

### Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!

Life Lessons from 50 Amazing Teachers

Larry Anderson

Copyright 2013 LIAP Media Corp.

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Except for short excerpts by a reviewer, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Publisher

LIAP Media Corp.

1112-95 Street S.W.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

T6X 0A7

Visit our website at www.LiveYourMagic.com

Book Cover Design: Allen Mohr

Book Page Layout Design: Jana Rade

Portrait Illustrator: Samuel Whitehead

Biography Research: Glen Stone

Editorial: Mary W. Walters, Marion Hoffman

Ebook Formatting by Ebook Launch

ISBN-978-0-9869417-4-0

This book is dedicated to my daughter Jennifer, my son Stephen, and the youth of the world. Live your MAGIC!

Wisdom to connect the dots to your dreams and goals. —Jay Ball, President & CEO, Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta

Proves genius and success are achieved by dedication to a growth mindset. —Laura Cameron, Spiritual Community Leader

A blueprint to shape a deeply meaningful life! —Jesse A. Tallon, Sleep Therapist

Portraits of great teachers that sparks a passion to learn. —David Kelso, Filmmaker

A personal springboard to explore History's great teachers. —Rob Hewes, Music Producer

Awaken to the unique way you can live, guided by great teachers. —Reverend Dr. Patrick Cameron

Discover how wisdom from amazing teachers can enrich your life. —Joy Van Marck, Marketing Consultant

This book will encourage countless others to live their magic. —Bill Trainor, Retired Teacher

The full text of these endorsements follow the Afterword (at the end of the book).

# Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Dr. Albert Einstein My Greatest Gift

Dr. Albert Ellis The Power Of Beliefs

Anais Nin How We See

Aristotle The Purpose Of Life

Benjamin Franklin The Best Investment

Bill Gates Make An Impact

Black Elk The Sacred Gift

Confucius Live Your Moral Values

Dale Carnegie Listen To Understand

Dr. Dean Ornish Four Healing Forces

Dolly Parton A Matter Of Character

Earl Nightingale Choose Your Thoughts

Eleanor Roosevelt Become A Great Mind

Ernest Hemingway Write The Truth

George Lucas Keep Hope Alive

George Washington Your Life Is Your Message

George Bernard Shaw Create Yourself

Henry David Thoreau The Ultimate Life Trap

Sir Isaac Newton Actions Have Consequences

James Allen Thoughts Are Tools

Jeff Bezos Continuously Evolve

Johann Sebastian Goethe Boldly Begin

Joseph Campbell Follow Your Bliss

Kahlil Gibran How To Give

Lao Tzu Master Yourself First

Leo Tolstoy The Purpose of Art

Leonardo da Vinci The Greatest Deception

Marcus Aurelius Arise With Gratitude

Mark Twain Direct Your Learning

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Inner Freedom

Michelangelo Genius is Patience

Mohandas Gandhi Be The Change

Mother Teresa My Personal Mission

Dr. Muhammad Yunus Enable the Poor to End Poverty

Napoleon Hill Desire Drives Achievement

Oprah Winfrey Free Yourself

Oscar Wilde Be Yourself

Pearl S. Buck Enable Women's Dreams

Ralph Waldo Emerson The Gift Within

Richard Bach Problems Bear Gifts

Rudyard Kipling The Power of Questions

Socrates A Life Worth Living

Steve Jobs Live Your Life

Sun Tzu How Leaders Lead

Theodore Roosevelt Do What You Can

Thomas Edison Try Once More

Dr. Victor Frankl The Meaning of Life

Warren Buffet The Tide Reveals

William Shakespeare Destiny Is Within

Sir Winston Churchill Never Give Up

Afterword

Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC! Book Endorsements

# Foreword

"Wisdom to Live your Magic" is Larry Anderson's second book in a planned trilogy to help fulfill his dream of "living his magic". Larry is a self made man in the greatest tradition, but one who recognizes that it takes a philosophy, action and the support and mentoring of many, for one person to achieve their dreams. This book is a part of Larry's gift to others who want to take their lives from normal success to greater significance. Larry's own personal life story, coupled with the wisdom of 50 of the world's most admired and respected people are powerful tools for all to use in planning their own futures.

I have known and admired Larry Anderson for over 30 years as a friend, business colleague and fellow community volunteer. Larry Anderson is a superb teacher - he is authentic, wise, humble, compassionate, creative, curious, passionate, humorous, courageous, a person of integrity and one who takes action when he sees a need or an opportunity. A person of humble and challenging beginnings, he has risen beyond his expectations, but not above his dreams.

Larry learned one of life's most important lessons - the importance of self empowerment. He has utilized a simple formula starting with a strong values foundation. The formula has been: to learn from others, to develop your sense of self worth, to layout a life plan, to take action, to work diligently, to share your success and to mentor others on their journeys.

"Wisdom to Live Your Magic" is a blend of ancient and contemporary wisdom and should appeal to every generation, every background and faith tradition. Larry has done what most of us hope to accomplish - to make a positive mark through our life's journey and then to pass on the lessons which might help others - like the stories and lessons of the 50 remarkable teachers in this book.

The wisdom on the following pages is daunting to absorb with lessons revolving around the search for meaning and relevance in our lives. Most of the lessons teach us of the power of the human spirit and the immense impact which one person can have if we use the gifts which we have all been endowed with. From Aristotle to Shakespeare, Victor Frankl to Steve Jobs; these great teachers show us the way that has been successful over the millennia. While I find many inspiring lives and quotations, I will leave it to the reader to find their own favourites.

I heartily endorse this book whose lessons have the power to positively impact the lives of its readers if they absorb some of the messages and take action in their own lives to live their magic.

Ralph B. Young

Chancellor

University of Alberta

Edmonton, November, 2013

# Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the support of my wife Janet, who encouraged me to write the Live Your MAGIC!(tm) series, and accommodated and protected my need for solitude to read, think, and write. She also acted as a sounding board for all of my ideas, always giving her honest opinion.

I also appreciate the support of my business partners, especially Lewis Nakatsui and Mike Gendron, and my staff, especially Percy Pouliot, Ray Mitchell, Wesley Gunderson, and Stephen Anderson, who allowed, supported, and encouraged me to set aside Wednesdays, beginning in January of 2000, to explore my passion for writing.

For this book, Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!, I thank Glen Stone for his biographical research for each teacher. I thank Mary W. Walters, my book coach and development editor, for guidance, editing and encouragement; you have significantly improved this book.

Finally, I want to thank three people who believed in and encouraged me as a writer.

I met Dave Kirk in the summer of 1953 when I was five years old, at Daily Vacation Bible Camp. He ended up in my grade one class that fall, and in every class until grade nine, when I went to a different school. We were both outsiders and became the closest of friends, and remained so until his premature death in 2005 from cancer. He was the one person with whom I shared my journals throughout my journey, and he repeatedly told me I needed to write a book.

Two other friends, Gerry Riskin and Mary W. Walters, both published authors and friends from university in the 1970s, have consistently encouraged me to write a book. They provided the confidence when mine waned.

Thank you all.

# Preface

I wrote this book to keep a promise I made to a 12-year-old boy in 1959.

The young boy had only two memories of his biological father. He remembered being beaten with a belt at six years of age because he wouldn't drink his milk. And he remembered his mother sobbing because of the abuse she and her son were receiving.

One day, when he was seven, his biological father was gone. There was no explanation. The boy didn't care.

A few years later, his mother married another man, who became the boy's stepfather and who later adopted him. This man was kind and supportive, but he was an alcoholic. Many nights, their tiny home was filled with screaming and arguing, usually about money and alcohol, which grew louder as the drinking continued.

One such night in the middle of winter, the boy lay trembling in his bed in the open basement. There were no curtains on the small windows and all around him the laundry was hanging on lines to dry. A car passed by and the headlights shone through the windows, creating shadow monsters of the laundry. The boy pulled the blankets over his head and retreated into his dreams. That night, he made a promise to himself; if he ever figured out how to make his dreams come true, he would share what he had learned with others.

That young boy was me. I had three dreams: to find a girlfriend and have a loving family; to start my own business and make money; and to travel the world.

At 16, I dropped out of school and left home, to escape the chaos and pursue my dreams.

At 19, I was a lonely, penniless, unemployed high-school dropout, living in a basement room and clinging to the hope that my dreams could still come true.

In my early twenties, one profound insight changed the course of my life in an instant. I realized my past did not have to define my future. I began the journey to live my MAGIC!

At 66, I'm living my dreams. My wife, Janet, and I have been married for 38 years. We have two wonderful adult children, Jennifer and Stephen. I started my first business in 1974, which became part of a business group in 1978 of which I'm president and CEO.

Janet and I are financially independent and we travel six months a year. We have visited every continent except Antarctica (the Antarctic seas are too rough for Janet, but we waved to Antarctica from the Strait of Magellan as we passed the southern tip of South America). This book is part of keeping the promise I made to the 12-year-old me.

For over 40 years, since I was 19, I have kept a journal. These journals were sometimes ten-cent coil notebooks, sometimes leather hardcover volumes, but more typically were small, hardcover notebooks I would carry in my pocket.

In order to answer the question, "How did I make my dreams come true?" I have reviewed my journals five times, and the process of distilling the answer has taken over ten years.

In the end, the answer has three parts: inspiration, wisdom, and the journey. Together, these three parts can show you how to live your MAGIC!

I have written two books, and created a six-episode video series with nine workbooks that together will tell you how to make your dreams come true:

Inspiration to Live Your MAGIC! 75 Inspiring Biographies (the first book, published in 2011)

Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC! Life Lessons from 50 Amazing Teachers (this book, published in 2013)

The Journey to Live Your MAGIC! Five Gifts, Five Choices, Six Tools (a six-episode video series and nine workbooks, written with Sarah Janzen, released in 2013)

To publish these books and other media resources, I established a publishing company called LIAP Media Corp.*

LIAP Media Corp. is a social enterprise. I receive no compensation and all profits are donated to charities that support youth.

Having accomplished the dreams of my 12-year-old self, it is now my dream that these books and other media resources will help you and others to live your dreams through embarking on The Journey to Live Your MAGIC!

Larry Anderson, October 2013

*LIAP is an acronym that stands for Life Is A Promise, a phrase from a quote by Mother Teresa: "Life is a promise, fulfill it."

# Introduction

In Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!(tm) you will meet 50 of the most amazing teachers in human history. I will share a single powerful life lesson that I learned from each teacher - although I learned several life lessons from many of these teachers.

This book is, in part, about meaningful life lessons. However, it is mostly about how to take a life lesson, wherever you discover it, and understand it in the context of your own life, connect it to your dreams and goals, and use it to improve your life.

One of the most amazing teachers in this book, Eleanor Roosevelt, put it this way: "What counts, in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading. It is the ideas stirred in your own mind, the ideas which are a reflection of your own thinking, which make you an interesting person."

It is my experience that at times, understanding the lesson and what it means to you can take years. Other lessons are the answer to a question you have been living with for a long time, and the insight will have an immediate impact in your life.

It takes time to absorb the messages in this book - or the lessons you will learn from your own teachers. It takes us years to build confidence in who we are, even to learn who we are becoming. Be patient with yourself.

For each amazing teacher, I have included a brief biography, an original portrait illustration, and a discussion of the life lesson I learned. This is followed by a selection of quotations from each teacher. Perhaps you can find some wisdom in these quotations for your life.

(Please note that many of the teachers in this book are from a time when it was common practice to use "man" and "he" to refer to both genders. Please don't let this get in the way of the wisdom contained in their words: I am sure that these individuals would have used more gender-neutral terms if they had been alive today.)

After you've read the book, please read the Afterword and meet my mentor, Vivo Saggezza. He will share a technique that I used to understand, connect and apply the life lessons I learned to my life.

# Albert Einstein

(1879-1955)

Albert Einstein is one of the most famous and influential scientists and intellectuals in history. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theory of relativity that revolutionized our understanding of time and space. In 1999, Time Magazine named Einstein the Person of the Century, one hundred top physicists named him the greatest physicist ever, and a Gallup Poll recognized him as the fourth most admired person of the 20th Century.

Einstein was born in Germany; his father was a salesman and engineer. Although intelligent, Einstein had some learning difficulties and rebelled against regimented and rote learning. Still, in 1900, Einstein graduated from the Polytechnic in Zurich with a diploma in mathematics and physics. As a philosopher, Einstein taught us to value curiosity, respect and peace.

### Albert Einstein

### My Greatest Gift

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."

I knew Albert Einstein's name even when I was a child, as everybody does, but it wasn't until I began to read about his life and what he'd written that I learned what an amazing man he had been. He wasn't just a brilliant scientist: he understood human nature, too. One quote of his had a particular impact on me. He said, "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." It wasn't until many years later that I realized how very important that statement was.

The power of that quote led me to read many other things Einstein had written. Another famous quote of his that I love is this one: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

About 14 years ago, I was mulling over a quote by Mother Teresa: "Life is a promise: Fulfill it." And I asked myself, "What is the promise of my life? Am I fulfilling it?"

That was when I realized that I had gifts that I hadn't even known about when I was in my twenties. I knew that everyone has gifts, but I had never thought about the different types of gifts we all possess, and the role each gift plays in fulfilling our promise.

Aptitudes - our talents, including our innate performance excellence and abilities, and our innate understanding or sensory skills - are what we innately do well. I was beginning to understand that these gifts will turn into nothing unless we connect them with two other important gifts, our energy drivers: 1) passion, the driver for performance excellence; and 2) curiosity, the driver for knowledge and understanding. That's when the brilliance of Einstein's quote became clear to me. Einstein was passionately curious.

Later, I came to appreciate that the gift of dreams is what gives direction to our aptitudes, talents and abilities, supported by our drivers of passion and curiosity, to create the new reality we see in our imagination. To really unleash the power of my dreams, I learned to turn them into goals supported by action plans and deadlines. Your imagination connects your gifts to your curiosity, your passion and your dreams.

Today, when I think of that particular quote by Albert Einstein, I realize that I have adapted the words a bit to fit with other things I've learned in my life. So now I think about it this way: "I have no special gifts. I am only passionate and curious." I'm sure that Einstein wouldn't mind the minor change I've made to his original wording in order to put his brilliance to work in my life.

### Albert Einstein

### In His Own Words

A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.

If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x, play is y and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.

A new idea comes suddenly and in a rather intuitive way. But intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience.

The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing.

Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.

Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards men and towards objective things.

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.

# Albert Ellis

(1913-2007)

Albert Ellis was an American psychologist who helped revolutionize psychotherapy. In 1955, he developed Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, a new way of helping people understand and change their own behaviors. A 1982 professional survey of U.S. and Canadian psychologists rated Ellis the second most influential psychotherapist in history - after Carl Rogers, and ahead of Sigmund Freud.

Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1913. His father was a businessman who was often away, and he described his mother as a self-absorbed chatterbox with opinions on most subjects that were rarely supported by facts. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia University in 1947. His legacies include the Albert Ellis Institute and the many books he wrote for professional and general audiences that still influence psychology today.

### Dr. Albert Ellis

### The Power of Beliefs

"Rational beliefs bring us closer to getting good results in the real world."

I learned from Albert Ellis that it is not rational thought but our beliefs that interpret events and trigger our emotional and behavioral responses - and that we don't have to let them do that.

A psychiatric nurse was working with kids with behavioral problems at an elementary school in Edmonton. She was teaching them strategies based on Albert Ellis's principles of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy that would help them manage the emotions that were preventing them from learning effectively. One Saturday, I was a guest at a session she held to show parents how they could help their children with these techniques at home.

I watched these parents become overwhelmed - some even burst into tears - as they realized that they could not only help their kids, they could also use the strategies themselves when their own emotions got out of control.

I have since read everything Ellis has written, and his theories have become a core part of my view of the world. He showed me that we are what we believe. Attitude is nothing but beliefs, and the voices of our negative beliefs prevent us from moving forward.

It is a simple but profound model: A leads to B, leads to C.

Here is an example. Let us say that you are cut after the second round of tryouts for a sports team. (This is the activating event, Block A, in the diagram above.)

If one of your beliefs (B) is, "I must make the team to be popular," or "I am worthless if I don't make the team," now you'll get anxious and depressed. That is called the "consequent emotion" (C).

We tend to "awful"-ize things. But we can change our irrational beliefs by asking questions like: "What is the evidence for my must/should?" (e.g., "Why did I believe that I was worthless if I didn't make the team?"). We can ask, "Why is this situation terrible? Why is it awful? Why can't I stand it?"

In Ellis's view, we just need to add a D and an E to the ABC model to move forward. If we change the wording of our belief only slightly - in this case from "I must make the team" to "I prefer to make the team" (D), our emotional responses change immediately (E).

Until I read Ellis, I thought that we had to get our self-limiting beliefs right out of our heads in order to avoid negative emotional responses. Now, I realize we just need to change them a little.

### Dr. Albert Ellis

### In His Own Words

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.

Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they're alive and human.

People have motives and thoughts of which they are unaware.

People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness.

Happiness is experienced largely in striving towards a goal, not in having attained things, because our nature is always to want to go on to the next endeavor.

There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.

# Anaïs Nin

(1903 - 1977)

Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author who became famous for her personal diaries, which spanned 60 years and gave fresh insights into the many famous people she knew. Her writing was embraced by early feminists who admired her independent, free-living lifestyle at a time (nearly 100 years ago) when women had their roles limited by society.

Nin was born in France to an artistic family; her father was a composer and pianist living in Cuba and her mother a classically trained singer. Moving to the United States when her parents separated, Nin abandoned formal schooling at age 16 to become a dancer and model. Although mostly self-taught, her writings (ranging from her diaries to analyses of literature and erotic fiction) continue to be widely read and studied.

### Anaïs Nin

### How We See

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

"We see things as we are." What does that mean?

Well, let us start with what we "are."

What we are is what we believe. Our beliefs interpret things, events and people, and give them meaning. Our interpretations or judgments are driven by our beliefs and, in particular, by our personal values - the things we consider to be important in our lives.

If you believe fashion is the most important thing in life, then you see people from the context of their fashion choices and your beliefs about what constitutes good fashion. If you believe attaining wealth is the most important thing in life, then you look at opportunities in the context of how much money you can "make" from them. If you believe that football is life (and I can hear some of you saying, "Who doesn't?"), then playing or watching football and cheering for your chosen team is a big part of your life - and doing that, to the exclusion of other activities, is an obvious choice for you.

It is as though you are wearing glasses, where the lenses are your core values through which you see (interpret) the world.

If we understand that each person has a different set of beliefs, and that therefore different people experience the same things and events completely differently, we gain a deeper understanding of other people. In addition, when we understand that how we view things is based on our beliefs, this can open us to examining our core beliefs and, maybe, choosing to adjust our priorities.

Throughout life, our experiences change us, and change our perceptions. Meeting someone and falling in love, the birth of a child or a grandchild, starting a business or connecting to a charity - these and many other things can alter our personal values and our priorities in an instant.

If you want to know what your personal values are, examine where you spend your time and money. You may then wish to examine these choices and see if they serve you well.

We all see the world from our own perspectives, but we have power over those perspectives.

### Anaïs Nin

### In Her Own Words

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.

How wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.

Do not seek the because - in love there is no because, no reason, no explanation, no solutions.

You don't find love, it finds you. It's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars.

# Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher whose ideas have deeply influenced science, philosophy and religion for more than two thousand years. He is known as the father of logical, scientific thinking. Although many of his scientific beliefs were later proved wrong, other of his discoveries in physics, biology and zoology were centuries ahead of their time.

Aristotle was born near modern-day Thessaloniki, Greece. His father was physician to the King of Macedon, so Aristotle was raised as an aristocrat and studied under the greatest thinker of the time, the famous Plato. Aristotle's theories were the basis of modern science, and his works on philosophy and ethics helped form the teachings of religions and philosophers that are still held in high regard to this day.

# Aristotle

### The Purpose of Life

"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."

When I first read this quotation from Aristotle, I thought it was simplistic. I reasoned that Aristotle had lived a long time ago and perhaps life was less complicated then. After many years of study, however, I have come to the conclusion that Aristotle was correct; the quest for happiness is indeed universal. After all, whose life quest is to be unhappy?

The challenge lies in finding the difference between what we believe will make us happy versus what actually does make us happy.

Discovering where happiness comes from is the process of finding fulfillment. Many people assume that happiness comes from making money, which will allow them to buy things. In my experience and observation, happiness comes from serving other people - and I don't mean "serving" in the sense of "volunteering," I mean using our own gifts for the benefit of others in a way that is meaningful to us. (This may, in fact, be the way we earn our living.)

So how do we figure out which of our gifts will allow us to find happiness by serving others? Aristotle talked about that, too, when he said, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." This search can take years. Be patient.

The journey begins with accepting yourself. So many of us are trying to be someone else. So first you have to accept yourself as you are. The next step is to believe in yourself.

From there, your instincts will guide you toward knowledge of what will make you happy, and the ways in which you need to treat others in order to be fulfilled.

We all need to work on "becoming" ourselves. We need to become ourselves more and more every day - and on that journey, we need to be our own best friends.

### Aristotle

### In His Own Words

Happiness is the settling of the soul into its most appropriate spot.

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.

For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing.

To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious of our own existence.

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.

The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.

Education is the best provision for old age.

Hope is a waking dream.

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

# Benjamin Franklin

(1706-1790)

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was an author, printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, statesman and diplomat. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early passionate campaign for American independence. He founded the first public lending library and the first fire department in Pennsylvania, invented a wide range of items (from the lightning rod to bifocals), and was a popular writer.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a soap- and candle-maker. He attended Boston Latin School but did not graduate; he continued his education through voracious reading. Franklin was influential in defining the American way of life with a combination of practical values - such as thrift, hard work and education - and democratic values, including self-government and opposition to unfair authority.

### Benjamin Franklin

### The Best Investment

"This library afforded me the means of improvement by constant study, for which I set apart an hour or two each day."

The lessons I learned from Benjamin Franklin relate to self-improvement. Specifically, Franklin demonstrated that journal-keeping is an excellent way to plan, organize and monitor a self-improvement program throughout your life. For me, this was an important addition to what I already knew about self-improvement: that it involves discovering yourself and becoming yourself.

When Benjamin Franklin was 20, he created a list of 12 virtues that he intended to use to guide his life. He wrote them down in his journal and began his efforts to put them into practice. After some time had passed, a friend told him that he was seen as a "proud" person, so he added a thirteenth virtue - humility - to his list. Franklin worked on his 13 virtues for his entire life, and he kept track of his progress in his journal.

After I'd read what Benjamin Franklin had done, I started keeping a journal, too. From Franklin, I learned how to use a journal to organize my thinking as well as to use it for self-discovery and self-improvement.

In addition to Benjamin Franklin, two other very significant individuals from the past showed me the importance of keeping a journal; one was Leonardo da Vinci and the other was Anne Frank. It has been a very important part of my own journey through life.

Benjamin Franklin also taught me how use my journal to make better decisions. I would frame the decision as a "yes" or a "no" question, divide the journal page into two columns, and list the pros in one column and the cons in the other column. Next, I would weight each item on the lists for importance from one to five. Then, I would total the value of the pros and cons, reflect, and make the decision.

Benjamin Franklin was largely self-educated, and he helped others to educate themselves as well; his concept of the public lending library has become an important feature of almost every municipality in North America and Europe, allowing millions of people access to books and other materials they would never otherwise have seen.

What is the best investment? Benjamin Franklin says, "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

### Benjamin Franklin

### In His Own Words

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

Never confuse Motion with Action.

You may delay, but time will not.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read.

Many people die at twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five.

If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.

Well done is better than well said.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

There never was a good war or a bad peace.

# Bill Gates

(1955 - present)

Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft, the inventor of Windows software and one of the world's great philanthropists. His computer innovations and powerful business mind made him the youngest self-made billionaire in the world at age twenty-three, and he has been ranked as one of the richest people in the world for nearly twenty years.

Gates was born to a wealthy family in Seattle, Washington. His father was a prominent lawyer and his family sent him to an exclusive private school to prepare him for a career in law. However, Gates's genius with computers (then a new innovation in schools) prompted him to leave Harvard University before completing a degree in order to start Microsoft. Today he devotes most of his time to charity and has donated billions of dollars of his personal fortune to worthy causes worldwide.

### Bill Gates

### Make An Impact

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."

I have read that there is a sign on many office doors at Microsoft which features the company's cartoon icon, "The Blue Monster," and the words, "Change the world, or go home."

In many ways, both in his work with Microsoft and through the philanthropic initiatives for which he and his wife Melinda are deservedly celebrated, Bill Gates has changed - and continues to change - the world.

One of the key strategies through which Bill Gates serves as a role model for me and for many others is his determination and capacity to amplify the work of other people. Bill and Melinda Gates know that they can't solve all of the world's problems themselves, so they provide support for initiatives that allow other people's talents to reach a wider population.

One of my favorite quotes from Bill Gates is this: "Humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries, but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity." By ensuring that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation thrives on its partnerships, Gates is using the resources he has accumulated through his own business acumen to help others use their knowledge and talent to change the world as well.

My own philanthropy focuses on awakening and empowering youth to live their promise, and celebrating them when they do. The Larry and Janet Anderson Philanthropies do this through the media we create, by collaborating with our partners in education, the arts and charity, and by providing scholarships. We believe that the best way to improve the world is to be a catalyst to enable youth to solve the problems.

### Bill Gates

### In His Own Words

Humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries, but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions they will be moved to act.

When everyone has access to good health care, the world will be transformed.

The remarkable thing about great teachers . . . is that in most cases nobody taught them how to be great. They figured it out on their own.

The world is getting a lot better. The problem is, it's not getting better fast enough, and it's not getting better for everyone. One billion people live on less than a dollar a day.

Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world . . . if you do so, you are insulting yourself.

Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.

If you give people tools, and they use their natural ability and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.

It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Often you have to rely on intuition.

# Black Elk

(1863 - 1950)

Black Elk was the "medicine man" or spiritual leader of the powerful Oglala Sioux tribe of Native North Americans. He helped lead his people through their tragic years after losing the battle against the spread of the Europeans and Americans across the United States, and he is remembered for helping preserve Native American traditions for future generations.

Black Elk was born in the Powder River Country of Wyoming, traditional home of the Oglala Sioux. He had no formal education, but learned from the elders of his tribe and had his first magical "vision" at age nine. While he became a holy man, he also fought in battles with the U.S. Cavalry and toured with the famous Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. His personal memoirs of life and Sioux traditions are still studied by Native American peoples today.

### Black Elk

### The Sacred Gift of Peace

"Peace will come to the hearts of men when they realize their oneness with the universe. It is everywhere."

Many years ago in a Vancouver library, I found myself drawn to the section on Native American culture and spirituality; there, my life was changed. Black Elk was one of the people whose story had a great impact on me.

What he said reinforced the notion I'd already had that we all have an "inner guide." I believe we have three kinds of voices in our heads. The first is our ego - and that one can be pretty harsh and noisy. Then there is the often critical voice that comes from our beliefs, which are usually given to us by other people. This voice can stop us from moving forward. The third voice is calm and peaceful, and it comes from inside us. It may be called our "spirit" or "intuition."

Most of us don't take enough time to be alone, which is the only way we can hear that calm inner voice. When we listen to it, it guides us, and provides us with a sacred peace. It gives us the sense that what we are doing is "right."

In my experience, when I get this feeling of calm, it doesn't mean I know where I am ultimately going, I just know that I am heading in the right direction. It is as though I am on a dark path, and I can see a bit of light, and it feels right to move towards it.

Many individuals have talked about the importance of listening to that inner voice, but what made Black Elk's words distinctive to me were his assertions that the voice is sacred.

When Black Elk says, "The power of a thing or an act is in the meaning and the understanding," intention takes on a deeper purpose. The intention to know ourselves and believe in ourselves becomes a path toward self-healing and toward finding inner peace. We recognize that our inner peace is part of the spirit of the universe - or, as Black Elk tells us more eloquently, "All over the sky a sacred voice is calling your name."

### Black Elk

### In His Own Words

The Great Spirit is everywhere; he hears whatever is in our minds and our hearts, and it is not necessary to speak to Him in a loud voice.

The Holy Land is everywhere.

Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.

The earth can heal herself; all we have to do is stop making her sick.

Grown men may learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.

Any man who is attached to things of this world is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by the snakes of his own passions.

There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which . . . is within the souls of men.

# Confucius

(551 BC - 479 BC)

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and thinker whose ideas and values helped form the basis of Chinese society. His teachings spread across the country and became the standard for good living and wisdom in China. His famous sayings, including, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself," were taught in schools and collected in books.

Confucius was born into a poor but noble family near the city of Qufu, China. His father, a distinguished soldier, died when Confucius was three, leaving the family in poverty. Forced to educate himself, Confucius rose from shepherd to clerk to bookkeeper, and eventually became a highly placed government official. Dissatisfied with the system of patronage and bribery in government, he developed his philosophy of personal responsibility, high morals and family loyalty that is still honoured in modern China.

### Confucius

### Live Your Moral Values

"To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle."

This quotation raised a few questions in my mind. It made me ask myself, "What is a principle?" and "How does a principle differ from a virtue or a value?"

After much thought, and investigation of several translations of Confucius's writings, I have learned that Principles are the rules you believe guide morally correct behavior. They are the code by which you live.

Examples of commonly held Principles are the Golden Rule, the Buddhist Eightfold Path, and the Ten Commandments. Vegetarians may have the principle not to eat meat.

Your Principles are rooted in your Core Moral Values: these are the virtues you will not abandon or compromise under any condition. "Virtues" are qualities you deem are morally good or desirable in a person, and they are the core of your value system. They define your character.

When you follow the Principle of the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - you are living the moral virtues of being trustworthy (honest, fair, loyal), respectful (courteous, sincere, accepting) and helpful (industrious, responsible, supportive). I think of these as "relationship values."

One of the Confucian analects, or sayings, is this: "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles." I am not a scholar, but I have come to interpret this to mean that we should live these virtues. To put this teaching into modern language, Confucius tells us to be honest, trustworthy, loyal and authentic. We need to ensure that the views we express are congruent with our inner feelings.

My character is defined by the moral values by which I live.

Arising from our principles and moral values are our core personal values. These are our personal preferences: what we deem most important in our life at this time. They are where we focus our time, energy and resources. They evolve at different stages of life, and they define our priorities.

Some common core personal values are: education, career, success, money, fame, family, friends, nature, and travel.

### Confucius

### In His Own Words

To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.

In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself.

Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?

When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact.

# Dale Carnegie

(1888 - 1955)

Dale Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer who developed very successful courses in self-improvement, public speaking and personal skills. He popularized the idea that you can influence other people's behavior by the way that you react to them, and taught that anyone can become more successful and happier by developing his or her true potential.

Carnegie was born in poverty on a farm in Missouri. Although he had to get up at 4 a.m. to milk the family cows, he managed to earn a university scholarship in education. After a successful career as a salesman, he pursued his dream of teaching, and became one of the most popular educators in the United States. His books, particularly How to Win Friends and Influence People, remain best-sellers nearly a hundred years later.

### Dale Carnegie

### Listen To Understand

"Listen first. Give your opponents a chance to talk. Let them finish. Do not resist, defend or debate. This only raises barriers. Try to build bridges

of understanding."

Listening is the most important communication skill. When coupled with a sincere desire to understand the other person's viewpoint and to discover the other person's interests and goals, listening becomes an unmatched tool for problem-solving and relationship-building. Dale Carnegie's acclaimed, world-famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, is really a book about human relations.

I've noticed that in conversations, participants too often focus on waiting for their turn to speak - thinking about what they are going to say next, rather than concentrating on what the other person is saying. Too often, we fail to actually hear and understand what people are saying to us.

When I focus on listening to the people with whom I am talking, and ask questions to understand their points, they feel that they have been heard. And I feel connected. Real communication takes place. Then it can be my turn to talk and be heard. The people with whom I can consistently have these kinds of conversations are rare, special friends. I always have time to have coffee with them.

In my roles as salesperson, manager and leader, I often need to become a problem solver. I have found that listening is usually the most effective way to understand a problem before you try to solve it. In fact, understanding the problem will often reveal its solution.

I was nineteen when I first read How to Win Friends and Influence People. I have reread it many times since, and I always learn new things from it. In my opinion, every person should read this book.

### Dale Carnegie

### In His Own Words

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain \- and most do.

Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.

You will never get into trouble by admitting that you may be wrong.

The only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Our trouble is not ignorance, but inaction.

The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today.

When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.

You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.

# Dean Ornish

(1953 - present)

Dean Ornish is an American doctor, professor and researcher, and founder of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He is famous for proving that changing one's lifestyle can prevent heart disease and even reverse it. He recommends a low-fat diet combined with yoga, meditation, and regular exercise. His program has been shown to be an effective alternative to drugs and surgery.

Dr. Ornish was born in Texas, where he earned his B.A. and medical degrees. He has received a multitude of awards, been a consultant to the U.S. government and the United Nations, and was named one of the fifty most influential people of his generation by Life magazine. His lifestyle-based approach to health is now endorsed by every leading medical organization.

### Dean Ornish

### Love Is The Answer

"I am not aware of any other factor in medicine that has a greater impact on our survival than the healing power of love and intimacy. Not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery."

In August of 1983, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, probably caused by a bout of flu I'd contracted earlier in the year. I was in bad shape. I was hallucinating from fluid on my brain. I had swelling of the legs and ankles, and I found it difficult to breathe or to sleep lying down. I couldn't walk a block; even climbing one flight of stairs was difficult. My cardiologist told me I was not likely to live until Christmas, and that I should get my affairs in order.

I was given diuretics and heart medications and I went to bed, where I slept and rested for six weeks. During that time, I lost a significant amount of weight, dramatically reducing the fluid in my body. I decided to get a second opinion, and the new cardiologist responded differently. He gradually adjusted and updated my medications. (He didn't tell me until years later that, at the time, he also did not think that I would live too long.)

During this recovery period, I came across a book entitled Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease. Needless to say, I read it. But I balked at several of his recommendations. "Vegetarian? Me? No way!" I said. "This guy is insane!"

But I was desperate to get well, and when I learned that Dr. Ornish held one-week retreats for people with heart disease, I decided I would try a little open-mindedness and I signed up.

There are four pillars to Dr. Ornish's program for reversing heart disease.

The first one is diet. Dr. Ornish recommends a low-fat vegetarian diet. I am still not a vegetarian, but fruit and vegetables form the largest part of my diet. I eat some whole grains, raw nuts, low-fat dairy, small servings of fish, skinless chicken breast and, once a week, red meat.

The second pillar is exercise. I have made moderate exercise a regular part of my life ever since I attended the retreat. My exercise level is appropriate for my cardio condition.

The third pillar is stress reduction, for which Dr. Ornish recommends yoga and guided meditation. I took Dr. Ornish's advice in this area as well. Exercise also helps to reduce stress.

The fourth pillar of Dr. Ornish's program made my jaw drop. I learned from Dr. Ornish that when you feel loved, nurtured, cared for, supported and intimate, it does more good for your health and happiness than any other aspect of your lifestyle. Most of us who are trying to improve our health will work on the diet and exercise and neglect the last two pillars: stress reduction, and love and intimacy. All four pillars are important.

I attribute the fact that I am still alive to my medical care, lifestyle modifications, and the loving relationships I have with my wonderful wife, Jan, my children, and my friends. I am grateful.

### Dean Ornish

### In His Own Words

Heart health is not just about getting our cholesterol down or preventing something bad from happening. It's about finding love and intimacy, which give our lives a sense of joy and meaning.

It's easy to make fun of these ideas and call them "touchy-feely" or "soft," but in many ways they are the most powerful and most healing.

We are constantly learning new pathways through which chronic emotional stress leads to illness. In the case of heart disease, stress can cause your arteries to constrict, it can cause your blood to clot faster, it can make the blockages in your arteries build up more quickly - all of which can lead to chest pain or heart attacks.

The first step in healing is awareness. So if we understand how much love, intimacy and a feeling of connectedness matter, not only in the quality of our lives but in the quantity, or the length, of them, then we can begin saying, "Well, gee, it may be scary to let down my emotional defenses, but it's worth it." And it's important to remember that this doesn't happen overnight; it's part of a lifelong process.

Forgiveness is another important pathway to learning to open our hearts. It's part of virtually every religious tradition. Forgiveness doesn't wipe the slate clean or mean that all actions are condoned. But it does free us from the anger, guilt, stress and fear that separate us from others and get in the way of true intimacy.

# Dolly Parton

(1946 - present)

Dolly Parton is an American singer-songwriter and actress who has become one of the most successful country music artists of all time. Her 41 top-ten country albums and 25 number-one singles include a hit in each of the last five decades. She is known to her fans as "The Queen of Country Music."

Parton was one of twelve children raised in a one-room cabin by poverty-stricken parents in the mountains of Tennessee. She began singing as a child on local radio shows, and ended her education after high school to pursue her musical and acting career. Never forgetting her roots, Parton has used her fame and fortune to invest in businesses in Tennessee - including her own theme park - and to help upcoming musicians.

### Dolly Parton

### A Matter Of Character

"It doesn't bother me when someone calls me a 'dumb blonde.'

I'm neither dumb nor blonde."

This is one of my favorite quotes from Dolly Parton. It shows that people can be wrong when they label you, even when there is every indication that they are right.

You see, Dolly always wears a wig in public. So she may look like a blonde, but that doesn't mean she is one. And she sure as heck isn't dumb.

In addition to being a singer, songwriter and actor, Dolly Parton is a business woman and a philanthropist.

"I've always been a writer," she has said. "My songs are the door to every dream I've ever had, and every success I've ever achieved."

Dolly has composed more than 3,000 songs. Her most famous song is "I Will Always Love You," made famous by Whitney Houston. Her favorite song is "Coat of Many Colors."

With these two songs in particular, Dolly Parton reminds us of how important it is to express our love for others, and of the importance of remembering where we came from.

The performer "Dolly Parton" is a character, created by Dolly Parton, the person. As far as I'm concerned, Dolly is also a person of character. Character is giving back to your community, and no one does that better than Dolly Parton. Her philanthropy puts these two important lessons to work.

The Dollywood Theme Park, which opened in 1986, was established to preserve Dolly's Smoky Mountain heritage and the East Tennessee lifestyle. Her plan to honor her beloved Great Smoky Mountains and to help create more jobs for her neighbors and family there has been an incredible success. Dollywood has become the number one attraction in the state of Tennessee, with over two million visitors annually, and the entertainment theme park currently employs approximately 1,900 people during its peak season.

The Dolly Parton Wellness and Rehabilitation Centre, a branch of the Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center, was established in 1987.

And then there is the Dollywood Foundation (1988). Thanks to this initiative, every child in Sevier County, Tennessee, the area where Dolly was born and raised, is eligible to receive a free, age-appropriate book each month in the mail until the age of five. Since it was established, this program has expanded to more than 1,600 local communities in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. The program can be implemented outside Tennessee by private organizations, and the Foundation is responsible for the distribution of books in those participating communities.

How incredible is that?

### Dolly Parton

### In Her Own Words

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!

When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next.

Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else.

If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader.

I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren't in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.

I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give 'em yours!

They think I'm simple-minded because I seem to be happy. Why shouldn't I be happy? I have everything I ever wanted and more. Maybe I am simple-minded. Maybe that's the key: simple.

The magic is inside you. There ain't no crystal ball.

Storms make trees take deeper roots.

Cause I am strong and I can prove it

And I got my dreams to see me through

It's just a mountain, I can move it

And with faith enough there's nothing I can't do.

(Excerpt from the lyrics of "Light of a Clear Blue Morning")

# Earl Nightingale

(1921 - 1989)

Earl Nightingale was an American broadcaster and motivational speaker whose popular radio programs, recordings and books made him a household name in the 1950s. His motivational album, "The Strangest Secret," was the first spoken-word gold record ever, and his radio program, Our Changing World, became the most syndicated in history, heard in more than thirty countries.

Nightingale was born in Los Angeles in 1921, and his father abandoned his family to poverty in the middle of the Great Depression. Without a chance for much formal education, Nightingale taught himself with library books. After becoming a successful radio announcer, he began sharing his philosophy that "We become what we think about." His "Strangest Secret" recording is still the top-selling audio message in the self-help industry today.

### Earl Nightingale

### Choose Your Thoughts

"You are now, and you do become,  
what you think about."

I will never forget the first time I heard "The Strangest Secret," the LP audio recording by Earl Nightingale. "The Strangest Secret" had been recorded in 1956, when Nightingale was 35, and it answered a question that had haunted him since he'd been a youth. That question was, "Why are some people able to raise themselves out of poverty and succeed, when others who seemingly work very hard cannot?"

None of the adults Earl knew had been able provide a satisfactory response to the question, so he had begun to search for the answer in books. He'd read voraciously, but it was not until he was 35 that he'd found the answer to his question. That was when he wrote and recorded "The Strangest Secret."

The recording was originally played at a sales meeting, and the response was overwhelming. Everybody wanted copies. Earl approached Columbia Records, and the company agreed to turn it into a long-playing record. Before long, more than one million copies had been sold. I bought one of those vinyl recordings in 1972.

Earl opens the recording with a quote from Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the author and Nobel Prize winner, who had responded when a reporter asked, "What's wrong with men today?" with these words: "Men simply don't think." Earl Nightingale says, "It is about this that I want to talk to you . . . ." And that is the start of "The Strangest Secret."

I was so impressed with "The Strangest Secret" that I began to listen to Earl Nightingale's daily radio program, Our Changing World. On that show, his brilliant self-help ideas were broadcast around the world.

I had the opportunity to meet Earl Nightingale in 1974, when he spoke at a sales conference in Chicago for the company I worked for. I had won the trip to Chicago as the firm's Top Salesman in Canada. In no small way, the ideas on "The Strangest Secret" had been responsible for my being at that meeting, and I felt privileged to share that information with the man who had created the recording.

The "strangest secret" is that you become what you think about - but that sounds simpler than it is. I recommend that you listen to the recording to understand what Earl Nightingale meant by that statement - and how you can use the information to transform your life. "The Strangest Secret" is available online.

### Earl Nightingale

### In His Own Words

Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality.

We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it.

You do not read a book for the book's sake, but for your own.

Your world is a living expression of how you are using and have used your mind.

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.

A person who does not read is no better than one who cannot read.

When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.

The only way to earn money is by providing people with services or products which are needed and useful.

You must reap that which you sow. If you sow negative thoughts, your life will be filled with negative things. If you sow positive thoughts, your life will be cheerful, successful, and positive.

By being persistent, you're demonstrating faith. Persistence is simply another word for faith. If you didn't have faith, you'd never persist.

# Eleanor Roosevelt

(1884 - 1962)

Eleanor Roosevelt was a "First Lady of the United States" (she was the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and she became a diplomat and champion of human and civil rights around the world. A strong supporter of the United Nations when it was founded in 1945, she was chosen as the American delegate to the UN, and led the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The niece of another U.S. President - Theodore Roosevelt - Eleanor Roosevelt was born into a very wealthy family in New York City. As a child, she was privately tutored, then attended a private school in England. Her fight for human rights and the equality of women led President Harry S. Truman to describe her as "First Lady of the World," and a 1999 Gallup poll found she was one of the top ten most admired people of the twentieth century.

### Eleanor Roosevelt

### Become A Great Mind

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

I was introduced to the ideas of Eleanor Roosevelt when I first read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, which includes the words quoted above. These words led me to evaluate significant conversations I had with various people. I discovered that I have a very short attention span for discussing everyday events, although I get pleasure from discussing the pursuit of goals, travel and (briefly) golf. I have little time for gossip and talking about other people except in my role as a manager. My most enduring friendships are with people whose primary interests include discussing ideas, asking insightful questions, pursuing self-improvement, and selflessly supporting others and society.

The message I received from Eleanor Roosevelt's brilliant observation is this: what you discuss feeds what you think; what you think shapes your life; choose carefully what you spend most of your time discussing.

Eleanor Roosevelt believed in talking about great ideas, and she was the originator of many great ideas herself. Her ideas are expressed with such clarity that I immediately understand what she is saying. Understanding what she is saying is not the same as being able to apply her words to my life. Applying her words takes more than understanding; it requires accepting and believing what she is saying and, most importantly, living it.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." This idea, too, is simple and clear, and as soon as I read these words I immediately agreed with them. Still, it takes real discipline and effort to live according to this wisdom. It requires self-acceptance, a commitment to self-development, and the realization of one's own potential. This is the journey that is made possible by being one's own best friend, despite the opinions of others. Empowering ideas are the tickets for that journey.

### Eleanor Roosevelt

### In Her Own Words

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.

Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

One of the best ways of enslaving a people is to keep them from education.

The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now.

Example is the best lesson there is.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.

Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth.

I have never felt that anything really mattered but the satisfaction of knowing that you stood for the things in which you believed and had done the very best you could.

# Ernest Hemingway

(1899 - 1961)

Ernest Hemingway was an American author and journalist, known for his adventurous life as well as his Nobel-prize-winning literature. His simple, direct and powerful style of writing helped make books like A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea into best-sellers that have influenced generations of writers.

Hemingway was born in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, his father a doctor and his mother a concert musician. He never attended university, leaving high school to become a newspaper reporter, then an ambulance driver in World War I. His adventures as a war correspondent, amateur boxer and bullfighting fan, as well as his short stories and novels, have been the basis for many movies and books.

### Ernest Hemingway

### Write The Truth

"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."

This challenge from Ernest Hemingway seemed doable, and I embraced it as soon as I encountered it. In the many years since, I have made a real effort to fulfill its mandate by challenging myself every day to write down one truth in my journals — the kind of truth that can inform the course of my life. Every day I try to capture one true insight, or shape one question seeking an insight that attempts to find the truth. Some days I feel like I have succeeded. Other days, less so.

A byproduct of this effort over time - to focus on writing one really good sentence every day - is what I suspect was Hemingway's real intention; my writing has become clearer and more focused.

These are some of my favorite sentences that I have created using Hemingway's dictum. Not all are original wisdom; some are ideas from other people that I have rephrased.

You cannot see or touch the most valuable gifts of life; you feel them in your heart.

The time we spend in the past and in the future is time we spend away from life; life lives in the present.

The most powerful story I tell is the story I tell myself, about myself.

Sometimes knowledge is a barrier to wisdom: knowledge is information; wisdom is truth.

How I spend my time, and how I spend my money, reveal my true values.

Kindness is the gift you give someone else that makes you feel better about yourself.

When one person's life purpose goes unfulfilled, we are all diminished and eternity mourns.

Trust is the foundation of all enduring relationships.

Hemingway wrote stories in which he captured the truth of life's emotions that made his characters and his stories resonate with readers. It is my sense that this was the "truth" he was talking about in his dictum. Still, the exercise worked well for me in identifying universal "truth" that could help guide my life. The lesson is what you make of it. And that is the truth.

### Ernest Hemingway

### In His Own Words

Eschew the monumental. Shun the Epic. All the guys who can paint great big pictures can paint great small ones.

As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.

Write hard and clear about what hurts.

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

It wasn't by accident that the Gettysburg address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of mathematics, of physics.

That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best — make it all up — but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way.

All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

All good books have one thing in common — they are truer than if they had really happened.

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the Romance of the unusual.

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

# George Lucas

(1944 - present)

George Lucas is an American film-maker who has created some of the most popular movies of all time, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. He created the Industrial Light and Magic special effects company, helping to revolutionize film-making with computer-generated images. One of the richest film-makers in Hollywood (at the time of this writing, he was worth an estimated $3.2 billion), Lucas has pledged to give half of his wealth to charity.

Lucas was born in California to a couple who owned a stationery store. He went to a local college to study anthropology but soon became fascinated with movies and earned his graduate degree in film-making from the University of Southern California. Nominated for four Academy Awards, he was given an honorary Oscar in 1991, and was named one of "The 100 Greatest Americans" by Discovery Channel.

### George Lucas

### Keep Hope Alive

"The secret is just not to give up hope. It's very hard not to because if you're really doing something worthwhile, I think you will be pushed to the brink of hopelessness before you come through the other side."

There have been many times in my life when it has been difficult to "keep hope alive."

In the late 1960s, as a high-school dropout working at a series of dead-end jobs, I struggled to see how I could ever live the life I dreamt about. I had three dreams: to start my own business and become financially independent; to find a girl friend with whom I could have a happy family; and to travel the world.

At one point, when I was barely clinging to the possibility that my dreams could ever come true, an insight renewed my hope. I realized that I needed to stop being an expert about what I couldn't do, and instead I needed to become an expert about what I could do. I decided to return to school. I continued to support myself by working at a gas station and a restaurant, but they no longer seemed dead-end; now they were jobs that would enable my future.

In the early 1980s, as an owner of a new small home-building company, my partners and I were devastated by a quick and severe reversal in the economy. Housing starts in our city dropped by 87 percent. Again, the secret to regaining hope was to develop a new approach to our situation: a new strategy. We needed to survive long enough that we could prosper when the economy improved, so "survival" became our objective and our goal. And we succeeded.

Within the next few years, we built a foundation of relationships with our staff, developers and suppliers. We learned how to earn a profit in desperate conditions. We developed a new business plan, and implemented it as the economy improved and prospered.

These are just two examples of periods in my life when hope was hard to sustain. Life is difficult at times. Problems can seem insurmountable, and sometimes they are. But if you can re-imagine your dream, a new plan can keep hope alive.

Today, I have earned enough money to live the life I want. In 2013, my wife Janet and I celebrate 38 years of marriage. We have two wonderful adult children and we travel six months a year.

My own experience has shown me that you need to keep hope alive, for hope enables dreams to come true.

### George Lucas

### In His Own Words

Everybody has talent and it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is.

Every single day is a gift, and I wanted to make the most of it.

Part of the issue of achievement is to be able to set realistic goals. That was one of the hardest things for me to do.

Mostly I just followed my inner feelings and passions, and said "I like this, and I like this," and I just kept going to where it got warmer and warmer, until it finally got hot, and then that's where I was.

A talent is a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in . . .[and also] . . .skills that you have a natural ability to do very well. And usually those two things go together.

If you want to be successful in a particular field of endeavor, I think perseverance is one of the key qualities.

Human nature means battling constantly between being completely self-absorbed and trying to be a communal creature. Nature makes you a communal creature.

My success wasn't based on how I could push down everybody that was around me. My success was based on how much I could push everybody up.

After a lot of struggling and sort of reflection I realized that the time you have to give is now, regardless of how old you are.

# George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

George Washington, known as "The Father of his Country," led the American war for independence from Britain, presided over the writing of the U.S. Constitution, and became the first president of the United States. His heroism in battle and wisdom in government have given him a lasting reputation as one of the greatest Americans in history.

Washington was born to a wealthy plantation family in Virginia, which was then a British colony. Home schooled by his father and older brother, Washington became a surveyor and successful soldier. In his capacity as commander in chief of the American army, he triumphed over superior British forces and helped lay the foundations for American government. He is commemorated in the names of U.S. cities, mountains and streets, and his face appears on American money and the famous Mount Rushmore sculpture.

### George Washington

### Your Life Is Your Message

"Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence."

In my twenties, I resolved to be the best person I could be, believing that in the end, my example would be the most significant message I could give to my children and to others. Over time, I was surprised to observe that, more than anything else, it was the way I dealt with my oversights and bad behaviors that seemed to have the most impact on others.

The lessons of many of the Great Teachers in this book relate to the importance of becoming a person of good character - of having good moral values, having good relationship values, treating others as we would like to be treated, and being careful what we select as the principles and priorities for our lives. Thanks to the words of George Washington, I have come to see that in addition to setting an example with our positive behaviors, we can also set a good example when we make mistakes.

When I do something I am ashamed of, I hold myself accountable and I try to make amends in the most appropriate way. I do what is required, without quibbling or delay. I don't make excuses or blame others.

These are some of the things I make a determined effort to do - and not because it sets an example so much as because it allows me to live an authentic life:

I apologize - sincerely - when I say or do something inappropriate;

Rather than blaming others or circumstances, I apologize when I make a commitment and don't deliver, and I do what I can to make things right;

When someone says something inappropriate to me and later apologizes, I accept the apology and do my best to forgive that person;

When someone makes a commitment to me and doesn't deliver, but then apologizes and promises to make it right, I accept the apology and am open to a fair form of restitution.

None of us is perfect, nor should we expect ourselves - or anyone else - to be. People don't expect perfection. They do expect justice and fairness in the face of human failings. One of the most important things others look at in defining your example is how you choose to respond to your own failings and the failings of others. (Everything you do is a choice, including blaming others or circumstances for your shortcomings.)

Our life is our most powerful lesson to others. Our life is our message. And demonstrating that we can learn from our mistakes - even significant mistakes - and that we can forgive ourselves and others, and improve, is a very positive part of the message we convey.

### George Washington

### In His Own Words

Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.

Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's own mind, than on the externals in the world.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence.

When a man does all that he can, though it succeeds not well, blame him not.

Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.

Nothing is a greater stranger to my breast, or a sin that my soul more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.

When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.

Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.

### George Bernard Shaw

(1856 - 1950)

George Bernard Shaw is the only person to have earned both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar - the Nobel Prize for his books, poems and plays, and the Oscar for his work on the movie adaptation of his play Pygmalion (later popularized as the musical, My Fair Lady). He was also a keen social and political critic, and founder of the London School of Economics.

Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a financially struggling household. His father was an unsuccessful businessman and his mother a professional singer. Shaw attended several schools, but hated the strict regime and corporal punishment. He began writing as a theater critic before creating numerous plays, including Arms and the Man and Don Juan, that are still widely performed today.

### George Bernard Shaw

### Create Yourself

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

My grandparents used to quote lines from George Bernard Shaw to me. He was very popular in their era - and very quotable. It wasn't until I was a little older that I realized how the Shaw quotes I had heard in my childhood connected to other lessons I was learning.

I love how George Bernard Shaw writes. He is succinct as well as witty. His voice is very distinctive from those of other writers. Using wit and gentle humour is a highly effective way to teach.

The most important lesson George Bernard Shaw taught me was the distinction between "finding yourself" and "creating yourself."

Earlier in my life, I didn't really want to accept that there was a difference between those two things. In fact, at first I found Shaw's quote confusing. But gradually I came to realize that he was right. While it is true that we are all born with innate gifts, it is up to us to choose and to accept the ones we will develop.

Each of us has talents and abilities. These gifts are things we innately do well and enjoy doing.

Each of us also has curiosities and passions, which are also innate gifts. They are our drivers. Curiosity is a drive for understanding or knowledge. Passion is a drive for performance excellence.

Finally, each of us has dreams. Dreams are the gift of innate direction.

