Frank Quotations

Fr. Robert Spitzer

2011-06-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

"St. Ignatius recognized that affective consolation and spiritual consolation frequently run hand in hand but not always. That’s also true of affective desolation and spiritual desolation. Hence, he saw the need to formulate three rules for the discernment of spirits.
Rule 1: Be attentive to false consolations.
Affective consolation is usually the work of the Holy Spirit, unless it eventually leads to less trust in God, hope in salvation, or love. So the basic rule is, follow affective consolation (feelings of peace, love, joy, and unity with God) unless it begins to result in long-term spiritual desolation. When that occurs, you should stop following the seeming consolation, because it’s very likely to be a false consolation sent by “the enemy of our human nature,” to quote St. Ignatius. Spiritual desolation means we are moving away from God. That’s always a signal to reexamine any decisions or actions that might have led to the false consolation masking a spiritual estrangement. It is usually a good idea to do this with a person or persons of spiritual experience and maturity.

Rule 2: Never make a life decision in a time of affective or spiritual desolation.
Both affective and spiritual desolation can impair judgment and induce confusion and sadness. For that reason, desolation will almost always lead to bad long-term life decisions, which is challenging to grasp even with the benefit of spiritual consolation. This is why St. Ignatius counseled that you should never make a life decision when you’re experiencing desolation, either affective or spiritual. He hastened to add that the desolation will soon give rise to consolation, at which point you can make much better decisions. It is always worth the wait. Some followers of the saint considered this his most fundamental and important rule for making progress in the spiritual life.
Rule 3: The evil one can come as “an angel of light.”
The devil usually dissuades us from our good intentions by trying to discourage us, but sometimes the deceiver offers thoughts that appear to be aimed at building our spiritual life. However, the real intention of these temptations is to discourage us in the long term. For example, say you’re in a state of fervor about improving your spiritual life and your love of neighbor. In the midst of this fervor, a thought might come to you: “If half an hour of daily prayer is good, then three hours must be better.” You begin your new discipline, but you find yourself growing progressively tired. You don’t have enough time for your family and work. You find yourself snapping at people and looking down on them (“They should pray as hard as I do!”). You start to believe that God is a taskmaster who expects at least three hours of prayer each day from you, and you resent that He isn’t giving you the graces you expected from all this effort. In the long run, you can feel cynical and discouraged about your faith, and all because the evil one succeeded in pushing you beyond your limits.
When the devil can’t tempt a person to give up prayer and turn from God, he can tempt you to try to do something perfectly good but in an exaggerated manner. He’ll encourage you to adopt an unrealistic timeframe (“I want to attain purity of heart tomorrow”) or take on too many spiritual goals at once. He may try to make you think you can grow spiritually through your own willpower without help from God, and present an image of God that is stoic and demanding (“Spitzer, this is God speaking. Why aren’t you already perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect? I’m tired of waiting for you to get that right!”).
If we find that a pious decision or resolution might be exaggerated and burdensome – so much so that it’s leading to spiritual and affective desolation, then we simply need to ratchet it down a few notches to correspond to our own potential and to the timetable and will of the Holy Spirit."
A fuller understanding of the power of these spontaneous prayers can be found in Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life by Fr. Robert Spitzer

Death of Civilizations

2010-11-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Nineteen of the twenty-one notable civilizations have died from within and NOT by the conquest from without. Where does American stand at this point in time?

The Edge is in the Mind by Mark McCormack

2010-11-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

The better you think you are doing, the greater should be your cause for concern: the more self-satisfied you are with your accomplishments, your past achievements, your “right moves,” the less you should be.
The championship’s true edge exists solely in the mind, and over the years I have observed three attitudinal characteristics which are common to every superstar I have even known. They are just as applicable in business as they are in the athletic area. I have adapted them to my own business career and they are the source from which I derive most of my drive and determination.
The first is that champions’ profound sense of dissatisfaction with their own accomplishments. They use any success, any victory, as a spur to greater ambition. Any goal that is attained immediately becomes the next step toward a greater more unreachable one.
The second is an ability to reach their peak performance, to get themselves up for major tournaments and events. No one can operate consistently at his or her highest level, yet the legends of any sports era always seem to perform at their best when the stakes are greatest. This is particularly true in tennis and golf, perhaps the most mentally demanding of all the major sports, perhaps the most mentally demanding of all the major sports, and why the major tournaments in both have always been dominated by a handful of players.
Finally, it is their ability to put their opponents away. This is referred to as “the killer instinct,” but that tells you more about the result than of what is going on mentally.
In the champion’s mind he is never ahead. He distorts reality to serve his competitive purpose. He is always coming from behind, even when the score indicates he is destroying his opponents. He never believes he is performing as well as he actually is.

