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NFL COACHES HOT SEAT RANKING

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, November 30, 2016 – Tom Clancy

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, November 30, 2016  – Tom Clancy

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“America is the most inventive country in the world because everybody has access to information.”

And

“Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win a battle.”

And

“I was one of the first generations to watch television. TV exposes people to news, to information, to knowledge, to entertainment. How is it bad?”

And

“I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real, that’s the spooky part.”

And

“In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them. They tried to classify everything.”

And

“It’s not right to say that our loss in Vietnam turned out to be a gain. But lessons were learned. And they were the right lessons.”

And

“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.”

And

“Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed.”

And

“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there’s something bad about it.”

And

“Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.”

And

“People live longer today than they ever have. They live happier lives, have more knowledge, more information. All this is the result of communications technology. How is any of that bad?”

And

“Probably what pushed the Russians over the edge was SDI. They realized they couldn’t beat us.”

And

“Show me an elitist, and I’ll show you a loser.”

And

“The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”

And

“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.”

And

“The good old days are now.”

And

“The human condition today is better than it’s ever been, and technology is one of the reasons for that.”

And

“The U.S. Military is us. There is no truer representation of a country than the people that it sends into the field to fight for it. The people who wear our uniform and carry our rifles into combat are our kids, and our job is to support them, because they’re protecting us.”

And

“There are two kinds of people: the ones who need to be told and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.”

And

“There used to be this country called the Soviet Union; it’s not there anymore. Our technology was better than theirs.”

And

“There was a time when nails were high-tech. There was a time when people had to be told how to use a telephone. Technology is just a tool. People use tools to improve their lives.”

And

“Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there’s somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, Oh, you can’t do that.”

Wikipedia:  Tom Clancy

www.tomclancy.com

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, November 29, 2016 – Henry David Thoreau

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, November 29, 2016 – Henry David Thoreau

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“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”

And

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.”

And

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”

And

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”

And

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”

And

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”

And

“Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

And

“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.”

And

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

And

“How does it become a man to behave towards the American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.”

And

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

And

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”

And

“If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.”

And

“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see.”

And

“In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.”

And

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

And

“Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.”

And

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

And

“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.”

And

“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”

And

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

And

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”

And

“The law will never make a man free; it is men who have got to make the law free.”

And

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

And

“There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.”

And

“What is once well done is done forever.”

And

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”

And

“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.”

And

“The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning.”

And

“I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”

And

“If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!”

And

“I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living. All great enterprises are self-supporting. The poet, for instance, must sustain his body by his poetry, as a steam planing-mill feeds its boilers with the shavings it makes. You must get your living by loving.”

And

“Do we call this the land of the free? What is it to be free from King George and continue the slaves of King Prejudice? What is it to be born free and not to live free? What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom? Is it a freedom to be slaves, or a freedom to be free, of which we boast? We are a nation of politicians, concerned about the outmost defences only of freedom. It is our children’s children who may perchance be really free.”

Wikipedia:  Henry David Thoreau

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Monday, November 28, 2016 – Plato

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Monday, November 28, 2016 – Plato

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“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.”

And

“A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.”

And

“And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul.”

And

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”

And

“Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.”

And

“For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.”

And

“I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.”

And

“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.”

And

“Life must be lived as play.”

And

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

And

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

And

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”

And

“If on the other hand I tell you that to let no day pass without discussing goodness and all the other subjects about which you hear me talking and examining both myself and others is really the very best thing that a man can do, and that life without this sort of examination is not worth living.”

And

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”

And

“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”

And

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

And

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

And

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

And

“There is truth in wine and children”

And

“Ignorance, the root and stem of every evil.”

And

“Those who tell the stories rule society.”

And

“There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain.”

And

“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”

And

“Death is not the worst that can happen to men.”

And

“Character is simply habit long continued.”

Wikipedia:  Plato

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Sunday, November 27, 2016 – Michelangelo

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Sunday, November 27, 2016 – Michelangelo

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“A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.”

And

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

And

“Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.”

And

“Genius is eternal patience.”

And

“It is necessary to keep one’s compass in one’s eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges.”

And

“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.”

