YOU CAN TRUST THIS

"He who does not trust enough will not be trusted."

Lao Tzu, 5th century BC Chinese philosopher

Ignoring the irony of this being said by a Chinese some 2,500 years before the current government of China came into being . . . 

A government that does not trust the citizens it attempts to govern, or management who does not trust those they attempt to manage, will ultimately fail.

FEAR BEING AFRAID

"Excessive fear is always powerless."

Aeschylus, 5th century BC Greek tragedian

Fear can protect assuming what we fear warranted being afraid of in the first place.

Often that isn't the case.

Don't deny or give into what you fear.

Create your plan to eliminate the threat and more often than not you will. 

MAYBE COMFORTABLE, JUST NOT WHERE YOU SHOULD BE

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. We must die to one life before we can enter another."

Anatole France, late 19th early 20th century French author.

One of the many reasons people resist change, even that they believe will lead to something better.

THE VALUE OF WORRY

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work."

John Lubbock, 19th century English banker/philanthropist

This says much about the value of worry.

There isn't any.

You may not eliminate it but do all you can to minimize it.

ACTUALLY WORKING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LOOKING AS THOUGH IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK

"Beauty is less important than quality."

Eugene Ormandy, 20th century Hungarian born violinist/conductor

In some instances, maybe not, but I wouldn't bank on it when creating product you want to sell.

From cars to computers, the product landscape is littered with what were initially considered attractive products whose quality ultimately proved lacking.

Looks count, just not for everything.

DO YOU KNOW?

"Wisdom and deep intelligence require an honest appreciation of mystery."

Thomas Moore, early 19th century Irish poet

Paraphrasing, the truly intelligent know there is and always will be much more they don't know than there is that they do know.

Do you know?

WHO YOU SHOULD (NOT) TRUST

"Do not trust your memory; it is a net full of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it."

Georges Duhamel, 20th century French author

I know this is important, and, at one point, I knew why. 

Just not now.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM?

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

Adam Smith, 18th century English economic philosopher

Any deal that overly favors one at the expense of the other is destined to fail.

Win win. 

THIS BLOG INCLUDED

"The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."

J. B. Priestley, 20th century English author

Mr. Priestley died long before email, text, IM, blogging, social networks and all the rest, which, today, passes for "communication", came into existence.

Maybe you had to be around, when little or none of that existed, to know the great majority of it, this blog included, has little or nothing to do with communication.

NO LAUGHING MATTER?

"Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our greatest earliest natural resources, which must be preserved at all cost."

James Thurber, 20th century American author

There is something funny in just about everything and finding what that is is good for you.

MORE THAN THE IDEA

"All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come."

Victor Hugo, 19th century French poet

True, but an idea's "time" doesn't just "come".

The success of an idea is much more the result of effort and hard work than it is the idea itself.

Don't wait for "it", make "it"!

LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU OWN IT

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility."

Eleanor Roosevelt, 20th century American politician

The choices you make are your responsibility.

Put excuses aside, do what is right, what you said you would do.

WHICH ARE YOU? FOR HOW LONG?

"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor."

Sholom Aleichem, 19th century Yiddish author/playwright

True enough but no one need be any of these all their life.

Whichever you are, if you're not happy being that, make plans to change.

WHAT IS, MORE THAN WHAT MIGHT BE

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

Epicurus, 300 BC Greek philosopher

I can't imagine better advice.

Work hard for what you hope will be, accepting what comes, all the while enjoying what is.

NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT

"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't."

Lucile Ball, 20th century American actress

Let me simplify.

If you want it, work for it.

EVEN VIDEO GAMES??

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

Auguste Rodin, 19th century French sculptor

Suggesting there is value in everything.

Ok, I suppose, but choose wisely what you feel is worth the time you waste.

That time, however long it may be, will never come again.

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU

"A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good but for neglecting his neighbor's."

Richard Whately, 18th century English economist/academian

So, feel free to make all the money possible, but don't forget to share some of your resources, including your time and expertise, with others less fortunate than you.

SELF-CONTROL: WORK AT IT!

"Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself."

Abraham Joshua Heschel, 20th century Polish born American rabbi

So true.

Who, if not you, should you look to for self-control.

One more thing you can work to change.

SELLING ATTITUDE

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect."

W. Clement Stone, 20th century author/motivational speaker

The attitude of each can affect the attitude of the other, however, whose attitude do you think will most determine whether or not there will be a sale?

Mr. Stone got it right.

MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP SIMPLIFIED

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."

Peter Drucker, 20th century American professor, business consultant

Possibly overly simplifying what I hope is still correct.