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ARCHIVED QUOTES 2007
December 31, 2007
"Looking back – each shift or change I chose, step-like, I left experiences behind me because I did not need to repeat them, left some people behind because I needed new influences, left some ideas behind because their time had come . . and gone." - Mark Kolke
December 30, 2007
"How do we know if we are on the same page – or the same canvas, how do we measure distance when one leaves a room, how do we measure desire when no one is talking, how do we measure our world when everything important is within walking distance?" - Mark Kolke
December 29, 2007
" Sound affects little, listening - on the other hand - can affect everything." - Mark Kolke
December 28, 2007
"If I start less, there will be less to finish, then there will be time to write more, but then an increased pace of writing gets me buzzed . . . and then I start more, and then there is more to finish." - Mark Kolke
December 27, 2007
"Time is not something we unwrap or put on display; time is not a measure of anything special, unless we are measuring the length of a hug, the height of a smile, the glow of a spirit . . then time is the best investment of all." - Mark Kolke
December 26, 2007
"Stream of consciousness - involves a flowing from some place to somewhere else – inevitably like life, of humble beginnings, humble endings, bravado between; no piece missing – reservoir run dry, now re-filled." - Mark Kolke
December 25, 2007 "Worthy traditions are distinguished by how much laughter is in a room, smiles witnessed, time we sit back contented . . relaxed, without angst." - Mark Kolke
December 24, 2007
"Communication, like understanding, often comes – not in noise - but in silent space between the noises; a word not said, question not answered, issue avoided; Iam adept at disguising feeling with words, emotions with action . . . so I easily recognize it in others." - Mark Kolke
December 23, 2007
"For some little tikes this will be a first Christmas, for some folks it will be their last – there is no way to know how many of these memories we get to have, but we miss them completely if we don’t pause to hold those moments dear – which is not to say a Tuesday afternoon in April or a cold October night hold any less magic, but at this time of year, at Christmas, there are more moments of magic than usual." - Mark Kolke
December 22, 2007
"Moments pass - forgotten, compromised, or left out – all that is left is mindless filler between memories, space between experiences – pace maintained, that’s the way it is;. slice off some time to pause - sliced thin if necessary - but take some slices, don’t wait till they are all gone." - Mark Kolke
December 21, 2007
"Reality, dreams, ideas, plans – often in conflict - but, since they creep onto our canvas anyway, nothing prevents us from weaving them together, nothing other than self-created barriers in our minds – images drift in and out . . . we need to let them." - Mark Kolke
December 20, 2007
"Changing the path we walk costs little; a simple decision but consequences are often dramatic; changing an idea – consciously or in our dream – is the most powerful thing we do, it is not about dreaming our life – it is about living our dream." - Mark Kolke
December 19, 2007
"A worthwhile idea has life in it - can be bigger than all of us; lurks in our living, hides at our desks – easily lost in sheaf of paper, images drift – in and out - routine offers an illusion of calm we need, but unexpected disruption of routine offers a mind stretch opportunity." - Mark Kolke
December 18, 2007
"Good or bad - idea or health or project or plan – over which I have so profoundly little control, but a notion I can influence direction, attitude, worth, value, pace - just too compelling to let slide, too exciting to view from a sideline." - Mark Kolke
December 17, 2007
"Re-inspecting warmly remembered joys - like spring day park walking ignoring a blizzard – insulates from reality, avoids - too many thoughts compete for one sleepy brain’s attention, too many thoughts planted - need for focusing on an individual idea; ownership – of things, a process we internalize, an issue that is near, an idea we hold dear, a responsibility we take on – each involves effort to control something, but we control so little, if anything at all." - Mark Kolke
December 16, 2007 "Ideas don’t require water or fertilizer - fertile mind, nurtured by passion – they become enormous adventures - Hawaiian ones rip in and out of my mind, life altering thoughts, trade wind wishes – not so much idea, wish or dream but reality not yet reached, not yet affordable, not clear what’s next, not about to give up, not about to be taken off track." - Mark Kolke
December 15, 2007
"Things I treasure most are not for hording, but for giving away - the best gift I might give someone is more likely in a box or drawer than on some store shelf. I unleash a treasure’s value best by putting it in someone else’s hands; it lightens load, increases freedom as the value of treasures multiplies when given away." - Mark Kolke
December 14, 2007
"As I get older I view less, but hopefully I see a little more - in each instance, I see what I want to see – yet look right by things that don’t matter to me oblivious to many things of marginal importance, focused on the heart of matters, or sometimes just on the heart. There remains, however, a challenge for all of us, to see how others see us . . . ." - Mark Kolke
December 13, 2007
"Life is a stream that flows, and we are all in it. Some of us, like salmon leaping, fight and struggle to move upstream, struggle to reach life’s end, struggle to find a mate, struggle to provide for offspring, struggle for survival constantly, little time to think, too busy doing." - Mark Kolke
December 12, 2007
"What defines me is the sum of how I live, treat people, deal with situations; not what I think about life but how I deal with life; character is not something we decide – no measure of idle thoughts - a measure of actions." - Mark Kolke
December 11, 2007
"I envy painters with their blank canvas because I believe they know what they want to portray when their brush first hits the canvas, but writing more a translation thing .. converting feelings to language, translating thoughts to characters and sending the messages to fingertips; in painting I sense that passions flow right from brain through arm to brush stroke, but fingertips are interceptors, they are re–senders, as if only they know which thoughts will become key strokes, they decide which ones will get lost between the words before the ‘copy, paste, delete’ functions come along to rearrange that which has been laid down, before tangents of ‘add this’ or ‘what about that?’ invade." - Mark Kolke
December 10, 2007
"My advice, to anyone wanting to get closer to nature, go for a walk in the quiet woods; to get closer to someone you care for deeply, get away from interruptions to spend intimate undivided attention time in a nice place; to get closer to yourself, I recommend an all day fire, let memory and thoughts mingle with flames that lick the edges of the fire box, allow the fire to speak to you and take time to listen." - Mark Kolke
December 9, 2007
"Relationships which work well are predicated on trust – it’s all about trust built on experience, not on words – a product of being real as much as it is about the truth telling; the point of knowing someone well, knowing depth and nuance, is something I’ve become good at – that is exploring others, but in terms of revealing myself, I’m struggling along." - Mark Kolke
December 8, 2007 "There are few secrets in life – we all scatter around looking for answers to complex questions or take simple issues on a tangential journey making them complex – when you come right down to it, there is little in life that cannot be solved by quit, conversation, a beautiful place . . provided you build a fire." - Mark Kolke
December 7, 2007
"Leaving alcohol behind, having sober mornings every morning does not happen by accident, it is deliberate choice – sometimes a very challenging one – but the only one that works for an alcoholic; I no longer struggle with it every day, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about, thankful for a life of choices and struggles – sober struggles." - Mark Kolke
December 6, 2007
"This slice of life cannot be held in a hand - we know this invisible thing when we see it happening, feel its impact; I’ve seen it many times before – not often enough. I saw it in a meeting yesterday; some place in the middle when agendas are let go, ego too, point-counterpoint subsides, ideas are shared, questions raised, less talk, more hearing, basic ingredients examined– beyond advancing, retreating or arguing points, peaceful time, frank discussion. Unmistakable when is shows up, just as mysterious when it slips away like the wind that cannot be caged." - Mark Kolke
December 5, 2007
"If we venture wildly with emotional and intellectual abandon, to uncharted waters, to explore new experiences, we risk our status quo - that we might not feel the way we expect, risking we find focus in new directions, new ideas, new persons, or on someone we thought we knew, who – appears different when viewed from a fresh angle through a new lens." - Mark Kolke
December 4, 2007
