Winning Words 5/18/12
“If you learn from defeats, you really haven’t lost.” (Zig Ziglar) In the presidential election of 1968, Humphrey ran against Nixon. Who was the winner and who was the loser? We are quick to judge success by the numbers. ZZ was a motivational speaker and helped many listeners realize that success can be measured in a variety of ways. Oh, BTW, did you know that Zig’s given name was Hilary? ;-) Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN: The whole country lost when LBJ took us into the conflict in Vietnam....then we lost again when we were thrust into that Iraqi business....we have become way too militaristic.////FROM JACK: If only hindsight could be foresight....but life doesn't work that way. The little IF is a mighty big word. Yesterday, someone suggested that I look up Kipling's poem, "If." I'm glad that I did.

FROM JE IN MICHIGAN: GREAT one today Jack!!////FROM JACK: It's always great when you can see defeat turned into ultimate victory. Good Friday, followed by Easter, is a perfect example.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: No wonder he preferred Zig!////FROM JACK: I've always liked Johnny Cash's song, "A Boy Named, Sue." I have a book, Remarkable Names of Real People. Some examples: Hugh Pugh, I.C. Shivers, Shanda Lear, Memory Lane, Pearl Harbor. Do you remember Christ Kapantus?

FROM CJL IN OHIO: What did you do in all those philosophy classes?////FROM JACK: As I studied philosophy, I learned that a question begets an answer which begets a question which begets an answer..... So, I continue to ask questions, and along the way, I think that I learn some things.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Malcolm Forbes says "Failure is success if you learn from it"...Another take on that. There are many measures of success: In a Father's Book of Wisdom, it says, "Success is best measured by how far you've come with the talents you've been given." We aren't all equally endowed, so that is a good measure, right?! Hilary was a popular English man's name earlier in history...

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: Nixon won, and the country eventually developed a trust in the "powerful" establishment's corruptibility. After the exposure of Nixon's narcissism, everyone else who also demonstrated their lust for power and delusional immunity from rules, laws, and moral decency, fell prey to the continuing onslaught of news-worthy investigation. Our "heroes" were continuously exposed and summarily thrown from the Parthenon in which we had placed them. Scandal has become the norm; until now, Congress cries foul when the Secret Service behaves poorly, when John Edwards lies and cheats, and consider it their duty to investigate whether or not baseball players take drugs! Talk about hypocrisy! We have all lost. ////FROM JACK: I think that we now have more "tools" that allow us to see hypocrisy. Each generation has had its share.