Good Morning!
Last week we thought through and learned something from the Masters...
Now let's learn something from the kids!
I love seeing and hearing music that promotes a positive message...
Really listen!
Great message
Now another!
Isn't it delightful to see a positive message related to persistence and hope?
We need more of that...
It reminds me that every generation has an advocacy of hope...
Heaven help our species if we ever lose it!
That attitude alone is a ray of sunshine in a rather bleak existence...
We need to learn a lesson from these kids...
The lesson that we know...but seldom really practice...that being...a positive attitude and constant persistence pays off...
All too often we get into our own little world and believe that our way is the only way...
Some times we get fixated on the failures rather than the challenges!
Or we find that things didn't turn out as we had planned and look for others to blame rather than taking responsibility for the outcome...
Why is this?
Let's look at the situation from an "out of the box" perspective...
The Tale of Two Paychecks
There are two paychecks that we receive regularly...
One has a monetary amount...and because of that...it is the one that draws our attention...
The other paycheck is much more subtle and actually more significant than the first...
The second paycheck is more easily described by stopping dead in your tracks and looking at your current situation...
Are you employed...do you have the job you want?
Are people shouting your praises?
Are your relationship blossoming?
Do you have countless friends that you can count upon for help?
I could go on for a long time...but you get the picture...
What I am describing is the paycheck of cause and effect...actually not...but my extension of this equation...IMPACT!
If you have failed or are failing...it is time that you realize that it is noone's fault but your own...
You are the one to blame...if you think otherwise...
...You are deceiving yourself!
Your past actions have created your present situation...
It is simple cause and effect!
The important part of the entire equation is what follows...
What IMPACT does your present situation have upon you?
If your motives were self-serving...you are going to find yourself relatively alone!
If your motives were altruistic...you will find help and support...
Count yourself lucky if you find the latter!
That is one of those rays of sunshine!
Many people are receiving paychecks that definitely do not deserve them...they are self-serving and hurtful people...
Some have so deceived themselves that they are even acting that way under the guise of righteousness!
They are thieves!
The fact is that those paychecks are limited...and will run out!
I am confident that their real paycheck will someday land in their mailbox!
As we think deeper...
There is a long chain of cause and effect created from the point of your conception...
There is no avoiding it...it is what it is...
You have built your present and blaming anyone but yourself is childish and immature...
You can sit and sing a sad song or you can sing a song of hope...
I recent posted the following little axiom on FaceBook...
Forget your mistakes...Remember what you have learned from them...
I have all to frequently watched people make the same mistakes over and over...
They will never learn...they are an embarrassment to the human species...
I choose not to embarrass my species...do you?
Learn from your errors...and change your behaviors...
If you do that...like the second song...you're half-way there!
Enough Said!
Breaking the Chains of Paradigms that keep us from Success and Authentic Happiness...
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Tour is Over
Another special edition of the Weekend Update!
If you have been reading a few of my blogs and watching my Twitter and Facebook mentions...you know that I am disappointed in the Tour de France (TdF)!
I was initially disappointed that my biking hero Lance did not stand alone at the top of the podium!
I was happy that he was able to adapt to his plight and stand with Team Radio Shack on the podium as the best team! That is leadership at its very best!
I was also disappointed in the racers! The race leaders, who control the race, allowed self-serving decisions take precedence over tradition and the unwritten rules...as a result the TdF has lowered itself to the realm of the rest of the world's competition. Prior to this it stood alone, seeped in tradition that controlled the players and kept everything on a perfectly level playing field!
The racers and the fans need to step back and take a look at it and decide what the race needs to be...
I hope that the majority wants the old TdF back.
There is not enough money being paid out to change it...it is a race of reputation...
These are the things that matter to real competitors...especially the bike racers in the TdF.
As it is with the TdF, it should also be within organizations...
Success is not to be lauded when it was given to the competitors by chance or an ill-fated circumstance on one of the competitors. Integrity and fair play are important to long term success. The competition is not so fierce that one compromises their ethics, morals or ideals to gain an advantage.
I could not sleep, if I won for a breach of any of those core values.
I could not sleep, if I had to lie to win...
I could not sleep, if I had to serve myself first and hurt others to keep a job...
And even more important...I could not face my family or my creator...if I acted in a way that compromised the integrity of my ethics or morals...
Yet I see organizational players doing this under the guise of politics...
Organizational politics can be a good thing!
That is if what one defines organizational politics as the give and take (negotiation) to create a win/win condition.
Many believe that organizational politics means deception and fear and threatening...
These are not traits of leaders...these things are traits of criminals!
It is wrong to be in a position of control within an organization and use that position for self-serving reasons...
The "Genius of the and" is found in having the "self's" needs met by meeting other's needs FIRST.
This is what builds trust and respect.
It is the actions of a true gentleman! (OK gentle-person!)
It is what disappeared from the TdF this year...and I hope that it comes back...
It is the "endangered species" within organizations...
If you use my "binary segmentation" classification...
In an organization...there are either the genteel or criminals!
It is your actions or behaviors that classify you...no excuses...
Decide where you want to be...and start consistently acting that way!
Enough said!
If you have been reading a few of my blogs and watching my Twitter and Facebook mentions...you know that I am disappointed in the Tour de France (TdF)!
I was initially disappointed that my biking hero Lance did not stand alone at the top of the podium!
I was happy that he was able to adapt to his plight and stand with Team Radio Shack on the podium as the best team! That is leadership at its very best!
I was also disappointed in the racers! The race leaders, who control the race, allowed self-serving decisions take precedence over tradition and the unwritten rules...as a result the TdF has lowered itself to the realm of the rest of the world's competition. Prior to this it stood alone, seeped in tradition that controlled the players and kept everything on a perfectly level playing field!
