"Love without money is better than money without love."
- Warren D. Evans
This quote comes from a mentor of mine, a dear man who lives a gentle life filled with moral behavior. Yet, he has enjoyed fantastic financial success along the way.
Often, we are so ground into the negativity surrounding corporate irresponsibility and the undercurrent of avariciousness swirling around us as we seek to find stable footing in life, we find that we have absorbed a kind of negative perspective that anyone with money, anyone who has succeeded financially, must be a crook. It's both a sad and pervasive mentality which permeates the middle and low class.
I've said in these blogs before that money is not the goal of a good business, money is, instead, the measurement of how well a business maneuvers and behaves. Money is the measurement of the company's interpersonal ability.
Let's remember that business is a social act. It depends on trust, respect, and successful communication. Let me also remind us that these are all qualities that indicate love. Trust, respect, and successful communication are, after all, the hallmark of any quality marriage.
This quote is great in that it challenges me to put the first thing first. Put love before money. If I act right, then success will pursue me, not the other way around.
So, I'm going to spend tomorrow thinking about my behavior, ensuring that my behavior is a successful expression of my internal world. Of course, I will find that, in some ways, my behaviors alighn with my internal world and in others, my behaviors don't. I'm human; this is a process which I will have to repeat throughout the days and nights of my life.
It is my belief, though, that as I work to align my internal world, as I become more articulate about that which I believe, as I understand better what I have to offer the world that is unique to me, I will become an ever more capable witness of love.
I believe in the art of putting the first thing first. I guess it's time to start my Spring cleaning...
I hope everyone has a wonderfully peaceful and relaxing Sunday!
Z
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
An Apology
Aloha Dear Readers,
I'm sorry to have left you hanging. Everything is going well in Zachland; however, life has been extremely busy. I've been working so hard on making sure that my university job is well done so that my students will have a strong start for the semester.
On top of that, I've been editing a couple of new books. It's satisfying work, but time consuming.
So, I want to get back to my writing and to start this new flurry of bog posts out on something that falls very near and dear to my heart and to the subject matter of my latest book, "Falling but Fulfilled" using the words of a great man who taught the modern world a whole new way to conceive of itself.
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it for himself."
-Galileo Galilei
These words of wisdom come from the man credited to having offered us the very first solid proof that the universe does not swim languidly around the Earth. He produced the first evidence that pointed to a universe made up of a lot more moving pieces than just the parts observable by our eyes. Some people may malign him as having taken away a great sense of wonder, as the executioner of the religious age. It seems that he pointed at an even more wonderous reality that stretches unimaginable eons and speeds away from us in all directions like some slow motion existence inside a bursting explosion.
His words, here, are so elegant, so simple. He makes such a great point that effective teaching isn't about stuffing information into a person's head. Instead, learning happens when a student finds the will and joy to begin connecting with the wonders surrounding him or her in every moment of every day.
I wish for all of you that you keep yourself wide open to the experiences that await each and every one of you today, tomorrow, and every day.
Z
I'm sorry to have left you hanging. Everything is going well in Zachland; however, life has been extremely busy. I've been working so hard on making sure that my university job is well done so that my students will have a strong start for the semester.
On top of that, I've been editing a couple of new books. It's satisfying work, but time consuming.
So, I want to get back to my writing and to start this new flurry of bog posts out on something that falls very near and dear to my heart and to the subject matter of my latest book, "Falling but Fulfilled" using the words of a great man who taught the modern world a whole new way to conceive of itself.
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it for himself."
-Galileo Galilei
These words of wisdom come from the man credited to having offered us the very first solid proof that the universe does not swim languidly around the Earth. He produced the first evidence that pointed to a universe made up of a lot more moving pieces than just the parts observable by our eyes. Some people may malign him as having taken away a great sense of wonder, as the executioner of the religious age. It seems that he pointed at an even more wonderous reality that stretches unimaginable eons and speeds away from us in all directions like some slow motion existence inside a bursting explosion.
His words, here, are so elegant, so simple. He makes such a great point that effective teaching isn't about stuffing information into a person's head. Instead, learning happens when a student finds the will and joy to begin connecting with the wonders surrounding him or her in every moment of every day.
I wish for all of you that you keep yourself wide open to the experiences that await each and every one of you today, tomorrow, and every day.
Z
Monday, January 3, 2011
A New Year's Wish
Aloha Dear Readers,
Thank you for a wonderful break. I really enjoyed spending some time with my family.
A few times during the last month, I've hit on something that is a core issue of my book, my classroom philosophy, and I hope for this continued blog. Today, I received the new issue of Time magazine, opened it up, and flipped it to an article on Suu Kyi, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate. On page 32, I saw my opening quote for the year staring at me in big bold print. It is the shot into the very heart of what I'm trying to do with all of this work.
The nicest thing about this, for me, is that seeing these words coming from someone who also believes passionately in his or her work. It means I'm not crazy and that this is a worthwhile mission. It fills me with the energy to dive back in for another year and share all of this love inside of me in an effort to spread the message that learning is worthwhile as it allows us to decide carefully and clearly where and when and how we might contribute to this great human experience.
With no further ado, I leave you with the quote:
"My very top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves."
-Suu Kyi
Happy New Year!
Z
Thank you for a wonderful break. I really enjoyed spending some time with my family.
A few times during the last month, I've hit on something that is a core issue of my book, my classroom philosophy, and I hope for this continued blog. Today, I received the new issue of Time magazine, opened it up, and flipped it to an article on Suu Kyi, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate. On page 32, I saw my opening quote for the year staring at me in big bold print. It is the shot into the very heart of what I'm trying to do with all of this work.
The nicest thing about this, for me, is that seeing these words coming from someone who also believes passionately in his or her work. It means I'm not crazy and that this is a worthwhile mission. It fills me with the energy to dive back in for another year and share all of this love inside of me in an effort to spread the message that learning is worthwhile as it allows us to decide carefully and clearly where and when and how we might contribute to this great human experience.
With no further ado, I leave you with the quote:
"My very top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves."
-Suu Kyi
Happy New Year!
Z
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