From Motivational Graffiti to Mild Obsession with Quotes

Some people collect fridge magnets. Apparently, I collect quotes.

I never really thought of it as a “collection,” but, much like fridge magnets, my quotes tend to stay exactly where I first stick them… and quietly multiply when I’m not looking.

At last count, the quote count was hovering around 800; they range from leadership, community-building, innovation, change, future readiness, community-driven development, and systems change.

This focus on quotes all started many (and I do mean many) years ago, when I was getting ready for the very first strategic planning session I was actually paid to facilitate.

Knowing that very few board members or staff weren’t exactly thrilled about spending part of a Saturday “doing planning,” I printed 10 inspiring quotes on coloured paper. I taped them around the walls like motivational graffiti.

Did it work? Unclear.
Did it launch a lifelong quote-hoarding obsession—absolutely!

Now it feels only right to start sharing my collectibles—not all at once (no one needs an 800 quote avalanche), but posted one at a time, in no particular order, to see what lands for you.

So…ready or not, here comes the inaugural quote-share. This one is just as relevant today as it was over 20 years ago.

The best solutions to the diverse challenges confronting Canada’s communities are often found locally. Every day, the power of innovation is seen at work in communities across this country, as citizens, businesses, and charitable groups join forces to tackle local problems.

Too often, however, grassroots efforts are hobbled by red tape. Too often, local solutions are denied access to government assistance because they do not fit the bureaucratic definition of the problem. Too often, the efforts of communities falter not on account of a lack of effort or heart, but because of a lack of expertise to turn good ideas into reality. Our Government will take steps to support communities in their efforts to tackle local challenges.

It will look to innovative charities and forward-thinking private-sector companies to partner on new approaches to many social challenges.

—Canadian Speech from the Throne, Adrienne Clarkson, 2004

If the name Adrienne Clarkson triggers a vague sense of “Oh right, I know that name,” here’s your quick refresher: she’s a Canadian journalist, author, TV host, social activist, and all-around powerhouse. She also happens to have been Canada’s 26th Governor General—and the first visible minority, first refugee, first Chinese Canadian, and only the second woman to hold the role. So, basically, she was breaking glass ceilings before it was hashtag-worthy.

Meanwhile, in my own early-2000s universe, I was trying to keep our Centre for Community Leadership at Niagara College on the radar. While her words echoed through Parliament Hill, mine mostly bounced off flipcharts.

Still, hearing her speak about community innovation felt like a wink from the universe—proof that what we were doing locally actually mattered nationally. Who knew that Adrienne Clarkson and I were singing from the same songbook back in 2004? Most likely, we still are.

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More inspiring and insightful words from the brilliant Adrienne Clarkson.

• “No one is so poor that they cannot give, and no one is so rich that they cannot receive.”
• “To be complex does not mean to be fragmented. This is the paradox and the genius of our Canadian civilization.”
• “I will always be someone who understands the everlasting anguish of not belonging.”
• “Knowledge and understanding empower you in life, and if you don’t have them, you really have nothing. You’re stumbling around in the dark.”

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