Motivation

If you want to change people's behavior, youhave to understand what motivates them.


~ Ken Sperling

The Underdog

The underdog in many products can pick and choose where it wants to hit the giant.  The giant, by contrast, must defend itself everywhere.

~George H. Lesch

Life is Pretty Simple

Life is pretty simple: you do some stuff.  Most fails.  Some works.  You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it.  Then you do something else.  The trick is in the doing something else.

~ Tom Peters

The Right Questions

Charles de Gaulle did not believe that at a press conference he should let the reporters choose the subject that would be discussed.  So he arrived with five prepared answers, and no matter what the question was, he worked his way through those five answers. 

A day later, a French newspaper ran a cartoon in which de Gaulle was depicted as asking " Would somebody like to ask a question to my answers?"

The lesson here is to take a look at our own lives and see how often we are stuck on our own agenda, and we stay there, despite what is going on in the world around us.  There are times where we are so busy waiting for someone to ask us the "right question" so we can give the answer we've so carefully planned and prepared, that we miss the opportunity to hear questions that will challenge us to live and grow in new directions.

Different Needs for Different People

In 1774 the Virgina Colony invited six Indian nations (The Iroquois Confederacy) to send six of their young braves to be educated at Williamsburg Collge.  This was the reply from The Six Indian Nations:

We thank you heartily. But you, who are wise, must know that different Nations have different Conceptions of things; and you will therefore not take it amiss, if our Ideas of Education happen not to be the same with yours.  We have had some Experience with it.  Several of our Young People were formerly brought up at your Colleges; there were instructed in all your Sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad Runners, ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, unable to bear either Cold or Hunger, knew neither how to build a Cabin or take a Deer, or kill an Enemy, spoke our Language imperfectly, were therefore neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counsellors, they were totally good for nothing.  We are, however, not the less obliged by your kind Offer, tho' we decline accepting it; and, to show our grateful Sense of it, if the Gentlemen of Virginia will send us a Dozen of their Sons, we will take care of their Education; instruct them in all we know, and make Men of them.
~The Six Indian Nations

The lesson here is to ask ourselves where in our lives are we assuming we know best, and that our way is right for everyone.  Have we forgotten to recognize that different people have different needs in different situations?  How does this apply to you?

The Joneses

You no longer have to keep up with the Joneses...they've died of exhaustion.

~The Old Vermonter

Too Much

It is possible to own too much.  A man with a watch knows what time it is.  A man with two watches is never sure.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

Challenge

If at first you do succeed, try something harder.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

The Razor's Edge

Every good and excellent thing stands moment by moment on  the razor's edge of danger and must be fought for.

~H. Ross Perot

The Top

The person on top of the mountain did not fall there.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

Challenging the Rules

In the winter of 333 B.C., the Macedonian general Alexander and his army arrived in the Asian city of Gordium to take up winter quarters.  While there, Alexander heard about the legend surrounding the town's famous knot, the "Gordian's Knot."  A prophesy stated that whoever was able to untie the strangly complicated knot would become king of Asia. 

The story intrigued Alexander and he asked to be taken to the knot so that he could attempt to untie it. He studied it for a while, and made several fruitless attempts to untie the knot.  he was stymied. 

"How can I untie the knot?" he asked himself. He got an idea: "I just have to come up with my own knot untying rules."  He pulled out his sword and slived the knot in half. Alexander was the next king of Asia.

The lesson is to ask yourself where you are stuck because you have not challenged the rules.  Is there another way?  Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, the rules are ok to challenge, change, or break.  Sometimes the rules protect us. It's a delicate balance to know the difference.

Achievement

Achievement is largement the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration and expectation.

~Jack Nicklaus

Rules for Business Success

Face reality as it is...not as it was, or as you wish it to be.
Be candid with everyone.
Don't manage, lead.
Change before you have to.
If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.
Control your own destiny or someone else will.

~Jack Welch

Communication

The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.

~ Peter Drucker

Feet on The Ground

If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.

~Abigail Van Buren

Planning vs Purpose

Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.

~Thomas Alva Edison

Where Are You Going?

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

~Lewis Carroll

Standing Up

It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies but even more to stand up to your friends.

~J.K. Rowling

Desire

Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.

~Michelangelo

How Much Water Will It Hold?

Thomas Edison had a unique way of hiring engineers.  He'd give the applicant a lightbulb and ask "How much water will it hold?"

There were two ways to find the answer.  The first was to use gauges to measure all the angles of the bulb.  Then with the measurements in hand, the engineer would calculate the surface area.  This approach could take as long as twenty minutes. 

The second option was to fill the light bulb with water and then pour the water into a measuring cup.   This took a total of about one minute. 

Engineers who took the first route were thanked politely for their time and sent on their way.  Those who took the second route heard Edison say "you're hired!"

The lesson here is to ask yourself what is it in your life that you are doing the hard way, simply because it is the way you have always done it? Is there another way to approach it? Think outside the box.

The Price to Live

It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment, or the courage, to pay the price... One has to abandon altogether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms.  One has to embrace the world like a lover, and yet demand no easy return of love.  One has to accept pain as a condition of existence.  One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing.  One needs a will stubbon in conflict, but apt always to the total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.

~Morris L. West

How to Catch a Monkey

In India, people have caught monkeys by setting out a small box with a tasty nut inside of it. There is an opening in the box just large enough for the monkey to thrust his hand in to the box but too small for him to withdraw it while his hand is clenched around the nut. 

Once the monkey has reached into the box and grabbed the nut it wants so badly, it is faced with a choice.  It must either let go and regain his freedom, or hold on and stay trapped.  Most  monkeys hold on to the nut and this makes it easy for people to catch them.

The lesson here is to ask yourself what you are holding onto that, in reality, has you stuck.  Is there something in your life that you hold so tightly thinking you are getting a treat, but if you let go, you would gain your freedom?

Learning From A Dog

Wisdom does not fall from high places.  The mighty and the splendid have taught me little. I have learned more from my dog than from all the great books I have read.  The wisdom of my dog is the product of his inability to conceal his wants.  When he yearns to be loved, there is no pouting in the corner.  There are no games entitled "Guess what is the matter with me." He puts his head on my lap, wags his tail, and looks up at me with kind eyes, waiting to be petted.  No professor or sage ever told me I might live a more successful life if I simply asked for love shen I needed it.

~Gerry Spence

A Problem

A problem is something with a solution.  If there is no solution, there is no problem.

~Moshe Dayan

Failure

You always pass failure on your way to success.

~Mickey Rooney

Faith

Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.

~Martin Luther King Jr.

Growth

It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.

J. K. Rowling

Flip a Coin

Sigmund Freud and his niece were discussing how difficult it was for some people to make discussions.  She asked him how for advice and help with this problem. 

He said, "I'll tell you what I tell them.  I ask them to toss a coin."

His niece replied astounded, "I can't believe it.  You, a man of science, guided by senseless chance!"

He replied, " I did not say you should follow blindly what the coin tells you.  What I want you to do is to note what the coin indiciates. Then look into your own reactions.  Ask yourself: Am I pleased? Am I disappointed? That will help you to recognize how you really feel about the matter, deep down inside.  With that as a basis, you'll then be ready to make up your mind and come to the right decision."

The lesson is that when we struggle with a decision, we already have the answers within us.  It just requires that we ask ourselves how we really feel, then listen to the honest answer.  What decision are you struggling with?  Flip a coin!

The Little Things

Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.

~Lawrence D. Bell

Thoughts on Leadership...

A man who want to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

~James Crook

The Best Executive

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with thtem while they do it.

~Theodore Roosevelt

A Leader

A leader is best when people barely know he exists.  Not so good when people obey and acclaim him.  Worse when they despise him.  But, of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, "We did it ourselves."

~Lao-tzu

Imagination

Imagination is the preview of life's coming attractions.

~Larry Eisenberg

Times Like These

In times like these, it helps to remember that there have always been times like these.

~Pail Harvey

Passion

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.

~Ferdinand Foch

Quality

Quality is not expensive, it's priceless.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

How You Play The Game

At the 1925 U.S. Open, golfer Bobby Jones insisted on penalizing himself a stroke when his ball moved slightly in the rough as the blade of his irontouched the turf.  Nobody else could possibly have seen the ball move.  The penalty dropped him into a tie with golfer Willie McFarlane who went on to win the playoff.

Fifty-three years later in 1978, Tom Kite did the same thing.  The self-imposed penalty caused him to lose the Hall of Fame Classic at Pinehurst by one stroke.

Reporters asked both men why they took the penalties.  Both had essentially the same reply: "There's only one way to play the game."

The lesson is to ask yourself how you choose to play the game.  Do you play by the rules, even when no one would know?  How do you feel about your integrity?

To Lead, Follow

To lead people, walk behind them.

~Lao-tzu

What We Have Done

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Infectious Laughter

On January 30, 1962, there were three 12 to 13 year old girls at a mission-run boarding school in Kashasha, Tanganyika  who started laughing.  Very quickly, the laughter spread throughout the school, affecting 95 of the 159 students, aged 12–18. Their symptoms lasted varying lengths of time and had different levels of intensity, and ultimately the school was forced to close down on March 18, 1962. After the school was closed, the boarding students were sent home, and the laughing epidemic spread to Nshamba, a village where several of the students lived.

