are regarded as the limit of increasingly finer discrete values.
The principle of discretization was discovered experimentally in 1922 by Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach. Their experiment (Fig. 7-1) showed that the angular momentum (or spin) of the electron in a given direction can have only two values: +1/2 or -1/2 (Fig. 7-1).
The principle of discretization leads to another important difference between quantum and classical fields: the principle of superposition. Because the angular momentum along a certain axis can only have discrete values (Fig. 7-1), this means that atoms whose angular momentum has been determined along a different axis are in a superposition of states defined by the axis of the magnet. This same superposition principle applies to quantum fields: the field intensity at a point can be a superposition of values. And just as interaction of the atom with a magnet "selects" one of the values with corresponding probabilities, so "measurement" of field intensity at a point will select one of the possible values with corresponding probability (see "Field Collapse" in Chapter 8). It is discretization and superposition that lead to Hilbert space as the mathematical language of QFT.
3. The relativity principle. There is one more fundamental assumption-that the field equations must be the same for all uniformly-moving observers. This is known as the Principle of Relativity, famously enunciated by Einstein in 1905 (see Appendix A). Relativistic invariance is built into QFT as the third pillar. QFT is the only theory that combines the relativity and quantum principles.
”
”
Rodney A. Brooks (Fields of Color: The theory that escaped Einstein)
“
When life feels as if it’s become too difficult and our momentum threatens to break stride, remember,—hope is not lost. We are strong women, we are horse women, and when push comes to shove, sweet girl, we can always change rein, for a new direction never ceases to bring with it a new light.
”
”
Anne Jolin (Change Rein (Willow Bay Stables, #1))
“
Loss initiates change. When we go through discomfort, we grow through it. Like putting a pot of water on a burner, only when heat is applied does change begin. Loss can act as a force of momentum that makes us look at things differently, go inward, and reach new heights.
”
”
Tyler Henry (Here & Hereafter: How Wisdom from the Departed Can Transform Your Life Now)
“
In a strange way it would be pleasant to leave and then return, Dinesh felt, to come back and find her still lying there, safely and peacefully, breathing slowly in and out beside the rock. Just as coming home from school or work in the past he would notice certain small, inconspicuous changes around the house, that ether was now a letter on the table, that the windows had been opened or shut, or that wet clothes were hanging on the clothesline, and feel reassured somehow by these signs this his life was part of something larger that had its own momentum and energy, something with its own separate impulse for movement, in the same way it would be gratifying to return to the clearing after his bath and find that Ganga had gone on existing there without hum, that independently of him her small chest had continued rising an falling, that the faint vessels beneath he skin continued their delicate pulsing.
”
”
Anuk Arudpragasam (The Story of a Brief Marriage)
“
Taking small steps will remind you that this is true. It will soothe you in a way that just thinking about taking action never will. It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking rather than think your way into a new way of acting, so do one little thing today and let the momentum build.
”
”
Brianna Wiest (101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think)
“
Get rid of the Denial, throw away the Excuses and the Blame that only trip you up and stop your momentum. If conditions change, don’t blame the market; use what you learn from your audit to get in compliance with the new conditions!
”
”
Jane Ann Craig (The Audit Principle: 5 Powerful Steps to Align Your Life with the Law of Success)
“
Reflection • Think of a desirable but unrealistic outcome. Why exactly it is unrealistic? Whose comfort zones does it disrupt? Idea • Courageous goals have their own momentum. They force a change of scene, raise entirely new questions, and call new relationships into being. Tool • Use the Courageous Goal Starter Kit to get things moving: 1) Dream it, 2) Declare it, and 3) Get started. Tool • Make it sticky with SUCCES: Get more buy-in for your Courageous outcome by describing it using the principles defined by Chip and Dan Heath and their acronym, SUCCES – it should be 1) Simple, 2) Unexpected, 3) Concrete, 4) Credible, 5) Emotional, and 6) contain a Story.
”
”
Dave Stitt (Deep and deliberate delegation: A new art for unleashing talent and winning back time)
“
Time and space
Like an avalanche
Beyond the age of possibilities
Too heavy to be seen
The super partner spinning and pops into existence
I see your reflection
Avoiding changes and divergences
Love get smaller, we limited with the small mind try to control the flow
New phenomena inversely proportional
Momentum is all that matters
We must let it all change
The symmetry was not preserved
Look forward and absorb the moment
BOOK: LIFTING THE VAIL
BY: A. M. FRITH
”
”
Ana M Frith
“
By the end of the first year of that first Bush presidency, Sununu had almost single-handedly halted the political momentum in Washington, turned climate change into a partisan issue, and put denial of the science on its way toward Republican orthodoxy.
