“The talent for self-justification is surely the finest flower of human evolution, the greatest achievement of the human brain. When it comes to justifying actions, every human being acquires the intelligence of an Einstein, the imagination of a Shakespeare, and the subtlety of a Jesuit.”
― Michael Foley
“However, the serious seeker of detachment will have to embrace the Holy Trinity of Ss - Solitude, Stillness and Silence - and reject the new religion of Commotionism, which believes that the meaning of life is constant company, movement and noise.”
― Michael Foley
“Being constantly the hub of a network of potential interruptions provides the excitement and importance of crisis management. As well as the false sense of efficiency in multitasking, there is the false sense of urgency in multi-interrupt processing.”
― Michael Foley
“After a lifetime of engaging in long, passionate discussions I have come to the conclusion that it is a waste of time trying to convince anyone of anything.”
― Michael Foley
“Snobbery management is as difficult and necessary as anger management.”
― Michael Foley
“Employees hate meetings because they reveal that self-promotion, sycophancy, dissimulation and constantly talking nonsense in a loud confident voice are more impressive than merely being good at the job - and it is depressing to lack these skills but even more depressing to discover one's self using them.”
― Michael Foley
“94 per cent of us think we do above-average work.”
― Michael Foley
“Marxists interpreted everything in terms of class; Freudians in terms of childhood; and feminists in terms of gender.”
― Michael Foley
“Stupidity, selfishness and good health are the three prerequisites of happiness, though if stupidity is lacking the others are useless.”
― Michael Foley
“As royalty, celebrities and the rich have always known, a smile is the most subtle and satisfying way of shitting on the inferior.”
― Michael Foley
“it is only our own impatient, greedy age that demands to be told how to live in a set of short bullet points”
― Michael Foley
“Desire for power is a kind of greed indulged by the unfulfilled”
― Michael Foley