"All things on earth thus change, some up, some down; Content's a kingdom, and I wear that crown." -John Heywood 1497-1580 Ah, contentment. That elusive muse more fleeting than prey in the presence of its hunter! If you've ever felt the warm embrace of contentment, you know of her charms. Contentment can be known in any …
Category: Observations on Life
Keep it Simple
You've all no doubt heard the acronym K.I.S.S., which stands for "keep it simple stupid." It is a concept often touted but seldom heeded in marketing, in public speaking, in systems development, in boardrooms, in classrooms, in the world of medicine and health care and just about every other department of human life. Alan Siegel, a …
On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus
I was thumbing through the remarkable observations set down by Nicolaus Copernicus in his book On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres in the 1400s. You may recall that Copernicus abandoned the long-held Ptolemaic system, where the Earth was seen as being fixed in the center of the universe (geocentric) in favor of his mathematical proof that it in fact moved around the sun (heliocentric). …
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Temple Grandin: The World Needs all Kinds of Minds
Enjoy this presentation. Not everyone thinks like you, and Temple Grandin explains not only why that is true, but what we can do to make sure that children are handled properly so that the value inherent in the differences between individuals is not lost in the shuffle. The world needs all kinds of minds!
How to Weather an Economic Storm in Small Business
Finally, stay positive. Motivate. Encourage. Take heart yourself. These downturns have happened before and they will happen again. As interminable as they may seem, these periods in history come and go and have never proven historically to be permanent. If anything, redirect the energy that you would waste on worry, fear, panic, blame or regret to more productive pursuits, such as creative thinking, rallying the troops, refining and simplifying work flow and so on.
Thinking, Capability and Greatness: They’re related, don’t you think?
Rene Descartes "Cogito ergo sum," Rene Descartes' Latin translation of the statement he made several years earlier in his native tongue, "Je pense donc je suis" or "I think therefore I am" is worth considering. How often do you think, really think about that which you are doing? In one way or another we are all creatures of habit. Our …
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Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews: “I’m Alive”
If you haven't developed the habit of thankfulness, you're missing something fundamental, for thankfulness is the greatest of all virtues. What virtues do you hold dearest? Have you thought about it? Make a list. It will tell you a lot about yourself.
Henry Ford: Vision and the American Way
Having spent my high school and university years in Michigan, I grew up surrounded by the automotive industry and its lore, its history and those who made it possible. One particular founding father of the automobile industry stood out to me for his ingenuity, his determination and his way with words: Henry Ford. Henry Ford founded …
Peace be unto you, my friends.
Peace is not always inherent in pacifism. Similarly, peace is not always passive. In fact, peace is an active, vibrant and magnetic state of being that can, if it is given the chance, move mountains.
The last one in is a rotten egg!
Luca Turin is a fascinating biophysicist specialized in the science of olfaction. Turin has proposed a revolutionary alternative to the theory about smell that is generally held to be true. The commercial fragrance industry as well as the academic centers that study the sense of smell largely adhere to the "shape theory of olfaction," which states basically that different smells are …
Gregory Hake 