The man who has no purpose, but has to act, acts to destroy others. That is not the same thing as a productive or creative purpose.

And I say to you today that we need more folks in this country who are a good crazy….You can't tell what will happen when you get folks with some good crazy…going to the polls to vote!

Let's be honest. Sometimes art is dangerous, though. And that's why governments sometimes get nervous about art. But one of the things I truly believe is if you try to suppress the arts, then I think you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of the people.

Once you have that sense of mission, you have the essence of your own proactivity. You have the vision and the values which direct your life. You have the basic direction from which you set your long- and short-term goals. You have the power of a written constitution based on correct principles, against which every decision concerning the most effective use of your time, your talents, and your energies can be effectively measured.

Begin with the end in mind" is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation, to all things.

Consider: What difference would a clear vision of my principles, values, and ultimate objectives make in the way I spend my time?

Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual has phrased it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic." No

BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). When you blend these two together - Preserve the Core AND Stimulate Progress - you get a magical dialectic that keeps a company or organisation vibrant over time

The power of the personal mission statement lies in your vision and in a commitment to that vision, that purpose, and those principle-centered values. They will control your decisions, determine your outlook, and provide the direction for your future.

"Begin with the end in mind" is to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined.

The single most significant factor, he realized, was a sense of future vision—the impelling conviction of those who were to survive that they had a mission to perform, some important work left to do.1 Survivors of POW camps in Vietnam and elsewhere have reported similar experiences: a compelling, future-oriented vision is the primary force that kept many of them alive.

If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster. We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind.