Study while others are sleeping…
Study while others are sleeping;
work while others are loafing;
prepare while others are playing;
and dream while others are wishing.
— William Arthur Ward
I posted this quote for the sole reason that it always makes me smile. But as I looked at the list of names, and their sequence, I realized that, in a simplistic way, these simple words also reflect our evolution of philosophy and thought. Socrates lived more than 2,400 years ago and his influence on thought is legendary. Jean Paul Sartre was a prominent French philosopher at the peak of the twentieth century. Frank Sinatra was born only ten years after Sartre but has come to embody a later generation.
Talent is like a marksman who hits a target which others cannot reach; genius is like the marksman who hits a target, as far as which others cannot even see.
— Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher
The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.
The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.
— Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
I actually sent this quote to an internal recruiter once. I had been through several interviews with the company and it seemed that I was progressing towards a job offer. I was excited about the company and it looked to me to be a very good fit.
And then came that one final interview with one of the partners. Within the first fifteen seconds of our conversation I knew that an offer would not be forthcoming. It was clear that she had already made up her mind before the call even began. When the recruiter called a few days later to say that the firm had decided to not move forward I was deeply puzzled.
We don’t have one big advantage so we have to weave a rope of many small advantages.
— Jeff Bezos
There’s no such thing as a glass ceiling. It’s just a thick layer of men.
— Laura Liswood, Secretary-General Council of Women World Leaders