RESPECT YOURSELF

"Respect starts with yourself."

Proverb

The Staple Singers got it right.

If you want respect you must first respect yourself.

The good news is, we all have attributes worthy of our respect and that of others.  

ALL of us.

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

"Self-trust is the essence of heroism."

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

Because most of us know our true limitations and add to that list many more we assume to be true.

Simply trusting ourselves as much as we willingly trust others, would elevate us in the eyes of the one person whose opinion of us matters the most.

Ourselves.

I'M SO INTO ME

"When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package."

John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic

Very true.

Self-confidence is a desirable trait, quite different from conceit.

The former, mandatory for success, the latter, often confirmation of the opposite.

BUMMER! GOT TO GO.

"A tear dries quickly when it is shed for troubles of others."

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

Be honest, you occasionally look for pity don't you?

I have; it's part of being human.

But you don't get much for being pitied, certainly not for long.

Ask for and get help when you need it but lead your life from a position of self-reliant strength.

Better to be admired for having done so than pitied for not.

I DON'T HAVE MY BACK

"There is no dependence that can be sure but a dependence upon one's self."

John Gay

18th century English poet/dramatist

Notice he did not how often we depend on ourselves.

Not often enough.

Instead, out of laziness or lack of confidence in our own capability, we look to others, including the government, for salvation.

How sad.

YOU CAN'T DO . . . ANYTHING?

"We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation."

François de La Rochefoucauld

17th century French writer

And treacherous to none no more than ourselves.

We can't correct all our weaknesses but we can correct the one that causes us to believe we can't correct some.

I'LL HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT

"The best memory is that which forgets nothing, but injuries. Write kindness in marble and write injuries in the dust."

Persian proverb

Unfortunately we all too often do the opposite.

Doris Kearns Goodwin's excellent "Team of Rivals" chronicles Lincoln's success in getting the best from his political rivals.

The one thing among many things he did extremely well was to put aside personal slights from those with talents he knew would benefit him and the nation.

The sign of real leadership.

The Envious Mind

"Worth begets in base minds, envy; in great souls, emulation."

Henry Fielding

18th century English novelist

True.

You have only two choices.

You can can wish you had, did, thought whatever you see that has value.

Or you can contribute to make something of equal or greater value.

Which will it be?

You Can Do It!

"There can be no great courage where there is no confidence or assurance, and half the battle is in the conviction that we can do what we undertake."

Orison Swett Marden

19th/20th century American author, founder of "Success" magazine

In all things including life's challenges.

Get the facts, set your course, and execute in confidence.

How Much Are You Worth?

"He who does not think much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

18th century German poet

Some of the world's most successful business leaders are also egotists beyond anything the rest of us ever imagined.

Does success create that or are some of us naturally born to like ourselves more than will most?

Does not "thinking much of ourselves" necessarily imply we depreciate our worth?

What Is Your Self-Image?

"You have to believe in yourself."

Sun Tzu

5th century BC Chinese general/author

He says this meaning you should as opposed to you are compelled to do so.

Wouldn't it be great if both were true?

Self-Assured or Self-Centered Management?

"Too many people over value what they are not and under value what they are."

Malcolm S. Forbes

True, unless you are extremely self-confident (maybe too much so.)

Which are you?

Self-Confident: Are You?

"A gold medal is a nice thing-but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it."

From the movie, "Cool Runnings"

Business translation: If it takes a success to make you successful, you never will be.

How's your self-esteem?

How about that of those who work for you?

Confidence: How Sure Do We Need To Be?

"Doubt whom you will, but never yourself."

Christian N. Bovee
19th Century Author

This is one of those quotes that initially strikes me as good but after further reflection I begin to have doubts. The positive part is trust in yourself, set your path then walk it, etc., but what if you're wrong? (Bovee probably wouldn't even tolerate the doubt associated with asking that question.)

Maybe the quote overly simplifies what he really had in mind. Maybe he would tell us to do as Davy Crockett allegedly suggested ("Be sure you're right, then go ahead"), but even that seems difficult to do. There have been many instances in my career where there was no way to "be sure" regarding what I planned to do.

What role does certainty and/or self-confidence play in decision making?