Least Influential List of 2010

I am cracking up over this list from Time.com
Here are a few of the entries

Dmitri Medvedev President of Russia
Yeah, sure he is.

Giorgio Napolitano President of Italy
He makes decisions, and Silvio Berlusconi ignores them. It's pretty funny.

Toll Brothers Homebuilders
That was a lot of McMansions you built. You'll totally get a segment on I Love the 2000s.

Greece
European country Hairy-chested, aggressive with women, charmingly backward — you briefly charmed us with that big, fat wedding. Then you spent so much more money than you made, you forced the E.U. to bail you out. It will be a long time before we watch a movie about you again.

Dick Fuld
The last CEO of Lehman Brothers ever That has to be hard to explain on a résumé.

Happy Friday

Horse Sense From Winston Churchill

In the spirit of the Kentucky Derby this weekend
a little horse sense from Winston Churchill

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man"

"It is not enough for a man to know how to ride, he must know how to fall"

Neiman Marcus - Is This Any Way To Market?

I have to say that in terms of marketing Neiman Marcus does just about everything right.
They have the stores, they have the goods and they have the sales staff.

Of course being too busy to go into the store, try on the goods and deal with the sales staff
I ordered this evening gown off of the Neiman Marcus website for the VRG gala.

On the website they had only one left in a size 4 and I snapped it up. I'd never bought an eveing gown online before but since I've worn Carmen Marc Valvo dresses in the past, I assumed it would fit. As it turns out the gown was cut a little large and I decided to return it.

Instead of sticking it back in the box and shipping it I decided to quickly pop into Neimans and return it in person and maybe see if there were any other dresses that I absolutely could not live without.

So there I was in the dress department waiting for someone to help me for more than 15 minutes. OK, so what's a little wait. I perused the racks and found a few fancy little cocktail dresses that had my name all over them...and god knows...I have the opportunity to wear fancy little cocktail dresses so often (not) but I am partial to them.

When a saleslady was finally available to help me she told me that because I had purchased the dress online I had to go to the top floor and return the dress to customer service. I was like really?

At any rate I trudged up the escalator with my long gown and returned it and then left the store to go back to my office.

So what's the issue?
If I had been able to return it in the fancy schmancy dress department, chances are that the sales lady would have been able to talk me into buying at least one other dress, and probably three, because there was an awesome sale and as I said before, I wear fancy little cocktail dresses so often, you know because my lifestyle calls for it...(not)
and because I just can't resist them at a good price.

Instead, she didn't didn't get the opportunity to up-sell me and Neiman's missed my business.

I ask you, is this any way to market?

Fancy Enough For You?

Well, since the Hermes cuff was such a hit
I thought that I would take it up a notch with this 20.36 Fancy Yellow diamond ring GIA VVS2 priced very well
Any takers?

Dancing With The Stars Does Beladora...Again!

Carrie Ann rocking the big Beladora rocks again.

Apparently Always Golden - Goldman Sachs

There's lots of good Goldman Sachs stuff on the net right now including Blankfein's statement and Senator Levin's questions. The Daily Beast has a nice aggregation of all things Goldman.
But I would like to share this eternal email from a young Goldman Sachs employee that made it's way to the net.
Goldman's 'Fabulous' Fab's Conflicted Love Letters

Fabrice Tourre and his girlfriend talked like a couple very much in love.
They emailed back and forth about how they wanted to curl up in each other's arms and how they looked forward to tender moments together. Tourre, a Goldman Sachs bond trader, also wrote in the emails of the impending collapse of the subprime mortgage market and how he was masterminding ways at Goldman to make money from it.
Little did they know that three years later these very personal emails written through Tourre's Goldman Sachs e-mail account would become part of one of the biggest investigations into the subsequent financial crisis.

"Just made it to the country of your favorite clients!!! I'm managed (sic) to sell a few abacus bonds to widow and orphans that I ran into at the airport, apparently these Belgians adore synthetic abs cdo2," Tourre wrote in June 2007.

Earlier in 2007, in an e-mail to a friend, Tourre shares his fears that the product he helped create is crumbling -- and he has a sense of humor about it.

"It's bizarre I have the sensation of coming each day to work and re-living the same agony - a little like a bad dream that repeats itself," Tourre writes. "In sum, I'm trading a product which a month ago was worth $100 and which today is only worth $93 and which on average is losing 25 cents a day ...That doesn't seem like a lot but when you take into account that we buy and sell these things that have nominal amounts that are worth billions, well it adds up to a lot of money."