Creating yourself means to choose the things you innately do well that connect to your innate drivers and are guided by your dreams.

Everyone has enough talents and abilities to do many things. It is hard (but rewarding) work to not only figure out what your gifts are, but also to decide which ones are connected to your curiosities, passions and dreams.

### George Bernard Shaw

### In His Own Words

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

You see things; you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

War does not decide who is right but who is left.

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.

Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: "Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time." When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.

# Henry David Thoreau

(1817-1862)

Henry David Thoreau was an American poet, author, philosopher and political activist who was one of the earliest environmentalists and a strong opponent to slavery. His most famous works include Walden, a book of nonfiction that encouraged people to live a simpler lifestyle, more in tune with nature, and the essay "Civil Disobedience," which argued that people have a right to disobey their own governments when the governments act in an immoral way.

Thoreau was born to a middle-class family in Concord, Massachusetts; his father owned a pencil factory. He attended Harvard University with hopes of becoming a teacher, and became a tutor to several families. His ideas on conservation of nature helped to inspire the modern environmental movement, and his concept of civil disobedience has been embraced by civil and human rights activists around the world.

### Henry David Thoreau

### The Ultimate Life Trap

"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."

Whatever you must have, owns you; this is one of the most profound lessons I have learned in my life.

My quest has always been for freedom - and wealth can, to a point, enable freedom. Beyond that point, however, wealth enslaves you. Many people have a lot more money than I do, and continue to work for the sole purpose of earning more and more. I have no idea why.

I believe that an unlimited desire, whether it is for money, for things, for power, for approval - for anything \- is the ultimate life trap. A never-ending quest for more makes us servants of our desires. It catches us in a trap of our own making.

Still, I reject the idea that a desire to have "nothing" is the answer.

My path is the middle path. I believe that humans should have a willingness to earn enough of what they need (and please note that word "earn": it is important). Then they should move on to other areas of focus.

I started with nothing. I have a respect for money. I see it as a tool. I had to work very hard to get to the stage where I had "enough" for the freedom I desired. I made lots of mistakes, and there were many ups and downs. In the first part of my life, I was finding myself and finding my direction. Then, in the second part, I was living what I had discovered. Now, in the third part, I am sharing what I have learned, and what I have earned.

The evolution from the second to the third part of my life began in the year 2000 when I started taking what I think of as a "Thoreau Day" each week. On Wednesdays, instead of going to work, I devoted my day to taking music and singing lessons, writing songs, reading my journals and preparing to write this book.

Today, rather than working at a job, I serve as a consultant to the company I helped to start. I have discovered that one of my greatest pleasures is to spend time with young people and to support charities that awaken youth to their gifts, and empower youth to use their gifts in pursuit of their dreams and to serve others in a way that is meaningful to them. And that is what I have chosen to do with my time in this stage of my life.

It is possible for me to do this because I have attained the freedom of having "enough," and I have abandoned the quest for more.

### Henry David Thoreau

### In His Own Words

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.

One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.

A grain of gold will gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom.

An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.

Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.

My life has been the poem I would have writ, But I could not both live and utter it.

It takes two to speak the truth — one to speak, and another to hear.

This world is but canvas to our imaginations.

Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul.

We do not live for idle amusement.

# Sir Isaac Newton

(1643-1727)

Isaac Newton was an English mathematician and scientist who revolutionized our understanding of the world. He showed how universal laws of gravity and motion govern everything equally, from grains of sand to the stars. He also built the first practical reflecting telescope, and invented calculus to help him solve problems in astronomy.

Newton was born in a tiny hamlet in Lincolnshire, England, three months after his father (a prosperous farmer) had died. At one point, his mother pulled him out of school to make him a farmer, but Newton was determined to be a brilliant scholar. He returned to school, studied at Cambridge University and became the most famous scientist of his day. His laws of motion and gravity, and the many forms of calculus he devised, are still used today by engineers and scientists.

### Sir Isaac Newton

### Actions Have Consequences

**"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction."  
** (Newton's Third Law of Motion)

In my twenties, I bought a Newton's Cradle - a mechanism involving five steel balls that touch each other, each of which is suspended from a frame by two wires that form a V. When you pull the front four metal balls back, leaving one hanging, and then release them, when the four balls hit the standing ball, three of the original balls join the standing ball in moving forward. This means that four are again in motion, but this time, one from the original four is left standing. This exercise works with three balls (when you release three balls, following contact, three will swing away), two and one. In other words, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

My Newton's Cradle has been on my desk for over forty years. It is not the scientific application of the law of motion demonstrated by this apparatus that intrigues me, but rather its metaphysical and spiritual applications. In fact, the same message, from a spiritual perspective, can be found in the Bible in Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The message is also expressed as the Law of Cause and Effect, and is the basis for the principle of Karma. To my mind, Newton's Cradle is nothing less than a demonstration that Karma actually exists.

With Newton's Cradle always within arm's reach, over the years I became convinced that the thoughts I thought (the seeds I planted in my mind), the choices I made, and the actions I took, all had consequences. Actions cause reactions.

Today I believe in this concept so completely that I consider it the core of who I am. It is important for me to think empowering thoughts, to make thoughtful choices, and to choose my actions and words carefully.

I believe in giving generously of my time, talent and treasure to fulfill my personal mission to awaken and empower youth to live their promise. Much of this is achieved through engaged partnerships with arts, education, social enterprise and charity partners, and through media production and other initiatives.

Every time I see a youth who was undermined by fear, worry and self-doubt connect with their gift, and realize and embrace the power of their choices, and start to become a peer leader, I am filled with joy. To me, this is the law that is demonstrated by Newton's Cradle at work in real life.

### Sir Isaac Newton

### In His Own Words

Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — but my greatest friend is truth.

If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.

Genius is patience.

We must love our neighbour as our selves, we must be charitable to all men for charity is the greatest of graces, greater then even faith or hope & covers a multitude of sins. We must be righteous & do to all men as we would they should do to us.

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.

Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.

A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true.

Live your life as an Exclamation rather than an Explanation.

What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean.

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been due more to patient attention, than to any other talent. (Sir Isaac Newton was asked how he discovered the law of gravity. He replied, "By thinking about it all the time.")

# James Allen

(1864 - 1912)

James Allen is considered the grandfather of motivational thought. Through nineteen books, including the internationally acclaimed As A Man Thinketh, and through his magazine The Epoch, he helped spread the idea that people can change themselves and their worlds by the way they think.

Allen was born in Leicester, England, to a family with little hope for the future. His mother was illiterate and his father lost his job in a factory. He was fifteen when his father was robbed and murdered, and Allen had to leave school and work in order to support his family. He continued to work until the income from his inspirational writing allowed him to retire.

The title of Allen's most famous book is taken from the King James Version of the Bible: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7). As A Man Thinketh has been in print since its first publication in 1903.

### James Allen

### Thoughts Are Tools

"Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes, And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills, Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:—He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: Environment is but his looking-glass."

James Allen's book, As A Man Thinketh, begins with this poem that summarizes everything in his profound little book.

When I first read this poem (I was in my early twenties), I could barely comprehend what it said, much less believe it.

"How can thought be a 'tool'?" I wondered. "And what does it mean to 'shape your will'?"

Find the "Empower" Cord

After a while, I came to see that James Allen meant that what we think about all day long is what we become. In this way, our thoughts are our tools. And I saw how true that statement was. If we think negative thoughts, we get negative emotions - and those affect what we do next. This means that if we can turn disempowering thoughts into empowering ones, anything is possible.

But how do we change our thoughts? That was the next thing I had to figure out, and gradually I found one thing that works for me.

I realized that I can change the way I think in a millisecond by simply asking myself a question. It has to be the right question, of course: the one that will get me going in the right direction. So if I find I'm saying, "I knew this wouldn't work," I'll ask myself instead, "What good can come from this?" Or if I find myself asking, "Why I am I so stupid?" I will turn it around to ask, "What can I learn from this situation?" For me, finding the right question is the key to getting back on track.

In other words, for me (and maybe you?) the power (or "empower") cord that turns thoughts into tools is the right question.

Shape Your Will

From thinking about James Allen's book, I also figured out that to "shape your will" means choosing thoughts and beliefs that will guide our actions in ways that will empower us. If we do that, we can create our own reality.

Some things we can choose are:

our relationship values (e.g., we can decide to be trustworthy, respectful and helpful. We do this because we can't achieve anything alone, and relationships are built on trust), and

what we are committed to achieve (we can consciously decide on our goals, select what things are most important to us, and choose our priorities).

After we have done these things, we can then make a commitment to focus our energy to achieve what we have chosen. Now, our thoughts are tools to create the life we want; they "shape our will."

### James Allen

### In His Own Words

He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.

Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.

Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions. But when he realizes that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow, he then becomes the rightful master of himself.

Every thought seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit.

Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.

To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.

The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.

# Jeff Bezos

(1964 - present)

Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com, the world's largest on-line retailer, a company that today offers everything from books and movies to clothing and industrial equipment. He started the company by himself in his garage in 1994, and became a self-made billionaire through his innovative use of the Internet.

Bezos was born to a teen-aged mother in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his parents divorced when he was only a year old. He excelled in school, particularly in science and engineering, and graduated with top honors from Princeton University with a degree in computer technology. Amazon is one of the most successful on-line companies in history and one of the best-known brands in the Western world. Bezos was named "Person of the Year" by Time Magazine in 1999.

### Jeff Bezos

### Continuously Evolve

"What is dangerous is not to evolve."

Many people resist change, yet change is the essence of life. It is also the essence of business.

In the context of the quote from Jeff Bezos, I believe that the word "evolve" should be taken to mean "incremental improvement over time." This can be applied to both a personal and a business perspective.

From a personal perspective, I don't think of "evolving" to mean "fixing" yourself. Instead, it means that you realize your possibilities, live your promise - become the potential and authentic you. Evolving and "becoming you" involves a continuous attention to incremental self-discovery, self-development and self-attainment.

"Are we human beings or human becomings?" This is a question I wrote in my journal decades ago. My answer is that we are both. We need to take time for play, relaxation and peace. We also need to take time to learn, work and grow. That is the ebb and flow of life.

From a business perspective, to evolve is essential to survival. This is especially true in the technology business, where the top companies can be quickly left behind by an innovative competitor.

The relentless focus at Amazon is on the customer's experience. I am a long-time customer, and I believe that the company Bezos established is the best in the world at achieving a great customer experience.

Amazon started with books, but it has evolved to offer many other products and services as well. With every addition of every product, the core competency remains the same: a great customer experience. In fact, the nature of books themselves have evolved with the introduction of the Kindle e-book reader, first available as a device and now also as an application on numerous devices. In books, Amazon has connected with a whole new group of customers - authors - through its self-publishing services Kindle Direct and CreateSpace. I have used both to publish my books \- and I can tell you that these arms of Amazon are very customer-focused, too.

### Jeff Bezos

### In His Own Words

If you decide you're only going to do the things you know are going to work, you're going to leave a lot of opportunity on the table.

The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer. Our goal is to be earth's most customer-centric company.

I'd rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.

We're very comfortable being misunderstood. We've had lots of practice.

A lot of people believe that you should live for the now. I'm just not one of them.

Work hard, have fun and make history.

The thing about inventing is you have to be both stubborn and flexible, more or less simultaneously.

If you build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.

There are two kinds of companies: those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less.

# Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(1749 - 1832)

Johann von Goethe was a German writer, artist and scientist known as one of the supreme minds of his age. His drama Faust has been described as one of the greatest works in European literature, and has been the basis for countless plays, books and movies. Goethe's work on biology helped inspire Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution, while his theory of colors helped uncover the nature of light.

Goethe was born to a wealthy family in Frankfurt, Germany, and was taught by private tutors. He was an excellent student in all subjects and pursued painting, biology, writing and physics with equal success. His novel The Sorrows of Young Werther is considered to have been the world's first best-seller. Goethe's influence has touched artists, writers, musicians and scientists for more than two hundred years.

### Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

### Boldly Begin

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!"

Many people delay pursuing their dreams - waiting for "the right time," "the right conditions," or "the right plan." In my experience, those "right" moments never come. I have therefore taught myself to act, even with a small initial step, immediately.

My motto? "Act and learn. Don't debate and wait!"

But what if you act, and fail? Well, keep in mind that failure is not a bad thing. The lessons that have the most impact are those based on our own experiences, and failures are what power success. When you try something and it doesn't work, stop doing it. When you try something and it does work, do more of it. If you try something and it works spectacularly, you may have found the key to realizing your dream - whatever that dream is.

This process of pursuing a dream and learning through action is the cornerstone and principle of everything I have achieved. I put it to work when I was a young entrepreneur starting out in business in 1974, and I still use it today. My speaking, my writing and, recently, my video presentations using a teleprompter, have all followed this process. Try. Fail. Learn. Try something else. Fail differently. Learn more. Try another way that turns out to be better. Learn even more. Try. Succeed. Celebrate.

If you want to write, write. There is no other way to find your voice. Take classes and workshops to learn more. Find a good editor for knowledgeable feedback. Nothing, however, will replace writing, so don't wait until you think you have learned enough from others. Don't wait for the right moment. Just start to write.

If you want to speak, speak. I joined a Toastmasters group for a safe place to learn. Soon after that, I started booking free speaking opportunities to learn more, and ultimately I started charging fees. Speaking is about connecting with an audience. It is hard to learn without an audience.

It you want to start a business, start one. It can be small and part-time in the beginning. Think of it as your laboratory where you will discover your formula for success.

Act and learn. Don't debate and wait.

### Johann von Goethe

### In His Own Words

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.

A person hears only what they understand.

To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.

If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.

There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.

A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world's torrent.

Love does not dominate, it cultivates. And that is more.

One never goes so far as when one doesn't know where one is going.

One must be something in order to do something.

Which is the best government? That which teaches us to govern ourselves.

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others,

And in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own.

Art is long, life short; judgment difficult, opportunity transient.

Man errs as long as he strives.

Individuality of expression is the beginning and end of all art.

First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth.

A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait.

# Joseph Campbell

(1904 - 1987)

Joseph Campbell was an American writer who became a world expert on how myths and religion affect people and their societies. His popular books, including The Hero With A Thousand Faces and The Masks of God, showed how the same stories and themes show up in every human society. He also urged people to find their passions in life through his philosophy: "Follow your bliss."

Campbell was born to a wealthy family in White Plains, New York, and was fascinated by history and religion from an early age. He did well in school and earned degrees in literature from Columbia University. His work has been used by countless artists and writers (including the creators of Star Wars) to generate powerful stories with universal appeal.

### Joseph Campbell

### Follow Your Bliss

"Follow your bliss."

What if there were a path you could follow that would make you fulfilled and happy? What if you were the only one who could find that path for yourself? What if all you had to do to find it, was to connect with your inner guide?

I believe that is exactly what Joseph Campbell means when he says, "Follow your bliss." "Bliss" means "great joy." When something you are doing gives you great joy, that is a powerful clue to your bliss.

In 1973, Leland Val Van de Wall, a mentor, pointed out to me that "enthusiasm" is derived from two Greek words: en which means "within," and theos, which means "spirit" or "God." So "enthusiasm" means "feeling the spirit within." I believe that this connection to the spirit within is the source of bliss.

We each have aptitudes - things we innately do well as a result of our unique collection of talents and abilities. We also have drivers. These include our innate curiosity, our need to know and understand; and our passion, our need to achieve performance excellence. Finally, we each have dreams - a gift of direction that we can turn into goals to achieve a purpose beyond ourselves.

Norman Borlaug, a young Iowa farm boy and an exceptional wrestler, traveled to wrestling meets around America during the Depression of the1930s. He saw hunger and starvation, and it bothered him.

Through his wrestling he earned a university scholarship and studied forestry; then, driven to find solutions to hunger, he took his PhD in plant pathology and genetics.

Norman Borlaug acted on his conviction that increasing the world's food supply was an essential contribution to world peace. He created a "Green Revolution" with his many crop discoveries.

In 1970, Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was credited with saving millions of lives in Mexico, India and Pakistan.

Norman used his aptitudes - his intellect and farming experience - and his drivers - his insatiable curiosity, to understand how to breed crops that were less susceptible to parasites and disease than existing crops, in pursuit of his dream, which was to save lives and contribute to peace by increasing food production.

Do what makes you enthusiastic. Discover your aptitudes and drivers and connect them to the pursuit of a purpose beyond yourself that is meaningful to you. Follow your bliss.

### Joseph Campbell

### In His Own Words

Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.

Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.

We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

Our life evokes our character and you find out more about yourself as you go on.

Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life.

Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.

One thing that comes out in myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light.

How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means "filled with a god," that's what it means. So what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.

# Kahlil Gibran

(1883 - 1931)

Khalil Gibran was a Lebanese poet and artist whose inspirational writing became famous around the world. His book The Prophet, for example, has been in print since 1923 and has been translated into thirty languages. Gibran's poems celebrate the human spirit and encourage people to live up to their highest ideals.

Gibran was born in the town of Bsharri, Lebanon, to a troubled and poor family, and had little chance for education. When his father was jailed for cheating the government, the rest of the family fled to the United States. Gibran was schooled there, but went to university back in Lebanon, always pursuing his passion for art. He is remembered now for his writing, which has made him the third-best-selling poet in history, behind only William Shakespeare and Lao Tzu.

### Kahlil Gibran

### How To Give

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

The real impact of a gift is the love you put into your giving of it.

The best gift is what is most needed by the recipient. Often that gift is simple but meaningful. A kindness, like helping someone who needs a hand, is the gift of caring. A smile or a hug is the gift of compassion and connection. Taking the time to really listen to someone demonstrates that you value them enough to hear what they have to say.

Have you ever longed to be given such gifts?

The greatest gift I have received is the guidance and support of the teachers, mentors, allies and authors who helped me to discover and develop my aptitudes and my drivers, and to connect to my personal mission. It is through these discoveries that creating the life I live now was made possible.

I believe that every life is a promise. This means that your life is a promise. Your promise is defined by your innate gifts, enabled by your choices, and fulfilled by your serving of others in a way that is meaningful to you.

Once I realized that awakening young people to their unique innate gifts and the power of their choices gave me such joy, I sought opportunities to do it. I got involved with Junior Achievement, because I am an entrepreneur and I found connecting to these young people natural. The same is true for the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program. Being a member of Toastmasters has had a significantly positive impact on my life, and I realized that an early introduction to the program would give youth the power of their own voices, sooner.

I didn't achieve any of this alone.

Junior Achievement provided me the opportunity to contribute through volunteering, using my unique skills set, through public speaking and mentoring and through donations directed at initiatives that were most meaningful to me.

My mentor, Peter Kossowan, known as "Mr. Toastmaster" for starting more Toastmaster clubs than anyone else in the world, helped form a group of Toastmaster volunteers to encourage more Youth Leadership Programs, and my wife and I funded the training materials.

And through projects like this book, I'm putting heart into my giving - "giving of myself," as Kahlil Gibran advised.

### Kahlil Gibran

### In His Own Words

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.

We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side.

Joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.

On Love:

Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

On Children:

Your children are not your children.

They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you.

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

# Lao Tzu

(604 B.C. - ?)

Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher who developed the idea that all existence comes from the natural balance of energy and forces, which he called the Tao. He taught that people should try to be part of that balance, living simply and honestly without trying to impose change on the world or on other people. Today he is revered as a holy figure by the many followers of Taoism.

Various legends surround Lao Tzu's birth and life, including one story that he was fathered by a falling star and was born a wise old man. Most popular accounts say he worked in the Royal Archives and had access to the writings of all the great thinkers of Chinese history. Lao Tzu has influenced Chinese politics for nearly three thousand years, inspiring both leaders and anti-government rebels.

### Lao Tzu

### Master Yourself First

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.

Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."

I heard about Lao Tzu when I was at university, but I resisted his teachings for a long time. His lessons were not easy for me to put into practice because they were so counterintuitive to me that I had to first let go of instant judgment and rejection in order to discern their uncommon wisdom.

Lao Tzu's lessons often require "letting go." He says, "By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go." My inclination is to do something: to solve the problem, to be proactive. At the beginning, letting go seemed passive, an abdication of my power to choose. It was hard for me to comprehend that "letting go" is an active choice, and that sometimes it is the correct choice.

At first, I wondered what Lao Tzu meant when he said, "Mastering yourself is true power." I found one answer just a little further on in his writings, where he wrote, "He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough."

In my case, I don't have as much money as I might have had if I'd worked for longer hours or for more years, neglecting my family, my health and my dreams. Thanks to the teachings of wise people like Lao Tzu, I no longer live in "The Town of More." I see that I have enough, and I am happy.

I have discovered that I am more than a human doing. I am a human being. "Being" means letting go and just being present in life - where the only agenda is to experience life, to enjoy life, and to be grateful for life. Life is a treasure to be savored.

Today, "human doing" and "human being" have become the ebb and flow of my life.

Lao Tzu also said, "At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are, and you know what you want."

This means we must listen to our inner guides, rather than to what others tell us we "should" do or not do, or to the commentary in our heads from our inner critics and our egos. Learning to discern and hear the voice of my inner guide was life-empowering. The clarity, the confidence and the peace I felt about who I am, what I want and why, is transformative: not "transformative" in terms of turning me into someone else, but of becoming the authentic me.

Imagine learning these incredible lessons from a man who lived 2600 years ago and spoke Chinese: a language I do not know. Books overcome the barriers of place, time and language to share wisdom from Great Teachers like Lao Tzu. I am eternally grateful for books.

### Lao Tzu

### In His Own Words

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

Be content with what you have;

rejoice in the way things are.

When you realize there is nothing lacking,

the whole world belongs to you.

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.

A good traveler has no fixed plans

and is not intent upon arriving.

A good artist lets his intuition

lead him wherever it wants.

A good scientist has freed himself of concepts

and keeps his mind open to what is.

To attain knowledge, add things every day.

To attain wisdom, remove things every day.

A journey of a thousand [miles] starts with a single step.

Wise men don't need to prove their point;

Men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

The Master has no possessions.

The more he does for others, the happier he is.

The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing.

By not dominating, the Master leads.

# Leo Tolstoy

(1828 - 1910)

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer who is often described as one of the greatest novelists of all time. His two most famous works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, continue to appear regularly on lists of the best novels ever written, and have been the basis for many plays, movies and other books. In later life, Tolstoy had a religious awakening and became a strong advocate for Christian values in society.

Tolstoy was born on his family's estate in Russia, an heir to Russian nobility. A spoiled child, he dropped out of school and joined the army. His experiences there and in touring through Europe opened his eyes to social issues and formed the ideas behind his famous stories. Tolstoy's writing continues to sell well today, and his political ideas have influenced civil rights leaders for more than a century.

### Leo Tolstoy

### The Purpose of Art

"Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission

To others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen."

Art, whether it takes the form of a novel, a painting, a sculpture, a song, or a simple story, succeeds when it evokes an emotion from you. The deeper the emotional impact, the more successful the art has been in fulfilling its purpose - which is to awaken you.

Art can engage your mind, but it must engage your heart. Great art awakens your soul and transforms you. After you have encountered it, you are never the same.

Great art expresses a universal truth, one that we may be reluctant to acknowledge or express, but one we recognize instantly. It resonates within us, bypassing judgment; we feel it immediately.

In Barcelona, the Church of the Sacred Family (La Sagrada Familia) is the triumph of a dream, driven by faith and the sacred homage of its main architect, Antonio Gaudi. My impression when I first set eyes on this church was that it was the most bizarre building I had ever seen, and that surely it was the work of a madman. Some people still believe that, but not I. I've taken the time to learn what drove the design. I am certain it is a masterpiece of both art and inspiration. It moved me. It changed me.

Construction of La Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and Gaudi took over as principal architect in 1883. Gaudi died in 1926 at the age of 73. At that time, the church was one quarter complete. Construction continues today, still guided by Gaudi's drawings and models. The goal is to complete La Sagrada Familia by 2026: one hundred years after Gaudi's death.

All of the cost of this church has been borne by donors and patrons; it is they who continue to fund this dream, this work of art. No money has been provided by the government or the church.

Another art form that I love is the adult fable. I consider both The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach to be masterpieces.

Sculpture also speaks to me deeply. I have visited The Thinker by Auguste Rodin in Paris three times. It is like a pilgrimage for me. I believe our thoughts are the most powerful tools we have to improve our lives, and this sculpture expresses that concept with magnificent artistry.

My favorite art form is the musical. It combines, music, lyrics and story. Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera are particular masterpieces that I find speak to me.

Art is very personal. All of the examples I have mentioned here express something universal to me, engage my heart and awaken my soul, and are therefore - to me - great art.

### Leo Tolstoy

### In His Own Words

If you want to be happy, be.

Is it really possible to tell someone else what one feels?

The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.

The happiness of men consists in life. And life is in labor.

Error is the force that welds men together; truth is communicated to men only by deeds of truth.

Everyone thinks of changing humanity, but no one thinks of changing himself.

The only thing that we know is that we know nothing — and that is the highest flight of human wisdom.

Everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait.

The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.

One is ashamed to say how little is needed for all men to be delivered from those calamities which now oppress them; it is only needful not to lie.

Love hinders death. Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone.

If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.

It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.

When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you'd like them to be.

Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking....

# Leonardo da Vinci

(1452 -1519)

Leonardo da Vinci may have been the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. His insatiable curiosity was only matched by his artistry and capacity for invention. Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.

Leonardo was born the illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant woman in the town of Vinci near Florence. At fourteen, he became an apprentice at one of the finest artist workshops in Florence. He is best known as a painter of two of the most revered paintings in history, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, as well as for his journal, which included everything from ideas for inventions such as the helicopter and submarine to detailed anatomical drawings of humans and animals.

### Leonardo da Vinci

### The Greatest Deception

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

The things I knew - for sure - that weren't correct have been the cause of many of my difficulties in life. I'm embarrassed to tell you that there have been more than a few.

Leonardo da Vinci examined his opinions as if they were untested beliefs, or premises - which, of course, they were. He then put these opinions through tests and experiments to validate them or to prove them flawed. He filled volumes of journals with his findings and follow-up questions. The range of topics that he addressed from the disciplines of art, science and engineering is breath-taking, and the discoveries contained within da Vinci's journals place him in an elite category that includes the best minds in human history

Clarity, Certainty, and Commitment are, in combination, powerful drivers of achievement. When you are crystal clear about what you want, certain about how to attain it, and committed to doing what is required, you are unstoppable. This formula is true, but it is difficult to achieve.

Just getting clear about what you want in life, or from life, takes focused self-examination, and that is in itself hard work. To take the next step - figuring out, to a certainty, how to attain what you want - means that you have to test and determine the effectiveness of many different ideas. It also means that, of necessity, you must discard opinions that prove flawed, and proceed only with those ideas that get you where you want to be.

Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, I decided to use my journal for self-discovery, self-examination and self-realization. After over forty years of dedication to this work, I have made great progress, but my work is not done. I continue to find opinions that are flawed. Furthermore, what I want from life has evolved with the achievement of earlier goals. Financial freedom, which is the attainment of one of those earlier goals, enables me to focus more on other goals.

Life continues to be an adventure. The quest for Clarity about what is meaningful to me now, seeking Certainty about how to attain it, and Committing to doing what is required, are initiatives that continue to engage me deeply. In order to get clarity and certainty, you must have the courage to challenge your opinions. It is in this challenging that you will find your clarity and certainty.

### Leonardo da Vinci

### In His Own Words

Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.

It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.

Human subtlety . . . will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

Every action needs to be prompted by a motive.

Wisdom is the daughter of experience.

All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.

Ask counsel of him who rules himself well.

You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself.

Happy will they be who lend ear to the words of the Dead.

Men out of fear will cling to the thing they most fear.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first understood.

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.

Learning never exhausts the mind.

# Marcus Aurelius

(121 - 180)

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor who successfully defended his empire against repeated attacks and revolts, while also writing influential philosophy. His book Meditations, written during a military campaign, describes how to find peace through the examples of nature - even in the midst of war. Aurelius taught, and lived, the principles of duty and service to society, considering them the highest calling for any person.

Aurelius was born into a wealthy family that owned large brickworks near Rome and had a history of political success. As most aristocrats were in those days, he was educated at home by elite tutors, but later also studied at a religious college and was schooled in public speaking by top orators. Historians consider him the last great Roman emperor, and philosophers still study his writings and ideas.

### Marcus Aurelius

### Arise With Gratitude

"When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege It is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love. . . ."

Life only exists in the present. Every day I make the choice to create a day of joy.

Some days when I wake up, especially to an alarm, I find myself thinking, "I'm tired. I don't want to get up. I don't feel like . . . ."

To interrupt this thought, I use three techniques:

Ask A Question

A question immediately focuses my mind toward finding the answer. This redirects my thinking. In fact, I use questions to redirect my thinking at any time of day. Some of my favorite questions are these:

What am I grateful for today? Is there someone I should thank?

How can make this a better day?

What do I plan to achieve today?

Inspirational Reading

I have my goals written down in my iPhone, and reviewing them reminds me what I am aspiring to create in my life. One of my goals is my next trip, which I have planned and booked. Looking at this list reminds me of the benefits that I derive from my work that are important to me.

I also save short inspirational articles for reading later on my iPhone. Or I read one of the 75 inspirational biographical introductions in my book Inspiration to Live Your MAGIC!, which I also have on my iPhone.

Daily Affirmation

One of the ways in which I remind myself that how the day will unfold is my choice, is by phrasing my affirmations as things I choose to do. I don't want to lose sight of the fact that these attitudes and behaviors are choices - not obligations.

I choose to "catch" someone doing something right today - and to acknowledge them.

I choose to learn something today.

I choose to do an anonymous random act of kindness today.

On some mornings you may legitimately be unwell and need to care for yourself, which you should do. Most mornings, however, even when we are reluctant, we can get up and embrace the day. We can be grateful and joyful.

### Marcus Aurelius

### In His Own Words

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.

Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.

Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed.

"Let your occupations be few," says the sage, "if you would lead a tranquil life."

Adapt yourself to the environment in which your lot has been cast, and show true love to the fellow-mortals with whom destiny has surrounded you.

Look within. Within is the fountain of the good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.

Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.

# Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer and public speaker who mixed humor and social satire in his celebrated works, including the novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain's best-selling stories have been the basis of TV shows, movies and entire university courses.

Twain was born in Missouri as part of a large family; his father was a lawyer and a local judge. When Twain was 11, his father died and the boy was apprenticed to a print shop. Twain educated himself at public libraries and tried many ways to make a living before discovering his talent as a writer. He is now regarded as the father of American literature and one of history's top humorists.

### Mark Twain

### Direct Your Learning

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

In my late twenties, at a cocktail party, a group of us were sharing some of our life experiences. I explained that I had been a high school drop-out, that I had left home at sixteen to pursue my dreams, and that later I had completed high school and then attended university for one year. I told them that now I read every day, selecting the best books I could find about what I needed to learn to achieve my goals.

A teacher in our discussion group looked over her glasses and said in a nasal voice directly to me, "Oh . . . ! You are an autodidact!"

"I'm a what?" I wondered. "You barely know me and you're labeling me?" Of course, I had no idea what an "autodidact" was; I just thought it was presumptuous of her to call me one.

Later, I looked up the word "autodidact," and I discovered that it meant "A self-taught person. One who takes charge of his or her own education." The article gave three examples - Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and, of course, Mark Twain. All three were role models of mine; all three had inspired me not only to read but also to keep a journal. I realized that the teacher had been right: I am an autodidact. Now I know that being called an "autodidact" is a compliment.

To become an effective autodidact requires three things. First, it requires basic learning skills, which includes reading, writing and the ability to analyze effectively. Secondly, it requires a deep curiosity about one or more topics. My areas of deep interest are: personal development and human relationships; effective communication; business and investing; writing, speaking and story telling. The vast majority of the books I read and have read, the courses I attend and have attended, and the advisors I retain, provide insight into these topics.

Finally, the third requirement for effective autodidacticism is a direction, a dream or a goal that is the guiding star of your quest. My quest was to earn financial freedom through starting and building a business. I believed that the way to achieve my quest was through personal development, understanding human relationships, developing effective communication skills, and learning the principles of business and investing - and then applying that knowledge and those skills to realize my quest.

I believe that in order to experience what we want in life, at some point we all must take charge of our learning. That learning will include some formal education, but also independent study, reading, workshops, seminars and mentors. In order to create the life you want, you need to learn - not just at the beginning of life, when you are in school, and near the end of life, when you have time in retirement, but throughout your life.

### Mark Twain

### In His Own Words

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.

Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.

Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world — and never will.

We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.

We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered — either by themselves or by others.

The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.

Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare.

Classic: a book which people praise and don't read.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

# Martin Luther King, Jr.

(1929 - 1968)

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American preacher and civil rights activist who became world famous for his moving speeches, dramatic marches and other non-violent protests. He is the best known of the activists who fought for racial equality in the United States. The Reverend King was assassinated for his fearless leadership of the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was the son of a preacher in Atlanta, Georgia. He skipped several grades in school and entered university at age fifteen,, earned a bachelor's degree in sociology, his Doctor of Divinity from a seminary, and a PhD in philosophy. King's campaigns against racism are honored today with a national holiday in the United States, while his stirring speeches and successful tactics are regularly used by civil rights groups.

### Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

### Inner Freedom

"As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free."

Emancipation means freedom from tyranny. Tyranny can be the crushing injustice of poverty, the oppression of a dictator, or a policy like legalized slavery or apartheid. It can be the subjugation of women and girls, or the lack of access to education by anyone. I abhor all of these forms of tyranny; they all crush the hopes of innocents.

When the promise of any person goes unfulfilled, we are all diminished, and eternity mourns. I believe that it is the duty of each of us to do our part: to stand against tyranny and to contribute to the emancipation of others in any way we can. My wife and I support several charities that work tirelessly to emancipate the most oppressed people on earth.

In his quote, I believe Dr. King is saying that emancipation also means freedom from the tyranny of our own beliefs. The belief in hate instead of love. The belief in retribution instead of forgiveness. The belief in fear in place of faith.

Dr. King's statements do not mean that there is no cause for hate, that there is no justification for retribution, or that there is no reason for fear. He is saying that as long as your mind is filled with hatred, plots of retribution, and inaction borne of fear, you will not be free.

Dr. King modeled love in response to hatred, forgiveness instead of retribution, and faith in the face of uncertainty.

The importance of Dr. King's message is elevated by the context of the times in which he lived. As the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, he faced the reality of a segregated society that, in many places, treated blacks as second-class citizens. For example, on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a black woman named Rosa Parks - whose name has become famous for her action - was arrested for refusing to give her bus seat to a white passenger.

On August 28, 1963, I was mesmerized as I watched the television broadcast of Dr. King's acclaimed speech I Have A Dream. I was sixteen years old, and I knew I had heard a masterpiece of oratory. I was deeply moved.

Dr. King's life is a model of faith, love and forgiveness to which I can only aspire. I do, however, try to keep my mind free of beliefs that enslave me.

### Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

### In His Own Words

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I have decided to stick to love. . . . Hate is too great a burden to bear.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

I submit to you that if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

The time is always right to do what's right.

Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

He must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.

Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

# Michelangelo

(1475 - 1564)

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known simply as Michelangelo, was an Italian artist, engineer and architect who created some of the best-known works of art in the Western world. Beautiful works, such as his sculpture David and the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, made Michelangelo so popular that he became known as Il Divino, or "The Divine One."

Michelangelo was born in a small town in Tuscany, Italy. His father was a government official who could have afforded schooling for his son, but Michelangelo was interested only in art. After apprenticeships with a painter and a sculptor, Michelangelo's work began to attract the support of rich and famous patrons, including the Pope. Today his works continue to attract tourists and artists to museums and churches across Europe.

### Michelangelo

### Genius is Patience

"Genius is eternal patience."

There are many geniuses in this book, and Michelangelo is certainly one of them.

No one is born a genius; however, many are born with the potential to become a genius. As Michelangelo recognized, however, there is a price to be paid if one is to realize his or her potential for genius. One part of that price is patience. Others are hard work, focus and dedication.

Michelangelo is the artist who has had the deepest personal impact on my life. I wasn't even aware of this until October of 1996, when my wife Janet and I visited Florence with our close friends, Tony and Angela Botticelli.

It was my first visit to Italy - the realization of a life-long dream. There was so much I wanted to see and experience, and at the top of my list was to visit Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.

As we waited in line outside the Accademia, I reflected on how long I had dreamed of this moment. Recently we had visited Rome, and I'd seen Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. This Renaissance masterpiece shows the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. It is so perfect, so polished, almost real - and very moving. I wondered if I had already seen Michelangelo's best sculpture.

