The Why of Work

     Why these things now? Well, who is notable for making plans anymore? Who feels like the hero of an epic? These are tunes for the end of time, for those in an information age who are sick of data. The future has narrowed, become so small a tunnel that no one feels like crawling into it. It's not that people don't have attention spans. They just don't believe in the future, and they're tired of information. Ask the kids: anything worth doing isn't worth doing for long.
— Charles Baxter, from Afterwords, "The Tradition," in Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories, Robert Shapard/James Thomas, p. 229.

It is better to be silent and be considered a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
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Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. Ecclesiastes 10:3.
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William Penn, leader of the early American colonists who eventually named their state of Pennsylvania in his honor, gave these rules regarding conversation:
     "Avoid company where it is not profitable or necessary, and in those occasions, speak little, and last.
     "Silence is wisdom where speaking is folly, and always safe.
     "Some are foolish as to interrupt and anticipate those that speak instead of hearing and thinking before they answer, which is uncivil, as well as silly.
     "If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it.
     "Better to say nothing than not to the purpose. And to speak pertinently, consider both what is fit, and when it is fit, to speak.
     "In all debates, let truth be thy aim, not victory or an unjust interest; and endeavor to gain, rather than to expose, thy antagonist."
— God's Little Devotion Book, Honor Books, Inc., pp. 18-19.

The following set of contrasting remarks has been offered as a character sketch of a good leader. For a personal challenge, as you read through the list, circle the descriptive words you believe most closely identify you!
Self-reliant but not Self-sufficient
Energetic but not Self-seeking
Steadfast but not Stubborn
Tactful but not Timid
Serious but not Sullen
Loyal but not Sectarian
Unmovable but not Stationary
Gentle but not Hypersensitive
Tenderhearted but not Touchy
Conscientious but not a Perfectionist
Disciplined but not Demanding
Generous but not Gullible
Meek but not Weak
Humorous but not Hilarious
Friendly but not Familiar
Holy but not Holier-than-thou
Discerning but not Critical
Progressive but not Pretentious
Authoritative but not Autocratic
....
— Ibid., p. 199.

Laziness and poverty are cousins.
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Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 24: 33, 34.
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     One day, a grandfather told his grandchildren about his coming to America. He told of the trains and ship that he took from his home in Eastern Europe. He told of being processed at Ellis Island and how he had gone to a cafeteria in lower Manhattan to get something to eat. There, he sat down at an empty table and waited quite some time for somebody to take his order. Nobody came. Finally, a woman with a tray full of food sat down opposite him and explained to him how a cafeteria works.
     She said, "You start at that end" — pointing toward a stack of trays — "and then go along the food line and pick out what you want. At the other end, they'll tell you how much you have to pay."
     The grandfather reflected a moment and then said, "I soon learned that's how everything works in America. Life's a cafeteria here. You can get anything you want — even very great success — if you are willing to pay the price. But you'll never get what you want if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and get it yourself."
     The difference between where you are and where you want to be can often be summed up in one word: work.
— Ibid., pp. 232-233.