Archive for the ‘quotes’ Category

I don’t want to be known for what I’m against. I want to be know for what I’m for.
— T.D. Jakes

Rules

In her article for Inc., Margaret Heffernan speaks plainly about how flexible hours inspire productivity. I am totally on board with her take on this, but what struck me most was this bit on rules in general. Makes me wonder what the implications are for parenting, because she’s right — monitoring and enforcing rules is no fun.

“…I have always resisted rules, for myself and for others. Why? Because once you have rules, you have to enforce them—and there’s no more tedious task in life.”— Margaret Heffernan

Kerning

There’s no algorithm that the human eye can’t best.—Alec Julien

Humanity

When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama answered:

Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

  • 28 Dec 2011  ·  
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On Craftsmanship

When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood in the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.— Steve Jobs, explaining something his father taught him

Check out this article on Fast Company, which describes the 6 Pillars of Steve Jobs’ Design Philosophy.

Thank You, Steve

Its not often that we say someone has truly changed the world. That’s certainly the case with Steve Jobs. I know I’ve been greatly impacted for the better because of his philosophy, inventions and influence in the world of web design. Long ago, he started changing the way people think about design and putting the proper importance on form in relation to function. I know I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without him blazing a trail while I was still in elementary school.

This is my favorite quote from Steve Jobs. It completely describes and even validates what I do. Thank you, Steve.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”— Steve Jobs

Don’t Build a Boat

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Don’t Be a Me-Monster

If you your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observe with care;
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
And how and when and where.

If your ears would save from jeers,
These thing keep meekly hid;
Myself and I and mine and my,
And how I do and did.

The Power of Words

One of the things that we, as parents, are continually drilling into our children is the concept that our words have meaning. Or, to put it another way, “think before you speak”. Now we have this quote from Benjamin Zander to help support our harping.

I will never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing I ever say. — Benjamin Zander, Music Director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

I think if everyone kept this idea in the back of our minds, there’d be a lot less talking going on.

Coach

John Wooden died on Friday at the age of 99. His accomplishments on the basketball court are virtually unrivaled. In 40 years of coaching, he had only one losing season. At UCLA, he won seven consecutive national championships and at one point in his tenure there, the team won an unheard of 88 straight games.

Amazingly, his basketball achievements are not the what made him so successful, according to most of the people that knew him. Later in life, he was a motivational speaker and was always “coaching” those around him.

This is my favorite of all the leadership and motivational expressions for which is so commonly known:

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
— John Wooden, Legendary Basketball Coach

Rest in peace, Coach.