Helping Leaders Lead
One who knows what people do not know,
Is a person of enlightenment.
One who pretends to know what he is ignorant of, is at fault.
He who is aware of what he does not know, shall not be at fault.
Therefore, a saint is flawless for he is aware of what he truly knows and what he knows not,
hence he is flawless.
~ Lau Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Persistence is a state of mind, therefore it can be cultivated. Like all states of mind, persistence is based upon definite causes, among them these:-
Before leaving the subject of persistence, take inventory of yourself, and determine in what particular, if any, you are lacking in this essential quality. Measure yourself courageously, point by point, and see how many of the eight factors of persistence you lack. The analysis may lead to discoveries that will give you a new grip on yourself.
~ Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich
Patience.
Why this fierce struggle to achieve thine ends?
This selfish argument? This fire which lends
Heat to resentment ashes to remorse?
Canst thou bend Truth and Nature to thy will?
Bend thou, and work and wait; be strong and still;
Soft growth is stronger than vehement force.
Be as a flower, content to be, to grow
In sweetness day by day; content to know
The hidden blessing in the seeming curse;
A child of Love, unargumentative;
Content to be and know—as thou dost live—
The simple secret on the Universe.
~ James Allen – Poems of Peace
Victory Over Intrusive Thoughts.
In the beginning of your practice of thought-control you will experience great difficulty.
You will have to wage war with them. They will struggle their level best for their own existence.
They will say, “We have every right to remain in this palace of mind. We have a sole monopoly from time immemorial to occupy this area. Why should we vacate our dominion now? We will fight for our birthright till the end.”
They will pounce upon you with great ferocity. When you sit for meditation only, all sorts of evil thoughts will crop up. As you attempt to suppress them they want to attack you with redoubled force and vigour. But positive always overcomes the negative.
Just as darkness cannot stand before the sun, just as the leopard cannot stand before the lion so also all these dark negative thoughts—these invisible intruders, enemies of peace—cannot stand before the sublime divine thoughts. They must die by themselves.
~ Sri Swami Sivananda, Thought Power
To avoid resentment and worry over ingratitude, here is Rule 3:
~ Dale Carnegie, How To Stop Worrying And Start Living
You never can tell what a thought will do
In bringing you hate or love;
For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
Are swifter than a carrier dove.
They follow the law of the universe,–
Each thought creates its kind,
And they speed o’er the track to bring you back
Whatever went out from your mind.
~ Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success
Ask people for their opinions, to help their self-confidence.
Ask them for favors, to arouse their cooperativeness.
Ask them “and, in addition to that?” to get to the bottom of things.
Try giving orders in the form of questions to keep cooperation.
Make suggestions to the boss in the form of questions.
Ask questions that will let people talk themselves into a cooperative attitude.
~ Donald A. Laird , The Technique of Handling People
IN every heart there are two kings, but one is a usurper and tyrant; he is named self, and his thoughts and deeds are those of lust, hatred, passion, and strife; the other, the rightful monarch, is named Truth, and his thoughts and deeds are those of purity and love, meekness and peace. Brother, sister, to what monarch dost thou bow? What king hast thou crowned in thy heart? Well is it with thy soul if Thou canst say: “I bow down to the Monarch of Truth; in my inmost heart I have crowned the King of Peace.” Blessed indeed and immortal shall he be who shall find in the inward and heavenly places the King of Righteousness, and shall bow his heart to Him.
Power resides in blamelessness of heart. All earthly things are symbols.
It is by the eradication of the inward errors and impurities alone that a knowledge of Truth can be gained. There is no other way to wisdom and peace.
~ James Allen, Daily Meditations
A recent conversation with a prominent psychologist revealed that, in his opinion, the whole purpose of psychology was to get people to understand themselves and then ACCEPT THEMSELVES. “This is the only real basis of any new changes, development of growth,” he said. “People don’t know how to look at themselves as a total individual. What I mean is that they fail to see all of the facts. Their attention becomes fixed on a few points about themselves and they fail to see that overall people are good – considering all the facts.”
~ Strickland & Shafe, How to Develop an Attitude for Success
My words of Tao is easy to understand and to practice.
However, the world can neither understand nor practice them.
In my words of Tao, there is the subtle truth.
In my deeds, there is the Way of Tao.
Because people do not understand these,
Therefore they do not understand me.
Those who know me are few.
Hence, the essence of Tao appears to be more honorable and precious.
Thus, a saint may dress in ordinary coarse clothing,
Yet has a heart of gem with the true essence within.
~ Lau Tzu, Tao Te Ching
