WORDS FROM THE HEART

Service to our fellow man is the rent we all have to pay for our time here on earth.

In schools they teach the 3 R’s. In government we should have our own set: Reliability, Responsibility, Receptiveness

Government should never “bite” the hand that feeds it.

There is a world of difference between the “rule of law” and the “spirit of the law”.  Sometimes in the rush to follow the first we forget about the second.

In dealing with the feelings of citizens I prefer to turn the stove to simmer rather than boil. The food will get cooked a little slower but it will taste a whole lot better.

Instead of trying to find the answers by looking down a long and dark road I prefer to look at the clouds and dream mighty thoughts. One can find answers in the clouds and are a lot nicer to look at than dirt or asphalt.

An elected official is a “servant of the people”. When they ask for a place at the table they have confused their job description.

When government overtaxes it suppresses dreams.

This country was built on ideas. I believe in hearing as many as the citizens want to give.

I cherish small town life. Who says you’re too old to catch fireflies in a Mason jar.

Trust and listen to the people. They will not lead you astray.

Until all the facts are in the axe should not fall.

My coach in high school told me that quitters never win and winners never quit. Today even without the dirt, bruises, and aches he was right.

A leader is someone who can get people to do something they should have done without being told in the first place.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “I came to a road in the woods which parted and I took the lesser traveled one. It has made all the difference in my life”.  It takes courage to walk alone sometimes.

There is both a “U” and an “I” in community.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Public servants should stand tall and firm like the oak and not be blown over like wheat in the field.

What’s real in politics is what the voters say is real.

I look at the partially filled glass as being half full, not half empty. In life optimism is the energy which powers the engine.

It has been said that we feel that what we contribute in life is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that one drop.

Difficult things in life vanish when we face them with courage and boldness.

A persons strength and value to society can be calculated by the opposition arrayed before him.

One aspect of being a leader is the quality of those who follow him.

If everybody is singing the same note you never have harmony.

Those in government who hold the power are not as strong as those who vote and cast the ballots.

Government does not generate the economy, those who work do.

Life is full of stories about the haves and the have-nots. What we need to hear more about is the doers and the do-nots.

Being a leader is a chance to serve ones fellow man, not an opportunity to sound a trumpet of self-importance.

Success is fleeting. In the end all you’re really left with is your character and integrity.

If a window of opportunity presents itself one should not pull down the shade.

Leaders don’t wait for an opportunity to arise, they create their own.

It takes more facial muscles to frown than smile. Why waste all that energy.