Pruetts.com

Words are the most effective weapons of death in man’s arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life. They may be the only ones.

I did what I believed to be the ordinary things that an ordinary man would do. I said no to outrageous actions the way I thought that anybody would, and it still mystifies me that so many others could say yes.

— Paul Rusesabagina, Manager of the Hotel Mille Collines (Hotel Rwanda) and author of An Ordinary Man (c) 2006

An Ordinary Man : An Autobiography

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake when you make it again.
– F. P. Jones

Good and Evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.
— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it.
— John Wooden

The difference between a madman and a professional is that a pro does as well as he can within what he has set out to do and a madman does exceptionally well at what he can’t help doing.
–Charles Bukowski

Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may be given credit for having blazed the trail but when I look at the subsequent developments I feel the credit is due to others rather than to myself.
— Alexander Graham Bell

The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.
— Ernest Hemmingway, Farewell to Arms

When solving “impossible” problems, ask yourself:
- Is there an easier way?
- Am I solving the right problem?
- *Why* is this a problem?
- What makes it hard?
- Do I have to do it this way?
- Does it have to be done at all?

From The Pragmatic Programmer

You can accomplish anything you want in life provided you don’t mind who gets the credit.
— Harry S. Truman

The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare.
— Thane Yost