Monthly Archive: January 2023

Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, January 31, 2023 – Omar Bradley

Harry January 31, 2023

“Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.”

And

“Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it.”

And

“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.”

And

“This is as true in everyday life as it is in battle: we are given one life and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.”

And

“Dependability, integrity, the characteristic of never knowingly doing anything wrong, that you would never cheat anyone, that you would give everybody a fair deal. Character is a sort of an all-inclusive thing. If a man has character, everyone has confidence in him. Soldiers must have confidence in their leader.”

And

“We have men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.”

And

“Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked, and we who fail to prevent them, must share the guilt for the dead.”

And

“The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts.”

And

“With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescents.”

And

Military hero, courageous in battle, and gentle in spirit, friend of the common soldier, General of the Army, first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he embodies the best of the American military tradition with dignity, humanity, and honor. Gerald Ford, remarks upon presenting Bradley with the Presidential Medal of Freedom (10 January 1977)

And

An Armistice Day Address

By General Omar N. Bradley
Boston, Massachusetts
November 10, 1948

“TOMORROW is our day of conscience. For although it is a monument to victory, it is also a symbol of failure. Just as it honors the dead, so must it humble the living.

Armistice Day is a constant reminder that we won a war and lost a peace.

It is both a tribute and an indictment: A tribute to the men who died that their neighbors might live without fear of aggression. An indictment of those who lived and forfeited their chance for peace.

Therefore, while Armistice Day is a day for pride, it is for pride in the achievements of others—humility in our own.

Neither remorse nor logic can hide the fact that our armistice ended in failure. Not until the armistice myth exploded in the blast of a Stuka bomb did we learn that the winning of wars does not in itself make peace. And not until Pearl Harbor did we learn that non-involvement in peace means certain involvement in war.
We paid grievously for those faults of the past in deaths, disaster, and dollars.

It was a penalty we knowingly chose to risk. We made the choice when we defaulted on our task in creating and safeguarding a peace.

It is no longer possible to shield ourselves with arms alone against the ordeal of attack. For modern war visits destruction on the victor and the vanquished alike. Our only complete assurance of surviving World War III is to halt it before it starts.

For that reason we clearly have no choice but to face the challenge of these strained times. To ignore the danger of aggression is simply to invite it. It must never again be said of the American people: Once more we won a war; once more we lost a peace. If we do we shall doom our children to a struggle that may take their lives.

ARMED forces can wage wars but they cannot make peace. For there is a wide chasm between war and peace—a chasm that can only be bridged by good will, discussion, compromise, and agreement. In 1945 while still bleeding from the wounds of aggression, the nations of this world met in San Francisco to build that span from war to peace. For three years—first hopefully, then guardedly, now fearfully—free nations have labored to complete that bridge. Yet again and again they have been obstructed by a nation whose ambitions thrive best on tension, whose leaders are scornful of peace except on their own impossible terms.

The unity with which we started that structure has been riddled by fear and suspicion. In place of agreement we are wrangling dangerously over the body of that very nation whose aggression had caused us to seek each other as allies and friends.

Only three years after our soldiers first clasped hands over the Elbe, this great wartime ally has spurned friendship with recrimination, it has clenched its fists and skulked in conspiracy behind it secretive borders.

As a result today we are neither at peace nor war. Instead we are engaged in this contest of tension, seeking agreement with those who disdain it, rearming, and struggling for peace.

Time can be for or against us.

It can be for us if diligence in our search for agreement equals the vigilance with which we prepare for a storm.

It can be against us if disillusionment weakens our faith in discussion—or if our vigilance corrodes while we wait.

Disillusionment is always the enemy of peace. And today—as after World War I —disillusionment can come from expecting too much, too easily, too soon. In our impatience we must never forget that fundamental differences have divided this world; they allow no swift, no cheap, no easy solutions.

While as a prudent people we must prepare ourselves to encounter what we may be unable to prevent, we nevertheless must never surrender ourselves to the certainty of that encounter.