"When I ponder what truly drives me, why 'thrill 'o the chase' is such a driving force – I wonder is it an Achilles heel, burst of genius, sign of self delusion, living in a dream world - great vision or zealous work ethic - or a bit of each?It is when I have true conviction and follow through that I create great things; when I start something without that conviction, it becomes another 'thing I've started' but not finished.I have resolved to start fewer things, finish more things, spend more play time enjoying my fantasies and time on greens." - Mark Kolke
December 3,2007
"If we all knew how it would turn out would we venture more, or less? Is uncertainty, risk, reward, joy, sorrow the price of admission in the game of life or the cost we pay to travel the path?I don't know how 'anything or everything' will turn out - but the more I live each day with a sense of giving, openness and joy I realize more and more that I spent too long in a workplace and a lifestyle that made me better but not happier". - Mark Kolke
December 2, 2007
"How is it we connect so easily with some people and so poorly with others? Is it timing, mindset, alignment of the planets - or a smile, a kind word, a soft touch. We can look back, to analyze retrospectively what went so horribly wrong with some connections we made – but, in the moment, in the beginning, and sometimes 'in the middle' of our relationships with some folks, it just goes beyond understanding how we pick so poorly sometimes, so wisely at others". - Mark Kolke
December 1, 2007
"Communicating – serious matters or lightest ones – ought to be about substance, but too often habituated style gets in the way, old ideas, past assumptions - they muddy the water, prevent seeing in or through anything – ‘seeing it through’, a style, ‘seeing through it’ implies understanding without much care about style; looking in, seeing through - understanding often right there, standing by’ but we miss key points, I know I do". - Mark Kolke
November 30, 2007
"Everyone has a turning point or a breaking point – sometimes they come at the same moment, just as often not. But, what makes these moments unique is to watch them happen, as if we were a fly on the wall watching ourselves, smiling a little smile of knowing something magic that no one else knows - feeling the power of it that no one else sees". - Mark Kolke
November 29, 2007
"Difference between us’ - phrase, so often used, abused – easily, unwisely, it blithely describes us all – so easy to accept as some real description of something, so wrong; sameness, likeness, mirror and reflection between us – closer to truth, not mental construct of how different we are, but how much we are the same - core strength, humanness – savoring the moments that matter". - Mark Kolke
November 28, 2007
"I've been thinking about love and the differences between "what that really is" and "what our society/cultural influences represents that to be"; I wonder if there is anything as sweet and comforting as knowing we are loved.Can you imagine a world in which no one sent valentines, sweet nuthin's or whispers? Imagine the sad absence of feeling if we had no one to love, no one to care for, no one to lust after, no one to treasure - a dark dark dark place that would be; on the other hand, I am currently basking in sunshine." - Mark Kolke
November 27, 2007
"Could it be that everything is 'the universe unfolding as it should'?When we make choices, are they ones we are destined to make, with only the illusion that we are truly choosing or are we free, always, to let loose and revel in our choices?Risking is rewarding - not just in taking risk, but in appreciating fruits of the choice." - Mark Kolke
November 26, 2007
"Plans, predictions and path-planning are for the timid – the brave rely on their passions, vision and will to move forward – motivation overcomes obstacles, preconceived difficulties, real and imagined, when smart timid folk would have long turned back." - Mark Kolke
November 25, 2007
"I may not see clearly where I am going but today, right now, this moment I see where I am and its a pretty nice place; to those I've hurt along the way – sorry - to those who've hurt me, all is forgiven, to those who've not had a chance to hurt me yet, beware, you can't hurt me.As we reach and pass pivotal moments, it feels like viewing valleys from a mountain top - we can see all of where we've come from and all [or so we think] of where we are going - for we never arrive at any special moment, feeling, state of mind or pinnacle truly having predicted both the achievement and the route." - Mark Kolke
November 24, 2007
"In life’s play, we are actors – director too – parts cast by expectations of someone else’s expectations of what our expectations ought to be." - Mark Kolke
November 23, 2007
"With both hands and all my pockets I cannot capture or schedule or remember it all - but, I can switch course anytime I want to – my day may not change, but my life will.Today I’ll take a different path, different scenes will play out, different characters will cross my stage." - Mark Kolke