I’ve learned

  • 20% of the people do 80% of the work!
  • All nation-states look homogeneous only from the outside. On the inside, they are divided into multiple groups, separated by languages, religions, races, customs, tribal feud, and who knows what else.
  • Most neighbors have something nasty to say about each other.
  • You can taste the best steak in Argentina, the best vareniki – in Ukraine, the best spicy food – in Thailand, and the best of everything else – in Italy.
  • It is possible to get admission to any sporting event in the world, but the best view will be in front of your own large screen TV.
  • You can’t force people to do anything that they don’t want to do. And in the unlikely event that you succeed – the people will find a way to do a lousy job.
  • The sightseeing is a lot more interesting before a meal than after.
  • A free meal does wonders for establishing goodwill among people.
  • Most people prefer to forward someone else’s e-mails than writing their own.
  • The financial freedom does not guarantee freedom from illnesses and accidents.
  • The Stone Age didn’t end because the humans ran out of stones. Similarly, the Oil Age should end well before humans will run out of oil.
  • “Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell”. Elizabeth Warren
  • The key of success is to live in harmony; to have a feeling that life is generous; to enjoy the people around you and the little pleasures of every day: meals, sleep, projects, relationships.
  • “When a poor man eats a chicken, it means that one of them is sick.” Fiddler on the Roof
  • “It is better to be interested than interesting”. Jane Fonda.
  • “Vision without the appropriate resources is a hallucination” The Pentagon
  • Tragedy of Asia – even when there was knowledge, there was no learning.
  • The world is moving from anti-Americanism to post-Americanism, from hate to indifference.
  • In the past, countries with small population were able to control the world. Now the giants are awakening and will want to play the deserved role.
  • The US has globalized the world, but along the way had forgotten to globalize itself.
  • Innovator is someone who knows 99% of what everyone else knows and invents 1% of what nobody knows.
  • A series of great opportunities disguised as insurmountable challenges.
  • The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
  • “Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.” Mark Twain
  • “When a dog barks at the moon, then it is religion; but when he barks at strangers, it is patriotism!” David Starr Jordan
  • American values and interests do not always coincide. Perhaps they rarely coincide.
  • “You are only as good as the people surrounding you” Napoleon Hill.
  • “The successful are those who had been given opportunities and who have had the strength and presence of mind to cease them.” Malcolm Gladwell “Outliers”

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