Kent M. Keith
Kent M. Keith was born in New York and studied at Harvard, Oxford University, Waseda University in Tokyo, the University of Hawaii and the University of Southern California. He is a Rhodes Scholar.
Dr. Keith is known nationally and internationally as the author of the Paradoxical Commandments, which he wrote and published in 1968 in a booklet for student leaders entitled,
The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council
. His books, "Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments," "Do It Anyway: The Handbook for Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness in a Crazy World" and " Jesus Did It Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians" discuss these concepts.
Dr. Keith practiced law and worked for the State of Hawaii Department of Planning and Economic Development. For six years he served as President of Chaminade University of Honolulu, and for five and a half years he was Senior Vice President for Development & Communications for the YMCA of Honolulu. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. He is the author
“Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable; be honest and frank anyway.”
“Jesus used paradoxes to help us see the kingdom of God. His paradoxical statements turned the secular world upside down. As we have already noted, He said that 'whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.' He said that 'the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.' He said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' He said that 'Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
“The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.”
“ The Paradoxical Commandments People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.Love them anyway.If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.Do good anyway.If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.Succeed anyway.The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.Do good anyway.Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.Be honest and frank anyway.The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.Think big anyway.People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.Fight for a few underdogs anyway.What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.Build anyway.People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.Help people anyway.Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.Give the world the best you have anyway.”