I am a believer in truth, but not in Truth.

I find those who believe they speak Truth to be scary—rigid, righteous, lacking empathy, incapable of seeing any view except their own.

Those who speak truth know that it can change—research, new information, a view from a different angle—all these can alter truth.

Because truth is dynamic—continually growing and changing as the human race evolves.

Two quotes from Albert Einstein give great insight into the pursuit of truth…

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”

“The search for truth is more precious than its possession.”

Oscar Wilde reminds us of something that is especially important considering today’s rigid attitudes…

“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”

Finally Max Born sums up my attitude and feelings in one eloquent sentence…

“The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world.”

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Have you ever noticed how boring being a responsible adult is at times?

I don’t know what you do to break out of that, but I’m partial to nonsense.

I still read Dr. Seuss out loud; play silly games with my cats; write corny rhymes and sometimes post them on my blog as I did here and here.

But nonsense has a serious purpose in life, too.

“Nonsense is an assertion of man’s spiritual freedom in spite of all the oppressions of circumstance” –Aldous Huxley

“Nonsense is to sense, as shade to light; it heightens effect” –Frederick Saunders

“Nonsense is so good only because common sense is so limited” –George Santayana

Along with all this weighty value, nonsense is fertilizer for your brain (me).

As the undisputed master says,

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” –Dr. Seuss

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Together, these five disparate thoughts pack enough wisdom to live from youth to old age and never go wrong

“Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.” –Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech (I wonder if all those friends at Facebook and Twitter count?)

“Never let your ego get so close to your positions that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” –Admiral H. G. Rickover (I call it ego merge and it’s a definite no-no.)

“That’s what keeps life moving forward, focusing on what we can do, rather than getting caught up in what we can’t.” –Trisha Meili, The Central Park Jogger (Words of wisdom from a woman who knows.)

“Small Minds Talk About Others, Mediocre Minds Talk About Themselves, Great Minds Talk About Ideas.” –Eleanor Roosevelt (Which do you have?)

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” –John Milton, Paradise Lost (True when Milton wrote it and just as true now.)

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I love questions. Questions are the stuff of life, especially if you’re a ‘why‘ person like me.

Answers are fine, but questions take you further; they’re all about creativity, innovation and the unknown. Questions are the road to the future.

“The first people had questions and they were free. The second people had answers, and they became enslaved.” –Wind Eagle, American Indian Chief (Questions take you further than answers. Hat tip to Slacker Manager for this quote.)

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” -–Galileo (See that; it’s about the questions.)

“I am not young enough to know everything.” –Oscar Wilde (Isn’t that great? Under 25 (give or take) and you don’t need questions.)

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” –Ellen Parr (More questions. Questions are curiosity in action.)

Do you have a favorite question quote? Please take a moment and share it with us.

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Communications are all important to the smooth running of anything involving people.

Obviously this includes business, since companies are no more than an affiliated group of people committed (in varying degrees) to progressing towards the same goal.

Brian R Nichols provided a quote that is a great overview of this in a comment he left,

“Simple clear purpose and principles give rise to complex intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple stupid behavior.” –Dee Hock (Visa founder)

There is no question that this is true as proved by the next two quotes from opposite ends of the clarity spectrum. Follow the first and you will be reviled by your colleagues, but implementing the second will make you both loved and influential.

The first is a superb example of what not to do from an organization that has demonstrated throughout its existence a brilliant ability to obfuscate in all its communications.

“Passive activity income does not include the following: Income for an activity that is not a passive activity.” –IRS form, Passive Activity Loss Limitation

The second is a bit of brilliance from a guy (pun intended) I hold in the highest regard. It’s just too bad more people don’t follow this particular advice.

