Qualities: KNOWLEDGE

Intellect annuls fate.
––Emerson, Conduct of Life, 1860

He who is unaware of his ignorance will be only misled by his knowledge.
––Richard Whately

Information’s pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience.
––Clarence Day, The Crow’s Nest, 1921

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool, shun him;
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child, teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep, wake him;
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise, follow him.
––Persian Proverb

There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition.
––Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man, 1973

To have knowledge consists in possessing the truth. False knowledge is impossible. One cannot say “I know” and add “but what I know is false or incorrect.”
––Mortimer J. Adler, Adler’s Philosophical Dictionary, 1995

My life and my knowledge are like my brain, all those chains of neurons connected and aware of one another, but with lots of vibrant loose ends ready to lead to new worlds of my own creation.
––John Roberts


To say that knowledge is power is only the beginning: It must be converted. Knowledge for its own sake can be a wonderful thing, the joy of discovery and understanding without great practical application. But, for some, the use of that knowledge to achieve other things can be a greater reward. Indeed, the need to apply knowledge to create, to grow something practical, is part of knowledge itself.

To know or understand something that others do not is money in the bank, but it must be spent, invested, multiplied. Knowledge in its early stages is the brick foundation of house, before the structure has been completed and integrated into a home with a purpose. Most of what we know is incomplete, unstructured, disconnected, relatively useless compared to knowledge that has been organized and applied to strategies and goals.

I have always thought of knowledge, education and understanding to be an empty library of the mind, with miles of shelves and files to be filled over a lifetime. But, the mind has one big advantage over the library: It can build a framework and begin, at least, to tie it altogether into a comprehensive view of the universe and one’s life. The tragedy is that we die before we can scratch the surface. Some, like Einstein, overcome this by creating a grand view of their specialty, and consider the rest irrelevant. Some get buried in details, and never reach a conclusion; while others jump to conclusions without adequate data.

It is useful to distinguish knowledge from experience and education. If learning is a change in behavior, the accumulation of facts is something less. While I am curious about many things, I have to discipline myself to focus on the most important things with my limited time to read and study. I must mix that with my other experiences and practical work, a balance, so that I do not lock myself in the ivory tower. But, I am always open to new information and ideas in a changing world. I have time to smell a new flower and make a new friend in the course of my disciplined life. From a few of those little experiences, I have reached major turning points. Joy and discovery are as important as accomplishment in the balanced life.

Qualities: FAITH

Trust and faith denote the feeling that a person or thing will not fail in loyalty, duty, or service. Trust indicates a feeling of certainty that someone or something will not fail in any situation where protection, discretion, or fairness is essential. Faith is an intensification of trust, suggesting an even deeper conviction of fidelity and integrity, often in spite of no evidence whatever or even in the face of contrary evidence. Confidence and reliance more often suggest trust based on the proven reliability of someone or something.
––S.I. Hayakawa, Choose the Right Word: A Modern Guide to Synonyms, 1968

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
––The Bible

All believers are brothers.
––The Koran

We know the Race is not to the swift nor the Battle to the Strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?"
––John Page, July 20, 1776

If faith be provisionally defined as conviction apart from or in excess of proof, then it is upon faith that the maxims of daily life, not less than the loftiest creeds and the most far-reaching discoveries, must ultimately lean.
––Arthur Balfour

For many, faith in their God is a source of great comfort, inspiration and aid which they might not otherwise have. For me, the greater faith is in myself, almost everything depends on me. That is what keeps me going. But, that does not reduce my faith in the things I believe. Believe first, useful trust will follow, but it does not replace self-reliance. We all know God helps those who help themselves.
––John Roberts


It is wise to have faith beyond one’s self. If you depend only on those things you are sure of, you miss much of what the world can offer you. Both God and people can disappoint you if you expect too many miracles. You can never be absolutely sure they will always be there to care for and help you, but you can usually be sure that faith in them will have its reward. That alone can breed self-confidence and a positive attitude. Those filled with doubts, suspicion and cynicism are not likely to reap the benefits of faith.

We are advised to ‘trust everyone, but cut the cards.' Our caution is acceptable. It is a cruel and dishonest world, filled with people who will take advantage of us, or those who will merely act a bit too aggressively in their own self-interest. We must be on guard, while at the same time grant trust to those who deserve it. To have faith is to be optimistic, to give people the benefit of the doubt. To expect the best of people is to encourage it.

