Notable Quotes #40

June 25, 2008
Notable Quotes #40  

Good Wednesday Afternoon!  

I don’t know about you, but it’s been an interesting week for me already!  I am glad to know that it’s almost half over, but also anxious to see what the second half brings.  I attempted to send out the quotes yesterday, but for some reason it just wasn’t working for me.  I decided to give it another shot today.  We’ll see how things go!  

“Have you invested as much this year in your career as in your car?”
Molly Sargent   

“Wisdom acquisition is a moral duty. It’s not something you do just to advance in life.
As a corollary to that proposition which is very important, it means that you are hooked for lifetime learning.
And without lifetime learning, you people are not going to do very well.
You are not going to get very far in life based on what you already know.
You’re going to advance in life by what you learn after you leave here.”
Charlie Munger – (Small piece of his commencement address at USC Law School)  

I know I have written about education some in the past, but it keeps coming up on almost a daily basis with me.  I don’t mean “formal education” as much as real life experience(s).  Maybe it’s because I have a 6 month old daughter who has mastered sitting up by herself!  Maybe it’s because I am fascinated by the world of stocks, bonds, and options…or maybe it’s because I am struggling through reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Civil Disobiedence.  No matter the reasoning, I find that in order to become a better person I need to commit to a lifetime of learning.  Not only do I need to do this for myself, but I need to do this for my daughter/family.   

I have also realized that the words of Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s business partner) ring true.  If I rely on what I have learned, I will not make it far.  I must constantly look for ways to better myself, make myself or my skills stronger.  I don’t want to be at the same place 2 years from now and one way to help that is to be “hooked for lifetime learning”.  

In the business world, we cannot sit around and wait for promotions or raises…we must set ourselves apart from the crowd and be noticed.  One of the most efficient ways to do that is by obtaining more education.  Again, I don’t mean an advanced degree (that could help though!) I simply mean learning all you can about the business that you are in.  How does your company make money?  (Sales isn’t the only answer!!)  What are the market forces that can drive your company’s profit up/down?  What are others saying about the industry you’re a part of?  Is it growing/declining?  What can YOU do to become more valuable?  These are the things that will set you apart from the rest of your co-workers and will most likely help lead you where you want to go.  Every week you put gas into your car…every 3 months or 3,000 miles you get an oil change…How much have you invested in yourself or in your career?  

Until Next Time,  

Heath  

Notable Quotes #39

Notable Quotes #39
June 17, 2008

Good Afternoon!   

Well…here it is another Tuesday and another edition of Notable Quotes.  I have been given a couple ideas as to where to take these quotes/thoughts of mine and I haven’t yet decided in what direction to go.  I have however found two amazing quotes from two distinguished gentlemen, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller III.

“The average person puts only 25% of his energy into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”
Andrew Carnegie

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it — every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”
John D. Rockefeller III   

While the names of these two men are synonymous with success it is interesting to read more about them and their families and how they became successful.  John D. Rockefeller III was fortunate for being the third generation of Rockefellers and was given a top notch education and had many opportunities.  One thing that many may not know is that one of his passions was “International Relations.”  He semi-officially managed the U.S. policies over the entire Far East including China and Japan.  Even though he managed his family’s business endeavors, he never lost sight of his passion.  He founded the Asia Society, Japan Society and the Population Council.  He found what interested him, put his whole self into and was determined to make a difference in the world…and he DID!   

Andrew Carnegie was the son of a Scottish immigrant whose first job was as a “bobbin boy.”  He changed the spools of thread in a cotton mill for twelve hours a day, six days a week for $1.20/week!  It’s noted that “his capacity and willingness for hard work, his perseverance, and his alertness soon brought forth opportunities.”  He was determined to not be average and he succeeded!  He put in 100% and made a difference.  He has been labeled as one of the “Captains of Industries” and has left his mark on the world as well.   

What are you currently doing (besides reading this?)  Are you giving 25%…50%…or are you one of the few who are giving 100%?  Do you know what interests you and are you doing it?  I want to challenge all of us in this way…Over the next few weeks, look at how we live our lives, where we are giving and where we are taking.  Are we finding happiness in our lives?  If not, seek and search for what interests you and how you can incorporate that into your life…And make sure that you are giving 100% in all that you do.   