”
”
Kurt Andersen (Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America)
“
This feeling of irritability and alienation meant I was malleable. Have you ever tried to argue with someone who doesn’t want anything from you? It’s hard. Have you ever noticed in a row with someone that no longer loves you that you have no recourse? No tools with which to bargain. If you stroll up to a stranger and tell them that unless they comply with your demands they’ll never see you again, it’s unlikely that they’ll fling themselves at your feet and beg you not to go. They’ll just wander off. When people are content, they are difficult to maneuver. We are perennially discontent and offered placebos as remedies. My intention in writing this book is to make you feel better, to offer you a solution to the way you feel. I am confident that this is necessary. When do you ever meet people that are happy? Genuinely happy? Only children, the mentally ill, and daytime television presenters. My belief is that it is possible to feel happier, because I feel better than I used to. I am beginning to understand where the solution lies, primarily because of an exhausting process of trial and mostly error. My qualification to write a book on how to change yourself and change the world is not that I’m better than you, it’s that I’m worse. Not that I’m smarter, but that I’m dumber: I bought the lie hook, line, and sinker. My only quality has been an unwitting momentum, a willingness to wade through the static dissatisfaction that has been piped into my mind from the moment I learned language. What if that feeling of inadequacy, isolation, and anxiety isn’t just me? What if it isn’t internally engineered but the result of concerted effort, the product of a transmission? An ongoing broadcast from the powerful that has colonized my mind? Who is it in here, inside your mind, reading these words, feeling that fear? Is there an awareness, an exempt presence, gleaming behind the waterfall of words that commentate on every event, label every object, judge everyone you come into contact with? And is there another way to feel? Is it possible to be in this world and feel another way? Can you conceive, even for a moment, of a species similar to us but a little more evolved, that have transcended the idea that solutions to the way we feel can be externally acquired? What would that look like? How would that feel—to be liberated from the bureaucracy of managing your recalcitrant mind. Is it possible that there is a conspiracy to make us feel this way? If we were cops right now, we’d look for a motive. If our peace of mind, our God-given right to live in harmony with our environment and one another, has been murdered, who are the prime suspects? Well, who has a motive?
”
”
Russell Brand (Revolution)
“
You don’t need to wait until you feel like changing to start changing. All you need is to make one microshift at a time and then let the energy and momentum build.
”
”
Brianna Wiest (The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery)
“
Unless familiar behaviors are 100% loathsome, they are the ultimate brain reward. Why else would people stay in unpleasant situations and continue harmful patterns? They prefer a familiar, bad life over an unknown (possibly worse, probably better) life.
”
”
Stephen Guise (The Magic of Momentum: Escape Any Rut. Build Winning Streaks. Use Forward Motion to Change the Trajectory of Your Life.)
“
On what regards the topic of reincarnation, as with most topics that are hard to understand through a metacognitive approach, try to see it from different momentums, from the most recent to the oldest, and you will notice that you have been living many lives inside the current body as well. So it doesn't matter so much who we were or the mistakes we made as much as our capacity to change. The topic of forgiveness starts fundamentally with ourselves. It is at the core of our heart that we develop the potential to change.
”
”
Dan Desmarques
“
One of the most powerful aspects of momentum is that it creates a positive feedback loop. As we make progress towards our goals, we build confidence, motivation and a sense of momentum that helps us to tackle even bigger challenges. This positive cycle of growth and success can be incredibly energising and rewarding and can help us to achieve things we never thought possible by changing our paradigm.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
So take that first step forward and let the momentum guide your way. With determination and perseverance, success will surely come your way.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Love has the power to transform our entire paradigm of existence. It can shatter our preconceived notions and limiting beliefs, opening up a world of new and exciting possibilities.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
. You can alter your life by altering your attitude to challenges and view yourself as invincible. This is the greatest agent and catalyst for change.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Remember, your mindset is a powerful tool that can either hold you back or propel you forward towards success.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Your purpose is not something to be found, it is something to be created.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
When you find your purpose, it's like a light switch turning on. Suddenly, everything makes sense and you know what you need to do.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Life is a journey and the path is never straight. Embrace the twists and turns and keep moving forward with faith and determination.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Our perception can be both empowering and limiting. It can lead us to opportunities or hold us back from achieving our goals. For example, two people can look at the same situation and see it differently. One may see a problem while the other sees an opportunity. The difference is in their perception.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
Perception is a powerful thing. It can make us feel like we're flying on wings. Or it can bring us down, to the depths of despair, making us feel like we're going nowhere.
