Bill O'Reilly articles can be found weekly at www.intellivu.com.
I'd like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I
was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious.
I'd like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as
tomorrow's Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. Must get
more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician.
Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I
thought exactly what you are now thinking: What's going to happen to me? Will I find my
place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my
roommate's Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special
for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it's so unique. No where
else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working
in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I'm just glad my dad's working.
It's particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very
badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you'll
indulge me, I'd like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: "Fellow
students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-ha tune which will definitely
stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future
will hold: "I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will
rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the
sheer strength of his moral authority." "I believe that Justice will prevail
and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under
Communist rule." "I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected
computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their
interest in idle chit chat and pornography." "And finally, I believe that one
day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night,
which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals." And then
there's some stuff about the death of Wall Street which I don't think we need to get
into....
The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a
kind of demigod, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall
of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the
Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it
was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo
office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they
put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to
the class of '85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of
"Dynasty." My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine
Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days
I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural
engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according to the computer, I
collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan.
After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by
the same firm that built Hitler's bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from
Mather House, he'd have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now.
When I had my Class Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do
you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean
bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let's get it
on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop
that said "Harvard Class of 2000." At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I
realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen
years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I
graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come
from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched "The Cosby Show" on
NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called "Cosby" on CBS.
In 1985 we drove cars with driver's side airbags, but if you told us that one day there'd
be passenger side airbags, we'd have burned you for witchcraft.
But of course, I think there is some common ground between us. I remember well the great
uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe,
comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong into the cold, harsh world
of Harvard Grad School, a plum job at your father's firm, or a year abroad with a gold
Amex card and then a plum job in your father's firm. But let me assure you that the
knowledge you've gained here at Harvard is a precious gift that will never leave you. Take
it from me, your education is yours to keep forever. Why, many of you have read the
Merchant of Florence, and that will inspire you when you travel to the island of Spain.
Your knowledge of that problem they had with those people in Russia, or that guy in South
America-you know, that guy-will enrich you for the rest of your life.
There is also sadness today, a feeling of loss that you're leaving Harvard forever. Well,
let me assure you that you never really leave Harvard. The Harvard Fundraising Committee
will be on your ass until the day you die. Right now, a member of the Alumni Association
is at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery shaking down the corpse of Henry Adams. They heard he had a
brass toe ring and they aims to get it. Imagine: These people just raised 2.5 billion
dollars and they only got through the B's in the alumni directory. Here's how it works.
Your phone rings, usually after a big meal when you're tired and most vulnerable. A voice
asks you for money. Knowing they just raised 2.5 billion dollars you ask, "What do
you need it for?" Then there's a long pause and the voice on the other end of the
line says, "We don't need it, we just want it." It's chilling.
What else can you expect? Let me see, by your applause, who here wrote a thesis.
(APPLAUSE) A lot of hard work, a lot of your blood went into that thesis... and no one is
ever going to care. I wrote a thesis: Literary Progeria in the works of Flannery O'Connor
and William Faulkner. Let's just say that, during my discussions with Pauly Shore, it
doesn't come up much. For three years after graduation I kept my thesis in the glove
compartment of my car so I could show it to a policeman in case I was pulled over. (ACT
OUT) License, registration, cultural exploration of the Man Child in the Sound and the
Fury...
So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these
gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you.
Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the
correct response to where did you to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the
way of book larnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there.
You see, you're in for a lifetime of "And you went to Harvard?" Accidentally
give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it's, "And you went to
Harvard?" Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear,
"And you went to Harvard?" Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your
pants and it's "and you went to Harvard." Get your head stuck in your niece's
dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it's "Uncle
Conan, you went to Harvard!?"
But to really know what's in store for you after Harvard, I have to tell you what happened
to me after graduation. I'm going to tell you my story because, first of all, my
perspective may give many of you hope, and, secondly, it's an amazing rush to stand in
front of six thousand people and talk about yourself.
