Traditionalists, pessimists & optimists
In general, the traditionalists are backward-looking, conservative; pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.
-Lewis Mumford, writer and philosopher (1895-1990)
...ideal mental condition
To be playful and serious at the same time is possible, and it defines the ideal mental condition. -
John Dewey, philosopher and educator (1859-1952)
...same boat
"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Devil's Traps
The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good work on the proceeds, is the most familiar of all the devil’s traps for artists.
-Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)
Lovely ...good thoughts
"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
~ Roald Dahl
...need to wait
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
~ Anne Frank
Neutrality & Silence
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
-Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (1928-2016)
-Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (1928-2016)
...will buy Vs. won't buy
It's good to have money and the things that money will buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things that money won't buy.
-George H. Lorimer, editor (1867-1937)
-George H. Lorimer, editor (1867-1937)
,,,freedom of thought
Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.
-Graham Greene, novelist and journalist (1904-1991)
-Graham Greene, novelist and journalist (1904-1991)
...unscrupulous succeed
The unrestricted competition so commonly advocated does not leave us the survival of the fittest. The unscrupulous succeed best in accumulating wealth.
-Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (1822-1893)
...political significance
Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.
-Vaclav Havel, writer, Czech Republic president (1936-2011)
...nobody need wait
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world."
~ Anne Frank
...make a difference
"We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference."
~ Nelson Mandela
....practice compassion!
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
~ Dalai Lama
Gentle Vs Harsh
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
~ Proverbs 15:1
...is not a crime?
Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ask the infantry and ask the dead.
-Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, Nobel laureate (1899-1961)
say how much...
To be able to say how much you love is to love but little.
-Petrarch, scholar and poet (1304-1374)
bicycle remains pure...
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.
-Iris Murdoch, writer (1919-1999)
..shame to boast
It was my shame, and now it is my boast, That I have loved you rather more than most.
-Hilaire Belloc, writer and poet (1870-1953)
contradict to avoid...
I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste.
-Marcel Duchamp, artist (1887-1968)
...untidy!
The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.
-John Galsworthy, author, Nobel laureate (1867-1933)
keep in balance
You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.
-Ken Kesey, novelist (1935-2001)
add to or get from
"We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life."
~ William Osler
...disagreeable & delightful
Some people with great virtues are disagreeable, while others with great vices are delightful.
-Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)
...care for the opinion
We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don’t care for.
-Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, writer (1830-1916)
-Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, writer (1830-1916)
...give something
"You can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness."
~ Anne Frank
...returned in disorder
Our memories are card indexes consulted and then returned in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.
-Cyril Connolly, critic and editor (1903-1974)
very sorry for
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means -- except by getting off his back.
-Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)
...proud of it?
I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.
-Edith Sitwell, poet (1887-1964)
greatest gift
"The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention."
~ Richard Moss
Pay our debt
We can pay our debt to the past by putting the future in debt to ourselves.
-John Buchan, poet, novelist, and politician (1875-1940)
-John Buchan, poet, novelist, and politician (1875-1940)
Zen on the tops
The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
-Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (1928-2017)
outgrow...
Progressive societies outgrow institutions as children outgrow clothes.
-Henry George, economist, journalist, and philosopher (1839-1897)
what comfort...?
The old poets little knew what comfort they could be to a man.
-Sarah Orne Jewett, poet and novelist (1849-1909)
...rightness
The rightness of a thing isn't determined by the amount of courage it takes.
-Mary Renault, novelist (1905-1983)
...the more there is in life
"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."
~ Oprah Winfrey
...ignorance in action
Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)
instinct / intelligence
If an animal does something, they call it instinct. If we do exactly the same thing for the same reason, they call it intelligence.
-Will Cuppy, humorist and journalist (1884-1949)
Success is liking
"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."
~ Maya Angelou
Great and Little men
Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less.
-Jean de La Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696)
clear conscience or...
There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.
-Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971)
-Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971)
didn't .... enough
The only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough.
-Ted Hughes, poet (1930-1998)
the hard fact...
All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals.
-Dallas Pratt, psychiatrist (1914-1994)
die & life courageously
The politician wants men to know how to die courageously; the poet wants men to live courageously.
-Salvatore Quasimodo, poet, Nobel laureate (1901-1968)
Water....
Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn't make a corporation a terrorist.
-Winona LaDuke, activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer (b. 18 Aug 1959)
Sour & Sweet
There are none so sour as those who are sweet to order.
-Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, essayist (1715-1747)
without & with reason
Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason.
-James Randi, magician and scientific skeptic (1928-2020)
...capable of doing new
The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive, and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.
-Jean Piaget, psychologist (1896-1980)
...Courage to Continue ..Counts
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~ Winston Churchill
...to avoid war
Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck.
-Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and novelist (1850-1893)
-Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and novelist (1850-1893)
If work is waiting, value is leaking.
Products create value only when they are moving through the process.
Every minute spent waiting increases lead time without adding value.
Every minute spent waiting increases lead time without adding value.
...unique you
"Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place - that is, the unique you."
~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
...courage to pursue
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
~ Walt Disney
Stop guessing. Start observing.
Assumptions often lead to the wrong solutions and repeated problems.
Direct observation reveals the reality of the process and the true source of waste.
Direct observation reveals the reality of the process and the true source of waste.
.....can fail to endanger?
No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859)
-Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859)
Kind & warm
Kind words, kind looks, kind acts, and warm hand-shakes, -- these are means of grace when men in trouble are fighting their unseen battles.
-John Hall, pastor (1829-1898)
...done with his world
Illness is in part what the world has done to a victim, but in a larger part it is what the victim has done with his world.
-Karl A. Menninger, psychiatrist (1893-1990)
...extraordinary destiny
"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."
~ C. S. Lewis
will find strength
"You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
~ Marcus Aurelius
...what was war?
I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, “Mother, what was war?”
-Eve Merriam, poet and writer (1916-1992)
-Eve Merriam, poet and writer (1916-1992)
...struggles develop your strength
"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
...not calm water
"Anyone can take the wheel of the ship in calm water but it's not so easy when it's not calm water. You can't just enjoy the good times, you have to be resilient in the tough times."
~ Sean Dyche
...bends is stronger than
"The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists."
~ Japanese Proverb
setbacks can...
"If you so choose, even the unexpected setbacks can bring new and positive possibilities."
~ Jay Shetty
Do the... easy & small
"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small."
~ Lao Tzu
Insignificant...?
Every extra step is a silent cost.
What feels insignificant once becomes expensive when repeated thousands of times.
What feels insignificant once becomes expensive when repeated thousands of times.
...everything
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.
-Alfred Korzybski, engineer, mathematician, and philosopher (1879-1950)
-Alfred Korzybski, engineer, mathematician, and philosopher (1879-1950)
Execution is where leadership becomes visible
McKinsey noted that healthy organizations turn vision into results through four key elements:
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01Accountability
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02Coordination
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03Capabilities
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04Motivation
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...short decisive war?
The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.
-Robert Lynd, writer (1879-1949)
History by geography
History is all explained by geography.
-Robert Penn Warren, novelist and poet (1905-1989)
...wrong questions
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers.
-Thomas Pynchon, novelist (b. 8 May 1937)
the more mistakes.... Style
The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it’s considered to be your style.
-Fred Astaire, dancer, actor, singer, musician, and choreographer (1899-1987)
..towards uncharitable
The highest exercise of charity is charity towards the uncharitable. -J.S. Buckminster, clergyman and editor (1784-1812)
said in verse
If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the Inquisition might have let him alone.
-Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet (1840-1928)
telling the truth
There are many forms of patriotism and telling the truth is one of them.
-Anderson Cooper, journalist and commentator (b. 3 Jun 1967)
...some
Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some, and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
-Robert Fulghum, author (b. 4 Jun 1937)
escaping from old
The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.
-John Maynard Keynes, economist (1883-1946)
...brings inspiration
Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration.
-Igor Stravinsky, composer (1882-1971)
...forgiveness
Life is an adventure in forgiveness.
-Norman Cousins, author, editor, journalist, and professor (1915-1990)
...silent cost
Every extra step is a silent cost.
Complexity accumulates quietly; value doesn't.
What feels insignificant once becomes expensive when repeated thousands of times.
What feels insignificant once becomes expensive when repeated thousands of times.
Victory & Defeat
Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat.
-Jean-Paul Sartre, writer and philosopher (1905-1980)
All Quiet on the Western Front
This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war.
-Erich Maria Remarque, novelist (1898-1970), in "All Quiet on the Western Front"
...just play the hand
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." |
— Randy Pausch |
Seeing beats reporting
Reports summarize problems after they happen; direct observation reveals reality as it is. Real understanding begins when you see the process with your own eyes.
create space, not pressure
Great leaders create space, not pressure
Pressure may increase activity, but space creates clarity and better thinking.
Strong leaders remove fear and noise so people can focus, learn, and improve.
Pressure may increase activity, but space creates clarity and better thinking.
Strong leaders remove fear and noise so people can focus, learn, and improve.
The teacher....
The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward
words left unsaid
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.
-Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and novelist (1811-1896)
light, shade, and
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.
-John Constable, painter (1776-1837)
...good at heart
I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.
-Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist (1929-1945)
-Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist (1929-1945)
needs memories...
Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.
-Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel laureate (1915-2005)
-Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel laureate (1915-2005)
...your and my business...
Live and let live, be and let be,
Hear and let hear, see and let see,
Sing and let sing, dance and let dance. ...
Live and let live and remember this line:
"Your bus'ness is your bus'ness and my bus'ness is mine."
-Cole Porter, composer and songwriter (1893-1964)
Hear and let hear, see and let see,
Sing and let sing, dance and let dance. ...
Live and let live and remember this line:
"Your bus'ness is your bus'ness and my bus'ness is mine."