”
”
Itayi Garande (Paradigm Shift: Change Your Mindset and Live the Life of Your Dreams)
“
The Test of Death
-Would you believe someone you trust and swear to tell you the truth?
-No
-Why?
-He may say what he thinks is the truth, which is not so, and I believe that the truth is not given, but taken, snatched, you have to fight to get it, the truth is not free.
– We sent you to carry out a dangerous, sensitive task, a matter of life or death, and we sent someone you know is a deceiver and a liar to share it with you, we do not trust him either, but we need him? Do you accept it with him?
-Maybe yes and maybe no
-How?
-Trust here has no place, even if I trust him, I may not implement it with him, and I may implement it with someone I do not trust, everyone in a certain circumstance has the ability of betrayal and treachery, as they have the capacity for honesty and sincerity, I will not trust anyone with a dangerous operation like this, but I will trust the plan; if the plan had taken all possibilities into consideration, including the possibilities of treachery, and if we put alternative plans in case of emergency, I would trust the plan itself, and implement it with those whose presence is required.
-What is brainwashing?
-It is a radical transformation of ideas in a short period of time, without a convincing reason or explanation.
– How does the process work?
-The primitive method is by coercive means, such as physical or psychological torture, to implant thoughts directly into the victim’s head.
-What is the most advanced method?
-By manipulating the surrounding environment of the victim, and passing ideas into his brain indirectly, to convince him that it is the product of chance, or for supernatural reasons such as your pre-written destiny, or that God has chosen you for this moment, and the more convincing the environment, and the more serendipitous, the quality of the process better.
-How do you know you are being brainwashed?
-I watch my thoughts, if I suddenly decide to switch them without a clear and convincing reason, and within a short period of time, then I have to study the changes in the environment around me, new people, targeted ads on social media, random videos, and everything around me seem to happen by chance It is directly or indirectly related to new ideas. Then research and focus, analyze and elicit, to try and discover the process.
-What is long-term brainwashing?
-A traditional brainwashing process, but it takes a relatively long time, such as repeating the idea to be cultivated weekly instead of repeating it daily, and this happens if the victim is intelligent and careful observation, so the process is done carefully and slowly so as not to discover it.
-Which is more powerful, short-term or long-term brainwashing?
-The short; the mind quickly ignores, when passing the idea in separate periods of time, it ignores the old ones, and buries them away in its memory, thus their impact decreases, so we are forced to plant the idea a thousand times instead of a hundred, to increase the momentum and compensate for the lack of influence of the old ideas, and with the presence of spaced periods of time when the process takes a long time, and the chance of discovering the target becomes greater.
-What is a mind injection, and how is it done?
-It is the process of implanting the ideas that are required to be implanted in it, in direct or indirect ways, and each has its own method and method of injection, some of them rush and some of them take longer than the necessary time, and in both cases, the injection does not take its desired effect, but it is possible that the effect is completely reversed.
-How do you know that the injection process is going well?
-The new and reprehensible reactions of the victim, especially the spontaneous ones. Which is issued near the end of the injection process.
”
”
Ahmad I. AlKhalel (Zero Moment: Do not be afraid, this is only a passing novel and will end (Son of Chaos Book 1))
“
you must begin “with the end in mind,” as the author Stephen Covey so aptly put it in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.1 In this case, the desired goal is to secure some early wins that will help you build the momentum for change in the business. You’ll need to identify three or four areas in which you have a good chance of realizing rapid improvements—think of them as your “centers of gravity.” The best candidates are business problems that you can get to relatively quickly, that won’t require too much money or other resources to fix, and whose solution will yield very visible operational or financial gains.