The collection of e-mails also show that Tourre was not the only person at Goldman with confidence the subprime market was doomed.

Daniel Sparks, a former head of the mortgages department at Goldman, is also expected to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
"According to Sparks, that business is totally dead, and the poor little subprime borrowers will not last so long!!!" Tourre wrote in a March 7, 2007, email to his girlfriend.

Goldman is going to coast out of this situation quickly and, as usual, everyone at the top is going to get huge bonu$e$....but it amuses me the laxity with which the banker boys trashed their own deals in their business email. In a world where all electronic communication is monitorable, you would have thought that they would have been a little more careful...oh, but I forgot...why would they bother with a corporate culture of hubris.

But what I like best so far of the Goldman saga is John Hinderaker's Demonizing Goldman Sachs, an analysis of the testimony where the bankers outshone the Senators on every level, leading him to make this conclusion

I'm not a particular fan of either Goldman Sachs or Congress, but today's hearing confirms that, given a choice, I'd rather have Goldman Sachs regulating Congress than Congress regulating Goldman Sachs. Goldman's employees are much smarter, considerably more honest, and far more likely to have my interests at heart.

Oh Snap!

Hermes for Une Femme

I do like to know that our jewelry is going to a good home were it will be appropriately worn and appreciated.
Happily, the Hermes Collier de Chien bracelet (aka the bondage bracelet) has gone to a good home with our blogger friend Deja Pseu at Une Femme D'un Certain Age.
Hopefully she will post a photo of it on her wrist!

How About A Little Hermes

OK...so maybe it's not fine jewelry...but we think it's fine anyway.

The Vintage Hermes Collier de Chien cuff bracelet for $295

from Beladora2.com

The Hermes price new is $1200

Just add your own thigh high black boots and think of it as dominatrix at a discount!

Around Town - The Stigmatized at the LA Opera

Overall opera is a difficult art to appreciate. While some opera's are easily watched and enjoyed, such as Butterfly and Turandot, more often than not they are challenging, complicated, hours long and require simultaneous reading while watching the events on stage if you aren't familiar with the story or fluent in multiple languages. James Conlon's production of Franz Schreker's 'The Stigmatized' was one of these difficult operas but definitely worth seeing.

The story is set in fin-de-siecle Genoa with a plot that is marked by the Freudian undertones of the outside appearances and the internal decadence of the characters. There is ugliness and beauty and lust in the story, and of course a completely naked girl in a simulated rape scene on stage....because this is the LA Opera, and there are always naked girls and sex on the LA Opera stage.
The score is rich and romantic and sounds more like a film score than an opera. There are no snappy arias that you can hum to yourself later. While the Viennese Schreker is compared mostly to Strauss, I felt that his music was more akin to that of Korngold whose work was used both in opera and in film. Certainly Korngold must have been influenced by Schreker.

The singing by German soprano Anja Kampe, as the artist Carlotta, was extraordinary. She blew everyone away, including the lead tenor Robert Brubaker, as the crippled aristocrat. The set design was kept purposely simple in order to act as a background for a rich lighting design with elaborate projections. It was very beautiful production visually.

Here's the description from the LA Opera.
World-renowned conductor James Conlon continues the critically lauded, groundbreaking Recovered Voices series with the first-ever production in the Western hemisphere of any opera of Franz Schreker. The New Yorker commented that the work "vacillates between melodies of Mediterranean grace and textures of otherworldly complexity...One scene melts into another with cinematic ease."


Sadly, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center wasn't full and the average age of the audience was about 65. For a new generation raised on film, video games, twitter and instant gratification, I'm afraid that opera will be a lost art.

France as Viewed by the French

I tried to embed this slide show but it took to long to load
so instead
go here and enjoy

h/t Just Another American In Paris

How To Wear Vintage Estate Jewelry - The Gold Statement Necklace

Well, once I get on a topic I just keep going on and on....like how to wear Beladora vintage estate jewelry. I'm making this my BHB meme...at least until the ADD hits in and I go off on some other tangent.
Of course I love to wear Georgian and Art Deco diamonds...who doesn't
But more often I go for big bold statement pieces from the 1960's and 1970's.
Such as this gold and diamond necklace with pendant that was worn this week by Faith Hill

Here I am wearing the exact same necklace. It can be worn long as on Faith Hill or short, as I am wearing it here in this photo. I used the second half of the necklace to wrap double around my wrist as a bracelet. Might I add that the necklace also fits perfectly as a belt.

