TechJohnson asked the Lockergnome users to post their favorite inspirational quotes. I noticed that my assistant Kat had posted a few of her favorites, and some of them really hit home. One in particular resonates due to the fact that it’s how I try to live my life: Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

This quote is useful in nearly every aspect of life – even those pesky fanboy haters. Can you imagine where I would be right now if I let the fear of striking out keep me from playing the game at all? Can you imagine where you would be in your life and career if you were too afraid to take risks and put yourself out there?

It’s not always easy to set our fear aside and keep on keepin’ on. Determination to put one foot in front of another and continue building upon what you started is what helps to enrich our lives.

What’s your favorite inspirational quote?

• What 21st century tech existed in the 1970s?
• Where will iOS be heading in the future?
• How do you deal with fanboys?
• Will boycotting BP backfire in your face?
• Should you delete your recovery partition?
• What is your favorite inspirational quote?
• Microsoft is cutting users a deal.
• Should the drinking age be increased?
• What would you replace your desktop with?
• Is iOS 4 working well for you?
• How many graphics cards do you need in order to run three monitors?
• Are small mobile carriers a viable alternative?
• What should be added into the next iteration of the iPad?
• Where do you turn to diagnose BIOS errors?
• Many people are receiving their iPhone 4 early!
• What about your computer drives you insane?
• What laptop cooling pad do you recommend?
• Using carbon nanotubes in Lithium batteries can dramatically improve energy capacity.
• What – exactly – is Carly Fiorina up to?
• What type of desk works well in small areas?
• Is Apple helping Microsoft?

You have nothing to fear when you check out the latest software and apps we have gathered together.

What is Your Favorite Quote?

Drew Olanoff is himself an inspiration, although he doesn’t see it that way. When he was diagnosed with cancer last year, he decided to make it social. He wanted a place to talk about what he was going through, as well as where he could help raise awareness. He did so in a huge way, causing him to even gain the attention of Drew Carey. Now that his battle against the dreaded disease has ended, he decided that it is time to stop letting things sit around in his brain. Thus, Qwotebook has been officially released.

The site has a mixture of real-time and historical quotations. Users are allowed to contribute, attribute and share their favorite Qwotes of all time. The quotes can be things the users themselves have said, or things that they have seen (or read) by others – including famous people. Qwotebooks takes the funny and inspirational things you may overhear and puts them alongside some of the most famous sayings in all of history. These snippets can come from your mom, your neighbor or even your drunken best friend. The interface is easy to use, and Drew promises there are more features to come.

“If you have a dream, you do it. Period,” says Olanoff. “Time is limited, tomorrow is never promised.” As I said, this idea sat around in his brain for more than three years. He kept putting off development, thinking he had all the time in the world to make it a reality. After his bout with cancer, Drew realized that he may not have all the time in the world… that none of us do, in fact.

I can’t speak for Drew, but I know that over the course of my lifetime I have read many things that inspired me in some way. I’m sure he’s been through that, and that would likely be where his idea came from. Things that others say can not only inspire and challenge us, they can sometimes lead us to laughter when we’re down, or to cry when we need to shed a tear. What better way to bring all of these emotions and resources together than with Qwotebooks?

Qwotes Can Inspire You

There’s an old saying in the Bible or some book that I don’t even remember for sure. It says “And the Geeks shall inherit the Earth”. A friend of mine argued with me the other night, claiming that it’s supposed to be the meek shall inherit the Earth. I beg to differ. I know what it says, thank you very much. We all know it’s pure fact that Geeks are taking over the World, and that we will one day rule inherit the World. Why haven’t you given in and joined us yet? You know you’re going to have to!

Seriously, being a Geek is an amazing thing. Geeks are not just computer guru’s, you know. A Geek is anyone who is passionate about something, whether it’s computers, motorcycles, or even gardening. Using this definition, it’s easier to imagine Geeks one day making a huge difference in this World of ours. What am I saying? We already have. Look at some of the strides in medicine, technology and science in just the past few years. There are an astounding number of new inventions, cures and gadgets on a daily basis.