The racers and the fans need to step back and take a look at it and decide what the race needs to be...
I hope that the majority wants the old TdF back.
There is not enough money being paid out to change it...it is a race of reputation...
These are the things that matter to real competitors...especially the bike racers in the TdF.
As it is with the TdF, it should also be within organizations...
Success is not to be lauded when it was given to the competitors by chance or an ill-fated circumstance on one of the competitors. Integrity and fair play are important to long term success. The competition is not so fierce that one compromises their ethics, morals or ideals to gain an advantage.
I could not sleep, if I won for a breach of any of those core values.
I could not sleep, if I had to lie to win...
I could not sleep, if I had to serve myself first and hurt others to keep a job...
And even more important...I could not face my family or my creator...if I acted in a way that compromised the integrity of my ethics or morals...
Yet I see organizational players doing this under the guise of politics...
Organizational politics can be a good thing!
That is if what one defines organizational politics as the give and take (negotiation) to create a win/win condition.
Many believe that organizational politics means deception and fear and threatening...
These are not traits of leaders...these things are traits of criminals!
It is wrong to be in a position of control within an organization and use that position for self-serving reasons...
The "Genius of the and" is found in having the "self's" needs met by meeting other's needs FIRST.
This is what builds trust and respect.
It is the actions of a true gentleman! (OK gentle-person!)
It is what disappeared from the TdF this year...and I hope that it comes back...
It is the "endangered species" within organizations...
If you use my "binary segmentation" classification...
In an organization...there are either the genteel or criminals!
It is your actions or behaviors that classify you...no excuses...
Decide where you want to be...and start consistently acting that way!
Enough said!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
What Really Matters
Good Morning!
Have you ever had a time that you needed inspiration?
This has been an interesting time for me...has it been for you?
What I found interesting was my inward journey...the introspection and my discoveries...
I have wriiten and rewritten this update more times than I want to remember!
Why?
Every time I reread it...it does not carry the message that I want!
I will not settle for for a mediocre message...
These massages come from me...and not some marketing ploy or menial filler to keep you coming back!
Shifting Gears...
In an effort to gain a better understanding of myself, I often look back at all of my social network quotes and comments...Sometimes the hidden themes (true intent) tell me something...and what I found over the past few weeks...did!
The purpose of "The Weekend Update" is not about me...but about observations and thoughts that can help YOU achieve your goals...
So...I will not spend too much time on the results of my introspection...but on those things that you can apply to yourself...
Although it doesn't seem like it...I enjoy cutting to the chase...I really do!
So..."What really matters?".
Everyday, I receive numerous email messages focused on the importance of a professionally edited resume...
Some promote the critical need for a "personal website"...AND...
A large professional network...and a personal brand...
I smile that when they do that...without taking a "virtual breath" they also say and we can help you for only $XXXXX.
I have given up reading all of them and have tagged them as spam!
If I read all of the messages that I received just this week...I wouldn't have had time to write this update!
What I realized was that that stuff is nothing more than icing on the cake...AND...that a ton of people are making millions of dollars putting decorations on a cake that needs to be baked by you! They are creating these things for desparate people!
What really matters is the cake! It is all about doing something...or what you have done...
...RESULTS...
You have heard it before...and I will say it again...It is about results!
Not about the format of a resume...
OR...
Who knows who...in your network...
OR...
The ability to come up in the first three spots during an internet search...
None of those things are of any value...unless you have some substance behind it...not spin...not smoke...or a high powered title...but tangible results...something of substance...
You can't put icing on air and smoke...the cake has to have body!
Not Passion...
Not "Secrets"...
Not a Brand...
Not a cool personal website...
It is all about substance...your RESULTS...and nothing else...
That is the first and last thing that matters...
Not enough said though!
***************************************
Let's shift gears for a few minutes...
24,000
This is quite a number!
It actually is a cool looking number...
I grew up in a town of 15,033
That first number (24,000) is significantly larger than the second!
So what is 24,000 all about? and why does it catch my interest?
That is how many children die each day for reasons that are under our control!
That is if we "gave a darn" and did something about it...
Every day the equivalent of my home town is destroyed...and more than half again!
I can imagine what the news would look like if the entire population of a town like Wisconsin Rapids were killed...that would definitely make the news...or at least I would hope so!
Yet...we don't hear about the deaths of the and equally tragic number of the world's children...Our children...do we?
Please periodically think about the children...there are 24,000 little souls that need our help...
Give a darn!
To me...this is another of those things that really matters...and to some extent...more!
Still not enough said!
********************************************
This past week I was talking with a good friend about attitude...
His comment was that I was always optimistic and never let the current state of affairs affect my attitide...
His comment was that more people (himself included) need to be 100% optimistic like me...
The fact of the matter is...the sad and pessimistic side is just as large as my optimistic side!
There is a public side of me and a private side...
The public does not want or deserve pessimism...so I do not give them that...
Sadness and frustration and pessimism is for me and me alone..
That is why it rarely shows itself to you...
But rest assured that it is there...
For those who have it and think yourself less for having it...STOP!
It is OK...as long as it does not affect the performance of anyone outside yourself!
The darkness is yours...keep it to yourself...use it to your advantage...
Take control over it to the point that the outside world believes that you have none!
Enough Said...because this is one of the things that really matters...
***********************************
Life is good...it is challenging and full of body and substance if you do something about it!
Do not try to put a ton of icing on your performance if it lacks body and substance...
If you do...it will cave in!
