Be Cognizant of the Table You Are Preparing; Act as Though Everything Matters

Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences.

—Robert Louis Stevenson (1893, by Henry Walter Barnett; Public Domain)

Humor Friday

If you consult a doctor, he gives you medicine. If you consult a lawyer, he gives you advice. If you consult an author, he gives you a copy of his book.

—Arthur Evelyn Waugh, English author (1940, by Carl Van Vechten; Public Domain)

Vision Hatches the Idea; Aspiration Puts It in Motion

Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration.

—Stephen Samuel Wise (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

Vision means little if you never apply it. Uncover that idea which evokes a strong passion within, shift your perspective outward, and focus almost entirely on bringing it to fruition. 

—Mike 

Humor Friday

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he isn’t. A sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.

—Horace Walpole, 4^th Earl of Orford (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole (1781-1859) on engraving from 1832. English diplomatist. Engraved by W.Holl and published in ”Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain”,UK,1832.

Stay on Mission

Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.

—Richard Bach, American author (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

The Subtle Art of Human Connection

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

—Dale Carnegie (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

No matter your profession, the ability to interact with others is an enormous component of your overall success and happiness. Practice making a connection, however small, with those you run into on a daily basis and you will find your interpersonal skills growing at a rapid clip—and having a direct impact on the quality of your life. Remain outer-directed, and tap into the fact that people are creatures of emotion. 

—Mike 

Humor Friday: A Writer’s Anguish

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon, I put it back again.

—Oscar Wilde (1889, by W&D Downey; Public Domain)

A Recipe for Inner Peace

There are three principles in a man’s being and life: the principle of thought, the principle of speech, and the principle of action. The origin of all conflict between me and my fellow-men is that I do not say what I mean and I do not do what I say.

—Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and scholar (1963; Creative Commons free use)

When these three aspects of your life—thought, speech, and actions—align, you experience inner unity. When they are misaligned, you face both internal and external conflict. 

—Mike 

The Value of Having—and Being—a True Friend

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.

—Euripides 485–406 BC, from “Orestes” (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

Bust of tragic poet Euripides in Athens. Greece

Stop Letting What Other People Think Alter Your Own Path

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

—Lao Tzu (Image licensed by Penn Wealth)

In fact, stop letting what other people think or do even bother you. You don’t need external validation; trust your inner compass and keep moving forward. 

—Mike