A mind once stretched...

"A mind once stretched never regains its original shape."

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Imitation is Suicide

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages...Imitation is suicide."

-Emerson, in "Self Reliance"

Falling Trust

Yipes, the proportion of Americans who feel they can generally trust others fell from 46% in 1972 to 32% in 2008. General Social Survey. (Have seen this before, reminded of it in a post by Peter Levine).

Shadows on Icy Snow

Thumbnail moon casting

soft shadows on icy snow.

Crackling cold surrounds me as I

crunch morning's first steps over path

thinly veiled with night's subtle flurry.

This started as a haiku but wound up a bit too long for the format!

Zen from the Sides of the Mountain--Pirsig

To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top. Pirsig, Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance #quote

Americans elevating experience over things

This references a NYT article that shows people starting to value experience-- including civic activity plus family outings, hobbies, etc.--over things. Could be good for citing in talks/writing.

Encouraging trends! RT @dbb54: NYT Americans are rearranging their lives to elevate experiences over things http://j.mp/5h8kFU

Putting first things first

Thinking in these early days of the new year about goals, priorities. Reminded of the importance of putting "first things first" which of course encourages one to clarify what those "first things" are.

In strategic planning, organizations are encouraged to focus on "core competencies" and "doing more of what they do best". I don't hear this suggest a lot, but does it not make sense that individuals, especially in leadership positions, ought to also think about their core competencies and doing more of what they do best?

Emerging from a stretch of very short-term focused activity, being strategic about my time and spending more of it doing what I'm best at and most passionate about is very much on my mind. This means more time really engaging in the substance of our program work at Social Capital Inc., thinking and writing about it, working on the learning & teaching aspects of the work. Have to believe that successfully devoting more time to these functions will help move our organization forward. Having faith that doing the right the will lead to good results over the long-term has served me well thus far and expect it will continue to do so in 2010!

The most important thing in education...

"The most important thing in education is to teach young people how to think for themselves." Albert Schweitzer

Schweitzer was in many ways the inspiration for the organization that really launched me into leadership back in high school, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY).