Nothing can be created out of nothing.
The dynamic, creative present, however conditioned and restricted by the effects of prior presents, possesses genuine initiative.
Humanism involves far more than the negation of supernaturalism. It requires an affirmative philosophy. . . translated into a life devoted to one's own improvement and the service of all mankind.
Humanism believes that the individual attains the good life by harmoniously combining personal satisfactions and continuous self-development with significant work and other activities that contribute to the welfare of the community.
I think. . . that philosophy has the duty of pointing out the falsity of outworn religious ideas, however estimable they may be as a form of art. We cannot act as if all religion were poetry while the greater part of it still functions in its ancient guise of illicit science and backward morals. . . .
For the Humanist,. . . head and heart. . . must function together. . . . The constitution of the Phillips Exeter Academy reads: 'Though goodness without knowledge. . . is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous. . . . Both united form the noblest character and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind. '
We do not ask to be born; and we do not ask to die. But born we are and die we must. We come into existence and we pass out of existence. And in neither case does high-handed fate await our ratification of its decree.
O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
We're living in a whole new social and economic order with a whole new set of problems and challenges. Old assumptions and old programs don't work in this new society and the more we try to stretch them to make them fit, the more we will be seen as running away from what is reality.
I'm very upfront and very honest. I don't let a bunch of stuff fester and boil over.
Setbacks and losses are both inevitable and essential if you're going to improve and become a good, even great, competitor. The art is in avoiding catastrophic losses in the key battles.