Rasheed Ogunlaru Quotes

In life one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day - or to celebrate each special day.

How you look at it is pretty much how you'll see it

Peace of mind arrives the moment you come to peace with the contents of your mind.

Thoughts will lead you in circles. Silence will bring you back to your centre.

Take a walk outside - it will serve you far more than pacing around in your mind.

Be genuinely interested in everyone you meet and everyone you meet will be genuinely interested in you

In leadership, life and all things it’s far wiser to judge people by their deeds than their speech - their track record rather than their talk” – Rasheed Ogunlaru

While you'll feel compelled to charge forward it's often a gentle step back that will reveal to you where you and what you truly seek.

Q: When is the perfect time? A: Who can say, but probably somewhere between haste and delay - and it's usually most wise to start today.

Live your life, sing your song. Not full of expectations. Not for the ovations. But for the joy of it.

Role models are only of limited use. For no-one is as important, potentially powerful and as key in your life and world as you.

Expectation has brought me disappointment. Disappointment has brought me wisdom. Acceptance, gratitude and appreciation have brought me joy and fulfilment.

People will ask you the question 'how is life treating you?' But my question is 'how are you treating life?' On that your happiness rests

Love is the only answer to every question. It is the only thing that will serve you in every situation. It is the route and the destination. It is medication, liberation and should be at the heart of and expression of your vocation.

It's not the depth of your intellect that will comfort you or transform your world. Only the richness of your heart and your generosity of spirit can do that

Those who say life is knocking them down and giving them a tough time are usually the first to beat themselves up. Be on your own side.

Finding oneself and one's path is like waking up on a foggy day. Be patient, and presently the fog will clear and that which has always been there can be seen. The path is already there to follow

You can not hope to arrive at harmony in your life while stirring up disturbances in anothers...

My advice for life: dance and sing your song while the party is still on.

There's no alternative to being yourself. Accept it, honour it, value it - and get on with it.

There are essentially two questions in life - a spiritual question and a material question. The spiritual question is 'Who am I?' The material question is 'What am I to do with my life?' One leads to the other.

We're merely one tree with various types, shapes and sizes of leaves that all wave differently in the breeze

Friendships - and indeed most relationships - are measured in the closeness of hearts, minds and soul ties... not in the distance of physical miles or even the passing of time.

You will rarely make wise decisions if you surround yourself with fools

If you listen quietly enough life will whisper its secrets to you

As the sun knows; even the sky is not the limit...

Any fool can break something, criticise someone and tear things apart. It takes a far more skilled, wise and kind soul to build something, nurture someone, fix things and help others thrive over time.

Sometimes in life there's no problem and sometimes in there is no solution. In this space - between these apparent poles - life flows.

What people say and feel about you when you've left a room is precisely your job while you are in it.

There are ultimately two choices in life: to fight it or to embrace it. If you fight it you will lose - if you embrace it you become one with it and you'll be lived.

The only way to change someone's mind is to connect with them from the heart.

In our evolution language has been the greatest single contribution to our understanding and misunderstanding

If you're jealous of someone else it simply means you have not come to a true acceptance and appreciation of yourself.

Sooner or later you'll hear what your heart has always been telling you: stop trying to be who you think you should be - become who you are.

The internet and online communication is the window into your world - but real life, in person communication / connection is the door.

Beware trying to iron out all your quirks, perceived flaws and doubts. It's often these things that help you find strength, compassion, empathy for others and heart.

The world is already yours - why try to conquer it?

The land of possibility is a better place to make your home than the realm of expectation will ever be

Know your magic, trust your magic, use your magic and know that you are a manifestation of life's magic.

It's essential to keep moving, learning and evolving for as long as you're here and this world keeps spinning

Legacy is not what's left tomorrow when you're gone. It's what you give, create, impact and contribute today while you're here that then happens to live on.

Life is a series of events and sensations. Everything else is interpretation. Much is lost in translation and added in assumption / projection

Some strive to make themselves great. Others help others see and find their own greatness. It's the latter who really enrich the world we live in

Tomorrow's leaders will not lead dictating from the front, nor pushing from the back. They will lead from the centre - from the heart

Our life stories are largely constructed and without mindfulness can prove destructive.

Just because a door appears closed it does not mean that it is locked - nor that it will not open with the right heart, call or touch

Unlike many other journeys, when it comes to finding self and matters of the heart you'll swiftly find yourself lost if you follow someone else's

A rich life is lived from a giving heart not a selfish mind.

The greatest gift you can give (yourself or anyone else) is just being present

We are one at the root - we just part at the branch

Rest and peace should not be left until you're deceased. They are two vital life incredients everybody needs and seeks.

Don't spend your life believing a story about yourself that you didn't write that's been fed to you - that simply you've accepted, embedded and added to. Let the story go and there beneath is the real you...and your unique gifts, heart and path that await you.

It's not the world that needs to change - it's our consciousness we must raise

The head thinks. The heart knows.

When you feel that others are lacking and failing .... first assess the skill, style, quality, results, mindset, support, professionalism and spirit with which you yourself play the game.

Life itself is the best (and the only) timekeeper.

There's no beauty without difference and diversity. Love unconditionally.

The best way to look back at life fondly is to meet it - and those along your journey - warmly, kindly and mindfully

Intelligence is just one dimension of ability. Don't limit yourself to it. Open up to instinct, intuition, creativity and thus possibility

The mind defines, decides, doubts and divides - only the heart truly binds.

