“Comforts and conveniences are great but the haven’t always moved the ball downfield in our most important metric, happy, healthy years.”

“Modern humans may have an unmet need to do what’s truly difficult for us.”

Pride and Prejudice should be on every Gentleman’s reading list – not just because it is a classic, funny, historically insightful or choked full of great characters.  But as a father, it reinforces the fact that my actions matter.  What I do impacts the trajectory and attitudes of my children more than I imagine.  But it is heartening to know that even two hundred years ago another father was messing up his kids.  We can learn from his errors. 

“Project Apollo remains the last great act this country has undertaken out of a sense of optimism, of looking forward to the future…It is the sense of purpose we felt then that seems as distant as the moon itself.”

“Instead of letting the moon be the gateway to the future, we have let it become a brief chapter in our history.  The irony is that in turning away from space exploration – whose progress is intimately linked to the future of mankind – we were rob ourselves of the long term vision we desperately need.  Any society, if it is to flourish instead of merely survive, must transcend its own limits.”

In my limited experience (and a not at all scientific estimate) I would say that 25% of the time the movie is better than the book.  Admittedly, this is subjective but for one reason or another, the movie’s interpretation or adaptation is simply more enjoyable.  Sometimes the movie’s pacing is better.  Other times, endings changed for the better.  On more than one occasion, movies have combined characters into an amalgamation that simply makes more sense. 

Franklin’s life is worth examining because he didn’t go quietly into the night and found new ways to use his talents and intellect.  He reinvented himself constantly and in each of life’s chapters, found purpose.  And that is undoubtedly one of the things Franklin would be most proud of, that he stayed useful and was effective until the end. 

“The bishop went up to him and said quietly, ‘Don’t forget, never forget, you promised to use this money to become an honest man.’  Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of having made any promise, remained dumbfounded.  The bishop had dwelled on these words as he said them.  He went on with a kind of solemnity, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you’re no longer owned by evil but by good.  It’s your soul I’m buying.  I’m redeeming it from dark thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I’m giving it to God.’

 “Here is the reality: in practically every high skill profession, decline sets in somewhere between one’s late thirties and early fifties.”

“Devote the back half of your life serving others with your wisdom.  Get old sharing the things you believe are most important.”

I am forever amazed at how a 1,000 page book on 12th Century cathedral building has lived in my head rent free for this long.

It has something everyone – history, conflict, romance, violence, murder, mystery, religion, politics, philosophy, and yes, even medieval architecture.    

Kids are astute and pick up more than we’ll ever know.  And we’ll never know exactly when they are watching and what they will absorb.     

“There are some men in this world who are born to do our unpleasant jobs for us.  Your father’s one of them.”

 “… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

 “As the water flashed with twisting tails and dorsal fins, the boys resolved to stay calm, clamping their hands over their ears against the erupting screams, but this resolve vanished when one of the boys was dragged through the water like a fisherman’s bobber tugged by a big catfish.  The victim, clenched in the uplifted jaws of a shark, was pushed at waist level through the surf, screaming.  Others disappeared quietly without a trace, their life vests shooting back to the surface empty, the straps in shreds.  As the excited sharks grew more agitated, the attacks intensified in ferocity.”

“We must take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”

Look long and hard at the reality you believe.  If you dogmatically subscribe to the beliefs of one party or one person, then you may be part of the problem.  Think for yourself.   

“Billy, with all his memories of the future, knew that the city would be smashed to smithereens and then burned – in about 30 more days.  He knew, too, that most of the people watching him would soon be dead.”

“The river of life flows independently of one’s preferences.  Whether you flow, float, swim or sink, it’s your personal choice.”

“The wheel of time churns relentlessly.  Moments gone will never come back.  So act wisely and mindfully in the present.”

“The fist step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls it all. And before long you’ll be no one, nowhere - like Hadrian, like Augustus.

The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy.”        

“It was not in his nature to pass up any opportunity, especially if it might give him and edge, and put his life in danger.”

But how often do you let opportunities pass by?  When an opportunity is presented, do you notice?  Do you know what an opportunity looks like?  Opportunities beget action.  Action begets results.  That is how goals are achieved.              

When people cling to outdated plans and remain inflexible to changing circumstances, the results might just be 30 million casualties, the violent end of 3 empires and tragic impacts to a world order we’re still living with to this day.  

Highly trained, motivated teams with a total trust in one another and shared purpose can literally save the world.

Consistency. Consistency. Consistency. Just be consistent about the right thing. Are you working to become a better person each day or eating a bag of potato chips on the couch each day?

“Our conception of diversity is not just incomplete but radically defective.”