Where can I find lessons on initiative?

I take a small group of children, aged 9 - 12, for project-based work.
Rather than set deadlines or constantly nag them to complete their
work, I would rather they learnt the value of initiative, or
self-motivation,something that doesn't seem to be instilled in many
children today.

I would be happy with an answer that composed of the following....

one or two 'inspirational' quotes about initiative

one or two group games/lessons/workshops/exercises that help instill
initiative (up to 20 minutes long)

Web links to any or all of the above would be fine. Quotes and
excercises need to be appropriate for the age group.

Variations to these specifications might be okay, but any kind of
answer needs to provide an interesting and novel approach to teaching
initiative.

This is one of my favorite quotes about initiative. It is attributed to Mark Twain:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the
bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in
your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

that's good... thanks!

It can be the difference between open and closed tasks - the
difference between saying 'what was the cause of X?' and 'find out as
much as you can about why X happened?'

The first makes the children think they are in a competition to find
the one reason, the latter makes them want to go and get loads of info
on all aspects of the topic

wolvies