QUOTATIONS

Carl Rogers, father of Humanistic Psychology understood deeply that humans are good and unique.  He developed a complex theory on the subject that persists to today and influences therapists around the world.  His quote today compares people to sunsets and we'd be well-advised to remember it.  

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astronomer, astrophysicist, author, and science educator.  He is truly one of the greats with a CV longer than some books.  He has written and spoken a lot and has documented opinions and statements about many things, most profound and easy to digest.  But he resists answering one question in the way many wish he would.  In today's quote, he cautions us to be careful in w...

William George Jordan was a writer, editor, and speaker.  He recognized the importance of measured approaches to things, to remaining calm in the face of inflammatory things.  He published a book, available online in PDF for free, called The Majesty of Calmness.  In that book, he describes calmness as the ultimate goal and compares it to a Heron's calmness in the face of an attacking Eagle.  Be th...

Clint Smith is a writer, author, father, and poet.  He is a staff writer at the Atlantic and a few years, he tweeted something that has stuck with me since then.  With his 240 characters, Clint described an interaction with a teacher that changed his perspective.  His tweet changed mine and hopefully this episode about that tweet about that interaction changes yours.  

Richard Dawkins is an accomplished scientist and author whose incredible book Unweaving the Rainbow provides a scientist's view of the world of art.  He writes of the improbability of our very existence and it is those words that are the source of today's episode.  

Jessica Mills, or Dixie, as she's known on trail, has extensive backpacking experience, having completed more than 10,00 trail miles and the Triple Crown of backing, the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail.  She shares her experiences and lessons on her YouTube channel, Homemade Wanderlust.  She serves as an inspiration and source of knowledge on all things lon...

Sean Powell is a dear friend of mine and today he joins me on the podcast to discuss and dissect "If" by Rudyard Kipling.  The conversation meanders from poetry to leadership to discipline to education.  Enjoy!

Donald Rumsfeld served in the United States Navy, as a member of Congress and was twice the Secretary of Defense.  While not without his faults, in today's quote he gives us much to consider about we approach what we know and don't know.  Internalizing this lesson will shape the way we think about the world, the people in it, and how certain we really can be.  

David Marquet is a retired Navy Submariner as well as a student and teacher of leadership, in addition to be a twice-published author.  I had the privilege to interview David and dig into his thoughts on empowerment vs. emancipation, leading vs. managing, and how we might implement leadership best practices, as seen through the eyes of an accomplished naval commander on one of the most technologic...

Mitch Hedberg was one of the most unique comics.  His subjects, delivery, and demeanor are unreplicated.  In his humor were often hidden small lessons on life.  This week's quote is no exception.  While we all lost Mitch too soon, his legacy lives on in humor and in the hidden value of his words.  

While the provenance of today's quote eluded me, the words resonate with me.  The mysterious originator of the quote clearly spoke to something inside of me, the tenacious part that refuses to just give up and must "take the road less-traveled."     Whomever said it knocked down many of the common, easy paths which lead to nowhere and replaced them with a challenge...to get better.  

David Foster Wallace was an author and professor of English and Philosophy.  Sadly, he died in 2008, but not before delivering one of the finest, most raw and real commencement addresses of any age.  In it, Wallace conveyed real life in a brutal but truthful way to the graduates of Kenyon College.  We are fortunate to have a recording of this speech and more fortunate still that his words are as t...

Iain Thomas is a world-renowned author and poet.  His I Wrote This For You blog contains countless gems of thoughtful, insightful prose and poetry.  Today's quote originates there, in the aftermath of a traumatic life experience that led Iain, then a very successful career professional to put his talents to use to improve the lives of others.  To give them hope and happiness and joy.  To encourage...

Michelle Obama is a lawyer, a mother, a wife, a former First Lady, and has done a lot in her life for the benefit of others.  In her book Becoming, she outlines for us both the importance of and the method for opening doors to others.  If we take her advice to heart, we will likely see our world differently, the people in it differently, and make the world one tiny little bit better for our effort...

Derren Brown is a mentalist, illusionist and author.  In his show Miracle, he shows us some wonderful and captivating illusions and explain a bit about the human mind.  He also begins with a challenge to live life all the time, not just in the milestones or at the end.  We're supposed to be dancing...

Wilfred Owen died at age 25 while fighting on the front lines in France during the last days of WWI.  He died for his country, but not before penning this haunting poem.  In it, he describes the horrors of death by gas attack, all too common in WWI.  He cautions us to not glamorize or view through rose-colored glasses, what is, and always will be, the nightmare that is war.  

John Stuart Mill was a utilitarian thinker who spent a lot of time considering what was "right" and how we can be reasonably certain of our rightness before we act.  In his book, On Liberty he attempts not to define "rightness" but rather to provide us with a litmus test for the rightness (or wrongness) of our opinions.  That test is the topic of today's episode.  

In this, the 100th episode of Quotations, we'll explore the words of the great Dr. Albert Schweitzer.  Missionary, medical doctor, and Nobel Laureate.  He paved a way for many to follow in humanitarianism, kindness, and altruism.  He also understood that gratitude is a necessary response to the assistance we receive during the challenges we face.  Today, I thank you, listener, for standing by me t...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or "RBG" as she was often called, was just the 2nd woman ever sit on the highest court in the United States.  As you would expect, she had a lot to say in her years on the bench and today we'll look at just a few of those words and see that underlying the professionalism and capability of this frontrunner was a heart built of compassion, empathy, and community.  

This is the 2nd episode about the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge and in it we discuss statements 7-12 of the pledge required of all MikeRoweWORKS scholarship applicants.  What's important is not just the contents, but that we recognize and acknowledge that we need not be pursuing a trade or a scholarship at all.  These statements, together with the first 6 comprise a list from which we can all learn something....

Mike Rowe is a household name.  You've likely seen him on Dirty Jobs or Deadliest Catch or heard him on The Way I Heard It.  He also runs a scholarship foundation called MikeRoweWORKS.  Applicants for his scholarships must read, internalize, and sign a S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, which stands for "Skill & Work Ethic Aren't Taboo."  In this two-part series, we'll explore the pledge, looking at each statemen...

Ulysses S. Grant, General, President, and protector of the Union, was as imperfect as the rest of us.  He fought well at Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Petersburg and others, but was nearly undone by his imperfections as President.  When Grant interacted with Sheridan at Charlestown in 1864, he showed his finest leadership.  He knew the plan, kept it in his pocket, and got out of the way...

John Harbaugh has led the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League for more than a decade.  He's seen ups and downs, winning seasons and losing seasons.  He's made hard decisions...some good, some bad.  In this episode, we get a glimpse at how he handled a tough situation WITH his players near the end of the 2021-2022 NFL season.  

In part two of our analysis of the many great words held within Martin Luther King's Jr.'s jailcell response to his critics, King moves from uniting the cause to igniting the cause.  He has plead his case for unity and for his methods, and now he reminds us all, then and now, that justice and equality will not be freely given, but must be demanded.

Martin Luther King Jr. is the most well known civil rights activist in American history.  His speeches and writings have long outlived him and hold truths and lessons in many forms.  So many, in fact, that I couldn't narrow it down to just one today.  We'll examine multiple quotes from his days spent in jail for resisting the powers of the day, unjust as they were.