Faith and trust are based in principle. Our view of the world, our actions in it, derive from character. In a way, we construct or own world based on who we really are. That helps to protect us from, or even exert control over, the dangerous world beyond ourselves. That rock of character, built over a lifetime, stands firmly against the steady erosion of the waves of the storm we can never escape. As the poet said, 'bloody but unbowed, I am the master of my fate.'

Qualities: LOVE II

Passion makes the world go round. Love just makes it a safer place.
––Ice-T, 1994

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds.
––Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
––The Bible: 1 Corinthians

You cannot truly love a person unless you truly love and absorb the whole world, in all its diversity and faults and mystery and inexhaustible passion. Love in isolation is no more than a brief experience on an icy moon, removed from the light and warmth of the sun.
––John Roberts

Love includes, but is not to be confused with, the chemical-induced attraction that all creatures have in order to reproduce. Human love requires the support and extension derived from many other qualities on our list of admirable traits. Consider a few:

UNDERSTANDING: It is said that men need respect and women need to be cherished. Men have those fragile egos and cultural requirements of manhood to fill their classic role of dinosaur killer and alpha male decision-maker that the group requires. Women need to know they are protected and are wise enough to recognize when the male attitude grows to the recognition that the female is his greatest treasure. That intense loyalty earns the two-way partnership of genuine love. The man or woman who works to understand the needs of the other, not just superficial security, shopping, flattery and toleration, but the sincere psychic and emotional needs that lie unfulfilled in the heart of everyone. Understand what those are, particular to the individual, and you go a long way to achieving success in creating the loving and lasting relationship. And, if you understand the intensity of those needs, you may then understand why the person places a lower priority on lesser offerings that the bidder deems essential and sufficiently tempting, like money or good looks or an artfully constructed personality.

LEADERSHIP: True leaders of a group convince their followers that one of the primary responsibilities and satisfactions of leadership is a form of love for those in their care. With that emotional feeling and bond established, the followers know that the vision and goals that they are being asked to support are in their best interests. Leaders can go all day explaining the logic and rationale for action, but they will not generate enthusiastic action until they convey their sincere feeling of benevolence.

BRAIN: Love begins in the brain, building strong neuron connections that generate the electrical and chemical reactions that cause emotions. That means, over the years, reinforcing those positive memories and feelings that will support and last long beyond the mating instinct. And, just as important, it means intentionally avoiding the negative thoughts of imperfections and hurtful actions so that those neuron paths will wither away from lack of use. You can, literally, construct a new brain over a lifetime of controlled thought. Each neuron, each pathway, each emotion or rational thought, will grow stronger or weaker according to the repetition and intensity of use. Love can be built or destroyed.

Qualities: CANCER

Health talk bores me. It is too often repetitive, self-centered, complaining, negative and counter-productive, opposite to the philosophy of optimism, self-confidence and positive-attitude brain training I preach and follow. Nevertheless, here's my story, as it makes my central point.

Two months ago, a routine examination found an enlarged prostate. Despite any other symptoms, tests showed it to be cancer in an advanced state. Until recently, depending on the degree discovered, this was usually allowed to continue, the cure worse than the disease; men usually died of something else long before the slow-growing cancer became a threat. But, now that we are living to be 90 and beyond, it is better just to take it out and eliminate the problem. So we did. Two weeks ago, in a perfect eight-hour operation, it was removed; analysis revealed no other location. I'm clean. 22 hours later, to the applause of the recovery nursing staff who loved my attitude and accompanied me to the front door of the hospital, I walked to my car, drove home, walked a mile, and got a good night's sleep, enabled by my top physical condition and positive attitude. We will have to watch a few things, but I go on as before with exactly the same attitude I have had for years. The fighter pilot must believe he is immortal, he can't expect death as he dives against the guns, he must be positive in order to do his job. This spreads to everything in life, and is ineradicable.

Nine days later I returned to work as a customer service rep for one of the world's largest companies. For five months, beginning my fifth career, I had been learning and waiting for my 50 years of teaching, managing and leading to pay off. That day it did, as I was surprised and gratified to learn that I had been lifted from the hundreds on the floor of the Customer Relations Division and promoted to Training Team Leader, supervisor of trainers, developers and programs, with responsibility extending to the training of our team leaders, our international divisions and all but the top management. With respect, I will find a way to teach them something too. How marvelous that my boss and my company pay attention to my credentials and my attitude rather than my age. I will work twice as hard to insure they were right.


