“Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time.” So said Matthew Kelly, per AZ Quotes and other sources. Kelly’s bio, shown further below, indicates he is a very successful consultant, business professional, author, and speaker. Millions of dollars haven’t caused Kelly to shy away from connecting the lessons of faith to unlocking the secrets of professional success. The relationship between success and life skills are apparently subjects Kelly understands quite well. “God of deep waters and infinite riches, challenge me to go where I fear, to do what is difficult and what I thought could never be done. Push me to go to the deep waters of life and cast my net wide, for I put all my hope, trust and faith in you,” said Kelly, again per AZ Quotes.
Let’s be up front. MHProNews has an editorial agenda in presenting the insightful, challenging, and encouraging thoughts of Kelly. One of them is this disarmingly potent Kelly quote: “Superficiality is the curse of the modern world,” per Quote Fancy. From that same source is this gem. “Our lives change when our habits change.” Our industry, as any profession, is obviously made up of people. For their to be change in our industry, at least some of the professionals in our industry must embrace certain changes. Knowledge is useful. Knowlege is good. But without the necessary action that should follow that knowledge, as the centuries old Latin maxim aptly states: “scientia potentia est.” Knowledge is potential power.
This article could be read in a few minutes. It could be read, perhaps get a few nods and/or smiles, but might nevertheless be set aside. Over time, this might be ‘forgotten.’ Let us editorially encourage you to read these quotes once a month for a year. If after you read Kelly’s thoughts you feel so moved, buy some of his books (disclosure: we have, along with some of Kelly’s audios. IMHO, he’s an entertaining and informative speaker). In audio, live, or in videos, Kelly can be witty, wise, and inspiring. But he will at times make you a bit uncomfortable.
Why? Because he challenges us to the following, per AZ Quotes:
- “Our essential purpose [in life] is to become the best version of ourselves.”
- Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time.
Following this preface, Part I of this article will present a few dozen ‘top’ Matthew Kelly quotes. Note that MHProNews has previously shared the “Superficiality is the curse of the modern world,” cited above. As a worthwhile observation, since MHProNews has used that quote, for whatever reason(s), our reader base has responded very well to longer articles that have more facts and insights plus additional linked information. That means that more readers like you are NOT being ‘superficial. That’s progress. Kudos to those who have embraced more details and the greater understanding that it can bring.
It is obvious that Kelly pushes self-discipline and is a champion of reading. Kelly then notes, as will be shown among some of the following quotations, that reading good material should be followed by correct (good) action.
Part II will provide our signature Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
Our summary and conclusion will provide some linked insights.
Let’s dally a moment on the point of a sizable part of the MHProNews’ reader base eschewing the scan or quick read in favor of greater depth of understanding. Thousands of MHProNews visitors daily statistically average over 10.75 page views per visit in 2022 and over 13 million page views, per data recorded by Webalizer 2.23 on our website’s top cPanel. There are a dozen more cPanels that don’t get as much traffic as our largest one. But those added traffic totals from that other dozen cPanels obviously take those total pageviews results even higher. There are several takeaways from those factual points. Among, them are these.
- Thousands of people, doubtlessly some like you, are following numbers of those cross-linked reports DAILY on MHProNews or MHLivingNews.
- Based on that 10.75 pageviews per visit data-point, doing the math logically means that the typical visitor is clicking on 8+ or 9+ additional links from an article like this one to others on MHProNews alone. If a link takes them to MHLivingNews, that takes the engagement process higher still.
- That rate of engagement is about 3 times higher than a CNN or Fox News reader.
- Engagement on MHLivingNews is not as high, perhaps because there are fewer articles posted there. But once more using Webalizer 2.23 data, an annual review of all traffic for 2022 up to 19-Dec-2022 06:15 CST indicated that the typical visitor of MHLivingNews engages with some 7.46 pageviews per visit. That’s more than double the engagement of CNN or similar mainstream news site.
There is simply no other known resource in MHVille that compares, but we’ll save the Tim Connor inspired commercial (you must be a self-promoter) for later. Between professionals reading Connor, Zig, and Kelly (among others), manufactured housing industry professionals and investors are consuming a positive fuel for improved future professional results.
That said, and with no further adieu, here are the a few dozen quotable quotes from Matthew Kelly curated by MHProNews for readers like you. As a disclosure, in what follows in Part I, each of the links go to the site a specific quote came from. Kelly’s noteworthy bio-in-brief will be followed by Part II as previously noted.
Part I. Matthew Kelly Quotes from Sources as Linked-Cited
In no particular order of importance, with the source of the quote found in the linked Matthew Kelly statement.
