"Notes" of An Elder

Coming tomorrow — Part 2 of The Saturday Blueprint with Miami Heat President and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Pat Riley.

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Nothing in life is of any value unless it is shared with others.

"Notes" of An Elder is a depository of pertinent information, knowledge and wisdom. Available weekly will be an elder's "thinking menu" for your use. Enjoy this bounty.

• You can live your life in one or two ways: thinking people are bad until proven good or thinking they are good until proven bad.

• "Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way." — Daniele Varè

• Once a person has helped you, they are more likely to help you again because refusing would mean they made a mistake the first time.

• The more you shine a light on others, the more you get noticed yourself.

• "The only mistake in life is the lesson not learned." — Albert Einstein

• We cannot function as a democracy if people don't recognize the difference between fact and opinion.

• Life will never conform to all of our desires. We will always be wrong about something.

• Children are born to learn rather than to be taught.

Three Brains

• Instinctive

• Emotional

• Logical

• Every moment matters. The little things are the things.

• Reading is fundamentally both a tool and a toy.

• Choice puts your individuality into action.

• People want to belong to a dream, plan, or initiative that is bigger than their individual experiences.

• Self-management: Aligning your thoughts with your words and actions.

• The best way to win is to take away the other person's strengths.

• Every day, you're a clean and untouched sponge ready to soak in the world around you.

• "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." —L.P. Hartley

• Ignorance is bliss, but illusion is not.

Magic Question

When was the last time you did something perfect?