Attitudes

2010-06-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. By William James.

Great short video

2009-12-14T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a GREAT short video. I had all my students watch this and write about it. They also thought it was outstanding. Take a look. Its only 5 minutes long. It's very powerful.

http://www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/a-good-day.htm

Show me your wounds.

2009-10-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

From my Psalms class tonight at Gonzaga University.

A man died and met God in heaven. God said to the man, “Show me your wounds.”

The man replied, “I really don’t have many wounds. I've had an easy life. I have very few wounds from living”

God said, “Do you mean that you had nothing in life to fight for? You had no battles during your lifetime. I know you not.”

Author unknown.

By Mother Teresa

2009-03-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

On Children

2009-03-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

“The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran

On Children

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of children. And he said, Your children are NOT your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves the bow that is stable.

Fundamentals

2009-02-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

"Success is all about CONSISTENCY around FUNDAMENTALS." by Robin Sharma.

You achieve what you EMPHASIZE, nothing more and nothing less. Emphasize fundamentals consistently!

The power of love

2009-01-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

When the POWER OF LOVE overcomes the LOVE OF POWER there will be PEACE on Earth.

What one emphasizes

2009-01-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse. The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.

Relationships by Bill Milliken

2008-08-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

"It is relationships, not programs that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community."

More about learning

2008-08-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Education is all about making connections and building relationships around a persons passions which are significant. I believe this is absolutely true. I call this PASSION EDUCATION.

Definition of learning

2008-08-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

"Students learn what they care about, from people they care about and who they know care about them." By Betty H. Carson

This is an excellent definition of learning as well as education. She hit it on the sweet spot didn't she!

Poster at Gonzaga University

2008-08-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo's thoughts on education.

2008-08-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo; "Inside every block of marble dwells a beautiful statue." We can't mold all students to be the same. Each individual has their strength and weakness. Every human being has their own PASSION. Take what they love and cherish and help them discover WHO THEY ARE.

Gerry Wills on What the Gospels Meant

2008-07-11T08:21:00.001-07:00

"Jesus tells his followers to lay up spiritual treasure where no moth or rust can comsume it; to keep the heart pure and the eye single; to serve a single master, not two masters; to leave how one lives to the Father; to refrain from judging others; to give to all; to seek with trust; to beware false profits; to build on a solid foundation. The message throughout is one of reliance on the Father." page 88 This is wonderful, don't you agree?

Man Action by Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (Italian Jesuit)

2008-06-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

MAN is born for ACTION; he ought to do something. WORK, at each step, awakens a sleeping force and roots out error. Who does nothing, knows nothing. RISE! to work! If thy knowledge is real, employ it; wrestle with nature; test the strength of thy theories; see if they will support the trial; ACT!

Raising children.

2008-04-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Teach your children to be gracious, grateful, have courage in difficult times and live with joy and purpose.

Building your self esteem

2007-10-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Your SELF ESTEEM comes from doing QUALITY WORK! It doesn’t come from people saying you are great! It doesn’t matter what people SAY, It’s the work you DO that builds real self esteem.

Your mental WELL BEING is directly affected by your work and behavior. YOU ARE IN COMPLETE CONTROL of your work, well being, and self esteem.

By Richard Nixon

2007-07-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Quote one; "If the President done it, It's not illegal." Quote two; I'm the last casualty of the Viet Nam War."

Dr. Gertrude B. Elion / Nobel-Prize winner

2007-07-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Rewards come to those who are willing to work hard for them. First you need the education appropriate to your goal. Then you need the will, dedication, and perseverance to fulfill that dream.

By Gail Sheehy

2007-07-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean a giving up of familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning. As Dostoevsky put it, "Take a new step, uttering a a new word, is what people fear most." The fear should be the opposite course.

