The KellyGram

The following is an excerpt from our new book: The Best of Success: A Treasury of Inspiration.

"Shortly after taking office in 1977 as President of the United States, Jimmy Carter appointed his friend and fellow Georgian, Bert Lance, as director of the Office of Management and the Budget (OMB).

"Before long, investigations began into certain irregularities at a Georgia bank, and of Lance's role as its chairman. With the Watergate scandal still fresh in the minds of many Americans, the media had a field day with Lance, and he soon resigned from his OMB post. Forced to stand trial for his alleged improprieties at his bank, where he had stepped down as chairman, he was later acquitted of all charges, and resumed his leadership role.

"Lance would probably have been long forgotten by now, except for one brief comment during a May 1977 interview with Nation's Business magazine. Today, that statement, ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it,’ remains the clarion call of the status quo crowd, taking its place alongside such old bromides as ‘Don't make waves,’ and ‘Leave well enough alone.’"

By the way, that’s not only bad English, but very bad advice. Rather than following the Lance approach, those who seek some measure of success in life might consider these words by the late American philosopher and educator John Dewey: "Since changes are going on anyway, the great thing is to learn enough about them so that we will be able to lay hold of them and turn them in the direction of our desires."

You may preview The Best of Success at www.simpletruths.com, and order copies by clicking the following link: http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=17824&userID=344748&productID=468240100"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMILE AWHILE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stand tall and proud, you noble swingers of golf clubs and chasers of golf balls. A recent study has found that the average golfer walks about 900 miles per year. Another study found that golfers drink, on average, 20 gallons of alcohol a year. That means, on average, golfers get about 45 miles to the gallon.

Congratulations on doing your part to combat global warming and keep our planet green.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ODDS AND ENDS

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back Issues:

All previous issues of The KellyGram, dating back to January 2003, are available on our website: http://www.wordcrafters.info/back_issues.html.

Privacy Policy:

Your privacy is very important to us. We assure you that under no circumstances will we share, distribute, publish, give away or sell our mailing lists or other information about you to any other party.

Reprint Permission:

You may copy or distribute excerpts from The KellyGram by using the following credit line: "The following is taken from the February 2010 issue of The KellyGram, and is used with permission." We will appreciate receiving copies of any publications in which you use materials contained herein. Thank you.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:

If this issue was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive it regularly at no cost, please subscribe either by email at bob@kellygram.com or by using the form at http://www.wordcrafters.info/newsletters.html.

If you are currently a subscriber but no longer wish to receive The KellyGram from us, you may unsubscribe by clicking on the link above.

As always, I welcome your support. If you've found The KellyGram to be a helpful resource, I'd be grateful if you'd send this issue along to your friends, family members and colleagues. If they'd like to subscribe — it's FREE — all they have to do is send an email to bob@kellygram.com or use the form at http://www.wordcrafters.info/newsletters.html. Thanks so much!

Comments/Questions:

Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please contact us at bob@kellygram.com, or call Bob Kelly at (480) 895-7617.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUN WITH WORDS

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are the answers to this month’s puzzle:

L W E A                            Leave well enough alone
D M W                              Don’t make waves
N I M B Y                         Not in my back yard
W A(or N) D I T W           We’ve always (or never) done it that way
W T I O A I D W              We tried it once and it didn’t work

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE LAST WORD

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed.... People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance."

(???)

(I deliberately omitted the name of the author of that quote, but will reveal it in our next issue. If you just can’t wait until then, email me at bob@kellygram and simply write "Who" in the subject line, and I’ll reply immediately. Or send me the name of the person you believe said it, and we’ll give you credit next month.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2010 by Bob Kelly. All rights reserved.