After graduating in May, I moved to Los Angeles and got a three week contract at a small
cable show. I got a $380 a month apartment and bought a 1977 Isuzu Opel, a car Isuzu only
manufactured for a year because they found out that, technically, it's not a car. Here's a
quick tip, graduates: no four cylinder vehicle should have a racing stripe. I worked at
that show for over a year, feeling pretty good about myself, when one day they told me
they were letting me go. I was fired and, I hadn't saved a lot of money. I tried to get
another job in television but I couldn't find one.
So, with nowhere else to turn, I went to a temp agency and filled out a questionnaire. I
made damn sure they knew I had been to Harvard and that I expected the very best
treatment. And so, the next day, I was sent to the Santa Monica branch of Wilson's House
of Suede and Leather. When you have a Harvard degree and you're working at Wilson's House
of Suede and Leather, you are haunted by the ghostly images of your classmates who chose
Graduate School. You see their faces everywhere: in coffee cups, in fish tanks, and
they're always laughing at you as you stack suede shirts no man, in good conscience, would
ever wear. I tried a lot of things during this period: acting in corporate infomercials,
serving drinks in a non-equity theatre, I even took a job entertaining at a seven year
olds' birthday party. In desperate need of work, I put together some sketches and scored a
job at the fledgling Fox Network as a writer and performer for a new show called "The
Wilton North Report." I was finally on a network and really excited. The producer
told me the show was going to revolutionize television. And, in a way, it did. The show
was so hated and did so badly that when, four weeks later, news of its cancellation was
announced to the Fox affiliates, they burst into applause.
Eventually, though, I got a huge break. I had submitted, along with my writing partner, a
batch of sketches to Saturday Night Live and, after a year and a half, they read it and
gave us a two week tryout. The two weeks turned into two seasons and I felt successful.
Successful enough to write a TV pilot for an original sitcom and, when the network decided
to make it, I left Saturday Night Live. This TV show was going to be groundbreaking. It
was going to resurrect the career of TV's Batman, Adam West. It was going to be a comedy
without a laugh track or a studio audience. It was going to change all the rules. And
here's what happened: When the pilot aired it was the second lowest-rated television show
of all time. It's tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia.
So, I was 28 and, once again, I had no job. I had good writing credits in New York, but I
was filled with disappointment and didn't know what to do next. I started smelling suede
on my fingertips. And that's when The Simpsons saved me. I got a job there and started
writing episodes about Springfield getting a Monorail and Homer going to College. I was
finally putting my Harvard education to good use, writing dialogue for a man who's so
stupid that in one episode he forgot to make his own heart beat. Life was good.
And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way . A chance to audition for host
of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had
the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot. I couldn't fear losing a
great job I had never had. And, I think that attitude made the difference. I'll never
forget being in the Simpson's recording basement that morning when the phone rang. It was
for me. My car was blocking a fire lane. But a week later I got another call: I got the
job.
So, this was undeniably the it: the truly life-altering break I had always dreamed of.
And, I went to work. I gathered all my funny friends and poured all my years of comedy
experience into building that show over the summer, gathering the talent and figuring out
the sensibility. We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt
like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most
respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post:
"O'Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters,
jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit.
He's one of the whitest white men ever. O'Brien is a switch on the guest who won't leave:
he's the host who should never have come. Let the Late show with Conan O'Brien become the
late, Late Show and may the host return to Conan O'Blivion whence he came." There's
more but it gets kind of mean.
Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it excessive. And
it hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I'm telling you all this for a reason. I've had a
lot of success and I've had a lot of failure. I've looked good and I've looked bad. I've
been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. Except for
Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. That was just stupid.
I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability
is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell
curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you
get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.
I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon
of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was
freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.
So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a
mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all
right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan
O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His
comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive
wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever."
Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all
else fails, there's always delusion.
I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But
let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every
time you fall, people will think you're drunk.
Thank you.
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Excerpt from "God And Country" by Bill O'Reilly (Saturday, July 12, 2003)
With the person in charge [of the Roman Catholic Church], John Paul, spending most of his time on spiritual reflection, there is simply no one in the Vatican hierarchy in place to help the tottering American Church.
