The error of youth is to believe that intelligence is a substitute for experience, while the error of age is to to believe that experience is a substitute for intelligence.

Even a fool knows you can't touch the stars, but it doesn't stop a wise man from trying.

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.

Education: That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.

Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.

I want to know all God's thoughts...all the rest are just details.

The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.

In the small matters trust the mind, in the large ones the heart.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

Reporter: Mr Gandhi, what do you think of Western Civilization? Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.

The wind and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

I can become discouraged with ministers easily, until I remember that my faith is in the One who calls, and not in the one called.

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool Than to open it and remove all doubt.

To do nothing is also a good remedy.

The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.

The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool.

It's easier to be original and foolish than original and wise.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.

We can be knowledgeable with other men's knowledge, but we cannot be wise with other men's wisdom.

When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.

One must have deeper motives and judge everything accordingly, but go on talking like a normal person.

Principles are felt, propositions proved, and both with certainty though by different means. It is just as pointless and absurd for reason to demand proof of first principles from the heart before agreeing to accept them as it would be absurd for the heart to demand an intuition of all the propositions demonstrated by reason before agreeing to accept them. . . .

"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully. "Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever." "And he has a Brain." "Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has a Brain." There was a long silence. "I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything."

Education is an admirable thing, but it is worth remembering from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.

It's easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.

We give advice, but we cannot give the wisdom to profit by it.

The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong -but that's the way to bet.

Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily.

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

Even rats learn from experience.

The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.

Be careful of reading health books, you might die of a misprint.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

Life can be only understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

There are three times when you should never say anything important to a person: when he is tired, when he is angry, and when he has just made a mistake!

It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

Absence makes the heart go wander.

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.

If only our great thinkers could learn to talk, and our great talkers could learn to think!

When I am right nobody remembers... When I am wrong nobody forgets!

If you can't tie good knots... tie many.

Your not knowing a man's purpose does not mean he is confused.

Think much, Speak little, Write less.

Listening gives wisdom. Speaking gives repentance.

Fool me once, shame on you Fool me twice, shame on me!

If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly.

When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch.

Wise people think all they say; fools say all they think.

It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the problem.

Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man.

One thing common to most success stories is the alarm clock.

25 things I have learned in 50 years (by Dave Barry) 1. The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it. 2. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time. 3. People who feel the need to tell you that they have an excellent sense of humor are telling you that they have no sense of humor. 4. The most valuable function performed by the federal government is entertainment. 5. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment. 6. A penny saved is worthless. 7. They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies. 8. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip. 9. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers. 10. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11. 11. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." 12. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. 13. There apparently exists, somewhere in Los Angeles, a computer that generates concepts for television sitcoms. When TV executives need a new concept, they turn on this computer; after sorting through millions of possible plot premises, it spits out, "THREE QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT," and the executives turn this concept into a show. The next time they need an idea, the computer spits out, "SIX QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." Then the next time, it spits out, "FOUR QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." And so on. We need to locate this computer and destroy it with hammers. 14. Nobody is normal. 15. At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very excited and announce that: * The universe is even bigger than they thought! * There are even more subatomic particles than they thought! * Whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong. 16. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings." 17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them. 18. The value of advertising is that it tells you the exact opposite of what the advertiser actually thinks. For example: * If the advertisement says "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," the advertiser is desperately concerned that this Oldsmobile, like all other Oldsmobiles, appeals primarily to old farts like your father. * If Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars to convince you that there are significant differences between these two products, both companies realize that Pepsi and Coke are virtually identical. * If the advertisement strongly suggests that Nike shoes enable athletes to perform amazing feats, Nike wants you to disregard the fact that shoe brand is unrelated to athletic ability. * If Budweiser runs an elaborate advertising campaign stressing the critical importance of a beer's "born-on" date, Budweiser knows this factor has virtually nothing to do with how good a beer tastes. 19. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will not use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle. 20. You should not confuse your career with your life. 21. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. 22. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously. 23. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy. 24. Your friends love you anyway. 25. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

Where there's smoke there's fire, but where there's a vague fishy odor, it could be any number of things.

A penny saved may be a penny earned, but it's a waste of a deposit slip and it really pisses off the bank tellers.

