Quotes from December

On gifts and strengths
"So true it is that the gods do not give every gracious gift to all, neither shapeliness, nor wisdom, nor skilled speech. For one man is feebler than another in presence, yet the god crowns his words with beauty, and men behold him and rejoice, and his speech runs surely on his way with a sweet modesty, and he shines forth among the gathering of his people, and as he passes through the town men gaze on him as a god. Another again is like the deathless gods for beauty, but his words have no crown of grace about them; even as thou art in comeliness pre-eminent, nor could a god himself fashion thee for the better, but in wit thou art a weakling." Odysseus to Euryalus in Chapter 8 of the Odyssey

(On the possibility of CU hiring Boise State's Dan Hawkins:
"Did I say no controversy? OK, there has been a hint of such here and there during his tenure at Boise. For instance: Two seasons ago, Boise held a 20-14 lead over Tulsa with 49 seconds remaining. The Broncos had possession of the ball, and could have run out the clock. Instead, Boise scored — and the Broncos then had to hang on as Tulsa came back with a touchdown to close the gap to 27-20. Asked why he didn't have his team take a knee near the end, Hawkins was in no mood to quibble. "If we had knelt on the ball at the end of the game, wouldn't that have been the end of the game? Yeah, it would have been," Hawkins said. "But Gandhi didn't take a knee, Martin Luther King didn't take a knee, Thomas Edison didn't take a knee, and I sure as hell am not going to take a knee."
Truthfully? I like that.

Neil Woelk in The Daily Camera, "Simply Put, 'Hawk' is a Winner" December 14, 2005

"Religion is for peolple who are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for those of us who have been there and back." Bonnie Raitt.

"We are the original just-in-time-business. We have one market: the world's children. We have one deliverable: the right toys to the right kids. We have one delivery date: December 25. We can't move extra merchandise through after Chrstmas sales. We don't have outlet stores. We have to get these things right." From HBR Case Study on North Pole Workshops Dec. 2005. p. 40

"More than 100 years ago, Ralph Waldo emerson reportedly declared during a lecture, 'If a man can write a better boo, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.' But Emerson was only half right. Creativity and insight are certainly important, but without an effective network, you may never spark your imagination, reinvent yourself, or declare your sensational news to the world." "How to build your Network by Brian Uzzi and Shannon Dunlap, HBR, December 2005. p. 60

"In spiritual practice, there are only two things: you sit, and you sweep the garden. And it doesn't matter how big the garden is." Zen saying

"Liz, what you lack in computer skills you make up in "nice." You're really nice." Cynthia Beal talking to Liz Swanson.

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." Mark Twain

"Some people ae heroes. And some people jot down notes." Terry Pratchett

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.--Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973)

"Many books require not thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason; they made no such demand upon those who wrote them." Charles Caleb Colton

"Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Psalm 77:19,20

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"Some people have the ability to do a lot of things. Others have the ability to get things done. I want to be one who gets things done." Liz Swanson