Since we had nothing to do with our arrival and usually are not consulted about our departure, what makes so many of us think we're entitled to so much while we're here?

Never hire someone who knows less than you do about what he's hired to do.

One often reads about the art of conversation-how it's dying or what's needed to make it flourish, or how rare good ones are. But wouldn't you agree that the infinitely more valuable rara avis [rare bird] is a good listener.

If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job.

Experts kill me. Economic experts, that is. Corporations, foundations, publications and governments pay them by the bucketful, and they fill buckets with forecasts that change more frequently than white-collar, workers do shirts. What Lies Ahead is the usual title. What Lies would often be more appropriate. If women's hemlines changed as rapidly as an economist's forecasts, the fashion people and the textile industry would be more profitable than any other. In fact, if all the country's economists were laid end to end, they still wouldn't reach a conclusion.

Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.

A little reciprocity goes a long way.