This is tragic, because for two centuries the Catholic Church in the USA has been a powerful moral voice. It champions the poor, promotes respect for life and generally acts as counterweight to the secular philosophy that challenges any judgments about personal behavior. In America today there is an increasing tolerance for all kinds of actions that the country once deemed "immoral." For example, some people now consider heroin dealing to be a "non-violent crime." Partial-birth abortion is embraced by a variety of groups, including the National Organization for Women. Drug legalizers have hired lobbyists in Washington, as have homosexuals who want gay marriage to become sanctioned by the states.
Nearly anything goes in a secular society, and a quick trip to Europe will prove that. Show up in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and you can see entire neighborhoods devoted to legalized prostitution and drug buying. You can watch drug addicts shoot up and smoke hash in the train station. Great for the kids, right?
The Catholic Church at one time could authoritatively speak out against that kind of degeneracy. The Church believes that your body is to be respected, along with the bodies and souls of your neighbors. Anything that diminishes the human (or fetal) condition is questioned and sometimes condemned.
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"The Billing Of America" by Bill O'Reilly (Saturday, July 5, 2003)
Bill Clinton and I have a few things in common. He is making a lot of money these days mouthing off, and so am I. He came from rather humble beginnings, and I was raised in a working-class environment as well. We are both in the top income bracket, but here is where we diverge. Mr. Clinton loves paying taxes. I don't.
Speaking before the Rainbow/Push coalition, Clinton criticized the Bush tax cut: "We are going to put half a million (children) out on the street so I can get my $80,000 tax cut. I must be the only person in America that every time I pay the maximum tax rates, every time I sign that tax form, I smile. I thank God I live in a country that gave me a chance to make the money I do."
Not only does Mr. Clinton like paying taxes, but as chief executive he loved raising them. According to the Tax Foundation, the tax burden on working Americans under his administration was the highest since World War II. So it is fair to say that Bill Clinton is a taxing kind of guy.
Now, I don't want to put any child "out on the street." Especially since the streets in New York where I live are often full of enormous potholes that apparently the state cannot fix. That is simply unacceptable, and I will say this quite clearly: If we are going to put the kids out on the street, we must pave those streets. What are we here, barbarians?
Right now, I pay around 60 cents of every dollar I make in taxes. By giving money to charity I can get that down a bit, but my tax bills are enormous. And it's likely yours are, too. Even if you are not making big bucks, the government is picking your pocket daily with tolls, gas taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, death taxes and surcharges on most communications equipment.
When you die, Bill Clinton will drive a U-haul to your house and take up to 60 percent of your stuff. That's called the estate tax. And Bill wants a piece of any interest you earn, any dividend you receive and any investment money you make. He is having a great time paying all he owes, and he wants you to have a grand time as well.
I would not begrudge these punishing tax rates that Clinton embraces if the money were used wisely. But that is not the case. According to the General Accounting Office, the Pentagon cannot account for a trillion dollars in funding. That's trillion with a "T." And how about that "Big Dig" highway project in Boston that went from $3 billion to $16 billion under Bill Clinton's watch. Federal dollars funded most of that cost overrun. I hope Bill C. enjoys the Ted Williams Tunnel.
And then there are the kids who, when they are not in the streets, are in school. In Washington, D.C., Bill C.'s administration forked over $10,000 dollar per pupil for readin', writin' and 'rithmetic in the District's public schools. Guess what? The District's Catholic Schools, spending less than half that amount per pupil, had higher test scores on average. And here's the kicker: According to D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols, District school officials cannot account for $1.6 million in credit-card charges. Maybe the Pentagon should investigate.
The truth is that the government is running a shell game on us. They allocate tax money but don't watch how it's spent. They know that there's an inexhaustible supply of tax dollars coming from rich guys like Bill C. and me. So who cares about spending efficiency, let the good times roll. Bill Clinton is having the time of his life paying his taxes, and the government is having a blast spending that money. What a fun country this is.
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"Anchors Away" by Bill O'Reilly (Saturday, June 21, 2003)
The death of journalist David Brinkley brought the usual cries of how terrible the state of TV news is these days. Newsweek magazine, always a predictable source of establishment angst, praised Brinkley as one of a kind and far superior to the "blowhard" TV news types these days. I felt quite a breeze as that insult whizzed by.
Anyway, Brinkley was unique and skilled and an innovator, there's no doubt about it. He was one of the few TV anchor people who never pandered to the powerful, and his skepticism separated him from the fawning majority of television types who, above all, want access to the famous and infamous. For Brinkley, accurate analysis and information was the goal, and if that offended somebody, so be it. He also had style and wit, something severely lacking on Broadcast Row these days.
But the new era of instant information rendered David Brinkley and many other broadcast veterans almost powerless. No longer is the American public a captive audience, and no longer will the folks settle for an expressionless recitation of the news. With the advent of the Internet and round-the-clock cable news, the audience quickly knows the basic facts of a story. But often along with those facts comes instant spin and contradiction. Informational fog develops, leaving busy Americans in need of context. They want to know how the journalists they trust feel about things that are important to their lives. The news consumer is almost desperate for someone to define the truth of the matter.
Thus, the good old days when the Brinkleys, the Cronkites and even Tom, Dan and Peter could simply introduce stories in measured tones are coming to an end. The audience for dispassionate TV news is shrinking, the demand for passionate reporting and analysis is on the rise.
That trend, of course, is like a cross in front of a vampire for the TV news traditionalists. They hate that. Even though newspapers have editorialized from the very beginning of this republic, and print columnists are legion, analysis during a TV news broadcast is still very daunting for many network news types.
The question is, why? I had to ask Peter Jennings five times on my program if it frustrated him to keep his opinions to himself all the time. He finally admitted it did (or maybe he just wanted to shut me up). But it makes sense. Jennings as well as Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw know a lot more than they're telling you. They understand the issues and know who the charlatans are. These three men should be commentators, not news readers. They have insights far beyond most Americans. For the good of the country they should share them.
Two things hold them back. First, it is risky to do news analysis. You are bound to tick off some powerful people. Whatever opinion you throw out, somebody's not going to like it. These guys are not used to taking heat. When you have gazillions of dollars in the bank, who needs that?
Secondly, the network suits would get nervous. Newspaper columnists are expected to offend people. TV types are not. They are basically diplomats, and some are even a calming influence. Can you imagine Peter Jennings pointing his finger demanding that President Bush come clean about weapons of mass destruction? Can you picture Tom Brokaw pounding his desk and chiding Hillary for writing a book full of propaganda? It is hard to imagine, but wouldn't you like to see it?
Just about anybody can be taught to read the news. Topo Gigio, the little Italian mouse could do it. Why are brilliant men like Jennings, Rather and Brokaw wasting their time chucking headlines at us? The country needs clarity and honest insights. David Brinkley is gone, but the others still have some time.
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Ideas of Andy Rooney
(1) The three little words are: "Hold On,Please..."
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up
immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler
room sales would grind to a halt. Then when you eventually hear the phone company's
"beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset,
which has efficiently completed its task. These three little words will help eliminate
telephone soliciting.
(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? This is a
telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when
a person answers the phone. This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a
"real" sales person to call back and get someone at home. What you can do after
answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your #
button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that
dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Since doing this, my phone
calls have decreased dramatically.
(3) Another Good Idea: When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility
bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw
their own junk mail away. When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail
for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away
the return envelope. Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It
costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they receive
them back. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents
before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid
of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return
envelopes. One of Andy Rooney's (60 minutes) ideas. Send an ad for your local chimney
cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything
else that day, then just send them their blank application back! If you want to remain
anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.
You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing!
Eventually, the banks and credit card companies will begin getting their own junk back in
the mail.
Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're
paying for it...Twice! Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that
e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase
postage costs again. You get the idea!
If enough people follow these tips, it will work---- I have been doing this for years, and
I get very little junk mail ever since.
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Ideas of Rush Limbaugh
I think the vast differences in compensation between the victims of the
September 11th casualty, and those who die serving the country in uniform, are profound.
