“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Effort—especially incredible effort—rarely pays off sufficiently in the short term. The key is to turn the equation around: If you would be willing to work incredibly hard if you magically found yourself in your dream spot, start working that hard now. First comes incredible effort—then, maybe, someday, will come incredible payoff.” ~Jeff Haden
“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.” ~Wendell Berry
“We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free. We need uncommon women for these uncommon problems. And how deeply reassuring to me it is to know that wherever we go, there you will be.” ~Kavita Ramdas
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” ~Thomas Merton
“To really listen is to listen until you no longer exist.” ~Rick Mautz
“Are your feet on the ground? Then it’s a good day.” ~Ona Lake
“Scorn is the weapon we pick up when persuasion fails to persuade, or blunt intimidation doesn’t silence the argument we detest. We reach for it when logic fails, or when we think opponents are being willfully stubborn. With cunning that evil angels must admire, we strike at that most vulnerable part of opponents—their sense of security, their need for approval—and threaten to eject them from the community’s esteem and acceptance. Scorn is the threat of personal excommunication by which we darkly promise to cut off others’ access to warmth and companionship unless they yield to our demands.” ~Bill Knott
“The love of a single heart can make a world of difference.” ~Immaculee Ilibagiza
“Who we are cannot be separated from where we are from.” ~Malcom Gladwell, Outliers
“Blaming others is a poor strategy. Not simply because everyone can see through it. Or because it’s dishonest. Or because it destroys relationships. Or even because, while trying to preserve our self-esteem, it actually weakens it. There’s a more essential reason why blame is a bad idea: Blame prevents learning. If something isn’t your fault, then there’s no reason for you to do anything differently. Which means, in all probability, you’ll make the same mistake in the future. That will lead to more blame. It’s a cycle that almost always ends badly.”
~Peter Bregman, “Why You Should Take the Blame,” Harvard Business Review
“If you want to stop a fight, start serving the one you’re fighting with.” ~Don Mackintosh
“It is unconscionable to behave with integrity toward adults but not toward children. Yet, how many times do we break our promises to our children (whom we love dearly) without apologizing properly? The same dynamic applies in organizations. Do you know anybody who thinks that he needs to keep his promises toward his peers and managers, but who also thinks that he can be excused when he deals with subordinates?”
~Fred Kofman, professor of leadership/coaching, author of Conscious Business, “You Must Do This To Keep Your Promises, Especially When You Can’t Fulfill Them”
“People are never to be ‘used,’ even if the ends or cause are honorable. Integrity is a safeguard from the utilitarian bent of our culture.”
~Paul Hunt, PhD
“Ultimately a leader is not judged so much by how well he or she leads, but by how well he or she serves. No carrot or stick of any size will ever trump the effect you have on those around you when you engage with them from a place of genuine service…. Indeed, serving authentically is about focusing on what you can contribute to the longer-term prosperity of many versus what you can gain in the short-term for yourself. The more you engage with those around you from a place of service, the more effective you will be at harnessing their talents, and the stronger the results you will achieve through them.”
~Margie Warrell, “Why Leaders Must ‘Get Real’—5 Ways to Unlock Authentic Leadership,” Forbes
“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
~Warren Buffet, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
“It all depends on whether or not the fragment of our life reveals the plan and material of the whole. There are fragments which are only good to be thrown away, and others which are important for centuries to come because their fulfillment can only be a divine work. They are fragments of necessity. If our life, however remotely, reflects such a fragment…we shall not have to bewail our fragmentary life, but, on the contrary, rejoice in it.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“I came to realize that God never shows us something we aren’t ready to understand. Instead, He lets us see what we need to see, when we need to see it. He’ll wait until our eyes and hearts are open to Him, and then when we’re ready He will plant our feet on the path that’s best for us. . . but it’s up to us to do the walking.” ~Immaculee Ilibagiza
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? ~Galatians 1:10
Conna Bond 