Boast not thyself in thy riches if thou hast them, nor in thy friends if they be powerful, but in God, who giveth all things, and in addition to all things desireth to give even Himself. Be not lifted up because of thy strength or beauty of body, for with only a slight sickness it will fail and wither away. [...] Thomas A. Kempis

"For many years as a private company, Domino's really benchmarked against itself, without looking at the outside world. We were proud of the fact that for many years we had positive same-store sales, which is a big financial indicator of growth and success in the retail world. Well, that was the good news. David Brandon, Chairman & CEO of Domino's Pizza

Success, and the resulting tendency to become complacent, often leads organizations and individuals to believe that they are very talented, have figured things out, have the answers to all the questions, and no longer need to get their hands dirty in the trenches. They lose their sense of urgency - the feeling that trouble might be just around the corner [...] Robert J. Herbold

Historians tend to focus on the reasons for success. Their fascination is with victory, and although a lot has been written about why losses occur, most historical tracts address the reasons that one side won. Winners, after all, write the histories. Yet it's interesting and important to think about military failures - particularly when we are flush with victory ... There seems to be a common historical thread running through many of the greatest military losses. Those losses in great part stem from an arrogance that begets ignorance - an ignorance of facts and developments that others are quicker to see. Admiral Bill Owens with Ed Offley Lifting the Fog of War , (p. 20), The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000