THE ACHIEVEMENT DIGEST "TAD" JUNE 2006
A Unique Publication For Leaders
Gene Griessman, Ph.D. Editor 404-256-5927 www.achievementdigest.com   TAD is scanned with Norton Anti-Virus.
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WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE?

QUOTABLE QUOTES
TRUTH IN JEST
LINCOLN'S LOG

LEADERSHIP LESSONS

FEEDBACK
MACROFORCES
TRAVEL NOTES FROM A ROAD WARRIOR
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH

QUOTABLE QUOTES
***Now
“Whatever you want to do, you must do it now; there are only so many tomorrows.”—Michael Landon

***Honesty
“A man who will steal for me will steal from me.”  Theodore Roosevelt

 

***Saints
“The world contains very few saints.”  Pete Hamill  

 

***Success
“One extra hour of study per day and you’ll be a national expert in five years or less.”  --Earl Nightingale

 

TRUTH IN JEST   
 
***Survival of the Fittest
 “Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?  I’m halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God, I could be eating a slow learner.”—Lynda Montgomery 
 
***War, Ignorance 
“Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.”  --Paul Rodriguez 

 ***Florida 
“My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty, and that’s the law.”  –Jerry Seinfeld

 

***Teamwork
“I never coulda done it without my players.”   Casey Stengel, manger of the 1949 Yankees after finishing 1^st in the American League

***Premature Death
“LORD, please don’t let me die until I’m dead.”

 

LINCOLN'S LOG

***Tolerance, Racism 
One African-American biographer has characterized Lincoln as insincere, overcautious, manipulative, and racist.  That’s pretty easy to do with 20-20 hindsight vision.  

 

But what did Frederick Douglass, the most famous African-American of Lincoln’s time, say about the 16^th President?  Douglass, who was often critical of Lincoln, wrote:  “Lincoln was the first great man that I have talked with in the United States who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, of the difference of color.

 

Douglass summed up his feelings a decade after Lincoln’s assassination: “From a genuine abolition point of view, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent, but measuring him by the sentiment of his country—a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to discuss—he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined.” 

 

During Lincoln’s time an anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic political organization called Know-Nothings became popular.   When Lincoln was asked how he felt about the movement, he responded:  “Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid.   As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’  When the Know Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics.”

 (The official name of the Know-Nothing movement, which flourished briefly in the 1850s, was the American Party.  When asked about the organization, members were supposed to say “I know nothing.”  The party generally opposed slavery, but it was extremely hostile toward immigrants, especially those from Catholic countries.  It won several important elections on a platform of electing only native-born Americans to office.  The movement eventually melded into the Republican Party.) 

 

 

(Adapted from The Words Lincoln Lived By, pp. 85, 86.  If you’d like to order an autographed copy of this book, click here.  www.achievementdigest.com/thewordslincolnlivedby.html    Contact us for quantity discounts.) 

LEADERSHIP LESSONS
 
How To Say It
Mikka Olsen, president of PartnerTech and a participant in my executive coaching program, recently told me an effective tactic that he uses with employees. Olsen never asks “Why” when something is not done.  Instead he uses a 3 Question Tactic, and asks: “What’s your next step to get that done?”  “When are you going to do that?”  “Can I count on you for that?”

 

Sharpen The Axe
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my axe.”—Traditional saying 

The initial cost of axe sharpening is not just time, it’s money, too.   The sharpening process may mean purchasing books and magazines, listening to audio books, and taking courses on the subject.  Sharpening the axe may mean relocating to a place where you can perfect your craft, hone your skill with the best teachers, with state-of-the-art equipment. 

 

Avail yourself of opportunities to upgrade your skills and learn new ones.   Your employer may even help out.   Many companies reimburse employees for the cost of taking advanced courses, especially if they have some relation to the job.   If no one will reimburse you, do it anyway.  Remember that your safest, surest investment is in yourself.

 

Adapted from Time Tactics of Very Successful People, pp. 168, 169. 
 

FEEDBACK
“I’m sure you hear this a lot, but I do so love to read TAD!  And I always pass it on! –Bob Smith, Lincoln Financial Distributors

“Thanks again for a terrific program (actually two terrific programs).   I’ll be sure to spread the word about you to my clients and colleagues.”   --David Barrack, Executive Director, American Edged Products Manufacturers Association

 “I attended your performance in Athens, Ga. recently and wept and laughed and really enjoyed every minute.”  Lucius Malcolm, Registered Representative, Investment Advisor, InterSecurities, Inc.

