“To play so as to be relaxed and refreshed for work is not to play, and no work is well and finely done unless it, too, is a form of play.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“Peace can be made only by those who are peaceful, and love can be shown only by those who love. No work of love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“Nothing satisfies an individual incapable of enjoyment.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“You have been hypnotized or conditioned by an educational processing-system arranged in grades or steps, supposedly leading to some ultimate Success. First nursery school or kindergarten, then the grades or forms of elementary school, preparing you for the great moment of secondary school! But then more steps, up and up to the coveted goal of the university. Here, if you are clever, you can stay on indefinitely by getting into graduate school and becoming a permanent student. Otherwise, you are headed step by step for the great Outside World of family-raising, business, and profession. Yet graduation day is a very temporary fulfillment, for with your first sales-promotion meeting you are back in the same old system, being urged to make that quota (and if you do, they’ll give you a higher quota) and so progress up the ladder to sales manager, vice-president, and, at last, president of your own show (about forty or forty-five years old). In the meantime, the insurance and investment people have been interesting you in plans for Retirement – that really the ultimate goal of being able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of all your labors. but when that day comes, your anxieties and exertions will have left you with a weak heart, false teeth, prostate trouble, sexual impotence, fuzzy eyesight, and a vile digestion.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans for a future which you will never be able to enjoy. When your plans mature, you will still be living for some other future beyond.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“The point, which can hardly be repeated too often, is that differentiation is not separation. The head and the feet are different, but not separate, and though man is not connected to the universe by exactly the same physical relation as branch to tree or feet to head, he is nonetheless connected – and by physical relations of fascinating complexity.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“This feeling of being lonely and very temporary visitors in the universe is in flat contradiction to everything known about man (and all other living organisms) in the sciences. We do not ‘come into’ this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean ‘waves,’ the universe ‘peoples.’ Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“Wonder, and its expression in poetry and the arts, are among the most important things which seem to distinguish men from other animals, and intelligent and sensitive people from morons.” ~ Alan Watts, The Book
“It’s important to remember that whatever stage we are at in life, there is no need for regret. The process of regret is one that provides nothing but suffering for ourselves as we begin to allow the past to dictate how we should feel now. Instead, we can use the past as a reference point to understand what adjustments we would like to make moving forward. The adjustments do not have to come out of pain, sorrow, regret or judgment, but simply a choice to do things in a different way. We are learning all the time, we can very quickly slow that learning process down by getting stuck in the idea of regret. When it comes to making changes, be at peace with the past and remember that each moment is a new choice.” ~ Joe Martino
“One theory says that if you treat people well, you’re more likely to encourage them to do what you want, making all the effort pay off. Do this, get that. Another one, which I prefer, is that you might consider treating people with kindness merely because you can. Regardless of what they choose to do in response, this is what you choose to do. Because you can.”
Seth Godin
“When one of his workers asked for help in decision making, Gandhi told him, “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starved millions? Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“Gandhi believed in the intrinsic good in every individual – the universality of humankind. He asked individuals to search for the truth that was within them and to act in accordance with their conscience. He devoted a great deal of his life trying to convince people to acknowledge the good in others, to reject differences based on caste, religion, and social position, and to work for the welfare of all.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“Power is given to you by others. It is not yours; it is in trust with you and it is a great responsibility. Power is to be used for the benefit of those whose trustee you are.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“One of the great challenges of leadership is to develop harmony between service and the power that is necessary for the exercise of leadership. The ideal is power derived solely from service and used only for service. This is the power that lasts through the ages. It is the power that influences the spirit of humanity.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“Gandhi had power, but he had none of the means we usually associate with power: wealth, official position, military might. His power was based solely on the willingness of people to follow his lead. They were willing to serve him because his life was devoted to serving them.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“You and I do not have to wait for a great cause to make a commitment to personal service. It can start with those nearest to us: our family and friends.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“The challenge for leaders is to live up to their fundamental responsibility as human beings: to treat others as themselves.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
“Leaders who share the strategy, financial performance, and success of the corporation with their employees create a sense of partnership with them. Partners are willing to put in the effort to develop new ideas, to work long hours in emergencies, and to act for the common interest over self-interest, thereby building competitive advantage.” ~ Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership