One of the most valuable lessons I learned as an adolescent was to take care of what needed to be done before I undertook what I wanted to do. Sometimes the two coincided but more often than not something I wanted to do had to wait. The ability to prioritize in this way requires a …
Category: Ideas Worth Spreading
Give thanks. Your life depends on it!
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. ~ William Shakespeare, "Merchant of Venice" Anyone who performs a good deed in the world the way it now is runs the risk of casting pearls before swine. You needn't look far to see that goodness and virtue …
Be Ye Therefore Perfect. Seriously? Seriously.
My youngest son (4 years old) passed the weight test to climb the 24 foot rock wall at the Atlanta Zoo (40 lb. minimum) the day before yesterday and he made a bee line for the top, rang the bell and belayed down. He never hesitated, he remained focused on the goal and he never …
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Mislabeled, Misbranded and Misunderstood
You have no doubt heard the stereotypes about the members of Generations X and Y, the large majority of them negative, condescending and mean-spirited. "They are lazy, undisciplined and unprofessional." Or perhaps "they are self-absorbed, incapable of making decisions and unmotivated." While I am sure that many younger people fit the stereotype, many that I …
Mmmmm…gelato!
I was first introduced to Italian gelato while traveling around Europe on a Eurail pass many years ago. My friends and I were having a difficult time finding lodging in Florence as we had arrived unknowingly on an extremely popular Italian holiday, All Saint's Day. As we walked along the River Arno, admiring the stunning …
Viewer Discretion is Advised
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion." ~ Thomas Jefferson Rather than complain about the …
Dress for Success
"Great men are seldom over-scrupulous in the arrangement of their attire." - Charles Dickens One thing should be clear: clothes do not make a man a gentleman or a woman a lady; and, by the same token, a real gentleman or a true lady is always a gentleman or a lady, no matter what he …
The victorious life begins with successful attitude
I came across three rules today that provide effective guidance for a productive life: Rule #1: Success is an option. Rule #2: Failure to accomplish a goal is a last resort. Rule #3: Failure to give your very best is never an option. Countless human beings have lived out their lives never believing that success …
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Anacondas, Truth and Envy
I saw two documentaries on the Anaconda, those infamous boas of the genus Eunectes. The first was a nature show that identified the Anaconda as one of the twenty deadliest critters on earth. The second, in stark contrast, featured a husband/wife team of scientists who walk through the swamps of South America (barefoot!) in order …
Fuddy-duddy Daddy
You may accuse me of becoming a fuddy-duddy and I'm sure I deserve the title in more ways than one, but it seems to me that Western culture, known for its materialistic roots, is becoming increasingly dependent on the drug of instant gratification. When I was young, email, online shopping, Twitter, Facebook and so many …
Gregory Hake 