L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Day #5: Favorite Quote(s)

The words of inspiration I try to live by: 

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. —Eleanor Roosevelt

Voici mon secret.  Il est tres simple: On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur.  L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.  (Here is my secret.  It’s very simple: We cannot see well except with the heart.  What is essential is invisible to our eyes.) —Antoine Saint-Exupery

Imperfect is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. —Marilyn Monroe

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.  There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth…so what the hell, leap. —Cynthia Heimel

Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about dancing in the rain. —Jennifer Abbott

Twenty years from now, you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sail.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover. —Mark Twain

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito. —Betty Reese

Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. —Henry David Thoreau

Day #4: Favorite Book

Much like everything else, I really can’t pick a true favorite here.  Reading has always been a large part of my life, so I do have a rather lengthy list of favorites.  Some of my top choices are:

Le Petit Prince, by Antoine Saint-Exupery: A timeless classic that is written for kids but has so many powerful messages for adults.  It reminds us that we’re always a kid at heart, and can always learn a lot from what life has to offer.  Some of my favorite quotes come from this book, including the one for which this Tumblr blog is named!

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers: This is a non-fiction autobiographical work that doesn’t fall short of the title.  I absolutely loved it.  It’s down-to-earth and truthful, in a spunky and sentimental but frightening way.  I don’t think there was a single emotion that this book didn’t evoke.  I highly recommend it.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini: I wish this man wrote more because I love every word he does.  His books, particularly this one, are eye-opening to another part of the globe that is so misunderstood.  He brings humanity to a new level with his work and helps us to see another culture like it were our own, something that is incredibly hard with the cultural similarities we face in the modern day.

Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton: It’s also hard to find something I don’t like by Michael Crichton.  He puts so much research and effort into his writing to make it believable and realistic, which is a lot to be said for a science fiction writer.  It combines the perfect amount of suspense to make you keep reading. Another personal favorite of his: Timeline.

As long as you put a good, well-written book in front of me, I’ll most likely enjoy it.  It has to catch my attention and keep moving while being intelligent at the same time.  I enjoy thought provoking and inspiring work.  Anything that keeps me laughing or on my toes is always a hit too!