For if we say there is no good in arguing with what must inevitably come, then we shall be left with no choice but to create a garrison state and empty our wealth into arms. The burden of long-term total preparedness for some indefinite but inevitable war could not help but crush the freedom we prize. It would leave the American people soft victims for bloodless aggression.

BOTH the East and the West today deprecate war. Yet because of its threatening gestures, its espousal of chaos, its secretive tactics, and its habits of force—one nation has caused the rest of the world to fear that it might recklessly resort to force rather that be blocked in its greater ambitions.

The American people have said both in their aid to Greece and in the reconstruction of Europe that any threat to freedom is a threat to our own lives. For we know that unless free peoples stand boldly and united against the forces of aggression, they may fall wretchedly, one by one, into the web of oppression.

It is fear of the brutal unprincipled use of force by reckless nations that might ignore the vast reserves of our defensive strength that has caused the American people to enlarge their air, naval, and ground arms.

Reluctant as we are to muster this costly strength, we must leave no chance for miscalculation in the mind of any aggressor.

Because in the United States it is the people who are sovereign, the Government is theirs to speak their voice and to voice their will, truthfully and without distortion.

We, the American people, can stand cleanly before the entire world and say plainly to any state:

“This Government will not assail you.

“You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressor.”

Since the origin of the American people, their chief trait has been the hatred of war. And yet these American people are ready to take up their arms against aggression and destroy if need be by their might any nation which would violate the peace of the world.

There can be no compromise with aggression anywhere in the world. For aggression multiplies—in rapid succession—disregard for the rights of man. Freedom when threatened anywhere is at once threatened everywhere.

NO MORE convincing an avowal of their peaceful intentions could have been made by the American people than by their offer to submit to United Nations the secret of the atom bomb. Our willingness to surrender this trump advantage that atomic energy might be used for the peaceful welfare of mankind splintered the contentions of those word-warmakers that our atom had been teamed with the dollar for imperialistic gain.

Yet because we asked adequate guarantees and freedom of world-wide inspection by the community of nations itself, our offer was declined and the atom has been recruited into this present contest of nerves. To those people who contend that secrecy and medieval sovereignty are more precious than a system of atomic control, I can only reply that it is a cheap price to pay for peace.

The atom bomb is far more than a military weapon. It may—as Bernard Baruch once said—contain the choice between the quick and the dead. We dare not forget that the advantage in atomic warfare lies with aggression and surprise. If we become engaged in an atom bomb race, we may simply lull ourselves to sleep behind an atomic stockpile. The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts.

WITH the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescents. Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to control it. We have many men of science; too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.

This is our twentieth century’s claim to distinction and to progress.

IN OUR concentration on the tactics of strength and resourcefulness which have been used in the contest for blockaded Berlin, we must not forget that we are also engaged in a long-range conflict of ideas. Democracy can withstand ideological attacks if democracy will provide earnestly and liberally for the welfare of its people. To defend democracy against attack, men must value freedom. And to value freedom they must benefit by it in happier and more secure lives for their wives and their children.

Throughout this period of tension in which we live, the American people must demonstrate conclusively to all other peoples of the world that democracy not only guarantees man’s human freedom but that it guarantees his economic dignity and progress as well. To practice freedom and make it work, we must cherish the individual; we must provide him the opportunities for reward and impress upon him the responsibilities a free man bears to the society in which he lives.”

Wikipedia Page: Omar Bradley

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Monday, January 30, 2023 – Andrew Carnegie

Harry January 30, 2023

“Aim for the highest.”

And

“All honor’s wounds are self-inflicted.”

And

“And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.”

And

“Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.”

And

“Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”

And

“Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.”

And

“He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.”

And

“I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.”

And

“Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.”

And

“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.”

And

“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”

And

“The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”

And

“The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.”

And

“The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.”

And

“There is little success where there is little laughter.”

And

“There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.”

And

“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!”

And

“You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.”

And

“You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.”

Wikipedia: Andrew Carnegie

10 Rules of Success Andrew Carnegie Used To Become Incredibly Rich, Richard Feloni, Business Insider

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Sunday, January 29, 2023 – Bill Walsh

Harry January 29, 2023

Bill Walsh’s Five Don’ts

“1. Don’t ask, “Why me?”

