Category Archives: Futility

Succeeding at things that don’t really matter

Posted on March 21, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Time magazine once did a famous with George Harrison, one of the Beatles. Speaking about their meteoric rise to fame George said: ‘At first we all thought we wanted the fame. After a bit we realized that fame wasn’t really … Continue reading →

Posted in Accomplishments, Ambition, Disappointed, Disatisfaction, fame, Futility, Life, Success | 2 Comments

When you get to the top, there’s nothing there

Posted on March 10, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

When Boris Becker was at the top of the tennis world he actually contemplated suicide. He said, ‘I had won Wimbledon twice – once as the youngest player to do so. I was rich. I had all the material possessions … Continue reading →

Posted in Disappointed, emptiness, Faith, Futility, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, Meaninglessness, Success | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Departing in dignity

Posted on November 20, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Babe Ruth was to American baseball what Don Bradman was to Australian cricket. But Babe Ruth didn’t finish the way Bradman did. At the end of his career he went to seed and even his fans turned against him, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Babe Ruth, Don Bradman, Following the Crowd, Futility, love, Retirement | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

God shaped holes in the unlikeliest hearts

Posted on November 1, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

When Svetlana Stalin, daughter of Joseph Stalin, history’s greatest mass murderer and leader of the world’s first atheistic state, defected to the West, she said: ‘I found it impossible to exist without God in one’s heart. I came to that … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnosticism, Atheism, Conversion, Faith, Fingerprints of God, Futility, God, God shaped holes, God with us | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wisdom, knowledge, and joy

Posted on October 8, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University did a survey of one hundred university lecturers both before and after they found out if they had received tenure in their positions. They all expected to be quite happy if they got tenure and … Continue reading →

Posted in career, Futility, Gift of God, Happiness, Joy, Success, Wisdom | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

You can’t turn the clock back

Posted on September 24, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Police in Idaho a few years ago received a number of calls from residents of a certain neighbourhood about a car that was being driven round their streets in reverse. They went to investigate and found the car just as … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgiveness, Futility, Guilt, Judgement | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Successfully hitting the wrong target

Posted on September 8, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

In what was described as ‘an extremely rare mistake in elite competition’, Champion Marksman Matt Emmons, who was one shot away from winning a gold medal at the Athens Olympics, ended up in eighth place. He didn’t even need a … Continue reading →

Posted in Disappointed, Futility, Target, Winning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

No pockets in a shroud

Posted on August 29, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

John D. Rockefeller used to be the world’s richest man. He was once asked how much a person needed to be happy; and with great insight into human nature, he replied: ‘Just a little bit more.’ After his death, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Futility, Heaven, Treasure, wealth | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Light of Life

Posted on June 15, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Just before his death Mark Twain wrote: “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle; they squabble and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; those they … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Futility, Hope, Light of Life, Meaninglessness | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Your room is ready

Posted on May 10, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The Winchester Mystery House is a favourite tourist destination in California. It belonged to Sarah Winchester, widow of the man who invented the Winchester Rifle – the gun that won the West. Sarah was troubled for her soul and her … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Death, Futility, Guilt, Heaven, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Darkness, Winchester Mystery House | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment