The Power Tie

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
~Herbert Spencer

Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless. ~Warren Buffett

There a man never attains virtue and excellence through power; rather he attains power and authority through his virtue…study wisdom, therefore, and when you have learnt it, do not neglect it, for I say to you without hesitation that you can attain authority through wisdom. ~ Ælfred, The Great (849-899AD)

Ælfred, The Great

There are few fields of endeavor where history counts so little as in finance.
~John Kenneth Galbraith

A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men. ~Thomas Carlyle

Who lies for you will lie against you. ~Bosnian proverb

Huge markets attract people who measure themselves by money. If someone goes through life and measures themselves solely by how much they have, or how much money they earned last year, sooner or later they’re going to end up in trouble ~Warren Buffett

It’s forgiveness that makes us what we are. Without forgiveness, there would be no history. Without that hope, there would be no art, for every work of art is in some way an act of forgiveness. Without that dream, there would be no love, for every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive. ~Greg David Roberts, Shantaram

Government Rules

American Flag Bubbled

[The United Soviet States of America] would come about as a result of various capitalist crises, the national government would assume more and more control over the economy.......In finance....... it will mean the nationalization of the banking system and its concentration around a central State bank....
~William Z. Foster, Communist Party boss Toward Soviet America,  

Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosper by letting the Government take care of him, better take a closer look at the American Indian.
~ Henry Ford

 We are witnessing a slow, steady takeover of our true freedoms. We are becoming a socialist nation, and whoever can't see this is probably hoping it isn't true. If we permit Mr. Obama to take over all our industries, if we permit him to raise our taxes to support unconstitutional causes, then we will be in default. This great America will become a paralyzed nation.
~ Jon Voight

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
-Thomas Jefferson

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.
-Samuel Adams

 History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.
~Douglas MacArthur 

 We have never stopped sin by passing laws; and in the same way, we are not going to take a great moral ideal and achieve it merely by law.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

 In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves...self-discipline with all of them came first.
~Harry S. Truman

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
― Adolf Hitler

 “How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.”
― Adolf Hitler

 The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or native police.
~Adolf Hitler, Hitler’s Table Talk, 1941-1944: Secret Conversations with the English translation copyright1953 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.
-Thomas Jefferson

With self-discipline most anything is possible.
~Theodore Roosevelt

Let there be Peace

It's been a very difficult week here in Connecticut. Last week less than 30 miles away from my home was the site of the second worse school shooting in our nation's history.  20 small children between the ages of 6 and 7 were gunned down in their classroom. 6 female educators were gunned down trying to protect the school children.  It's a tragedy that knocks you off balance and shakes you to your very core.

It's in times like these that I look to things that are comforting. Readings which provide some sort of guidance, faith or hope.  With Christmas around the corner these quickly came to mind.

"When you give something, just for the joy of creating, it always comes back on a much larger scale." —Ji Lee

"Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. Its his birthday we're celebrating. Don't let us ever forget that.

Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shinning gifts that make peace on earth. "
-- The Christmas Sermon in the movie, The Bishop's Wife

Bill Murray plays Francis Xavier Cross in the classic Christmas movie, Scroogred, by far one of my absolute favorites.  It's a wonderful 1988 parody on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  The speech at the end of the movie is fantastically written and makes the point very clear.

[Frank X Cross]: "I'm not crazy. It's Christmas Eve. It's the one night when we all act a little nicer.  We...we smile a little easier. We...we...share a little more. For a couple of hours we are the people we always hoped we would be. It's really a miracle because it happens every Christmas Eve. And if you waste that miracle, you're gonna burn for it. I know. You have to do something. You have to take a chance and get involved. There are people that don't have enough to eat and who are cold. You can go and greet these people. Take an old blanket out to them or make a sandwich and say, "Here." "l get it now." And if you give, then it can happen, the miracle can happen to you. Not just the poor and hungry, Everybody's gotta have this miracle! It can happen tonight for you all! If you believe in this pure thing, the miracle will happen and you'll want it again tomorrow! You won't say, "Christmas is once a year and it's a fraud." It's not! It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling! You'll want it every day! It can happen to you! I believe in it now. I believe it's gonna happen to me, now. I'm ready for it! And it's great. It's a good feeling. It's better than I've felt in a long time. I'm ready. Have a Merry Christmas. Everybody... Did I forget something, big man?

[Calvin] "God bless us, every one."

Circumstances Beyond Our Control

Recently my son, 18 yrs old was injured again while playing lacrosse. This is the fourth injury in four years! The first was the last week of the season he received a concussion which took him out of school for a few days. The second was the first game of his sophomore year when he received a concussion so sever he was out of school for 24 days and took months to fully recover.  The third was during preseason when he tore his ACL. He is a senior now and decided to take the field one more season with his friends and teammates. Traditionally he had always been a long pole defense man but in order to protect his knee he hopped into the goal. He was having a fantastic season and with just two weeks left in the season he was knocked from behind upon coming out of goal and has now injured his "good" knee. We won't know until the MRI results are back whether he will require surgery or not; my hope is obviously no surgery and just plenty of physical therapy. Keeping my fingers crossed.  The fortune cookie quoted below ironically was his last night which is why I dedicated this to him.

When you learn to be flexible, amazing opportunities reveal themselves! ~Fortune Cookie

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances. ~ Martha Washington

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.  ~ Horace 

Stop blaming outside circumstances for your inside chaos. ~ Steve Maraboli  

Expect the best, prepare for the worst. ~ Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.  ~ Arthur Golden 

We should be inspired by people... who show that human beings can be kind, brave, generous, beautiful, strong-even in the most difficult circumstances.  ~ Rachel Corrie 

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.  ~ Confucius 

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.  ~ William Arthur Ward 

Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control. ~ Richard Kline 

The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man... It is more powerful than external circumstances.  ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca 

There is no education like adversity.  ~ Benjamin Disraeli 

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. ~ Maya Angelou

Making an awesome save!

Update on May 19, 2012 - He tore the ACL and does need surgery on the 23rd.

What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger? ~ Friedrich Neitzche 

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.  ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Live and Learn

Riding on the Beach

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. ~ Michael Jordan

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. ~ Aristotle

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. ~Goethe

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~ Gandhi

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

One's mind, once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

It's a New Day

Tree of Light

With a new day comes new strength and new thoughts. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

A man travels the world in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it. ~ George Moore

Life takes you to unexpected places. Love brings you home. ~ Anonymous

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. ~ Richard Bach

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. ~ Thomas Paine

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. ~ Anonymous

Where they're is passion and desire, there will always be new horizons. ~ Anonymous

There is no such thing as limits to growth, because there are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder. ~ Ronald Reagan

A bend in the road is not the end of the road...unless you fail to make the turn. ~ Anonymous

One's mind, once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Experimentation is Experience

No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong. - Albert Einstein

Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science. - Claude Bernard

I reeverted easily to my wild state, that is experimentation. - Jack Steinberger

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. But the bee...gathers its materials from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. - Leonardo da Vinci

The true method of knowledge is experiement. -William Blake

A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life. - Erasmus Darwin

I am my own experiement. I am my own work of art - Madonna

No, life has not disaappointed me. On the contrary, i find it truer, more desirable and mysterious every year - ever since the day when the great liberator came to me: the idea that life could be an experiment of the seeker for knowledge - and not a duty, not a calamity, not trickery. - Friedrich Nietsche

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun. - Mary Lou Cook

Every great inspiration is but an experiment - Charles Ives