The 9 Best Quotes From The Energy Bus

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Do you want to find the best quotes from The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon? How can these quotes help you to utilize the power of positivity?

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon is all about the power of positivity and how it can change your life for the better. Understanding key passages from the book can help you use positivity to improve your career, relationships, and well-being.

Here are nine of the best quotes from The Energy Bus, with explanations.

Quotes from The Energy Bus

The following quotes from The Energy Bus cover the main ideas in the book, including how to overcome negativity and think positively:

“Thoughts are magnetic. What we think about we attract.”

Turning your vision into reality starts with focusing your thoughts on it. There’s a law of energy (also known as the Law of Attraction), which says that by thinking about something, you attract it into your life. Your mental energy attracts corresponding energy outside you. For instance, people often think of someone and then get a call from that person. Or after they buy a new car, they start seeing that model everywhere because that’s the type of car they’re thinking about. Focus on your visions for at least 10 minutes each day and visualize creating the results you want.

“Positive energy and positive people create positive results. There is certainly a lot of negativity in the world and choosing positive energy helps us deal with the negative people and negative situations that can knock us off course.”

You’ll always have hurdles, which can include people who don’t share your vision, and you’ll get discouraged at times. Choosing positive energy helps you deal with negative people and situations. It’s the way to keep your bus moving forward and avoid being run off the road. Positive people and positive energy create positive results.

“Remember, you have only one ride through life so give it all you got and enjoy the ride.”

Since we have only one life, we should enjoy it. Often, people spend their lives stressing over small or unimportant things—for instance, emails, deadlines, arguments, and trivial inconveniences—and overlook the beauty around them. But on the day you die, you’ll still have a pile of unopened emails. So don’t worry about such small things—focus instead on finding joy in each moment. Live each day with purpose and joy.

“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands as my man Richard Bach says. You can choose to see the curse or the gift. And this one choice will determine if your life is a success story or one big soap opera.”

Joy tells George she had a feeling he was on her bus for an important reason; he replied that the reason was car trouble. Undaunted by his grumpiness, Joy quoted author Richard Bach: “Every problem has a gift for you in its hands. You can choose to see the curse or the gift.”

Which you choose determines whether your life is a success or an ongoing drama or soap opera, she said, adding that he seemed to be making the wrong choice. She dropped him off at work with the parting words, “Choose wisely.”

“Did you know you can take your bus anywhere you want to go? Say yes three times with me. Yes, yes, yes. You can take it to the movies, the beach or the North Pole. Just say where you want to go and believe that it will be so. Because every journey and ride begins with a desire to go somewhere and do something and if you have a desire then you also have the power to make it happen.”

You create your life—it’s your bus, you’re in the driver’s seat, and you determine what kind of ride it will be. Once you take the wheel of your bus, or take control of your life, you need to develop a vision for where you want to go. Ask yourself: “What’s my vision for my life?” ”What’s my vision for my work and team?” “What’s my vision for my relationships?” Write down your vision.

“Every morning you have a choice. Are you going to be a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Positive thinking will energize you.”

While vision and focus point your bus in the right direction, positive energy is the fuel that powers it. Positive energy is high-octane fuel, as opposed to the sludge created by negative energy. You need to drive your life with positive energy if you want to be successful. Negativity will fill any void, so create positive thoughts and feelings, and take positive actions so there’s no room for anything negative. Positive energy will also get your team on track too, but you have to have it yourself before you can share it.

“A man goes to the village to visit the wise man and he says to the wise man, “I feel like there are two dogs inside me. One dog is this positive, loving, kind, and gentle dog and then I have this angry, mean-spirited, and negative dog and they fight all the time. I don’t know which is going to win.” The wise man thinks for a moment and he says, “I know which is going to win. The one you feed the most, so feed the positive dog.”

To help George generate positive energy, Joy gave him a book of stories and exercises she often shared with passengers called The Energy Book. They read a story aloud before the bus reached George’s office building.

It told of a man who felt pulled in two directions. It was as if there were two dogs inside him battling for dominance: a positive, kind, gentle dog and a negative, angry, mean dog. The man asked the village elder which dog would win. The elder replied, “the one you feed, so feed the positive dog.”

“Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our journey through life. When we drive with purpose we don’t get tired or bored and our engines don’t burn out.”

Purpose is the most important fuel additive for your journey. Knowing your purpose keeps you energized and focused and prevents burnout. For instance, Joy saw herself not only as a bus driver, but also as a life coach, helping people find their energy and change their lives. This gave her a sense of purpose that inspired her and her passengers. Purpose infuses your everyday life with passion.

“It’s not easy to deal with the negativity in the world but it’s something that’s got to be done. Your success and life are so important that you must surround yourself with a positive support team.”

The people you surround yourself with have a big impact on whether you succeed. Some people increase your energy and your team’s energy, and some people sap it. The latter are energy vampires, who will suck the life out of you and your projects if you allow them to. They’ll make everyone else miserable and even sabotage your bus.

The above quotes from The Energy Bus can help you to improve your mindset, career, relationships and well-being. Apply these quotes to your life and harness the power of positive thinking.

The 9 Best Quotes From The Energy Bus