A Few JFK Quotes

His reputation was large. I remember hearing, while doing the Evelyn Wood training for speed reading with comprehension in sixth grade, that John F. Kennedy could read 2000 words a minute. This seemed astonishing to me. Equally astonishing was the assassination which occurred just months before.

Without doubt he became our 35th president at a very dicey time. The Cold War was hot, and the times were a-changin'. The Russians appeared to be ahead in "the Space Race" and the Civil Rights movement was in full bloom with nothing as yet resolved.

He called himself “an idealist without illusions” which feels like a pretty apt moniker. Raised from a vantage point inside the corridors of power, there's no doubt he had ample opportunity to get jaded... but somehow managed to inspire a generation to step up to the plate and make a mark in history. Despite his brief time in office, his shadow has stretched long.

The following are a few pointed and pithy thoughts from the heart of a president who's life was indeed cut short in its prime.

"A child miseducated is a child lost."

"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."

"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

"Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both."

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."

"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men."

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."

"For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future."

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."

"I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide."

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."

"Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process."

"Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

It's easy to see without reading too far how witty the man was, or perhaps talented his team of writers. If you enjoyed these, a Google search will bring you plenty more to chew on.

In the meantime, have a great day... and make a difference.

Let’s Live For Today

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. ~Abraham Lincoln

Yesterday I started listening to Dale Carnegie's How To Stop Worrying & Start Living. Carnegie, if you recall, was the author of that phenomenal bestseller How To Win Friends & Influence People. If you have not read this latter, which was actually former to How To Stop Worrying, then you owe it to yourself to get a copy and make it a long term course for meditation. It is rich with anecdotes and literally life-changing advice.

Carnegie himself was born in poverty but went to college to become a teacher. After this, that and a handful of other misdirections, he found a measure of footing as a lecturer, and wrote a few unsuccessful books before churning out How To Win Friends, which proved a bestseller right out of the gate. By the time he died, the book had sold millions of copies and had been translated into 31 languages.

The funny part of How To Stop Worrying for me is that I can't help but associate the title with Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, a film that carries the comically menacing subtitle How to Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb. Nevertheless, Carnegie's book is no sideshow.

Carnegie’s book is similar in style to How to Win Friends in the sense that it is a compilation of anecdotal stories, quotes from famous people and insights from research. An early chapter addresses the importance of living one day at a time, not allowing the past to wreck the present or anxieties about the the future to ruin today. He writes, “One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”

I’m sure that most of us have at one time or another allowed worries about the future to stain our enjoyment of the present. And who has not wrestled with regrets about the past at one time or another. Regret was what trapped the father in the hall of mirrors in Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Whether it’s the past or future that sideswipes your enjoyment of the present, let it go. Here are some good quotes to mull over.

“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Don't let the past steal your present.” ~Cherralea Morgen

“There is no distance on this earth as far away as yesterday.” ~Robert Nathan

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” ~Oscar Wilde

“The past is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.” ~Author Unknown

“Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.” ~Euripides

"Make it happen. Let's live for today." ~ennyman

If You Want To Play Baseball...

Recently I heard someone use the expression "If you want to play baseball then organize a game." It's one of those pithy expressions that rolls off the tongue but contains a nice seed truth. Examples are legion but off the top of my head these come to mind:

"If you want to make an omelet you're going to have to break a few eggs."

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

"The butler who folds his hands spills no tea."

This last, which I frequently quote, actually makes a nice bookend for the first. Both are directed to the idea of action, of initiative. U.S. Grant is listed amongst my heroes because he was such a man. He did not wait for marching orders from his generals in order to figure out what to do. He made observations, understood the larger objectives and relentless pursued courses of action which he believed would lead to the fulfillment of these aims.

Returning to baseball, if you want to play then organize a game. When we were kids we played every day. Whether whiffle ball in Dennis Kappos' back yard or sandlot up behind Stafford school, we were ever at the ready. But we didn't just sit around on our hands and wait for it to happen. We made it happen. We'd ride our bikes down to Rubertinos to get Louie and Joey. We'd run across the street to get Johnny and Gary Vosco, whom we unkindly taunted with the phrase, "Vosco de Gama where's your mama?"

Once your had a core group, gathering other players developed its own momentum. We had had a vision (there's going to be a game) and we took initiative to make it happen. Others who came along also recognized it was going to happen and they participated.

Job hunting or building a new business can follow the same path. You can't be passive. It requires a commitment to do whatever it takes to make it happen. And that's the test. How badly do you want it? If you go for it only half-heartedly, you'll probably give up after hitting the first or second wall. But if you're seriously committed, despite the obstacles, the process of relentless pursuit will teach you much.

And maybe, ultimately, you won't end up in the port you we're first heading toward, you will have learned some valuable lessons about seamanship, qualities of leadership, and how to take control of your life. Or as they say, it's easier to steer a boat when it's moving.

Don't wait for your dreams to come true. It's up to you to make them happen.

In the meantime, seize the day!