To win without risk is to triumph without glory.

Posted on 10 May 2013 by philosiblog

To win without risk is to triumph without glory. – Pierre Corneille

This is how I learned to ride while minimizing the risk.

This is how I learned to ride while minimizing the risk.

What does that mean?
This quote is interesting, as it seems to imply different things, depending on what you value. If you value glory, then you will most likely look to seek out risk, while still winning. If you value safety over glory, you will most likely look to avoid risk while you are winning.

We all want to win, but at what risk? Do we care more about triumphing in glory, or in the quiet victory? What you are chasing will determine what this quote means to you, and how you might apply it to your life. What do you want out of life?

What you focus on will help shape the path you take. At each decision point, are you going for more glory, or more safety? How much are you willing to risk the chance at winning in order to gain that extra amount of glory? Life can be so complicated, right?

Why is knowing yourself important?  Continue reading →

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You can’t make footprints on the sands of time by sitting on your butt… and who wants to make butt-prints?

Posted on 9 May 2013 by philosiblog

You can’t make footprints on the sands of time by sitting on your butt… and who wants to make butt-prints? – Bob Moawad

No one said you had to walk alone.

No one said you had to be alone when leaving footprints.

What does that mean?
This is an interesting quote, talking about making footprints in the sands of time. The sands of time is another way of saying making history, and you can’t leave your mark on history sitting on your butt.

If you want to make footprints, the quote implies, you have to get up off your butt and get moving. Sitting on your butt won’t make you a great part of history, unless there is a category for laziest person on the planet. In that case your butt will become a footnote in history.

The quote finishes by asking the obvious question, who wants to make butt prints in the sands of time? Who wants to leave their mark on history by being the laziest, do nothing-est person around?

I know I don’t want to be known for that, do you? I doubt it. We might not necessarily want to be world famous, but we will be remembered by our friends and those who are less than friendly. For what do you want to be remembered?

Why is action important?  Continue reading →

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Winning as a team is better than anything. It’s great to share success.

Posted on 8 May 2013 by philosiblog

Winning as a team is better than anything. It’s great to share success. – Jim Harbaugh

It's never too early to help kids understand teamwork. Even if it's that other kind of football.

It’s never too early to help kids understand teamwork. Even if it’s that other kind of football. Yeah, I said that. But we’re all on Team Human!

What does that mean?
This quote is by a sports legend in American Football. As a player, he is known for a great college career, being a first round draft pick, a Pro Bowl honoree, and a winner of a division championship. He is also a coach of some note, having won college titles, multiple bowl games, and as a Pro coach, having most recently battled his brother (also a coach) in Super Bowl XLVII.

I’m not sure when he said this, but even as a player, he was a leader, and this is a quote from a leader. Yes, we each need to strive to be our best, but we all do better as part of a team. Our strengths help those who need help, and they help us where we need strength. Humans, at heart, are social or team creatures.

And the ultimate reward of working as a team is sharing in the success. When we triumph as an individual, we celebrate alone, or with a few close friends. However, when we triumph as a team, the celebration is multiplied as our teammates and friends join in. And that’s a joy we remember for life.

Why is teamwork important?  Continue reading →

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You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Posted on 7 May 2013 by philosiblog

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. – Aristotle

If you need to work on your courage when speaking in public, perhaps an audience of children would be a place to start. Consider bringing a friend or two for support.

If you need to work on your courage when speaking in public, perhaps an audience of children would be a place to start. You might want to consider bringing a friend or two with you for support.

What does that mean?
While the word ‘anything’ is an absolute, and I try to avoid absolutes when I can, this is a case of dramatic license. Does breathing count as anything? Technically, yes it does. So let’s tone it down a bit, and change it to say that “You’ll never do anything of great significance without courage.”

With that reshaping of the quote, let’s dig in, shall we? Courage is the basis of the quote. The reshaped quote claims that only trivial things can be accomplished without courage. Think about that for a moment. With the possible exception of someone who doesn’t know how dangerous something is, it’s a fairly solid truth, isn’t it?

It takes courage to ask for a raise. It takes courage to ask for that first kiss. It takes courage to take a test. Pretty much any task or project that amounts to anything will take some courage to face. What takes courage for you might not take courage for someone else, but it will be trivial for them, right?

Why is countering fear with courage important?  Continue reading →

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We work for praise, and dawdle once we have it.

Posted on 6 May 2013 by philosiblog

We work for praise, and dawdle once we have it. – Mignon McLaughlin

Today is a great day. You won the trophy, and everybody is praising you. What will you use for motivation tomorrow?

Today is a great day. You won the trophy, and everybody is praising you. What will you use for motivation tomorrow? Or will you dawdle instead of do?

What does that mean?
While this is a bit of witticism from a book, it still is far more true than we might want to admit. Whether it’s an approving parent when we take our first steps or a boss telling us what a good job we did, we tend to work for that bit of praise.

But then what? The praise comes, then the praise fades into the past. What happened to our motivation? The faint echos of praise long gone don’t provide a whole lot of motivation, does it? And that’s when the second half of the quote manifests itself.

We dawdle. We operate at a much lower intensity or drive for a while. At least until we find the next bit of praise for which we decide to strive. And then, once again, it’s on! That sounds a bit uneven, doesn’t it? Yet that is how so many people operate in so many aspects of their lives.

Why is evenness important?  Continue reading →

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Education is the way to achieve far-reaching results, it is the proper way to promote compassion and tolerance in society.

Posted on 5 May 2013 by philosiblog

Education is the way to achieve far-reaching results, it is the proper way to promote compassion and tolerance in society. – Dalai Lama

What will they learn today? Will it include compassion and tolerance?

What will they learn today? Will it include compassion and tolerance?

What does that mean?
The quote starts out discussing education as a great way to achieve long lasting and far reaching results. A formal education system allows a society to reach pretty much everyone and provides a way to instill cultural and social values in all of the citizens.

Anything can be done to advance good, or to advance ill. Education, in this quote, is cited as the proper method to promote to an entire society the values of compassion and tolerance. Note that the quote doesn’t say to force these values on a population. That’s part of good vs ill in the use of formal education.

Compassion and tolerance are very useful foundational blocks for a well functioning society. They allow for openness and freedom. They allow for dissent and lively discussion of issues. They allow disagreements to be handled well, and not result in civil strife (or is that un-civil, by definition?).

Why is education important?  Continue reading →

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Esteem is earned. Esteem for yourself only comes by pushing yourself to do difficult things.

Posted on 4 May 2013 by philosiblog

Esteem is earned. Esteem for yourself only comes by pushing yourself to do difficult things. – Tony Robbins and here

Before you head to Acapulco, Mexico to do some cliff diving, you might want to build your skills and esteem. Difficult is good, stupid is not.

Before you head to Acapulco, Mexico to do some cliff diving, you might want to build your skills and esteem. Difficult is good, stupid is not. Start small and build it up.

What does that mean?
Esteem isn’t something they hand out at pep rallies. It’s not something that you can get as a prize in the bottom of a box of tasty snacks. It’s not something others can bestow upon you.

Esteem is an internal value or reward for having accomplished something. The easy or even trivial things don’t make for much esteem. When you fist learned to tie your shoes, there was a great deal of esteem in that accomplishment. Now, it probably isn’t such a big deal, right?

When it is difficult, when it takes effort, when it takes focus, planning, and concentration, these are the times when you generate esteem. The easy stuff just doesn’t cut it. Rewards come unevenly in the real world, but within ourselves, it is usually fairly straight forward.

Pushing ourselves to do the hard things, that gets the best rewards from within ourselves. And that is what esteem is all about.

Why is esteem, earned by effort, important?  Continue reading →

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The key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Posted on 3 May 2013 by philosiblog

The key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey

At one point in time this TTY was cutting edge equipment. Fortunately, most of us have examined our lives and found better ways to do our work.

At one point in time, this TTY was cutting edge equipment. Fortunately, most of us have examined our lives and found better ways to do our work. Times change. It is important to have the vision & perspective to change with them. Switch things up a little from time to time.

What does that mean?
This witty quote uses a chiasmus to point out the importance of how something is done. In this case, the subject is schedules and priorities, and which should be driving the other.

The phrase ‘prioritize your schedule’ implies that you already have a packed day, and that you will shuffle them around in their relative order of importance. In this manner, one hopes to accomplish as much as possible in the time available.