”
”
Michael D. Watkins (Master Your Next Move, with a New Introduction: The Essential Companion to "The First 90 Days")
“
We like to believe when something is over, it’s behind us. Finished. Done. A neat package we can tuck into our closet or toss with the trash. But everything we do, everyone we love, stays with us in one form or another. Feelings fade, yes, while experience changes us. And thank goodness. Experience is how we learn. It’s how we love better the next time. I’ve seen hundreds of clients amid a so-called breakup or divorce. Many mourn the end of a relationship years after the fact. Grief, pain, or general discomfort following the loss of love—even if you initiated its end—is inevitable. I’ve found if we can reframe this end point into something else, a gain, a path forward, we lessen our struggle. When we stop resisting, grief and pain become momentum propelling you into the next phase of your life. They signify not a closed door but a long hallway with many paths. When I ask my clients to swap the defeatist terminology of “breaking up” or “divorce” for “working through the end of our relationship,” at first, they almost always resist. “It’s so awkward,” they tell me. “Forced.” To which I reply, “Yes, and we know change is uncomfortable. Stay with it and see what comes. It’s an experiment, nothing more.” Soon, they might begin to talk of their “breakup,” catch themselves, and start again using new words. Instead of saying, “It’s so hard. I’m so miserable,” they say, “It hurts, but we’re continuing to work through it.” Aha! Now we can begin to focus not on the loss but what is gained. 48
”
”
Lauren Parvizi (La Vie, According to Rose)
“
Let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here is a reliable estimate of things people worry about: Things that never happen, 40%; things that are over and past and that can never be changed by all the worry in the world, 30%; needless worries about our health, 12%; petty miscellaneous worries, 10%; real, legitimate worries, 8%. In short, 92% of the average person’s worries take up valuable time, cause painful stress even mental anguish, and are absolutely unnecessary,” - Earl Nightingale, motivational speaker.
”
”
Thibaut Meurisse (Master Your Motivation: A Practical Guide to Unstick Yourself, Build Momentum and Sustain Long-Term Motivation (Mastery Series Book 2))
“
Great captains and great CEOs both know you can’t move fast every minute of the journey. If you’re going to go the distance, you have to recognize that the conditions around you are always changing. You have to be strategically patient, but that doesn’t mean sitting back and waiting. It means leaning in and being prepared for the moment to step on the gas. But when that breakout moment first arrives, your first steps out of the starting gates should be fast. In fact, they should be explosive. The whole idea is to generate enormous early momentum behind your idea—before anyone else can steal your thunder.
”
”
Reid Hoffman (Masters of Scale: Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs)
“
Secure Early Wins—Checklist Given your agreed-to business goals, what do you need to do during your transition to create momentum for achieving them? How do people need to behave differently to achieve these goals? Describe as vividly as you can the behaviors you need to encourage and those you need to discourage. How do you plan to connect yourself to your new organization? Who are your key audiences, and what messages would you like to convey to them? What are the best modes of engagement? What are the most promising focal points to get some early improvements in performance and start the process of behavior change? What projects do you need to launch, and who will lead them? What predictable surprises could take you off track?
”
”
Michael D. Watkins (The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter)
“
ran, his body became heavier, thicker, rippling with muscles. He crashed into the giant as a full-grown grizzly, a thousand pounds of pure force. He was still small compared to Alcyoneus, but he slammed into the giant with such momentum, Alcyoneus toppled into an icy watchtower that collapsed on top of him. Frank sprang at the giant’s head. A swipe of his claw was like a heavyweight fighter swinging a chain saw. Frank bashed the giant’s face back and forth until his metallic features began to dent. “Urgg,” the giant mumbled in a stupor. Frank changed to his regular form. His backpack was still with him. He grabbed the rope he’d bought in Seward, quickly made a noose, and fastened it around the giant’s scaly dragon foot.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
Noether proved mathematically that equations will only exhibit this symmetry if they are associated with a quantity whose value does not change. In other words, for time translation symmetry to exist in the laws of mechanics, something must be conserved. That something is what we call energy. Noether’s theorem goes far beyond energy conservation. It shows that whenever equations contain a symmetry, some quantity must be conserved. For example, the laws of mechanics do not regard one location in space as being more special than any other. Billiard balls follow these laws irrespective of where in the universe they are. This means the laws of mechanics have a spatial symmetry as well as a temporal one. For this to happen, a quantity called momentum is conserved. This is linked to the idea of inertia—the familiar feeling of being thrown forward when the vehicle you’re in brakes suddenly. Put another way, this happens to ensure the laws of mechanics are the same everywhere in the universe. Other conserved quantities linked to symmetries include angular momentum and electrical charge.