-Cole Porter, composer and songwriter (1893-1964)
major decisions...
There are 3 major decisions in your life.
- What you do?
- Who you are with?
- Where do you live?
...must be earned
A Calm mind, Fit Body and a house full of love - these cannot be bought, they must be earned.
- Naval Ravikant
One...
Kindness starts with one.
One smile.
One compliment.
One cup of coffee.
One person.
~ Orly Wahba
...how that government treats
The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life -- the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.
-Hubert Horatio Humphrey, US Vice President (1911-1978)
Flow is built by removing, not adding
Flow improves when delays, approvals, and unnecessary complexity are eliminated from the process.
Lean creates speed through simplification, not through adding more activity.
Lean creates speed through simplification, not through adding more activity.
Great leaders create space, not pressure
Pressure may increase activity, but space creates clarity and better thinking.
Strong leaders remove fear and noise so people can focus, learn, and improve.
Strong leaders remove fear and noise so people can focus, learn, and improve.
...acceptance
We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away.
-Walker Percy, author (1916-1990)
...mirrors are forgotten
How simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.
-Daphne du Maurier, novelist (1907-1989)
...false & true ones
The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.
-Salvador Dali, painter (1904-1989)
...only kindness can
Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that.
-Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, preacher, journalist, and activist (1802-1861)
...you see more in yourself
When you re-read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in yourself than there was before.
-Clifton Fadiman, editor and critic (1904-1999)
-Clifton Fadiman, editor and critic (1904-1999)
...wear your amateurism
‘Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you’.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work (2014)
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work (2014)
...more surprising
Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising. There’s an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the ‘Aha’. Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we’re in -- the one that we think is reality.
-Alan Kay, computer scientist (b. 17 May 1940)
-Alan Kay, computer scientist (b. 17 May 1940)
Patience & Persistence
Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
-Hal Borland, author and journalist (1900-1978)
...waste is growing
“Lean moves. Waste waits.”
- Lean creates continuous movement of value through the process. Whenever work, material, or decisions are waiting, waste is growing.
- Lean creates continuous movement of value through the process. Whenever work, material, or decisions are waiting, waste is growing.
...from the desk
“You can’t see waste from a desk.”
- Real problems become visible only where the work actually happens. Distance creates assumptions; observation creates understanding.
- Real problems become visible only where the work actually happens. Distance creates assumptions; observation creates understanding.
...hear reason
Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason.
-Henry Fielding, author (1707-1754)
-Henry Fielding, author (1707-1754)
...renewed in the spending
One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is renewed in the spending itself.
-Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (1856-1939)
How we spend...
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
-Annie Dillard, author (b. 30 Apr 1945)
-Annie Dillard, author (b. 30 Apr 1945)
....victory for humanity
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
-Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859)
-Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859)
Intelligence of a ruler
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
-Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (1469-1527)
..will settle international differences?
Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences.
-Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President (1822-1885)
...to improve together
“Exceptional teams don’t just happen—they’re forged through shared purpose, mutual respect, and a relentless drive to improve together.”
- Reflects Toyota’s emphasis on developing cohesive teams.
- Reflects Toyota’s emphasis on developing cohesive teams.
...solve problems at the source
“Great leaders don’t create followers; they inspire others to live the vision, solve problems at the source, and lead by example.”
- Echoes Toyota’s focus on growing leaders who embody the philosophy
- Echoes Toyota’s focus on growing leaders who embody the philosophy
...no matter which side
The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.
-Joseph Heller, novelist (1923-1999)
-Joseph Heller, novelist (1923-1999)
war, finally...
War, at first, is the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn't any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone's being worse off.
-Karl Kraus, writer (1874-1936)
-Karl Kraus, writer (1874-1936)
...deadline
I don't need time. What I need is a deadline.
-Duke Ellington, jazz pianist, composer, and conductor (1899-1974)
Art of life
The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much.
-William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830)
for the first time...
We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one whom we love.
-Madame De Stael, writer (1766-1817)
Cost of one day
Did you know that the worldwide food shortage that threatens up to five hundred million children could be alleviated at the cost of only one day, only ONE day, of modern warfare.
-Peter Ustinov, actor, writer, and director (1921-2004)
...spend minutes thinking
"If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem."
~ Albert Einstein
...for a few
I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.
-William Morris, poet and novelist (1834-1896)
-William Morris, poet and novelist (1834-1896)
,,,can be driven out
Devils can be driven out of the heart by the touch of hand on hand, or mouth on mouth.
-Tennessee Williams, dramatist (1911-1983)
-Tennessee Williams, dramatist (1911-1983)
...more artistic than
The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.
-Vincent van Gogh, painter (1853-1890)
-Vincent van Gogh, painter (1853-1890)
...of vast eternity
But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
-Andrew Marvell, poet (1621-1678)
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
-Andrew Marvell, poet (1621-1678)
...one can, one must
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be.
-Abraham Maslow, psychologist (1908-1970)
-Abraham Maslow, psychologist (1908-1970)
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