What do Americans look for in a car? I've heard many answers when I've asked this question. The answers include excellent safety ratings, great gas mileage, handling, and cornering ability, among others. I don't believe any of these. That's because the first principle of the Culture Code is that the only effective way to understand what people truly mean is to ignore what they say. This is not to suggest that people intentionally lie or misrepresent themselves. What it means is that, when asked direct questions about their interests and preferences, people tend to give answers they believe the questioner wants to hear. Again, this is not because they intend to mislead. It is because people respond to these questions with their cortexes, the parts of their brains that control intelligence rather than emotion or instinct. They ponder a question, they process a question, and when they deliver an answer, it is the product of deliberation. They believe they are telling the truth. A lie detector would confirm this. In most cases, however, they aren't saying what they mean. -- The culture code.

Do not accept anything because it comes from the mouth of a respected person. -- Buddha

The Work Begins Anew, The Hope Rises Again, And The Dream Lives On. -- Ted Kennedy

Simple things should be simple. Complex things should be possible. -- Alan Kay

Revolutions come from standing on the shoulders of giants and facing in a better direction. -- Alan Kay

When you’ve got the code all ripped apart, it’s like a car that’s all disassembled. You’ve got all the parts tying all over your garage and you have to replace the broken part or the car will never run. It’s not fun until the code gets back to the baseline again. -- Gary Kildall (inventor of CP/M, one of the first OS for the micro).

It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings. –Ann Landers

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. ~David Brinkley

If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money. –Abigail Van Buren

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou