~~Quotable Quotes.. since Dec 2005~~

[Ong88]

It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.

~ Sunni Hadith.

[BubbleBubble]

The Bhutanese development policy in recent decades has been to ensure that national economic development proceeds parallel to the country's social, economic and institutional capacities.

~ Cecilia Tortajada, president of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico, in an op-ed piece on Running the engine of growth with water:
Cross-border collaboration and cooperation on water can reduce water-war rhetoric

[Calsberg]

In life as in the dance, grace glides on blistered feet

~ Alice Abrams

[Calsberg]

Its 40-year-old, pro-Malay affirmative-action program chips away at the country's competitiveness more and more each passing year. The trouble is, that insularity is holding back a resource-rich economy that should be among Asia's superstars, not its weakest links

~ William Pesek (Bloomberg columnist on Malaysia being impacted by national policies brought about from decades long affirmative action programmes)

[Ong88]

But he who overcomes himself has gained
The greatest triumph, stood the hardest test,
And well may he to all the world be shown :
Yea, this is he, this deed is his alone!


~ Goethe.

[Calsberg]

Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75

~ Benjamin Franklin

[Calsberg]

Some cause happiness wherever they go, some whenever they go

~ Oscar Wilde

[Ong88]

MIT 2014 Commencement address by Ellen Kullman, Du Pont CEO.

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/ellen...cement-address


Second is light. By light I mean transparency [and] enlightenment. As a business leader, I learned to look at everything from different angles; to shift my perspectives; to assume different points of view.

I will admit that this did not come naturally to me. The hardest thing I had to learn in my career is that I am not always right. I had to develop the discipline to listen. Listening doesn’t always mean agreement. You may continue to disagree, but if you take the time to listen, it will be disagreement for a reason and that tension can lead to understanding and more importantly, to new ideas. Light brings those unique thoughts that may otherwise remain undiscovered.

This is a particularly important skill for the scientist and engineer to develop, because it can often address our biggest blind spot : Sometimes the science we find so elegant, or the technology we feel is so promising, doesn’t look that way to others who view the world through a very different lens.

We have to avoid the arrogance of assuming that we’re right simply because the science is on our side. Light allows us to connect to others by showing a genuine respect for different points of view.

As you take on new opportunities and challenges, expose them to light. Look at an idea, a choice, or challenge in an unflinching manner. Be open to new ideas. Embrace new experiences. Embrace diversity of thought and people. Embrace light — shine it to spot the flaws in an idea or innovation before your competition does that for you.

Lovely Shadows

Sometimes shadows cross your path
But sometimes they encompass the way
Sometimes you wonder at Fate’s angry wrath
And often you long for bright day

But all the darkness that seems to surround you
Is but an impermanent worry
Keep your feet on the path, your thoughts on the light
And you’ll find your way through the fury

When you see that these darkening shadows
Must play on the stage of the mind
You can whisk them away with a wave of the hand
But! There are gifts in the dark you may find

Every step of the way is a treasure hunt
With riches eternal and true
So pass bravely through the darkness
For the wisdom and joy you accrue

And on the way you’ll see sweet reflections
That glimmer on the path as you go
They are the promise of things to come
When serenely through troubles you flow

When finally the hardship and woes start to fade
You’ll see in the light breaking through
Your fulfilled dreams for which you prayed
As you bid the darkness adieu..

[Calsberg]

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars

~ Casey Kassem (signature sign off from the American disc jockey, radio personality and actor, best known for being the host of the music radio programs American Top 40 1970 until his retirement in 2009. 27 April 1932 - 15 June 2014. RIP)