I came across the following last week,
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
and it got me thinking about cause and effect; where things start and where they go from there.
Leonardo da Vinci said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do,” while Hemingway warns us, “Never mistake motion for action.”
Very true, ideas are all well and good, but …read more

As you probably know by now there is change afoot at Leadership Turn. Specifically it’s ending, as all good things end, and that means change for me and you.
But that’s good.
As Harold Wilson said, “He who rejects change is the architect of decay.  The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”
Edwards Deming said it more simply, “It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory.”
Well, I plan to survive and we sure aren’t dead, so change it is.
When change hits have you noticed how much energy people expend looking for reasons not to change? John Kenneth Galbraith …read more

Today was a super cool day for me. I met my Russian business partner Nick Mikhailovsky, CEO of NTR Lab, for the first time, although we’ve worked together for a decade.
So when I started thinking about today’s quotes Russia was on my mind. And when I think of Russia I think of proverbs.
I find proverbs to be fascinating proof that no matter the color, culture or time there really is only one race on this planet—human.
The basic concepts of human action and interaction span the globe. In fact, I’ll bet that your culture has a saying that embodies the same …read more

Success has as many definitions as there are people and the best ones are those that are private. You know, the ones you think about at 3 am or hug to yourself as you fall asleep at night.Most of the quotes about success follow predictable lines and there are enough to count instead of sheep if you’re having problems sleeping. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad choice for today, it just means I had to look a little harder to avoid boring you.Oh well, in a salute to the norm we’ll start with Harry F. Banks comment, “For success, attitude …read more

Good grief, where did the time go? Thanksgiving is over, and that means the year is close to ending, but first comes the holiday season. Nothing but parties and get-togethers for the next 4.5 weeks.
Frank Ogden said, “Holidays are the greatest learning experience unknown to man.” I think he has a real point, otherwise most of us wouldn’t keep repeating the same actions and activities every year that don’t work for us—isn’t that similar to Einstein’s definition of insanity?
Sadly Philip Andrew Adams hit the nail on the head when he said, “To many people holidays are not voyages of discovery, …read more

Lies. These days it seems that everybody lies. Politicians, but that’s not new; corporate honchos, way more than previously; religious leaders, in the name of CYA; parents, for their kids own good; kids, because they’re kids; and on and one.
Richard Bach believes that the worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves, while Mark Twain believes there are three types of lies, there are lies, damned lies and statistics. I like that; I’ve always thought that statistics are like the Bible, you can spin them to support any view.
Adolf Hitler said, Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying …read more

For those of you too young to know, Simon Wiesenthal was an Austrian-Jewish architectural engineer until the advent of Hitler. He survived three death camps in a four year period and became a world renowned, or reviled depending on your sympathies, Nazi hunter.
Wiesenthal’s words may have their roots in the Holocaust, but they apply equally well to today’s geopolitical situation, as well as more mundane stuff like work. You might think I’m exaggerating, but if you tone down the power of his words you’ll find a reflection of the office bully; the pointy haired manager; and other situations you face …read more

Have you ever considered the miracle that is your mind as opposed to the miracle of your brain?
Physiologically the brain is amazing, but real magic lies in your mind. Not just magic, but incredible power.
As Buddha said, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
Oscar Wilde believed that “A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” I imagine he would be horrified at how many people have turned their thinking over to someone else and just follow blindly along.
Amos Bronson Alcott put …read more

Can you sum up your life in just 6 words?
Clare Booth Luce, according to columnist Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, once told President John Kennedy that “a great man is one sentence.” Noonan writes that Lincoln’s life could be summed up as “He preserved the Union and freed the slaves.” –Bloomberg.com
Smith Magazine just published its second collection of six word memoirs by, as they say, “the famous and obscure.” They also continually collect them on their website.
Forcing yourself to boil down your current situation or a specific aspect of it is a great way to bring clarity to often …read more

I just finished Mary Higgins Clark’s memoir. Hers is a name you see everywhere, books, TV movies and on the big screen. The memoir is a fast read, a fascinating peek into the world that shaped this master storyteller and some excellent insights on just plain living.
“When a child comes to you wanting to share something he or she has written of sketched, be generous with our praise. If it’s a written piece, don’t talk about the spelling or the penmanship; look for creativity and applaud it. The flame of inspiration needs to be encouraged. Put a glass around that …read more