Scientists at NASA had developed a gun whose purpose is to launch dead chickens at extreme velocities. No, this isn't the result of over-competitive engineers at the annual Goddard Chicken Toss (though that would be a perfectly understandable consequence.) The gun is used to shoot dead chickens at the windshields of airline jets, military jets, and the space shuttle, (while they are parked, that is) at that vehicle's maximum velocity it could be traveling while in "bird space." As such, it simulates the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl, and therefore determine if the windshields were designed strong enough. British engineers, upon hearing of the gun, were eager to test the gun out on the windshield of their new high speed trains. However, upon firing the gun, the engineers watched in shock as the chicken shattered the windshield, smashed through the control console, snapped the engineer's chair backrest in two, and embedded itself into the back of the cabin. (Luckily, the train was unmanned at the time :o) Horrified, the engineers sent NASA the results of the experiment, along with the design of the windshield, and asked the NASA scientists for any suggestions. NASA sent back a one-sentence response: "Thaw the chicken first."

If it's true that "Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise", why are chickens so poor and stupid?

It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it.

YOUNG WISDOM Outta the Mouths of Babes A three-year-old went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother there were two boy kittens and two girl kittens. "How did you know?" his mother asked. "Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it's printed on the bottom." ---------- Another three-year old put his shoes on by himself. His mother noticed the left was on the right foot. She said, "Son, your shoes are on the wrong feet." He looked up at her with a raised brow and said, "Don't kid me, Mom. I KNOW they're my feet." ---------- A mother and her young son returned from the grocery store and began putting away the groceries. The boy opened the box of animal crackers and spread them all over the table. "What are you doing?" his mother asked. "The box says you can't eat them if the seal is broken," the boy explained. "I'm looking for the seal." ---------- "Can people predict the future with cards? My mother can. Yeah, she takes one look at my report card and tells me what will happen when my father gets home." ---------- A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

You wrote: >Hey Hector, > >This was forwarded to me by Cassandra--it looks legit. Please distribute to Priam, Hecuba, and your 99 siblings. > >Thanks, >Laocoon > >TO: Trojan Army Listserv <Trojans-L@troy.org> >RE: WARNING!! BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS!> >WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! > >IF YOU RECEIVE A GIFT IN THE SHAPE OF A LARGE WOODEN >HORSE DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT!!!! It is EXTREMELY >DESTRUCTIVE and will overwrite your ENTIRE CITY! > >The "gift" is disguised as a large wooden horse about two stories tall. >It tends to show up outside the city gates and appears to be >abandoned. DO NOT let it through the gates! It contains hardware that is >incompatible with Trojan programming, including a crowd of >heavily-armed Greek warriors that will destroy your army, sack your town, >and kill your women and children. If you have already received >such a gift, DO NOT OPEN IT! Take it back out of the city unopened and set >fire to it by the beach. > >FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! > >Poseidon Dearest Laocoon : I hate to break to you, but this is one of the oldest hoaxes there is. I've seen variants on this warning come through on other listservs, one involving some kind of fruit that was supposed to kill the people who ate it and one having to do with something called the "Midas Touch." Here are a few tipoffs that this is a hoax: 1) This "Forward this message to everyone you know" stuff. If it were really meant as a warning about the Greek army, why tell anyone to post it to the Phonecians, Sumerians, and Cretans? 2) Use of exclamation points. Always a giveaway. 3) It's signed "from Poseidon." Granted he's had his problems with Odysseus but he's one of their guys, isn't he? Besides, the lack of a real header with a detailed address makes me suspicious. 4) Technically speaking, there is no way for a horse to overwrite yourentire city. A horse is just an animal, after all. Next time you get a message like this, just delete it. I appreciate your concern, but once you've been around the block a couple times you'll realize how annoying this kind of stuff is. Bye now, Hector

"Wisdom is divided into two parts: (a) having a great deal to say, and (b) not saying it."

"The wise person questions the wisdom of others because they question their own; the foolish one, because it is different from their own.

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice."

History does not always repeat itself. Sometimes it just yells "Can't you remember anything I told you?" and lets fly with

If at first you don't succeed... skydiving is not for you.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do!

"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better."

"Make the nail an example for your life. The head of the nail keeps it from going too far."

It is the triumph of reason to get along well with those who possess none.

"Man [has] always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reason."

"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions."

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it--and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.

"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification."

What is wisdom? Wisdom is what is true and right combined with good judgement.

Basically, wisdom is the art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results.

ACCRA (Reuters) - A Ghanaian man was shot dead by a fellow villager while testing a magic spell designed to make him bulletproof, the official Ghana News Agency reported. Aleobiga Aberima, 23, and around 15 other men from Lambu village, northeast Ghana, had asked a jujuman, or witchdoctor, to make them invincible to bullets. After smearing his body with a concoction of herbs every day for two weeks, Aberima volunteered to be shot to check if the spell had worked. One of the others fetched a rifle and shot Aberima who died instantly from a single bullet. Angry Lambu residents seized the jujuman and beat him severely until a village elder rescued him, the Wednesday report added. Tribal clashes are common in Ghana's far north, where people often resort to witchcraft in the hope of becoming invulnerable to bullets, swords and arrows.

Luke: Parable of the Shrewd Manager Glin, one of the division managers for Sluggo Cola was called into the office of the CEO one day. Goe sat in his chair behind his desk and looked at his employee. "Glin. I have been examining your records and think you have some explaining to do." "But sir, sales are up by 25% over the last quarter!" "So are expenses. And the expenses have been rising for the last six quarters. And some of you're numbers just don't add up." Goe squinted his beady eyes at Glin. He sneered, "I can only conclude that you have been, shall we say, 'skimming off the top.' I want you out of here by Monday." A dejected Glin slunk back to his office. What could he do? All he had worked for was gone. Sure, he had a little saved away, but what he had been skimming wouldn't last forever. High level jobs like his didn't come along every day, and he was to proud to go back to low level anything. After all, there is no honor in poverty (RoA 106). And then a light bulb came on over his head. He sat behind his desk and punched some numbers on his computer. The screen buzzed to life and the wizened form of Gimes, CEO of Ankh-Morpork Catering Co., Inc. appeared. "Can I help you, Glin?" "No. But I can help you. I've been examing your records and I think we can renegotiate your debt. You owe us 800 bars of gold pressed latinum. How about we call it 400 bars?" "Sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?" "No catch." "I'll sign." And the link closed. Glin smiled, showing all his crooked teeth. He punched up another number and was soon talking to the Smalk, CEO of Chik-Burgers!(R). "Let's cut the small talk, Smalk. You owe my company 1000 bars/gpl. What would you think about making it 800 bars?" Smalk nodded, thumbed the necessary documents and closed the connection. Glin spent the rest of the afternoon making calls. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A few weeks later, Glin decided it was time to talk to his new "friends." He called several of the debtors whom he had renegotiated things with. They all bemoaned his loss of work and were quite sorry for him. In the interest of good relations, several made monetary gifts from their accounts, and Gimes even offered him a nice job. "Aren't you lucky that your company offered to renegotiate our debt just before you lost your job?" Glin nodded, but he was thinking about the 44th Rule of Acquisition- "Never confuse wisdom with luck." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It didn't take long for Goe to hear about Glin's good fortune. A casual glance at the account's receivable showed what he had done. "That scoundrel! He was skimming off of me, and then he cheated me even more. He learned well. I hope Gimes knows to watch his back. Glin certainly knows how to think for the future."

"The good Lord set definite limits on man's wisdom, but set no limits on his stupidity and that's just not fair!"

WISDOM FROM PETER DRUCKER Last Monday and Tuesday was the annual conference of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. (http://www.druckerfoundation.org). This foundation, created ten years ago to honor Peter Drucker's contributions to management and leadership, believes that a healthy society requires three vital sectors: a public sector of effective governments; a private sector of effective businesses; and a social sector of effective community organizations, including faith-based organizations. It furthers its mission to lead social sector organizations toward excellence in performance by providing educational opportunities and resources. In his opening remarks to the conference, Drucker debunked all the talk of transition triggered by the new economy, saying that the current transition is, "...exactly like the preceding one. What is new is society. The next century will be dominated by society, not the economy. We are entering the first century in human history in which, in the developed world, the great majority of people will work with what is between their ears, not their hands." Equally as unprecedented is the structure of the population. For the first time in recorded history, in peacetime, a prosperous time, the Western population will shrink. It has already begun except in the English speaking countries. The aging is not new; it has been going on for 300 years. We have put the retirement age in a box, but it is predictable that in 20 years, retirement age will be in the 70's. Immigration will be the central social and political issue and bring new social challenges and opportunities. The 20th century was one of big government and big business. The next century will be focused on the social sector and its performance. Beginning in the U.S. and other nations, success and survival depend on it. You, in this room, have the challenge, the responsibility, of the social sector. This is the new challenge: to innovate, perform, to go from good intentions to results. In the closing session of the conference, Drucker answered participants' questions. Here are some highlights: Q: What are three greatest lessons you have learned? Drucker: I'll give you four. If it has to be explained, it won't work. Say please and thank you. As a writer, if a sentence does not jell, don't re-write, re-think it. Never ask WHO is right, start by asking WHAT is right. Q: How can nonprofits measure their impact in terms of changed lives? Drucker: That is the wrong question. It assumes we have defined what results are. Results are not obvious and they change. The first step is always to define results. Q: How is leadership different between profit and nonprofit organizations? Drucker: In the nonprofit, you have many more constituencies and you have far less incentives for them. Therefore, the mission is infinitely more important. The second thing is that their values are different and much more important. The third difference is not easily understood but it is, "What do we say no to? What are we not going to do?" The world is full of good causes and in nonprofits, it is very difficult to say no and be able to defend that to your board, volunteers and staff.