Aristotle

2007-07-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

As Aristotle wrote in his book Ethics, “We are what we repeatedly do."

Achieve your destiny

2007-07-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

"Be fearless and pure; never waver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life. Give freely. Be self-controlled, sincere, truthful, loving, and full of the desire to serve. Learn to be detached and to take joy in renunciation. Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all. Cultivate vigor, patience, will, purity; avoid malice and pride. Then, you will achieve your destiny."
by Krishna from The Bhagavad Gita

Twitter

2007-07-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

You should join my Twitter group. Go to; www.twitter.com.stevef Twitter is a mini blog program (if you don’t know about it). It’s designed to showcase your most profound, insightful, deep philosophical, mind blowing, significant, civilization changing, eye opening, relevant, thoughts and ideas. However, you only have 140 characters per Twitter entry. So your thoughts must be written very short and directly to the point.

Your entry will be sent out to tens of thousands of people around the world. It’s the fastest growing web site right now. It’s fascinating to read.

Within Twitter you can add “friends.” It’s a mailbox which adds the Twitters from just your friends. You will have “followers”, which are people that read ALL your Twitters as they are released.

You can also read everyone’s Twitters as they are sent out. There are far too many to read them all. I basically just read my friends Twitter.

Build a reputation

2007-06-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

"You can't build a reputation on what you're planning on doing." Henry Ford

Stones

2007-06-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

"All stones are broken stones." By James Richardson

Power, Arrogance, Corruption

2007-06-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

When people acquire POWER they seem to become very arrogant. ARROGANCE leads to lack of ACCOUNTABILITY and the lack of ability to LISTEN. Power, arrogance and unaccountability leads ultimately to CORRUPTION. The United States has lost a great deal of credibility around the world. Can you see it?

More about positive attitudes

2007-06-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. by Herm Albright

Yogi Berra on all the lies

2007-06-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.

Redesigning education

2007-06-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Mark Oehlert said the education system will require a complete redesign of the learning environment because, "You can never fix a bicycle enough for it to be an airplane." What a great statement. Outstanding Quote!

From Frederick Buechner

2007-06-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

Frederick Buechner wrote, “The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you."

To Possess Something

2007-06-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

To pluck a flower means to take possession of it. It also means to KILL it. Be very careful what you try to possess.

Christianity & Democracy

2007-06-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Christianity; Do I love my neighbor as myself? I’m not certain I do. Am I a real Christian? Do I practice Christianity? We say we are a “Christian nation” but what evidence do we have? Many people go to church and talk about Christianity. But are we a real Christian nation? Do we attempt to uphold the Ten Commandments? No, not our government nor our people. Do we love our neighbors as ourselves? I don’t believe we do.

Democracy; Do I wish my neighbor to be free? I’m not certain I always do. Do all men, in this country, wish their neighbors to be free? Absolutely not! Do all men, in this country, wish their neighbors to have equal rights? The answer is clearly NO.

Democracy; Do we maintain and defend all our neighbors civil and religious liberty? The answer once again is clearly NO, not in this country. Are we a real democracy? We are a Republic, at least on paper.

Do you see some hypocrisy here? We are a democratic Christian nation, which wants to convert every nation to Christianity and export our democracy to every nation on earth. Maybe we need to examine ourselves. Maybe we need to become Christians and build a democracy here. Maybe we need to take care of our neighbors.

The Serenity Prayer

2007-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Character Counts

2007-06-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing can stop a man with character and the right attitude. There are six pillars that are the foundation of character building. We must improve our character daily.

1. TRUSTWORTHINESS. Loyalty, Integrity, honesty, reliability, and promise keeping.

2. RESPECT. The Golden Rule; Treat others as you would like to be treated, and courtesy.

3. RESPONSIBILITY. Accountability, pursue perfection, and effort level.

4. FAIRNESS. Justice, openness to information and ideas, reasonableness, consistency, and fair play.

5. CARING. Concern for others, charity, kindness, unselfishness, and compassion.

6. CITIZENSHIP. Do your share of the work, respect for authority, and the law and community service.

Falcons have strong CHARACTER!

Einstein's view of education

2007-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Einstein commented that if you study a subject for 10 minutes per day in one year you will be an expert.

By W.C. Fields

2007-05-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.