Here's he detail from Beladora.com

Gold and Diamond Necklace with Pendant in 18K $13,550

Why so expensive you ask? Simply because there is a lot of gold weight in this piece.

Oh...and did you notice that fox throw that I am leaning against in the photo?

It is the same one from this famous va-va-voom photo of Kate Winslet from Vanity Fair.

Naturally, like the necklace the silver fox made by Frette is for sale...with a matching pillow.

Any offers?

Georgian London Through The Art of Paul Sanby

If, like me, you have an interest in 18th and 19th Century history and art, check out the podcast on the Georgian London blog about 18th Century water colorist Paul Sanby at the Royal Academy

Around Town - The Los Angeles Antiques Show

Last night I was out and about with my fabulous client Sherry. Sherry is a major Beverly Hills party girl with a connoisseur's eye for fine estate jewelry. Basically she took me along as her chaperon, to keep her from getting into trouble with the all the bling and the boys at the opening night party at the Los Angeles Antiques Show.

The event was a super chic benefit to raise money for P.S. Arts which supports arts programs in the public school system.

P.S. Arts is supported primarily by the entertainment industry so no matter how impressive the antiques were, the people at the party were waaaay more gorgeous.

There was a nice celebrity turnout with Courtney Cox, Amber Valleta, Dita von Teese, Alexandra von Furstenberg, Marcia Cross, Lilly Collins and lots more.

Wire image has some photos.

(I was introduced to Lilly Collins last night by her mother Jill who I know through VRG and BHWC and I thought to myself what a lovely young girl. I had no idea that she played the role of the daughter in 'The Blind Side". If you haven't seen "The Blind Side" netflix it.)

Beladora Vintage Jewelry - How To Wear It

I realize that many fashion forward women think that antique estate jewelry is too old fashioned and frumpy for our contemporary lifestyle. I beg to differ. Not only is it easy to wear estate jewelry with current clothing styles, it adds visual interest to mix up the old with the new, especially if you mix up jewelry from different decorative periods. Today I'm wearing Georgian, Edwardian, Art Deco and Contemporary diamond jewelry...and it works.

Antique Georgian Diamond Brooch and Antique Edwardian Diamond Earrings

Here's the detail on the brooch

Vintage Harry Winston Diamond and Sapphire Watch and Art Deco Diamond Ring
also added to the mix is an Art Deco Diamond Bracelet

OK, it won't always be the big diamond stuff...I have a couple of appointments today that call for it, but I will wear something vintage every day....whether big bold Retro brooches and bracelets, funky 1970's rings or a Van Cleef and Arpels Alhambra pendant that is less than 5 years old.

Whatever your style, vintage jewelry will work for you too.

SJP - Obviously Needs More Time At The Gym

Now if SJP just added an additional two hours a day to her daily two hour gym routine

she could look more like Madonna

Strict, Sotto Voce or Just Plain Anti Diva Armor

Considering the Duchesse's post today on "Sotto Voce" style and her previous post on "Strict" style, I thought that I would show you what shoes I am wearing today. Purchased at Barney's many years ago these Italian fatta a mano shoes are a little bit beat up... but they are finally worn in and comfortable. I also have matching pairs in camel and black suede.

I don't know if these fall into the "Sotto Voce" or the "Strict" category in terms of style.

But I will say that my environment is fraught with Divas and I don't deal well with the whole Diva thing. So I just consider these shoes as part of my "Anti-Diva Don't F**k With Me" style.

Someday we can have a further discussion on the semiotics of shoes...

The Joneses - There Goes The Neighborhood

An interesting concept taking product placement to a new level with family life as affiliate sales

Around Town - Sunday at the Skirball

I've always wanted to check out the architecture at the Skirball Cultural Center which sprouts out of the hills on the west side of the canyon between Bel Air and Brentwood and yesterday I finally had an event to attend there.

The Skirball Center, contains a concert hall, theater, amphitheater, auditorium, gallery space, conference center and various other areas of terraces and courtyards. Even with all of these features the overall structure, designed my Moshe Safdie, seems intimate because it was created as a series of interconnected low buildings punctuated by gardens.