And

“There is no greater harm than that of time wasted.”

And

“Yet I am learning.”

And

“If you knew how much work went into it, you would not call it genius.”

And

“The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.”

And

“What do you despise? By this you are truly known.”

Wikipedia:  Michelangelo

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Saturday, November 26, 2016 – Bo Schembechler

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Saturday, November 26, 2016 – Bo Schembechler

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“When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing.”

And

“Those who stay will be champions”

And

“If I make a mistake, I’m going to make a mistake aggressively and I’m going to make it quickly. I don’t believe in sleeping on a decision.”

And

“A Michigan man will coach Michigan.”

And

“We want the Big 10 championship. And we’re going to win it as a TEAM. They can throw out all those great backs and great quarterbacks and great defensive players throughout the country and in this conference. But there’s going to be one team that is going play solely as a team. No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. THE TEAM! THE TEAM! THE TEAM! And if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do you take into consideration what effect does it have on my team? Because you can go into professional football, you can go anywhere you want to play after you leave here, you will never play for a team again. You’ll play for a contract. You’ll play for this. You’ll play for that. You’ll play for everything except the team. And think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is THE TEAM! We’re going to win it. We’re going to win the championship again because we’re going to play as a team better than anyone else in the conference. We’re going to play together as a TEAM. We’re going to believe in each other. We’re not going to criticize each other. We’re not going to talk about each other. We’re going to encourage each other! And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know it’s going to be Michigan again. Michigan!”

And

Book Review: Bo’s Lasting Lessons, Three Star Leadership Blog – (Amazon.com Bo’s Lasting Lessons)

“Successful sports coaches seem to think that it’s part of their game plan to write books. After all, they’re celebrities of a sort and they know something about “winning” which is a popular topic with readers of all kinds.

Bo Schembechler is one of the most successful coaches in the history of college football. He coached Michigan football for twenty years, compiling a record of 234-65-8. During that time his teams won or tied for the Big Ten championship 13 times. He never had a losing season.

That’s why it’s somewhat amazing that it took so long for Bo’s Lasting Lessons to appear. But Bo Schembechler always did things his own way.

There are three big lessons in this book: values matter, keep the rules simple, and enforce them no matter what.

Values mattered for Schembechler. Honesty was the big one. He was going to be honest no matter what and he expected the same from his coaches, his players, and everyone else. The idea was simple: always do the right thing.

He kept the rules simple. He also made sure everyone who worked for him understood the rules. They included how players were to sit in team meetings and how they were expected to dress on road trips.

He enforced the rules he had. If anyone broke Bo’s rules there were consequences. And those consequences were as inevitable as nature.

Those are the big lessons, but there are lots of lessons and bits of wisdom scattered through the book. Here are some of my favorites.

If you’re the boss you have to accept the fact that you’re the bad cop and your assistants will be the good cops.

Don’t hire smart people and then not listen to their opinions.

Seek mentors, not money, especially in the early stages of your career.

Whatever your philosophy, whatever your standards, whatever your expectations, you establish those on day one. Don’t waste a second!

Recruit for character.

Develop leaders underneath you.

Goals can’t come from the top down. They’ve got to come from the people responsible for achieving them. Your job is to help them get there, and remind them every day what their goals are, and what they have to do to make their dreams come true.

Scuttle the star system. Give everyone a role and make it important.

Emphasize execution, not innovation.

There are lots more but you can find them for yourself when you read the book. I’ve got lots of things underlined, and Post-It notes dangle off lots of pages.

There are some things to watch for. First off, some of Bo’s recommendations don’t translate well to any environment other than an athletic team. Be prepared to modify them to suit.

And some things that Bo did back in the Sixties and Seventies aren’t things you can do today. Some of that involves privacy laws. Some of that is the way the world has changed. Be prepared to adapt that material, too.

Over the years, I’ve read lots of books by athletic coaches about how to achieve personal and business success. I’m almost always disappointed, but not this time.

This is an enjoyable and helpful book, in part because co-author John Bacon lets us see what I’m sure is the authentic Bo Schembechler. And Bo was a wise man and clear speaker.”

