Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Everybody is Ignorant...

Will Rogers said: "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." Ted Kopen quoted this while telling his story of what the turning point was in his life.

I was reading the book "The Right Words at the Right Time" by Marlo Thomas. She put together a book of various interviews of famous people. She sent each a questioner asking what word, or words, marked a turning point in their lives. Each story is only a few pages long, but each includes those key words of advice they received and how it changed their perspective.

Paul McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Jay Leno, Betty Ford, Sean Penn, to name a few (there are about 100 in all), tell their stories.

Matt Groening, creator of Simpsons, tells his story of when he snapped one day while being admonished by the Scoutmaster. It helped me understand his irreverence.

Paul Newman's story of how and why he started the camp for sick children was great. And Jay Leno's story of reading the book "The Brave Little Steam Shovel" by Alf Evers atop the coal pile in his cellar, will tell you why he performs so well in front of people.

That got me to thinking about the people I know. I'm sure there were turning points in their lives, and words of advice they received that helped them make a change, or gave them a new perspective on life.

That would be very cool, to have a book of turning points in friends lives. Although not famous or even popular, they would be inspiring nonetheless.

One friend I have in California could tell me several stories. He had an expression he'd always say after telling me some insightful story: "So you see, Dave, I learned this from that." And that became our shared expression. "So, Kevin, what did you learn?" "Well, Dave" Kevin would say "I learned this from that."

...dave
Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it. -Publilius Syrus

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