If you could change the World somehow, make an impact so to speak, what would it be? Just imagine for a few moments that you have the brains/money/power to change any one thing. What would you do?

While you’re contemplating, make sure you take the time to check out what others are up to in our community!

• Namco is bringing big money to iPhone games.
• Would a search deal hurt the competition?
• Backing up and restoring your date in Windows 7 is a simple matter.
• Teach them to gamble… yeah, that’s the ticket.
• Save money when traveling with the AAA Discount App from iTunes.
• The Microsoft-Yahoo deal leaves developers unaffected.
• What was the top Smartphone in Q2? Surprise… it wasn’t the iPhone.
• Are you a good technology teacher?
• Where’s your favorite place to buy Geeky clothing?

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth

Traci asks: “What fuels you?”

I answer:

1. In the morning, coffee.
2. Reading email, Facebook, and Twitter.
3. Installing new software.
4. Experiencing laughter.
5. Really good sushi.
6. Sponsors and donations.
7. Learning something new about myself.
8. Getting new hardware / firmware.
9. The desire to constantly forge a legacy.
10. In the evening, the promise of tomorrow’s coffee.

So, what fuels YOU? Answer Traci via her Twitter account or her blog. Of course, she also recorded a video via her YouTube channel:

What Fuels You?

It’s nice to know I could help someone so much:

Hi Chris We’ve never met, but I’ve just been inspired to drop you a line. I’ve been sorting out my bookshelf this weekend and I came across a copy of “Poor Richard’s Email Publishing”, annotated with so many post-its that it’s almost twice the thickness. It brought back memories!

In 1999 I was a trade/B2B magazine editor here in the UK, becoming increasingly irritated with the fact that when it came to the internet, my colleagues just didn’t “get it”. On holiday in North America with my wife, I came across your book in a bookstore and thought it seemed vaguely interesting. It proved to be more than that. Over the next two or three days, I formulated a whole business plan in my head, based on the ideas the book gave me (fortunately, we had a couple of long coach journeys). It was totally inspirational.

Fast-forward to 2006 and the company I started from my bedroom, based on the ideas of email replacing print in the trade press, was sold for enough money to ensure I’ll be comfortable for the rest of my life. Sure, I did all the hard work and all that. But it was the chance find of your book which sparked everything off, and for that, I’d like to offer you my most sincere thanks. On behalf of my wife and young son, not to mention everyone else in the company who did well out of the sale: THANK YOU!

I’m thrilled and depressed at the same time.

The World’s Happiest Depressing Email

As recorded by Leo Notenboom, great quotes (taken quite out of context) from Gnomedex 6.0. Some of these may be paraphrased:

• “Geeks shouldn’t name things.” (Kathy Gill)
• “That’s a bad opinion to have.” (Mike Arrington)
• “Don’t use my own facts against me.” (Mike Arrington)
• “I’m only hosting the conference, I have no idea what’s going on.” (Chris Pirillo)
• “Everyone is a store.” (???)
• “Nobody wants to put their balls into one vice.” (Marc Canter, to which someone else commented, “I prefer to split mine between at least two.”)
• “Someone is going to get a pair of my underwear.” (Chris Pirillo)
• “It’s all crap.” (Steve Gillmor)
• “This software has never been touched by venture capital hands – that’s why we don’t have blue balls.” (Marc Canter on People Aggregator, referencing swag given by BlueDot.us.)
• “We don’t need to be 800lb gorilla’s, we can be 100 8lb Orangutans” (Darren Barefoot)
• “The elder community has a lot to offer – as they retire, what else are they going to do?” (???)

There was also a classic remark given by Halley Suitt to the male-laden GIllmor Gang who was referencing giving bl*wjobs… something along the lines of: “Excuse me, but which one of you is most qualified to talk about giving bl*wjobs?” And then there was the unforgettable statement made by a casual observer, Janet Pantoja, basically suggesting that everybody drop the ego-trumping and actually do something to improve the world. Come to think of it, the more intelligent statements made at Gnomedex were by women. Do you have any favorite Gnomedex 6.0 quotes?

Conference Quotes