Mike's MaximsIn my experience the key to success is work.
That single fact has had more impact on my thoughts
about living than anything else. What follows are some
aphorisms that will give you an idea about how my mind works.The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.Effort is the key to success. I don't praise potential, I praise effort.
__________________________________Don't expect a Macy's return from WalMart effort
__________________________________People who can't count probably won't.
__________________________________Gambling in general, and lotteries in particular, are taxes on the innumerate.
__________________________________The language of money is mathematics.
__________________________________Mathematics: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
__________________________________Don't become cynical because of negative press.
There are a thousand times as many good things
happening in schools as there are bad things, but
there is no money to be made reporting them.
_________________________________Luck happens when opportunity and preparation are coincident -
the harder you work the luckier you get.
_________________________________Understanding is always preceded by ignorance, frustration, and effort.
_________________________________I teach for the outcome not the income.
_________________________________There are a hundred times as many lessons that can be learned from failure than can
be learned from success.
_________________________________Confidence comes to those who understand that opportunities can have negative as well as positive outcomes and that neither are permanent.
________________________________Teenagers will cause people to question heredity more often than embrace it.
________________________________Some people are what they do, I believe that I am in the group of people who are fortunate enough to do what they are. (We can't not do what we do).
________________________________Some people say that we are workaholics; the
reality is, we are afflicted with psychotic dedication
________________________________Prodigy is not synonymous with progeny.
________________________________Redundancy is the mother of convention. My students drill for skill, we don't drill and kill.
________________________________Because you are guaranteed the right to pursue happiness does in no way mean that you are
guaranteed happiness. You will have to find your own happiness on your own.
If you are among the luckiest people you will be able to live your dream as I have been
living mine all of my life.
________________________________Even a thousand opportunities don't guarantee a single success, fortunately
there is much to be learned from failure.
________________________________Learning requires only an interested, inquisitive, and willing student.
________________________________SMART IS NOT SOMETHING YOU JUST ARE,
BUT IT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN GET.
HOW DO YOU GET SMART? YOU WORK!
WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO BE SMART?
BECAUSE;YOU CAN PRETEND YOU ARE HAPPY
OR YOU CAN PRETEND YOU ARE SAD,
YOU CAN PRETEND YOU ARE GOOD
OR YOU CAN PRETEND YOU ARE BAD,
YOU CAN PRETEND YOU'RE A DEVIL
OR PRETEND YOU'RE A SAINT,
BUT SMART IS LIKE TALL
EITHER YOU IS OR YOU AIN'T!
____________________________________________We are all born with two ends, one for sitting, and one for thinking; heads you
win, tails you lose.
____________________________________________All things come to him who works.
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____________________________________________Besides attendance, the best predictor of success in school is effort.
________________________________Your attitude determines your altitude.
______________________________________If you are a teacher I don't have to explain teaching to you
but if you are not a teacher I can't explain it to you.
____________________________________________The roadblocks inherent on life’s highway are often seen as insurmountable by the timid, but
are perceived as only minor obstacles to be navigated or totally disregarded by the audacious.
_____________________________________Happiness, success, and achievement are what we wish for our children, but they are only fully
appreciated when they are gained through the experiences of conflict, mistakes, disappointments,
failures, loneliness, and losing.
_____________________________________According to AlgebraGuy -
When a student continually achieves at a level that is below his level of ability, that level of
achievement soon becomes his ability level.
______________________________________Never forget that you are absolutely unique - just like everybody else.
______________________________________Thank God life is not fair. If it were fair then everyone would be getting exactly what he
deserves and, I, for one, want the opportunity to get more than I deserve.
______________________________________After education more that anything else it is audacity that will help a person become successful.
______________________________________Mathematics will let you find the difference, education will allow you to make a difference, but
it takes character and integrity to occasionally help you be the difference.
______________________________________It's not about the kite and it's not all about you. It's about the wind. Without the wind a
kite is nothing more than a decoration for the wall. Without the wind beneath your wings you
could never have attained the altitude that you currently enjoy. The wind raising you up is
your family and all of your other supporters including your teachers.
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The biggest responsibility you have in this life is to yourself. When you are responsible to
yourself you live up to your highest expectations and you don't buy into all of the hype of the
pop-culture lie that you have the right to do anything that feels good.
______________________________________Live every day as if it were your last because one day you will be correct and you don't know
which one it will be.
______________________________________Live every day as if you were dying because you are - everybody is.
______________________________________High-level success requires commitment as well as participation.
The difference between involvement and participation can best be understood with this analogy:
In a bacon and egg breakfast the chicken was involved, but the pig was totally committed.
______________________________________Ethics, morality, and integrity are contagious, but so are dishonesty, immorality, and deceit. Make sure you are exposing yourself to the people who will help you become the kind of person you want to be.
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"I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think". Socrates
I cannot teach anybody anything that they don't want to learn, but I can teach anything to anybody who wants to learn. And, you can lead a kid no knowledge but you can't make him think. AlgebraGuy
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