Neal A. Maxwell Quotes

It is not so important to be serious as it is to be serious about the important things. The monkey wears an expression of seriousness which would do credit to any college student, but the monkey is serious because he itches.

I'm a person of whim, and easily distracted. I don't like multitasking. When I'm doing one thing, I like to do just that thing.

A dog in a kennel barks at his fleas; a dog hunting does not notice them.

I don't put the focus on things that don't matter.

Don't get too comfortable. We are here for a certain period of time, and how much of your life are you gonna choose to spend with distractions? How do you make your choices? What is important?

Whatever gets your goat gets your attention. Whatever gets your attention gets your time. Whatever gets your time gets you. Whatever gets you becomes your master. Take care, lest a little thing horn in and get your goat

Always keep things in perspective.

It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy - very busy - without being very effective.

I soon learned to scent out that which was able to lead to fundamentals and to turn aside from everything else, from the multitude of things which clutter up the mind and divert it from the essential.

What distracts us will begin to define us. We don't need to swing at every pitch.

Be brave enough to turn away from shiny objects, and toward the light that makes them shine.

Everything in life turns out to be a distraction from the real thing you want to do. There are a million distractions and when I was a kid I was very disciplined. I knew that the other kids weren't. I was the one able to do the thing, not because I had more talent, maybe less, but because they simply weren't applying themselves.

While eating your appetizer, don't be concerned with dessert.

Observe your cat. It is difficult to surprise him. Why? Naturally his superior hearing is part of the answer, but not all of it. He moves well, using his senses fully. He is not preoccupied with irrelevancies. He's not thinking about his job or his image or his income tax. He is putting first things first, principally his physical security. Do likewise.

I only do one thing at a time; otherwise, I get confused and then I can't trick you.

When distractions are manifold, it's best to remember what you are supposed to be doing.

When you are measuring life, you are not living it.

There are some things in life that shouldn't be given so much importance, if they don't change what is essential.

It is better to be fully present and rested and engaged for one thing than rushed, distracted, and scattered for ten.

Distraction wastes our energy, concentration restores it.

Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!

You confuse what's important with what's impressive.

To make money, to gather knowledge, to learn a new skill, to explore new territory, even to get from A to B - for all these things you need time. For almost everything you need time, except for one thing: to embrace the present moment.

Those who give too much attention to trifling things become generally incapable of great ones.

I can do only one thing at a time, but I can avoid doing many things simultaneously.