As a society, we're failing to recognize something my dad knew to be true - that kindness is the greatest show of strength. Too often, we are led to believe that strength is best demonstrated by exerting dominance or superiority over others, while kindness is portrayed as the opposite - a sign of weakness.
Interpretation
Kindness is a true measure of strength, contrary to popular belief.
This quote emphasizes that society often misinterprets strength as dominance, whereas true strength is revealed through acts of kindness. Daniel Lubetzky reflects on his father's wisdom, suggesting that the ability to be kind is a more powerful trait than exerting control over others, which is frequently wrongly celebrated as strength.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of community, I might say, 'As Daniel Lubetzky stated, kindness is the greatest show of strength.'
We need to understand the other side to impact the other side. We become much more effective as humans and leaders when we engage in hearty conversations with those who are different from us, not necessarily to change our opinions, but to build the empathy muscle.
Civilized discourse demands critical thinking, self-reflexiveness, sober-headed analysis.
The ideal is to build a culture of healthy discussion, where everyone's ideas are valued. At KIND, we want everyone to be comfortable challenging my or anyone else's ideas without ever feeling or making someone else feel that the questioning is a personal attack.
You have to be very careful. If you over-commercialize a social mission, it completely loses its soul.
My dad had this incredible kindness that oozed through every part of his body. He had the ability to look at life positively in spite of what he went through. He was a Holocaust survivor. When he was 15-1/2 years old, he was liberated from the Dachau Concentration Camp by American soldiers who risked a lot to save people they had never met.
To maintain our entrepreneurial spirit, we have to create a culture in which everyone remembers that every order, big or small - and every interaction, every moment - will define what our company is today and what it will become tomorrow.
We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to let almost everything else go, we will probably be able to retain the thing necessary for us-whatever it may be. If we are too eager to have everything, we will almost certainly miss even the one thing we need
There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse.
Some wounds run too deep for the healing.
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
No one is so miserable as the poor person who maintains the appearance of wealth.
Everything that frees our spirit without giving us control of ourselves is ruinous.
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