Success depends on honesty...and the first person that you have to be honest with is yourself!
Have you been successful?
YES...then be able to show your performance...
If you have to dig...or need an excuse or two...stop trying to ice your cake and go back to baking!
The quality of the cake is noone's responsibility but the baker's!
Enough Said!
******************************
What matters is...
Honesty...with yourself and then the outside world!
Substance...Real results...
Love and Caring...You can not overuse the phrases "I love you" or "I care" if they are sincere and drive action...
Stop lying to yourself...you are not only hurting yourself...but self-deception hurts many innocent people around you!
What matter is a realization of the fact that you are fully responsible...
Pura Vida!
Have you ever had a time that you needed inspiration?
This has been an interesting time for me...has it been for you?
What I found interesting was my inward journey...the introspection and my discoveries...
I have wriiten and rewritten this update more times than I want to remember!
Why?
Every time I reread it...it does not carry the message that I want!
I will not settle for for a mediocre message...
These massages come from me...and not some marketing ploy or menial filler to keep you coming back!
Shifting Gears...
In an effort to gain a better understanding of myself, I often look back at all of my social network quotes and comments...Sometimes the hidden themes (true intent) tell me something...and what I found over the past few weeks...did!
The purpose of "The Weekend Update" is not about me...but about observations and thoughts that can help YOU achieve your goals...
So...I will not spend too much time on the results of my introspection...but on those things that you can apply to yourself...
Although it doesn't seem like it...I enjoy cutting to the chase...I really do!
So..."What really matters?".
Everyday, I receive numerous email messages focused on the importance of a professionally edited resume...
Some promote the critical need for a "personal website"...AND...
A large professional network...and a personal brand...
I smile that when they do that...without taking a "virtual breath" they also say and we can help you for only $XXXXX.
I have given up reading all of them and have tagged them as spam!
If I read all of the messages that I received just this week...I wouldn't have had time to write this update!
What I realized was that that stuff is nothing more than icing on the cake...AND...that a ton of people are making millions of dollars putting decorations on a cake that needs to be baked by you! They are creating these things for desparate people!
What really matters is the cake! It is all about doing something...or what you have done...
...RESULTS...
You have heard it before...and I will say it again...It is about results!
Not about the format of a resume...
OR...
Who knows who...in your network...
OR...
The ability to come up in the first three spots during an internet search...
None of those things are of any value...unless you have some substance behind it...not spin...not smoke...or a high powered title...but tangible results...something of substance...
You can't put icing on air and smoke...the cake has to have body!
Not Passion...
Not "Secrets"...
Not a Brand...
Not a cool personal website...
It is all about substance...your RESULTS...and nothing else...
That is the first and last thing that matters...
Not enough said though!
***************************************
Let's shift gears for a few minutes...
24,000
This is quite a number!
It actually is a cool looking number...
I grew up in a town of 15,033
That first number (24,000) is significantly larger than the second!
So what is 24,000 all about? and why does it catch my interest?
That is how many children die each day for reasons that are under our control!
That is if we "gave a darn" and did something about it...
Every day the equivalent of my home town is destroyed...and more than half again!
I can imagine what the news would look like if the entire population of a town like Wisconsin Rapids were killed...that would definitely make the news...or at least I would hope so!
Yet...we don't hear about the deaths of the and equally tragic number of the world's children...Our children...do we?
Please periodically think about the children...there are 24,000 little souls that need our help...
Give a darn!
To me...this is another of those things that really matters...and to some extent...more!
Still not enough said!
********************************************
This past week I was talking with a good friend about attitude...
His comment was that I was always optimistic and never let the current state of affairs affect my attitide...
His comment was that more people (himself included) need to be 100% optimistic like me...
The fact of the matter is...the sad and pessimistic side is just as large as my optimistic side!
There is a public side of me and a private side...
The public does not want or deserve pessimism...so I do not give them that...
Sadness and frustration and pessimism is for me and me alone..
That is why it rarely shows itself to you...
But rest assured that it is there...
For those who have it and think yourself less for having it...STOP!
It is OK...as long as it does not affect the performance of anyone outside yourself!
The darkness is yours...keep it to yourself...use it to your advantage...
Take control over it to the point that the outside world believes that you have none!
Enough Said...because this is one of the things that really matters...
***********************************
Life is good...it is challenging and full of body and substance if you do something about it!
Do not try to put a ton of icing on your performance if it lacks body and substance...
If you do...it will cave in!
Success depends on honesty...and the first person that you have to be honest with is yourself!
Have you been successful?
YES...then be able to show your performance...
If you have to dig...or need an excuse or two...stop trying to ice your cake and go back to baking!
The quality of the cake is noone's responsibility but the baker's!
Enough Said!
******************************
What matters is...
Honesty...with yourself and then the outside world!
Substance...Real results...
Love and Caring...You can not overuse the phrases "I love you" or "I care" if they are sincere and drive action...
Stop lying to yourself...you are not only hurting yourself...but self-deception hurts many innocent people around you!
What matter is a realization of the fact that you are fully responsible...
Pura Vida!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Break-away!
Look!
Another Special Edition of the Weekend Update!
I am always excited by finding a microcosm that contains a lesson about the big world around us!
I found a blatant one in the Tour de France (TdF) today!
The TdF is a great microcosm! It is a group of 200 or so people who gather together into sub-groups (teams or companies) and combine their self-serving aspirations with the team's goals, and compete over the course of 2,000+ miles. There is easy going and hills and mountains. Every one of the conditions that they come up against has its own set of challenge.
There are hierarchies within the teams and between the teams and between the individuals between the teams! Over the course of the race, it is all about accumulation and positioning.