Wikipedia: Bo Schembechler

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Friday, November 25, 2016 – Paul “Bear” Bryant

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Friday, November 25, 2016 – Paul “Bear” Bryant

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“Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin’ and preachin’ were a lot alike.”

And

“But it’s still a coach’s game. Make no mistake. You start at the top. If you don’t have a good one at the top, you don’t have a cut dog’s chance. If you do, the rest falls into place. You have to have good assistants, and a lot of things, but first you have to have the chairman of the board.”

And

“If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.”

And

“I think the most important thing of all for any team is a winning attitude. The coaches must have it. The players must have it. The student body must have it. If you have dedicated players who believe in themselves, you don’t need a lot of talent.”

And

“The idea of molding men means a lot to me.”

And

“You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team.”

And

“If wanting to win is a fault, as some of my critics seem to insist, then I plead guilty. I like to win. I know no other way. It’s in my blood.”

And

“Get the winners into the game.”

And

“The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren’t being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country’s future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.”

And

“Sacrifice. Work. Self-discipline. I teach these things, and my boys don’t forget them when they leave.”

And

“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

And

“I’ll never give up on a player regardless of his ability as long as he never gives up on himself. In time he will develop.”

And

“Set goals – high goals for you and your organization. When your organization has a goal to shoot for, you create teamwork, people working for a common good.”

And

“Don’t talk too much. Don’t pop off. Don’t talk after the game until you cool off.”

And

“You have to learn what makes this or that Sammy run. For one it’s a pat on the back, for another it’s eating him out, for still another it’s a fatherly talk, or something else. You’re a fool if you think as I did as a young coach, that you can treat them all alike.”

And

“If a man is a quitter, I’d rather find out in practice than in a game. I ask for all a player has so I’ll know later what I can expect.”

And

“Find your own picture, your own self in anything that goes bad. It’s awfully easy to mouth off at your staff or chew out players, but if it’s bad, and you’re the head coach, you’re responsible. If we have an intercepted pass, I threw it. I’m the head coach. If we get a punt blocked, I caused it. A bad practice, a bad game, it’s up to the head coach to assume his responsibility.”

And

“It’s awfully important to win with humility. It’s also important to lose with humility. I hate to lose worse than anyone, but if you never lose you won’t know how to act. If you lose with humility, then you can come back.”

And

“Losing doesn’t make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder.”

And

“The biggest mistake coaches make is taking borderline cases and trying to save them. I’m not talking about grades now, I’m talking about character. I want to know before a boy enrolls about his home life, and what his parents want him to be.”

And

“What are you doing here? Tell me why you are here. If you are not here to win a national championship, you’re in the wrong place. You boys are special. I don’t want my players to be like other students. I want special people. You can learn a lot on the football field that isn’t taught in the home, the church, or the classroom. There are going to be days when you think you’ve got no more to give and then you’re going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for Alabama.”

And

“I’m no innovator. If anything I’m a stealer, or borrower. I’ve stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.”

And

“There is no sin in not liking to play; it’s a mistake for a boy to be there if he doesn’t want to.”

And

“I’m no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work.”

And

“Don’t overwork your squad. If you’re going to make a mistake, under-work them.”

And

“Be aware of “yes” men. Generally, they are losers. Surround yourself with winners. Never forget – people win.”

And

“If there is one thing that has helped me as a coach, it’s my ability to recognize winners, or good people who can become winners by paying the price.”

And

“You take those little rascals, talk to them good, pat them on the back, let them think they are good, and they will go out and beat the biguns.”

And

“If you whoop and holler all the time, the players just get used to it.”

And

“I know what it takes to win. If I can sell them on what it takes to win, then we are not going to lose too many football games.”

And

“If you want to coach you have three rules to follow to win. One, surround yourself with people who can’t live without football. I’ve had a lot of them. Two, be able to recognize winners. They come in all forms. And, three, have a plan for everything. A plan for practice, a plan for the game. A plan for being ahead, and a plan for being behind 20-0 at half, with your quarterback hurt and the phones dead, with it raining cats and dogs and no rain gear because the equipment man left it at home.”