If you must walk in someone's shadow make sure it's your own

Step outside for a while - calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually

I am not sure that you can be taught how to love. In many ways it is innate - just watch and see what small child effortlessly does. But you can be invited to it and reminded of it.

It is not blindly pushing your own agenda that will enrich the world. It’s is your ability and willingness to understand, appreciate, anticipate, address, serve and support the lives of others that will.

I've no interest in being thought provoking. Who needs more thoughts. I'd rather go down as one who is thought disposing.

First one must understand conditioning - only then can we speak of choice

To truly motivate others 1) discover what their motives, desires & drivers are 2) genuinely connect with and support them from the heart.

Love is the only answer to every question

During my life journey I've discovered an interesting thing; once you stop seeking outside you discover what already resides within.

Don't waste your whole lifetime waiting for the perfect life when there's a perfectly good one within and right in front of you.

There is no question- love is the answer

When you fall short of your goals and dreams ask yourself is it your mindset, perspective, expectations, effort, approach, acceptance, company or a blend of these that needs to change.

Inspiration may come from many places but motivation - the love of life, daily drive and the will to thrive - that must come from you from within

Throw your arms around the world and hold on tight. But not through fear ...but because of your love.

Odd how we focus on studying wars at at school to form our 'education'. No wonder we know so little about making and forging peace as adults.

It is one thing doing what you love for a living. It is another thing doing what you love with love

The moment that you give gratitude is the moment that you find happiness. The moment that you lose gratitude your happiness will vanish and slip through your fingers

A touch less ego and dash more humility will improve the quality of anything you turn your hand to.

Is your life story the truth? Yes, the chronological events are true. Is it the whole truth? No, you see and judge it through your conditioned eyes and mind - not of all involved - nor do you see the entire overview. Is it nothing but the truth? No, you select, share, delete, distort, subtract, assume and add what you want, need and choose to.

Only the foolish would think that wisdom is something to keep locked in a drawer. Only the fearful would feel empowerment is something best kept to oneself, or the few, and not shared with all.

All I have learned in life really just boils down to this: there is only one difference between the so-called wise and the so-called foolish...and between those who are truly happy and those who are not. Those who are wise - and those who are happy - embrace and appreciate life. Those who are unhappy and unwise do not. That is all; that is the only difference.

Every great athlete, artist and aspiring being has a great team to help them flourish and succeed - personally and professionally. Even the so-called 'solo star' has a strong supporting cast helping them shine, thrive and take flight.

Authenticity is hard to fake

You cannot pour more water into a full cup without causing a spillage.

The right word at the right time will unlock the door to treasures - the wrong one will close it forever

While being you and truly sharing what you do will bring happiness to others, you won't find contentment merely trying to keep others happy.

All hate is hurt, all compassion is understanding

Your mind will enchain you. Your heart will set you free

The reason that so many fail to find happiness is that they fail to find gratitude.

Expectation and disappointment are far from friends but they are close relations.

Sometimes you learn, grow and give far more when your back's against the wall.

Too much time is wasted fighting one self and life itself. Peace and fulfilment emerge the moment you embrace both.

Compassion is even more powerful than courage. Sure, with courage you can conquer a world - but only with compassion can you heal and build it.

How you look it is pretty much how you'll see it

A free spirit is not bound by this, that, matter, materialism or opinion. They sing, dance and flow on the wind - for they are at one with it. They are nothing and everything - void and expanse. Even space and time does not confine or define them. For they are pure energy itself.

Your words, thoughts, intentions and actions today are your best hope, comfort, building blocks and insurance for tomorrow. But it is now alone that is guaranteed – tomorrow is a dream, a maybe a potential gift. It’s now - not tomorrow - where happiness and fulfilment live...awaiting your discovery. It’s all this that will make each extra day that may arrive extra special and rich.

You only ever have three things: 1) your self, wellbeing and mindset 2) Your life network, resources and resourcefulness 3) Your reputation and goodwill. Treasure and tend the first. Value, support and build the second. And mindfully, wisely ensure that the third (your life current and savings account) is always in credit.

There are two powerful fuels, two forces; motivation and inspiration. To be motivated you need to know what your motives are. Over time - and to sustain you through it - your motivation must become an inner energy; a 'motor' driving you forward, passionately, purposefully, wisely and compassionately... come what may, every day. Inspiration is an outer - worldly - energy that you breathe and draw in. It may come from many places, faces, spaces and stages - right across the ages. It is where nature, spirit, science, mind and time meet, dance, play and speak. It keeps you outward facing and life embracing. But you must be open-minded and open-hearted to first let it in and then let it out again. Together - blended, combined and re-entwined - motivation and inspiration bring connectivity, productivity, creativity and boundless possibilities that is not just 'self' serving but enriching to all humanity and societies...just as it should be.

You are not who you think you are. You are not who they want you to be. You are not merely your colour, class, gender - and so on - these are quite narrow things. You are not the ideas you are given and gather. You are not what you own or lay claim to. You are not even your life story - for that changes through time, perspective, emphasis and many things. You are what resides before, between and beyond all these things." - R. Ogunlaru

If you are going to judge others it is wisest to do so individually not collectively and on your own direct experience of them personally. But first - and throughout - examine yourself closely. Blurred vision can often occur due to the lens, perspective and perceptions of the viewer projected onto the object that it sees. Be wary of taking to the judges seat. Above all meet at treat yourself and everyone else mindfully, compassionately with humanity.