Categories Lessons in Life

What’s your back up plan?

If anything can go wrong, it will. Murphy’s Law I was working with a businessman some time ago as he prepared a six-month plan for his company. We went over it and it looked good. Then I asked him this question: “What’s your back-up plan?” His reply was, “What do … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

It won’t work for me

People only see what they are prepared to see. Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 – 1852 Recently, I was on a conference call where business people discuss their ideas, situations and problems, with the goal of receiving feedback from other participants. One member, “Bill,” had just offered up his problem, and … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

Conditional apologies

What you do not want done to yourself, do not to others. Confucius 551 – 479 BC Many years ago, I was at a birthday party for one of the younger children in our extended family. There were a couple of young girls, probably about five years old, and apparently … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

Celebrating Independence Day

Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Viktor Frankl 1905 – 1997 Today in America, we celebrate Independence Day, which commemorates our independence from … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

A fairer judge

No one should be judge in his own case. Publilius Syrus 1st century B.C. When we see the words ‘judge’ and ‘case’ in the same sentence, our thoughts naturally turn to the legal system. In that context, it seems obvious that you shouldn’t be the judge for your own case. … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

A lesson from the D-Day invasion

Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. George Washington Carver 1864 – 1943 Most of us know that the D-Day invasion was a pivotal turning point in World War II. It occurred on June 6, 1944 and involved nearly 4,000 ships, 11,000 … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

The two minute warning

Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend. Theophrastus d. 278 B.C. American pro football is an exciting game to watch, as its many devoted fans can attest. Playable time is limited to sixty minutes, divided into two halves. As time starts winding down in each half, the … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

The danger of ‘should’

Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be. Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 – 1852 A few years ago, I went to my primary care physician for an annual check-up. My … [ Continue Reading ]

Categories Lessons in Life

Do you talk too much?

Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is. Publilius Syrus 1st Century B.C. I’m sure you’ve known people who are very uncomfortable with silence: they constantly talk even when they have nothing worth saying. At the other end of the spectrum are people who … [ Continue Reading ]