 

“Thank you again for a wonderful presentation.  I think I learned more listening to you for a few hours than I did in 4 years of history classes.”  --Stacey L. Krastins, Jamestown Metal Products

 

“I was fortunate enough to have you as a TEC speaker several years ago.   One of the things you shared with us was the Power of Words.  I kept this on my desk for a very long time. I value your ‘words’ so much and this has made a difference for me as a leader in my company.” --Glory Johnson, Vice President PeopleSupport Rapidtext, Inc. and PeopleSupport The Transcription Company  (TEC is the abbreviation for The Executive Committee, an international organization for business executives, recently renamed Vistage.)

(If you would like to have a complimentary copy of “The Power of Words”—which I wrote for the training film “Lincoln on Communication,” just hit “Reply” and request a copy.  And if you would like to purchase “Lincoln on Communication” click below and receive a bonus package of MemCards and a Trainer’s Guide.  
www.achievementdigest.com/lincoln%20on%20communication.html )

MACROFORCES
Knowledge-Based Wealth
Alvin and Heidi Toffler, authors of the classic Future Shock, have written a new book entitled Revolutionary Wealth.    Here’s one of the basic ideas from that book:  “Knowledge-based wealth is revolutionary not just because it gets more output from fewer inputs.  Unlike such physical resources as oil, knowledge can be shared by an infinite number of people, and its value and benefits are generally increased by wider circulation.”    (From book review in The New York Times Book Review, May 14, 2006, p. 9)

TRAVEL NOTES FROM A ROAD WARRIOR
New Hampshire
The Wentworth and The Inn at Jackson
Not long ago I did a program in Jackson Village in the heart of the White Mountains, not far from Mt. Washington.  I stayed in the quaint Inn at Jackson, where I performed Lincoln the CEO, and where I enjoyed a breakfast that included the most memorable pancakes that I can recall—vanilla-peach pancakes.  For dinner I went to the Wentworth, a beautifully restored boutique hotel.  It calls itself an elegant country inn.  “Elegant” is no exaggeration for either the setting or the cuisine.  My appetizer was baby Maine shrimp gnocchi; the main course pepper-rubbed grilled tenderloin of beef with asparagus and shallot confit (One of the finest steaks I have ever tasted).   Dessert was strawberry rhubarb cake with fresh berry compote and Chantilly cream.  (The Wentworth—603-383-9700  www.thewentworth.com; the Inn at Jackson 603-383-4321)

Lake Chautauqua, New York
The Athenaeum Hotel
This hotel sits on the grounds of the Lake Chautauqua Institute, where for many decades thousands have come to hear famous speakers, participate in workshops, and enjoy concerts.   The hotel is a survivor from a time when huge hotels were built at secluded resorts all over America.  I felt very comfortable performing Lincoln in this resort hotel where seven Presidents have visited.  It’s like performing on a movie set.  The hotel was built in 1881 and boasts that it was the first hotel in the world with electric lights.  I was particularly impressed by the friendly, attentive care of the staff.
Chautauqua, NY 14722; phone: 800.821.188; http://www.athenaeum-hotel.com/index2.html

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VALUABLE RESOURCES 

***THE WORDS LINCOLN LIVED BY www.achievementdigest.com/thewordslincolnlivedby.html
 
***TIME TACTICS OF VERY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE www.achievementdigest.com/timetacticsofverysuccessfulpeople.html
  
***99 WAYS TO GET MORE OUT OF EVERY DAY: www.achievementdigest.com/ProductOrderForm.html
 
***"AN EVENING WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN" VIDEO www.achievementdigest.com/aneveningwithabraham.html
 
***"LESSONS FROM LEGENDS" CD AUDIOBOOK www.achievementdigest.com/ProductOrderForm.html
 
***"LINCOLN ON COMMUNICATION" DVD-CD
  
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Gene Griessman, Ph.D.

Programs on Leadership, Abraham Lincoln,
Time Management, and Macroforces 

Editor of The Achievement Digest  (TAD)

404-256-5927    800-749-4625  404-256-5927  (fax)