Visions of glory, spare my aching sight! Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
Thomas GrayRead
The applause of list'ning senates to command, The threats of pain and ruin to despise, To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, And read their history in a nation's eyes.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the qualities of a great leader who values the admiration of people, fears no threat, and seeks to benefit the nation.
In this quote, Thomas Gray expresses the ideal traits of a leader who is both respected and unyielding. The leader commands the attention and admiration of the people, remains undeterred by threats, and strives to create prosperity for the nation, all while being mindful of the legacy they leave behind in the collective memory of their citizens.
In practice
During a motivational speech to inspire young leaders in the community.
Visions of glory, spare my aching sight! Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
Here rests his head upon the lap of earth, A youth to fortune and to fame unknown: Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth, And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust, or flattery soothe the dull, cold ear of death?
Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
Ah, happy hills! ah, pleasing shade! Ah, fields beloved in vain! Where once my careless childhood stray'd, A stranger yet to pain! I feel the gales that from ye blow A momentary bliss bestow.
Any fool may write a most valuable book by chance, if he will only tell us what he heard and saw with veracity.
There is only one form of political strategy in which I have any confidence, and that is to try to do the right thing and sometimes be able to succeed.
I want to stand up for people who look like me and feel like they don't have a voice. And I'm lucky enough that some people in the world care about what I have to say. So I try to make sure that I say it and say in a correct way, or in a way that people understand.
Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.
Cats do what cats do, ducks do what ducks do, and eagles do what eagles, do. If you take a duck and ask it to do an eagles' job, shame on you. As a leader, your job is to help your ducks to become better ducks and your eagles better eagles - to put individuals in the right places and help them reach their potential.
Observing many companies in action, I am unable to point to a single instance in which stunning results were gotten without the active and personal leadership of the upper managers.
I don't want to be a race-transcending leader. I want to be deeply understood as a man, as African- American, as a Christian, all that I am.
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