”
”
Paul Sen (Einstein's Fridge: How the Difference Between Hot and Cold Explains the Universe)
“
Ticker tape fever. During the run-up to the 1929 crash on Wall Street, many people had become addicted to playing the stock market, and this addiction had a physical component—the sound of the ticker tape that electronically registered each change in a stock’s price. Hearing that clicking noise indicated something was happening, somebody was trading and making a fortune. Many felt drawn to the sound itself, which felt like the heartbeat of Wall Street. We no longer have the ticker tape. Instead many of us have become addicted to the minute-by-minute news cycle, to “what’s trending,” to the Twitter feed, which is often accompanied by a ping that has its own narcotic effects. We feel like we are connected to the very flow of life itself, to events as they change in real time, and to other people who are following the same instant reports. This need to know instantly has a built-in momentum. Once we expect to have some bit of news quickly, we can never go back to the slower pace of just a year ago. In fact, we feel the need for more information more quickly. Such impatience tends to spill over into other aspects of life—driving, reading a book, following a film. Our attention span decreases, as well as our tolerance for any obstacles in our path.
”
”
Robert Greene (The Laws of Human Nature)
“
In my discipline, we affectionately refer to this sort of box (culture) as a zeitgeist, which literally translates to 'time ghost.' Unfortunately for any of you expecting spooky surprises, a zeitgeist doesn't refer to a literal ghost but is better understood as the 'spirit of the age,' although even this doesn't quite pin down its meaning. Think of any stereotype of any decade in the last century-from the Roaring Twenties, Flower Power of the sixties-any of these could certainly be said to illustrate the zeitgeist of that era. But zeitgeists can also be more specific than this, and its the SSDC that ends up developing a decent portion our zeitgeists, the sorts of zeitgeists that can be doubly hard to see outside of because they define more than just lifestyle practices. They define everything we think we know about our collective identities and our collective realities.
Of relevance here is the zeitgeist of 'I know best about my body.' It's a lesson we teach people from almost before they can talk: 'You know your body,' 'Listen to your body,' and so forth. And while these are great truisms to teach our children about consent and empowerment as they grow older, they do come with blinders as they become our culture's zeitgeist. How can we really expect people to do a 180 on this logic all of a sudden in 2021?...It would be more productive of us to ask the broad cultural reasons that people resist such mandates, rather than scolding individuals for not conforming. Only then, I think, can we slowly begin to change our collective zeitgeists to those that encourage ownership and empowerment of our own bodies and also add in a healthy dose of 'Sometimes the body is silent' or 'Trust one's own body in collaboration with trusted experts' or something of the like. Ironically enough, the very denial of any shared realities that I mentioned in Lesson 20 is its own zeitgeist that has been gaining momentum for the last five years or so. I worry that this only allows the virus-or any other pathogen in our future-a foothold. Our divisions are their smorgasbord. How can we plan and strategize if we can't agree that we need to plan or strategize to begin with? This is one of the biggest hurdles we'll need to overcome to ensure humanity's long-term survival. It's possibly one of the most terrifying threats to humanity that I've seen in my lifetime-for if our only shared belief is that there is not shared beliefs, where do we go from there?
”
”
Kari Nixon (Quarantine Life from Cholera to COVID-19: What Pandemics Teach Us About Parenting, Work, Life, and Communities from the 1700s to Today)
“
creative solutions. Never sacrifice the good in search of the perfect. To get from A to Z, focus on getting from A to B. You’re likely to change course long before Z anyway. There is no silver bullet, no shortcut. One foot forward, then the next. Think ahead, but don’t borrow trouble. Make plans in postulation, not prediction. Build momentum, always momentum, above all else momentum.
”
”
Isaac Lidsky (Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World That Can't See Clearly)
“
Momentum fuels motivation.
”
”
Jason Fried (ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever)
“
Your small accomplishments might not look good on paper, but they can change the brain when linked, generate momentum, and are 100% attainable.
”
”
Stephen Guise (Elastic Habits: Good Habits That Adapt to Your Day)