Gina Greenlee Quotes

In 2006 I had begun the discernment process for locating my rightful geographic home. By the time my corporate pink slip arrived I had spent two years researching and taking recon trips to five different cities in southern California. Having crossed them off my list, in February 2008 I visited Sarasota, Florida, at the urging of a friend who winters in a neighboring town. Though Florida had never been on my radar, only minutes in Sarasota I knew I'd found home.

Sometimes our dreams are affirmed in the most unlikely ways by the most
unlikely people. That's why we need to speak our commitment out loud.

We can't script every detail of our lives. But we can solve the riddle
of fulfillment when we plan ahead while simultaneously embracing
the surprises of each moment.

By necessity, we are direct and swift in speech and movement. This is the true dynamic that underlies our apocryphal rudeness. Also true: we do not make eye contact. Neither do we encourage it. Consider the number of humans a New Yorker will pass on a given day – on the subway, in a train or bus terminal, in an office or simply walking down the street. To facilitate speed and minimize drama, it's productive to keep one's eyes focused ahead.

Your body provides you with constant feedback that can help improve your running performance while minimizing biomechanical stress. Learn to differentiate between the discomfort of effort and the pain of injury. When you practice listening, you increase competence in persevering through the former and responding with respect and compassion to the latter.

It is not so much the grand dramas of our lives that transform us as it is
the tiny one-acts we produce in between.

Few experiences are more satisfying than becoming someone we always imagined we could be.

Because travel was an area of my life where I felt most vital, I wanted to continue to invest in that, too. I had quit a full time job, drained my retirement account to invest in a long-held dream, and used the realization of that dream to enter a void with no guarantees. I didn't want financial struggle to be the sole outgrowth of the risks I had taken. More than money, I had put my belief systems on the line.

If we never challenge our shortcomings, we ensure that they remain our Achilles' heel.

Diving in IS testing the water.

The best way to teach is how you live your life.

Be courageous: be still.

Stay open. You may find your tribe where you least expect it.

No matter how many strikes are hurled at you, only you decide when you're out.

No need to queue up; step forward and count yourself in.

Feeling lonely? Wish you had a special someone to help fill the void? Reconsider your definition of romance, reconnect to your passions and be swept away.

What we seek when we wander usually leads us back home.

Tomorrow is promised to no one. Prioritize today accordingly.

Go for it. It will make a great story.

Avoid the temptation to force a moment so you won't miss the one with your name on it.

If running a marathon excites you, create space in your life for it. Adding a new commitment means recalibrating different areas of your world. Logging more miles as your race date approaches means less time invested in other pursuits. Not forever, just during the months you train. Too, you will find how training fits into your world serves not only crossing the finish but other areas of life.

Experiment with grounding yourself with who you are, not what you do.

No map? No problem. Let commitment and determination lead the way.

The week before the marathon, sleep well. If normally you "get by" with five hours but require seven, make sure you get seven every night. The sleep you get the week leading up to the marathon is more important than the night before. The night before, you probably won't sleep well due to anxiety, excitement and anticipation.

For all the energy directed toward the stratagem of big city living, New Yorkers are never too distracted to respond to, and more often, proactively assist visitors. Tourists tracing the routes of subway maps with their fingers, squinting at street signs or staring at a slip of paper with confusion are typical recipients of our generosity. We know our city can be as challenging as it is fascinating, and we want visitors to have a good experience.

There's more to marathon day than running long. Learning how your body reacts to the early alarm, light breakfast and warm-up is key. Minimize surprises come race day. Run long the same time of day as the race.

The adventures of a lifetime begin with "Yes.

Whether by plane, bus or carpet,
own the magic in your ride.

When you feel yourself resisting differences, lean into them, instead,
and have fun with what happens.

Rather than resist rest and gravitate toward constant motion, let's experiment with letting go.

Large bodies of goal achievement research encourage written goals for good reason. When we write down our goals, we transform what we imagine into reality.

Do your fears warn of external dangers? Or, are they the kind that keep you from becoming more of your true self?

Endings are the embryos of new beginnings.

As your training integrates Mind, Body and Spirit, enjoy the process. Your journey to the marathon finish will last a few hours. Your journey to the start will influence a lifetime.

No matter. I was single, no children, a handful of plants and at 39, young enough to regroup. If I hit ground before I finished building my wings, I would not take anyone with me.

In these pages, traveling "solo" does not necessarily mean "alone." The absence of other people often suggests regretful isolation. "Solo" by contrast, is a willful decision to be the architect of our own experience.

I know when people think of New York, they think of theater, restaurants, cultural landmarks and shopping," I told him. "But beyond the iconic skyline and the news from Wall Street, New York is a collection of villages. In our neighborhoods, we attend school, play Kick the Can, handball and ride our bikes. I grew up knowing the names and faces of the baker, the shoe repair family, the Knish man and the Good Humor man who sold me and the other kids in my neighborhood half a popsicle for a nickel. My father took me to the playground where he pushed me on the swing, helped balance me on the seesaw and watched as I hung upside down by my feet on the monkey bars. Yes," I told the interviewer, "people actually grow up in New York.

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all.

As you consider your next move, practice this definition of trust: the willingness to take steps while simultaneously waiting for "instructions.

A craving for company can yield the surprising discovery that the companionship we yearn for is with ourselves.

Like flowers blooming through cement,
we, too, can grow beyond our cracks.

When your safety is in question follow your intuition. It will help you balance along the precipice between vulnerability and adventure.

Who you know only gets you in the door; what you know gets you the keys to the house.

Embrace those parts of yourself that you've skillfully avoided until now. That's your true adventure.

What do you believe about who you are? About your capabilities? When was the last time you trusted yourself enough to test them?