At any rate it was the perfect venue for a lecture by Pulitzer Prize winning historian, David Kennedy and Hoover Institute Fellow, Thad Kousser, titled "What's The Matter With California". The lecture was Sponsored by the Bill Lane Center for the American West of Stanford University, which obviously deals with issues specific to this region.

The lecture focused on the political problems of California stemming from a gridlocked legislative process. Let's just say that the gist of the matter is that California desperately needs legislative and constitutional reform. But as we all know we seldom get the government that we want, unfortunately we get the government that we deserve.

While I do think that California, the 8th largest economy in the world...or something like that, will eventually recover from this cyclical recession, I'm skeptical of long term progress in terms of political reform.

When the best and the brightest from the brainiacs at Stanford and the University of Rochester can come up with this astounding conclusion in their report from last February

When a state legislature is not dominated by one party, and the salaries are modest, legislators waste less time on bills that benefit only their own districts, according to researchers at Stanford and the University of Rochester.

That doesn't leave me too hopeful. Because as astute as this statement is, any person of average intelligence would have rationally come up with the same conclusion...you know without a full on study. Is this the best that these professors have to offer?

Well apparently not, because they've got CaliforniaChoice.org which aims to educate the State's citizenry on constitutional and political reform.

Yeah, good luck with that.

At any rate after coming to grips with the fact that the California of my parents and grandparents, of fragrant orange groves between benign suburbian sprawl, has long been gone and is never coming back, I was happy take my focus from the political to the personal and to sip some sauvignon blanc and listen to some soft jazz at Vibrato Grill high up in the hills of Bel Air.

Even with all of the problems of the State, at least we don't have volcano eruptions...yet.

Hanging Out With Lady G

Alex and the lovely Laura are in Coachella this weekend for the mother of all music festivals. When you are 26 I can see why a weekend concert would be fun, but at my age, I can't imagine having to going there just because I wanted to see Julian Casablancas, Faith No More and MGMT.
Happily, I'm not at the concert and I get to take care of Alex and Laura's miniature dachshund, Lady G, aka "the ween".

Here's a photo of Laura holding Lady G. For some reason the dogs eyes always turn turquoise in photos. It's a little like a demon dog, don't you think?
I've always been a big dog person, dobermans, labs, golden retrievers, newfoundlands, ridgebacks, etc...but I'm starting to see the fun in having a little dog.

Jewelry Biz - Melania Trump For QVC

In a world where every celebrity/socialite is transformed miraculously into a designer I guess that it was only a matter of time until Melania Trump introduced her own line of jewelry.
From National Jeweler
According to a press release, Trump is launching her own line of costume jewelry, "Melania Timepieces and Fashion Jewelry," designed exclusively for multimedia retailer QVC.Each piece in the Melania menagerie will retail for $30 to $200 and the line is set to hit QVC's airwaves on April 30 at 9 p.m., and will be available while supplies last, according to QVC.

From the New York Times we get a glowing report on Melania and The Donald's new venture
Another Trump Hopes What Glitters Will Be Gold
Mrs. Trump, who has been married to Mr. Trump for five years and is his third wife, said that she alone designed the jewelry line, without outside help. yeah whatever
Not surprisingly, Mr. Trump sings her praises.
“She’s got an amazing sense of design and an amazing level of intelligence,” he said in a telephone interview. “She’s got great ability, and I want her to run with it.”
Several questions come to mind.
Do we really need another celebrity designer?
Do we really need another brand of cheesy costume jewelry?
and
Whatever happened to that breed of NY grand dame socialites, like Pat Buckley, Jane Wrightsman and Mary Astor who spent their time and energy raising money for great institutions and great causes?
With a world of Tinsley Mortimers and Melania Trumps I'm afraid that the days of the old guard of grand dames has finally expired.

Ebay For Jewelry - Why?

Ebay can be awesome, for all kinds of vintage (and new) stuff, right Sher?
But I really do wonder who is buying jewelry on Ebay.

This vintage Hermes gold choker/tiara sold for $2950 on Beladora.com
The same exact piece is up for sale on Ebay for $17,500


So yeah...who is buying jewelry on Ebay and why?

Playing With Polyvore - Classically Cartier

Miss de Ville has been cranking up the Cartier on Polyvore

I am looking to buy a Cartier Perruque ring. If anyone has one for sale please email me.

Paying Attention To The Pork Report

Do you ever wonder where all that money that you cheerfully pay each April 15th to the Federal Government actually goes?

