Rick Warren quotes: solid stuff from the megachurch pastor.
“The way you see your life shapes your life. Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.”
“To accomplish anything you must first have a mission, a goal, a hope, a vision.”
“Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day.”
“Know where you are headed, and you will stay on solid ground.”
“Passion drives perfection. The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.”
“Doing the easy thing makes you popular. Doing the hard thing makes you a leader. All leaders are learners. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading.”
“How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents and value your relationships.”
“Knowing your purpose gives meaning and motivation to your life. Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose.”
“Knowing your purpose focuses your life. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason. It simplifies your life and defines what you do and what you don’t do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t.”
“Knowledge increases responsibility.”
“Those that innovate the future understand history the best.”
“Our habits control our lives. We shape our habits; then our habits shape us.”
“We often confuse our identity with our habits, but the truth is, habits can be changed. Habits are things you do. They are not who you are. You have weaknesses, but you are not your weaknesses.”
“That is why the key to long-lasting success is to develop habits – new, positive habits that replace our self-defeating behaviors.”
“Lasting change requires new ways of thinking. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change how you act, you must begin by changing the way you think. Your thoughts are the autopilot of your life.”
“To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.”
“You can’t make a life without making mistakes. Relax and learn something.”
“Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope. Hope comes from having a purpose.”
“If you are in a period of discouragement because you are going through a trial and asking yourself, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ face the storm head-on and don’t get involved in self-pity.”
“Failure is a part of everyone’s journey. But it is your attitude toward failure that will determine your ultimate success.”
“Don’t call it a failure, call it an education. Some of us are very educated.”
“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”
“Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.”
“The secret of effectiveness is to know what really counts, then do what really counts, and not worry about all the rest.”
“There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss, and no loss without pain.”
“Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.”
“While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others.”
“Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other’s life lessons. Mature people develop the habit of extracting lessons from everyday experiences.”
“Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies.”
“You can’t claim to have integrity unless it is your habit to always be honest.”
“Pride builds walls between people; humility builds bridges.”
“The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence.”
“The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it – that’s how we learn.”
“The books that have helped me most are the ones I reacted to, not just read.”
“Pain is the fuel of passion – it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don’t normally possess.”
“Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.”
“Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.”
“Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other’s feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us.”
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”
“God sometimes removes a person from your life for your protection. Don’t run after them.”
“I don’t know all the keys to success, but one key to failure is to try to please everyone. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s purposes for your life.”
“Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.”
“If you live for the approval of others, you will die by their rejection.”
“You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. It is not enough to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is T-I-M-E.”
“The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.”
“Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.”
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
“Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That’s why we’re given a lifetime to learn it.”
“Obedience unlocks understanding.”
“What you do with your body sets the tone for everything else. Physical health influences your mental health, your spiritual health, your emotional health, your relational health, and even your financial health.”
“God has given you a mission in life, and only you can fulfill it.”
“Life is a test, life is a trust and life is a temporary assignment. The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be. These ideas are the foundation of purpose-driven living.”
“If you’re alive, there’s a purpose for your life.”
“When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.”
“If you don’t know how to be happy with what you have, you will never be happy with more.”
“Happiness isn’t getting all that you want. It’s enjoying all that you have.”
“Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom and power. Life just has to go on!”
Related: Joel Osteen quotes.