I could go on with volumes of writing about the parallel between the TdF's microcosm and that of our organizational struggles. I bet your mind was running wild!
What hit me today was the breakaway! For non TdF enthusiasts...breakaways happen during almost every stage of the TdF (except for time trials). A breakaway is when a rider or a small group of riders take off ahead of the pack of riders (called the peloton). The do so with the hope that they can stay ahead of the "pack" of riders and win a stage of the race.
An interesting thing about the peloton. No matter where they are in the rae, they are in control. The peloton has an advantage, because they take turns leading the race and buffeting the wind for the rest of the riders. If you watch a peloton you'll normally see a "churning" or rotation of the front riders. Everyone behind the first or second rider is actually resting and riding on their efforts.
The breakway on the other hand is on their own. If the rider is alone, his entire ride is on his effort. If it is a small group of breakaway riders, they may share the work, but the energy expended is spread across fewer people, and the real chance or winning is small.
Usually the peloton allows the breakaways to go...and they sometimes get more than 10 minutes of lead...but over the course of the race, the peloton will eat at the breakaway lead and engulf them...
It is the peloton who decides...
The breakaway people are usually young, hopeful, inexperienced riders with hope and a flawed perception of their real capability. They get crushed and learn important lessons for their breakaway...usually what they are really capable of...and the sad fact is that they seldom place in the upper 50% of the pack...which means that if they face reality, they are in the bottom of the losers!
I see this happen often in organizations too! A year or two into the race an individual will start believing that their contributions and ability are superior. They break away! Most of the time they idle ahead of the pack...the wind may be at their advantage...or the peloton (the rest of the organization) does care or needs some entertainment.
The fact of the matter...these players are usually in the "worst of the losers" part of the organization. And they peddle and peddle and make a ton of excuses for their failures in hope of holding on.
In the TdF the race committee reviews the race times of every rider and ultimately decides who will continue to race the next day. The race committee prunes the bottom (people from the lower 50%) from the race and ends the suffering. If the gap between the peloton and when you cross is big enough...you are out!
Organizations are like that too! They control who wins and who loses! They decide who stays and who goes...they can pare at any position however...they are much more arbitrary!
Breakaway people are always dealt with appropriately!
Losers hang on and often are given a couple of chances in hopes that they come to the realization of how bad they really are...companies do not like telling people the truth about themselves...and they quit!
I have watched a few breakaway riders who actually didn't deserve to be out front in the first place! They were pulled forward by a real rider...when the real rider dropped from the breakaway, the undeserving rider usually thought more of his capability than he should have and they fail miserably!
I have watched many people within organization do that too! I can run this show! Guess what...you rode on the slip stream! The minute you had to peddle for yourself...you couldn't do it! Be careful not to be one of those people...once you drop from the race for this reason...there is absolutely no getting back or regaining your reputation! THIS IS A REAL LOSER!
The breakaway is a great strategy for those who are capable and wise enough to know when to do it. Success in a breakaway can happen but it is rare. Only seasoned racers are capable of using it for success! Not underlings!
What a cool lesson to learn from this race...
What a cool lesson to learn in life...
Don't make the mistake of attempting a breakaway too soon...
The peloton will normally pull you back and embarrass you!
Enough said!
Another Special Edition of the Weekend Update!
I am always excited by finding a microcosm that contains a lesson about the big world around us!
I found a blatant one in the Tour de France (TdF) today!
The TdF is a great microcosm! It is a group of 200 or so people who gather together into sub-groups (teams or companies) and combine their self-serving aspirations with the team's goals, and compete over the course of 2,000+ miles. There is easy going and hills and mountains. Every one of the conditions that they come up against has its own set of challenge.
There are hierarchies within the teams and between the teams and between the individuals between the teams! Over the course of the race, it is all about accumulation and positioning.
I could go on with volumes of writing about the parallel between the TdF's microcosm and that of our organizational struggles. I bet your mind was running wild!
What hit me today was the breakaway! For non TdF enthusiasts...breakaways happen during almost every stage of the TdF (except for time trials). A breakaway is when a rider or a small group of riders take off ahead of the pack of riders (called the peloton). The do so with the hope that they can stay ahead of the "pack" of riders and win a stage of the race.
An interesting thing about the peloton. No matter where they are in the rae, they are in control. The peloton has an advantage, because they take turns leading the race and buffeting the wind for the rest of the riders. If you watch a peloton you'll normally see a "churning" or rotation of the front riders. Everyone behind the first or second rider is actually resting and riding on their efforts.
The breakway on the other hand is on their own. If the rider is alone, his entire ride is on his effort. If it is a small group of breakaway riders, they may share the work, but the energy expended is spread across fewer people, and the real chance or winning is small.
Usually the peloton allows the breakaways to go...and they sometimes get more than 10 minutes of lead...but over the course of the race, the peloton will eat at the breakaway lead and engulf them...
It is the peloton who decides...
The breakaway people are usually young, hopeful, inexperienced riders with hope and a flawed perception of their real capability. They get crushed and learn important lessons for their breakaway...usually what they are really capable of...and the sad fact is that they seldom place in the upper 50% of the pack...which means that if they face reality, they are in the bottom of the losers!
I see this happen often in organizations too! A year or two into the race an individual will start believing that their contributions and ability are superior. They break away! Most of the time they idle ahead of the pack...the wind may be at their advantage...or the peloton (the rest of the organization) does care or needs some entertainment.
The fact of the matter...these players are usually in the "worst of the losers" part of the organization. And they peddle and peddle and make a ton of excuses for their failures in hope of holding on.
