THOUGHTS ON NEW YEAR’S DAY

For 2024, Merriam-Webster chose "polarization” as its Word of the Year. We have a growing division as Americans steadily drift toward extremes. Most of us are a part of this problem. These comments, from some very bright people, may plant a seed with you on how to be a part of the solution.

CHARACTER

Character is what you really are. Reputation is what others think you are. John Wooden

There are two types of people. One walks into a room and says “Here I am.” The other walks in and says, “There you are.” If you don’t know which is you, you need to find out.

It’s very common to be utterly brilliant and still think you’re way smarter than you are. Charlie Munger

No matter how educated, talented, or rich you believe you are, how you treat people tells everything about you.

CHOOSING OUR WORDS

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak.

Nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say. Will Durant

If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x, play is y, and z is keeping your mouth shut. – Albert Einstein (More useful than E = mc²)

Know when to stop arguing with people and let them be wrong. Making everyone perfect is not your job.

Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

HAPPINESS

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.

Comforts can become necessities. And if enough of those comforts become necessities, you lose any feeling for the rest of humanity. Sebastian Junger

FRIENDS

Choose your friends carefully. You become the people you are around the most. Ask yourself, is this the person I want to be?

Bet on people who have the confidence and humility to recognize they may not know everything. Mike Wells

If you meet someone, and you know from that first moment that you want to spend the rest of your life without them, do your best to make it happen.

Some people cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. Oscar Wilde

The trouble with ignorance is that it sounds so much like expertise.

Someone may look smart when they are only rich.

I never met anyone I couldn’t get along with or away from. Ken Hoots

Family and friends are the most precious investment you can have. Remember to diversify not just your portfolio, but your life. Jason Zweig

SUCCESS

The closest thing to a panacea known to medical science is work. Thomas Szasz

When a man is 40, he wants to own more land. But when he is 80, he knows that the only piece of ground he will ever need is about 3 x 6 feet. Ken Hoots

It is important to know when you have ‘Enough.’

People think success means making a million dollars. But most of them want to SPEND a million. They have no interest at all in what it takes to MAKE a million. John Hackney

It’s not enough to be successful. You need to be significant. Lou Holtz

You may spend a lifetime climbing the ladder of success, only to discover when you reach the top that your ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. Rev. Joe Clifford

INVESTING

The stock market is a personality test. If you don’t know who you are, it is an expensive place to find out.

A high tolerance for looking stupid is a big investment edge. Ed Borgato

Whatever is going up will always attract buyers, because most people don’t want others to think they are an idiot who is left behind.

One thing all seasoned investors agree on is how humbling the stock market can be.

Many smart people are committed to forecasting markets - with dismal results.

YOUTH

When I was young, there were two ways to die. Natural causes and talking back to your parents.

My family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. Buddy Hackett

It doesn't take a village to raise a child; it takes two parents. George Carlin

As I watch this generation try to rewrite history, I'm sure it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.

I can’t do Snapchat or TikTok, but I can write in cursive, do math without a calculator, and tell time on a clock with hands.

GROWING OLD

You never really grow up. You only learn how to act in public.

There is no such thing as a grouchy old person. When you get old, you stop being polite and start being honest.

At age 20, you worry about what others think of you... at age 40, you don't care what they think of you... at age 60, you discover they haven't been thinking of you at all. Ann Landers

The idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone. Andy Rooney

HUMILITY

Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility and a desire to learn. Dick Van Dyke

The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant. His culture is based on ‘I am not too sure.’ H. L. Mencken

If you are born a multimillionaire and become richer every day with little effort, you develop a sense of privilege - that brains, class, and a little effort can overcome any challenge. And that success, like money, just falls from the sky.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted a garden party. While mingling and chatting with a small group, a cell phone started ringing, much to a young girl’s embarrassment. With a straight face, the Queen said to her, “You’d better answer that. It might be someone important.”

I wish you a Happy New Year. I pray that as we make another 584-million-mile journey around the sun, in 365 days we will have come together as reasonable people and have a better word than “polarization” to describe our status.