Interesting Quotes and Philosophy

"The only thing worse than work is not having any. Ask anyone unemployed."

— Pat Curtis

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."

— Galileo

One evening while night fishing on a large reservoir, I was looking up and day dreaming (I guess it would be night dreaming). I was watching the stars with unfocused eyes then I began to focus on the moon. Right then a new bit of advice for my two boys came to me that I am sure God put there.

"Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you will still be among the stars."

As they are only 4 and 7, I am sure they still don't understand the importance but as they strive to achieve goals we help them set for themselves, I am sure they will understand it in due time. Thanks for posting such wonderful quotes and advice.

— Shawn Buckendahl

Why is it, that when I give to someone less fortunate than myself, I feel as though I'm the one on the receiving end?

— John Coonis

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

— Mark Knickerbocker

Look back with Forgivness, forward with Faith, down with Compassion, and up with Gratitude.

— Mike Tooke

Humans are "Creatures of Habit". If you practice safety and good professionalism, it will become habit. If you're careless and cut corners, this will also become habit.

— Dave Cameron

Lightning

"The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn't there the second time"

—Willie Tyler

Multiwire Branch Circuits

"When the neutral conductor of a 3-wire multiwire branch circuit is open, the circuit transforms from two 120 volt circuits to one 240 volt circuit. The result is that the greatest damage resulting from overvoltage will occur to the most expensive appliance connected to either circuit."

—Mike Holt

My father always said "If one does not plan to succeed, one plans to fail." "If you have your sight, you are blessed. If you have insight, you are a thousand times blessed."

"Most of us will never do great things, but we can do small things in a great way."

And as David Brinkley and Chet Huntley used to sign off their news broadcast with "Thank You for your time, this time, until next time"

Keep up your good work Mike, God Bless....

—Angel Reyes

Quote from my grandfather Papa Jake, "Don't get into a pissing contest with a skunk."

—Adam Corbin

"Practice makes perfect, so be careful what you practice."

—Karen Cheney

"I won't lie to you but I may give you bad information."

—Bo Sullivan

"A $300 picture tube will always blow first and protect a ten cent fuse."

—Galetia@---.com

"My father always told me to always say God bless you, and there ain't no atheist in foxholes!"

"Whether you think you can, or think you can't you're right!"

—Robert Smith

"Their are bold electricians and old electricians, but their are no old bold electricians."

—Jeff Busch,Brainerd

If a man is alone in the forest without his wife, is it his fault that his wife is having a bad day? Mike Holt's Wife Comment - "Of course it's his fault. He probably didn't finish what he was suppose to do before he went into the woods, and the wife had to do it herself."

—Brooke Stuffer, NECA Codes and Standards.

Mike Holt's comment - "Amazing how women think."

"You can take a hand out of the shop... but you can't take the shop out of the hand."

"You don't know what you know ...until you know what you don't know."

—John Landry

"If you can't say what you mean, you can never mean what you say"

—Al Bruning

From Mike Holt's Pastor

The world needs individuals who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth. People need to see godly men and women who are larger than their vocations; People who do not hesitate to walk by faith; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd. We should be the kind of believers that will be honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to selfish desires. Let's not be that kind of person that believes that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness are the qualities for success. Do not be ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular. When necessary be quick to say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says "yes".

Before Thomas Edison was successful in sustaining light from electricity, he had to try 2,386 times. A friend said to him, "Didn't you feel like a failure, failing 2,386 times?" His reply," Each time something didn't work, I knew I was one step closer to success." This makes the difference between those who give up and those who keep trying, winners don't consider unsuccessful attempts failures, they consider them one step closer to the solution.

—Belynda Holt (my daughter)

My dad years ago said: "Wnenever you pray for rain, you must expect a little mud."

—John Reseter

There is great power in solving problems with the "mind over matter" approach. "If you don't mind, it don't matter!"

—Darell Outhier

Our minds are like a parachute, they only work if there open!

—Barry L. Shirk

After having been involved in troubleshooting electrical systems for over 35 years, a quotation we use frequently is: "We don't seem to understand all we know about this."

—Gary Hayes

Buckeroo Banzai says: "Remember, wherever you go . . . there you are."

—Joe Salimando

"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!!"

—Jim & Nancy Goshey

"Daddy, look!" cried my daughter Darla, pointing to a hawk soaring through the air. "Uh huh," I murmured, driving, lost in thought about the tight schedule of my day. Disappointment filled her face. "What's the matter, Sweetheart?" I asked. "Nothing," my seven-year-old said. Dinners baths and phone calls filled the hours until bedtime. "

Come on, Darla, time for bed!" She raced past me up the stairs. Tired, I kissed her on the cheek, said prayers and tucked her in. "Daddy, I forgot to give you something!" My patience was gone. "Give it to me in the morning," I said, but she shook her head. "You won't have time in the morning!" "I'll take time," I answered defensively. (Sometimes no matter how hard I tried; time flowed through my fingers like sand in an hourglass, never enough. Not enough time for her, for my wife, and definitely not enough time for myself.) She wasn't ready to give up yet. Darla wrinkled her freckled little nose in anger and swiped away her chestnut brown hair. "No, you won't! It will be just like today when I told you to look at the hawk. You didn't even listen to what I said."

I was too weary to argue; she hit too close to the truth. "Good night!" I shut her door with a resounding thud. Later as I thought about how little time we really had until she was grown and gone. My wife asked, "Why so glum?" I told her. "Maybe she's not asleep yet. Why don't you check," she said with all the authority of a parent in the right? I followed his advice, wishing it were my idea.

I cracked open her door and in her hand I could see the remains of a crumpled paper. Slowly I opened her palm to see what the item of our disagreement had been. Tears filled my eyes. She had torn into small pieces a big red heart with a poem she had written titled, "Why I Love My Daddy!" I carefully removed the tattered pieces. The words were an arrow straight to the heart.

Mike Holt's Comment - Please take time to love your children.

—Anonymous

"Make it idiot proof, and someone will make a better idiot."

—Doug Strang

"Plan your work then work your plan. "

—Douglas R Metzger

Patrick Smith would always say, when appropriate at weekly planning meetings, "if you don't know where you're going any road will get you there." That says it all.

—Tony Gervasio

"Don't shoot the wounded you maybe one someday! "

—Bill Roni

A "goal" is a dream with a date on it. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

—Ian Butcher

I've always said, "aesthetics are 90 percent of the job".

—Mark V. Randazzo

"Good judgement comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement. "

—R.D.

My motto has always been "If you think education is expensive...try ignorance."

Ray C. Mullin

Knowledge is power.

—Paul Keller

"If the world were a perfect place, half of us would be unemployed. "

—John Landry

"It is better to be careful 100 times than to get killed once."

—Larry Smith

My dad would often look at a run of poorly fabricated conduit or equipment that had been installed crooked or out of plumb and reflect upon the unknown workman's craftsmanship with the statement: when you're good you're good; when you're not, it shows.

—Mike Barker

"Obstacles are those frightful things we see when we take our eyes of our goals."

—Henry Ford (Thanks Lyndall Briggs)

"Conventional wisdom says to know your limits. To know them you must find them first. Finding your limits generally involves getting in over your head and hoping you live long enough to benefit from the experience. That's the fun part."

— Drew Marold (Thanks Geoff Wade)

"Help yourself by helping others"

— Ali Adams (Thanks Ali)

"Hard earned happiness is doubly savoured."

—B. Gracian (Thanks Sue Holder)

"Cherish your own vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements."

— Napoleon Hill (Thanks John Acland)

"The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for existence against the winds and rains and the scorching Sun."

— Napoleon Hill (Thanks Lyndall Briggs)

Gary Green

"The one thing worse than training your people and losing them is not training them and keeping them."

—Valerie Johnson/Jerry McGarry
Training Advisors-Kuparuk/Alpine

It is ok to work hard and sometimes work long hours, but focus on one important issue, balance. If you focus on balancing your life, you will have more quality time with your family and friends and probably get more work completed. Remember, your family, job, friends, home, education are all important, focus on balance!!!

— Hank Arimas

"Show me a man that didn't learn something today,and I'll show you a man that didn't "

"Show me a man that didn't make a mistake today and I'll show you a man that did nothing today"

—S.E.Allen

I don't know if this is an result or not but I love it: "If you shoot your self in the foot, don't complain about the limp!"

