Category Archives: Words of wisdom
Quotations, wise tales and more …
Practice what you preach
A woman walks with her son many miles and days to come to Gandhi. She is very worried about her son’s health because he is eating too much sugar. She comes to Gandhi and says, “please, sir, can you tell my son to stop eating sugar.”
Gandhi looks at her and thinks for a bit and finally says, “ok, but not today. Bring him back in two weeks.”
She’s disappointed and takes her son home. Two weeks later she makes the journey again and goes to Gandhi with her son.
Gandhi says to the boy, “you must stop eating sugar. It’s very bad for you.”
The boy has such respect for Gandhi that he stops and lives a healthy life.
The woman is confused and asks him, “Gandhi, please tell me: why did you want me to wait two weeks to bring back my son.”
Gandhi said, “Because before I could tell your son to stop eating sugar. I had to stop eating sugar first.”
Which one do you feed ?
A boy, angry at a friend who had done him an injustice, came to his grandfather. His grandfather told him, “Let me tell you a story. I, too, have felt a great rage for those who have hurt me with no regret for what they have done. But rage wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die.
I have struggled with these feelings many times. It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and takes no offense when no offense was intended. He fights only when it is right to do so, and only fairly.
But the other wolf is full of anger. The smallest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, and for no reason. He cannot think because his anger is so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.
Sometimes it is difficult to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.”
The boy looked into his grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?”
Grandfather smiled gently and said, “The one I feed.”
Strength !
The seven deadly sins
Mahatma Gandhi regarded the following as seven deadly sins:
- Wealth without work
- Pleasure without conscience
- Science without humanity
- Knowledge without character
- Politics without principle
- Commerce without morality
- Worship without sacrifice
35 Brilliant Insights From Nassim Taleb
Show me the money
There is so much media attention on rich people. The richest people. The biggest earners. Who owns what. In the new world, where Oligarchs have emerged, and the talk of billionaires is common, we see and hear of people who have suddenly got fortunes of money, but, how did they get to be so spectacularly wealthy so fast? What did they do?
Yes, people see all these new age billionaires who, for the most part, did no real work for their money. Well that is my view. I know what Henry Ford did, and Bill Gates, Philip Green, Ingvar Kamprad, William Boeing, Walt Disney, and many others who have built thriving enterprises. But seriously, ask one of these new age billionaires what they actually did – see if you can get a straight answer … you try figure it out. Yeah, right.
So now you have the youth masses thinking “I also want to be rich for doing nothing”. And this is where this non-work nonsense culture has come from – it is a global problem. The thinking is “he/she did nothing and I don’t want to do anything either – I just want to be rich”.
This is part of the inspiration behind the Heartlines mission and where the “Nothing for Mahala” film has come from. There is nothing for nothing in this world. If you don’t work hard you won’t get anywhere. But so many of the world’s youth believe that because they have a Web site that they should be billionaires. There are no short cuts in life. Success requires hard work. And as the old saying goes “an overnight success takes 20 to 30 years”.
Yes, what about the Oligarchs and all this new age money. Well, for one thing, we need to choose our words carefully. Most of these people do not make money. They take money. The real question is why no one ever stopped them. That I have no answers for. But I do know that so many people who have money have no real wealth. To feel really rich is to feel fulfilled from a job well done.
Knowledge and wisdom
Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. – Zen proverb
Making a difference
What counts in life is not the mere fact we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. – Nelson Mandela
Mother Teresa’s “Anyway”
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.
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