As we walked along the corridor toward David, we passed a series of other sculptures.

Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks and I started to sob uncontrollably. I had no idea why. My wife looked at me perplexed, and I couldn't even compose myself enough to explain that I was also mystified.

I was standing beside Michelangelo's Unfinished Slaves, and I soon realized that it was these sculptures that had so moved me. First, there is the Awakening Slave, straining to emerge from the marble. Across from him is the Young Slave, in a more dream-like pose. Further on is the Atlas Slave, holding the weight of the world on his shoulder, and finally there is the Bearded Slave, which statue is almost finished; this slave is nearly free.

This series of sculptures demonstrates Michelangelo's artistic intent to free the figure he believed was already in the marble. As I was looking at the Unfinished Slaves, I realized that without my knowing, they had become a metaphor for my self-development program. When I would get discouraged, I used to whisper to myself, "Chipping away, chipping away." In my case, it wasn't removing marble that would free me; it was removing or replacing the false and limiting beliefs that were holding me back.

Michelangelo's David is 17 feet tall, and portrays the hero of the biblical story, larger than life and perfectly evoked. I love it. But for me, the Unfinished Slaves speaks to the need for eternal patience to chip away at what is holding me back from realizing my potential, and expressing whatever genius is within me.

### Michelangelo

### In His Own Words

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

An artist must have his measuring tools not in the hand, but in the eye.

It is well with me only when I have a chisel in my hand.

If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.

Only God creates. The rest of us just copy.

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

I already have a wife who is too much for me; she is my art, and my works are my children.

Death and love are the two wings that bear the good man to heaven.

The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.

If I was made for art, from childhood given

A prey for burning beauty to devour, I blame the mistress I was born to serve.

O night, O sweetest time, though black of hue,

with peace you force all the restless work to end;

those who exalt you see and understand,

and he is sound of mind who honours you.

You cut the thread of tired thoughts, for so

you offer calm in your moist shade; you send

to this low sphere the dreams where we ascend

up to the highest, where I long to go.

# Mohandas Ghandi

(1869 - 1948)

Mohandas Ghandi, known later in life as "Mahatma" or "Great Soul," was an Indian lawyer who fought successfully for human rights and Indian independence. He pioneered the use of non-violent resistance and led marches, sit-ins and hunger strikes that attracted worldwide attention and support. His intervention in disputes between religious and ethnic groups is credited with saving thousands of lives.

Mahatma Ghandi was born in what was then British India. His father was a government official, and Ghandi was sent to good schools, including London University in England, where he earned his law degree. Faced with prejudice against his people from their British rulers, Ghandi abandoned his law practice to become a civil rights leader. The Mahatma is one of the most revered figures in Indian history, and his non-violent protest tactics are used around the world.

### Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

### Be The Change

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."

I have chosen to highlight this quote from Mahatma Ghandi because it is such a powerful expression of his vision of how we, as human beings, can change the world. Ghandi personalizes our responsibility to make a difference; he puts the control completely in our hands. He says that each of us can make a difference in the world. I believe that each of us is born to make a difference in the world.

The most profound truth I know is that every life is a promise. Your life is a promise. It is defined by your unique set of inborn gifts, enabled by your choices, and fulfilled by your serving others in a way that is meaningful to you.

The foundation of happiness for each person is to serve others in a way that is meaningful to that person, and I call this a personal mission. I believe that this is what Gandhi means when he says, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

My mission, and that of my wife Janet, is to awaken youth to their promise, to empower them to live their promise, and to celebrate those who are living their promise. Celebrating the promise continues the awakening - creating further ripples in the pond of hope. We believe that by unleashing the promise of young people, we are allowing them to help to solve the problems of the world.

We achieve our mission through our partnerships with selected charity, education and arts partners, through the media we create (like this book), and through the events and initiatives we produce. We fund The Larry and Janet Anderson Philanthropies (www.LifeIsAPromise.com) with an initial sum, annual contributions during our lifetime, and 80 percent of our estate when we both die. Our two children, Jennifer and Stephen, support our mission and our estate plans.

This mission is important to me because of how I struggled as a young person. I was barely clinging to the hope that my life could be better when an insight - a change of perspective - awakened me, and changed the direction of my life in an instant. We want to give other young people that same opportunity.

My wife Janet and I are being the change we want to see in the world, and it fills us with joy.

### Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

### In His Own Words

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

Seven Social Sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.

Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal? Wherein is the cause for quarreling?

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

My life is my message.

Hate the sin, love the sinner.

Nothing is impossible for pure love.

A man of truth must also be a man of care.

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Where there is love there is life.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.

# Mother Teresa

(1910 - 1997)

Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun who earned world-wide fame and praise for her work on behalf of poor and sick people in Calcutta (now spelled "Kolkata"), India. She ran a mission there for 45 years while spreading her charitable practices around the world. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work, and has been beatified (one step short of sainthood) by the Roman Catholic Church.

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in what is now Macedonia. She felt a strong religious calling at an early age and joined the Sisters of Loreto order of nuns, who educated her in English and medicine before sending her as a missionary to India. By the time of her death, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity was operating 610 missions in 123 countries.

### Mother Teresa

### My Personal Mission

"Life is a promise, fulfill it."

This quote from Mother Teresa, one line from a longer poem, gave me a mission for the rest of my life. That was quite a gift!

In January of 2000, I started taking Wednesdays off to pursue my interest in the arts and to give serious consideration to what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I began by reviewing the journals I'd kept since I was nineteen. When I came across the "Life is a promise" quote from Mother Teresa, I stopped reading and began thinking.

I asked myself two questions:

What is the promise of my life?

Am I fulfilling it?

As it turned out, this inquiry took me about ten years to work through. This period of reflection also led me toward an answer to another question: "What will I do with the rest of my life?" My responses became the bedrock and guiding principles of the Larry and Janet Anderson Philanthropies (www.LifeIsAPromise.com).

Mother Teresa's words became the basis of the central messages of the Foundation, including its Core Belief, Vision and Mission:

Core Belief

Every life is a promise. Your life is a promise. It is defined by your unique set of inborn gifts, enabled by your choices, and fulfilled by you serving others in a way that is meaningful to you.

Our Vision

A world where youth fulfill their promise.

Our Mission

To awaken youth to their promise; To empower youth to live their promise; To celebrate people living their promise.

We achieve our mission through our partnerships with select charity, education and arts partners, through the media we create, and through the events and initiatives we produce.

I have never been so fulfilled and happy as I am today. I have found my personal mission, and I am living it.

### Mother Teresa

### In Her Own Words

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody.

Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love . . . . The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.

Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do.

Works of love are always works of peace.

Peace begins with a smile.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.

Live simply so others may simply live.

By blood and origin I am Albanian. My citizenship is Indian. I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the whole world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus.

# Dr. Muhammad Yunus

(1940 - present)

Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and teacher who created the idea of micro-credit - lending money to would-be businesspeople who are too poor to qualify for regular bank loans. He created the Grameen Bank, which is the largest micro-finance banker in the world, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for the impact of his ideas in fighting world poverty.

Muhammad Yunus was born in a small village in Bangladesh where his father was a jeweler. He did very well in school, earning his BA and MA in Economics in India, then his PhD on a scholarship to the United States. Yunus's Grameen Bank has inspired similar efforts in a hundred countries around the world, giving opportunities to millions of people to pull their families out of poverty.

### Dr. Muhammad Yunus

### Enable the Poor to End Poverty

"People can change their own lives, provided they have the right kind of institutional support. They're not asking for charity, charity is no solution to poverty."

We can't end poverty; only the poor can end poverty.

Charity isn't the solution to poverty.

These are provocative ideas.

Are these ideas true? Not completely, because the causes of poverty are complex and different in different places and times. Still, these powerful ideas challenge common thinking and common approaches, and they provide paths that may lead to more enduring solutions to ending poverty for many.

Professor Muhammad Yunus was teaching economics in Bangladesh when he realized that the lives of the desperately poor in the community around him did not reflect the economic theories he was teaching. As an experiment, Dr. Yunus loaned approximately $27 US dollars from his own money to each of 42 poor women in the village of Jobra, near Chittagong University where he taught. He believed the loans would enable the women to start micro-enterprises to earn money to support their families. The experiment challenged cultural restrictions about the role of women, not to mention commonly held beliefs that small loans would make little difference and would not be repaid.

In fact, over 95 percent of the loans were repaid, which meant the money could be lent again to enable others. Given time, the impact on the lives of the women and their families was significant.

There are many micro-finance organizations now; as of 2009, an estimated seventy-four million men and women held micro-loans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank, which Dr. Yunis founded in 1983, continues to report a repayment success rate of ninety-five to ninety-eight percent.

The plight of the world's poorest people is exacerbated by many factors, such as war, government corruption, crime, natural disasters, disease, and lack of access to education, health care, clean water and nutritious food.

Where economic activity is very weak, micro-businesses do not succeed. Still, where the economic conditions support it, micro-finance and micro-enterprises can be tools for independence for the poor. If you want to see how $25.00 can still make a difference in the life of a poor person, visit www.kiva.org

Charity, at its best, is a bridge for the poor to become self reliant and independent. By providing basic infrastructure, institutional support and, in some cases, micro-finance loans and life-skills education, those with more resources can help the poor to rise out of poverty.

Dr. Yunus had the courage and the ability to see beyond the expectations of his fellow economists. By doing so, he created a new approach to helping the economic situations of the poor in his own community.

### Dr. Muhammad Yunus

### In His Own Words

The fact that the poor are alive is clear proof of their ability.

I became involved because poverty was all around me, and I could not turn away from it.

Human beings are a wonderful creation embodied with limitless human qualities and capabilities. Our theoretical constructs should make room for the blossoming of those qualities, not assume them away.

The challenge is to innovate business models and apply them to produce desired social results cost-effectively and efficiently.

I believe that we can create a poverty-free world because poverty is not created by poor people.

A human being is born into this world fully equipped not only to take care of him or herself, but also to contribute to enlarging the well being of the world as a whole.

It is extremely difficult to change mindsets once they are formed. We create the world in accordance with our mindset. We need to invent ways to change our perspective continually and reconfigure our mindset quickly as new knowledge emerges. We can reconfigure our world if we can reconfigure our mindset.

# Napoleon Hill

(1883 - 1970)

Napoleon Hill was an American self-help expert and writer whose most famous work Think and Grow Rich is one of the best-selling books of all time. He helped to invent the personal success industry, and was an advisor and friend to the richest, most successful people of his time, including U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

Hill was born in a one-room log cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. He had little opportunity for schooling, but used his natural writing talents to become a newspaper correspondent . . . at age thirteen! Think and Grow Rich has sold more than twenty million copies around the world, and Hill's philosophy, "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve!" is the basis for many theories of self-improvement.

### Napoleon Hill

### Desire Drives Achievement

"The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."

Napoleon Hill talks about the primacy of desire in achievement. Desire is the drive that is necessary in order to sustain the dedication and hard work to achieve your goals.

I have identified two primary drivers of desire:

Curiosity is the driver for knowledge and understanding (Einstein claimed this was his greatest gift), and

Passion is the driver for performance excellence. Artists and athletes spend hours honing their skills to maximize their gifts and achieve performance excellence.

Connect your gifts to your desires in pursuit of your dreams (which you have redefined as goals), and you will be unstoppable.

But how do we "Keep [desire] constantly in mind," as Napoleon Hill says we must do? How do we keep it strong?

We do this through positive self-talk.

Your thoughts, supported by your emotions, have power. They have the power to create a new reality: your life experience. This is true whether your thoughts are positive, and therefore serve your well being , or negative, which means that they undermine your well being.

It is for this reason that it is critically important to pay close attention to your recurring thought patterns. None of us wants to undermine our well being. However, if you have recurring thoughts of worry, doubt and fear, supported by a belief that negative things happen to you, you are unknowingly and unintentionally conspiring against yourself. The same is true if your recurring thoughts involve anger, jealousy, and envy, or you find yourself creating plots of retaliation or retribution.

Positive self-talk is the single most important tool we can use to improve our lives, but negative self-talk is equally powerful. People who are not conscious of their thoughts often drift to negative self-talk. The stimulus for negative self-talk is all around us. It includes the judgments and criticisms of others. Even the daily news reports, which primarily focus on tragedies, crimes, and dire warnings about what might happen in the future due to climate change, economic downturns, wars, and so on, can bring us down.

So how are we to overcome all this negative stimulus?

We must begin by being aware of the importance of our thoughts. Next, we need to realize that we do not have to be programmed by the thoughts around us. We can choose to accept responsibility for our own thoughts and the beliefs that support them. Doing so can be the most empowering thing we do in life.

### Napoleon Hill

### In His Own Words

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

Remember also that your subconscious mind will act only upon instructions which are emotionalized and handed over to it with "feeling." Faith is the strongest and most productive of the emotions.

I will be just, generous, and fair with others always - even though I know that these acts will go unnoticed and unrewarded in the ordinary terms of reward-because I understand that one's own character is but the sum total of his own acts and deeds.

I will conquer the common human tendency toward hatred, envy, selfishness, jealousy, malice, pessimism, doubt, and fear — for I believe these to be the seeds from which the world harvests most of its trouble.

# Oprah Winfrey

(1954 - present)

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential women in the world. Her top-rated TV talk show, radio programs, magazines, TV network and book club have also made her a billionaire. She uses her wealth and fame to draw attention to social issues, support education, and provide help for poor people around the world - and to encourage others to follow her example of charity and community involvement.

Oprah was born in dire poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenaged mother. After a difficult childhood that included sexual abuse and drug addiction, she became a star pupil in high school, won public-speaking contests and beauty pageants, and earned a scholarship to university. Today, Oprah consistently tops polls as the most admired woman in the United States.

### Oprah Winfrey

### Free Yourself

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."

When I read this quote by Oprah Winfrey, it was as if a light had turned on inside me.

Oprah - a woman who has an extraordinary amount to forgive - taught me the truth about forgiveness, the importance of intention and, through her example, the possibilities of personal empowerment.

Oprah speaks of her goal to encourage people to empower themselves. She speaks of the empowerment of education, and this is also important. But I believe that the most powerful lesson to be learned from Oprah regarding personal empowerment can be drawn from her own life.

Oprah was willing to ultimately take responsibility, without excuses, without blaming others, for her own life. She accepted the responsibility to make her own choices, and was accountable for the choices she made.

Among the remarkable things she has said about forgiveness are these:

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you approve of what happened to you."

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you absolve those who wronged you."

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you are not responsible for what you did."

It has been difficult for me to forgive myself: for the poor choices I made; for the angry words I said; for the years wasted, feeling like a victim instead of embracing my power. I am responsible for all those choices and accountable for the consequences. I am also free to forgive myself, to take the lessons learned and create a new life.

Forgiveness means I let go of the guilt, the anger and the need for retribution against those who wronged me. It means accepting that nothing I can do now can change the past. It means I free myself to live in the present, where joy, happiness and fulfillment live.

Forgiveness of others and myself is about freedom. My freedom.

### Oprah Winfrey

### In Her Own Words

I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.

Often we don't even realize who we're meant to be because we're so busy trying to live out someone else's ideas. But other people and their opinions hold no power in defining our destiny.

Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a different way to stand.

Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart, and success will come to you.

Life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward, you have to give back.

The ability to learn to say "no" and not feel guilty about it is the greatest success I have achieved.

Most all the mistakes I've made in my life, I've made because I was trying to please other people. Every one of them. There is not one that I've made because I did something because I really wanted to do this for myself.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.

One if the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.

# Oscar Wilde

(1854 - 1900)

Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer who soared to fame for his plays, poems and stories, as well as his sharp wit. His enormous popularity did not save him, though, when he was convicted of homosexuality, which was then a crime in Britain. His prison sentence broke his health and Wilde died in poverty, becoming a lasting symbol of persecuted genius.

Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a prominent family; his father was a doctor who had been knighted for his public services and his mother was a popular poet. Wilde was a brilliant student, winning awards and scholarships at Trinity College and Oxford. His writings, such as The Importance of Being Earnest, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, are regarded as classics.

### Oscar Wilde

### Be Yourself

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

"Be yourself" would seem to be the most evident and obvious of life's great lessons. Yet, for me, it was the hardest lesson I have ever learned.

As a child, I was never good at any of the things that mattered to others - but that was not from lack of desire. I wanted to be an athlete. I wanted to be a singer. I wanted to be a scholar. Better yet, all three! To be a singing athletic scholar. Wow! Now, that would be awesome.

The reason I wanted to be these things was not connected to some internal drive or natural talent. I wanted them because people who were athletic, who sang, or who were good scholars were valued, accepted and envied. I, on the other hand, was the last one picked for a team in gym class. My grade six teacher, Mr. Wright, told my parents I wasn't that bright and that I was messy. My singing was only accepted at church.

In junior high school, a student named Allan regularly bullied me. One day, Allan got me down on the ground on my back, placed his knees on my shoulders and spat in my face. I know that was pretty minor as far as bullying goes, but a part of me died that day. I felt powerless. Feeling powerless, unvalued and dumb didn't make me want to be me. No one else wanted to be me, either, I can assure you that no one envied me.

I wanted to become someone else - almost anyone else. I didn't know how to do that. Of course, I never discussed this with anyone. I was too ashamed and embarrassed, and I feared people might think I was crazy.

It wasn't until I was nineteen that I realized that I had to give up being an expert about who I wasn't and become an expert about who I was. It was an insight that changed the course of my life in an instant. Guess what? Within a few years I had discovered that I am gifted, I am powerful, and I am important. Ultimately, I learned to believe in me.

There are billions of people in the world today who feel unwanted, unvalued and powerless. My life experience has sensitized me to their plight and is the core of my philanthropic work, which is my life mission.

You, like everyone else, deserve the chance to fulfill your potential - to be you.

### Oscar Wilde

### In His Own Words

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.

There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals. It is only by language that we rise above them, or above each other - by language, which is the parent, and not the child, of thought.

It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection; through art and art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.

What a pity that in life we only get our lessons when they are of no use to us.

Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.

The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.

No man is rich enough to buy back his own past.

Sooner or later we have all to pay for what we do.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

The supreme vice is shallowness.

# Pearl S. Buck

(1892 - 1973)

Pearl S. Buck was the first American woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, thanks to her moving and eye-opening stories and novels about life in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling work of fiction in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, she was awarded the Nobel Prize "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces."

Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia, but her parents were Christian missionaries who took her to live in China just after she was born. Buck was taught in English by her mother, and in Chinese by a private tutor. She returned to the United States to earn two university degrees, but she spent most of her life in China as a missionary and teacher. She became a prominent advocate of the rights of women and minority groups, and wrote widely on Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

### Pearl S. Buck

### Enable Women's Dreams

"There are many ways of breaking a heart.

Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream - whatever that dream might be."

My grade five teacher, Mrs. Brushette, introduced me to Pearl S. Buck. Mrs. Brushette loved that Pearl Buck stood up for the rights of women, and she told us that women have dreams, too. (The equality of women was not well established even in Canada when I was in grade five.) She explained that the gift of democracy was the freedom to pursue our dreams.

It wasn't as much what Mrs. Brushette said, as the way she said it, that left a lasting impact on me. Seeing my teacher's reverence for and excitement about Pearl S. Buck made me feel that I was watching the author through my teacher. This was something special. It made me feel that what Pearl Buck stood for was important. It wasn't until many years later that I understood the importance of what Pearl Buck was saying - independently of how Mrs. Brushette felt about her work.

Even today, girls and women in many parts of the world are treated like second-class citizens and are denied basic human rights, including access to education and the freedom to pursue their dreams. The future of the world lies in women fulfilling their dreams and gaining universal access to education; this message is as alive and important today as it was when Mrs. Brushette delivered it.

Everybody, which includes every girl and every woman, has a right to an education, as stated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This ideal is not yet realized, as demonstrated by the Taliban shooting in Pakistan of Malala Yousafzai, for pursuing and promoting the education of girls. Her recovery and her inspiring speech at the United Nations, at the age of 16 on the first "Malala Day" - July 12, 2013 - gave the world a new voice of hope.

I believe that enabling the dreams of women is the responsibility of everyone with any capacity to make a difference. It is my responsibility.

### Pearl S. Buck

### In Her Own Words

Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.

To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.

You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.

I love people. I love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up.

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness of human beings. I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels.

To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind.

I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.

None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free.

All things are possible until they are proved impossible — and even the impossible may only be so, as of now.

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and so they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.

# Ralph Waldo Emerson

(1803 - 1882)

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American writer and lecturer who founded the Transcendentalist movement, which is based on the belief that all people are entitled to have their own paths to spirituality, ones that emerge from their personal intuition and not from the traditional rules of religion or society. His popular essays and powerful speeches helped form the American ideal of individual freedom of thought.

Emerson was born in Boston, the son of a preacher who died when Emerson was only eight years old. He worked his way through Harvard University to become a teacher, then returned to get his degree and become a minister. Emerson grew to reject the strict teachings of universities and churches; his idea of the power and potential of the individual continues to inspire philosophers and social critics.

### Ralph Waldo Emerson

### The Gift Within

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

The first time I was able to tell that there were three different voices in my head - the voice of my Ego, the voice of my Committee of Critics, and the voice of my Inner Guide - was an awakening.

Here is an example of the kind of discussion that went on among those three voices when I was considering registering for a creative-writing class a few years ago.

My Ego said, "Don't register. The course is too expensive. How do you know it will be any good?"

My Committee of Critics said, "Do you want to look like a fool? Remember how everyone laughed at you - and not in a good way - when you read that story in school?"

My Inner Guide said to me, "To learn, you must try. When you try, sometimes you fail, but that is how you learn. Register and enjoy the class."

My Ego

My Ego wants to be in control, at all costs. It says, "Listen, Larry, I'm just trying to protect you. I don't want you to get hurt."

To attain its goals, my Ego uses commands that evoke anger, worry and fear in me.

My Committee of Critics

My Committee of Critics gives me replays of negative judgments about myself that I have received and accepted from others and myself in the past.

The memories my Committee of Critics replay for me evoke shame, guilt and doubt.

My Inner Guide

My Inner Guide has only one agenda: what is best for me.

I can only connect to my Inner Guide through silence, solitude and serenity.

The tools my Inner Guide uses to help me are encouragement and guidance, delivered in a calm, quiet, almost still way that evokes peace. I believe that when Emerson spoke of "what lies within us," he was talking about this Inner Guide - the tiny voice within us that gently guides us in the direction of our best interest.

### Ralph Waldo Emerson

### In His Own Words

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

Man hopes: genius creates.

We are always getting ready to live, but never living.

You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.

The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence.

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

For every thing you have missed, you have gained something else; and for every thing you gain, you lose something.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.

Yet a man may love a paradox, without losing either his wit or his honesty.

# Richard Bach

(1936 - present)

Richard Bach is an American writer and pilot who is famous for writing two of the best-selling books of the 1970s, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. Through his many books, Bach expressed his philosophy, which is that limits exist only in our minds, and that all of us can achieve much more than we may think.

Bach was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and had a love of flying from childhood. He attended university but quickly joined the U.S. military to become a pilot. Like most of his books, Jonathan Livingston Seagull used flying as a metaphor for life and freedom. When it was published, it was the best-selling hardcover book since Gone With The Wind. It was subsequently turned into a movie, and is still in print today.

### Richard Bach

### Problems Bear Gifts

"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.

You seek problems because you need their gifts."

I have learned the truth of Richard Bach's statement over and over, but the story I will tell you now is probably the most dramatic example so far in my life of how problems can lead to gifts.

In 1973, I was 23 years old, and was working for an office-equipment company. I was the top salesman for the firm in Canada, but selling office equipment wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. So that was my initial problem: If I didn't want to do what I was doing with my life, what did I want to do?

While I was at it, I decided to take a two-week trip by myself to reflect, and to check out some of the most historic cities in Europe - Amsterdam, London, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Geneva. At the airport, I bought a book entitled How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, by Harry Browne. I began to read it on the flight.

The trip turned into a mixture of three elements: sightseeing, reflecting on the future I wanted, and reading and digesting the advice Harry Browne was giving me. I finished his book at an outdoor cafe overlooking Lake Geneva the night before I flew back to Canada.

I realized as I was flying home that the life I wanted was entirely up to me. I was free. I didn't need to convince anyone else that my choices were right. The decisions were mine. I could start now.

I decided that two things would improve my life: to start my own business and to find a girlfriend. It was not that these objectives were new, it was that now I had a deep clarity that these were the cornerstones of the life I wanted. This clarity, and my conviction that these two goals - more than all the other possible goals I might choose - would create the life I wanted, brought with them the power of focus.

Now, I had two new problems. How could I start a business when I didn't know what business to start and I didn't have much money? And how would I go about finding a girlfriend?

I started my first company, Growth Marketing Inc., in 1974 - part-time, evenings and weekends - doing sales seminars based on my sales success. I was still president of the company when I retired in 2012.

Then, in November of 1974, my friends David and Elma Kirk invited me to dinner. This was not unusual. Dave and I had been friends since we were five years old and I often ate dinner with them. But on this occasion, Elma, who was a nursing student at the time, had also invited a classmate, Janet Mills, for dinner, so they could study together afterward (at least that was what she told me. I think there was some match-making going on). I asked Janet on a date in December, then on another on New Year's Eve . . . and in July of 1975, we were married. This year (2013) we celebrate our 38th anniversary.

Those two decisions I made in 1973 became the cornerstones of building the life I wanted. Thank you for the insights, Harry Browne. And thank you, Richard Bach, for explaining to me how gifts can arise from problems.

### Richard Bach

### In His own Words

Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.

You're never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.

I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live my life in a way that will make me happy.

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.

Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding.

The only true law is that which leads to freedom. There is no other.

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours.

Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.

If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a problem.

Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.

You teach best what you most need to learn.

You've given up your whole life to be the person you are now. Is it worth it?

# Rudyard Kipling

(1865 - 1936)

Rudyard Kipling was the first English writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he did at age 42; he continues to be the youngest recipient of that honor. Kipling wrote patriotic poems and stories, as well as classic children's literature such as The Jungle Book. Many of his books, stories and poems, including "The Man Who Would Be King," Kim, and "Gunga Din," have been made into movies.

Kipling was born in Bombay, India, to British parents, and raised in England. He attended military school, but his parents could not afford university. Instead, Kipling went back to Asia to work at a newspaper and began writing stories and poems. By the time he returned to England, he was a literary superstar; today, he remains one of the most popular writers in British history.

### Rudyard Kipling

### The Power of Questions

"I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Where and When And How and Why and Who."

From "The Elephant's Child"

I have an insatiable desire to learn, to know and to understand. Questions are my most effective tool.

The most important questions I ask are those I ask of myself, and answer for myself.

Knowing what you want is the first step toward attaining it. The reason I have clarity about my goals is that I ask myself questions, and I journal the answers. I also live with the questions for as long as it takes to get clarity. Clarity is powerful.

The next step toward attaining goals is to determine how to do it. Who needs to be involved? What resources do you require? Where will you get them? No matter what you are pursuing, you need to ask questions like these.

How do I find the answers to such questions? First, I spend time writing them down. Then, I look for books or trustworthy online resources, as well as allies and mentors. Often, the biggest payoff of the search for answers is that I improve my questions - and I've learned that better answers always come from better questions.

A good book or online resource is the distilled wisdom of one or more authors that can save you time, expense and mistakes - often leading to better questions.

A mentor is someone who has experience relevant to what you are pursuing, and is willing to help you. You will be surprised how many knowledgeable people are willing to help you if you are respectful, ask clear questions, and are prepared to listen to the answers. Often the best thing a mentor does for you is to ask you even more insightful questions that will help you find the answers you need.

An ally is someone who shares your values, someone with whom you have some shared experiences, and someone with whom you engage in mutual support to achieve your goals. You trust each other. Your ally can challenge your assumptions, ask for an explanation, or pose a question to ensure your plan is solid. Then, he or she can endorse your plan or encourage you to do more research.

We all seek the right answers. The best way to get the right answers is to ask the right questions.

### Rudyard Kipling

### In His Own Words

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!

# Socrates

(469 B.C. - 399 B.C.)

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who is credited with many of the basic ideas that have formed Western thought for more than two thousand years, such as logical thinking, and the concept of right and wrong as separate from any law or religion. He was imprisoned and executed by his political enemies after criticizing his government and leaders for abusing their power.

While much of Socrates's life is a mystery, he is thought to have been born to a stonemason and his wife, to have served in the military, and to have become a popular and respected teacher and speaker. His practice of breaking down a problem into a series of questions is called "the Socratic Method"; it is still taught in schools, and is used every day by people in all walks of life.

### Socrates

### A Life Worth Living

"The unexamined life is not worth living."

Socrates understood that the course of our lives is guided by the beliefs that we consider to be true. Yet we acquired many of these "truths" from others when we were growing up \- at home, at school, and in our communities. Some of these beliefs are not "truths" and do not serve us, meaning that our lives are unconsciously guided by false beliefs that we have never consciously tested.

One way to examine your life is to use the technique of critical thinking that is called the "Socratic Method." Begin by treating the "truths" that are based on your beliefs as hypotheses - for example, perhaps you have always believed that if someone dresses inappropriately for an event, according to your standards, they are being disrespectful. Now, challenge that belief with a series of questions designed to test the logic of the belief. The purpose is to challenge your beliefs and to determine, after the enquiry, whether you still believe them or not.

If you still believe them after the enquiry, you will hold them to be truths for you even more fervently; if not, you have been freed from being guided by a belief that is untrue.

Socrates challenged the moral and philosophical beliefs held by the youth of Athens by asking them a series of questions. You can read them in the Socratic Dialogues.

For many years, my lifelong friend Dave Kirk and I held dialogues at lunch or over coffee. We would choose a topic on which we held differing beliefs. An example was this issue: "Is addiction a choice for which the addict is responsible and accountable?" One of us believed the answer was "yes," and the other believed "no." This issue was important to both of us because both our families had been affected by addiction.

We had a heated debate. In the end, we both concluded that addiction is a choice made by addicts when they first choose to drink alcohol, take drugs or smoke cigarettes. Once they become addicted, it becomes an illness, and they need support to quit. Still, quitting and recovery requires another choice that must be made by the addict. The addict is responsible and accountable for both choices, and should be supported with compassion to recover but not be enabled to continue the addiction.

It was amazing how much we learned and understood from these dialogues. We did not always agree or change our views, but we always learned.

Our advanced approach was challenging our own beliefs, and it was during this phase of our "Socratic" relationship that we unearthed our deepest insights, because it forced us to really challenge our own beliefs, instead of just defending them.

Do as Socrates advised. Let your life be guided by moral and philosophical "truths" based on beliefs you have examined and adopted as true for you. It will make your life worth living.

### Socrates

### In His Own Words

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.

I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

To find yourself, think for yourself.

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.

If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.

He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.

Every action has its pleasures and its price.

Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.

I hope to be able to show you the nature of the cause, and to prove the immortality of the soul.

# Steve Jobs

(1955 - 2011)

Steve Jobs was an American inventor and business leader who helped create the modern personal computer by co-founding Apple Inc. and working on the design of the Macintosh PC. He was also famous for creating and leading the animation studio Pixar, maker of movies such as Toy Story, and he became a major shareholder and director of the Walt Disney Company.

Jobs was born to a young couple in San Francisco, California, who gave him up for adoption. He started working part-time for a computer game company while still in high school, and worked his way through a few university courses - even returning pop bottles to make ends meet. Jobs changed the world with his vision for a computer that used a mouse and graphics instead of requiring users to learn computer code.

### Steve Jobs

### Live Your Life

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

It seems that everyone has an idea of the life you should live. My mother wanted me to get a job with the government or a bank. Why? "Because government and bank paychecks are regular and they don't bounce."

Her advice was a response to the unstable employment and erratic income of my father, and her experience as a child during the Depression. She saw a regular, secure paycheck as the foundation of a good life. Her advice was well intentioned.

Many of my friends wanted secure jobs, too. The prevailing advice from teachers was to become a lawyer, a doctor or a dentist. I knew those careers were not in my future, because the kind of intelligence they demanded was different from the kind of intelligence I had, and I wasn't drawn to these professions in any way.

Instead, I had known from the time I was twelve that I wanted to start my own business. I had no idea how I would do it. I didn't know what business I wanted to start. Worse, I thought it was more a fantasy than a dream: I told myself to "be realistic."

However, I saw starting my own business as the only way to achieve my ultimate goal - which was freedom. I saw being tied to a monthly paycheck, no matter how reliable, as a kind of servitude, and I believed if I could figure out how to start my own successful business I could earn financial freedom.

This financial independence would mean my time was my own. I could travel. I could write. I could work. I could do whatever I wanted, when I wanted, without worrying about paying my bills. Worrying about paying bills was something my mother had worried about all her life.

I worked at various jobs to support myself while I figured out how to transform my fantasy into a believable dream and, ultimately, an achievable goal. In the meantime, I read books about business. I talked to every business person I could. I journaled and thought about business.

For years it seemed I was making only incremental progress, but eventually, in 1974, I started my first business. Today, I am a retired businessman, investor and venture capitalist with enough money to do whatever I like. My fantasy is now my reality.

Steve Jobs is correct. Don't live someone else's life. Live the life you want.

### Steve Jobs

### In His Own Words

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful . . . that's what matters to me.

Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.

What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.

I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

# Sun Tzu

(544 B.C. - 496 B.C.)

Sun Tzu was a Chinese general who wrote one of the most influential books in history on strategy - The Art of War. This book inspired the leaders of successful Chinese armies for centuries, and has been adopted by military, political and business leaders around the world.

Ancient histories disagree on where in China Sun Tzu was born, and provide little detail on his childhood. He is thought to have based his book on lessons learned during his personal victories as a general in the Emperor's army. The Art of War has been credited with helping a long list of leaders, including the first emperors of unified China and a united Japan, European conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte, and Communist leader Mao Zedong. This masterpiece of strategic thinking is now required reading in U.S. military schools.

### Sun Tzu

### How Leaders Lead

"A leader leads by example not by force."

To be a leader you must have followers. People follow a leader who articulates a clear and exciting vision for a future that those people want to help to create. A leader recognizes that achieving any great vision requires many people with different knowledge, skills and talents working cohesively toward the same vision. One of the fundamental responsibilities of a leader is to find, recruit, develop and empower these people.

At the ManCap Group, where I was a founding partner, president and CEO, our guiding principle was "The Power of Partnership." Our partners included the presidents of our home-building companies - who were, in turn, the partners and CEOs of their companies. It included our staff in each company, our land-developer partners, suppliers and sub trades, our bank and mortgage lenders and our professional advisors.

My primary business partner Lewis Nakatsui and I have been business partners for more than forty years. Most of our business partners have been involved with us for twenty to thirty years. When I retired in 2012, my personal staff had all been with me for a minimum of fifteen years.

My role was predominantly to develop a clear vision and annual business plans in consultation with the management team, and to formally monitor our progress monthly with our own information system, which everyone trusted.

As a leader, I didn't try to create fear, but rather worked to develop confidence. I didn't try to micro-manage, but worked to empower people through facilitating opportunities for independent decision making. I didn't try to take credit, but rather gave recognition - and bonuses - to those who had achieved the results.

In the end, being a leader is about developing and maintaining trust with all your partners. To develop trust you must model good values. You need to be trustworthy, respectful, and helpful, and you need to develop and use good communication skills in one-on-one meetings, in group meetings and in private correspondence. You need to care sincerely about your partners and your vision. People can sense when your feelings are sincere and when they are not. People care about good leaders because they sense that the leader cares about them.

Sun Tzu is correct. Leadership is not about force and fear. Leadership is about being trustworthy and inspirational.

### Sun Tzu

### In His Own Words

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know.

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty doubts.

A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.

Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace.

Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

# Theodore Roosevelt

(1858 - 1919)

Theodore Roosevelt, known as "Teddy," was President of the United States, and the first American to win a Nobel Prize (for Peace, after he negotiated an end to a war between Russia and China). He was known for fighting corruption and standing up for the common citizen, but he was just as famous for his military exploits (for which he won the U.S. Medal of Honor), and his love of nature and adventure.

Teddy Roosevelt was born to an upper-class family in New York; his father was a successful businessman; his mother came from a wealthy Southern family. A sickly child, Roosevelt was mostly home-schooled but became an athletic and brilliant scholar, graduating with honors from Harvard University before dropping out of law school to enter politics. Historians rank him as one of the greatest American presidents.

