Hope

Hope is like a piece of string when you're drowning; it just isn't enough to get you out by itself. - Robert Jordan

"Hoping for the best" does not insure it will come to pass - it's what action you take which determines the end.

Starting the Job

If I had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe. - Abraham Lincoln

Best to prepare than to start too quickly.

Learn To Obey

By learning to obey, you will know how to command. - Italian Proverb

Don't take to commanding until you get old enough to know you don't know everything.

Getting To Outer Space

Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards. - Fred Hoyle

The magnitude of any problem is dependent on your perspective.

Ideals

Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides and following them you reach your destiny. - Carl Schultz

If you have no ideals you are adrift.

Source of Light

All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. - Saint Francis of Assisi

You can't be seen in a dark world if you are not a source of light.

Ignoring Reality

We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. - Ayn Rand

Having your head in the sand doesn't protect you from the lion.

Beholder

The Office does not sanctify the beholder of it. - Robert Heinlein

Just because somebody got there doesn't mean they deserve it.

Heart of Gold

Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold -- but so does a hard-boiled egg. - Unknown

People cannot see your heart.

Catching Confidence

Self-confidence is something caught and not taught. And, risk-running and chance-taking are the only ways to catch it. - Arnold Schwarzenegger

When every kid gets a ribbon at the end of the race it breeds arrogance, not self-confidence.

Consequences

Everything you do in life, every choice you make, has a consequence. When you do things without thinkin', then you ain't makin' the choice. The choice is makin' you. - Mark Steven Johnson


And you can never tell where you will end up.

Three Ingredients

There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning, and yearning. - Christopher Morley

In no particular order.

Looking at Friends

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends - Japanese Proverb

Look at your friends and see if they reveal what you think your character should be.

Obstacle Illusions

Life is full of obstacle illusions. - Grant Frazier

Make sure obstacles are real before they stop your progress.

Knowing It All

It is what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden

Actually after you realize that you never did know it all you are ready to learn.

Stork Theory

If we are going to teach creation science as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction. - Judith Hayes

Schools should teach science; churches should teach religion.

Building Trust

One of the most important ways to manifest integrity is to be loyal to those who are not present. In doing so, we build the trust of those who are present. - Stephen Covey

As long as you are being honest.

Solutions

An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions. - Robert A. Humphrey

A well defined problem's solution is close at hand.

Enemy of Truth

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. - John F. Kennedy


Was he really a Catholic?

Dining Logistics

A smiling face is half the meal. - Latvian Proverb

It's hard to see smiling faces when everyone is watching the TV. Dining room tables were invented to solve this problem.

Even a Blind.......

I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good. - Seneca

Me too.

Positive Opinions

If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Talking negatives causes you to lose your audience. Thinking negatives causes you to lose your way.

Let's Go!

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid. Let's go." - Maya Angelou

No sense being gentle with life.

Here and Now

Let us not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around us in awareness. - James Thurber

Don't forget the past or disregard the future. What you do now will take care of both.

Investing in Politeness

Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back. - Thomas Sowell

Assume people are good, until you learn different.

Bad Manners

Manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them. - Bill KellyGood

Note that parents who do not teach their children manners end up with disrespectful kids.

Folowing Elephants

You don't let the guy with the broom control how many elephants are in the parade. - Merlin Mann

Listen, but don't automatically act on others opinions.

Famous Martyrs

Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability. - George Bernard Shaw

Give up the martyr attitude.

Getting There

The saying "Getting there is half the fun." became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines. - Henry J. Tillman

Trains could make the saying true again if only they were run like a business.

Piling Up Tomorrows

You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering. - Meredith Wilson

Some things shouldn't be procrastinated.

Notables Are Exceptional

You either have to be first, best or different. - Loretta Lynn

Be sure to develop your talent first.

Errors Exposed

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth - that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured of one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one. - H. L. Mencken

Similarly the exposure of a fault does not ensure perfection.

Happening

There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. to be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen. - James Lovell

Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Guess which one will get you success.

Happy New Year

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. - Oprah Winfrey

Why would you be doing it wrong in the first place?