Expected Excellence

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected. - Steve Jobs

If your children are to do well then make your home the place where excellence is expected.

Gospel Flaw

So much blood has been shed by the Church because of an omission from the Gospel: "Ye shall be indifferent as to what your neighbor's religion is." Not merely tolerant of it, but indifferent to it. Divinity is claimed for many religions; but no religion is great enough or divine enough to add that new law to its code. - Mark Twain

A theocracy will never foster freedom for its citizens.

Revealing Magic

The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. - Eden Phillpotts

If you want to see magic encourage the young to sharpen their wits.

Keep Humanity Clean

You must not loose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. - Mahatma Gandhi

Humanity, like the ocean, must continuously cleanse itself of the polluting drops.

What Kind of Change?

To change and to change for the better are two different things. - German Proverb

If only the American voters understood.

Early To Bed.........

Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something. - Robert Heinlein

But most of the work is done by the early risers. Each has their place.

The Meaning of Christmas

Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa. - Matt Groening

Insure Your Principles

Learn from the earliest days to insure your principles against the perils of ridicule; you can no more exercise your reason if you live in the constant dread of laughter, than you can enjoy your life if you are in the constant terror of death. - Sydney Smith

Treat ridicule like death - ignore it.

The Fuel

It is not the horse that draws the cart, but the oats. - Russian Proverb

When you see power, look for the source.

The Easy Win

To win without risk is to triumph without glory. - Pierre Corneille

There is always the risk of losing - unless there is no competition. Is it really "winning" if you're the only one in the game?

Prepare to Win

It's not the will to win that matters...everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. - Paul "Bear" Bryant

And the whole team must have the same will to prepare.

Simple Minded

To doubt everything, or, to believe everything, are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. - Henri Poincare 

Both are a cop-out.

Keep The Trust

The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer. - Thomas J. Watson 

Loss of trust, whether it be customer, friend or spouse, is to be avoided at all costs.

Smallest Minority

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand 

But they do. The question is how to change peoples opinion of them.

Keep the Fire Burning

You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are. - Anna Quindlen

A fire will not burn with a single log.

Listening In Appearance Only

A good listener is usually thinking about something else. - Kin Hubbard

Makes one wonder if there is such a thing as a good listener.

Regretable

Regret doesn't remind us that we did badly, it reminds us we can do better. - Katheryn Schulz

We all do things we regret. It is how we deal with that regret that determines our stature.

Truth Is Truth

Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance. - W. Clement Stone

Truth is the truth no matter what planet you are on.

Expecting Perfection

Maybe the most any of us can expect of ourselves isn't perfection but progress. - Michelle Burford


I cannot expect perfection from you but you most certainly must expect perfection from yourself. Never accept mediocrity as a goal.

All Work

You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are. - Anna Quindlen


Tunnel vision is not an asset for the traveler.

Results Rule

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. - Sir Winston Churchill


Reality is the final word.

Real People

My Father taught me how to be a man – and not by instilling in me a sense of machismo or an agenda of dominance. He taught me that a real man doesn’t take, he gives; he doesn’t use force, he uses logic; doesn't play the role of trouble-maker, but rather, trouble-shooter; and most importantly, a real man is defined by what’s in his heart, not his pants. - Kevin Smith


The same could be said about a real woman.

Explore Your Potential

The idea of perfect closes your mind to new standards. When you drive hard toward one ideal, you miss opportunities and paths, not to mention hurting your confidence. Believe in your potential and then go out and explore it; don’t limit it. - John Eliot, Ph.D.


You have potential. It is up to you to explore it, not for someone else to discover.

Manipulation Prone

There are habits and activities that leave people open to manipulation. I'm not saying they are wrong or right, just pointing out that these behaviors make you open to being manipulated... Here are a few general categories of behaviors that manipulators seek out:

Believing something because you heard someone say it on a news show on cable TV.

Being a child (or acting like one).

Buying penny stocks.

Repeating a mantra heard from a figurehead or leader of a tribe without considering whether it's true.

Trying to find a short cut to lose weight, make money or achieve some other long-term goal.

Ignoring the scientific method and embracing unexamined traditional methods instead.

Focusing on (and believing) easily gamed bestseller lists or crowds.

Inability to tolerate fear and uncertainty.

Focus on now at the expense of the long term.

Allowing the clothes of the messenger (a uniform, a suit and tie, a hat) to influence your perception of the information he delivers (add gender, fame, age and race to this too).

Reliance on repetition and frequency to decide what's true.

Desire to stick with previously made decisions because cognitive dissonance is strong.

Inability to ignore sunk costs.

Problem saying 'no' in social situations.

- Seth Godin

Add this to the mix of ideas to understand why the Doom-and-Gloom message is so effective.

Parents

Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it. - Haim Ginott


Never abdicate your responsibility as parent....no matter how tough it gets.

Ready to Leave the Nest

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. - Denis Waitley


Gifts they are. They will cost you, but be invaluable to your child.

Doing It Wrong

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. - Mae West


As long as you've done no harm, only you can say if your life was done wrong.

Fiction vs. Truth

Men would rather believe than know. - E. O. Wilson


Words are often more influential than truth.