WANT TO DELIVER SATISFACTION?

"I am easily satisfied with the very best."

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician.

We can always argue about what is and isn't the "very best" but the message here is, set out to deliver whatever that is for whatever you do.

Do that and you'll more often than not produce your very best possible.

CONSULTANT HINDSIGHT

"Last week is the time you should have either bought or sold, depending on what you didn't do."

Unknown

There's nothing worse than telling others what they should have done/not done after what they did/didn't do is past, other than doing so vaguely.

If your consultation and recommendations are not specific, in advance of whatever they're about, they, and you, are of little value.

I know; I've occasionally been guilty of hindsight consultation.

NOT ALL STRENGTH SHOULD BE VIEWED AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

"I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot."

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American politician.

With due respect to Mr. Ingersoll who I know nothing about, many who trample the rights of others don't care what that says about them. 

Knowing right from wrong does not guarantee behavior.

REVOLUTIONS AND REORGANIZATIONS

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy."

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech writer.

Take away the guns and bullets and there's a lot of similarity between revolutions and corporate reorganizations.

A lot of movement ending up at the same, or worse, place.

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY ARE YOU?

"The mould of a man's fortune is in his own hands."

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman/philosopher.

You may not have had the best opportunities in life or what you see as luck enjoyed by others.

Too bad.

You have what you have, which includes whatever is left of your life; are you really willing to cast that aside, in effect to quit, because you believe you weren't given enough?

If so, really too bad.

FOR FAR TOO MANY, THE NEVER-BEGINNING TASK

"The never-ending task of self improvement."

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

None of us are anything close to perfect, a goal we will never achieve.

However that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't work to become so.

Create your self improvement plan and get on with it.

DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOU REALLY KNOW?

"A speculator is a man who observes the future, and acts before it occurs."

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

I don't have a problem with this when it comes to investing.

It's when the speculation is about another person that things can get out of hand.

Make sure your facts are facts before you pass judgement on others.

THE TRUE YOU

"Our lives teach us who we are."

Salman Rushdie (1948-?) Anglo-Indian novelist.

We do our best to project the person we want others to believe we are but it's what we do and say that decides that.

And I'm not so sure it does teach us regardless; the power of self deception is great.

MORE THAN WANT IT, YOU GOTTA EARN IT

"Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness."

Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American speaker and motivational writer.

If there is anything worth doing that does not require sacrifice, I don't know what it would be. 

As a result I'm not sure the word "usually" is necessary.

If you find something you'd like to do, have, create, achieve, etc., which doesn't require hard work and sacrifice, it likely isn't worth what you think it is.

IS THIS YOU IN THE CHAIR?

"The worst form of tyranny the world has ever known is the tyranny of the weak over the strong. It is the only tyranny that lasts."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet and dramatist.

Good to remember if this is the tyranny you impose on others.

SUSPICIOUS WORRY

"Suspicion is most often useless pain."

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British author.

Being suspicious, even confirming our suspicions, is not enough.

There must be a plan to make something good come from having addressed whatever they are, which includes, simply not being suspicious any longer.

ARE YOU YOUNGER THAN YOU THINK?

"No man knows he is young while he is young."

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) British journalist/novelist/poet.

Most young men and women feel they are knowledgeable and mature beyond their years.

Only when they (hopefully) become so much later are they are able to look back and see how lacking in knowledge and maturity they were.

Unfortunately some never do.

NOT WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE, WHAT YOU PROVE TO BE TRUE

"In thinking, if a person begins with certainties, they shall end in doubts, but if they can begin with doubts, they will end in certainties."

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman/philosopher.

Excellent basis for planning.

In the beginning, accept nothing as truth, test all assumptions moving to rather than starting at conclusions.

Do that and your plan will be more based on truth than not.

I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING

I think Winston's taken this a bit far but, yes, there is some truth to this.

However, more often the positive side of tactfulness is it leaves open the possibility for reconciliation of two diverse viewpoints.

A good thing.

THE REALLY WISE ALREADY KNOW THIS

"Wisdom hath her excesses, and no less need of moderation than folly."

Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher/essayist.

All the wisdom in the world won't help if you can't convince others to believe your beliefs.

You won't always be able to do that by simply being right.

FEAR MANAGEMENT

"Some of our weakness is born in us, some of it comes through education; it is a big question as to which gives us the most trouble."

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

Take fear of change as example.

We aren't born afraid of new things and must learn what to fear.

Some over learn it (the "education" Von Goethe refers to.)

Still others know no fear to their own detriment.

When it comes to change we need to be cautious, we need to take risks, and above all we need to learn balance between the two.

WISHING WISHING WOULD GET THINGS DONE, WON'T

"Dwell in thought upon the grandest and the grandest you shall see. Fix your mind upon the highest and the highest you shall be."

Unknown

A lot of quotes are too inspirational for my taste, this being one of them.

However some have a core message of considerable worth.

You won't "see" the "grandest" by simply thinking about it nor "be" the "highest" if all you do is concentrate on whatever you think that is.

But it is a start establishing what could be viable goal; one you might very well achieve given the right plan and a whole lot of hard work.

THE (LACK OF) WISDOM OF YOUTH

"In America the young are always ready to give to those who are older than themselves the full benefits of their inexperience."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet and dramatist.

I can think of no good reason Mr. Wilde would have drawn distinction between the youth of America and elsewhere; youth everywhere have an overabundance of faith in their judgement.

It is only when we begin to understand our increasing age that we also begin to understand all we do not understand.

And for some, not even then; the young who simply become older while none the more wiser.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

"We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction."

Aesop (620 BC-560 BC) Greek fabulist.

By revealing our weaknesses, one of which is having too many enemies.

Not everyone is against you.

When someone disagrees with you just accept it as an alternative view that may in your best interest.