Meeting with Failure

“Failure does not necessarily imply a mistake. If we have held our standard high, bravely fought a good fight for the right, held our part courageously against heavy opposition and have finally seen the citadel of our great hope taken by superior force, by overwhelming conditions, or sapped and undermined by jealousy, envy or treachery …

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Failure as a Success I

Continuing our elaboration on William George Jordan's brilliant book, "The Majesty of Calmness," I would like to turn now to consider the nature of failure and success. To begin with, life is full of both, so you are wise to develop a strategy for the creative handling of either as a means of ensuring continual …

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The Habit of Making Excuses

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." ~ George Washington The lasting measure of a man is established in the way he meets the difficulties in life. In my estimation, life's challenges earn the appellation by virtue of the fact that they push the limits of present …

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Your Book of Life

Sudden Light by Dante Gabriel Rosetti I have been here before, But when or how I cannot tell: I know the grass beyond the door, The sweet keen smell, The sighing sound, the lights around the shore. You have been mine before,— How long ago I may not know: But just when at that swallow's …

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A Bias for Action

Inertia is as great a force in human development as it is in nature. Defined as the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion, inertia is the reason why the "stuck" things in your life tend to stay stuck while that which is in motion tends to continue moving. …

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The Spirit of Adventure

An old friend of mine mentioned that she is moving in a couple of weeks and that a friend of hers was going to accompany her in true "Thelma and Louise" style. I don't remember much about the 1991 movie starring Susan Sarandon  (Louise Sawyer) and Geena Davis (Thelma), apart from a poignant quote by …

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Decision-making for Dummies

We've all done it at one point or another. We were moving happily and uneventfully along in some process or another and then we accidentally skip a step. We may not realize it right away, but eventually the omission comes to light. With a little luck, the mistake doesn't cost us much in the way …

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The Logic of Failure

How well do you adapt to adversity? When you face complex situations in life do you tend to rise up or crumble under the pressure? If you feel that you have room for improvement I would encourage you to look into Dietrich Dorner's book, The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations. If you …

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Hard work? Bring it on!

Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all. -Sam Ewing I had the good pleasure of spending time with a number of successful business people while travelling this week. I hesitate to call them "hard workers" as each one had …

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