Life, in a Nutshell
“The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care.”
– Hugh Macleod
Today’s Quote
“Even in the knocks of life we can find great gifts”
– Bhagavad Gita
Today’s Quote
“Rabbi Simha Bunam of Pzysha once asked his disciples, “how can we tell when a sin we have committed has been pardoned?” His disciples gave various answers but none of them pleased the rabbi. “We can tell,” he said, “by the fact that we no longer commit that sin.”
– Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim
New Crisis, Old Wisdom
“It is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people’s money being used to pay the fiddler…all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people’s money to settle the quarrel.”
– Abraham Lincoln, 1837
Today’s Quote
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Canonical
Kleiner’s First Law: When the hors d’oeuvres are passing, take two.
Kleiner’s Second Law: There is a time when panic is the appropriate response.
– Eugene Kleiner, Founder, Fairchild Semiconductor & Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Advice
“If you want to survive this brutal climate, you’re going to have to work a lot harder, be a lot smarter, know a lot more, move a lot faster, sell a lot better, pay attention to the data, be a little nice (ok, a lot nice), trust your gut, read everything and never, ever give up.”
– Mark Gill, former president of Warner Independent and Miramax, on the film industry today
Zen
My legacy –
What will it be?
Flowers in spring,
The cuckoo in summer,
And the crimson maples
Of autumn …
– Ryokan
Note to Self: Don’t Be a Pussy
“Quit? You know, once I was thinking of quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I’m sure you have a good reason to quit.”
– Lance Armstrong, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Rough Week
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
– Winston Churchill