In the TdF the race committee reviews the race times of every rider and ultimately decides who will continue to race the next day. The race committee prunes the bottom (people from the lower 50%) from the race and ends the suffering. If the gap between the peloton and when you cross is big enough...you are out!
Organizations are like that too! They control who wins and who loses! They decide who stays and who goes...they can pare at any position however...they are much more arbitrary!
Breakaway people are always dealt with appropriately!
Losers hang on and often are given a couple of chances in hopes that they come to the realization of how bad they really are...companies do not like telling people the truth about themselves...and they quit!
I have watched a few breakaway riders who actually didn't deserve to be out front in the first place! They were pulled forward by a real rider...when the real rider dropped from the breakaway, the undeserving rider usually thought more of his capability than he should have and they fail miserably!
I have watched many people within organization do that too! I can run this show! Guess what...you rode on the slip stream! The minute you had to peddle for yourself...you couldn't do it! Be careful not to be one of those people...once you drop from the race for this reason...there is absolutely no getting back or regaining your reputation! THIS IS A REAL LOSER!
The breakaway is a great strategy for those who are capable and wise enough to know when to do it. Success in a breakaway can happen but it is rare. Only seasoned racers are capable of using it for success! Not underlings!
What a cool lesson to learn from this race...
What a cool lesson to learn in life...
Don't make the mistake of attempting a breakaway too soon...
The peloton will normally pull you back and embarrass you!
Enough said!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Is Change Always Good?
This is a special addition of the weekend update...
They always seem to happen when I am moved by some observation or experience...
Yesterday I had one of those that I could not "jot down" and post later...
As many of you know...July is the month that I go into seclusion...it is not driven by the heat...but by the Tour de France (TdF)...
I think that this may be the last year that this happens...
Not because I have changed...but because it has changed...
This is the 100th year since the first race...
It is not the 100th anniversary...the race was not held for a few years (I think 3) during WWII.
It is known as the world's premiere bicycle race and for good reason!
Sprints, mountains, long distance treks through almost every topography, and climate imagineable!
2,000 miles+ of absolute endurance!
The race is a real show of an individuals ability and strength as a rider...or at least it was!
The TdF separated itself from all of other competitve events...How?
It is hard to describe and even more difficult for American competitors to understand...
But I will try...
I began noticing the change in the TdF on stage 2 of the race...I thought it was a fluke...but the demon proved that it has take up residence and intends to stay!
The TdF is a gentlemen's race. The competition is fierce...but it is about man's ability against himself and that of anothers. Chance has seldom played into the equation.
What does this mean?
In American competition...everything is fair within the rules.
If a runner's shoe is untied during the race...tough luck...
I remember running a 200 meter race in high school...I was the favorite to win, having set the school record...
I had the inside lane which was my favorite lane...
This race was a staggered start so the rules specifically stated that the runners had to stay in their lanes.
The track was a 400 meter oval. We started halfway around the track and finished at the normal finish line.
As I rounded the curve I ran headlong into a "low hurdle" I was in the lead and simply ran around it and was disqualified.
We argued the fact that some idiot left the hurdle in the lane and the officials answer was that I should have jumped it! Rules are rules! Tough luck!
If a distance runner trips...tough luck...
Winning is everything and American competitors will take advantage of everything...their ability and others tough luck to win...
Many people will say...that they don't understand or see a problem with that...isn't that what competition is all about?
In the TdF the competitors want the challenge to be between abilities and strength...
Up until this past year...If a person crashed...and the unfortunate one picked himself up and restarted...the word traveled up to the peleton and the other competitors slowed the pace and gave the unfortunate one a chance to catch up and the race started again...
Now that is a gentlemen's sport, seeped with tradition...and played on the real competitive field...
This year from the third stage onward...there were many crashes...and the peloton traveled on...it was sad...
Yesterday the two real contenders broke from the pack...to go head to head on a grueling climb...one took the lead and suddenly the chain jumped its sprocket...
The competitor who was 50 meters or so behind caught him...passed him and never looked back...
In American competition that is accepted...but it is not the behavior of the TdF!
It is sad when someone has to do that to win! He should not have been given the yellow jersey...but this was a gentlemen's agreement and not a formal rule in the TdF. That is something that I respected in this race! THe rules were unnecessary and stronger than if they were officially part of the race.
The gentlemen's race has died...and it was at that moment when Contadore didn't slow and allow the real competition to ensue.
The TdF has had its share of blood doping and performance enhancing drugs...
Whether all of the riders or just a few did that...really doesn't matter now...the TdF has that under control...it is old news and time to drop the subject!
The tradition of the TdF needs to be maintained and supported...and this can not happen through written rules...
The racers need to speak out!
The fans need to speak out!
If a person wins any aspect in the TdF it is because they were the best competitor...
Is Change Always Good?
I used to believe so...
and in this case the tradition lasted for 99 years...
It changed...
and it needs to change again! Back to what it was!
Enough said!
They always seem to happen when I am moved by some observation or experience...
Yesterday I had one of those that I could not "jot down" and post later...
As many of you know...July is the month that I go into seclusion...it is not driven by the heat...but by the Tour de France (TdF)...
I think that this may be the last year that this happens...
Not because I have changed...but because it has changed...
This is the 100th year since the first race...
It is not the 100th anniversary...the race was not held for a few years (I think 3) during WWII.
It is known as the world's premiere bicycle race and for good reason!
Sprints, mountains, long distance treks through almost every topography, and climate imagineable!
2,000 miles+ of absolute endurance!
The race is a real show of an individuals ability and strength as a rider...or at least it was!
The TdF separated itself from all of other competitve events...How?