- Anything and anyone that does not help you to become the best version of yourself is too small for you.
- Our essential purpose is to become the best version of ourselves.
- “It takes more energy to maintain mediocrity than it takes to pursue excellence.”
- “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The question I have for you at this part of our journey together is, “What is your genius?”
- Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life be an action.
- You cannot be healthy and happy without discipline. If you want to measure the level of happiness in your life, just measure the level of discipline in your life. You will never have more happiness than you have discipline.
- It constantly amazes me that men and women wander the earth marveling at the highest mountains, the deepest ocean, the whitest sands, the most exotic islands, the most intriguing birds of the air and fish of the sea – and all the time never stop to marvel at themselves and realize their infinite potential as human beings.
- Character is built little by little, over days, weeks, months, and years, with thousands of small and seemingly insignificant acts of discipline.
- Freedom is not simply the circumstances that allow you to do whatever you want. Freedom is not only the opportunity to choose. Freedom is the strength of character to choose and to do what is right. With that in mind, our age is not an age of freedom, but an age of slavery. It is subtle, but it is real. The foundation of freedom is not power or choice. Freedom is upheld not by men and women in government, but by people who govern themselves.
- Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time.
- If you don’t have time to pray and read the scriptures, you are busier than God ever intended you to be.
- The world is full of men and women who work too much, sleep too little, hardly ever exercise, eat poorly, and are always struggling or failing to find adequate time with their families. We are in a perpetual hurry-constantly rushing from one activity to another, with little understanding of where all this activity is leading us. . . . The world has gone and got itself in an awful rush, to whose benefit I do not know. We are too busy for our own good. We need to slow down. Our lifestyles are destroying us. The worst part is, we are rushing east in search of a sunset.
- If we will walk humbly with our God, He will lead us by the hand to exactly who and what we need, to those people, things, and experiences He has designed and intended for us, and this alone will be the cause of our deep fulfillment and happiness.
- Many people falsely believe that if you want to be holy, you are not allowed to enjoy life…Holiness brings us to life. It refines every human ability. Holiness doesn’t dampen our emotions; it elevates them. Those who respond to God’s call to holiness are the most joyful people in history. They have a richer, more abundant experience of life, and they love more deeply than most people can every imagine. They enjoy life, all of life.
- On the one hand, we all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that make us happy. But we don’t do those things. Why? Simple. We are too busy. Too busy doing what? Too busy trying to be happy. This is the paradox of happiness that has bewitched our age.
- Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. Hope is one of those things that you can’t buy, but that will be freely given to you if you ask. Hope is the one thing people cannot live without. Hope is a thing of beauty.
- Every journey to something is a journey away from something
- God does not want to control you, or stifle you, or manipulate you, or force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Quite the opposite. God will let you do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it, with whomever you want to do it, and as often as you want to do it. When was the last time God stopped you from doing anything?
- “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul.”
- “Life is about saying yes to the things that help you become the-best-version-of-yourself and no to the things that don’t.”
- “Discipline is the path to happiness.”
- The challenge life presents to each of us is to become truly ourselves–not the self we have imagined or fantasized about, not the self that our friends want us to be, not the self our ego would have us be, but the self God has ordained us to be from before we were in our mother’s womb.
- “Superficiality is the curse of the modern world.”
- “Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade.” by Matthew Kelly from the book The Long View.”
- “The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage.”
- “In fact, the more each person can remove his or her ego from the discussion and focus on the subject matter, the more fruitful the conversation will be for all involved.”
- “Catholicism is not a lifeless set of rules and regulations. Catholicism is a lifestyle. Catholicism is a way of life designed by God to help you become all you can be.”
- “There will be times of fear and trembling. There will be times of discouragement and disillusionment. Have courage, smile, keep your chin up, laugh often, be kind to yourself, stay focused, be gracious and appreciative, think happy thoughts, and carry on regardless.”
- “God always wants our future to be bigger than our past.”
- “Never believe a promise from a man or woman who has no discipline. They have broken a thousand promises to themselves, and they break their promise for you.”
- “It has been my experience that nothing changes a person’s life more than the discovery of one solitary truth: There is a meaning and purpose to life. More specifically: There is a meaning and purpose to your life.”
- “The glory of God is the perfection of the creature.” There is no better way to honor life and God than to strive to become the – best – version – of – yourself.”
- “Let your life be guided by greatness.”
- “The hardest war to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting, and the hardest enemy to defeat is the one you don’t even know exists. Every day you are at war with resistance.”
- “Thoughts create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create character.”