What though the field be lost?
All is not lost – the unconquerable will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome?
––John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667

Onwards!
––Last Word of the Film, Clint Eastwood, Any Which Way You Can, 1980

Call it faith, call it vitality, call it the will to live, call it the religion of tomorrow morning, call it the immortality of man, call it whatever you wish; it is the thing that explains why man survives all things and why there is no such thing as a pessimist.
––G.K. Chesterton

I am still a fighter pilot, although I haven’t blown a fighter for 16 years, because it is, above all, a matter of attitude. In essence, a fighter pilot is a self-confident, spirited, dedicated professional who never, never quits. Symbolically, life is an air battle: If you lose your courage and stamina and your intense will to survive and win, the enemy will get behind you and shoot you down. Apply what it takes to be a fighter pilot to everything you do in life, and success will fly with you. Spirit is the fuel of the fighter pilot. Skill is half the requirement for success. Attitude is the other half.
––John Roberts, The Fighter Pilot’s Handbook, 1992

I will never give up. I am very ambitious. My dreams and visions are frequently beyond my immediate reach, but they are not unplanned or unreachable. I have often failed, sometimes stupidly, sometimes massively. But, although I learn positive lessons from experience, failure has no bearing on my hard-core determination to succeed. I simply do not allow myself to get discouraged. I do not let other people define my attitude or success. It is not a bad idea to have a sensible exit strategy in ambitious endeavors, but that revised course is different from entertaining failure. If ever the thought of failure presents itself, I vigorously drive a stake through its black heart and return to my ambitious plan without remorse, indeed with an even greater sense of satisfaction and motivation.
––John Roberts

Determination sometimes goes beyond the strong desire to succeed. Sometimes it goes beyond the will to win, beyond your best effort. Sometimes it is a pure matter of survival, a fight to the finish. Then, the fighter, the winner, finds inside something unprecedented that concentrates ultimate strength and enables victory. It becomes a conquest of weakness as well as the enemy. It becomes a defining moment that changes you forever. Or, it doesn’t, and you quit or you fail or you die.
––John Roberts

The optimists and pessimists of the world seem to be set in their ways. They do not easily change. But, it's a one-way street, only the pessimists need to see the light. There are even those who cycle between extremes of euphoria and despair. Most of us have our usual ups and downs; but the best of us figure out how to generate optimism, and apply it to our daily lives and our long-range goals. It does not always just come naturally; it takes thinking and work to apply it to all the different parts of our lives. Almost always, that requires overcoming difficulties and depressing things. A permanent and positive state of mind is not easily achieved. Other qualities are required.

The person with a positive attitude has an extra strength and consistent enthusiasm that many others do not have. Thinking and acting positively leads to positive results. A negative attitude is self-fulfilling. Positive thinking opens new doors, creates new ideas and generates the optimism and excitement that change behavior. Attitude is a general atmosphere or approach that conditions everything, not nearly as specific as policy or objectives. It should be an equal partner with motivation, determination and persistence, rarely slipping from maximum degree. It should be the hot nuclear core of your personality.

Qualities: PERFECTION

To strive for perfection is a a good way to improve ourselves, or anything we are doing, but this may set unreasonable or impossible goals and failure to reach them may cause disappointment or failure. We must be realistic and accept that almost everything in life is imperfect. It is more important to set priorities and not to demand what cannot be given.

Men are good in one way, but bad in many.
––Aristotle

The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.
––Thomas Carlyle

The intellect of man is forced to choose
Perfection of the life, or of the work.
––W.B Yeats, The Choice, 1933

At the center of Freud’s work lies a fundamental perception: human beings are not generally unified creatures. Our psyches are not whole, but divided into parts, and those parts are usually in conflict with one another.
––Mark Edmundson, The New York Times Magazine, April 30, 2006

Aim for success not perfection... Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human
can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.
–– Dr. David Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (4 million copies)
(See www.feelinggood.com)


The perfectionist is a useful breed, but the problems often outweigh the benefits of doing things correctly to the extreme. Such people may not be much fun to work with or for. Fortunately, machines have replaced many of their functions. Doing things correctly most of the time is good practice for airline pilots and brain surgeons, but the rest of us prefer some tolerance for our faults. We spend a lifetime excusing and perfecting them.

Weaknesses are not qualities, but managing them is a big quality because very few of us do it well. A weakness can be endearing when joined by humility, sincerity and lack of pretense. As they say, just do the best you can with what you’ve got. Don’t think of your faults as negatives to be regretted, but as opportunities for improvement that everyone has. The difference is your attitude toward them. Stay positive.