No one is really talking about it either because you just don't criticize anything having
to do with September 11th.
Well, I just can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing
about the entitlement mentality of this country.
If you lost a family member in the September 11th attack, you're going to get an average
of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7
million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first
check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable. Next, you get
$1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you
remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child
hits 18 those payments come to a screeching halt.
Keep in mind that some of the people that are getting an average of $1.185 million up to
$4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough.
We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing
have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11th families are
getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are
now asking for compensation as well.
You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over fifty
years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad.
Every time when a pay raise comes up for the military they usually receive next to nothing
of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families
have to survive on food stamps and live in low rent housing.
However our own U.S. Congress just voted themselves a raise, and many of you don't know
that they only have to be in Congress one-time to receive a pension that is more than
$15,000 per month and most are now equal to be millionaires plus. They also do not receive
Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of
the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7 you may receive a pension
of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed you in harms way receive a pension of
$15,000 per month.
I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they
start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now
fighting.
When do we finally do something about this?
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THE WIT & WISDOM OF MARK TWAIN
ACTION
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than
by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch
the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
AMBITION
Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do
that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
COMPLAINTS
I think a compliment ought to always precede a complaint, where one is possible, because
it softens resentment and insures for the complaint a courteous and gentle reception.
CONFORMITY
We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove.
DISSENT
The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.
FOOLISHNESS
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it
and remove all doubt.
FUTILITY
He is useless on top of the ground; he ought to be under it, inspiring the cabbages.
GOVERNMENT
We have the best government that money can buy.
HUMANKIND
Such is the human race. Often it does seem such a pity that Noah and his party did not
miss the boat.
LYING
A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for naught.
MAJORITY
Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.
PESSIMISM
Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerve give to wisdom.
PITY
Pity is for living, envy is for dead.
PROCRASTINATION
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
SECRETS
Everyone is like a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
SUCCESS
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then Success is sure.
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QUOTES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
ABILITY
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." --
John Wooden
BELIEF
"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a
department store and he asked for my autograph." -- Shirley Temple Black
BELIEF
"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes
true." -- John C. Lilly
BELIEF
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my
apple tree." -- Martin Luther
BUSINESS
"A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes that
he has got the biggest piece." -- Ludwig Erhard
BUSYNESS
"The really idle man gets nowhere. The perpetually busy man does not get much
further." -- Sir Heneage Ogilvie
CANDOR
"A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely
uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble." -- Mahatma Gandhi
CAUTION
"Caution is not cowardly. Carelessness is not courage." -- Source Unknown
CERTAINTY
"There are only two things you HAVE TO do in life. You HAVE TO die. You HAVE TO live
until you die. You make up all the rest." -- Source Unknown
CHALLENGES
"If we do not rise to the challenge of our unique capacity to shape our lives, to
seek the kinds of growth that we find individually fulfilling, then we can have no
security: we will live in a world of sham, in which our selves are determined by the will
of others, in which we will be constantly buffeted and increasingly isolated by the
changes round us." -- Nena O'Neil
CHANGE
"Change is inevitable. Change is constant." -- Benjamin Disraeli
CHARACTER
"Character is the foundation stone upon which one must build to win respect. Just as
no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of
respect can be built on a weak character." -- R.C. Samsel
CHOICE
"Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your
choices taking your life? What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no
to in life?" -- Eric Allenbaugh
CHRISTIANITY
"The real security of Christianity is to be found in its benevolent morality, in its
exquisite adaptation to the human heart, in the facility with which its scheme
accommodates itself to the capacity of every human intellect, in the consolation which it
bears to the house of mourning, in the light with which it brightens the great mystery of
the grave." -- Thomas B. Macaulay
IMAGINATION
"I believe that there never was a creator of a philosophical system who did not
confess at the end of his life that he had wasted his time. It must be admitted that the
inventors of the mechanical arts have been much more useful to men that the inventors of
syllogisms. He who imagined a ship towers considerably above him who imagined innate
ideas." -- Voltaire
Last edited: 11/11/2003