Well you can get a basic idea on how the Government spends it from this book

Here's an example:

XI. State and Foreign Operations

Once again the House and Senate certified the fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act as “earmark free.” Unfortunately for taxpayers, there are seven earmarks and they were not free – they cost $209.4 million. This is a 56.3 percent decrease in projects from fiscal year 2009, when there were 16 projects, and an 18.2 percent decrease in dollars from the $256 million in fiscal year 2009.

$17,000,000 added by the House for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). According to information on IFI’s website, the program was established in 1986 to promote economic and social advance and encourage contact, dialogue and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland. In a review of a glowing book about IFI released in January 2009, author Sean Donlon admitted, “While the fund will continue its work for the next couple of years it would be unreasonable to expect external support thereafter, especially in the current relatively stable political and security situation in Northern Ireland.” On June 17, 2009, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced H.R. 2915, which would prohibit funding for the program amid indications from supporters that IFI will be phased out in the near future. Language in the conference report indicated that fiscal year 2010 would be the last year the United States would contribute to the program. CAGW has identified $281 million for this project since 1995. It appears that only if taxpayers find a four leaf clover will this unnecessary program die.

$17,000,000 this year for dialogue in Ireland....really? $281 million over the last 15 years???

No wonder I'm going to need a shot of this tonight after I write that check.

Vintage Value Venture - The Best On Beladora

I'm kind of on a blogging roll today...because I just have lots to say.
This Van Cleef and Arpels diamond brooch was $7550 on Beladora.com
Another online estate jewelry dealer,on 1st Dibs is selling the same item for $12,500.
The VCA retail price was $20,000.

Seriously, who shows you the love?

Marie Claire - Oh The Inanity

I have kind of a love hate thing going with Marie Claire magazine...which I have always viewed as a wannabe feminist fashion magazine. In addition to Tim Gunn who I adore, and some nicely shot fashion editorials followed by a 'look for less' types of montages, it has the usual articles about books, music, movies, careers and of course sex. As if every empowered young woman needs to read articles like "My Life in a Harem" because being a hooker for the Sultan of Brunei could be a viable career choice or "How I Planned A Menage A Trois" because apparently not all young women learned how to do that in college.



By now I assume that all of you have read about Marie Claire's 'daring' cover shot of Jessica Simpson posed without make-up.There can be no debate, Jessica Simpson is certainly a very attractive woman. Still I'm betting that there was some photoshop in some of her pictures because really...nothing gets published without it.

And on the topic of publishing, in the article "What I love About Me" where Ms Simpson meets up with "real women" on the streets of Los Angeles and discusses what features they like about themselves. With 31 year old Shalini Patel we get this exchange:

SP: I'm fairly proud of my boobs.
JS: Me too! But I grew up wearing sports bras because I was so embarrassed. Now my breasts are like an accessory.

like an accessory, did she really say that?

God knows she has a great rack. And despite her huge net worth, she's no rocket scientist, so I'm guessing that she really did make that ridiculous remark.

But what I want to know is why Marie Claire would choose to publish something so completely inane?

Celtic Chic or Viking Style

Sometimes things like this unusual gold pendant come into the office.It's big, it's beautifully crafted, it's heavy. But what is it? Celtic? Nordic?
And what do we do with it?

Miss de Ville has decided that she is all over this pendant.

Worn with a long chain, she has dubbed it "Ghetto Viking" style.

Yeah, it's definitely Viking-esque.

Maybe if I hang it from some multi-colored gemstone beads and attach long boho tassels with feathers, Jill will covet it.

Lady Gaga As I'd Like To See Her

Just because

Architecture - The Ruins Of Detroit

I love architecture, and architectural photography, but here are some photos that I would have rather not seen of the decline of a once great American.

From the "The Ruins of Detroit" by photographers Yves Marchand and Roman Meffre. You can see more of their photos on their website here.