Some reports suggest that people were continuously laughing for months, while other reports say that the epidemic was actually occasional attacks of laughter among groups of people that occurred at irregular intervals. Reports also state that the laughter was incapacitating when it struck.

The lesson here is that laughter really is contagious, just as our attitudes are. 

Mind and Body

If you want to see what your thoughts were like yesterday, look at your body today.  If you want to see what your body will look like tomorrow, look at your thoughts today.

~Old Indian Saying

Everyone is Responsible

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

~Stanislaw Lec

Think Big

As long as you're going to think anyway, think big!

~Donald Trump

How to Live and Learn

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Try...

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

~Beverly Sills

Two Types of People

There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say "Well, here I am!" and those who come into a room and say "Ah, there you are!"

~Frederick Collins

Behind Their Backs

The best thing to do behind a friend's back is pat it.

~Ruth Brillhart

Practice Shots

An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in! He treats his failures simply as practice shots.

~Charles Kettering

Diamonds

Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.

~Malcolm Forbes

Your Path

If you don't know where you are going, you might end up where you are headed.

~Dr. Rod Gilbert

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

Three men had adjacent businesses in the same building. The man who ran the store owner at one end of the building put up a sign that said "Clearance Sale-Major Markdowns!"

At the other end of the building, the businessman who ran that store put up a sign that said "Close-Out Sale."

The businessman in the middle knew that no matter what he did his business was going to be hurt.  So he thought about what he could to make the best of a bad situation.  He came up with a solution; he put up a sign that said "Main Entrance Here".

The lesson here is that when faced with challenges or problems we can choose to complain and be frustrated, or we can look for the hidden opportunity within the situation and make the best of it.

A Foggy Night

One dark and foggy night at sea a ship’s captain was on the bridge. The captain saw what looked like the lights of another ship heading toward him.   The captain ordered the signalman to use his lights and blink to the other ship signal to the other ship.

"Change course 10 degrees south.”
The signal came back "Change your course 10 degrees north".
The captain responsed, "I am a captain. Change course south."
"I am a seaman first class. Change course north." came the reply.
The captain was furious.  He sent back, "I am a battleship. Change course south!"
To which the reply came, "I am a lighthouse. Change your course north."
The captain changed course.

The lesson is that we often get stuck about who is in charge; title and power are seducctive.  But in reality, we may find we have the most power in our lives when we are willing to bend and adapt to the lay of the land.

What Will Today Bring...

One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing is to be ready for it.

~Henry Moore

Personality

Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.

~Elmer G. Letterman

Recognition

It is better to deserve honors and not have them, than to have honors and not deserve them.

~Mark Twain

The Impossible

What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.

~Theodore Roethke

Hold On or Let Go

Some think its holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it't letting go.

~Sylvia Robinson

Education vs Experience

Education is when you read the fine print.  Experience is what you get if you don't.  

~Pete Seeger

Success

Success isn't permanant and failure isn't fatal.

~Mike Ditka

Wading Out....

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool, or you go out in the ocean.

~ Chistopher Reeve

An Apology

An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.

~ Lynn Johnston

The Best and Most Beautiful

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  They must be felt with the heart.

~Helen Keller

Opportunity

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

~Milton Berle

Compromise

Don't compromise yourself.  You are all you've got.

~Janis Joplin

Opportunities to Help Others

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily.

~Sally Koch

A Bad Example

No experiment is ever a complete failure.  It can always be used as a bad example.

~Paul Dickinson

A Compassionate Act

A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward.

~ William J. Bennett

Eisenhower's Leadership Lessons

Among the many things that he was known for, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was known for being a great leader.  He has been quoted as saying "you do not lead by hitting people over the head--that's assault, not leadership". 

He used to demonstrate the art of leadership to his men by using a simple piece of string. He would gather a group to stand around a table.  He'd place a string on the table and lay it out straight.  Looking around the table at each of the men he would say to them  "pull the string and it will follow you where ever you wish. Push it and it will go nowhere at all."

The lesson in this is to ask yourself, who are you pushing? Have you realized it isn't going anywhere for either of you? How can you change your interaction?

I Can Choose...

There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can read and eat and study. I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life - whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts.

 

~Elizabeth Gilbert

Being Beautiful

The secret to being beautiful is... thinking beautiful.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

Belong

To feel as if you belong is one of the great triumphs of human existance.

~Author unknown but greatly appreciated

Fate

We make our fortunes and call them fate.

~Benjamin Disraeli