—John Flanders Sr.

Am certain it was Teddy Roosevelt who said something to the effect " No advice is worthless; Hell, even a clock that does'nt work is right twice a day."

— Tom Howe

" Practice makes Permanent......not Perfect..."

— Bill Paletski

"Faith is like electricity, you can't see it, but you can see the light."

— Brad Rinehart

It is usually best to "Work as hard at spending your money - as you do making it."

— William Svensson

"When I was younger and knew everything, I questioned little, but now that I am older and know more, I know how much I do not know and I find myself unable to accept things without questions."

—W.L. Mostia

"The problem with rules of thumbs is that some times we get our thumbs broken."

—W.L. Mostia

"No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid." Unknown

"An expert is someone that know more and more about less and less."

— N. Buttler

"I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance."

—T. Carlyle

"Only a mediocre person is always at his best."

— S. Maugham

"Mediocrity is merit to the mediocre."

—J. Joubert

"A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he is always has good company."

—C.E. Hughes

"Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you."

—R.W. Emerson

"The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat oneself. All sin is easy after that."

—J. Bailey

"The irony of common sense is that it's not all that common."

— Mark Twain (contributed by Chas Thomas)

"Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger."

—Stephen A. Watkins

THE ALPHABET OF DECISION MAKING, By Mike Holt, www.mikeholt.com

A - Ask For Help.
B - What Are The Benefits For You And Your Family?
C - What Are The Consequences?
D - Get The Details.
E - Evaluate How This Will This Effect Your Life.
F - Be Sure You Feel At Peace With The Decision.
G - What Does God Want You To Do?
H - Be Honest With Yourself .
I - How Will This Impact You And Your Family?
J - Can You Justify Your Decision With Confidence?
K - Remember Knowledge Is Power.
L - What Are The Legal Ramifications?
M - What Does Your Mentor Think?
N - Never Give Up.
O - What Are Your Options?
P - Do You Feel A Pang In Your Gut?
Q - Ask Lots Of Questions.
R - Is This Right For You?
S - Don't Make The Decision Under Stress.
T - Take Your Time.
U - Don't Do Anything If You're Uncomfortable.
V - Be Very Careful.
W - Why Are You Doing This?
X - Find The Exit Route.
Y - You Are Responsible For The Results And Consequences.
Z - Get Some Z's Before You Decide.

If you have any suggestion on how to improve this list, please let me know. Mike@Mikeholt.com

Peter's Laws

1. If anything can go wrong, fix it! (To hell with Murphy!)
2. When given a choice—take both!
3. Multiple projects lead to multiple successes.
4. Start at the top then work your way up.
5. Do it by the book...but be the author!
6. When forced to compromise, ask for more.
7. If you can't beat them, join them, then beat them.
8. If it's worth doing, it's got to be done right now.
9. If you can't win, change the rules.
10. If you can't change the rules, then ignore them.
11. Perfection is not optional.
12. When faced without a challenge, make one.
13. "No" simply means begin again at one level higher.
14. Don't walk when you can run.
15. Bureaucracy is a challenge to be conquered with a righteous attitude, a tolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary.
16. When in doubt: THINK!
17. Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.
18. The squeaky wheel gets replaced.
19. The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live.

—David C. Moody

"Character is doing whats right when nobody is looking".

— GraysRoot3@---.com

"There are no stupid questions if they prevent stupid mistakes."

"The difference between knowledge & wisdom? Knowledge comes from your mistakes. Wisdom comes from OTHER people's mistakes" (My note, this is why reading His Word daily gives us wisdom!)

— Tim LaLonde

"If you want to understand, no explanation is necessary. However, if you don't want to understand, no explanation will suffice."

—Billy <bhammers@---.net>

" By the work one knows the worker."

" The one who always throws the wood on the fire is not the one who chopped it."

—Thomas Mike

"This alternating current thing is just a fad. It is much too dangerous for general use."

—Thomas Alva Edison (contributed by Thomas D. Horne)

" Strength isn't being able to stand up to anything, but being able to crawl on your belly a long, long way until you can stand up ... and then be willing to do it all over again."

—Anonymous

" You can only teach someone, as much as they are willing to learn."

— Chris G. Varona