Adversity

2007-05-30T12:23:00.001-07:00

I believe that Jacob Braude once said that adversity is like a grindstone. Adversity either grinds you down to nothing, or it polishes you up like a sparkling diamond. Adversity causes some people to break and others to break records. It's essential to embrace and welcome adversity into your life. Never run from adversity but use it to motivate yourself. A handicap is adversity which can polish you and make you shine.

The Samurai Philosphy

2007-05-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

I’m studying the Samurai Philosophy. I find it fascinating. It’s amazing how much we can learn from the Samurai. This ancient philosophy is important for us to learn in the 21st century.

Samurai were dedicated warriors, which lived a very DISCIPLINED life style. Being a Samurai was a way of life. They were complete PERFECTIONISTS. They raised the bar and expected themselves to jump over it. They had very HIGH STANDARDS in every aspect of life. SELF DISCIPLINE was the key to this philosophy.

“Death is a central aspect of the Samurai philosophy. When a Samurai is faced with a situation in which he must choose between life and death, his immediate, unhesitating choice is always DEATH. While the desire to live is natural, and we temper our actions according to this desire, there is no doubt that opting for life without realizing our ambitions is cowardly.” (Robert Samuel, 2004) I ponder how different life would be if we didn’t fear death and actually looked forward to it.

A Samurai valued EDUCATION and were expected to carry a book when they were not training. Why can’t my students be more like Samurai, I keep asking myself? They wanted to be well educated. They were expected to be intelligent and well read. They were responsible for their own education.

Irresponsible behavior of every type was considered DISHONORABLE. They were HONEST, SINCERE and LAW ABIDING people. They didn’t need any laws or rules of conduct because they always did what was right and avoided doing what was wrong. They would always tell the TRUTH. LYING was considered a disgrace that will never leave you.

HUMILITY was highly important. A Samurai didn’t want to stand out or draw attention to him self. They just wanted to quietly go about their business. They were NOT EGOTISTICAL or ARROGENT people. They carefully watched what they would say. Words can harm everyone. They were men of few words. You couldn’t get them to talk very much, however they would ask questions and LISTEN attentively.

Samurai believed in HARD WORK. They had an outstanding WORK ETHIC. They believed MANUAL LABOR was a good thing. It was a good thing to dig ditches, move rocks, build roads and rock walls. They loved to work in bad weather because it made them mentally TOUGH and strong. After all war is not fought in good weather. They didn’t like any comforts of any kind because it makes one SOFT. In order to progress in life, one had to improve every day in every aspect.

Today a Samurai would be a parent, teacher and coach’s dream come true! What can we learn form this group of people? How to we instill some of these characteristics in people today? Many people today are as far from this philosophy as you can get. The Samurai would be appalled by our culture.

You must be the change- Ghandi

2007-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
I just love this quote. What a great meditation this is.

By Bob Meraz from Basement Hip Hop

2007-04-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

"Would we not hold responsible the gardener who allowed a weed to go undisturbed to the point that it destroyed the budding roses? As I age in mind and soul, it has become abundantly clear that America has bred a culture of violence. We’ve become increasingly callous and cynical. I’m afraid that we have lost sight of the big picture. And not until we learn to extinguish the plurality that divides us, will we begin to gain sight of the ultimate goal of peace among men. Is the sense of loss and grievance reserved for only the families and friends of those that were murdered, or perhaps family, friends, and family friends and friends of friends? It is only when we develop the sensitivity to truly and sincerely empathize with the pain and suffering that our fellow citizens endure, no matter the distance in time or space, can we earnestly claim to be “One nation under God.” Imagine the level of concern that each of us would feel if this was one of our neighboring colleges. Well… I believe “neighboring” is simply a matter of perspective. When one views the landscape from the peaks of the Himalayas, all villages are connected."

He has some great insight I believe. Well done.

Take a Pilgrimage to Your Center

2007-04-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite writers is Father John Main. Listen to his message; “Take a pilgrimage- a pilgrimage to your own center, your own heart, and there you learn to remain awake, alive and still. Religion means “re-linking”, connecting with your center. Discovering our center is the first task and first responsibility of every life that is to become fully human. To be in our own center is to be in God. “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” The answers are inside of YOU. Turn inward.” Have a joyous Easter everyone.” Glory to God.

