oumemegallery

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Summer Gallery: Where there is no path...

Do not go where the path may lead;

go instead where there is no path,

and leave a trail.

Although this quote is widely attributed to Emerson, that is probably not correct (see Wikiquote discussion). No matter: the words are very wise ones, no matter who said them first. I made this for the MemeGallery with an image from Cheezburger, and here's the graphic that inspired me:

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Summer Gallery: I am inspired by my friends.

I was prompted by a graphic from Farsley Farfield Primary School to make this cat:

I am inspired by my friends. 

Made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Take time to recharge.

In order to grow, you need to take time to recharge your personal batteries!

Take time to recharge.

Made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Use your energy to explore.

Today's cat was inspired by the creativity graphic below. Exploration is an important aspect of the creative process!

Use your energy to explore.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

What Causes Creativity: Confidence: ability to question without fear Observation: seeing problems/ideas Humility: knowing you don't know everything Mindfulness: thinking on how to think Curiosity: exploring and experimenting Resourcefulness: something to tinker with Energy: to explore and tinker Action: not just thinking, but doing

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Summer Gallery: I do not fear the winds of change.

I do not fear the winds of change.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger. For the "winds of change," I was inspired by From Bob Dylan's Forever Young: May God bless and keep you always; May your wishes all come true; May you always do for others And let others do for you; May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung: May you stay forever young: Forever young, forever young May you stay forever young May you grow up to be righteous; May you grow up to be true; May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you; May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong; May you stay forever young... May your hands always be busy; May your feet always be swift; May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift; May your heart always be joyful; May your song always be sung; May you stay forever young...

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Summer Gallery: Make glorious, amazing mistakes.

You can find more advice from Neil Gaiman in this Brain Pickings piece by Maria Popova: Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life.

"So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make new Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life." 

Make glorious, amazing mistakes.

Cat made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Life has no remote. You have to get up and change it yourself!

I was glad that I had a cat to illustrate this one; the graphic I started with is below:

Life has no remote.

You have to get up

and change it yourself!

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger. Here's the graphic from Twitter that I started with:

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Summer Gallery: There are far far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

Today's cat was inspired by a quote from C. S. Lewis (see graphic below). For C. S. Lewis, the words referred to the Christian afterlife, but cats are much more about the here-and-now, making sure the now is good without regrets about the past.

There are far far better things ahead

than any we leave behind.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger. Here is the graphic I started with:

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Summer Gallery: Open the door... and explore the unknown!

I'm not a fan of the faux number (that 2% is meaningless... especially since we are all a mix of these qualities: in some aspects of life I embrace the unknown, but in other aspects of life I play it safe, etc.) — but the list of qualities in the graphic below is useful:

Growth means going for your dreams, having confidence, exploring new things, choosing happiness and fulfillment, getting the most out of life, embracing the unknown and excitement, liking change, living without limits and in abundance, and acting in spite of fear.

When your fixed mindset kicks in, you just feel insecure and want to survive, be like everyone else, just getting by and playing it safe in fear, regretting your dull life, procrastinating and settling for less. They call it the comfort zone, but it doesn't really sound all that comfortable after all, does it?

This cat is not afraid to embrace the unknown. :-)

Open the door... 

and explore the unknown!

I made this cat for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

The words come from Carol Dweck's book, Mindset. Here are more cats inspired by Carol Dweck quotes: Dweck Collection.

Everyone can change and grow

through application and experience. 

Made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Study something new.

Follow your curiosity! One of my favorite aspects of growth mindset is that it encourages you to ask questions and find answers: don't just stick to what you know. Instead:

Study something new.

   I made for this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger. I got the idea from this nifty graphic in the Farsley Farfield Primary School blog.

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Summer Gallery: Step forward into growth!

The words come from the psychologist Abraham Maslow: You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety. You can find more quotes by Abraham Maslow at Wikiquote.

Step forward into growth!

I made this for the MemeGallery using cheezburger.

Maslow is best known for his hierarchy of needs model:

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Summer Gallery: A mind stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.

The quote is not by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who was a Supreme Court Justice (although that's the usual attribution as you can see in the graphic below), but instead his father, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., who was a writer and poet. Here is what he wrote: "Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions. After looking at the Alps, I felt that my mind had been stretched beyond the limits of its elasticity, and fitted so loosely on my old ideas of space that I had to spread these to fit it."

A mind stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger. Here's the graphic I saw at Twitter that inspired me:

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Summer Gallery: Confidence comes from not fearing to be wrong.

I really like this quote about confidence and risk-taking: Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.  This quote is attributed to "Peter T. McIntyre" all over the Internet, but I am not sure who he is. If anybody has information to share, let me know. Here is the cat I made with cheezburger:

Confidence comes

from not fearing to be wrong. 

And here is the graphic where I first found the quote:

I'll put this one in the MemeGallery!

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Summer Gallery: Follow your natural curiosity and see what you learn.

This cat is inspired by an excerpt from Jessica Lahey's book, The Gift of Failure, which appeared here in the Atlantic: When Success Leads to Failure The pressure to achieve academically is a crime against learning. Below is the opening of the article; check out the article online to read more:

“Marianna’s grades are fine; I’m not worried about that, but she just doesn’t seem to love learning anymore.” Above all else, we taught her to fear failure. That fear is what has destroyed her love of learning. [...] The truth—for this parent and so many others—is this: Her child has sacrificed her natural curiosity and love of learning at the altar of achievement, and it’s our fault. Marianna’s parents, her teachers, society at large—we are all implicated in this crime against learning. From her first day of school, we pointed her toward that altar and trained her to measure her progress by means of points, scores, and awards. [...] We taught her to protect her academic and extracurricular perfection at all costs and that it’s better to quit when things get challenging rather than risk marring that perfect record. Above all else, we taught her to fear failure. That fear is what has destroyed her love of learning.

Follow your natural curiosity, 

and see what you learn.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Stretch yourself so you can reach new goals.

Stretch yourself

so you can reach new goals.

This is a new cat for the MemeGallery made with cheezburger.

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Summer Gallery: Let them grow.

This one is inspired by an article in the Guardian newspaper by Jessica Lahey: Why we should let our children fail. It is an excerpt from her book, The Gift of Failure.

The work of raising a resourceful adult takes time, but it begins with a simple equation. We need to give our children autonomy, allow them to feel competent, and let them know we support them as they grow. This process begins the moment our babies fail to grasp a toy or fall as they toddle across the room and continues until they head out into their own lives.

Let them grow.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.