If you are looking for quotes on topics of life beyond the normal stuffinspiring quotations, is a must read for every one. then this blog is just meant for you.

Grown-ups love figures.  When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.  They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like?  What games does he love best?  Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand:  “How old is he?  How many brothers has he?  How much does he weigh?  How much money does his father make?”  Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943, translated from French

Practical life teaches us that people may differ and that both may be wrong: it also teaches us that people may differ and both be right.  Anchor yourself fast in the latter faith, or the former will sweep your heart away.-Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts.-Charles Dickens

I thought growing up was something that happened automatically as you got older.  But it turns out it’s something you have to choose to do.-From the television show Scrubs

In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest.-Henry Miller, The Books in My Life

Nature gave men two ends – one to sit on and one to think with.  Ever since then man’s success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.-George R. Kirkpatrick

When it comes to life beyond the normal stuff and staying inspired without making many efforts, quotes beyond the normal stuff can do the trick. This is exactly the reason why we have come up with the idea of compiling interesting quotations for you, read on!

Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness.  The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the artist, the great artist, knows how difficult it is. – Willa Cather

A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened. – Albert Camus

Science is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon eternal truths.  Art is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon things beautiful and immortal and ever-changing.  To morals belong the lower and less intellectual spheres. – Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891

Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work.  Note just what it is about your work that critics don’t like – then cultivate it.  That’s the only part of your work that’s individual and worth keeping. – Jean Cocteau

A portrait has one advantage over its original:  it is unconscious; and you may therefore admire without insulting it.  I have seen portraits which have more. – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Any great work of art… revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world – the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air. – Leonard Bernstein, What Makes Opera Grand?

In today’s world when everything comes for a price, friendship is still one thing that comes without a price tag. If you want to make new friends then this blog on life beyond the normal stuff focused on how to turn strangers into friends can help you to a considerable extent.

The first thing that you need to develop is great listening skills. Most people have a habit of telling how bad or good they feel but are not bothered about the life of the listener. In your best interests, it is highly recommended that you be a good listener. In addition to that, talk less but talk to the point. Do not indulge into gossips, remember if you cannot keep a secret or talk bad words about others, the listener gets an idea that he or she will also not be spared by your gossips and this is where you lose a good friend.

Furthermore, regularly use the name of the other person (listener when you are speaking) as that creates a good and touching impression. If you have come across a potential friend in a meet, do not forget to follow up afterwards. This may be done via email, phone call, or giving a surprise visit at the home. Always feel excited to meet people and remember people may include known and new individuals. Greet them with a smile so that they admire their presence.

In short, keep people interested and think about you in the right manner so that they can identify your presence and relationship in the right spirit. This is what friendship is all about and these small yet effective ways will surely help you win new friends.

Life is nothing but a see-saw. It would not be wrong to say that you might be down one bad day but you will surely go up another day. However, if you go down and do not inspire yourself to go up, the destiny will keep you down and vice-versa. After all, it is well said that God helps those who help themselves.

If you came across a failure, you must be happy that God wants you to do things in a different manner and in a better way.

Try taking lessons from your failures and do not consider them to be the end of all roads to your future happiness and prosperity. You will enjoy appreciating life beyond the normal stuff, only if take failure just as success. If you are young, the platform is even bigger for you and you must not do anything that puts you down in any way.

If you see across yourself, you would find that almost each one of us faces troubles. These troubles may not be visible to you in the first parlance but that does not mean that they do not exist at all. The difference is that while some exaggerate, others quietly learn lessons and move ahead in their lives. The point here is that success and happiness are attained by those who take failures in their stride and improve their way of working to be successful and not to those who think that all is lost and gone when something bad happens to them.

So if you want to really make a name for yourself, do not give much thought to the failures of life. Try to learn from them and improvise when things do not go as per your expectations so that you can stay a Winner in all aspects. Remember, no one is the born child of destiny; one needs to make efforts and give his best before expecting anything.

We all acquire knowledge for one reason for the other, but we really lack is awareness. This is because awareness arises only when knowledge is accompanied by action. The mere ownership of knowledge does not mean that knowledge will get translated into an action.

For instance, many of us know that smoking cigarettes can be dangerous to the health. There is also a statutory warning or pictorial description of side-effects of smoking on the cigarette pack. But that does not deter smokers from lighting a cigarette despite being aware of the consequences. It is when they suffer that they become aware of the consequences in the first parlance, through direct experience. This is awareness.

The reason why we commit mistakes is simple – either the awareness is lacking or the awareness is not translated to action.

We, as smart people, should learn to enjoy freedom and meaning of life rather than telling tales of endless sorrows. Trying to be happy and making others near you happy at the same time is a tedious task but that can be done with meditation, which can offer varying benefits such as spiritual progress, liberation, peace, and material prosperity to name a few. And, the best part is that you do not need to visit a meditation center to start with. Start with meditation by just sitting motionlessly in a perfect posture with closed eyes after eliminating all worldly pleasures and sins.

Remember, our thoughts are like countless droplets of water that can form a river of positive thoughts or drain ourselves with negativity. The onus is on us, whether to fall into the worldly pleasures or aim to improve standard and quality of life. So, think for a while and make the right decision for no one else but yourself. After all, there is always a good reason to celebrate life beyond the normal stuff.