But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the … sun, and that means another morning of opportunity to share some Shakespeare quotes that can be bent into great suggestions for those who own and run small businesses.

(Note: Like many things regarding Shakespeare, there is debate about precisely when he was born and died. We’re following the tradition of observing both his birth (1564) and death (1616) on April 23.)

See also on SmallBusiness.com | On The 400th Anniversary of Cervantes’ Death, The Top 35 Small Business Quotes From Don Quixote

1. To business that we love we rise betime, And go to’t with delight.

Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Scene 4

2. There is a tide in the affairs of men…

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3

3. Screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7

4. All things are ready if our minds be so.

Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3

5. Brevity is the soul of wit.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

6. Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3

7. The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.

Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2

Also on SmallBusiness.com |  Monday Morning Small Business Motivational Mashup: Goethe & Star Wars

Featured Photo: By Shadowgate via Flickr | cc-by-2.0

(From the SmallBusiness.com Archive. First published, November 20, 2018)

In the U.S., Thursday is Thanksgiving. It is a national holiday set aside to express our thankfulness and gratitude for the blessings we’ve received. At SmallBusiness.com, one of the things we are most thankful for is you. We thank you for using the information on the site and greatly appreciate the wisdom you share with us, as well. To celebrate the holiday, we pulled together this list of inspirational, motivational, and insightful quotations about gratitude and thankfulness. 

1. “O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!”
   William Shakespeare
   Henry VI
2. Thankfulness is the tune of angels.
   Edmund Spenser (1895)
3. “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
   Maya Angelou
4. “Thanks are justly due for things got without purchase.”
   Ovid
5. “That possession which we gain by the sword is not lasting; gratitude for benefits is eternal.”
   Quintus Curtius Rufus
6. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
   William Arthur Ward
7. “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
   G.K. Chesterton
8. “If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.”
   Robert Quillen
9. “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
   Robert Brault
10. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”
    John F. Kennedy
11. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
    Charles Dickens
12. “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
    Eckhart Tolle
13. “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”
    Frank A. Clark
14. “If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.”
    Gerald Good
15. “Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”
    Fred De Witt
16. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
17. Epictetus
18. “At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
    Albert Schweitzer
19. “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.”
    William James
20. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
    Oprah Winfrey
21. “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
22. “It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.”
    Naomi Williams
23. “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
    John Wooden
24. “No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”
    Alfred North Whitehead
25. “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
    A.A. Milne
26. “Forget yesterday — it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow — you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift — today.”
    Steve Maraboli
27. “We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
    Neal A. Maxwell
28. “In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
29. “The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”
    John E. Southard
30. “Gratitude also opens your eyes to the limitless potential of the universe, while dissatisfaction closes your eyes to it.”
    Stephen Richards
31. “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
    Epicurus
32. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
    Cicero
33. “When you are aware of all that has been given to you, it is hard not to be humbled and pleased to give back.”
    Anne Lamott

    ---

    ThinkStock

If you’re not fired with enthusiasm,
you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.
Vince Lombardi

Monday Motivation, January 28, 2019 | GettyImages

If you are a small business owner, the answer to this question is predictable: “Do you worry too much? Well, it shouldn’t be that way…but too often it is. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 31.1 percent of U.S. adults experience some form of anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. So even if you don’t own a business,  chances are you are still going to worry from time to time — or more often. According to the Anxiety and Depression American Association (ADAA) almost 40 million American adults suffer from chronic worrying of other related anxiety disorders. Writing for the wellness blog, Pick the Brain, Marwan Jamal recently outlined some reasons why people worry so much and what can be done to address the problem. (See entire article here.)

(Note | Excessive worry can be a sign of serious depression or anxiety or other types of mental illness. If you or a family member is experiencing serious anxiety or depression, you can use this directory provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness to find local help.)

Some reasons why small business owners — and others —  are consumed with worry

#1 | Seeking unattainable certainty and control

Two things that cause great anxiety are (1) lack of control and (2) uncertainty. For that reason, you may think that the key to reducing worrying is to seek more certainty about the things you`re afraid of. But most of the problems that chronic worriers deal with are caused by their refusal to accept the possibility of a negative event happening in the future.  Accept that you can’t control the uncontrollable, nor certainty in an uncertain world. If you don’t accept that, it will make things worse.”

#2 | Attempting to suppress your worries

Worrying suppresses emotional expression, which will make it tougher to overcome a fear. Communicate your worries to other people instead of keeping them suppressed. Call somebody, keep a journal or simply talk loudly to yourself.

3# | Thinking rather than doing

Worry burns up the energy you need to get the job done. You should bash through any worries. Take more action than you think you should. Exercise, yoga and other techniques can help you get back on track.

#4  | Believing that things are worse than they really are 

Remind yourself and accept this truth: Ninety-five percent of worries never come true,” says Professor Evelyn Behar from the University of Illinois. “And with the things that do come true, people end up coping much better than they ever expected.”

Via | PickTheBrain.com “Do you worry too much? 4 Worrying Mistakes You Should Stop Making”

GettyImages

“Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in return.”

