"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence." ~ John Milton One of my responsibilities as CEO is to foster a corporate culture that best serves all of the stakeholders in our company. I love this part of my job, as it is a microcosm in which I …
Category: Observations on Life
True Joy in Life
"This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote …
An Open Mind
I've often been asked what it takes to keep an open mind and while I have no magic answer, I do feel that you can govern your heart and mind as a gracious host would his household. You've no doubt had the pleasure of visiting such a host whose penchant for hospitality made you feel …
On Parenting and Falconry
While I am inclined to favor the cultivation of personal responsibility over the imposition of regulation, I cannot help but note the irony of the fact that to practice the sport of falconry you must first obtain a license that comes only on the completion of a challenging and comprehensive written examination and a two …
Liberty and Responsibility
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." ~ George Bernard Shaw Freedom is balanced by responsibility in all matters. Too much freedom with too little responsibility produces situations that quickly spiral out of control. Insufficient freedom coupled with a heavy load of responsibility is likely to implode for lack of maneuvering room. …
A Sense of Responsibility
“It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself. ” ~ Epictetus Responsibility is a learned quality, …
Good Company
"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”~ Epictetus I discovered this simple truth the other day and despite its simplicity it is one of the most profound statements I've come across in a while. To follow this advice you needn't be hardhearted, you just …
The Discriminating Powers of the Mind
"A multitude of causes unknown to former times are now acting with a combined force to blunt the discriminating powers of the mind, and unfitting it for all voluntary exertion to reduce it to a state of almost savage torpor." ~ William Wordsworth Reactions to challenging those within your sphere of influence to think outside …
Hidden Resources
"What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts." ~ George Bernard Shaw My management and sales team and I invested an hour of increasingly precious time discussing the limiting assumptions that were preventing our company, Energetix Corporation, from becoming the best place to …
A True Lady or Gentleman
I am inclined to agree more with Theodore Roosevelt's assessment that courtesy is "as much a mark of a gentleman" than with Honore de Balzac's less encouraging assessment of courtesy being "only a thin veneer on the general selfishness." While the latter may be more predominantly the case, the former holds in it the promise …
Gregory Hake 