|
|
      |
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
|
|
|
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
 |
Do More! Learn More! Create More! Live More!
Over the years in America and the west generally, the nature and means of education have dramatically changed. But it is an error to think that before the contemporary era of schooling on a mass scale that no one was deeply or broadly educated. Many in colonial America were exceptionally well-educated, yet largely self-taught or taught by a tutor or mentor. Such was the case with scientist, lawyer, theologian, statesman, patriot and father of seven, Roger Sherman. In his astonishingly productive life as one of the leading citizens of colonial America, Sherman studied privately with Rev. Samuel Danbar, worked as a shoemaker and then as a land surveyor and an author of an almanac filled with astronomical calculations. He read for the bar (as was the custom of his day) and became a lawyer, though he did not earn a college degree. He also read deeply in theology and received an honorary degree from Yale, where he became treasurer. He was even a professor of religion for many years. Sherman was widely respected and known in Connecticut, as a list of the legislative, judicial and executive positions to which he was elected demonstrates: both houses of the Connecticut legislature, justice of the peace, judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, member of the Continental Congress, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Mayor of New Haven, member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Sherman is the only member of the Continental Congress who signed the Articles of Association of 1774, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. He died at the age of 71 and was buried near his beloved Yale. Not bad for a man who was not a college graduate. That is all well and good; but, you are likely asking, what does the life of Sherman mean for us today? I think a few things: First, the next time you think that you have learned enough about a topic or about your profession, well, then, consider taking up another! Men like Sherman never stopped learning, even though they did not have the benefit of easy access to schools. A good strategy to get that extra skill or body of knowledge is to commit to writing a book about the topic, then start your research. That is precisely the approach of Paul Johnson, the British journalist and historian. He decides he wants to learn something. So he goes to the library and starts reading. Eventually he produces a book on the topic. Then he starts again. Not a bad way to earn a living, if you think about it. Second, commit yourself to making an impact in your community. Sherman was an elected governmental official for most of his adult life. He played an enormous role in American history during the country's formative years. Now, you don't necessarily have to run for office, but you do need to do something to impact the community beyond your own immediate self-interest and gratification. Figure out what the best approach is for you in light of your gifts, talents and interests. Then start and never look back! Third, remember this simple truth: life is not about how little you can do, but about how much. Roger Sherman died when he was nominally 71, but probably squeezed 120 years of productivity into that time. Yes, he was an exceptional individual. But he was also one of us, a flesh and blood human being with both strengths and weaknesses. Yet look at all that he did! If Sherman were alive today, he would affirm to you this simple truth: you can do more, be more, learn more and serve your community more than you are currently! What are you waiting for? Copyright 2005 Mark Cole Mark Cole, an attorney, has degrees from Baylor, Yale, Notre Dame & University of Houston. To learn more about how the Great Men can inspire and motivate you, visit http://www.ConversationsFromthePast.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Motivation: The Cure for Complacency Q. I've always tried to work hard enough to provide for my family and be content. Assessing Your Self-Help Needs Self Help is itself a broad category from which to choose resources for your personal benefit. It is wise to assess yourself first, in terms of "needs" and/or "problems" to be solved. Is Failure the End of Everything? "The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose." --John McEnroeMuch as we would like, not everything is going to go our way. Courage and Fear Mark Twain once said, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not absence of fear."Feeling fear is normal but so many are afraid to admit it. Decide Where do you want to be in a year? In five years? In ten years? Is what you're doing now -- the way you're living, your friends, your habits, your focus -- Are all of these things moving you in the direction of your goals? How does it look?Are your habits the kinds of habits that the person you're going to be in two years would have? Are your friends or associates, or whatever you call the people you hang out with the types of people the you you're going to be in five years will want to know and be with?What about the things your mind gets hung up on? Your focus. Do you even know what your focus is?If you and I were sitting together right now (and pretend we are) What would your answer be if I asked you where you're going? What are you focused on accomplishing or achieving? You are certainly focused on something. So What Is Your Real Motivation? We are all guilty of wanting to change our circumstances, bettering ourselves and altering our life's plans, but unfortunately a lot of us fail to see the bigger picture. In fact many of us don't even realise that there may be a bigger picture. Change - The Skill Of Adapting To The Inevitable Change your thoughts and you change your world.-Norman Vincent PealeNot surprising, one of the core reasons that hinder us from the realization our innermost goals and desires is our inability to be flexible. How To Avoid Being Labelled As Average When your life is over how will you be graded? Will you get an A or a B or will you get a C Average? Will your time on this earth be rated as average? None of us want to be average. We all want to be successful. Are Your Dreams A Day Late And A Dollar Short? One of the greatest challenges facing our ever intensive quest for the impossible dream is to make it across the finish line even if it's only by the skin of our teeth. Many outstanding accomplishments have been started just to see our vision die one foot short of the goal line. Succeed Like the Super-Successful Two undeniable traits of the super-successful are: their belief in self, and an uncompromising expectation that they will succeed .. Victorious Living How are things going for you? Are you sitting on top of the world or at the bottom of a pile of problems? Were you born with a silver spoon in your mouth or raised on the wrong side of the tracks? Do you say that life dealt you a bad hand? Know what? You are in good company. Everyone has their share of troubles. Taking The Leap Every four years, February gives us a whole 24 hours of bonus footage to add to our year. Many people take this opportunity to "do something special" with their extra day. A Few Simple Things You Must Do If You Want To Be Wealthy Making money is easy when you move to cause rather than livingout effects.Let me draw a simple analogy to clarify my point. Creativity and Innovation Management - the Value of Challenge Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Rules To Live Life By How often have we heard ourselves complaining about how unlucky we are in life or how things are just not working out right for us. However, what we so easily forget is that at some time before in lives, luck has favoured us. Trust Your Intuition! How many times have you been faced with a decision to make and all of a sudden you get this feeling of instinctively knowing what you must do? Something inside you is telling you the difference between what you should do and what you are meant to do. Many people interpret this as a hunch, a gut feeling or having an inkling. Stick With the Winners Here is an interesting quotation from Stephen Walsh."We're building up and tearing down, in everything we do. The Undeniable Power of a Mastermind Group A Mastermind is a group of individuals who are joined inpurpose. All bringing their collective talents andexperiences to the achievement of a common goal. Dont Just Hope - Decide! As the story goes, a single college-age guy went to the airport one day to pick up a friend. As he waited for his friend to come off the plane, he noticed a man hurrying through the crowd, calling to the woman and two children standing next to him. Increase Your Energy! It was only about 18 months ago that I could not even keep up with a 90-year old's energy levels. At my partner's family functions, I often sat with his grandmother who, by the end of the evening, was still lively and chirpy while I was barely able to keep my eyes open.
|
Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved. 
|
