Hiring Criterea

It is all one to me if a man comes from Sing Sing or Harvard. We hire a man, not his history. - Henry Ford

So much for capitalism being bigoted.

(Other posts on Prejudice)

Insults

A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me. - Frederick Douglass 


If you throw out an insult you are not a gentleman.


(Other posts on Manners) 

Convincing Others

Convincing yourself doesn't win an argument. - Robert Half


Similarly, convincing yourself that you are God's gift to the world doesn't convince the world.


(Other posts on Superiority) 

Looking On The Level

People who look down on other people don't end up being looked up to. - Robert Half

Ignore those that look down on you. Don't give them the pleasure of even a glance. Likewise, plan on being ignored if you look down on someone.

Predudicial Priorities

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. - William James

One premise is as important as another, so the order is not important. What is important is whether it is correct or not.

Common Premises

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. - Albert Einstein

I think "premises" would be a better word than "prejudices" and, as we know - always check your premises.

Lincoln on Convincing

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that 'a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing him of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause is really a good one. - Abraham Lincoln



Mr. [Abraham] Lincoln is not in the habit of saying “This is my opinion” or “my theory” but “This is the conclusion to which, in my judgment, the time has come, and to which accordingly, the sooner we come the better for us.” He has always addressed the intelligence of men, never their prejudice, their passion, or their ignorance. – James Russell Lowell



These two quotes, taken together, pretty well map out a plan for convincing others. Remember you will never change your enemy's mind.