It is hard to describe and even more difficult for American competitors to understand...
But I will try...
I began noticing the change in the TdF on stage 2 of the race...I thought it was a fluke...but the demon proved that it has take up residence and intends to stay!
The TdF is a gentlemen's race. The competition is fierce...but it is about man's ability against himself and that of anothers. Chance has seldom played into the equation.
What does this mean?
In American competition...everything is fair within the rules.
If a runner's shoe is untied during the race...tough luck...
I remember running a 200 meter race in high school...I was the favorite to win, having set the school record...
I had the inside lane which was my favorite lane...
This race was a staggered start so the rules specifically stated that the runners had to stay in their lanes.
The track was a 400 meter oval. We started halfway around the track and finished at the normal finish line.
As I rounded the curve I ran headlong into a "low hurdle" I was in the lead and simply ran around it and was disqualified.
We argued the fact that some idiot left the hurdle in the lane and the officials answer was that I should have jumped it! Rules are rules! Tough luck!
If a distance runner trips...tough luck...
Winning is everything and American competitors will take advantage of everything...their ability and others tough luck to win...
Many people will say...that they don't understand or see a problem with that...isn't that what competition is all about?
In the TdF the competitors want the challenge to be between abilities and strength...
Up until this past year...If a person crashed...and the unfortunate one picked himself up and restarted...the word traveled up to the peleton and the other competitors slowed the pace and gave the unfortunate one a chance to catch up and the race started again...
Now that is a gentlemen's sport, seeped with tradition...and played on the real competitive field...
This year from the third stage onward...there were many crashes...and the peloton traveled on...it was sad...
Yesterday the two real contenders broke from the pack...to go head to head on a grueling climb...one took the lead and suddenly the chain jumped its sprocket...
The competitor who was 50 meters or so behind caught him...passed him and never looked back...
In American competition that is accepted...but it is not the behavior of the TdF!
It is sad when someone has to do that to win! He should not have been given the yellow jersey...but this was a gentlemen's agreement and not a formal rule in the TdF. That is something that I respected in this race! THe rules were unnecessary and stronger than if they were officially part of the race.
The gentlemen's race has died...and it was at that moment when Contadore didn't slow and allow the real competition to ensue.
The TdF has had its share of blood doping and performance enhancing drugs...
Whether all of the riders or just a few did that...really doesn't matter now...the TdF has that under control...it is old news and time to drop the subject!
The tradition of the TdF needs to be maintained and supported...and this can not happen through written rules...
The racers need to speak out!
The fans need to speak out!
If a person wins any aspect in the TdF it is because they were the best competitor...
Is Change Always Good?
I used to believe so...
and in this case the tradition lasted for 99 years...
It changed...
and it needs to change again! Back to what it was!
Enough said!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
A Success Lesson from the Great Masters
Good Morning!
It is about that time of the year that the masterpiece that you have been visualizing is gaining substance and getting recognized as everything that "they" ever wanted...
For me that creates a wonderful visual image...
The talented artisan...toiling day and night...and finally after the finishing touches are complete...announces its availability and unveils the results to the anxiously awaiting public...and they gasp at its brilliance!
That in and of itself is a masterpiece! But I regress...
Masterpieces are "pieces or events" created by Masters...DAH!
And...as I think about it...
Masters are the real leaders of any endeavor!
So...We can logically conclude that...
The quest to create and unveil an object or event of epic or masterpiece magnitude is what a real leader should strive for...
This is an interesting thought isn't it?
Let's go a bit deeper...
Just meeting expectations is not a characteristic of a master or (by my logical replacement) a leader...
Said another way...if one calls himself or herself a leader a Leader or a Master and has not unveiled a masterpiece...they are not a Leader or a Master...
A Leader is someone that is out in front...A Master has created something unmatched by no one!
BUT...(one may argue)...that isn't doing simply and consistently what the public wanted a sign of a good leader?
No masterpiece has ever just met the public's expectations...it always exceeds it!
Meeting expectations it is simply surviving...which is something that a leader does not strive for...
Leaders do not survive...they strive!
Let's chase descriptive statistics for a moment...
"Meeting goals and expectations" is the performance of the 50th percentile...
Leaders do not live in the realm of the 50th percentile...they are in the 99th!
They are out in front...not the 50th percentile...they exist in the 99th percentile...
That is not true you may argue...
I argue that in a race the leader (by definition) is the first one across the finish line...
All of the others (by definition) follow that person and are followers...
They have lost the race...
In a race of 100 people...the winner is above the 99th percentile...the losers are everyone who is in the 99th or less...
If your performance is in the 50th percentile (in the middle of the pack)...you can logically conclude that you are among the losers!
The same holds true in the organizational race....the middle of the pack is for losers!
Sounds a bit cutting but it is true...
The Tour de France (TdF) really points this out...
I was listening to some commentators discuss the 180 or so remaining riders and they were describing one of the riders...and they said that he would finish at about 90th place...and they were commending him for finishing the race and what a fantastic accomplishment that was...but the fact is...he is expected to lose the race and lose it big time...even though half the people will lose the race worse than him...they all lost...
It makes no sense to me when someone says they "lost worse"
If you lost...you lost!
But some may argue...not everyone can compete in that race and they should be recognized for that ability...
I disagree...if you are called (are able) to compete in the TdF, you are no longer counted in the group who can not compete in that race...you can not compare yourself to those who can not...the only people that you can be compared to are the TdF competitors...and those are the ones that you are judged against...the participants of that race...in this case...you are called to strive to win...and create the Victory of the TdF Masterpiece!