Two women came before wise King Solomon, dragging between them a young man in a three-piece suit. "This young CPA agreed to marry my daughter," said one. "No! He agreed to marry MY daughter," said the other. And so they haggled before the King, until he demanded silence. "My sword! Bring me my biggest sword," said Solomon, "and we shall hew the young man in half. Each of you shall receive a half." "Fine. Sounds good to me," said the first lady. But the other woman said, "Oh Sire, do not spill innocent blood. Let this other woman's daughter marry him." The wise king did not hesitate a moment. "Indeed, the accountant must marry the first lady's daughter," he proclaimed. "But she was willing to hack him in two!" exclaimed the king's court. "Precisely!" said wise King Solomon. "That shows she is the TRUE mother-in-law."

The Aviators Guide Book 1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory. 2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again. 3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous. 4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here. 5. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating. 6. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky. 7. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again. 8. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make more than one or two of them yourself. 9. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp. 10. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival, and vice versa. 11. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier. 12. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds. 13. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take-offs you've made, or close to it. 14. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. 15. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag for experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. 16. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them. 17. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is a commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be. 18. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose. 19. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment. 20. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible. 21. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed. 22. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal. 23. The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, the runway behind you, and a tenth of a second ago. 24. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old bold pilots. 25. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Those who eat with one chopstick go hungry. If you eat many prunes you’ll get a good run for your money. War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left. Those who who drive like hell are bound to get there! Those who stand on toilet get high on pot! Those who live in glass houses should change in the basement. A crowded elevator smells different to a child

There was a very ancient and wise man who wandered the earth in search of wisdom. He walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail, and, with his odd diet, he often suffered from bad breath. He became known as - you're going to hate this - as a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.

Winners of a New York Magazine contest who were asked to take a well known expression in a foreign language, change a single letter and provide a definition for the new expression RIGOR MORRIS The cat is dead. RESPONDEZ S'IL VOUS PLAID Honk if you're Scottish HARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS? Can you drive a French motorcycle? VENI, VIPI, VICI I came, I'm a very important person, I conquered VENI, VIDI, VISA I came, I saw, I shopped. COGITO EGGO SUM I think, therefore I am ... a waffle QUE SERA SERF Life is feudal LEROI EST MORT. JIVE LEROI The king is dead. No kidding POSH MORTEM Death styles of the rich and famous PRO BOZO PUBLICO Support your local clown MONAGE A TROIS I am three years old HASTE CUISINE Fast French food QUIP PRO QUO A fast retort ALOHA OY Love; greetings; farewell; and from such a pain you should never know MAZEL TON Tons of luck VISA LA FRANCE Don't leave your chateau without it CARNE DIEM Seize the meat

The road to wisdom? Well, it's plain and simple to express: Err and err and err again but less and less and less.

When I face an issue of great import that cleaves both constituents and colleagues, I always take the same approach. I engage in deep deliberation and quiet contemplation. I wait to the last available minute and then I always vote with the losers. Because, my friend, the winners never remember and the losers never forget.

Talleyrand, French diplomat, for money, fame and power bought, sold, double crossed and duped twenty kings and leaders including Napoleon, Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria and Louis XVIII of France, erected many palaces and led two revolutions. When he died doctors embalmed him after removing his brains, and placed him in a satin-lined coffin. A servant entered to clean up the room and wondered what should be done with the stuff on the table. He remembered a sewer out in the street, so threw the brains therein. Man’s brains fade; God’s wisdom wins out at last.

Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.

There are three kinds of people: The few who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The majority of them who have to touch the electric fence to see if it's really on.

"The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants."

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. -- `Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' -- Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."

A young preacher and an older preacher go to breakfast with an 89-year-old long-time member. The young whippersnapper finally says "89? Wow. I don't know if I want to live to be 89!" The old man immediately replied with great wisdom: "You will when you're 88."

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge.

Wise people learn when they can; fools learn when they must.

Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgment.

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.

No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. There can be no appeasement with ruthlessness. There can be no reasoning with an incendiary bomb.

He is bad that will not take advice, but he is a thousand times worse who takes every advice.

Silence is golden... but, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. To thine own self be true, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It’s never too late to learn, but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Good things come in small packages, but the bigger the better Two’s company, three’s a crowd, but the more the merrier Better safe than sorry, but nothing ventured, nothing gained Never judge a book by it’s cover, but clothes make the man Out of sight, out of mind, but absence makes the heart grow fonder Actions speak louder than words, but the pen is mightier than the sword To do a great work, a man must be very idle as well as very industrious. –

One who brandishes a pistol must be prepared to shoot. -- Herbert Hoover, 1931

A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month’s study of books.