- “Character is built little by little, over days, weeks, months, and years, with thousands of small and seemingly insignificant acts of discipline.”
- “We become the stories we listen to. But perhaps the more important question is, what stories do you listen to? What stories are forming your life?”
- “Prayer is like a great love. When you start dating the silence can be awkward, but as you grow to know each other you can sit in silence for hours and just being with each other is a great comfort.”
- “We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves.”
- “The notion of freedom proclaimed by the modern world is anti-discipline. But true freedom cannot be separated from discipline.”
Information about Matthew Kelly from Various Sources. The links above and in the balance of Part I are to outside websites and pages.
Left-leaning Wikipedia says:
Matthew Kelly (born 12 July 1973 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian motivational speaker and business consultant. He is a founding partner at Floyd Consulting, a management consulting firm.
| Spouse | Megan (m. 2009) |
| Children | 5 |
| Occupation | Motivational speaker, author, business consultant |
| Website | matthewkelly.com |
https://www.ncronline.org › news
Matthew Kelly finds success, influence as Catholic author and speaker
Kelly is the founder of Floyd Consulting, a Florida-based management-consulting firm. His clients include many of the most admired companies in the world.”
Part II Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
MHProNews has presented the views of people who are of Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, Mormon (LDS), Catholic, Orthodox, and other branches of Christianity, deist, and people whose religious beliefs – if any – are not known. For whatever reason, some (not all) people get nervous about quoting a serious and dedicated Catholic when their faith is clearly mentioned. Why is that so?
Truth is truth regardless of who may say it.
Everyone has critics, so it is no surprise that Kelly has his too. That said, per Wikipedia, his critics seem to be focused on the fact that the man has made money but has done so as what they described as a complex, but discernable and clearly disclosed manner. Wikipedia indicates that his organization has harvested tens of millions of dollars in the years they mentioned.
Whether or not Kelly has any investments in manufactured housing is unknown, but there is no known evidence that he is involved in our profession in any way. But good business principles, healthy living, people skills, manners and ethics are universal. Just one of several possible practical reasons for putting Kelly’s tips to work could include the simple and time tested notion of happy customers leads to referrals. Treat people properly, set the right expectations, keep customers and others informed in a timely manner, and more buyers are the result. That may seem to ‘cost’ some time, effort, and money in the short term. But several industries outside of manufactured housing have demonstrated that doing so is quite profitable in the long run.
Indeed, because of the profit potential in applying good business ethics and practices, which is useful for employee retention as well as for customer referrals, services businesses have sprung up to measure those qualities for a company. One of those systems is known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and MHVille
Clayton Homes has made a point in their ‘annual reports’ to point to their NPS with pride. Here is an example.
An online check this morning revealed the following about Clayton’s NPS, per Comparably.
This isn’t about ‘picking on Clayton.’ Rather, it is about applying the insights from Kelly in a practical way. MHProNews is doing the job no other trade media in MHVille does by exploring Clayton’s and other big brands various claims. Trade media is supposed to be more than a press release service.
America in general, and several parts of MHVille in particular, have an ethics problem.
Going back to reasons for Part I above. Why share these thoughts from Kelly? And why today? Candidly, and to briefly “go gonzo,” my original intention for this article was to focus on his powerful quote, previously cited above. “Superficiality is the curse of the modern world.” I thought going into the powerful quote and might add a few more Kelly quotes. But as I refreshed myself on dozens of his compelling thoughts, and recalling his public presentations, books and audio, that still, small, inner voice seemed to suggest something different than the original plan for today.
That modified plan was to do a more in-depth article that centers dozens of Kelly’s proven insights.
IMHO, if you hear (sense) that still, small, inner voice, listen to it. A prophet was seeking a sign, and as the book of Kings says, “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12). It wasn’t in the earthquake or the fire that God spoke, it was in the gentle whisper. As Kelly noted, God respects the free will that he gave us all. God patiently persuades. He often uses people to accomplish that persuasion.
As Kelly suggested, there are plenty of distractions from what might be called Godly ways over secular ones. A friend of ours, very successful in several businesses, began doing coaching for a fee in the automotive industry and beyond. He was very successful before selling his enterprise. He strongly believes that true success is always balanced and includes a spiritual component. Like Kelly, he exercises routinely. Past retirement age, he is working not because he has to (he and his wife are quite wealthy), but because he enjoys working and sharing his proven methods. No doubt, based upon publicly available information, the younger Kelly has similar experiences.
