Do you ever find yourself questioning what’s happening in the world today? (I thought so.) I continue to ask myself why? Here are a few things that puzzle me.
- Why do we marvel at celebrity “role models,” but scold our kids for imitating their behavior?
- Why do we hear about Rose Garden spending bills, but never White House savings bills?
- Why do we teach children to color inside the lines, but urge grown-ups to think outside the box?
- Why do we take note of what people make, but disregard what they give?
- Why do bosses receive raises, but employees have to endure cuts?
- Why do we spotlight what actors do fictionally in movies, but disregard what they do in real life?
- Why do we methodically cut coupons to save pennies, but permit our government to waste billions?
- Why do we choose to have children, but then make excuses not to be with them?
- Why do we praise the achievements of students, but ignore the teachers who helped them get there?
- Why do we complain of having no money, but then go shopping anyway?
- Why is IRS targeting of the wealthy right, but airport profiling wrong?
- Why do we measure the news media based on ratings, but disregard their objectivity and accuracy?
- Why do we focus on what people achieve, but ignore the path they took to get there?
- Why do we highlight total assets on a company’s balance sheet, but fail to include trust and integrity?
- Why do colleges lecture about the privileged and elite, but then create strict admission policies?
- Why do politicians write our laws, but then exempt themselves from living by them?
- Why do we pay employees for the hours they work, but ignore the value they provide?
- Why do we grade students, but fail to measure teachers?
- Why do we believe that people are swayed by celebrity endorsements, but aren’t influenced by movie violence?
- Why do we vote based on what politicians say, but complain about what they do?
Some answers may be found in these timeless quotes.
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
Dr. Seuss
“We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.”
Helen Keller
“If you have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”
Alan K. Simpson
“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”
Mark Twain
“I never worry about action, but only inaction.”
Winston Churchill
“Action expresses priorities.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonardo da Vinci
“To the extent that we are all educated and informed,
we will be more equipped to deal with the gut issues
that tend to divide us.”
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg
“When angry, count to ten before you speak.
If very angry, count to one hundred.”
Thomas Jefferson
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus,
but a molder of consensus.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“All our dreams can come true,
if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney
“If you do what you’ve always done,
you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
Anthony Robbins
“The future depends on what we do in the present.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
Mark Twain
“Improvement begins with I.”
Arnold Glasow
Do you find yourself asking why? What things puzzle you?
Additional Reading:
Not Me
What Drives You Crazy?
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The post Why? (Many questions, few answers) appeared first on Frank Sonnenberg Online.
Frank Sonnenberg, a marketing strategist, has written four books and published over 300 articles. Managing with a Conscience (2nd edition) is recognized as one of the top 10 Small Business Books of 2012 • Trust Across America named Sonnenberg one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders of 2011, 2012 and 2013 • Sonnenberg was nominated as one of America's Most Influential Small Business Experts of 2012 • In 2011, Social Media Marketing Magazine (SMM) selected Sonnenberg as one of the top marketing authors in the world on Twitter. www.FrankSonnenbergOnline.com | Personal Values • Personal Responsibility © 2013 Frank Sonnenberg. All rights reserved.