People From North Carolina

"If we can't have religion, we need a substitute that is as much like it as science can provide. Enter secular humanism, a doctrine, dare I say, "designed" to do this job. It hasn't worked (...) Scientism recognizes that the ambitions of the secular humanism are unattainable."

"Science can explain why we value things, but the same goes for values we reject as wrong. That's why scientific explanations of what we value cannot justify those values or serve as a basis to enforce them on others. Since science is the only possible source of justification, if it doesn't work to justify values, nothing does."

"The lady's is a sorry case, And really must dishearten her; Why did you creep into her grace? For you could not want a partner Already you'd your other half; Why long, then, for three quarters? Oh, Chang, you are too bad by half, For any Yankee's daughters. Yet should the lady take Eng too, How sweet were your community; And how astonished eyes would view Your Trinity in Unity."

"Visitor: I beg pardon, gentlemen, for calling you boys—but really that is the title by which you are generally considered is it not? Chang and Eng: Never in England—in this country sometimes. Visitor: But why not England? Chang: Boy is a boy there—a servant boy—cook boy—school boy— Eng: And a young gentleman is a young gentleman. Visitor: Well, I am glad you have set me right in this matter—my mistake was of the head, not of the heart. Chang: Oh yes, I dare say—people don't think when they speak of the Siamese twins that they are young men twenty years of age. Eng: Suppose you call a young gentleman of you acquaintance, boy—won't he resent the insult? Visitor: True—true—and why should not the Siamese young gentlemen resent such an epithet?"

"You swear you fraid o' me; you fraid I kill you, shoot you—at same time you know I have guns—you see I shoot you if I choose—nd you keep round me—you wont let me go away—you call me and my mother hard name—and yet you swear you fraid I kill you. Now, suppose I see a man in my country, in Siam—he goes out into wood, and sees a lion asleep—he say, "Oh! I fraid that lion kill me"—what I think of that man if he go up and give that lion a kick and say get out you ugly beast? I wish you'd answer me that."

"Book/Play1 (Book/Play1)"

"Book/Play2 (Book/Play2)-->"

"You are all a set of impostors and pickpockets. You are a grand set of rascals."

"Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) served with great distinction in the Navy. In his thirty-seven years as a Navy SEAL, he commanded at every level. As a Four-Star Admiral, his final assignment was as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. He is now Chancellor of the University of Texas System."

"I saw this level of initiative time and again during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps understood that the nature of the fight required the generals and admirals allow the junior officers and enlisted to make tough combat decisions. We had to delegate responsibility because there just weren't enough senior officers to oversee all the tactical operations. We had to trust the rank and file to do the right thing. It is always difficult for senior leaders to trust their subordinates with important decisions, decisions that invariably affect the reputation of the unit and that of the senior leader. But if you don't create a culture that allows the rank and file to act on their own, they will be mired in indecisiveness and that will stall any forward momentum. However, leadership is not always defined by the man or the woman at the top of the chain of command, and you don't have to be in command to lead."

"1. Foster a culture of action, allowing the rank and file to take the initiative and fix problems that need addressing. 2. Accept the fact that this will lead to zealousness and the occasional screwup. This overenthusiasm is better than a culture of inaction. 3. Praise those who attempt to solve problems on their own, even if the results are not as expected."

"Death Before Dishonor (Be a person of integrity) You Can't Surge Trust (Be trustworthy) When In Command, Command (Be confident in yourself) We All Have Our Frog Floats (Have a little humility) The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday (Demonstrate that you have stamina) Run To The Sound Of The Guns (Be aggressive in solving problems) Sua Sponte (Encourage your employees to take the initiative) Who Dares Wins (Be prepared to take risks!) Hope Is Not A Strategy (Do the detailed planning necessary for success) No Plan Survives First Contact With The Enemy (Have a Plan B) It Pays To Be A Winner (Establish standards of conduct and performance A Shepherd Should Smell Like His Sheep (Spend time on the "factory floor") Troop The Line (Listen to your employees) Expect What You Inspect (The quality of your work will depend on the quality of your oversight) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate (Communicate your actions) When In Doubt, Overload (Work hard to covercome your shortfalls) Can You Stand Before The Long Green Table? (Be accountable for your actions) Always Have A Swim Buddy (Have a partner in your leadership journey)"

"But it doesn't mean that every day has to exhaust you. Being a great leader doesn't mean you have to have superhuman strength. It only means that you have to recognize that it will require effort, every day. And some days you just won't bring it. That's okay. That's normal. But then, bring it the next day. You will only fail as a leader when you think that today is going to be easier than yesterday."

"The day you longer believe you have something to prove, the day you no longer believe you must give it your all, the day you think you are entitled to special treatment, the day you think all your hard days are behind you, is the day you are no longer the right leader for the job. Leadership requires energy. It requires stamina. It requires resilience. It requires everything you have and then some. The men and women that work for you will feed off your energy. If you look unprepared to deal with the challenges of the day, they will see this. If you look beaten down because today was harder than yesterday, they will feel this. If you are not prepared to give it your all, they will know this. And if you think this is just about leaders in combat, you're mistaken. This is about every great leader who was given a difficult task and asked to inspire, motivate, and manage the people under their charge."

"Paris in the fall is beautiful. The trees along the Champs-Élysées are just turning. The morning is crisp and the aroma of strong coffee and warm French pastries drifts through the air. At night they light up the Eiffel Tower, and the crowds of young and old alike snuggle under its large steel beams for both warmth and companionship. There is just something magical about Paris, particularly when you're thinking about it from Afghanistan."

"Why is there a reluctance to be the face of the solution? Because if you are going to be the face of the solution, it likely means you had a hand in the problem. Good leaders understand that organizations are going to have challenges. That's why you were hired to lead. Embrace the challenge. Accept the fact that you must attack each problem with vigor and that sometimes only you, the leader, can solve the most vexing of institutional crises. Never shy away. Never retreat from a difficult problem."

"Being a leader is an awesome responsibility. There are days when it can be frightening to know that the fate of the organization rests on your shoulders. But you must also realize that you were chosen to be the leader because you have proven yourself along the way. You have demonstrated that you know the business. You have shown that you can handle the pressures and be decisive. You have exhibited all the qualities necessary to lead. And even if none of the above holds true, now that you are the leader, you are in command. So, take the damn helm and command!"

"1. Be fair and honorable in your business dealings. It's the only way that you and your employees can leave a legacy to be proud of. 2. Never lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. The culture of your organization starts with you. Own your lapses in judgment. It happens to everyone. Correct the problem and return to being a person of good character."

"Before you can master any of the other axioms of wisdom, you must first strive to be men and women of honor and integrity. That is what sets the great leaders above the commonplace. It will not be easy. It never is. But it is also not complicated."

"Legend has it that during a conversation with Admiral "Bull" Halsey, Nimitz confessed his apprehension. The weight of the decision about Midway was overwhelming him. Halsey, blunt as ever, reminded the admiral of Nimitz's own personal conviction. "You once old me," Halsey began, "that when in command, command." It was the clarion call that Nimitz needed. He understood that commanders are expected to make the tough decision. To act with purpose. To be confident and lead from the front. To accept the challenge and steel yourself for the rough waters ahead. A commander must command. Command the situation. Command the troops. Command your fears. Take command."

"1. Be aggressive. When you see a problem, do something about it. That's what is expected of leaders. 2. Move to a place where you can best assess the nature of the problem and provide guidance and resources to resolve it as quickly as possible. 3. Communicate your intent every step of the way."

"Being a leader, whether you are the CEO, the admiral, the general, the chairperson, or the director for an office or two, is difficult. As a leader you must always appear to be in command, even on those days when you struggle with the pressures of the job. You must be confident. You must be decisive. You must smile. You must laugh. You must engage with your employees and be thankful for their work. You must have the look of a person in charge. You must instill in your men and women a sense of pride that their leader can handle any problem. As a leader you can't have a bad day. You must never look beaten, no matter the circumstance. If you sulk, if you hang your head, if you whine or complain about the leaders above you or the followers below you, then you will lose the respect of your men and women, and the attitude of despair will spread like wildfire."

"A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself. Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."

"Dear Mr. President: Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him. Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency."

"If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken."

"Unfortunately, over the millennnia there have been men and women who cloaked themselves in "honor" only to be as unscrupulous and as vile as any humans in history. But true honor- doing the right thing for the right reasons- is the foundation of great leadership. With it, your colleagues will follow you through the trials and hardships of your quest. But without honor, nothing you accomplish will be of lasting value. And if you dishonor your company, your family, your country, or your faith, then your legacy of leadership will be forever tainted."

"I often hear that it's hard to know the right thing to do. No, it's not! You always know what's right, but sometimes it's just very hard to do it. It's hard because you may have to admit failure. It's hard because the right decision may affect your friends and colleagues. It's hard because you may not personally benefit from doing what's right. Yeah, it's hard. That's called leadership."

"The Rangers have a Latin saying, Sua Sponte. It means, Of Your Own Accord. In other words, doing what needs to be done, without being told to do so. There is often the misguided belief that soldiers only follow orders, but the strength of the American military is that the great soldiers, the truly great leaders, do what is right without being told. They do what is right to protect their men and women. They do what is right to uphold the reputation of their unit. They do what is right to bring honor to their country. They do what needs to be done, whether ordered to do so or not. This sense of initiative separates the great leaders from the mediocre ones. No one ordered Ralph Puckett to run with reckless abandon into the open field, but someone had to do it."

