“Life-transforming
ideas have always come to me through books.
The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought
which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in
the echoes of our hearts.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Recently, I read about a local
barber who said he was influenced to begin his business by reading Holmes, the
Boston-based physician, professor, lecturer, poet and author who lived through most of
the 1800s (1809-94). 
Curious about what a 19th
Century figure wrote to influence a 21st Century barber, I explored
a bit more about Holmes and found a remarkable man who had a remarkable way
with words that often served to inspire many … in many different fields.
Curious about what a 19th
Century figure wrote to influence a 21st Century barber, I explored
a bit more about Holmes and found a remarkable man who had a remarkable way
with words that often served to inspire many … in many different fields.
While writing wasn't his primary
livelihood, writers like Emerson, Thoreau and Longfellow hung out with him and
acclaimed him as one of the best writers of the day.
Oh, and his quotes that served as inspiration for our
local barber: “Many people die with
their music still in them. Too often it is because they are always getting
ready to live. And, before they know it time runs out.”
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