The phrase ‘schedule your priorities’ implies an empty schedule and a list of priorities to be scheduled. The implication is that some of the items on the list can be put off, and other things not presently on the list can be scheduled in their place.

This leads to the question of what is important to you? What are the things that will you will have to do to be productive and successful? Is that what you do, or do you slog through the laundry list, checking each box in turn, even if it’s not all that useful, productive, or contributing to success?

Why is perspective important?  Continue reading →

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I can give you a six-word formula for success: “Think things through – then follow through.”

Posted on 2 May 2013 by philosiblog

I can give you a six-word formula for success: “Think things through – then follow through.” – Edward (Eddie) Rickenbacker

Success, if you want it, you're going to have to think about what went wrong, how to fix it, and then do something about it.

Success, if you want it, you’re going to have to think about what went wrong, how to fix it, and then do something about it. Fortunately most kids are very persistent.

What does that mean?
Success, it means a lot of things to a lot of different people. But the path provided in this quote is fairly universal. Think, then do. Does success mean a Million Bucks? Think, then do. Does success mean a role in a movie? Think, then do.

Thinking comes first, right? Think about where you presently are as well as about your present skills and knowledge. Think about who you have to be to achieve your success as well as the skills and knowledge you need to have to be that person.

Think about how you will get from who you are to who you want to be. Think about a plan to get you from here to there. Think about how you will get from where you are to where you want to be. Think about a plan to get you from here to there.

At this point, you’re ready to follow through. You are ready to do what needs to be done. However, unless it’s a trivial task, you will almost certainly iterate – that is return to thinking when something doesn’t work as expected. And that is to be expected. Just remember to keep at it.

Why is persistence important?  Continue reading →

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A window stuck open is just as bad as a window stuck shut. Either way, you’ve lost its use. Ditto for a mind.

Posted on 1 May 2013 by philosiblog

A window stuck open is just as bad as a window stuck shut. Either way, you’ve lost its use. Ditto for a mind. – Dr Tayo Adeyemi

What is the purpose of a window? Keep out the weather when it's bad, let it in when it's good? It has to work to do that, right?

What is the purpose of a window? Keep out the weather when it’s bad, let it in when it’s good? It has to work to do that, right? What about your mind? Is it stuck or working?

What does that mean?
A window that is stuck open isn’t so much a window as it is a hole in the wall. Since the purpose of a window is usually to allow vision to the outside and light to the inside, that still works.

However, what separates a hole in the wall from a window is the ability to open and close, allowing in a breeze on a nice day and keeping out the weather on a less nice day. A hole can’t keep out nasty weather.

A window which is stuck shut only allows light to pass through. Never will a pleasant breeze pass through it. In that, we are missing one of the more useful features of a window.

Similarly, a mind, implies the quote, should be able to move around and not be fixed on one position or the other. I take that to mean a mind shouldn’t be made up in advance, and should be able to willing to open it to a pleasant breeze, and shut out the nasty weather, as appropriate.

Why is properly functioning mind important?  Continue reading →

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Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.

Posted on 30 April 2013 by philosiblog

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs. – Henry Ford

How do you build a house? One brick at a time. Break the big task into smaller, more manageable tasks, and it becomes easier.

How do you build a house? One brick at a time. Break the big task into smaller, more manageable tasks, and it becomes easier. A vintage 1960’s Lego centerfold ad. Sweet!

What does that mean?
It’s like the old expression which asks how one eats something that is way too big to eat. The answer is usually something like one bite at a time. If something is too big, you break it down. Break it into smaller and smaller pieces, until they are small enough to handle.

You don’t start your math career with multivariate calculus. You start with counting, then addition, and work yourself up a little at a time. When you’re done and look back, you see all the little parts which made up the effort. None were all that big, but the end result is impressive.

Just be careful that the subdivision of challenging activities doesn’t become an end to itself. Break things down, but only as small as necessary. Anything more isn’t helpful, and wastes time, right? And the whole point of the quote was to get something done, something difficult and intimidating.

Why is properly organizing a hard job important?  Continue reading →

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If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.

Posted on 29 April 2013 by philosiblog

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars. – Latin Proverb

If you look closely, you can see an outboard motor on the back. If the wind won't serve, the motor will!

If you look closely, you can see an outboard motor on the back. If the wind won’t serve, then the motor will!