That is like comparing the artwork of a 3 year-old to Rembrandt...it is art isn't it? Given the prior false logic...art is art...yet many a 3 year-old's masterpieces hang on refrigerators around the world...and perhaps some of those are masterpieces among the 3 year-olds...when you properly group and compare...
OK...I have ridden this horse to death...my message is...don't make the mistake of trying to define a masterpiece by improperly grouping your work...to make it look good...be realistic and call it for what it is...a true master knows who he is and who he should be compared to...
Now that brings up another interesting thought...
One is not "a master" until they have created a masterpiece...
Now let's play with that thought using my prior replacement logic...
You are not a leader until you have lead a group or organization...and...
A leader being the equivalent of a Master...having created a leadership masterpiece which is leading that group to a new level of performance and accomplishment...
If you have not done that...do not claim to be a Master or a Leader! Don't put it on your resume, business card or any place that the public can see it...you are lying to them!
You may be a Master hopeful...or a Leader in training...but you are not a Master or a Leader and should not be so arrogant as to claim such...
If you can not point to a specific accomplishment that has been lauded by your public as a masterpiece, then you are not there...
That is what bothers me...those who claim to be Blackbelts and have few (if any) projects of significant value...or those who claim to be Master Blackbelts and have yet to prove that they are the Master!
Show me your masterpiece! Show me the performance...or the lasting cultural change...prove to me with substance that you are a Master...
DaVinci challenged Michelangelo...and he proved it! Master proving to Master!
This is truly the crux of a MBB certification program...
Moreover, there are those who have the word "leader" on their resume...and can not show..."leading performance"...their masterpiece!
The words Master and Leader have become so diluted! It is sad! They are meaningless...and just another worthless title...and in many cases a joke!
Back when recognition as a Leader or a Master meant something...the title and recognition was protected...(long before me! The middle ages to be exact!)
Often under the threat of death!
Moreover...Being a Master or a Leader meant depending on others...
Think about it...
Leaders need followers...(a King needed subjects)
Masters need benefactors...(Artisans need to eat! LOL!)
This is an interesting relationship and only those who survived as Masters learned that lessons...many did not!
There were many Masters...(those who were highly skilled) that went off on their own...trying to create the masterpiece of their calling...and they usually starved and died!
Masters who were able to create masterpieces of their benefactor's desire...ate and survived...
Masters who were supported by a benefactor and did their own thing rather than what was the desire of the benefactor...most often were jailed or executed! (mostly executed or cast out to starve, in either case...they died)
You can see the importance of the relationship between the benefactor...and the Master!
Critical to survival...
From the onset...
And throughout the generation of Masterpieces!
This hasn't changed...although we would like to believe as such!
You have benefactors...and learning the lesson of the Masters is critical to your survival...
But hidden within that lesson is the real lesson...
It is about listening to the desires and needs of the benefactor...
When Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt the statue of David...his mind envisioned the end result. It was not for himself...but for his benefactor.
Before he began hammering on stone...he took samples of different marbles to his benefactor and drawings to ensure that he was providing what was expected...
The interesting thing about the results of that first meeting was that...
...the marble that the benefactor desired...was not what the artisan was going to use...
...the statue that the benefactor wanted was larger than the artisan intended...
...the statue's position that the benefactor wanted was not in the position that the artisan had drawn...
...the time frame needed by the benefactor was sooner than the artisan had planned...
AND...
The artisan changed and provided his benefactor with what he wanted and it was a masterpiece!
The artisan was still able to far exceeded every expectation while still meeting every one of them...
Michelangelo proved that he was a Master...through the creation of a masterpiece!
Not on his terms...but on those of his benefactor...
No excuses...
No delays...
Enough said!
***************************************
The greatest lesson to be learned from the Masters is that the recognition comes from the outside...
That recognition is the result of outstanding performance...not on the Master's terms...but on those of the public and the benefactors...
Learning these lessons are important to success...
Have a great weekend...
Go to your benefactors and find out what they want and give them a masterpiece...earn the right to be called...Master or Leader!
Pura Vida!
It is about that time of the year that the masterpiece that you have been visualizing is gaining substance and getting recognized as everything that "they" ever wanted...
For me that creates a wonderful visual image...
The talented artisan...toiling day and night...and finally after the finishing touches are complete...announces its availability and unveils the results to the anxiously awaiting public...and they gasp at its brilliance!
That in and of itself is a masterpiece! But I regress...
Masterpieces are "pieces or events" created by Masters...DAH!
And...as I think about it...
Masters are the real leaders of any endeavor!
So...We can logically conclude that...
The quest to create and unveil an object or event of epic or masterpiece magnitude is what a real leader should strive for...
This is an interesting thought isn't it?
Let's go a bit deeper...
Just meeting expectations is not a characteristic of a master or (by my logical replacement) a leader...
Said another way...if one calls himself or herself a leader a Leader or a Master and has not unveiled a masterpiece...they are not a Leader or a Master...
A Leader is someone that is out in front...A Master has created something unmatched by no one!
BUT...(one may argue)...that isn't doing simply and consistently what the public wanted a sign of a good leader?
No masterpiece has ever just met the public's expectations...it always exceeds it!
Meeting expectations it is simply surviving...which is something that a leader does not strive for...
Leaders do not survive...they strive!
Let's chase descriptive statistics for a moment...
"Meeting goals and expectations" is the performance of the 50th percentile...
Leaders do not live in the realm of the 50th percentile...they are in the 99th!
They are out in front...not the 50th percentile...they exist in the 99th percentile...
That is not true you may argue...
I argue that in a race the leader (by definition) is the first one across the finish line...
All of the others (by definition) follow that person and are followers...
