Change................................

"Your essence is changeable, like your mind.  Every action you take, every thought you have, changes you, even if just a little, making you a little more elevated or a little more degraded."

-David Brooks, from his introduction to The Second Mountain:  The Quest for a Moral Life

Persist......................................

     "The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, the vicious, although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to be so;  it helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous.   All the great teaches of the ages have declared this in varying forms, and to prove and know it a man has but to persist in making himself more and more virtuous by lifting up his thoughts."

     "Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought.  By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought a man ascends;  by the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought, a man descends."

-James Allen, as excerpted from As a Man Thinketh

Or maybe we muddle through.......

via

If I had a boss, I'd rate her.........................

Don't forget to visit eBossRate.com and rate your Boss!

Yep..................

"....we should think of financial shocks as closer to commonplace than to exceptional is based on history. Consider the United States over the past thirty or so years. By my count, there have been six distinct times over that period when financial developments posed important macroeconomic risks. In three of them, the risks were largely averted and the costs ended up being minor. In two, the costs were modest to moderate. And in one, the damage was enormous."
-David Romer, as excerpted from here

If you doubt his premise, you might want to review this history lesson.
thanks Greg

Fingers crossed................

Before much happens in the development of commercial real estate, the architects have to get hired and begin design work.  In our part of the world, over the past five years, a substantial portion of architectural work has been for school and jail construction.  That work seems to be winding down.  So.........we take the following chart to be good news.  Architectural billings appear to be increasing.  It's a good thing.  We hope their numbers continue to improve.

thanks to calculated risk, as always.

Sweet............................

A bit of relief at the pump after a season of $3.69 per gallon gasoline.  Felt really smart loading up at $3.18 until we passed Sam's Club where a gallon was priced at $2.98.  Nothing like "cheap" gas to perk up attitudes.

...the power of self-fulfilling...........

thanks Nicholas

Life is like....................

"Life is like riding an elevator.  It has a lot of ups and downs and someone is always pushing your buttons.  Sometimes you get the shaft, but what really bothers you are the jerks."
-Roger von Oech

Not only on the golf course.................

Good players have the power to think while they are
competing.  Most golfers are not thinking, even when they
believe they are.  They are only worrying.
     Worrying is a misuse of your mind on the golf course. 
Whatever your obstacle, worry will only make it more
difficult.  Further, it is impossible to make a good golf
swing if your muscles are too tense.
     Rather than worrying, be mindful of the shot at hand
and go ahead and play it as if you are going to hit the
best shot of your life.  You really might do it.

-Harvey Penick,  The Game for a Lifetime

How come they never ask my opinion......?

On equal opportunity............

"Don't buy all the gloom and doom.  Realize that recessions
and depressions don't last forever.  It's an equal opportunity
plan that impacts everyone.  Don't just go through tough
times.  Grow through them."

-Willie Jolley