The art of becoming wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. -- Wm. James, Psychologist

To know and not to do is not to know. -- Saying on Wall Street

Let your daily wisdom of life be in making a good use of the opportunities given you. -- William Blackie

Question to Robert Frost: What is your greatest, most profound thought? Robert Frost: Life goes on.

This pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. --

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it. -- W.C. Fields

The problem with the good advice is it's mostly much too simple. Joe Straczinski told me about the time that he, when young, got hold of Harlan Ellison's phone number and phoned him up. He explained that he was a young writer and nobody would publish him. According to Joe, Harlan said "They won't publish you because you're writing crap. Stop writing crap and they'll publish you." Which was very good advice, and Joe took it. But it's sort of simple.

King David and King Solomon Led merry, merry lives, With many, many lady friends, And many, many wives; But when old age crept over them – With many, many qualms! – King Solomon wrote the Proverbs And King David wrote the Psalms.

When the fool learns the Way, He laughs at it. Yet if the fool did not laugh at it, It would not be the Way. Indeed, if you are seeking the Way, Listen for the laughter of fools.

We only make a few major decisions in life, and we spend the rest of our lives managing those decisions.

One of the interesting things about getting older (or experienced as I like to call it) is that you can detect a problem before you know why. Have you been in a situation where someone says “Let’s do it this way” and you get an immediate little stomach ache because you know damned well that it won’t work? And then someone asks why you think it’s a bad plan and you really can’t explain it. All you know is that the last ten plans that sounded kind of like this plan all fell apart.

The fool wonders, the wise man asks.

Studying and imitating only surviving companies, especially the most successful ones, can lead to flawed and dangerous conclusions about what are the best and safest practices. For instance, companies that use riksy, unusual practices perform either much better or much worse than average, especially compared to those that do what most other companies do. But "if only the best, not the worst, performers are observed, performance will seem to be associated with strategies that are far more likely to kill a company than to result in superior performance." (quote is from Denrell, Vicarious Learning)

...interest... is usually recruited by events that differ only a little from what is familiar and therefore are understandable with some effort.... Adults show the keenest interest in ideas that are slightly discrepant from their existing knowledge. The celebrated writers and artists of any era are able to anticipate themes that are not yet, but are about to become, nodes of uncertainty in their society.... The artist who wants acceptance cannot "run too far ahead... of the reader." Over time the mind-heart, like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, finds a fresh novelty that recruits attention to a theme it can understand with effort and in that process becomes emotionally aroused. That is one reason why the form of psychotherapy that works best changes every twenty to twenty-five years. The curative power of psychoanalytic techniques began to wane when the therapists' secrets became public knowledge. The same fate may be in store for today's favorite psychotherapeutic regimens. Humans have the unfortunate habit of mistaking originality for wisdom because novelty is alerting, and, if understandable, creates an intuition of truth.

Smart and Funny

If wisdom involves the recognition of harmonies, similarities or congruities, wit involves the recognition of disharmonies, dissimilarities and incongruities. Thus, wit and wisdom are closely related. Those who most readily recognize harmonies in the various spheres of life should be most apt to see inconsistencies. He who is wise should be witty.

Competent Folly

Skill is successfully walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Intelligence is not trying.

Be Generous With Others and Stern With Yourself

The way others are to view your liberty is not the same way that you should view your liberty. Other Christians should let you do what you want unless the Bible forbids it. That’s how we guard against legalism. But you should use your liberty differently—you should be asking what the reasons are for doing it, and not what the reasons are for prohibiting it.

Experience Is Unfair

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

We Best See Ourselves Through The Eyes of Others

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. –1 Thessalonians 5:14 This is one of my favorite passages. It helps us see there are people in our midst who are idle, some who are fainthearted and others who are weak. A wise minister/counselor will use a different tool for each person. .... When someone is set in their ways and living in active rebellion you don’t coddle them with a message of grace and Jesus loves you. You admonish them. But at the same time you don’t admonish the faint-hearted. As one person has said, “Wisdom dictated that they should not ‘warn the weak’ nor ‘encourage the idle’”. Instead we are to “encourage the faint-hearted”. ... We don’t see things correctly. The idle often think they’re weak. The faint-hearted rebuke themselves for idleness. We need another set of loving eyes to come alongside us and properly apply the gospel. And for that you need a local church. And for that to actually “work” and matter and do what it’s supposed to do—you need to pursue being known and to know others.