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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(NUI) - As a sophomore at Harvard University, Kent Keith created "The Paradoxical Commandments" to challenge student leaders to do what they felt was right without looking for rewards from others.
Unbeknownst to him, during the next 25 years, these guiding principles took on a life of their own, traveling around the world and digging a niche in popular culture. They have appeared in countless speeches, advice columns, institutions and books and on more than 1,000 Web sites.
The day Keith truly realized how far these principles have traveled came in 1997 at a Rotary Club meeting where a fellow member announced he was going to read a poem by Mother Teresa. To his surprise, Keith recognized the poem as eight of his own list of commandments.
Later, Keith learned that this poem, called "Anyway," hung in a children's home in Calcutta, India, where Mother Teresa worked.
After making that discovery, Keith reclaimed the commandments and formally published them in his best-selling book "Anyway." Now, in its inspirational companion "Do It Anyway," Keith further explains his popular list of ironic truths and includes stories of how others succeeded by following them.
The commandments state:
* People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered. Love them anyway.
* If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
* If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
* The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
* Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
* The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
* People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
* What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
* People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
* Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
"Do It Anyway" shows readers how to find happiness by doing what's right in the face of adversity; get past excuses to find personal meaning; and make a difference in the world around them. It includes questions and checklists to help readers apply the principles in their own lives.
"We know what is most meaningful to us - family, friends, giving and receiving love. We know how to live," Keith said. "We just need the courage to live that way. If we remind ourselves and encourage each other, we can do it anyway."
For more information about Kent Keith and his books, visit www.paradoxicalcommandments .com.
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