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"Once we start thinking seriously about the future, we gain enormous power over the future.  First, we begin to recognize that we have lots of choices about what sort of future we can shape for ourselves. Second, we can set long term goals and plan effectively so we can reach them.  So thinking about the future is a powerful too for achieving long-term success in our careers and other aspects of our lives."

Edward Cornish, Bethesda, Maryland

"The millennium coincides with the base of the exponential growth of all humanities measures and adventures. Lets look upwards and enjoy the ride but make sure no one falls off."

Abraham Gubler, writer and politician, Australia

"The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace."

Teresa of Calcutta
(submitted by Matthew Kearney, 23)

"The finger points at the moon. Do not be distracted by the finger; observe the moon!"

Zen Saying
(submitted by Jane Clare Pawling, Colorado, USA)

"Nothing without goodness; imagine what a wonderful place the world would be if we could just live this."

Lynda Curtin, Opportunity Thinker, California, USA

"If history truly repeats, 'there is nothing new under the sun', and human nature remains essentially the same, then the patterns of the past are essential study if tomorrow is to be exploited to everyone's benefit. This undertaking, if kept in the spirit of 'win-win-win,' will lead to another Renaissance: The same mechanisms are in place already, as was necessary for the first one. It is left to us to open our eyes and see it. In essence, the future can be found in the past, and re-invented today for what faces us tomorrow."

Dawne Berry, 33, conceptual engineer

"To find happiness with anyone else you must first be happy with yourself. And to be happy with yourself you must first be happy with God."

Anonymous

"A long earth refines a less positive nature but only those who understand this may progress."

Mr. Johnson, 43, bombs expert

"In fortune lies the dream of death, when no dream now is left."

Vaughn Lancaster, 27, student

"Religion without science is childish. Science without religion is adolescent."

Anonymous
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"The earth is the cradle of mankind, but we cannot remain in the cradle forever."

Werner von Braun
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."

Pablo Picasso
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Jesus Christ
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"The Lord God is subtle, but he is not malicious."

Albert Einstein
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"Procrastination is the thief of time."

Edward Young
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

Rodin
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"I have said, `You are gods.'"

The Bible, Psalm 82
(submitted by Hal Fulton, 37, computer programmer)

"There is nothing wrong with doing the right thing as long as you are doing it for the right reason. (That you are not doing something out of guilt or pity, but instead because it is the right thing to do.)"

Christopher Rudolf, 30, social worker

"Moderation is the key to happiness."

Christopher Rudolf, 30, social worker

"Life is like a tube of toothpaste; the more you squeeze, the more you get out of it!"

Wayne Ivusich, 42, sales

"The thoughts you entertain today will entertain you tomorrow."

Kenneth Broom, 60, retired engineer

"If you would change the world, then live your own highest and best wisdom."

Kenneth Broom, 60, retired engineer

The Seven Deadly Sins (revised version by Mahatma Ghandi)

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle

(submitted by Mike McCrea, 42, canoeist)

"Spend as much time as possible on mountains, in small boats, or otherwise out in the weather; if you never get wet, cold, exhausted or scared, you won't properly appreciate being dry, warm, rested and safe."

Peter A. Jay
(submitted by Mike McCrea, 42, canoeist)

"When you are holding on by your fingertips for dear life, be leery of one who offers you a manicure rather than a hand."

A. Mackel, 53, manager

"Truth is. Answers are the part we wish to hear. Politicians, priests and suitors seek to provide answers. Philosophers and spouses have only truths."

John Merryman, 38, horseman

"Today I will begin to believe in myself and each day that belief will become stronger."

Anonymous
(submitted by F. Herold, 76, retired)

"A man convinced against his will
Is of his opinion still."

F. Herold, 76, retired

"It takes an entire village to teach a child."

African proverb
(submitted by Benoit Couture, 47, educator)

"Interdependence is a higher value than independence."

Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
(submitted by Benoit Couture, 47, educator)

"The person who doesn't read is no better off than the person who can't read."

Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
(submitted by Benoit Couture, 47, educator)

"No memory, no history. No personalities, identities or even shape. At the dawn of the millennium we need to understand that the new century is like an empty canvas waiting to be used...."

Alvaro Costa, 39, media professional

"A clever lie creates its own reality."

Karsten Kell, 34, consultant

"The purpose of a Prophet is not to teach with words, but rather to confuse with words, for words themselves mean nothing. Words are simply a box within which sits a wordless meaning, waiting to be revealed. When the Prophet gives you words, he does so knowing that you will take that box and hide it deep within yourself. Only later, when you are ready to hear the true message, will your own unconscious reveal to you the contents of the hidden box. This is the nature of the Prophet's teachings, and this is the nature of enlightenment."