“I think that no one, or very few, are born as good presenters. It’s a skill that you learn. The key is the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides given in 20 minutes using no font smaller than 30 points. If people just adhered to this rule, they would double or triple the quality of their presentations. Less is more when it comes to pitching. You cannot bludgeon people into believing.” –Guy Kawasaki

But as important as communications are, never lose sight of the following:

“Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.” –Colin Powell

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Today’s quotes are a sampling of comments I found in Business Week’s profiles of CEOs Of Tomorrow. Take a moment and click through the whole series, I think you’ll find it interesting.

“Numbers tell only part of the story. People get things done.” –John S. Watson, Vice-Chairman, Chevron

“It’s important to have fun as a team. When it is time to hop in the pine box, you’ll wish you had high-fived more people and taken more risks.” –Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL

“Revenue is important, but customer satisfaction is even more crucial. I’ve always believed that it’s not just what you do but how you do it that’s important.” –Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chief Operating Officer, Tata Consultancy Services

“We have a company we believe absolutely has to be the fastest-growing-and you have to take some chances to grow faster than everyone else.” –John C. Compton, Americas Foods division, PepsiCo CEO

“Act with urgency; keep things simple; it’s all about the execution.” –Jeff Henderson, Chief Financial Officer, Cardinal Health

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As you know I am a great believer in the power of words.

Words can hurt or heal; they can lift us up or throw us into the darkest chasm; words can do most anything.

Right now times are tough and too many of the people I hear from are down or depressed and some are close to giving up. And words can help that, too.

When times are tough I’ve found some of my best inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt. I find her comments to be pithy and filled with common sense; stuff that’s so solid you can grab hold and it will carry you through the rapids of life. She was an amazing woman.

The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences. (It’s the one thing on which you should always pig out.)

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. (It’s been said many times in many ways, but no matter how bad your situation there’s someone in worse straits whom you can help.)

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. (That which you ignore will ignore you.)

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. (I call it MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and it’s the one thing in life over which you have complete control; where it goes and how it grows are always your choice.

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Happy birthday to me; happy birthday to me, etc. etc. etc.

I thought I’d write a rhyme in honor of the anniversary of my birth and share it with you. Not a poem, I can’t write poetry, but I do write rhymes (some better than others:) So without more ado…

It’s my birthday and I’m not shy
shouting the news to the birds in the sky.
That’s the way I approach my life
because increasing years should not add strife!

I wouldn’t go back as an awkward teen,
with raging hormones and pimples seen;
back then I believed I could take wing
because I knew most everything.

I entered my twenties with more of the same,
but as time went by I started to tame
lots of the actions that created a stink;
I listened and learned and started to think!

Over the decades I made sure I kept growing
and the people I met kept new ideas flowing.

These days I coach and I write—a living I’m earning—
but nothing has changed I’m still talking and learning.
My picture is old and won’t be changed soon
and no matter what I’ll never carry a tune.

But life goes on and that’s a cert
even though today I am older than dirt.

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Today is for all of you top dogs (TD) who tweet, all of you who think twitter should be called fritter and those who wonder when (or whether) Twitter is going to make money.

Let’s start with TDs who tweet or if you’re into politics check out this directory of Congressional tweeters.

For those who don’t see the point, read what Diane Hessan, CEO of Communispace has to say about how her own conversion to Twitter.

Finally, in spite of all the passionate people sending out millions of tweets, where’s the money? An interesting discussion from the faculty at Wharton focuses on the possibilities of a profitable Twitter; but one reader’s comment says a lot about people’s attitude, “SNS are all about sharing, creating, connecting and learning in a digital environment – it’s not about making cash.”

A common attitude, but one that begs the question, if it’s not about the cash why should anyone invest? Companies such as Twitter and Facebook don’t start and scale for nothing and users certainly are unlikely to step up to pay.

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“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.“ –Charles Richards (And it’s your choice…)

“It’s not the plan that is important, it’s the planning”. –Graeme Edwards (Unlike crosswords, plans should always be done in pencil.)

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. –John Lennon (Which is why you should use a pencil.)

“You see things and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?'” –George Bernard Shaw (One of the basics of my own plan.)

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