Worth

Life is short, it is going by
Fears and prejudices will make it a lie
Hard work and loneliness may often hurt
But keep kicking your feet in the dirt

Without an aim life is a broken star
Without an aim you will not go far
Life is not a desert, it is an ocean
So get rid of every silly notion
And feel the plenty that you get
For the worst may not have come yet

Wipe your tears and your sweat
With every sunrise and sunset
To work hard and to grow
To move forward and to know
Is the best gift that one can get
Is the blessing that I covet

Past is a shadow and a dream
And as glorious as it may seem
Work for now with the goal in sight
Let valor be your guiding light
Use your time on this earth
Life is short, make it worth

Reasoning and Survival

I was just thinking about what a system (a nation, a company, an organization) needs (or does not need) to be able to do to survive over the long run.

One thing that any system that expects to survive over a long period of time cannot afford is complacency. I am not talking about any idealistic thought that claims, "Excellence is a never ending journey." No misty-eyed idealism please. This is about one ground fact that is undeniable: change. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that things will change. Sooner or later, for worse or the best. If anything, information technology has just speeded up this change. Only those who keep their ears to the ground and make decisions based on facts will survive in the long run. In fact, only by doing so can a company grow.

Complacency, generally, is the child of success. Success can make a company (or a person) believe in its infallibility and hence become haughty or careless. It is just one step short of hubris and total destruction. In Hemmingway's words. you can be either lucky or exact. Luck you cannot control, but your due diligence you can. Complacency often leads to obstinacy. Following a fixed path blindly can only lead to trouble. Let blind faith be for destructive fanatics who are close to reason. In real time complacency translates to lazy thinking, lazy action and refusal to see the facts. So question everything from time to time. If there is something that somebody says and you do not like it, especially hear that. If something looks bad, it probably is. Do not accept or reject anything at face value, except assertion of a person who refuses to reason.