“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
- Calvin Coolidge
“All leadership requires is consistency.”
-Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge
"The first thing you naturally do is teach the person to feel that the undertaking is manifestly important and nearly impossible...that draws out the kind of drives that make people strong."
-Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."
"Read on any subject for an hour a day for five years and you will be quoted as the authority on it."
"The prayer of honest labor is always answered." -Tolstoy
Each generation learns this truth, it is easy to know and hard to do. The knowing and doing gap is conquered with both information and experience. The faithful day when theory clashes with circumstances, or better known as reality.
Theories and ideas can weather the storm of circumstance when our collective wisdom is collected and organized. This collection is courtesy of those who have learned and been willing to share– for the betterment of life for all and our cities. May we have the strength and fortitude to do what is right and often hard–to do for others at our expense.
