Every quarter I like to share quotes that I have encountered in my reading and research that have been meaningful to me. I call them “Nuggets of Wisdom.”

* * * * *

“Humility is the least natural and most important of all virtues.”

—SKIP HEITZIG

“One of the best gifts in life is to be surrounded by wise people willing to tell you what you do not want to hear.”

—ROGER BLACKWELL

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I’ve lost almost 300 games, 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

—MICHAEL JORDAN

“Wealth and virtue are always in conflict.”

—PLATO’S REPUBLIC

“The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN

“There is a hunger in us for more than the money standard—for assurance that our lives have not been merely successful, but valuable—that we have accomplished something grander than just another well-heeled, loudly publicized journey from the diaper to the shroud. In short, that our lives have been consequential.”

—RUSSELL BAKER

“Forgiveness does not excuse their behavior. Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.”

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN

“The character and career of a young person depends on how he or she spends spare time.”

—OSWALD SANDERS

“In Scripture you have principles and commandments. Principles are not absolutes – but it is wise to follow them. Commandments are absolute—they are non-negotiable.”

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN

“You can’t talk your way out of a problem you behaved yourself into.”

—STEPHEN COVEY

“The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do . . . to find the idea for which I can live and die.”

—SØREN KIERKEGAARD 

“Getting married is agreeing to grow together, into each other, to virtually commingle our souls so that we share a unique and rare bond.”

—GARY THOMAS

“For a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

—WINSTON CHURCHILL

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.