Shane Thornburgh, 26, computer programmer

"The habit of looking at the bright side of any situation is worth at least a thousand pounds a year."

Samuel Johnson
(submitted by Anantharaman, 26, software engineer)

"The congruence of past, future, and present is now."

Yorgos Voyiatzis, 32, student

"No matter what the future holds in store for Mankind...no matter what the dawning of the Third Millennium may bring...be it wisdom and peace, or chaos and sorrow...whether we take our first steps toward our salvation...or spiral into our damnation...always remember to keep your head held high, your shoulders square, a song in your heart, and your eyes on the Goal. After all...we are only Human. Right?

Edward J. Thomas, 33, computer professional

"The solution to every problem contains within it the seed of the next problem."

Fred Boness, 51, programmer

"No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or get rich in business by being a conformist."

J. Paul Getty
(submitted by Jeff Tilden, 45, sales)

"A person who believes their work beneath them is above doing it well."

Anonymous
(submitted by Russell Gilbert, 33, editor)

"The future is not the result of choices among alternative paths offered in the present, it is a place that is created -- created first in the mind and will; created next in the activity."

Walt Disney
(submitted by Ken Thompson, 56, manager)

"Today's society has lost values and morals. To get them back, we must understand how and why our parents lost theirs."

Brian Bass, 23, programmer

"There is one word that best identifies and accuses the Twentieth Century and it is `refugee.'"

Stephen Lewis, 59, retired

"You are what you are when no one is looking."

Don E. Nelson, 48, mechanical engineer

"METAPHORS BE WITH YOU! always, young Skywalker."

Don E. Nelson, 48, mechanical engineer

"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it is the exact opposite."

Paul Dirac (1902-1984)
(submitted by Don E. Nelson, 48, mechanical engineer)

"Run, John, run," the Law demands,
but gives us neither feet nor hands.

Ah, better news the Gospel brings,
And bids us fly and gives us wings.

John Bunyan
(submitted by Don E. Nelson, 48, mechanical engineer)

A famous German theologian spent his entire life studying, meditating on, and researching the God-inspired scriptures of the Bible in its original languages and various translations. At the end of his life, he was asked what he had learned from all his endeavors, and this is what he said, quite simply:

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Don E. Nelson, 48, mechanical engineer

"No wise man ever wished to be younger."

Jonathan Swift
(submitted by Dave Lawrence, 35, government worker)

"The best prophet is one whose predictions are false.   After all, what good is prophecy if we don't pay attention?"

Unknown
(submitted by Tech Knight, 20, computer programmer)

"What you do today, determines what you do tomorrow."

"Many hands make light work."

"Interest never sleeps."

Halvor P. Hansen
(submitted by his son, Kevin, 35, network administrator)

"Someone said, `Life is like a tube of toothpaste; the more you squeeze, the more you get out of it!', but how much more toothpaste you can squeeze out when the tube is coming to the end of its utility depends on how creative and resourceful you really are."

Billy Tan, 43, consultant

"The Machineae will become the dominant Kingdom of energy processors on Earth in the new millennium as humans continue to facilitate the evolution of machine life."

John Omaha, 60, chemical dependency counselor

"God gave us the spirit of curiosity, so let us continue seeking for the betterment of our society."

Antonio D. Delgado, 29, computer programmer

"It is the present that makes our future; what we do today will be observed or even felt in the coming millennium."

Antonio D. Delgado, 29, computer programmer

"The Future Isn't What It Used to Be"

Anonymous
submitted by Terry, 36, lawyer

"Commonsense Is Not So Common"

Voltaire
submitted by Terry, 36, lawyer

"Don't judge a person's character by his or her mistakes. Judge a person's character by the way in which he or she deals with the mistakes."

Charles Wilson, 31, network engineer

"During the next millennium, all industries will be looking to raise productivity in his human resources. Productivity represents only special elements: innovation, empowerment, and uncertainty."

Jeimy Cano, 25, engineer

"El error mas grave de la humanidad en este siglo fue mirar hacia fuera y no dentro de cada ser que es realmente donde se esconde el secreto de todas las cosas."

("The gravest error of humanity in this century has been to look outwardly and not inwardly, where the secret of everything really resides.")

Rodrigo Ortega, 23, student

"Fantasy....can't become dated for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time."

Walt Disney
(submitted by George Beligini, 26, student)

"New Millennium...New Era...New Hope...Forever Peace!!!"

