ENDING TO BEGIN AGAIN

"Amidst the worldly comings and goings, observe how endings become beginnings."

Laozi (Lao Tzu), 5th century BCE Chinese philosopher.

I began Business Wisdom, Friday September 26, 2008, not certain what I expected to come of it, how long I would do it, or when it would end.

And now, some 8+ years later with this the 2,119th weekday entry, I still don't know what I expected of it. But I do know the end.

Today is the last of daily posts, an ending of sorts that will, as Lao Tzu suggested 2,500 years ago, allow me to observe a new beginning.

I've (most days, not all) enjoyed doing it, in retrospect, even more so if you've read even one post you feel benefited you in some way.

My wish for you is many endings as satisfying as this one is for me, with many more successful beginnings for us all.

OK IF YOU TRY, NOT IF YOU DON'T

"It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done."

Samuel Johnson, 18th century English writer.

The important question is, why have you not done more than you have?

If your effort was all it could have been you should have few to no regrets.

But if you didn't do all you could, or worse, never tried, your fate is the "mortifying reflection" suggested by Mr. Johnson.

TIME IS THE SAME, WHAT WE DO WITH IT IS NOT

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see."

John Burroughs, late 19th/early 20th century American naturalist/essayist.

The musing of a truly rich and fortunate man.

You may believe you have more time than you need, possibly more time than you want. If so rethink how you spend the time you have.

We all have the same time in each day we live with the wise spending theirs more wisely than the unwise.

Доверяй, но проверяй (see below)

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."

Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States.

Misinformation, disinformation, or fake news in today's parlance, is not new, it's been around as long as people have.

Does it really matter? It does really matter.

Acting on, re-posting, or just claiming something to be true you are not certain is true, suggests you are lazy.

Doing any of those things knowing the basis for your claim is not true, suggests you are a liar.

As President Ronald Reagan repeatedly said, "Trust but verify"

("Trust but verify" is an English translation of the Russian proverb Доверяй, но проверяй taught to Reagan by Suzanne Massie, American author of the book Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia, and advisor to President Reagan regarding his negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev, then President of the Soviet Union.)

TIME FOR THOUGHTFUL REFLECTION

"Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it."

Søren Kierkegaard, 19th century Danish philosopher/poet.

Very true and not just as it pertains to pleasure.

We hurry past way too much we should spend more time contemplating. 

Grief, love, happiness, relationships, challenges, successes, failures; all part of the one life we've all been blessed to live.

All worthy of thoughtful consideration before moving onto whatever is next.

Don't hurry past your life.