Sen. John McCain
Faith of My Fathers

Sen. John Sidney McCain III (1936- 2018) was an American politician and naval officer who served as a U.S. Senator, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives,  and the Republication nominee for President of the United States in 2008. During the Vietnam War, he served as a U.S. Navy aviator. While on a bombing mission over Hanoi in October 1967, McCain was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. The wounds that he sustained during the war left him with lifelong physical disabilities. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics.

Photo | The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure.

“An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made – and how to avoid them.”

Werner Heisenberg was a theoretical physicist. He received the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in the field of quantum mechanics (also called, quantum physics).

Photo | GallupImages

While it sounds like something the showman P.T. Barnum should have said, it was spoken by Hugh Jackman, the actor-singer who played the title role in the 2017 film, The Greatest Showman.

Photo | Public Domain. Feel free to share.

No doubt, Walmart founder Sam Walton (1918 – 1992) helped turn many smalltown Main Streets into ghost towns. At the same time, certain small businesses figured out how to benefit from the arrival of the retailing giant. Sam Walton even created a game plan small businesses can follow when up against any competitor.

Walton believed running a successful business can be boiled down to ten simple rules. He believed in these principles so much, he made them a part of Walmart’s brand, mission, and culture. But unlike the secret ingredients of Coca-Cola, Walton didn’t think his recipe for success should be locked up in a vault. The company he started even promotes the ten steps on its website for all the world to see. “We continue to apply them to every part of our business,” says the company’s website where you can find the following.

Photo: Walmart.com

Sam Walton’s Ten Rules for Building a Business

1 | Commit to your business

Believe in it more than anybody else. If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever.

2 | Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners

In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

3 | Motivate your partners (employees)

Money and ownership alone aren’t enough. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Don’t become too predictable.

4 | Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners

The more they know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.

5 | Appreciate everything your associates do for the business

Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.

6 | Celebrate your success

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm – always. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools competition.

7 | Listen to everyone in your company

And figure out ways to get them talking. To push responsibility down in your organization, and to force good ideas to bubble up within it, you must listen to what your associates are trying to tell you.

8 | Exceed your customers’ expectations

Give them what they want — and a little more. Make good on all your mistakes, and don’t make excuses — apologize. Stand behind everything you do.

9 | Control your expenses better than your competition

This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient.

10 | Swim upstream

Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.

Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, leading the Allied invasion of France and Germany and to victory over the Axis powers.

As a child, Eisenhower was involved in an accident that cost his younger brother an eye. He later referred to this as an experience that taught him the need to be protective of those under him; a lesson in leadership that can be seen in today’s #MondayMotication.Eisenhower believed leadership did not come from bullying those under his command. “Leadership,” he said “is the art of getting someone else to do something you want because he wants to do it.” Leadership, he said, comes from patience and conciliation.

You do not lead by hitting people over the head.
Any damn fool can do that,
but it’s usually called “assault” not leadership.

President Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower

Richard Jenrette, the co-founder of the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, spent four successful decades on Wall Street. When he passed away last week (April 22, 2018) at the age of 89, he left behind a hand-written list he titled, “What I Learned (How to Succeed and have a Long and Happy Life).” Here is his list. (At the bottom of the page, you can see his hand-written version.)

1. Stay in the game. That’s often all you need to do – don’t quit. Stick around! Don’t be a quitter!
2. Don’t burn bridges (behind you)
3. Remember – Life has no blessing like a good friend! You can’t get enough of them Don’t leave old friends behind – you may need them
4. Try to be nice and say “thank you” a lot!
5. Stay informed/KEEP LEARNING!
6. Study — Stay Educated. Do Your Home Work!! Keep learning!
7. Cultivate friends of all ages – especially younger
8. Run Scared — over-prepare
9. Be proud — no Uriah Heep for you! But not conceited. Know your own worth.
10. Plan ahead but be prepared to allow when opportunity presents itself.
11. Turn Problems into Opportunities. Very often it can be done. Problems create opportunities for change — people willing to consider change when there are problems.
12. Present yourself well. Clean, clean-shaven, dress “classically” to age. Beware style, trends. Look for charm. Good grammar. Don’t swear so much — it’s not cute.
13. But be open to change — don’t be stuck in mud. Be willing to consider what’s new but don’t blindly follow it. USE YOUR HEAD – COMMON SENSE.
14. Have some fun – but not all the time!
15. Be on the side of the Angels. Wear the White Hat.
16. Have a fall-back position. Heir and the spare. Don’t leave all your money in one place.
17. Learn a foreign language.
18. Travel a lot — around the world, if possible.
19. Don’t criticize someone in front of others.
20. Don’t forget to praise a job well done (but don’t praise a poor job)
21. I don’t like to lose — but don’t be a poor loser if you do.
22. It helps to have someone to love who loves you (not just sex).
23. Keep your standards high in all you do.
24. Look for the big picture but don’t forget the small details.

HT: Bloomberg
Source: Classical American Homes Preservation Trust