What does that mean?
This quote is another really simple way of reminding us that it is wise to have a PlanB ready, just in case the first idea doesn’t work out. Back in Roman times (and well before), most ships carried both sails and oars.

Rowing was, and still is, backbreaking labor. You didn’t want to do it unless you had to. Sails were preferred, but sometimes the wind was lacking, either in force or in direction. To get where you were going, it was important to be able to have that backup plan.

While I was unable to find a definitive source, this quote is attributed both to Walt Whitman and as an ancient Latin Proverb. But no matter where it came from, it is an important fact of life to remember the winds won’t always be favorable. What will you do when that happens?

Why is having a backup plan (or two) important?  Continue reading →

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Whether we are happy or not depends on our attitude; compassion, for instance, leads to a calmer mind.

Posted on 28 April 2013 by philosiblog

Whether we are happy or not depends on our attitude; compassion, for instance, leads to a calmer mind. – Dalai Lama

What is your attitude? Blank paper can be calming if your attitude is anticipation. It can be very unpleasant if your attitude is the dread of having to fill it.

What is your attitude? Blank paper can be calming if your attitude is anticipation. It can be quite unpleasant if your attitude is dread. Choose a useful attitude, and all will change.

What does that mean?
This is a quote about the link between our attitude and our mood. It’s hard to feel happy when you are angry. The emotion of angry isn’t really compatible with the mood of happy, right? There are other incompatible mixes of attitude and mood with which we are familiar, each in our own separate way.

The example uses the attitude of compassion, and how it can easily lead to a calmer mind. While it might not be the first thought in your head, it makes sense when you think about it, doesn’t it? When I think of the times when I had great compassion, my mind was clear and generally trouble free.

While there are plenty of other ways to demonstrate this pairing, the example from the quote, which is one of the favorite attitudes of the author of the quote, is a great place to start. It’s hard to beat compassion and a calmer mind, right?

Why is compassion important?  Continue reading →

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The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.

Posted on 27 April 2013 by philosiblog

The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity. – Seneca

Everything has a season. Eventually, we will reach the Autumn of our lives. How will we handle what follows?

Everything has a season. Eventually, we will reach the Autumn of our lives. How will we handle what follows? While we might not get much warning, preparation can help.

What does that mean?
While it isn’t stated explicitly, this quote is almost certainly about death, and the transition to what might come after it. While there is still great debate about what came before and what will happen after, we readily acknowledge our birthday into this world as an independent human being.

I believe that this quote is about the other end of this lifetime, and how we treat it differently. It says we usually treat it with fear, and most likely dread. However, it continues to say that we could also consider it to be the first day of whatever comes after.

Please note that neither the quote nor I believe that one should be in any rush to take their place at death’s door. That said, neither should we be overly afraid of it either. All that is born will die, it is nature’s way.

Even if we have no proof of any continuity after this life, such a belief can help put the mind of a dying person at ease, and provide some comfort for those left behind, and neither of those are bad things, at least in my opinion.

Why is facing death bravely and with dignity important?  Continue reading →

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Love what is. Appreciate what is. Accept what is, or use what is! There is only power in what we do with what we have.

Posted on 26 April 2013 by philosiblog

Love what is. Appreciate what is. Accept what is, or use what is! There is only power in what we do with what we have. – Tony Robbins and here

Appreciate the obstacles for what they help you do. And look for help to overcome them.

Appreciate the obstacles for how they help you. And then do something to overcome them. Find help if you can. Remember, they aren’t there to stop you. They are there so that you might demonstrate how committed to doing what it takes to get it done!

What does that mean?
How many times have you said that you’d do something if only you had one more thing, which you didn’t have? To me, that’s what this quote is about. We can’t do anything with what we don’t have, and there is no power without action. The last portion says that in a fairly straight-forward manner.

The rest of the quote talks about what we should do with that which we have, that which is. We should love, appreciate, accept and/or use what is, what we have in our lives. I would state the last one as make use of, rather than use, as the latter has some slightly negative connotations.

All of the statements are in the present tense. We’re not being urged to wait until we have all the parts and align them perfectly. Neither are we being urged to look back on what we used to have. The quote is all about right now, and being in the moment.

Why is doing something now important?  Continue reading →

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