"A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up." ~ Albert Schweitzer Man's obsession with the discovery of the fountain of youth reaches deep into early history. Whether driven by the desire to overcome his mortality or by the quest to rediscover the key to …
Tag: history
Good Policy: Magnanimity
MAGNANIM'ITY, n. [L. magnanimitas; magnus, great, and animus, mind.] Greatness of mind; that elevation or dignity of soul, which encounters danger and trouble with tranquillity and firmness, which raises the possessor above revenge, and makes him delight in acts of benevolence, which makes him disdain injustice and meanness, and prompts him to sacrifice personal ease, …
Chivalry’s Sensible Legacy
"Though the practice of chivalry fell even more sadly short of its theoretic standard than practice generally falls below theory, it remains one of the most precious monuments of the moral history of our race, as a remarkable instance of a concerted and organized attempt by a most disorganized and distracted society, to raise up …
November Evening
I take the time every night to review my day, to tie up any loose ends and to set the stage for the day to come. Some days end like a neatly wrapped package at Christmastime. Others end like a pile of fall leaves, tumultuous and disorderly with little hope of settling into order. No …
Time’s a tickin’!
A friend forwarded a fantastic link to me the other day and I thought you would enjoy it as you think about how to handle the remaining weeks you have to live. The average person in the Western world now lives to the ripe old age of roughly 75 years in a body that properly …
Imagination, Purpose and Change
“All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~ Albert Einstein It’s a little ironic to me that my company’s product line is based in part on a manufacturing method developed in the Middle Ages while at the same time we …
Nobility without Pride
Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, Friendship without envy, Or beauty without vanity? Here, where grace is served with muscle And strength by gentleness confined He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity. There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent. There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient. …
The Natural Aristocracy
Friends of mine were discussing politics and leadership the day before yesterday and one raised the question: "I wonder why the most successful people, financially speaking, like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett shouldn't be running the country?" The question carried a bit more weight in my mind given Donald Trump's recent indication that he would …
The “Inner Go”
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman used an interesting quote yesterday from Lewis Mumford's book "The Condition of Man," about the development of civilization. Reflecting on the American nation in 1944, Mumford drew a chilling parallel to the decline of the mighty Roman Empire: Everyone aimed at security: no one accepted responsibility. What was plainly …
Purpose, Vision and Change
"Change is inevitable - except from the vending machine." ~ Robert C. Gallagher Of all of the assumptions that stop people from thinking clearly and from moving forward, there is one that stands as a giant amongst grasshoppers. I am careful to point it out as knowledge of this basic life principle is a double-edged …
Gregory Hake 