### Theodore Roosevelt

### Do What You Can

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

So often, I have thought I couldn't or shouldn't act until I had everything I thought I needed. It is true that if I were jumping out of an airplane, it would be common sense to obtain a parachute and some training first. In situations where your life hangs in the balance, I advise caution.

However, too often, waiting for the "right" time, place or situation before acting amounts only to procrastination. We doubt that we can succeed. We are worried about embarrassment or failure.

This can be a simple everyday situation. I used to think I couldn't invite people to dinner because our house was too small, our furniture wasn't good enough and our dishes didn't match. I discovered that the people who really mattered to me weren't concerned about such things. They cared that our place was clean, that we were good hosts, and that what we served was prepared and presented with love. Even since we've been able to afford matching dishes, guests who have visited our home have commented more often about the sense of welcome, comfort and connection that they feel because they know we are being completely present with them, about the freshly prepared, simple food, and about the laughter and fun, than they have on our house, the furnishings and the tableware.

Waiting for the right moment is equally pointless with major situations. Imagine a local tragedy - flooding in your community, a fire or an earthquake. You could spend your entire day thinking about what you can't do, or perhaps what you could do if only you had a boat, or money, or, or, or . . . .

It is better to think about what you can do - with what you have, where you are. Can you volunteer with the Red Cross or another local charity to make meals for relief workers and people displaced from their homes? Can you help one family, by helping them remove destroyed furniture from their flooded home? Can you donate to, or raise funds for, the charities helping with the relief effort? Can you babysit for a family member who wants to volunteer to help?

These are just examples. The principle applies to almost everything that needs to be done.

There is always something you can do. Do it.

### Theodore Roosevelt

### In His Own Words

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Success - the real success - does not depend upon the position you hold, but upon how you carry yourself in that position.

The worst of all fears is the fear of living.

When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.

The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.

# Thomas Edison

(1847 - 1931)

Thomas Edison was one of the most successful inventors in history, with more than a thousand patents to his name. His inventions include many world-changing devices such as the light bulb, movie camera, record player, voice recorder, stock ticker, and hundreds more. Edison was the first inventor to use mass production to make his gadgets available and affordable to average people.

Edison was born in Ohio, but raised in Michigan. His father had fled Canada before Thomas was born, after taking part in the unsuccessful Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837. Thomas Edison spent only three months in school; his teacher mistook the boy's intellect for a mental defect! Self-educated and working from the age of nine, Edison went on to start 14 businesses - including General Electric, still one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.

### Thomas Edison

### Try Once More

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

When Thomas Edison talked about finding 10,000 ways that didn't work, he was referring to the invention of the first affordable incandescent light bulb and, in particular, to finding the correct material for the filament. Imagine if Thomas Edison had quit! I, like most people, have failed many times - but never, that I recall, 10,000 times at any one thing.

After reading this quote, I asked myself, "What if I look at my mistakes as just one more attempt to find the right way to do something, or to figure out what works? What if every attempt - at anything, at everything - is just an experiment to see if it works? Then, there is no stigma, no shame and no embarrassment." If I looked at "trying" this way, I thought, I'd be willing to attempt things more quickly and more often.

I also asked myself, "Do I quit too soon?" The answer to that was "Yes." I resolved to persevere longer.

I have thought of this quote from Thomas Edison literally thousands of times over the years. In the homebuilding business, when a home design didn't work, I'd ask several customers, "Why not"? When an advertisement didn't connect, I'd test alternatives. It amazed me how many times doing some one-on-one and group research with customers and prospective customers would provide insights. When you design a home plan that gets it right - not "almost right," but "just right" - for a specific type of client, it often has appeal to many purchasers. When you create an advertising concept that really connects to prospective customers, the results can be astounding. It is worth the effort.

I have had the same experience with investing, writing and management. After experimenting with different approaches, I found ways that worked for me and got the results I wanted. Then, I repeated that same approach, even though the content and context were often different. Sometimes, tweaks were needed, but I became far more efficient and productive.

Follow Edison's advice. Experiment. Try different ways of doing things. Keep trying. Don't give up too soon.

### Thomas Edison

### In His Own Words

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

I find out what the world needs. Then, go ahead and invent it.

There's a way to do it better — find it.

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.

Restlessness is discontent — and discontent is the first necessity of progress.

When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this - you haven't.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

I owe my success to the fact that I never had a clock in my workroom. Seventy-five of us worked twenty hours every day and slept only four hours — and thrived on it.

The three things that are most essential to achievement are common sense, hard work and stick-to-it-iv-ness.

We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.

I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it . . . . I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill.

If parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave them an estate of incalculable value.

Life's most soothing things are a child's goodnight and sweet music.

# Viktor Frankl

(1905 - 1997)

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, created logotherapy - the idea that many people suffer emotional or mental problems because they have failed to find meaning in their lives. Dr. Frankl developed his theory while a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, saying that a person can find meaning and a reason to live even under the most terrible circumstances.

Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria, to parents who were both civil servants. He became interested in psychology as a teenager and went on to earn degrees in psychiatry and neurology at the University of Vienna. His training allowed him to help other inmates to survive the camp, and the school of therapy he created has helped millions of other people as well.

### Viktor Frankl

### The Meaning of Life

"The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected."

Victor Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning (1946) focuses on his time in Auschwitz, a World War II concentration camp.

In Part One, Frankl describes the horrific experiences of the prisoners. In Part Two, he discusses the mindset that affected the longevity of prisoners in the camps. He found that prisoners who succumbed to the shock of being in a concentration camp, and who degenerated into self-interest and ultimately disillusionment, were more prone to die.

Those, on the other hand, who managed to maintain a purpose beyond themselves despite the horrors they were facing - who found something to live for beyond the camps - were more likely to survive. The inner hold on a spiritual self, a personal purpose to serve someone, or a personal work of importance, can keep the flame of hope alive. Without hope all is lost. Many of us have seen this same thing happen to people we know and love in our daily lives.

Man's Search For Meaning contributed to my belief that each of us has a personal mission. Our personal mission is to use our gifts to serve others in a way that is meaningful to us. I believe that this personal mission is the foundation of our fulfillment and happiness.

We choose who we wish to serve and how we wish to serve them, for reasons that are important to us. From these choices we give meaning to our lives. What we choose is personal and may be connected to pain we have experienced in our own lives or to our vision of a better world that we want to create for others.

Our personal mission is enabled by our gifts \- our talents, abilities, curiosities, passions and dreams - which we discover and develop with a focus on making a difference that is meaningful to us. Meaning comes from using what is innately within us to serve another or others in our world.

### Viktor Frankl

### In His Own Words

The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.

I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life.

But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Those who have a "why" to live, can bear with almost any "how."

Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.

# Warren Buffett

(1930 - present)

Warren Buffett is a legendary investor who has become one of the wealthiest people in the world due to his ability to spot opportunities and future success. Although a multi-billionaire, Buffett is known for living a very simple lifestyle, and is in the process of giving away ninety-nine percent of his riches to charity.

Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of a successful businessman and politician. He began working and investing while still a child. He had successful businesses even during high school, but he went on to earn university degrees in business administration and economics. Buffett, known as the "Oracle of Omaha" for his insights, has been awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

### Warren Buffett

### The Tide Reveals

"You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."

In my twenties, I noticed that a business associate wore custom-made suits and shirts, had a beautiful car and a penthouse apartment, and always flew business class. Based on what I knew about his business activities, I couldn't figure out how he could afford such a lavish lifestyle. I concluded that he must know a secret to business success that I didn't. I resolved to discover that secret.

In the autumn of 2008, my wife Janet and I were on a European vacation. On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, on a visit to the birthplace of golf in St. Andrews, Scotland (the culmination of a pilgrimage for us golfers), we heard that the Icelandic Financial Authority had taken control of a bank. The next day, the British Central Bank provided GBP25 Billion to lend to British banks. By Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18 percent for the week - a total drop of 40 percent from the October, 2007 high.

On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, as we visited Vienna, the U.S. government announced a commitment of $250 Billion for equity investment in the largest U.S. banks. The next day, the Dow fell 733 points, its second biggest one-day point loss ever - the largest having been only two weeks earlier, on September 29, 2008, when it had experienced a 788-point drop.

I began to think that the governments didn't have this situation under control. I checked my investment account online. I decided to take my cash balance and invest in a Government of Canada treasury bill. I was shocked to discover the rate was minus one percent. "What?" I asked myself. "Impossible!"

After a few moments of thought, I decided the one percent must have been an insurance premium to protect the capital. I bought the T-bill.

The financial tide was clearly out. There were numerous financial institutions swimming nearly naked - operating with too much debt, having too much leverage and not enough capital. This was the same lesson I had learned about my business associate in my twenties. He had been using unsustainable debt to live a lavish lifestyle way beyond his means. Whether on the corporate or individual scale, that works only until your ability to refinance ends. Then a painful recovery begins.

Warren Buffett doesn't swim naked. He understands the fundamentals of investment - and knows that you need to stick with them no matter what is going on, and no matter what other people tell you to do. I follow his advice and keep debt and leverage well within prudent guidelines; it's not even a Speedo for me; I wear a full boxer suit when I go swimming.

### Warren Buffett

### In His Own Words

Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don't have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.

Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you'll do things differently.

I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

Time is the enemy of the poor business and the friend of the great business.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

We can afford to lose money - even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation - even a shred of reputation.

The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.

[The perfect amount of money to leave children would be] enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

# William Shakespeare

(1564 - 1616)

William Shakespeare was an English writer who created some of the most famous plays in the world, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet, as well as dozens of classic poems. He is famous not only for the enduring popularity of his work, but also for creating hundreds of expressions now in common use, such as "good riddance," "break the ice," and "heart of gold."

Shakespeare was born in a small English village to a well known, prosperous family, and was apparently educated at a local charter school. He competed successfully with more educated playwrights in London, and his plays became enormously popular among commoners and royalty alike. They are still regularly performed, adapted and studied worldwide, while Shakespeare's inventive writing has made him the most frequently quoted person in the English language.

### William Shakespeare

### Destiny is Within

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."

Some people believe that our future, our destiny, is pre-ordained - that what will happen to us is fated. Shakespeare says that this belief is hogwash. I agree with him.

Our future, our destiny, is in part defined by our innate gifts and the opportunities available where we live. However, for most of us in free democratic countries, the most important factor is the choices we make.

First, we must accept ourselves, take responsibility for developing our talents and abilities, and become accountable for our choices. This may seem harsh, but the alternative is to have someone else make these choices for us - or, in other words, to abdicate our freedom.

Second, three beliefs are critical: 1) we must learn to believe in ourselves; 2) we must choose to treat others as we would like to be treated (these are what I call relationship values); and 3) we must choose our life priorities carefully - they become our core, and determine how we spend our time and money.

Third, we must choose upon what to focus our time and energy in pursuit of achieving or attaining our goals. This includes preparing a plan to pursue our quest, and having the conviction to implement and follow through on our plans.

Fourth, we must choose to act. Courage is not the absence of doubt; courage is acting despite your doubt. You will likely discover that some strategies and tactics you planned don't achieve the results you expected. Treat that as a lesson, and learn it. Make new strategies and tactics based on your new knowledge. Act again.

Finally, when things get the darkest, when the quest seems unachievable, rest for a while if you must, but then persevere. Understand that struggle is part of life. Don't abandon your quest. Be creative in what you do. See every challenge, every set-back, as a lesson that prepares you to triumph in the end.

It is your choices - made and lived - more than any other factor, that creates your destiny.

### William Shakespeare

### In His Own Words

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

Expectation is the root of all heartache.

How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.

Our doubts are traitors,

and make us lose the good we oft might win,

by fearing to attempt.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

Don't waste your love on somebody who doesn't value it.

Listen to many, speak to a few.

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

# Sir Winston Churchill

(1874 - 1965)

Winston Churchill was a British prime minister, historian and war hero; many people believe he did more than anyone else to save the world from Adolf Hitler. Churchill's stirring speeches and radio addresses, his brilliant tactics, and his ability to bring other allies together, were keys to defeating the Nazis.

Churchill was born into a wealthy and influential family in Oxfordshire, England. He was a rebellious boy and failed at three private schools before his family sent him to a military academy. Churchill flourished in the military environment, overcame an embarrassing speech impediment, and became an excellent scholar and athlete. He remains the only British prime minister to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and regularly tops opinion polls as the greatest leader in British history.

### Sir Winston Churchill

### Never Give Up

"Never, never, never give in!"

All of us face tough days. Difficulties, roadblocks and discouragement are part of life's journey. Perseverance is fundamental to all achievement. To keep going through all these challenges requires that what is outside you connects to something within you.

The key to perseverance is a connection to a purpose beyond yourself. When what you are doing has meaning for you, and is part of the journey to fulfill a quest or a dream - driven by something within you - perseverance is easier, because it means something to you.

During the Battle of Britain between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force, one day - August 18, 1940 - became known as "The Hardest Day." It was a day of aerial engagements on a scale never before seen. Both sides suffered heavy losses.

In a speech two days later, Churchill made reference to the heroic efforts of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, saying, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." He also said, "The right to guide the course of world history is the noblest prize of victory. We are still toiling up the hill; we have not yet reached the crest-line of it; we cannot survey the landscape or even imagine what its condition will be when that longed-for morning comes. The task which lies before us immediately is at once more practical, more simple and more stern . . . . For the rest, we have to gain the victory. That is our task."

Sir Winston Churchill faced enemies intent on conquering Great Britain. His purpose was to defeat these enemies with the help of his allies, and to preserve the freedom of Great Britain. Churchill made his position clear in a speech before Parliament on June 4, 1940, at a time when the Germans controlled much of Europe, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Your purpose may be to create the finest novel you can write. It may be to start and build a business that earns its success by serving its customers better than your competitors. Your purpose may be to be the best mother or father you can be. Whatever your purpose, it serves a need outside of you and fulfills a need within you. Pursue it, and never give up.

### Sir Winston Churchill

### In His Own Words

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.

Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.

What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?

Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or I could not learn.

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.

All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: Freedom; Justice; Honour; Duty; Mercy; Hope.

It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.

# Afterword

Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Anne Frank, I have kept a journal since I was nineteen years old. It is a self-discovery and a self-development journal. It is where I have a private conversation with myself. It includes my thoughts, ideas, questions, analyses, concerns, decisions and goals.

Journaling can be described as "thinking on paper." Sometimes the conversations in our head are confusing, muddled, and even irrational. Writing them down and evaluating them brings clarity. Clarity is very powerful.

That brings me back to the quote in the introduction from Eleanor Roosevelt: "What counts, in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading. It is the ideas stirred in your own mind, the ideas which are a reflection of your own thinking, which make you an interesting person."

When you find a quotation from reading or wisdom from a conversation that really speaks to you, write it down and then make it your own. Reword it so it conveys the wisdom in words that are most meaningful to you. Connect it to a brief story from your own life so the wisdom has personal context for you. Apply the wisdom, as soon as possible, in your life so you have reinforcing experience.

Since the lessons in this book are derivative wisdom, I can't correctly attribute them to the original teacher, nor to me. I have created a composite character, a single teacher to represent all my teachers, including all those in this book. His name is Vivo Saggezza, which roughly translated means "Life Wisdom" in Italian.

He is the voice of these lessons and stories. His voice speaks in a language that is clear and meaningful to me, which helps me to understand, to remember, and to apply the wisdom I have learned. It also helps me to share this wisdom with others.

Is Vivo Saggezza real? Yes. He is very real to me. He is my mentor. He is the voice of my many amazing teachers.

# Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC! Book Endorsements

Wisdom to Connect the Dots to Your Dreams and Goals.

Wisdom to Live Your Magic, is a collection of the most inspiring stories of resilience, success and meaningful life lessons I have ever read. This compilation of life's great teachers and heroes, will inspire youth to take those lessons and help them connect the dots from where they are now, to their own future dreams and goals. Larry Anderson inspires me and I truly believe his work will inspire a generation.

—Jay Ball, President & CEO, Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta

Proves Genius and Success are Achieved by Dedication to a Growth MIndset.

Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!(tm) interweaves the life of one ordinary man with men and women who have made significant contributions to mankind. Our historical heroes inspired Larry to create and live an extraordinary life. The book reminds us that genius and success are not born, but achieved by dedication to a growth mindset. A must read for all.

—Laura Cameron, Spiritual Community Leader

A Blueprint to Shape a Deeply Meaningful Life!

Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!(tm) is a blueprint for how each of us can live a deeply meaningful life, through a process of self-examination and lifelong learning, guided by the greatest teachers in human history.

—Jesse A. Tallon, Sleep Therapist

Portraits of Great Teachers That Sparks a Passion to Learn.

Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!(tm) skillfully paints a portrait of many of the world's greatest teachers. The words of these masters come alive through Larry's enlightening analysis, while also allowing the unique voice of each teacher to speak directly to the reader's heart. A stimulating read for any young person that sparks a passion to learn from, and follow, the footsteps of masters.

—David Kelso, Filmmaker

A Personal Springboard to Explore History's Great Teachers.

You have interrupted my sleep patterns. I have been reading Inspiration to Live Your MAGIC!(tm) since my aging bladder woke me early this morning. Your writing is concise and informative, made real with personal experiences, both angst and joy. The book re-acquaints me with some of the influences in my own journey, and introduces me to others with whom I am not acquainted. I see this book acting as a springboard for me, and anyone else who reads it, to explore history's great teachers.

—Rob Hewes, Music Producer

Awaken to the Unique Way You Can Live, Guided by Great Teachers.

A rich, delicious, read of inspirational lives. Inspiring the understanding that their legacy can be carried forward in our own unique ways as we awaken to that opportunity.

—Reverend Dr. Patrick Cameron

Discover How Wisdom From Amazing Teachers Can Enrich Your Life.

We all have questions; we all have dreams. Mr. Anderson has taken words of wisdom from 50 amazing teachers and illustrates how they have had an effect on his life - his dreams. The reader learns of Mr. Anderson's personal journey as well as discovering how the wisdom of these great men and women from the past to the present can have a positive, enriching effect on their own lives.

This is a book to keep close, read often and share with many.

—Joy Van Marck, Marketing Consultant

This book will encourage countless others to live their magic.

This is among the most inspiring books I have ever read. By sharing your experiences, insights and personal journey into self-discovery and the fulfillment of your dreams, you will most certainly encourage countless others to live their magic too.

—Bill Trainor, Retired Teacher