"If you want to change the world, sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first."

"If you want to change the world, don’t ever, ever ring the bell."

"There is this great scene, that sometimes goes unnoticed. Clarence takes George to the graveyard, and there; there is a headstone of George’s younger brother, Terry. George notices that Terry died when he was just three years old, then George looks at Clarence, the second class wingless angel, and says that can’t be right. Harry not only lived past three years old, but he also saved an entire ship of being sunk by Kamikaze pilots, but reminds George, that because Paul was never born then, and he actually wasn’t there to save his younger brother from choking."

"If you want to change the world measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers."

"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed... If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed, will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you'll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better."

"During Navy Seal training the students are all broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy. Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surf zone and paddle several miles down the coast. In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in. Every paddle must be synchronized to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously dumped back on the beach. For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle. You can’t change the world alone — you will need some help — and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the goodwill of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide you. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle."

"As Americans, we should be frightened — deeply afraid for the future of the nation. When good men and women can’t speak the truth, when facts are inconvenient, when integrity and character no longer matter, when presidential ego and self-preservation are more important than national security — then there is nothing left to stop the triumph of evil."

"If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the Circuses."

"It's been 37 years to the day since I graduated from UT."

"On May 17, 2014, I was honored to give the commencement speech for the graduating class from the University of Texas at Austin. Even though the university was my alma mater, I was concerned that a military officer, whose career had been defined by war, might not find a welcoming audience among college students. But to my great surprise, the graduating class embraced the speech. The ten lessons I learned from Navy SEAL training, which were the basis for my remarks, seemed to have a universal appeal. They were simple lessons that deal with overcoming the trials of SEAL training, but the ten lessons were equally important in dealing with the challenges of life- no matter who you are."

"Over the past three years, I have been stopped on the street by great folks telling me their own stories: How they didn't back down from the sharks, how they didn't ring the bell, or how making their bed every morning helped them through tough times. They all wanted to know more about how the ten lessons shaped my life and about the people who inspired me during my career. This small book is an attempt to do so. Each chapter gives a little more context to the individual lessons and also adds a short story about some of the people who inspired me with their discipline, their perseverance, their honor, and their courage."

"The big men in the other boat crews would always make good-natured fun of the tiny little flippers the munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim. But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the nation and the world, always had the last laugh, swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us. SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed; not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education, and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers."

"In the United States, we’ve long had a free market system, but that system is not what it once was. Total government spending–state, federal, and local–has grown in real terms by more than 400 percent since 1965. Government spending is now one-third of the economy. As the private economy retreats, the importance of a new marketplace grows: the political marketplace. Products and services are no longer judged according to their usefulness to the economy at large–they’re judged according to whether or not they are politically useful or connected. The political marketplace is the marketplace of crony capitalism. Its supply and demand are lobbying expenditures and the resulting federal program or carve out. Its actors are not firms, but the political class and the politicians they influence"

"While I always wait for the final details of any piece of legislation before deciding whether to support it or not, the framework released last week emphasized two main goals that I wholeheartedly support: economic growth and simplicity."

"We’re at a moment of historic opportunity, especially when it comes to taking down America’s largest abortion provider. For a century, Planned Parenthood has relentlessly marched forward with its message of eugenics and abortion, taking the lives of millions of unborn children and denying women the truth. They have intimidated political leaders and destroyed the careers of good men and women in office. Now, for the first time since our tax dollars were turned over to them a half century ago, we have the chance to convert federal funding to alternatives that honor community values and respect human life. We must seize this opportunity."

"We’re at an historic, but fragile, moment. The pro-life voters who were critical to Trump’s victory cannot now sit back. Now is the time to get more engaged than ever before. The abortion lobby is already bouncing back from their electoral defeat and preparing to fight because this is a do-or-die moment for them. Are we treating it the same way? We will need pro-life Americans to stand up and speak out louder than they ever have, call their members of Congress, pray, donate and demand that the pro-life agenda is carried out."

"I had day visions — they would take advantage of me."

"Something told me to draw or die."

"I have no imagination. I never plan a drawing, they just happen."

"I’m without a teacher. My teacher... God has sent me teachers: the angel that stands by me, stands by me and directs me what to do. Time for me to paint a picture and I be tired I say I’m going to rest up for a couple of days. He won’t let me. Come down grab my feet and shake me. Beat me."

"My, my. I don’t know how I did it. (Laughs) But I did it."

"My whole life has been dreams."