Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. (Andrew Jackson, 7th USA president) Jackson played a major role at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, so his advice is worth heeding. Gathering information and making...
Flattery is the worst drug of all for some people. (Dr. Henry Cloud, self-help author) Everyone likes to hear kind things said about them. But Dr. Cloud warns: “Don't get addicted to hearing only what you want to hear.” Flattery can be dangerous. It is excessive and...
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie . . . but the myth. (John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States. Kennedy wrote that it’s not the “deliberate, contrived, and dishonest” fabrication we should fear but the “persistent, persuasive, and...
Men who cannot be silent will not say anything when they talk. (A.W. Tozer, author) Some people have the “gift of gab,” as we say. They talk easily and often. One thought leads to another, and their listeners are likely to tune them out. It’s not the number of words...
Truth, though it has many disadvantages, is at least changeless. You can always find it where you left it. (Phyllis Bottome, British novelist and short story writer) Truth sometimes hurts. When we’re faced with the consequences of our mistakes, the realization that we...
In statesmanship prudence counts for more than daring. (Harper’s Weekly) Those words were written in the issue of April 29, 1865, in commemoration of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. They are words well worth our consideration today. We often look for someone to...
Yuki drew close and pulled a letter from his suit coat. “This is my letter of resignation,” he said. “I have told Chairman Toyoda and Dr. Toyoda that I will resign if this new channel fails. This will take guts, Dave-san, guts! Now, I’m counting on you.” My mind took...
We get the leaders in the future that we make now. (Randy Smith, pastor and educator) Great leaders don’t just pop up when we need them. They must be trained, gain experience, and be tested in the workplace. And the best place to find them is from among us. Looking...
The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in. (A. E. Housman, English classical scholar and poet) It’s easy to let your mind run away with you and to dream dreams that are fanciful, fun, and pleasing to pursue. Such dreams are of little value except...
If we love our country, we should also love our fellow countrymen. (Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States) When patriots talk about their country, what is it they’re speaking of? Its geography, its resources, its political system? Nations are made up of...
Don’t get addicted to hearing only what you want to hear. (Dr. Henry Cloud, self-help author) Have you ever met someone who doesn’t seem to hear anything negative. He or she doesn’t take criticism; it just doesn’t register with them. People who are like that may miss...
Two frogs fell in a pail of cream. One frog swam around for a while, but eventually gave up and drowned. The second frog refused to quit. This frog persisted. He paddled and paddled. It seemed hopeless—but there was hope. The second frog persisted in paddling until...