"He who has self-respect has a fine contempt for whatever is low, petty, mean, or vulgar. He is like a modern elevator with an automatic safety clutch; if he does drop, he cannot fall far. He quickly stops himself. No matter what the provocation, how deep the cause for righteous anger, he will never humiliate …
Category: Observations on Life
Self-respect
"The man who has self-respect realizes that the severest punishment he could have for a mean act would be his own consciousness that he has lowered himself in his own eyes, that he has done an act unworthy of himself. He realizes that it counts but little whether the world knows of it or not—he …
Fit for a King
“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they were.” ~ Anonymous How do you receive those who come within your sphere of influence as you move through the day? Do you give them a reception fit for a king regardless of how you feel, what resources you have at your …
Highly Perceptive
“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs - jolted by every pebble in the road.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher I’ve known many highly perceptive people in my lifetime and I have admired their ability to pick up on elements in circumstance - the subtle nuances - that I often …
A Just and Reasonable Modesty
"A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of." ~ Joseph Addison When you develop talents and cultivate new qualities of character, more power can flow through you. That power, in turn, allows for greater influence. That influence can be both …
A Clear Mind
Henry Kissinger once said that "The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously." While I agree entirely, I have to wonder if there are not better ways to achieve clarity of mind. The absence of alternatives usually implies either that your hand has been forced or that you have waited so long to act that …
Concision, Precision and Decision
"Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life." ~ Victor Hugo When I lived in Paris many years ago I had the good fortune to attend the press opening of the first ever performance in French of the stage musical adaptation of Hugo's novel, Les Misérables. The experience was fabulous and it left me with …
Simplify, simplify.
“Our life is frittered away by detail...simplify, simplify.” ~ Henry David Thoreau I had an impromptu meeting the other day that brought to my attention the importance of simplification. The fellow I was meeting with and I were discussing how best to train another person on a particular system we had developed many years ago …
The Prospect of Good
"I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time." ~ Charles M. Schulz Illness has a way of narrowing down your scope of concern. The more severe it is, the more it seems you must withdraw into your heart and mind to deal with it. Long-term fears and dreads …
Man Up
Yesterday I happened upon a simple piece of advice: "If you wouldn't write it and sign it, then don't say it." Today I would add a corollary: "If you won't sign it, then don't send it." Where has the world gone that I once knew, a world where people owned up to their thoughts and …
Gregory Hake 