In the new year, 'think better to do better'

In four weeks, the New Year will be upon us. Usually, around this time of the year, I dust off reading material from my library shelf, looking for something that will energize me for the new year ahead.

A Christmas present from my wife, given several years ago as I settled into my retirement from teaching, "Think Better," by Tim Hurson, a specialist of a firm that provides training, facilitation and consultation in productive thinking and innovation, is, again, what I read: "Your future will depend less on what you know and more on what you think."

A lifelong student, I try to learn something new every day. Since my retirement, each day seems extra special and precious -- for which I give much thanks. I smile as I read what Winston Churchill, who led Britain to victory against the Axis powers in World War II, said: "It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations."

My regular readers know I am a real quotations buff. Some may see them as platitudes, but I find a kernel of truth in those I share in this column. As each presents a way of looking at the world, I learn from them. As 19th century American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Our best thoughts come from others."