2. Don’t expect sympathy.

3. Don’t bellyache.

4. Don’t keep accepting condolences.

5. Don’t blame others.”

And

“If you see players who hate practice, their coach isn’t doing a very good job.”

And

“The absolute bottom line in coaching is organization and preparing for practice.”

And

“A resolute and resourceful leader understands that there are a multitude of means to increase the probability of success. And that’s what it all comes down to, namely, intelligently and relentlessly seeking solutions that will increase your chance of prevailing in a competitive environment. When you do that, the score will take care of itself.”

And

“I’ve observed that if individuals who prevail in a highly competitive environment have any one thing in common besides success, it is failure—and their ability to overcome it.”

And

“The ability to help the people around me self-actualize their goals underlines the single aspect of my abilities and the label that I value most—teacher.”

And

“Failure is part of success, an integral part. Everybody gets knocked down. Knowing it will happen and what you must do when it does is the first step back.”

And

“When you stand and overcome a significant setback, you’ll find an increasing inner confidence and self-assurance that has been created by conquering defeat. Absorbing and overcoming this kind of punishment engenders a sober, steely toughness that results in a hardened sense of independence and a personal belief that you can take on anything, survive and win.”

And

“Great players and great companies don’t suddenly start hunching up, grimacing, and trying to “hit the ball harder” at a critical point. Rather, they’re in a mode, a zone in which they’re performing and depending on their “game,” which they’ve mastered over many months and years of intelligently directed hard work. There’s only so much thinking you can isolate and focus on during that kind of extreme competitive pressure. It has to be tactical more than a conscious effort to really “try harder.” You just want to function very well, up to your potential, effortlessly—do what you already know how to do at the level of excellence you’ve acquired—whether in making a presentation or coaching a game or anything else.”

And

“Everybody’s got an opinion. Leaders are paid to make a decision. The difference between offering an opinion and making a decision is the difference between working for the leader and being the leader.”

And

“We all have in our mind inspiring examples of individuals who persevered beyond the point of reason and common sense and prevailed. We tend to ignore the more numerous examples of individuals who persisted and persisted and finally failed and took everybody down with them because they would not change course or quit. We ignore them because we never heard about them.”

And

“You must be the best version of yourself that you can be; stay within the framework of your own personality and be authentic. If you’re faking it, you’ll be found out.”

And

“The trademark of a well-led organization in sports or business is that it’s virtually self-sustaining and self-directed—almost autonomous. To put it in a more personal way, if your staff doesn’t seem fully mobilized and energized until you enter the room, if they require your presence to carry on at the level of effort and excellence you have tried to install, your leadership has not percolated down.”

And

“Strong leaders don’t plead with individuals to perform.”

And

“Make each person in your employ very aware that his or her well-being has a high priority with the organization and that the well-being of the organization must be his or her highest professional priority.”

And

“The highest-paid, most talented people that you can go out and hire will not perform to their potential unless they feel as if they are part of something special—a family that treats them right.”

And

“It was always my goal to create and maintain a working environment both on and off the field that had a sense of urgency and intensity but did not feel like we were in constant crisis mode.”

And

“In evaluating people, I prize ego. It often translates into a fierce desire to do their best and an inner confidence that stands them in good stead when things really get rough. Psychologists suggest that there is a strong link between ego and competitiveness. All the great performers I’ve ever coached had ego to spare.”

And

“Extra effort,” in whatever form it takes (mental, physical, emotional), cannot be sustained without eventual damage and diminishing returns. There has to be a very acute awareness on your part as to the level of exertion and the toll it’s taking on those you lead.”

And

“By instinct we—leaders—want to run hard all the time; by intellect we know this is not possible. Reconciling those two positions in the context of leadership is an ongoing challenge.”

And

“Concentrate on what will produce results rather than on the results, the process rather than the prize.”

And

“Clear thinking and overly charged emotions are usually antithetical.”

And

“People matter most—more than equipment, investors, inventions, momentum, or X’s and O’s. People are at the heart of achieving organizational greatness.”

And

“Afford each person the same respect, support, and fair treatment you would expect if your roles were reversed. Deal with people individually, not as objects who are part of a herd—that’s the critical factor.”

And

“If you care about how you’re perceived by others, including the public, it’s good to remember the following: Criticism—both deserved and undeserved—is part of the territory when you’re the one calling the shots. Ignore the undeserved; learn from the deserved; lick your wounds and move on.”

And

“Calculated risks are part of what you do, but the idea that something completely crazy will work just because it’s completely crazy is completely crazy.”

And

“One of the common traits of outstanding performers—coaches, athletes, managers, sales representatives, executives, and others who face a daily up/down, win/lose accounting system—is that a rejection, that is, defeat, is quickly forgotten, replaced eagerly by pursuit of a new order, client, or opponent.”

And

“Nothing is more effective than sincere, accurate praise, and nothing is more lame than a cookie-cutter compliment.”

And

“If you are worthy of emulation, you have left an unbelievable legacy. He was a great coach, a great friend, and I’m going to miss him terribly.” Former coach Dick Vermeil at Coach Bill Walsh Memorial Service

And

“I came to the San Francisco 49ers with a specific goal – to implement what I call the Standard of Performance. It was a way of doing things, a leadership philosophy, that has as much to do with core values, principles, and ideals as with blocking, tackling, and passing; more to do with the mental than with the physical.”

And

“The culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions: they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.”

And

“For me, the road had been rocky at times, triumphant too, but along the way I had never wavered in my dedication to installing – teaching – those actions and attitudes I believed would create a great team, a superior organization. I knew that if I achieved that, the score would take care of itself.”

And

“For me the starting point for everything – before strategy, tactics, theories, managing, organizing, philosophy, methodology, talent, or experience – is work ethic. Without one of significant magnitude you’re dead in the water, finished. I knew the example I set as head coach would be what others in the organization would recognize as the standard they needed to match (at least, most of them would recognize it). If there is such a thing as a trickle-down effect, that’s it. Your staff sees your devotion to work, their people see them, and on through the organization.”

And

“In building and maintaining your organization, place a premium on those who exhibit great desire to keep pushing themselves to higher and higher performance and production levels, who seek to go beyond the highest standards that you, the leader, set. The employee who gets to work early, stays late, fights through illness and personal problems is the one to keep your eye on for greater responsibilities.”

And

“All successful leaders know where we want to go, figure out a way we believe will get the organization there, and then move forward with absolute determination. We may falter from time to time, but ultimately we are unswerving in moving toward our goal; we will not quit. There is an inner compulsion – obsession – to get it done the way you want it done.”

And

“Victory is produced by and belongs to all. Winning a Super Bowl results from you whole team not only doing their individual jobs but perceiving that those jobs contributed to overall success. The trophy doesn’t belong just to a superstar quarterback or CEO, head coach or top salesperson. This is an essential lesson I taught the San Francisco organization: The offensive team is not a country unto itself, nor is the defensive team or the special teams, staff, coaches, or anyone in the organization separate from the fate of the organization. WE are united and fight as one; we win or lose as one.”

Four Leadership Tips From Bill Walsh from…

The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership, Amazon.com

1. Making The Best Of What You Have

“What assets do we have right now that we’re not taking advantage of?”

E.g: Walsh took inventory of his Bengals’ struggling offense which was undersized (meaning running the ball was a big challenge) and not capable of passing for long yardage (quarterback Virgil Carter could not throw very far) (though he could throw decently for short yardage).

Walsh then took stock of what he had to work with in terms of field real estate and had an uh-huh realization that they had 53.5 yards of width on the field (about half the distance of the length of the field) and the availability of 5 potential receivers.

Thus the West Coast Offense was born: the idea of throwing more often, to more receivers, for short yardage.

2. Good Leaders Give a Healthy Mix of Positive Criticism (not just negative/constructive criticism).

“If you’re growing a garden, you need to pull out the weeds, but flowers will die if all you do is pick weeds. They need sunshine and water. People are the same.