And

“My approach to the game has been the same at all the places I’ve been. Vanilla. The sure way. That means, first of all, to win physically. If you got eleven on a field, and they beat the other eleven physically, they’ll win. They will start forcing mistakes. They’ll win in the fourth quarter.”

And

“Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.”

And

“Scout yourself. Have a buddy who coaches scout you.”

And

“The first time you quit, it’s hard. The second time, it gets easier. The third time, you don’t even have to think about it.”

And

“But there’s one thing about quitters you have to guard against – they are contagious. If one boy goes, the chances are he’ll take somebody with him, and you don’t want that. So when they would start acting that way, I used to pack them up and get them out, or embarrass them, or do something to turn them around.”

And

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.”

And

“People who are in it for their own good are individualists. They don’t share the same heartbeat that makes a team so great. A great unit, whether it be football or any organization, shares the same heartbeat.”

And

“I told them my system was based on the “ant plan,” that I’d gotten the idea watching a colony of ants in Africa during the war. A whole bunch of ants working toward a common goal.”

And

“We can’t have two standards, one set for the dedicated young men who want to do something ambitious and one set for those who don’t.”

And

“I honestly believe that if you are willing to out-condition the opponent, have confidence in your ability, be more aggressive than your opponent and have a genuine desire for team victory, you will become the national champions. If you have all the above, you will acquire confidence and poise, and you will have those intangibles that win the close ones.”

And

“If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit – you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”

And

“Don’t ever give up on ability. Don’t give up on a player who has it.”

And

“A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.”

And

“I have always tried to teach my players to be fighters. When I say that, I don’t mean put up your dukes and get in a fistfight over something. I’m talking about facing adversity in your life. There is not a person alive who isn’t going to have some awfully bad days in their lives. I tell my players that what I mean by fighting is when your house burns down, and your wife runs off with the drummer, and you’ve lost your job and all the odds are against you. What are you going to do? Most people just lay down and quit. Well, I want my people to fight back.”

And

“If they don’t have a winning attitude, I don’t want them.”

And

“I have tried to teach them to show class, to have pride, and to display character. I think football, winning games, takes care of itself if you do that.”

And

“I always want my players to show class, knock’em down, pat on the back, and run back to the huddle.”

And

“I tell young players who want to be coaches, who think they can put up with all the headaches and heartaches, can you live without it? If you can live without it, don’t get in it.”

Wikipedia:  Paul “Bear” Bryant

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Thursday, November 24, 2016 – Thanksgiving Day

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Thursday, November 24, 2016 – Thanksgiving Day

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“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”  H.U. Westermayer

And

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.”  Meister Eckhart

And

“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.”  E.P. Powell

And

“So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.”
Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

And

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  John Fitzgerald Kennedy

And

“Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!”  Henry Ward Beecher

And

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”  Edward Sandford Martin

And

“Our rural ancestors, with little blest,
Patient of labour when the end was rest,
Indulged the day that housed their annual grain,
With feasts, and off’rings, and a thankful strain.”
Alexander Pope

And

“He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.”
J.A. Shedd

And

“Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.”  Robert Caspar Lintner

And

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

And

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.”   Erma Bombeck

And

“On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.”  William Jennings Bryan

And

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”   Seneca

And

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward

And

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”  William Shakespeare

And

“It is delightfully easy to thank God for the grace we ourselves have received, but it requires great grace to thank God always for the grace given to others.”  James Smith

And

“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.”  Johnny Carson

And

“Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year.”  P. J. O’Rourke

And

“Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for – annually, not oftener – if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments.”  Mark Twain

And

“We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.”  Albert Barnes

And

“Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent lifting of the heart to God in honor and praise for His goodness.” Robert Casper Lintner

The Desolate Wilderness, Editorial, Wall Street Journal

“Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton , keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford , sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leaves of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love.

he next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears. But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loath to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.

Being now passed the vast ocean….”

And the Fair Land, Editorial, Wall Street Journal

“Anyone whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.

This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.

So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.

For the traveler, as travelers have been always…..”

Wikipedia:  Thanksgiving Day

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, November 23, 2016 – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, November 23, 2016 – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Seneca1

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”

And

“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”

And

“A physician is not angry at the intemperance of a mad patient, nor does he take it ill to be railed at by a man in fever. Just so should a wise man treat all mankind, as a physician does his patient, and look upon them only as sick and extravagant.”

And

“Life is the fire that burns and the sun that gives light. Life is the wind and the rain and the thunder in the sky. Life is matter and is earth, what is and what is not, and what beyond is in Eternity.”

And

“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”

And

“It is quality rather than quantity that matters.”

And

“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”

And

“Life’s like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”

And

“Love in its essence is spiritual fire.”

And

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”

And

“A happy life is one which is in accordance with its own nature.”

And

“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand.”

And

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

And

“True happiness is… to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”

And

“A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.”

And

“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”

And

“Everything is the product of one universal creative effort. There is nothing dead in Nature. Everything is organic and living, and therefore the whole world appears to be a living organism.”

And

“The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.”

And

“Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life – in firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color.”

And

“Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today.”

And

“There is no person so severely punished, as those who subject themselves to the whip of their own remorse.”

And

“Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.”

And

“There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”

And

“Nothing is so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it to be expecting evil before it comes.”

And

“Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.”

And

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”

And

“Everywhere means nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends.”

And

“Live among men as if God beheld you; speak with God as if men were listening.”

And

“Men do not care how nobly they live, but only how long, although it is within the reach of every man to live nobly, but within no man’s power to live long.”

And

“God is near you, with you, and in you. Thus I say, Lucilius: there sits a holy spirit within us, a watcher of our right and wrong doing, and a guardian…”

And

“Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your betters.”

And

“You can tell the character of every man when you see how he gives and receives praise.”

Wikipedia:  Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, November 22, 2016 – John F. Kennedy

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, November 22, 2016 – John F. Kennedy

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“NAURO NATIVE KNOWS POSIT HE CAN PILOT 11 ALIVE NEED SMALL BOAT KENNEDY” Message carved into a coconut after the wreck of PT-109, August, 6, 1943

And

“If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.”

And

“The true democracy, living and growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people – faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but will also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment – faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor, and ultimately recognize right.”

And

“For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men – such as the subjects of this book – have lived. The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.”

And

“Now let me make it clear that I believe there can only be one defense policy for the United States and that is summed up in the word ‘first.’ I do not mean ‘first, but’. I do not mean ‘first, when’. I do not mean ‘first, if’. I mean ‘first –period’.”

And

“I believe in an America where the rights that I have described are enjoyed by all, regardless of their race or their creed or their national origin – where every citizen is free to think and speak as he pleases and write and worship as he pleases – and where every citizen is free to vote as he pleases, without instructions from anyone, his employer, the union leader or his clergyman.”

And

“It has been a long road from that first snowy day in New Hampshire to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and homes all over America. Give me your help, your hand, your voice, your vote. Recall with me the words of Isaiah: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary.” As we face the coming challenge, we too, shall wait upon the Lord, and ask that he renew our strength. Then shall we be equal to the test. Then we shall not be weary. And then we shall prevail.”

And

“But the harsh fact of the matter is that there is also an increasingly large number of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies—whose physical fitness is not what it should be—who are getting soft. And such softness on the part of individual citizens can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation. For the physical vigor of our citizens is one of America’s most precious resources. If we waste and neglect this resource, if we allow it to dwindle and grow soft then we will destroy much of our ability to meet the great and vital challenges which confront our people. We will be unable to realize our full potential as a nation.”

And

“Our Constitution wisely assigns both joint and separate roles to each branch of the government; and a President and a Congress who hold each other in mutual respect will neither permit nor attempt any trespass.”

And

“The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.”

And

“Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment– the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”–but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.
This means greater coverage and analysis of international news–for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security–and we intend to do it.”

And

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

And

“Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, “Because it is there.” Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”

And

“No country can possibly move ahead, no free society can possibly be sustained, unless it has an educated citizenry whose qualities of mind and heart permit it to take part in the complicated and increasingly sophisticated decisions that pour not only upon the President and upon the Congress, but upon all the citizens who exercise the ultimate power…Quite obviously, there is a higher purpose, and that is the hope that you will turn to the service of the State the scholarship, the education, the qualities which society has helped develop in you; that you will render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or the international level a contribution to the maintenance of freedom and peace and the security of our country and those associated with it in a most critical time.”