Check Your Work Carefully.

2007-04-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

A tailor should measure his cloth seven times before he cuts it.

What Employers Look For in Employees

2007-04-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

What do Employers look for?

PASSION For Work
Empathy For Others
Positive Attitude
Persistence
Intrinsic Motivation
Ability to Teach Yourself Skills
Strong Work Ethic & Integrity
Oral/Written Communication skills
People Skills & Teamwork
Self Confidence
Strong Work Ethic/Focus/Interest
Problem Solving & Analytical Skills
Adaptability/Flexibility
Reading, Writing and Math Skills

Leaving a Legacy by Tyrone Hayes

2007-03-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

"Growing up, my parents always said, "You will leave this world the same way you came into it; with nothing." It made me realize that the only things we do in this world that count are those things that make the world a better place for those who will come behind us."

Mahatma Gandi

2007-03-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

A news report once asked Mahatma Gandhi, "What do you think of western democracy?" Gandhi replied,"I believe it's a very good idea."

Listening

2007-03-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

I always tell my students, "You were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk."

Thomas Merton from New Seeds of Contemplation

2007-03-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

“The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him. If it tried to be like something else, which it was never intended to be, it would be less like God and therefore it would give Him less glory. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air in the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do. For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self. Trees have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear one mask and then another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own face. If we have chosen the way of falsity we must not be surprised that true eludes us when we finally come to need it! The secret of my full identity is hidden in Him. He alone can make me who I am, or rather who I will be when at last I fully begin to be. But unless I desire this identity and work to find it with Him and in Him, the work will never be done. The way of doing it is in secret I can learn from no one else but Him. There is no way of attaining to the secret without faith. Therefore there is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace and happiness depends; to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find Him.”

Life is very Short by Bill Bryson

2007-03-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

"The bad news is that atoms are fickle and their time of devotion is fleeting. Even a long human life adds up to only about 650,000 hours. And when that modest milestone flashes past, or at some other point thereabouts, for reasons unknown your atoms will shut you down, silently disassemble, and go off to be other things. And that's it for you."

Quality in Education By Willa A. Foster

2007-03-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intension, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives."

Arete

2007-03-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

"Arete (Greek: ἀρετή, pronounced in English [ˈærəteɪ] or "ar-uh-tay") in its basic sense means "goodness" or "excellence" of any kind. In its earliest appearance in Greek this notion of excellence was bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function; the act of living up to one's full potential. It is essentially being and doing one's absolute best - becoming the best person one can be. The moral excellence or arete of a person or thing was then ηθικη, αρετη or virtue. Alexander the Great was said to exemplify arete in his steadfast pursuit of excellence[citation needed].
"The root of the word is the same as 'aristos', the word which shows superlative ability and superiority, and 'aristos' was constantly used in the plural to denote the nobility." [1] (see Aristocracy) The Ancient Greeks applied the term to anything: for example, the excellence of a chimney, the excellence of a bull to be bred, and the excellence of a man. The meaning of the word changes depending on what it describes, since everything has its own particular excellence; the arete of a man is different from the arete of a horse. This way of thinking first comes from Plato, and can be seen in Plato's Allegory of the Cave. This can be read at the following link.[2].
By the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E., arete as applied to men had developed to include quieter virtues, such as dikaiosyne (justice) and sophrosyne (self-restraint). Plato attempted to produce a moral philosophy that incorporated this new usage (and in doing so developed ideas that played a central part in later Christian thought), but it was in the work of Aristotle that the doctrine of arete found its fullest flowering. Arisotle's "Doctrine of the Mean" (not to be confused with Confucious's Doctrine of the Mean) and "The Four Causes" are good examples of Aristotle's thinking." From Wikipedia

Freakonomics and hard work

2007-03-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dunbar

I found this to be very interesting!

"We’ve written before on what is generally called “talent,” which most people seem to define as some sort of innate skill that, if properly trained, can result in excellence. But in our article, which relied heavily on the research of Anders Ericsson, we presented a slightly different definition of talent. Here’s one key paragraph:

“I think the most general claim here,” Ericsson says of his work, “is that a lot of people believe there are some inherent limits they were born with. But there is surprisingly little hard evidence that anyone could attain any kind of exceptional performance without spending a lot of time perfecting it.” This is not to say that all people have equal potential. Michael Jordan, even if he hadn’t spent countless hours in the gym, would still have been a better basketball player than most of us. But without those hours in the gym, he would never have become the player he was.

