Quotable

If you read my blog at all, you know some of the words I use frequently include “challenges,” “issues,” or “difficulties.” The fact is we work in a tough environment. And once in a while all of us in the field need a little inspiration.

Personally, I find it helpful to keep readily available a list of inspiring quotations. When a day seems especially tough or a problem seems insurmountable, I’ll take a quick look at the quotes to help me re-focus and re-energize. The quotes reflect my own philosophy on how to lead, manage, and how to navigate the landscape during difficult times. I’d like to share some of those quotes with you today.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most adaptable to change."
Charles Darwin

“The looking forward to better and better things is one of the many privileges people of moderate means enjoy over those who can buy whatever they want, whenever they like.”
Marion Harland, 1889

“How do you distinguish the truly great talent from the rest?
The right people don't need to be managed. If you need to tightly mange someone, you have made a hiring mistake.
The right people don't think they have a job: They have responsibilities.
The right people do what they say they will do, which means being really careful about what they say they will do.
People who take credit in good times and blame external forces in bad times do not deserve to lead.”
Jim Collins

"If you are violating your standards faster than you can lower them, it is time to go away."
Robin Williams

"For me, reading widely outside of one's discipline has been probably the biggest source of ideas."
Lawrence Baxter

"Always do a little more work than you're being paid for, and you'll never have to worry about a job."
Earl Proulx, Author of Yankee Magazine’s Plain Talk column, quoting his father

“Having goals for self-improvement is important. Even if you never meet them, the journey along the way yields its own rewards.”
Mr. Data, Star Trek, The Next Generation, describing human beings

This last one I find especially important – it is a reminder why we do what we do everyday. Just as importantly, it serves as a call to action to prevent the feelings expressed by this one parent from becoming widespread among the families we serve.

"Now, for the first time I have little hope. In the not-so-distant future, Andrew's affliction will likely present us with a crisis for which there is no solution other than the destruction of our family."
- from a Dad in Colorado of a boy w/ significant needs.

Then again, what do I know?