And

“But Goethe tells us in his greatest poem that Faust lost the liberty of his soul when he said to the passing moment: “Stay, thou art so fair.” And our liberty, too, is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past are certain to miss the future.”

And

“Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable—that mankind is doomed—that we are gripped by forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade—therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable—and we believe they can do it again.”

And

“The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough—more than enough—of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on—not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.”

And

“This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

And

“This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.”

And

“For time and the world do not stand still.  Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

And

“Do not pray for easy lives.  Pray to be stronger men.”

And

“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.”

And

“Things do not happen.  Things are made to happen.”

And

“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”

And

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

And

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”

And

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”

And

“A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard-core unemployed.”

And

“All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!””

And

“Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.”

And

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

And

“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.”

And

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.”

And

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

And

“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

And

“Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole.”

And

“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”

And

“The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.”

And

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.”

And

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.”

And

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”

And

“There is always inequality in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded and some men never leave the country. Life is unfair.”

And

“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

And

“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”

And

“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

And

“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.”

And

“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”

And

“I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world.”

And

“The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.”

And

“All students, members of the faculty, and public officials in both Mississippi and the Nation will be able, it is hoped, to return to their normal activities with full confidence in the integrity of American law. This is as it should be, for our Nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny. The law which we obey includes the final rulings of the courts, as well as the enactments of our legislative bodies. Even among law-abiding men few laws are universally loved, but they are uniformly respected and not resisted. Americans are free, in short, to disagree with the law but not to disobey it. For in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors.”

And

“‘Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

And

“And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: “I served in the United States Navy.”

And

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

And

“The complacent, the self-indulgent, the soft societies are about to be swept away with the debris of history. Only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determine the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive.”

And

“No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.
I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers–I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.”

And

“Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment– the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”–but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.

And

This means greater coverage and analysis of international news–for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security–and we intend to do it.”

And

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations—explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon—if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.”

And

“And if there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.”

And

“For a city or a people to be truly free they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choice and to live their own lives.”

And

“I pledge you that we will neither commit nor provoke aggression, that we shall neither flee nor invoke the threat of force, that we shall never negotiate out of fear, we shall never fear to negotiate.”

And

“Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities.”

And

“In short, we are neither “warmongers” nor “appeasers,” neither “hard” nor “soft.” We are Americans, determined to defend the frontiers of freedom, by an honorable peace if peace is possible, but by arms if arms are used against us. And if we are to move forward in that spirit, we shall need all the calm and thoughtful citizens that this great University can produce, all the light they can shed, all the wisdom they can bring to bear. It is customary, both here and around the world, to regard life in the United States as easy. Our advantages are many. But more than any other people on earth, we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.”

And

“As apt and applicable as the Declaration of Independence is today, we would do well to honor that other historic document drafted in this hall–the Constitution of the United States. For it stressed not independence but interdependence–not the individual liberty of one but the indivisible liberty of all.”

And

“No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50 thousand years of man’s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than two years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power. Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America’s new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight.”

And

“Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it—we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.”

And

“Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, “Because it is there.” Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”

And

“The 1930’s taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged ultimately leads to war.”

And

“The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is one of the most consistent with our character and our courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and this is the path of surrender or submission. Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you, and good night.”

And

“In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours—and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest. So, let us not be blind to our differences—but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

And

“This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

Wikipedia:  John F. Kennedy

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Monday, November 21, 2016 – Booker T. Washington

Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Monday, November 21, 2016 – Booker T. Washington

BookerTWashington8188118

“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”

And

“Character is power.”

And

“Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”

And

“Dignify and glorify common labor. It is at the bottom of life that we must begin, not at the top.”

And

“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.”

And

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.”

And

“If you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realize dreams.”

And

“No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts.”

And

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.”

And

“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

And

“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”

And

“There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life.”

And

“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”

And

“The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts.”

Wikipedia: Booker T. Washington

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