They need criticism, but they also require positive substantive language and information and true support to truly blossom.”

3. Good Leaders Look For These Five Qualities In Their Hires

1. A fundamental knowledge of the area they’ve been hired to manage
2. A relatively high — but not manic — level of energy and enthusiasm and a personality that is upbeat, motivated and animated.
3. The ability to discern talent in potential employees.
4. An ability to communicate in a relaxed yet authoritative — but not authoritarian — manner.
5. Unconditional loyalty to both you and other staff members.

4. The Four Most Powerful Words In Leadership

“I believe in you” (or equivalent words of your own).

Walsh writes that even Joe Montana (who already had a bunch of confidence) benefited from his coach telling him he believed in him.

Providing confidence to your team is perhaps the most powerful lever you can pull to help them optimize their performance.

And Walsh adds: And nobody will ever come back to you later and say “thank you” for expecting too little of them.

Wikipedia: Bill Walsh

The book of coach, Seth Wickersham, ESPN.com

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Saturday, January 28, 2023 – Hank Stram

Harry January 28, 2023

“My philosophy? Simplicity plus variety.”

And

“There are few secrets in football. So execute.”

And

“Yesterday is a cancelled check. Today is cash on the line. Tomorrow is a promissory note.”

And

“You can’t be fat and fast, too; so lift, run, diet and work.”

And

“You cannot win if you cannot run.”

Wikipedia: Hank Stram

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Friday, January 27, 2022 – Paul Brown

Harry January 27, 2023

“A winner never whines.”

And

“Football is a game of errors. The team that makes the fewest errors in a game usually wins.”

And

“The key to winning is poise under stress.”

And

“What we have currently available is what we have available.”

And

“When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less.”

And

“You can learn a line from a win and a book from a defeat.”

Wikipedia: Paul Brown

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Thursday, January 26, 2022 – John Madden

Harry January 26, 2023

“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”

And

“Don’t worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon.”

And

“If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they’ve had a bad day.”

And

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.”

And

“The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.”

And

“The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.”

And

“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”

And

“When your arm gets hit, the ball is not going to go where you want it to.”

And

“A team should never practice on a field that is not lined. Your players have to become aware of the field’s boundaries.”

And

“You can’t win games if you can’t get first downs.”

And

“You can’t win games if the offense can’t score.”

Wikipedia: John Madden

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, January 25, 2023 – Neil Armstrong

Harry January 25, 2023

“I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

And

“I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.”

And

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

And

“I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul… we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.”

And

“The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet and our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited.”

And

“This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

And

“Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

And

“As a boy, because I was born and raised in Ohio, about 60 miles north of Dayton, the legends of the Wrights have been in my memories as long as I can remember.”

And

“There can be no great accomplishment without risk.”

Wikipedia: Neil Armstrong

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, January 24, 2022 – Michelangelo

Harry January 24, 2023

“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 Quotes of the Day – Monday, January 23, 2023 – Helen Keller

Harry January 23, 2023

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

And

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

And

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

And

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”

And

“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.”

And

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”

And

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

And

“True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

And

“My share of the work may be limited, but the fact that it is work makes it precious.”

And

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”

And

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

And

“People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.”

And

“The highest result of education is tolerance.”

And

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

And

“We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.”

And

“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.”

And

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

And

“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.”

And

“Tyranny cannot defeat the power of ideas.”

And

“Miss Sullivan touched my forehead and spelled with decided emphasis, “Think.” In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head. This was my first conscious perception of an abstract idea. For a long time I was still … trying to find a meaning for “love” in the light of this new idea. The sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had been brief showers; but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its southern splendour. Again I asked my teacher, “Is this not love?”

“Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out,” she replied. Then in simpler words than these, which at that time I could not have understood, she explained:

“You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play.”

The beautiful truth burst upon my mind — I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between my spirit and the spirits of others.”

And

“No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.”

And

“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”

And

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

Wikipedia: Helen Keller

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