THIS MAY BE IN BAD TASTE, HOWEVER . . .

"Taste has no system and no proofs."

Susan Sontag (1933-2004) American author

And yet we often act as those it does, as those we believe have "good taste" are some how better than those of us we believe don't.

Pablo Picasso said, "Taste is the enemy of creativeness."

I agree.

FEAR DOING NOTHING

"There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear."

Ben Johnson (1572-1637) English dramatist/poet/actor

We fear many things, most not worth the effort.

Do your best to sort out which those are, casting them aside.

The rest?

Work out solutions for what you fear and the list will grow considerably shorter, you considerably happier.

EASY COME, EASIER TO GO

"It is no less a feat to keep what you have, than to increase it. In one there is chance, the other will be a work of art."

Ovid (BC 43-AD 18) Roman poet

Salespeople know it costs more to find a new customer than it does to keep an old one.

It's that way with money too.

You worked hard to earn what you have.

Work just as hard, maybe more so, to keep it.

TO MOVE FORWARD LEARN FROM LOOKING BACKWARD

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward."

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Danish philosopher/writer

But living it forward will be much easier the more you understand backwards.

ALL OR NOTHING, NEVER PARTLY IN

"When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away."

English proverb

Meaning, don't pick fights you don't intend to finish.

If whatever you wish to oppose is important enough to start your opposition, make sure it is also important enough to finish.

ONLY WHAT YOU SEE, ONLY WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW?

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

Henri Bergson (1859-1941) French philosopher

You can also reverse this (the mind comprehends only what the eye can see), and considering both you should understand the main obstacle to innovation.

When you only see what you already know, and when you only know what you can see, you live in a very limited space.

THIS ISN'T A BAD THING

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is."

Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist/essayist/dramatist

Not all the time but enough that we should stop and think why we are not always striving to become something better.

THE KIND BUSINESS

"To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life."

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British author

I think you could drop the second "of" and it would apply equally well.

Agree?

SOME BUT NOT ALL OF WHAT YOU KNOW

"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time."

Chinese proverb

Graham Nash told us, "Teach your children well", however that doesn't mean all or only what you know.

Substitute "employees" for "children" and the thought applies equally as well.

LEARNING FROM THAT WHICH IS NO MORE

"The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living."

Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC) Writer/politician/Roman orator

Maybe for people but unfortunately not for companies.

There is much to learn from those who failed in business where you wish to succeed.

Are you learning from their demise?

Ornamental Education

"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity."

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) Greek philosopher

The degrees we list on our resumes only suggest our worth; until we are tested they are, as Aristotle says, "ornaments".

However, education of any sort put to use, which doesn't always happen, is an advantage.  

In either case, sooner or later, and generally sooner, we must perform.

CONSULTANT ADVICE

"Consult. To seek another's approval of a course already decided on."

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) American newspaperman/short-story writer

Here's my consultation.

Don't employ any consultant, me included, unless you are willing to do what we recommend.

Particularly actions you may not intend or want to do.

To do otherwise is simply wasting your money.

JUDGE ME ON WHAT I (PLAN TO, WANT TO, ALMOST) DO?

"Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks,  feels, or believes."

Unknown Source

Supposed intentions are no substitute for what we actually do.

If they were, I'd be a saint.

How about you?

THE YIN AND YANG OF RIGHT AND WRONG

"Nowadays those are rewarded who make right appear wrong."

Terence (195/185 BC-159 BC) Playwright of the Roman Republic

Is today any different?

Maybe only in that those who make wrong appear right are rewarded even more.

IN SEARCH OF TRANQUILITY

"The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom."

James Allen (1864-1912) British-born American essayist

Is tranquility a goal and if so is it achievable?

Thomas Jefferson leaves to question what he thinks.

"Tranquility is the old man's milk."

17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes does not mince words:

"There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense."

I see it being some of all of this while hoping it is not all of some of this.

TIMING

"Take care to sell your horse before he dies. The art of life is passing losses on."

Robert Frost

Late 19th/early 20th century American Poet

I am often more struck by the author of the quotes as opposed to the message itself, this being but one example.

This is about the importance of timing, albeit in a cold, calculated manner.

I wonder if Mr. Frost would accept substituting "poetry" for "art"?

WHEN TO, WHEN NOT TO

"Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage."

Benjamin Disraeli

19th century British politician/author

Particularly for managers who almost always have the advantage but often not the sense to leave it be.

I (HOPEFULLY) WON'T DO THAT AGAIN

"Only by acceptance of the past, can you alter it."

T. S. Eliot

Late 19th/early 20th century American-English poet/playwright

All too often the problem is more not remembering/learning from the past than it is failure to accept it, but this is good advice when that is not the case.

SELF EVIDENT IS

"A fanatic is a man who consciously over compensates a secret doubt."

Aldous Huxley

20th century British author

The more someone attempts to convince me of something, including that I already accept as true, the more I doubt its validity.

SUCCESS: AS MUCH THE MEANS AS THE END

"I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success."

Thomas Alva Edison

Late 19th/early 20th century American inventor

Your life will be considered a success or  failure based on how you lived it not that you died.

We all die; what matters is what we do and how we do it before we die.

WE'RE ALL IN THE CUSTOMER RELATIONS BUSINESS

"Absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends."

Elizabeth Bowen

20th century Anglo-Irish novelist/short story writer

Whether or not we have absent friends depends upon the definition of "absence", and now that I think of it, as well the definition of "friends".

However, when it comes to business there is no doubt.

If you are "absent" from your customers you are not their "friend".

And by "friend" I don't mean in the "Let's go have a beer together" sense.

Absence may make the heart grow fonder but it won't keep your customers.

LIMITS, YES, BUT WHAT LIMITS?

"A man is not good or bad for one action."

Thomas Fuller

17th century British clergyman/author

And yet we often judge others as though they were.

How are you when it comes to giving others second (third, fourth, etc.) chances?

How many are too many?