Ralph Waldo Emerson Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success.

When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Enthusiasm, the final key to your future, may be the most important key of all. Without enthusiasm, the other five keys become virtually powerless. Enthusiasm is the energy, the fuel, the blazing fire that brings about a successful result. A famous writer once said that nothing great ever happened without enthusiasm. If you want to accomplish great things; if you want to realize great goals; if you want to live a great life, you absolutely must possess enthusiasm for everything you do. Why is enthusiasm so important to success? The reason is that the difference between success and failure is often minute. Two people with virtually the same amount of skill and talent can differ vastly in the amount of success they achieve. This difference cant be attributed to having more ability than the other person. In fact, in many cases, the more successful person actually has less ability. The difference is in enthusiasm. This difference between success and failure is what we call the Slight Edge. The Slight Edge means that you dont have to be 10 times or 20 times or 100 times better than the next person. You must simply be slightly better to achieve great success. By Randy Slechta, President of Leadership Management International, Inc. a global leadership and organizational development I Enthusiasm company. Copyright Leadership ManagementP International, Inc. P 4567 Lake Shore Drive, Waco, TX 76710 USA www.lmi-inc.com info@lmi-inc.com Humility gladly serves the other virtues, too. It dedicates itself to the lowliest of tasks: to the removal of all the obstacles to grace and virtue. But God looks on the lowliness of His servants, and in the end, humility will bear one of the greatest crowns in glory! The goodness or greatness of a virtue is measured with respect to the final goal. Those virtues are most noble, which most directly unite us to God, the Supreme Good, and which best help us to glorify Him. These are charity, hope, faith and religion. <Opus Sanctorum Angelorum 13800 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48205 Tel. (313) 527-1739 Fax: (313) 527-1729 Email: contact@opusangelorum.org Rector: Father Ludwig M. Oppl, ORC The texts of the Circular Letters are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written permission. 2013 Order of the Holy Cross> The quote from Emerson is a classic but, even though it is true, we dont put enough effort into encouraging enthusiasm. So, why do I say that enthusiasm is the key to success? There are a two reasons for this. The first is happiness, enthusiastic people are happy. <September 17th, 2012 by Anders Janmyr> As we have discussed in the past, Humility is the tough one. In fact the title of this open letter: "Humility is the Solid Foundation of all Virtues" is a quote by Confucius that reminds me of the difficulty that a lack of humility has caused me in my life. Although a lack of humility often takes many forms, it has always manifested within me a degree of arrogance and selfimportance which proscribed a sober perspective of self worth and actually masked qualities such as kindness, understanding and loyalty which I was wanting to depict. Do not mistake humility (described by Aristotle as a meta-virtue) with timidity, self-abasement or self-denigration. It is a degree of self confidence that discounts the need to preach your own resume, allowing others to discover your talents through the actions you exhibit in a humble but aggressive quest of accomplishment.

Humility is the process of controlling your own ego and exalting the efforts and achievements of others. It is rejecting personal adulation and praising the achievements of the team or corporation, all the while paying witness to everyday people who have the ability "to take out the wash" without drawing attention to themselves. It is listening with empathy and not considering what to say next. It is evaluating the merit of criticism and providing a constructive response. It is an understanding that humility is a source of strength and not submissiveness. Learn to recognize times where swallowing your pride will prevent you from losing grace in no-win situations. Accept the fact that you can not always save people from themselves and the ability to recognize that tipping point will be critical. At some point, you must ask whether the correction of others is relative to your needs. Practice in the mirror saying these three magic words: "You are right." Seek the input of honest brokers when evaluating leadership and personal character traits, share credit for success with others and reinforce the philosophy for your constituents. Humility improves relationships, both horizontally and vertically and removes anxiety. Humility will allow you to stand in the presence of something larger then yourself; something that is infinite, transcendent and pervades all things. The right choice is being neither a bully nor a wimp, while tempering righteous superiority with sensible pragmatism that teaches you not to believe your own bullshit. <Stanley McWilliams, Yahoo Contributor Network Feb 7, 2008 > 1. Humility is the foundation of all the virtues; therefore, in a soul where it does not exist there can be no true virtue, but the mere appearance only. In like manner, it is the most proper disposition for all celestial gifts. And, finally, it is so necessary to perfection, that of all the ways to reach it, the first is humility; the second, humility; the third, humility. And if the question were repeated a hundred times, I should always give the same answer.----St. Augustine St. Vincent de Paul perceived that all his advancement and almost all the graces he had received were due to this virtue; and for this reason he inculcated it so much and so greatly desired to introduce it into his congregation. St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who knew this truth well, took no greater pains in acquiring any other virtue. For this purpose he recited every day a special prayer to the Angels that they would aid him to walk in this royal road, which they themselves had first trodden, that he might finally succeed in gaining the position of one of those stars that fell from Heaven through pride. A certain man named Pascasius said that for twenty years he had never asked anything of God except humility, and yet that he had but little of it. However, when no one was able to expel a devil from a possessed person, Pascasius had scarcely entered the church before the devil cried out, "This man I fear," and immediately departed. Fra Maffeo, a companion of St. Francis, once heard, in a conference on humility, that a great servant of God was very remarkable for this virtue, and that on account of it God loaded him with spiritual gifts. He was thus inspired with so great a love for it, that he made a vow never to rest until he should perceive that he had acquired it. He remained, then, shut up in his cell, asking of God true humility, with tears, fasting, mourning, and many prayers. One day he went out in the woods, and while he was sighing and asking this grace from God, with ejaculatory prayers, he heard the Lord saying to him, "Fra Maffeo, what would you give for humility?" He answered, "I would give my eyes!" "And I," replied the Lord, "desire that you should have your eyes, and the grace you seek." Suddenly there entered his heart a great joy, and at the same time he had the lowest possible opinion of himself, so that he considered himself the least of all men. <catholic virtues,imprimatur,1891 A Year with the Saints TAN BOOKS and PUBLISHERS>