Until Next Time,   

Heath

Notable Quote #38

June 10, 2008
Notable Quotes #38

Good Morning!

Well…Are you ready?  Today is the tenth and final scroll from Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World.  I hope that you have gleaned some positive insights from these scrolls that you can continue to use for years to come.  If you have missed any of the scrolls or any of the other Notable Quotes, fear not!  I have included a link to my blog which contains every Notable Quote written to date.  I am not sure what the future holds for the Notable Quotes, so hang on tight!  Now on to The Scroll Marked X.

Who is of so little faith
that in a moment of great disaster or heartbreak has not called to his God? 
Who has not cried out when confronted with danger, death, or mystery
beyond his normal experience or comprehension?

My life need not be filled with religion
in order for me to recognize this greatest mystery of nature.
All creatures that walk the earth, including man, possess the instinct to cry for help.
Why do we possess this instinct, this gift?

 Are not our cries a form of prayer?
Is it not incomprehensible in a world governed by nature’s laws
to give a lamb, or a mule, or a bird, or man the instinct to cry out for help
lest some great mind has also provided that the cry should be heard
by some superior power having the ability to hear and to answer our cry?
Henceforth I will pray, but my cries for help will only be cries for guidance.

 Never will I pray for the material things of the world.
Only for guidance will I pray…

 The guidance I seek may come, or the guidance I seek may not come,
but are not both of these an answer?
If a child seeks bread from his father and it is not forthcoming has not the father answered?

 I will pray for guidance.

I realize that this is the longest and probably the deepest scroll that we have discovered together.  However, there are so many truths packed into this scroll that I couldn’t trim them out. 

We all cry out at one time or another in our lives.  Typically those times are times of trouble or of great sorrow.  Seldom do we cry out when things are going well or we are doing fine.  I believe that this scroll is teaching us something greater than what is on the surface.  That we need to cry out and pray for guidance on a daily basis.

We shouldn’t ask for an easy path, rather a path that will shape and mold us to the individuals that we have been created to be.  We shouldn’t ask for a path with little sorrow, rather for a path that will develop our resolve.  Not for a path with only successes, but for a path that where we stumble from time to time in order to humble us as well as strengthen our determination.  We shouldn’t seek a path where things are given to us, but a path that teaches us the value of hard work.  Above all we should pray and cry out for guidance, that we may not stray from the path that has been laid out before us.

Until Next Time,

Heath

Notable Quotes #37

June 4, 2008
Notable Quotes #37

Good Morning!

I hope that this email finds everyone doing well and possibly even “laughing at the world” (Scroll #VII).  We are almost to the end of the scrolls and I am already thinking about where to go with the Notable Quotes next.  If you have any suggestions I would LOVE to hear them.  Today we are going to look at two scrolls, VIII and IX.  The reason for this is that these two, I feel really piggyback on one another.  I think you’ll see shortly.  Here we go!

Scroll VIII – Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
I will commit not the terrible crime of aiming too low.
I will do the work a failure will not do.
I will always let my reach exceed my grasp.
I will never be content with my performance in the market.
I will always announce my goals to the world.
YET, never will I proclaim my accomplishments.

  Scroll IX – I will act now.

 My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.
All are of no value unless they are followed by action.
I will act now.
I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow,
for I know that tomorrow never comes.
Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success,
for it is better to act and fail than not to act and flounder.
I will act now.

These two scrolls are so closely linked that I don’t think you can complete VIII without having IX.  Many times we want to multiply our value yet we don’t want to act…we just want it to happen.  We may hope and wish for a promotion or raise, but when we don’t get it, we get upset.  What we should really be doing is looking at ourselves, our work, and our contribution(s) and see if we really deserve the promotion or raise.  We cannot wait for things to happen…we cannot wait for our value to multiply…WE MUST ACT!

What are you waiting for?  Are you waiting for the “right” time?  (Now is the “right” time!)  Are you wanting things to just fall in your lap?  Instead of waiting for things to happen that are outside of your control, why not take action on what you have control of…YOURSELF!  Don’t wait for things to happen, MAKE THEM HAPPEN!

Until Next Time,

Heath 

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!