CENTER YOURSELF

"We must learn our limits. We are all something but none of us are everything."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist and philosopher.

For some the problem is the opposite.

Those who believe they have little or no ability.

Both extremes are wrong.

Find your rational center between the two.

THE VICTORY YOU'VE JUST NOT YET ACHIEVED

"I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right."

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist.

Just because you haven't doesn't mean you'll never will, unless, of course, you stop trying.

Do that and you have assured perpetual failure.

YOU ARE BOTH

"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

The person who perseveres will get to the end of this seemingly never ending road, the obstinate one, who refuses to begin, won't.

The optimist or the pessimist?

We are all both at different times, our success or failure determined by how much of each, how often.

DO IT FOR THEM

"He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) British statesman.

Not entirely as simple as that but close.

Think as much about the other person as you do yourself and you will be rewarded.

THE HARDEST YOU'LL EVER NOT WORK

"Nothing is the hardest thing in the world to do."

Unknown

Ever wish you'd wake up independently wealthy, never having to work again?

Or maybe you're nearing retirement and can't wait for the time when you have absolutely nothing to do.

Nothing.

Think about it.

MAKING OUR IMPERFECT WORLD

"The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men."

George Eliot (1819-1880) British writer.

Were this not true the world would be nowhere near as imperfectly perfect as it is today.

You have a contribution to make; do what you can without concern for how (im)perfect you may be.

THE SOCIAL GAME

"There are people who, in spite of their merit, disgust us, and others who please us in spite of their faults."

François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French writer.

You rightfully go to school to learn what you will do, not to be confused with who you will be. 

One is no less important than the other.

JUST ASK AARON

"They also serve who only stand and wait."

John Milton (1608-1674) English poet.

Aaron Rodgers stood and waited behind Brett Farve three years for his chance to play.

Waiting for his moment.

You may be ready but your moment may not be.

Patience

REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS

"There is no coming to consciousness without pain."

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist/psychiatrist.

Be aware of pain to come should you not live consciously.

Thoughtfully, consciously consider the implications of your decisions prior to making them.

CAN YOU NOT REALLY LIVE WITHOUT . . .

"It happens as one sees in cages: the birds who are outside despair of ever getting in, and those within are equally desirous of getting out."

Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher/essayist.

So many of our "must haves" are quickly cast aside in favor of new "must haves".

Are there ever fewer?

How's your list of "things I don't need"?

WHAT'D YA KNOW?

"Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct."

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English novelist.

The more accurate your specific opinion proves to be, the more valuable it, and by extension, you, will be to others.

Accurate and specific; one without the other doesn't work.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD

"How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes deeds ill done!"

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet/playwright.

There is far more in life we could but shouldn't do than the reverse.

Much of that for good reason.

That you can is no reason that you should.

TELL ME AGAIN; YOU'RE FAMOUS FOR WHAT?

"Obscurity and competence: That is the life that is worth living."

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

Being the first (obscure) does not mean you are not the second (competent), although the reverse is rarely true.

For far too many, being famous is all they have; an "advantage" of little to no value if you aren't also something other than just famous.

IF NOT YOU, WHO?

"Ownership is to fear."

Proverb

Because we fear losing what we own or being associated with having ownership for ideas and plans that ultimately may prove false. 

Or simply because ownership requires effort and work.

There's no denying; that is the price of ownership.

Ownership implies accepting responsibility, being responsible; something we can never do too often or be too much.

THE BETTER FUTURE

"The ''good old times'' -- all times, when old, are good."

Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet.

It is easy to believe that what was is better than what is, what might be.

Easy, but nevertheless a trap to be avoided.

Humans are meant to change, to grow, to become something better, a fact to be celebrated, not avoided.

HURRYING TO DISARRAY

"Order marches with weighty and measured strides. Disorder is always in a hurry."

Napoleon I (1769-1821) Napoleon Bonaparte. French general.

Establishing order takes time, being disordered does not.

Once ordered you can thoughtfully consider alternatives. Disorder forces you to run from one crisis to the next.

Which do you prefer?

DON'T OVERLOOK THE OBVIOUS

"Your big opportunity may be right where you are now."

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

Be ever aware of the possibility of advancement, understanding it may be where you are, not where you think you should be.

NEW HIRE FIRST AND LASTING IMPRESSION

"Life is the childhood of our immortality."

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

Stepping back a bit from what I'm sure was Mr. Von Goethe's more lofty intent, this is just as true for your new hire business "life" as it is for life in general.

Your first impression is the "childhood" of how others will view you from that time forward.

Do your best to make it as positive as possible.

OK, BUT WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU DO?

"It is not length of life, but depth of life."

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

When it comes to how long you do what you do, the emphasis should be on what.

BEFORE THEY THROW DIRT ON YOU . . .

"Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five."

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

You can be pulled along through life, rarely if ever initiating something yourself.

Don't be that person.

UNDERSTAND?

"Mystery is not profoundness."

Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832) British clergyman/sportsman/author.

There are many things we don't understand, far more than those we do.

And while it is good to learn as much as possible, some of what we don't know is not worth learning.

The difficult part is deciding which is which.

WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS, NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO

"One lives in the world's memory only by what they have done in the world's behalf."

Proverb

In your business career as well.

You are paid for what you do to benefit others, not simply for what you do.