“We carry within us the wonders that we seek without us”
When you were a baby, you may have been aware of your own needs and desires and nothing beyond them. If you needed food or a dry diaper, you didn’t care whether your parents were asleep or needed time to finish their own meal; you simply demanded what you wanted. As you grew, confident that […]
“Make yourself necessary to the world and mankind will give you bread”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in many of his masterful essays, pondered this formula. He was expected to follow in the steps of his father and grandfather as a Unitarian minister. Although he did become an ordained minister, Emerson was not content to minister in the ways of his forefathers. He recognized his gift was different. On […]
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”
An ancient proverb states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It is a way of saying that everyone needs dreams and a goal in order to live life fully and satisfactorily. If we don’t have a specific goal in mind or we don’t know where we want to go, we may be likely […]
“Wisdom is born of mistakes; confront error and learn”
Norman Cousins made the statement, “Fortunately or otherwise, we live at a time when the average individual has to know several times as much in order to keep informed as he did only thirty or forty years ago. Being ‘educated’ today requires not only more than a superficial knowledge of the arts and sciences, but […]
“Success feeds on itself and creates more success”
Sometimes, as we start out in adult life, we may not feel like much of a success. Our society frequently defines success as the material goods and lifestyle secured by large amounts of money earned over a long period of time. We tend to think success is something that occurs only later in life. However, […]
“A loving person lives in a loving world”
Two students, Bill and Mike, moved to new towns with their parents. Bill disliked his new community from the first day. He felt the new school was inferior to the one he had attended in his former hometown. His new classmates seemed boring and unfriendly. “I wish we hadn’t moved here,” Bill told his parents. […]
“Those who do good do well”
Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics in Dallas, Texas, is as well known for her charitable giving to worthy causes as she is for her fabulous business success. She gives out two golden shovels, fastened together; the small one symbolizes the way we give, and the larger one symbolizes how God gives. […]
“Help yourself by helping others”
Select with care the area of your livelihood and make certain you love what you do. When you love your work and hold the attitude that what you do may be done on behalf of others, your life and your work can take on special meaning and deep significance. As one who gives joyously and […]
“Love thy neighbor as thyself”
The actor-humorist Groucho Marx once joked that he would never belong to any club that would accept him as a member. For people, though, the inability to appreciate themselves is no laughing matter. People who suffer from low self‑esteem often resign themselves to a life of painful alienation. The belief that you are less worthy, […]
“Progress depends on diligence and perseverance”
Do you realize that one of the most precious resources we have is our time? According to the Wall Street Journal’s book On Management: The Best of the Manager’s Journal, the most important aspect of being a role model and leader is how we handle our own personal time. The book described the importance of […]