The main idea of our column is that “talent” is overrated; that practice really does make perfect; and that it’s a good idea to do what you truly love in life, because if you don’t, you probably won’t work hard enough at it to get really good."

Dan Gable (one of my heros)

2007-03-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

"Most men stop when they begin to tire. Good men go until they think they are going to collapse. BUT, the VERY BEST know the mind tires before the body and push themselves further and further beyond all limits. Only when all these limits are shattered can the unattainable be reached."

Eleanor Roosevelt's Poem

2007-03-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Footprints In Your Heart

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.

Anger is only one letter short of danger.

If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.

Great minds discuss ideas,
Average minds discuss events,
Small minds discuss people.

He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses much more;
He who loses faith, loses all.

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.

Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Friends, you and me.
You brought another friend,
And then there were three.

We started our group,
Our circle of friends,
And like that circle -
There is no beginning or end.

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

That's why it's called the present.*

Eleanor Roosevelt

The Beatitudes

2007-03-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

Matthew Chapter 5

Christ's sermon upon the mount. The eight beatitudes.

5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum
The poor in spirit... That is, the humble; and they whose spirit is not set upon riches.

5:4. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Beati mites quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram

5:5. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Beati qui lugent quoniam ipsi consolabuntur

5:6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam quoniam ipsi saturabuntur

5:7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Beati misericordes quia ipsi misericordiam consequentur

5:8. Blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see God.
Beati mundo corde quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt

5:9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur

5:10. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum

5:11. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:
Beati estis cum maledixerint vobis et persecuti vos fuerint et dixerint omne malum adversum vos mentientes propter me

What is success?

2007-03-10T14:18:00.001-08:00

Poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (This is from memory. It's not complete)

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better;
To know that ONE life has breathed easier because YOU have lived;
THIS IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED!

My advice to YOU (more favorite quotations)

2007-03-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

The most important exercise we will ever do is reaching down and lifting someone up.

Eliminate all ANGER in your life. Anger management is something we all must continually work to eliminate. The major cause of all personal relationships that fail is the inability to manage anger. Never choose a relationship with a person with an anger management problem.

The man who gives his best EFFORT is sure of success, while the man who gives less than his best is always a failure.

Nothing worthwhile can be achieved in a short time period; It takes TIME and EFFORT to produce anything of quality and value.

Success seems to be a matter of hanging on after others have let go.

Togetherness is critical; we can live together as a family and win, or live separately as fools and lose. Where there is unity there is great power and strength. You can’t be successful if you stand-alone.

Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems, in reality everything is somewhere in between good and bad.

The first law of living is giving unselfishly, abundantly and with no strings attached.

The more we reach out to others, the stronger and richer, in every sense of the words, our lives become.

When you find something you absolutely love doing, something you could do all day and have more energy when you finished than when you started…you will discover what you were meant to do.

Don’t worry about anything, it never helps you, but it will harm you greatly.

As I see it, the last thing you want to do is very often the first thing you need to do.

It’s your responsibility to get the best education possible. It’s not the school or the teachers. You can control your own education and learning rate.

Some words of wisdom (some favorite quotations)

2007-03-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

You achieve in life what you EMPHASIZE, nothing more and nothing less.

We must improve spiritually, mentally and physically to become whole. Life is trinitarian. One legged or two legged chairs will not stand.

Attitude, effort perseverance and togetherness, these are the four essential characteristics needed for success. This is the very foundation in which everything is built upon.

Always preach the Gospel and sometimes use words.

Prayer is essential, not optional.

The meaning of life is to live a meaningful life.

Nothing can stop a man with the right mental attitude, and nothing can help a man with the wrong attitude. Attitude is everything!

Look at the positive “sunny side” of everything you encounter. See the bright side, not the dark side.

Have a cheerful spirit and give every living creature you meet a big smile. Be positive, happy and strong for everyone that comes into contact with you.

Promise yourself right now that you will be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. You must be so strong that nothing will ever disturb you. Only weak people are disturbed. Be strong, be very strong! Be too happy to permit the presence of any disturbances in your life.