Perspective Man is affected not by events but by the view he takes of them. (Epictetus, 1st century B.C. Greek philosopher) Difficult events do affect us, but our response to them is of great importance. The human spirit can overcome tragedies when people see their...
Character What you are is more important than what you know. (Tim LaHaye, late evangelical author) We often hear a similar axiom: “What you are is more important than what you do.” That’s because what you are determines pretty much what you do. In the same way, what...
Opinion The world is changed by your example not by your opinion. (Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist) The belief in relativism makes self the ultimate judge of truth. What is true for you may not be true for me. So, personal opinion seems to be the ruling...
Failures Failures are part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you’ll never change. (Quoted by Pastor Chris Suitt) How many times have we dreamed of a project, maybe even took the first steps to achieve our dream but gave up early because...
Success There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. (Colin Powell, late military and political leader) Many would regard Powell as a success. He was a four-star general, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff,...
Others Associate with people who are likely to improve you. (Seneca, 4th century BC Roman philosopher) The philosopher continued: “Welcome those who you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one: men learn as they teach.” We like to be with people who...
Labor Day Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. (Aristotle, 4th century BC Greek philosopher) This is the day each year when we honor those in the workforce who provide the necessities and often luxuries of life for us. Sometimes work is difficult and...
Habits Habits eat willpower for breakfast. (John Ortberg, author) How long did it take you to forget your New Year’s Resolutions this year? Or maybe more realistically, how many times did you decide to diet or give up some unhealthy practice? How long did those...
Leadership Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge. (Simon Sinek, British-American author) Too many people see leadership as a position from which to take charge of a task to complete the job. While that may be...
Solitude All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone, (Blaise Pascal, 17th century French philosopher) Pascal’s observation seems too simple. We live in a complicated society, and everyone seems too busy to sit quietly for any...
Becoming The goal is never the goal itself. The goal is who you need to become in order to achieve that goal. (Kary Oberbrunner, motivational speaker and author) It’s a different way of thinking, isn’t it? We usually think that the basic question is what’s the goal,...
Working Together In joined hands there is still some token of hope; in the clenched fist, none. (Victor Hugo, 19th century French novelist and playwright) Hugo’s observation would be a help in our modern society where there is so much turmoil. We take sides—usually to...