ULTIMATE ADAPTABILITY

"He is happy whom circumstances suit his temper; but he is more excellent who suits his temper to any circumstance."

David Hume (1711-1776) Scottish philosopher/economist/historian

Do you know anyone who can consistently do this?

The inclusion of "consistently" rules out most of us most of the time.

Would that I could.

(DO YOU) KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM, WHEN TO FOLD 'EM(?)

"Nobody ever lost money taking a profit."

Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965) American financier/political consultant

This is more about timing with "profit" covering everything from making money to deciding when to leave one job for another.

It's not as much about what you do as it is when you do it.

HOWEVER A NICE TRICK IT MAY BE . . .

"It is a cursed evil to any man to become as absorbed in any subject as I am in mine."

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) English Naturalist

The problem is more often the reverse; NOT being as absorbed in whatever we're doing. 

But too much can be too much to.

LET ME UNDERSTAND YOU

"Words are the money of fools."

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) British philosopher

Like so much money down the drain.

Be careful not to spend more than you can afford.

(IS IT?) TIME TO GO

"My evening visitors, if they cannot see the clock should find the time in my face."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet/essayist/lecturer

Overstaying one's welcome is not only a social issue but a business one as well.

You need to know when it's time to go.

LEARNING IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME

"No one asks you to throw Mozart out of the window. Keep Mozart. Cherish him. Keep Moses too, and Buddha and Lao Tzu and Christ. Keep them in your heart. But make room for the others, the coming ones, the ones who are already scratching on the window-panes."

Henry Miller (1891-1980) American author

We have an infinite capacity to learn new things if only we continually question that we already know.

LET ME INTERPRET THIS FOR YOU

"All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation."

George Eliot (1819-1880) British writer

Understanding this will largely be the result of you having interpreted it's meaning.

Moreover, what you determine that meaning to be will not be the same as what many others decide is true.

The quote is about "meanings", plural.

I HAD TO THINK AWHILE BEFORE DECIDING TO USE THIS

"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist/writer/lecturer

Taking time to think things through is a good thing.

I think.

I'll have to think about that and get back to you.

SITTING IN JUDGMENT OF YOUR WIT

"Less judgment than wit is more sail than ballast."

William Penn (1644-1718) British religious leader

However you define "wit", without an appropriate amount of judgment, too much of (w)it is too much.

HE SAID TACTFULLY

"Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves."

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) President of the United States

Tact walks the line between truth and fiction, in the extreme, honesty and deceit.

Do your best not to cross the line.

I HOPE THIS FOR YOU

"The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise."

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) Spanish novelist/dramatist/poet

Relying solely on hope is every bit as bad as having no hope at all.

The sweet spot is finding balance between the two, along with having a plan to make true what you hope to happen.

PITY THE UNSATIATED

"We never reflect how pleasant it is to ask for nothing."

Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher/playwright

What if you could never be full, get enough sleep, have enough money, enjoy those you live and work with, or any number of other things you can name?

Simply never be satisfied.

How unhappy you would be.

LUCKY PREPARATION

"In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared minds."

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) French scientist

Luck has something to do with it but those most prepared are luckier than those not.

THE MORE YOU SAY IS OFTEN THE LESS YOU SAY

"No comment is a splendid expression. I am using it again and again."

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician

There are many reasons for saying little, sometimes including saying nothing at all.

Maybe the best is when you have a lot to say.

NO HALF TRUTH

"The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted."

Georg C. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) German scientist/satirist/anglophile

Only the biggest liars can feel comfortable attempting to justify a half-truth.

GOAL: CONSISTENT IMAGINATION

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet/dramatist

Taken to the extreme, which it often is, yes.

The need is for balance.

Be consistent enough to get done what must be done while being open to finding new ways to do it.

LET'S (NOT?) DO A MEETING

"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2007) Canadian-American economist

Meetings rightfully take a lot of heat for what they don't accomplish; many, maybe a majority, are of little to no use.

Remember this: A meeting is nothing more than two or more individuals getting together, each convinced they themselves are accomplished, worthy individuals. They may have their doubts about the others they are meeting with, but not themselves.

The "meeting" itself is not a thing, not a person, and should not be blamed for what comes of it.

If the meetings you attend are not producing results, take a moment to consider how much of that is on you.

ALWAYS THE SAME CHANGE

"The world remains ever the same."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet/novelist/dramatist

Ever the same, constantly changing.

Don't be deceived into thinking otherwise.

I DID IT FOR YOU!

"We should often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives behind them."

François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French writer

Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to do any good deed, at the  base of which you will not find at least a partial ulterior motive other than simply doing good?

Is the answer to that question different in our personal and professional lives?

NOR DWELL ON THEM

"Never repeat old grievances."

Proverb

There is a fine but important line between remembering and dwelling on past injustices done to you.

Do your best not to cross it.

1+1=3

"If you want to be incrementally better be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better be cooperative."

Unknown

I could just as easily rate competitiveness as being more important than being cooperative, but whichever you choose, one without the other renders each much less valuable.

IN BUSINESS TOO

"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards."

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman/scientist/philosopher

Success often results from the combined efforts of individuals within a group, all of whom have one fault or another.

They need only be accounted and planned for, not acknowledged, to succeed.