12 Quotes to Start 2024 on a Positive Note
Peter Smith has picked a dozen of his favorite expressions to help readers start the new year off right.

I hope you’ll find something to help you focus on the tasks at hand this year, and maybe even find a book or two here you might like to explore!
1. “When it comes to your experiences and perceptions, you’re much more in the driver’s seat than you might think. You predict, construct, and act. You are an architect of your experiences.” — Lisa Feldman Barrett, “How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain”
2. “Positive emotions might have evolved to give our ancient ancestors a survival advantage, but to experience them still enhances our lives today.” — Leonard Mlodinow, “Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking”
3. “Salespeople who truly believe in their product will influence customers in their favor. The unconscious expression of belief by sales personnel is a powerful cue that customers process both consciously and unconsciously.” — Gerald Zaltman, “How Customers Think: Essential Insights Into the Mind of the Market”
4. “Advice from every quarter, ancient and contemporary, backs up the observation that to change our feelings, we should change our actions.” — Gretchen Rubin, “The Happiness Project”
5. “Your mind, when focused on appreciation, has an unparalleled power to trigger physical and emotional healing.” — Dan Baker and Cameron Stauth, “What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better”
6. “Decades of work from multiple different subfields within psychology all point towards the conclusion that regularly resting your brain improves the quality of your work. When you work, work hard. When you’re done, be done.” — Cal Newport, “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”
7. “Develop the habit of letting small things happen. If you don’t, you’ll never find time for the life-changing big things.” — Tim Ferriss
8. “We all say we want to achieve things, but we don’t really want to achieve them unless we are willing to take the necessary steps to achieve what we say we want.” — Jeff Haden, “The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win”
9. “Being busy is not an accomplishment.” — Morten Hansen, “Great At Work”
10. “Grit has two components: passion and perseverance.” — Angela Duckworth, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”
11. “High dominance or ego-driven people may passionately believe that you should have product and feel compelled to sell it to you, no matter how much you resist. This may sound pushy, but if blended with empathy, this person will close with perfection.” — Chet Holmes, “The Ultimate Sales Machine”
12. “Risk taking is integral to learning. You have to push your boundaries and take a few risks if you want to improve at a given task.” — Kayt Sukel, “The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution, & Chance”
Thanks for reading my columns.
Here’s to a healthy and happy year ahead!
The Latest

The highlight of a single-owner jewelry and watch collection, it’s estimated to fetch up to $7 million at auction this December.

CEO Efraim Grinberg noted a resurgence in the fashion watch market.

The “Bullseye” necklace, with vintage bakelite and peridot, August’s birthstone, is the perfect transitional piece as summer turns to fall.

Jewelers of America is leading the charge to protect the industry amidst rising economic threats.

Sponsored by Clientbook


It will classify lab-grown stones into one of two categories, “premium” or “standard,” in lieu of giving specific color and clarity grades.

President Duma Boko addressed the country’s medical supply chain crisis in a recent televised address.

As a leading global jewelry supplier, Rio Grande is rapidly expanding and developing new solutions to meet the needs of jewelers worldwide.

Former Free People buyer Afton Robertson-Kanne recently joined the retailer.

The jeweler teamed up with two local organizations for its inaugural “Back to School and Bling” event.

The singer’s new bling, reportedly a natural old mine-cut diamond, is no paper ring.

Dubbed the “Imboo,” or “buffalo,” emerald, the rough gemstone is part of Gemfields’ latest emerald auction, which is taking place now.

Plans for dining out, booking vacations, and buying big-ticket items were down.

The “Play” collection centers on nostalgic toys that have kinetic elements to carry playfulness and wonder into adulthood.

Designer Christina Puchi, the creative force behind CCWW Designs, has created charms and pendants based on iconic candies and crackers.

The Jonas Brothers star showed off new timepieces against the backdrop of his favorite spots in his home state of New Jersey.

The family-owned jeweler in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is in the hands of the second generation.

The new stand-alone Rolex boutique is housed in the former Odd Fellows Hall, a landmark built in 1897.

The Brilliant Earth ambassador co-designed a diamond medallion featuring meaningful symbols.

Wrap jewelry is more than just a trend; it’s the perfect motif for the coming season of layering, scarves, and pumpkin spice.

The three-day watch collector show, coming this October, will feature 44 exhibiting brands, as well as a new dinner experience.

Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.

The one-of-a-kind collar represents the beauty of imperfection and the strength to rebuild.

Three C-suite executives, including former CEO Tom Nolan, have resigned as part of what the company describes as a “transition.”

The retailer, which recently filed Chapter 11, inked a deal to sell its North American business and intellectual property.

Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down in February and be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke.

The group met with the president's senior trade advisor earlier this week to express the industry’s concerns about the effects of tariffs.