As was recently noted on the Masthead, the late, great Zig Ziglar absolutely had a faith component to his success formula. Regular readers of the Words of Wisdom by prolific author and international speaker Tim Connor, CSP, know that he does too. Connor has known the ups and downs of life in pursuing his career, which has reportedly included multi-million-dollar years. Several pros in our industry that we know personally could say the same.
There are apparently dark forces at work in our world and nation. There may be times that it seems like the ‘bad guys’ have all the cards and advantages. But if God is for us, who can be against us? Be it MHVille, the USA, our family or for ourselves, Kelly’s Biblically inspired thoughts have value.
Given the reality is that some 71- to 85-percent believe that America is on the wrong track, depending on surveys in the last year or so. The first step for needed change begins within. One quote not used above by Kelly is this one.
There may be some hyperbole for effect in that, but others might say that Kelly is spot on. Certainly, our world and those in our circle can be ‘set on fire’ if they see us making changes like those Kelly has suggested.
To Kelly’s point that people should associate with like-minded people of good will, in Part II of the report below are some examples of organizations that could amplify the good while minimizing the problematic.
The case has been made that there is a battle underway for our profession and for our Republic. Take the time to re-read those few dozen Kelly quotes. Make a plan to bookmark this article and return to it in a month. Don’t rush through them. Let the words and ideas sink in. Feel free to check it out against others’ who are competing in the arena.
Our industry ought to be selling over a million new homes a year. When we say that MHVille should collectively sell 500,000+ homes annually, frankly, it is because some will think that a million plus sounds outrageously high. Given that last year (2022) produced some 112K new homes sold, getting to 500,000 sounds like a tall climb. But the RV industry, which has some history and similarities to manufactured housing, demonstrates that it could be accomplished in 3 years. With sufficient investments and efforts, it might be possible to do that even faster. That is likely why the report below is consistently among the most read on our site in the years since it was first published. It is an actual example of just how rapidly growth could occur.
A clear-eyed look at the evidence demonstrates that manufactured housing could be 10x bigger than it now is, or more. It will take a level of inspiration to obtain that sort of performance jump. My hunch is if Kelly ever decided to get into the manufactured housing industry, based on what I see in the above, he would gather and build a team of professionals who share common values that aligned with those quotes herein. He would invest time reading, which by the way, Warren Buffett also does by the hours daily. We don’t have to agree with Buffett’s business ethics in MHVille to recognize the value of his statements and examples on the importance of reading for understanding.
Buffett is a self-professed atheist.
Warren Buffett “Oracle of Omaha” HBO Documentary Berkshire Hathaway #Advexon Video
But Buffett has made remarks about the importance of good habits, and the importance of having ethical team members. At least on the surface, there are several things that Buffett has said that seem similar to what Kelly has said. It isn’t this writer who is alone on some island shouting MHVille pros need to carefully examine their habits. It is Buffett. It is Matthew Kelly.
controversies.
If Kelly entered MHVille, I predict he would spend days just reading on the ins and outs of the industry. He would have his “aha!” light go off several times when he would ponder what MHARR has called the industry’s ‘self-inflicted wounds’ are examined. He would craft a plan that would put his principles to work in a manner that would produce ‘win-win-win’ results for all involved. A plan that avoids the pitfalls and aims for the stars could, as in the case of Rollohome, produce stunning results. Some industry insider(s), or outsiders that decide to jump in, will find MHVille to be one of the best opportunities for growth and honest ROI than any profession today.
The manufactured housing industry is poised for greatness. But it is struggling with mediocrity. Kelly said it takes more effort to do mediocre work than it does to pursue excellence. Be that as it may, what is certain is this. When someone pursues excellence for themselves, for their team (their family, company, organization, country, whatever) it is more fun. It is energizing pursuing excellence.
Seriously, the point is that we can grasp the positives that are to be learned from ANYONE, be they a Buffett (an atheist) or Kelly (a committed believer).
We don’t have to fall for propaganda, so we have to be discerning. Good gals or guys, from a range of backgrounds, people pushing for and pursing the good and truth, can make a difference.
But if we carefully examine the facts, we can discover that our industry, our country, and our own personal lives can be significantly improved. “Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time,” said Kelly. Let these gems from Kelly, or any other thoughtful person of good will, sink in. The future could be much, much brighter. The graphic below will be updated soon to reflect the 2022 data, but the facts and principles it represents still apply.
Notice: the graphic below can be expanded to a larger size.
See instructions below graphic or click and follow the prompts.
See the linked reports to learn more, because as Kelly said, “Our lives change when our habits change.” ###
Note: Kurt Kelley is also a believer.
Again, our thanks to free email subscribers and all readers like you, our tipsters/sources, sponsors and God for making and keeping us the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.’