Michigan Central Station
Lee Plaza Hotel Ballroom

Whitney Building

Lubin Apartments

United Artist Theater

So sad for so much stately architecture in the Paris of the Midwest.

h/t Amy Alkon

Music For My Mood

How is it that in a few short days my mood has gone from this


to this

Enough Already - No More About Moore

Nailing it again, we've got Ms R with her post Empowered, Give me a break
Inevitably 98% of the covers will be trumpeting the good news (for it is) of some vaguely public figure, telling us how she is "finally" happy with her body. How she has FINALLY got the body she "WANTED." How she feels so pleased about it she is taking off her clothes and being photographed under strict lighting conditions and then having the life airbrushed out of her. But this is it: this is finally, unequivocally and in no uncertain terms the point at which she has the body she wants. Until the next photo shoot.

and then we have the Demi Moore article in the Daily Mail
Demi Moore, 47: 'After years of trying to dominate it, I've finally got the body I've always wanted
Well Demi Moore looks damn good for a 48 year old mother of 4.
Of course with a rumored $200,000 in surgery, (body only, not her face) she should!

but why does she have this need to constantly be showing it all off

Now back to Ms R

Seriously what is there to admire about the woman who does this? What is there to emulate? And what is empowering? It used to be that a woman's power lay in not giving it all away - verbally and visually. In that lay the mystery, the challenge and the knowledge. It still does.

Which brings us to the May edition of Vanity Fair with Grace Kelly's Forever Look.

In reading about Grace Kelly (who most definitely had the goods without any help from the medical profession) you never get the feeling that she had any compulsion show it all off. She had an exciting life, married well, had 3 kids and allowed herself to age naturally without the obsession to constantly look like a 20 year old.

Grace Kelly's legacy is to have become The Icon of Mid-Century film and fashion.

Demi Moore, in spite of the body, the younger man and the twittering will leave no legacy.

Life Lessons

After a long week I thought that today would be a good day to finish up my post on Paul Johnson's "Churchill".

The epilogue of the book leaves us with Johnson's five lessons that we can learn from Churchill that I would like to share with you.

Study of boats by Winston Churchill 1933

Lesson One: Always aim high

“As a child, Churchill received no positive encouragement for his father and little from his mother. He was aware of failure at school. But he still aimed high. He conquered his aversion to math, at least enough to pass. He reinforced success in what he could do: write a good English sentence. Conscious of his ignorance, he set himself to master English history and familiarize himself with great chunks of literature… He sought to be prime minister feeling only he could achieve certain things. In 1940 he aimed not only high but at the highest – to rescue a stricken country in danger of being demoralized, to put it firmly on its feet again, and to carry it to salvation and victory. He did not always meet his elevated targets, but by aiming high he always achieved something worthwhile [emphasis mine].” [2]

Lesson Two: There is no substitute for hard work

“Churchill obscured this moral by his (for him] efficient habit of spending a working morning in bed, telephoning, dictating, and consulting. He also manifestly enjoyed his leisure activities, for him, another form of hard work, to keep himself fit and rested and to enable himself to do his job at the top of his form… But he never evaded hard work itself [emphasis mine]: taking important and dangerous decisions, the hardest form of work there is, in the course of a sixteen-hour day.” [3]

Lesson Three: Never let mistakes, disasters (personal or national), accidents, illness, unpopularity, and criticism, get you down

“[Churchill’s] power recuperation, both in physical illness and in psychological responses to abject failure, were astounding… He scrambled to his feet and worked his way back. He had courage, the most important of all virtues, and its companion, fortitude [emphasis mine]. These strengths are inborn but they can also be cultivated, and Churchill worked on them all his life. In a sense his whole career was an exercise in how courage can be displayed, reinforced, guarded and doled out carefully, heightened and concentrated, conveyed to others.” [4]

Lesson Four: Don't waste time and emotional energy on the meanness of life

“…Churchill wasted an extraordinarily small amount of his time and emotional energy on the meanness of life: recrimination, shifting blame to others, malice, revenge seeking, dirty tricks, spreading rumors, harboring grudges, waging vendettas. Having fought hard, he washed his hands and went on to the next contest. It is one reason for his success. There is nothing more draining and exhausting than hatred [emphasis mine]… Nothing gave him more pleasure than to replace enmity with friendship, not least with the Germans.” [5]

Lesson Five: The absence of hatred will leave plenty of joy in a leaders life

“[Churchill’s] face could light up in the most extraordinarily attractive way as it became suffused with pleasure at an unexpected and welcome event… Joy was a frequent visitor to Churchill’s psyche, banishing boredom, despair, discomfort, and pain [emphasis mine]. He liked to share his joy, and give joy. It be never be forgotten that Churchill was happy with people.” [6]

[1] Paul Johnson, Churchill (New York: Viking, 2009), 3. [2] Ibid, 162-163.[3] Ibid, 163.[4] Ibid, 164.[5] Ibid, 164-165.[6] Ibid,165.