Words of Wisdom

"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees."
- Jason Kidd upon being drafted to the Dallas Mavericks

Our Earth...
If Earth's population was shrunk into a village of just 100 people -- with all the human ratios existing in the world still remaining – what would this tiny, diverse village look like?
That's exactly what Phillip M. Harter, a medical doctor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, attempted to figure out.

57 would be Asian
21 would be European
14 would be from the Western Hemisphere
8 would be African
52 would be female; 48 would be male
70 would be nonwhite; 30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian; 30 would be Christian
6 people would possess 59 percent of the entire world's wealth, and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death
1 would be pregnant
1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer

The following is an anonymous interpretation:
Think of it this way.
If you live in a good home, have plenty to eat and can read, you are a member of a very select group. And if you have a good house, food, can read and have a computer, you are among the very elite.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more fortunate than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are fortunate, more than three billion people in the world can't.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare, even in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful ... you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

The Important Things Life Teaches You...
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'Hello'." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Always remember those who serve
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?"
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.

If I Had My Life to Live Over - by Erma Bombeck
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love yous".. more "I'm sorrys"...
but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it... live it...and never give it back.
In memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer.

Instructions for Life (From many various sources...)
1. Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say "I love you"-mean it.
5. When you say "I'm sorry" look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk
15. Call your mom.
16. Say "Bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any others.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change but don't let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
29. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
30. Read between the lines.
31. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
32. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
33. Mind your own business.
34. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
35. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
36. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
37. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
38. Learn the rules, then break some.
39. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
40. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
41. Remember that your character is your destiny.
42. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
43. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
44. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
45. Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.
46. He who loses money, loses much; He, who loses a friend, loses much more.
47. Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
48. Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Thoughts from Eleanor Roosevelt
Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me…
You brought another friend...
And then there were 3...
We started our group...
Our circle of friends...
And like that circle...
There is no beginning or end...
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

Quiz
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be a professional. The questions are not that difficult.
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator. This tests your memory. OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four year old.

Rocks
One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers, he said,"Okay, time for a quiz."

He then pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth masonry jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rock.

Then he asked the group once more. "Is this jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand.

He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question.

"Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again, he said,"Good!". Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.

Then the expert in time-management looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager Beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it."

"No", the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? Your children. Your spouse. Your loved ones. Your friendships. Your education. Your dreams. A worthy cause. Teaching or being a mentor to others. Doing things that you love. Time for yourself. Your health. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you'll never get them in at all.

"If you sweat the little stuff (i.e. gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you will never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks). So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life? Then put those in your jar first."

Another quiz
Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

Easier? The lesson?
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.
They are the ones that care.

Happiness
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my "life".

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Paradox of our Time
Written by a Columbine High School Student
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but less solutions; more medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.

Symbols
I actually wrote the essay below for my Dartmouth College application in the Fall of 1991 in response to their required question: Why do all the pictures of God portray it as an old man? I didn't change anything other than taking out the last paragraph that discusses Dartmouth.

The Sistine Chapel. Star Trek V. The Far Side. These variant places and parties, as well as many others, portray the Christian God as an old man. Even in Greek mythology, Zeus was portrayed relatively the same way. Why is this so? Perhaps it is because we live in a world of conformity. The reason God is portrayed as an old man is because it is accepted. Why do so few challenge this status quo. Simply accepting this dogma does not seem to be a stimulus of life, but it certainly is conformity; one of the biggest problems facing America today. Society quickly labels objects as well as people, in a vain attempt to make life easier to understand. Sociologists tell us that man becomes frustrated when he cannot cope with or understand a new concept. Conformity eases the frustration.

The Bible itself argues against this mold casting. The story of the Golden Calf depicts the error in worshipping a symbol. In it, Moses convinces the mistaken that they should look within themselves for their faith and worship the idea of God, not the symbol of God. Did Michealangelo not read this part of the Bible? Depicting an old man as a symbol of God is a contradiction of Moses’ admonition and seems to display an attempt to avoid the challenge of artistically creating a view of inner vision. It is an early example of the error regularly commited by society in general to too quickly place labels on things and people. This tendency; more commonly known as stereotyping, is a problem in human development. Do not judge a book by its cover and do not judge people in the same way. Read them, don't simply look through the index.

Another attempt to make value judgements simple is man's creation of status symbols. Such symbols have come to play too much of a role in today’s culture: BMW, Rolex, Gucci, Beverly Hills. These are pointless. The value of a person or an idea has no relation to material wealth; it comes from the individual. Mother Theresa was far from rich. Alexander Hamilton died in debt. I have never met a wealthy teacher. Should we not respect these figures? If modern man worships material wealth, then why doesn’t he picture God driving a Porsche?

The question is relevant because it addresses the simple labeling of figures that man enjoys so much. It is impossible to put meaningful labels on people. If it was possible, then college applications would be a great deal shorter. Life can’t have a label. Suppose we could ask Michealangelo to draw a picture of the human mind. How would he paint the Id? Could we ask scientists to tell us where the libido is in the brain.

I do believe that the world should change. Philosophies, theories, and technologies all will differ as the human spiritual evolution continues. Unfortunately, some aspects of society can not keep up with this change due to the lack of an opportunity for a good education. A quality college education, such as a Dartmouth liberal-arts education, is one that not only allows one to understand the evolutionary changes, but expects society to change. Therefore, an education at such a college is very beneficial and almost necessary needed to live an understanding and meaningful life. Meaningful, not prosperous.

I feel strongly that wealth must exist in the individual spirit rather than in the bank folio. At this stage in my life, it seems to me that too many people today forget, even purposely forgo, values in order to "succeed" in life. Values should not be standardized for the result would be a meaningless culture, but they should be respected more than green paper.

The people who accept the pictures of God as an old man do not apply thought to the concept. Thought is the essence of life - thought that derives from the individual. I respect a person who would question the drawings of God more than one who preaches the same drawings without thought. Alyoshia Karamozov kissed his brother Ivan after listening to his poem, the Grand Inquisitor. Why? Not because he agreed with all of its context, but because the vast and intense thought that Ivan had put forth on the subject was clear. That is what I want out of my college education. True learning comes from the heart and mind, not a text book.

*All messages above have come to me from various public sources through email over the past few years. They can, and should be, freely distributed and shared with friends of yours. I claim no responsibility for the opinions or facts contained above. Photo of Rodin's Thinker taken by me in Paris on February 14, 2001.
Last updated April 10, 2001.