Failure #1 Failure isn’t final. It’s necessary. It’s the fuel that allows you to advance, to succeed. (Tim Kennedy, military author) Kennedy was a success in many arenas, as a soldier, professional fighter, and in heroic rescue attempts in the Middle East. In Stars...
Investment #2 An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. (Benjamin Franklin) The opening bell at the NY Stock Exchange gives the daily indication of how well one’s stocks are doing, what the return on investment is (ROI). Franklin suggests that there is...
Investment #1 Goodness is the only investment that never fails. (Henry David Thoreau, 19th century American philosopher) Goodness, like kindness and generosity, is a character trait. We’ve not usually thought of them as investments, but the idea is helpful. When we...
Dreams All dreams contain a wishbone. But what they really require is a backbone. (Kary Oberbrunner, motivational author and speaker) Dreams are not just the wishes of children. All of us have hopes and wishes for the future, but most of them end like our dreams while...
Difficulties The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. (Edward Gibbon, 18th century English historian) Few would want to be sailing on the high seas with equally high winds. It takes skill to manage those elements safely. What would be...
Teamwork A player who makes a team great is much more valuable than a great player. (John Wooden, late famed basketball coach) In the sports world we make a great deal over star athletes. We have most-valuable-player awards and all-star teams to honor them. Of...
Grief Grief is the price we pay for love. (Late Queen Elizabeth II) In the beginning of our relationships of love, we rarely think of when that relationship might end or what our feelings will be at that time. Whether it’s a life-long spouse or a long-reigning...
Procrastination #3 Don’t wait for things to get better. Tomorrow is not promised. You only have this moment. (Charles Schultz, late cartoonist) Schultz concluded with this challenge: “Take it.” He continues, “If something is important enough, one does not stop trying...
Procrastination #2 Procrastination is totally a good thing. You always have something to do tomorrow, plus you have nothing to do today. (Source unknown) We are often looking for an “escape clause,” some way to rationalize our bad habits. It may be true, of course,...
Procrastination #1 The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it. (John C. Maxwell, leadership author and speaker) The big word for this habit is procrastination, which as Charles Dickens said “. . . is...
Generosity You don’t have to be rich to be generous . . . (Original source unknown) A church in Kentucky, continued the quote: “. . . as generosity is not about the size of the gift but the condition of the heart.” Eastern Kentucky was hit with the “flood of the...
Friends In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. (Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher) He continues: “The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they...