Vicente Lorenzo, 28

"Learn to be yourself honestly, with your good things to give others and the bad things to work on and come out."

Juan Ehrenhaus, 35, sales engineer

"Great necessities call out great virtues"

Abigail Adams
(submitted by Amy Rands 36, business continuity planning)

"You can't achieve greatness by embracing mediocrity"

David Medendorp, 61, business development

"Let's not lose our morals and ethics."

Madeline Ayala, 36, human resources manager

"Even though life might seem complicated, it boils down to simple terms: your thoughts determine your decisions; your decisions determine your actions; your actions determine your behavior; your behavior determines your results; your results determine your reactions, which leads you back to your thoughts!! Only you determine your future!"

Dean Williams, 32, medical representative, South Africa

"Para un nuevo milenio, deberiamos distribuir gratis toda la informacion para que todos tengan un mejor mundo, al conocer las culturas de las otras naciones."

("For the new millennium, we should freely distribute all information in order for all to have a better world, to know the cultures of the other nations.")

Gregorio, 29, program analyst

"He who predicts the future is lying even if he tells the truth."

Old Arabic saying
(submitted anonymously)

"The mid-life crisis is life without illusions. It happens when juvenile infantilism has completely gone while senescent infantilism has not yet come.   To the end of the second millennium humankind has lost all illusions, the last of which was communism."

Alexander Vinogradov, scientist, Russia

"A global society whose entire systems are based on "Dialectic Competitive Economics," where every system is set up to serve economics, where every person, child, project, need, and the sacred earth itself is measured as to its economic benefit to the politics and religion of money...cannot survive.  It cannot; it can only collapse because of a lack of Philosophy, Aspiration, Ethics, Holism, and a vision toward higher ideals and holistic balance."

S.A., world server

"Let your look be firm and clear; wipe off the accidental features and you will see: the world is beautiful."

Aleksandr Blok
(submitted by Alexander Vinogradov)

"The development of life int he third millenium will be determined by the interplay between three levels of organization: biological, social, and computer networks. The artificial form of life will not replace humankind but will be a superstrcture to it, as social life is the superstructure to organic life (`life stack'). The humans are to be sandwiched between biological and computeral levels. The computer programs will be made by people as human thoughts are made by nervous cells."

Alexander Vinogradov, scientist, Russia

"As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."

Abdu'l-Baha
(submitted by Don Osborn, 43, researcher)

"If it's fun, it gets done."

Wolf J. Rinke, 55, author, consultant

"If you lend your rear to someone be aware, you may have to pass waste through your ribs."

I. Noormae, 60+, broadcast engineer

"Es el tiempo de ofrecer, cansate de pedir. Eres lo que haces."
"It is time to offer, not to ask for. You are what you have."

Martin Alejandro Iscop, 26, observer

"Our deepest fear is not that we are indequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, `Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeours, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson, quoted by Nelson Mandela, president, Republic of South Africa, in his 1994 inaugural speech
(submitted by Barbara J. Kilbourne, 57, consultant to NGOs)

"Open your mind and know, open your heart and serve, open your power and be."

Mick O'Neill, 43, service manager, United Kingdom

"Without change there is no improvement, there is no hope, there is no future. Plan for change."

John E. Holmes, 56, strategic planner

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future."

John F. Kennedy, Frankfurt, West Germany, June 25, 1963
(submitted by John Holmes, 56, strategic planner)

"It would appear that humanity desperately needs Socioeconomic Democracy, which is an advanced socioeconomic system wherein there is a maximum allowable personal wealth limit and a minimum guaranteed personal income limit, with both socioeconomic system boundary control parameters set and adjusted democratically by all of society."

Robley E. George, 67, politicosocioeconomic engineer

"Before you can smell the flowers, you must first plant the flowers."

Charles Carroll, 50, educator/futurist

"Doing the impossible simply means doing something for the first time!"

Frank Shaw, 53, futurist

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."

Mark Twain
(submitted by Suzie Rabideau, 58, retired)

"Of the vast oceans of data and seas filled with information; of the roaring rivers of meanings and thundering streams filled with interpretations; there is but one small cup of wisdom.

Wisdom by itself does not guarantee enlightenment however; for true enlightenment does require us to strive for the tiny drop that contains the essence."

Lee Peh Long, 38, perennial learner

"Never forget leaders like Gandhi and Mother Teresa. They taught us to believe in ourselves and understand that anything is possible if we really keep that dream in the heart. Nunca olviden a estos lideres. Son un modelo para las proximas generaciones de ninos que vendran." (Never forget these leaders. They are models for the next generation of children to come.)

Jose Madrid, 24, architect

"He who controls the past, controls the future..."

