One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mistakes can lead to lasting recognition if they are significant enough.
This quote suggests that even in failure, there is an opportunity for one to be remembered or achieve a form of immortality through the magnitude of their mistakes. It highlights that making a bold error can sometimes be more memorable and impactful than success, reinforcing the idea that notoriety can come from various forms of action, even if they are not traditionally viewed as positive.
Themes
ImmortalityErrorFailureRecognitionNotoriety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a speech about overcoming failures in entrepreneurship.
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All quotes βThe modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
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People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.
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Were it part of our everyday education and comment that the corporation is an instrument for the exercise of power, that it belongs to the process by which we are governed, there would then be debate on how that power is used and how it might be made subordinate to the public will and need. This debate is avoided by propagating the myth that the power does not exist.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
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Deep Listening is listening to everything all the time, and reminding yourself when you're not. But going below the surface too, it's an active process. It's not passive. I mean hearing is passive in that soundwaves hinge upon the eardrum. You can do both. You can focus and be receptive to your surroundings. If you're tuned out, then you're not in contact with your surroundings. You have to process what you hear. Hearing and listening are not the same thing.
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The cavity which suffering carves into our souls will one day also be the receptacle of joy.
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I don't have to tell you it goes without saying there are some things better left unsaid. I think that speaks for itself. The less said about it the better.
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See if you can catch yourself complaining in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.
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