Stand tall and offer higher ground

On leadership, power and putting others down.

* Keep away from people who try to belittle [you]. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -- Mark Twain

That's some pretty sound advice in my book. But, it seems that of late the many small have outnumbered the great.

* Blame is safer than praise. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Again, it's much easier to put someone down than to stand tall by offering some higher ground.

* Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him. -- Albert Einstein

Maybe it's best if we think before we speak?

* He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help. -- Abraham Lincoln

* One mustn't criticize other people on grounds where he can't stand perpendicular himself. -- Mark Twain

And for the powerful ...

* He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. -- Lao Tzu

And ...

* He is most powerful who has power over himself. -- Seneca

Not to forget ...

* Their insatiable lust for power is only equaled by their incurable impotence in exercising it. -- Winston Churchill

And of course ...

* Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. -- Margaret Thatcher

And lastly for the leaders ...

* A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Lao Tzu

* Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

* It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. -- Nelson Mandela

Timberly is a staff writer at the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by e-mail at tferree@gcdailyworld.com or by phone at 1-800-947-4487 or (812) 847-4487.