Adam Wieshaupt, 8, writer

"You cannot have courage in the past, you cannot have courage in the future, you can only have courage in the present.

You cannot act in the past, you cannot act in the future, you can only act in the present."

John J. Celmer, 65, aerospace, engineer

"Remember--when we point the finger of blame at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at us."

Richard Guenther, 58, teacher

"Man is at a point in time where change can alter the very nature of our existence as world citizens. We can either allow technology to jettision ahead, hoping to harness it, or we can strategically utilize it to create a world of peace, abundance and substance for all world citizens. The choice is ours. Either we control and drive it, or it continues to unravel the essence of who we are."

Lisa Blair, 47, executive

"It is easy to become a parent. It is hard to be one."

Anonymous
(submitted by Ernest Oginsky, 58, student counselor)

"Plan your work...work your plan."

Anonymous
(submitted by Ernest Oginsky, 58, student counselor)

"You don't need to find yourself, you just need to be yourself."

S. Atteberry, 35, director

"Think for yourself."

Bette Huston, 50, writer, teacher, healer

"When confronted with a problem, smile; most problems are terribly afraid of smiling persons."

Ingo Hohmann, 27, student, Germany

"Learn not only from your own mistakes, but also from those of others--life's too short to make them all yourself."

Mike Hurst, 42, local government officer, United Kingdom

"Debt is only justified when the value received is greater than the interest or terms of the obligation."

Paul K. Hampton, 59, financial advisor

"The earth is our mother. What befalls the earth befalls all the sons and daughters of the earth. Hear my voice and the voice of my ancestors. The destiny of your people is a mystery to us. What will happen when all the buffalo are slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men? When the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone. Wherewill the eagle be? Gone. And what will happen when we say good-bye to the swift pony andthe hunt? It will be the end of living and the beginning of survival. This we know: All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. What ever we do to the web we do to ourselves." from Chief Seattle's speech to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs

Kelly, 39, teacher

"I never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Mark Twain
(submitted by David T. Van Etten, 65, day care provider)

Ayn Rand
(submitted by Sir S.F. P. Koopmans, The Netherlands)

Confucious
(submitted by Sir S. F. P. Koopmans, The Netherlands)

Sir S. F. P. Koopmans, MMS, The Netherlands

Albert Einstein
(submitted by Sir S. F. P. Koopmans, The Netherlands)

unknown original author
(submitted by Sir S.F. P. Koopmans, The Netherlands)

Sir S.F.P.Koopmans, MMS, The Netherlands

John C. Lilly & Dr. Wayne Dyer
(submitted by Sir S.F. P. Koopmans, The Netherlands)

"Plan for your future, or become a victim of someone else's."

Phil Erli, 48, consultant

"Life is what happens while you are making other plans."

John Lennon

(submited by Anna Mattison, 47, business analyst)

"Have they seen, ever, the sharp bones of the poor?
Or known, once, the soul's authentic hunger,
Those cat-like immaculate creatures,
For whom the world works?"

Theodore Roethke, 1958
(submitted by Jeremy,  25, writer)

"Genuine happiness is an elusive treasure pursued by countless individuals, young and old alike. Let us be reminded that happy living is the by-product of caring, sharing and giving. And last but not least put your thoughts into action.  Do it NOW!"

"Love by policy, not just instinct. That's the Art of Living. Not just instinct; something you do on purpose. Art."

- the Cook in 'The Art of Living' by John Gardner
(submitted by G.M. George, 53)

Quote: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

"All that ever was, and all that ever will be, is now."

Norman M. Bakos,  66,  city legislator

"It is good to dwell on your problems because if you just ignore them they will never get fixed."

John Rajotte, 13, student

"Anyone can find a four leaf clover if they have enough patience and enough clover."

Jennifer Watnemoe, 42, computer technician

"Invent the future, don't predict."

Dr. L. P. Rai, 47, researcher

"Engineering should be elegant not brutal."

Angel S. Viloria III, 35, instructor/instructional design

"Knowledge can be a liability till it transcends itself."

Ram Kidambi, 43, IT consultant

"The Quality of Life depends upon what society gives to individuals and equally, what those individuals give back."

Bernie Slepkov, 47, transformationalist

 "A person asked Confucius, 'What surprises you most about mankind?'

Confucius answered, 'They lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. By thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future and they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived.....' "

from Sng Tong Hai, Singapore, quoted in "Trend Alert" by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, a weekly electronic trends bulletin produced as a public service by The Herman Group and the Workforce Stability Institute, Greensboro, NC http://www.herman.net/archive.html.

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