Travel in the direction of what you resist. On the way, you will meet a
version of yourself who has been seeking you.

The help we give to others creates the ripple of good feeling we give to ourselves.

Our lives follow the stories we tell ourselves.

Rest and repose are as much a part of life's journeys as seeing all we came to see.

Cultivate the art of maximizing serendipitous opportunities.

Listening to your body does not imply a lack of grit but a willingness to honor true physical limits. Kenyan runners have a reputation for listening to their bodies but certainly do not take it easy on themselves; they are among the world's most gifted and accomplished athletes.

Whether you need to make a call or answer one,don't put your passions on hold.

Develop the habit of initiating change. You'll be better prepared for whatever comes your way.

As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to reconnect with a long-held love.

Nothing is lost in a stumble, only in the refusal to get up.

When actors encounter a mishap during a stage performance,
they transform it for good purpose by employing a technique called,
"use the difficulty." How can you "use the difficulty" in your life?

One of the most important ways for you to train, stay healthy and injury free is to listen closely to what your body tells you.

All discomfort is not equal. Learning to listen will help you distinguish among effort, fatigue and pain. To what degree, under what conditions and over what period of time your body experiences these sensations will determine how you respond.

We often mistake letting go for giving up. Knowing the difference between
the two can make all the difference in the end.

Until that rainy Sunday at the movies 31 years ago, for me, companionship had been a mandate for life's good times. After Orca, it became a choice. My trip to the theater helped me to distinguish between loneliness (experienced by default), and solitude (choosing when and how to enjoy my own company), as I began a journey of engaging the world on my own terms. Over the years, that journey deepened as I traveled life's roads with increasing independence and confidence, whether I was attending graduate school at night while working during the day, buying my first house or changing careers.

The goal of this book is do for you what Greg did for me: reframe 26.2 miles as accessible and inspire your first marathon journey, one mile at a time.

You can miss an experience by obsessing over how to contain it.

If you can't remember when you last basked in your own glow, it means you're overdue.

Life lessons are not journeys traveled in straight lines but are crossroads
formed years and miles apart.

Never underestimate the lingering effects of a dash of spontaneous comfort.

Risk: no full life occurs without it.

Distinguish between getting lost and losing your way. The first is a shift in direction. The second is the absence of perspective. Cultivate perspective and you will be able to steer home.

Taking risks to create the life you want is an act of trust. It means believing in your ability to create a new reality while you are in the process of creating it.

Practice trust in small matters for huge returns in the large ones.

When life events mimic shattered glass,
carefully locate the pieces then gently pick them up.

If you've broken any promises you've made to yourself, now is the time to make up for it.

If companionship is a mandate for all of our experiences, then we will miss out on many of life's blessings.

Want more fizz in your life?
Shake things up.

If you built the box, you can also break it down.

Fear not your flame as you flood your caverns with firelight.

Call it walking meditation or a neighborhood stroll; by whatever name
suits you, rediscover the art of meandering.

Trust what feels true even if that truth requires you to ignore what you know.

New insights from being present are a gift.

During those days of whirling about the globe, I had an epiphany: travel was the only area of my life where I had no expectations. I anticipated nothing while fully engaging each moment. What bred adventure, surprise and deep experience was not knowing, surrendering to now and letting go of control.

It's tempting to believe that a break from life's routine will only cause chaos. But regimen does not ensure security. The only constant we can count on is change.

People across the earth are aching to serve as your ambassadors in one form or another. Let them.

Follow your heart. Then root its longing with the facts.

The notion of the perfect time is more than myth. It's the ultimate self-delusion.

If you can run six, you can run 10," he said, noshing on an energy bar. "Run 10 and you can run 13. That's how it works. You have three to four more miles in you than you think.

Don't wait for a genie to grant your wishes. That power is yours.

Indulgence comes in all varieties: a mouthful of gourmet chocolate, a hot stone massage, a week in Paris or 20 uninterrupted minutes to get
lost in a book.

When life hands you lemons, why stop at lemonade? Create an entire product line.

At chaos' core lies the invitation.

Putting the dream in motion involved significant personal downsizing, moving three times to trim housing expenses and continuing to freelance. I sold one piece to The New York Times Magazine, many more to The Courant, and another to The St. Petersburg Times.

Relinquish the notion of lost opportunity and try on a new reality:
"Where I am is where I'm supposed to be.

If it's true we only live once, then raise your red velvet curtain every chance you get.

The cruise was the conduit for what would become my third book. While I was traveling and writing for ctnow.com, women across the United States and from the Caribbean emailed not to ask about my geographic journey but my existential one. "How do you find the courage to travel on your own?" they wondered. "How do you keep from getting lonely? Don't you feel self-conscious eating out alone?" After the first 30 emails like these I thought, There's a book here. It would be eight years before I published Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road. But the inspiration for publication came during the cruise.

Life only plants the seeds. It's up to us to help them grow.

Allow seven months to responsibly train for your first marathon. This will minimize stress to your mind and body and give your existential nature time to incorporate a new way of being.

Imagine how fluid life would be if we each had an advisor who, with our best interest at heart, provided clear, objective and decisive guidance. When we trust our instincts, we do.

Adventure, opportunity and reward extend beyond our field of vision, and are made known to us only when we test our wings.

If you are feeling constrained by a group that you belong to, ask yourself,
"How can I participate in this community and still be who I am?

Ten years ago I wondered, "How does one travel around the world? How does one step out of a well-established life to follow the dream?" I've answered those questions. But now new ones emerge.

The alchemy of diamonds from the rough
is to mine every moment.

Then I'd go home, return to a pattern of worry, unable to tap the surrender core to travel's inspiration. What was different?