Inspire Me! is a compilation of quotes from people both widely and never before published. From world leaders and philosophers, to farmers and young bloggers, this collection of inspiring quotes is organized along 12 guiding principles of life to help readers find inspiration at the flip of a page. Compiled by a father and his daughter who have been saving and using their favorite quotes for over years to communicate and inspire each other, they are proud to have researched each quote carefully to ensure accuracy of the phrasing and attribution of its original source.
All profits from this book will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Paul Ayoub is a partner and serves on the Executive Committee of Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP in Boston, Massachusetts, and represents a wide variety of for profit and not-for-profit organizations. A graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School, Paul currently serves as the Chair of the national Board of Directors of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Locally, Paul serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and on several other not-for-profit boards.
Lizzie Ayoub is a consulting analyst for a global technology and management consulting company in its Atlanta, Georgia office. She is a graduate of Noble and Greenough School and Vanderbilt University with a degree in Human and Organizational Development. In middle school and high school, Lizzie combined her two passions of singing and St. Jude by recording and selling a CD, with all proceeds going to the Hospital. She also has performed at St. Jude fundraising events around the country.
Introduction to Inspire Me!
by Paul Ayoub and Lizzie Ayoub
We always have been passionate about quotations and the power they have to change attitudes, minds, and lives. Over the years, we have gathered dozens of quote books and inspirational sayings from various sources. They line our bookshelves, cover our walls, and fill our notebooks. Why are we so enamored of quotations? Perhaps, as 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, “The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations.” In the words of 16th-century Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, quotations, at their core, are “short sentences drawn from long experiences.”
Our family’s “long experience” — in fact our family’s “lifelong” experience — is rooted in our connection with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 1957, our father/grandfather, Joseph Ayoub (a.k.a. “Big Joe”), met with entertainer Danny Thomas in Chicago. Danny had invited a group of first-generation Americans of Lebanese and Syrian heritage to hear about a plan he had to build a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for the sickest of children. From that meeting arose ALSAC, an organization formed to raise funds and awareness to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Five years later, in 1962, the Hospital opened its doors with the vision of Danny Thomas that “No child should die in the dawn of life” and “No child should be denied care because of an inability to pay.”
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is now among the largest non-profit organizations in the United States. Today, St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Our own passion and commitment to St. Jude motivated us to create this book and to donate all profits to the Hospital.
Danny Thomas often said, “Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.” Much like the work that goes on at St. Jude, we hope that this collection of quotations will not only motivate and teach, but also will inspire you to inspire others. For us, that will be the measure of the success of Inspire Me!
All profits from this book will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Paul Ayoub is a partner and serves on the Executive Committee of Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP in Boston, Massachusetts, and represents a wide variety of for profit and not-for-profit organizations. A graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School, Paul currently serves as the Chair of the national Board of Directors of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Locally, Paul serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and on several other not-for-profit boards.
Lizzie Ayoub is a consulting analyst for a global technology and management consulting company in its Atlanta, Georgia office. She is a graduate of Noble and Greenough School and Vanderbilt University with a degree in Human and Organizational Development. In middle school and high school, Lizzie combined her two passions of singing and St. Jude by recording and selling a CD, with all proceeds going to the Hospital. She also has performed at St. Jude fundraising events around the country.
Introduction to Inspire Me!
by Paul Ayoub and Lizzie Ayoub
We always have been passionate about quotations and the power they have to change attitudes, minds, and lives. Over the years, we have gathered dozens of quote books and inspirational sayings from various sources. They line our bookshelves, cover our walls, and fill our notebooks. Why are we so enamored of quotations? Perhaps, as 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, “The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations.” In the words of 16th-century Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, quotations, at their core, are “short sentences drawn from long experiences.”
Our family’s “long experience” — in fact our family’s “lifelong” experience — is rooted in our connection with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 1957, our father/grandfather, Joseph Ayoub (a.k.a. “Big Joe”), met with entertainer Danny Thomas in Chicago. Danny had invited a group of first-generation Americans of Lebanese and Syrian heritage to hear about a plan he had to build a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for the sickest of children. From that meeting arose ALSAC, an organization formed to raise funds and awareness to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Five years later, in 1962, the Hospital opened its doors with the vision of Danny Thomas that “No child should die in the dawn of life” and “No child should be denied care because of an inability to pay.”
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is now among the largest non-profit organizations in the United States. Today, St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Our own passion and commitment to St. Jude motivated us to create this book and to donate all profits to the Hospital.
Danny Thomas often said, “Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.” Much like the work that goes on at St. Jude, we hope that this collection of quotations will not only motivate and teach, but also will inspire you to inspire others. For us, that will be the measure of the success of Inspire Me!
