STRONG TEMPTATION

"We gain the strength of the temptation we resist."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century American essayist/lecturer/poet.

(You think this pup would agree?)

Temptation comes in many forms and is generally attributable to things not good for us.

(Did you ever hear of anyone resisting the temptation to eat broccoli?)

I'm not certain I've ever gained strength from resisting something I knew I really shouldn't have, but I do know I've later felt better when I did, with the reverse true when I didn't.

YOUR VALUE; NO MORE AND CERTAINLY NO LESS

"We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good. We assume that the bad is more potent and contagious."

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American philosopher/author.

Unless your ego is much greater than your ability (a reality for many) this applies to you.

We minimize our strengths while maximizing our weaknesses, to the point of missing opportunities for greater success.

Don't give yourself more credit than you deserve and certainly no less.

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.

MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR? HARDLY

"There is no greater misfortune than to not be able to endure misfortune."

Proverb

I won't say all misfortune can be endured, but certainly all I have ever encountered, along with that I know occurred to others, has been. 

We are stronger than we think, sometimes more so than we wish to be.

ONE TRICK PONY SYNDROME

"People with great gifts are easy to find, but symmetrical and balanced ones never."

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

"Never" seems a little absolute, however the overriding sentiment is valid.

Being really good at one or two things does often come at the expense of much else of importance.

Strive for balance.

DID YOU KNOW . . . ?

"Most ignorance is invincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know."

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) British author

And I'll bet we usually don't know when we knowingly or otherwise choose not to know.

You know?

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.

YOU WILL BREAK, JUST NOT ALWAYS

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places."

Ernest Hemingway

20th century American writer

He didn't say everyone all the time will be stronger, himself living testimony to that fact.

However you can come out stronger as a result of adversity.

If you want to improve the chance of that being true for you, start by assuming it will be.

SEEING WITHIN

"The knowledge of yourself will preserve you from vanity."

Miguel de Cervantes 

17th century Spanish novelist, dramatist, poet

But first you must honestly know you.

Do you?

WILL YOU DO IT?

"People do not lack strength; they lack will."

Victor Hugo 

19th century French poet, dramatist, novelist

Agreed.

We are all capable of doing much more than we do.

Think how better off you would be if each day you did one thing more (or in the case of bad, less) than you otherwise will (or should) do.

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.

WHY YOU BELIEVE, OR DON'T

"It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey."

Soren Kierkegaard

19th century Danish philosopher and writer

Remember this the next time you find it hard to accept a point of view other than your own.

What Drives Success?

"The only real valuable thing is intuition."

Albert Einstein

20th century  German-Swiss-US scientist

I'm bothered by statements of absolutes including those coming from a world-renowned scientist.

There are many valuable things that contribute to one's success. Intuition is among them but not the only one.

Do you think that is more true in business than elsewhere?

Overly Enthusiastic?

"Opposition always enflames the enthusiast, never converts him."

Friedrich Schiller

18th century German dramatist/historian

And yet enthusiasm is very important, particularly in business for new ideas.

How do you channel such a positive so that it does not become a negative?

Our Own Jailer

"The chains of habits are too weak to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken."

Samuel Johnson

18th century British author

Not always a bad thing; there are good habits as well as bad.

But you know what this refers to don't you?

Made Of Sterner Stuff?

"Such as we are made of, such we be."

William Shakespeare

16th century English poet/playwright

In business as in our personal lives, just as true for our companies as ourselves.

It's Not My Fault I Have No Faults

"Our own self-love draws a thick veil between us and our faults."

Lord Chesterfield

18th century British statesman

Don't think this applies to you?

Take 60 seconds to list all the positive things about you.

Now take the next 60 seconds to list your faults.

If the first list is twice as long or longer than the second, you might want to rethink both lists.

Underdogs

"She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness."

Oscar Wilde

19th century Irish poet

Is there charm in business weakness?

Have you ever done business with a smaller company simply because they were small?

Or is being small not a weakness?

I've Got You Now!

"Men are the sport of circumstance when it seems that circumstance is the sport of men."

Lord Byron

18th century British poet

Sun Tzu also makes this point in "The Art of War".

Victory often comes to those whose opponents think they have the upper hand.

As in war, so too is it in business.