None of this denies that we should all have something about which we are passionate, a profession or hobby in which we seek to do the absolute best as a matter of pride or competition or standards. That thing, whatever it is, may help to define you and that standard of performance may spread to other things you do. Much of what we learn comes from those who have set an ideal example for us to follow. Yes, we must sometimes accept GOOD as good enough, while knowing what should be BEST. Busy people simply don’t have time to do everything well; we must all perform triage on our efforts: BEST, GOOD, and ENOUGH.

200 Qualities: PREFACE

The will to win means nothing if you haven't the will to prepare.––Juma Ikangaa(1989 NYC Marathon winner)

No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
––Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho, 1983

John McCain proclaims his extravagant admiration for Teddy Roosevelt, a man of many virtues, not one of which was moral modesty. Speaker of the House Thomas Reed once said to TR, "If there is one thing for which I admire you more than anything else, Theodore, it is your original discovery of the Ten Commandments.'' St. John of Arizona can seem insufferably certain that he has cornered the market on incorruptibility. So as he begins trying to assemble a presidential majority, he seems, as anyone trying to do that will, like a run-of-the-mill sinner.
––George Will, Op-Ed Column, Washington Post, April 9, 2004

What a wonderful world: It can be changed, including ourselves!
It is never to early, and never too late.
––John Roberts


I have had a number of disparate careers and serious interests: university and graduate school instructor, salesman, manager of stockbrokers and mutual funds, corporate owner and entrepreneur, research director, asset manager, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, author, flight instructor, combat fighter pilot, military leader, world traveler and lover of extreme sports, heavy exercise, serious books, strong beer, fine wine, four happy children and my two extraordinary wives. Adventure has distracted me from responsibility. Through it all I have struggled to become a decent human being, raise and teach more of them, contribute to the world, enjoy every part of life and avoid too many regrets. I have emerged only partially successful, certainly humble and introspective, with self-respect bruised but retained, and something to say about what I have learned.

It should go without saying that writing this book does not mean I have mastered all these qualities, or that I am special because I have conquered some. Indeed, success is often the result of the self-examination, motivation and learning derived from earlier failure. I can, however, speak with authority in having tried over a lifetime to improve myself in an organized and conscientious way, and to study and collect the thoughts of others and try to apply them to my own imperfect experience and ambitious personal goals.

The book is not meant to be sententious, which is nicely defined as full of aphorisms and indulging in pompous moralizing. Rather, I have been teaching, learning, writing, managing, leading, reading, failing, succeeding and enjoying throughout a highly diverse life. I have something to say that may be useful to those who will listen. And, I have taken the liberty of quoting a great many others whose words express better than mine the road to success.

I have simply organized all that into a readable book that can help many people at all stages in their self-improvement and development. I believe that is true because I wish I had know a lot of this a lot earlier in life; it might have helped me avoid some serious errors and failures. And, I have seen so many people who could do better by following some of these simple precepts and suggestions. Some of them are not so simple, and a lifetime of serious effort results in imperfection, but improvement.

I therefore challenge the reader: Go through the list of 200 qualities and separate those in which you are perfect. I’ll bet there won’t be many, not because you are below standard, but because you are human. Then, list those you think are important and need serious effort to improve. Work out your own plan to use the book as a guide. Or, you might take one a day, give it serious consideration, study and effort; and in a year, you will probably be a much better person. It may even awaken you to the enormity of the challenge. I hope my words help you get started. And then I hope you make a serious project out of it.

Inevitably, being who I am, the approach will reflect a male attitude, the discipline of the military man and a lifetime of reading. Everyone, however, should find here enough appropriate to themselves. Most of the quotations are from people I have learned to know and admire through my reading. If you are literate, you should know them too, and I have not bothered to identify them. If not seek them out, for they will teach you much.

Yet another self-help book, written about the less-obvious meanings of words, could be a bore. Fortunately, anyone who troubles to digest a chapter or two may well find the experience beneficial, if not enlightening. I have taken the liberty of pushing my language and statements a bit over the top, striving for a little surprise and attention, and new ways of exploring ourselves. I hope it opens your eyes, causes you to think and takes you down a new road to being a better person a page at a time. Having spent 70 years preparing for this, it is hard for me to imagine that you will not be changed or grateful. There, see how easily I combine self-confidence and pride with hope and humility.
Best wishes,

John Roberts
Melbourne, Florida