They have lost the race...
In a race of 100 people...the winner is above the 99th percentile...the losers are everyone who is in the 99th or less...
If your performance is in the 50th percentile (in the middle of the pack)...you can logically conclude that you are among the losers!
The same holds true in the organizational race....the middle of the pack is for losers!
Sounds a bit cutting but it is true...
The Tour de France (TdF) really points this out...
I was listening to some commentators discuss the 180 or so remaining riders and they were describing one of the riders...and they said that he would finish at about 90th place...and they were commending him for finishing the race and what a fantastic accomplishment that was...but the fact is...he is expected to lose the race and lose it big time...even though half the people will lose the race worse than him...they all lost...
It makes no sense to me when someone says they "lost worse"
If you lost...you lost!
But some may argue...not everyone can compete in that race and they should be recognized for that ability...
I disagree...if you are called (are able) to compete in the TdF, you are no longer counted in the group who can not compete in that race...you can not compare yourself to those who can not...the only people that you can be compared to are the TdF competitors...and those are the ones that you are judged against...the participants of that race...in this case...you are called to strive to win...and create the Victory of the TdF Masterpiece!
That is like comparing the artwork of a 3 year-old to Rembrandt...it is art isn't it? Given the prior false logic...art is art...yet many a 3 year-old's masterpieces hang on refrigerators around the world...and perhaps some of those are masterpieces among the 3 year-olds...when you properly group and compare...
OK...I have ridden this horse to death...my message is...don't make the mistake of trying to define a masterpiece by improperly grouping your work...to make it look good...be realistic and call it for what it is...a true master knows who he is and who he should be compared to...
Now that brings up another interesting thought...
One is not "a master" until they have created a masterpiece...
Now let's play with that thought using my prior replacement logic...
You are not a leader until you have lead a group or organization...and...
A leader being the equivalent of a Master...having created a leadership masterpiece which is leading that group to a new level of performance and accomplishment...
If you have not done that...do not claim to be a Master or a Leader! Don't put it on your resume, business card or any place that the public can see it...you are lying to them!
You may be a Master hopeful...or a Leader in training...but you are not a Master or a Leader and should not be so arrogant as to claim such...
If you can not point to a specific accomplishment that has been lauded by your public as a masterpiece, then you are not there...
That is what bothers me...those who claim to be Blackbelts and have few (if any) projects of significant value...or those who claim to be Master Blackbelts and have yet to prove that they are the Master!
Show me your masterpiece! Show me the performance...or the lasting cultural change...prove to me with substance that you are a Master...
DaVinci challenged Michelangelo...and he proved it! Master proving to Master!
This is truly the crux of a MBB certification program...
Moreover, there are those who have the word "leader" on their resume...and can not show..."leading performance"...their masterpiece!
The words Master and Leader have become so diluted! It is sad! They are meaningless...and just another worthless title...and in many cases a joke!
Back when recognition as a Leader or a Master meant something...the title and recognition was protected...(long before me! The middle ages to be exact!)
Often under the threat of death!
Moreover...Being a Master or a Leader meant depending on others...
Think about it...
Leaders need followers...(a King needed subjects)
Masters need benefactors...(Artisans need to eat! LOL!)
This is an interesting relationship and only those who survived as Masters learned that lessons...many did not!
There were many Masters...(those who were highly skilled) that went off on their own...trying to create the masterpiece of their calling...and they usually starved and died!
Masters who were able to create masterpieces of their benefactor's desire...ate and survived...
Masters who were supported by a benefactor and did their own thing rather than what was the desire of the benefactor...most often were jailed or executed! (mostly executed or cast out to starve, in either case...they died)
You can see the importance of the relationship between the benefactor...and the Master!
Critical to survival...
From the onset...
And throughout the generation of Masterpieces!
This hasn't changed...although we would like to believe as such!
You have benefactors...and learning the lesson of the Masters is critical to your survival...
But hidden within that lesson is the real lesson...
It is about listening to the desires and needs of the benefactor...
When Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt the statue of David...his mind envisioned the end result. It was not for himself...but for his benefactor.
Before he began hammering on stone...he took samples of different marbles to his benefactor and drawings to ensure that he was providing what was expected...
The interesting thing about the results of that first meeting was that...
...the marble that the benefactor desired...was not what the artisan was going to use...
...the statue that the benefactor wanted was larger than the artisan intended...
...the statue's position that the benefactor wanted was not in the position that the artisan had drawn...
...the time frame needed by the benefactor was sooner than the artisan had planned...
AND...
The artisan changed and provided his benefactor with what he wanted and it was a masterpiece!
The artisan was still able to far exceeded every expectation while still meeting every one of them...
Michelangelo proved that he was a Master...through the creation of a masterpiece!
Not on his terms...but on those of his benefactor...
No excuses...
No delays...
Enough said!
***************************************
The greatest lesson to be learned from the Masters is that the recognition comes from the outside...
That recognition is the result of outstanding performance...not on the Master's terms...but on those of the public and the benefactors...
Learning these lessons are important to success...
Have a great weekend...
Go to your benefactors and find out what they want and give them a masterpiece...earn the right to be called...Master or Leader!
Pura Vida!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Everyone Has a Message
Good Morning...
I hope...from the deepest part of my being...that you had a successful week...of chasing your dreams and making them real!
We often chase many things that we believe that we have a right to chase...
Do not make the mistake of Don Quixote...and take time for reality checks periodically...look to others outside yourself to help you ascertain what is real...because our perceptions are automatically skewed by our internal drives...
This takes us to an interesting place in our thoughts...
What do we have a right to chase?
As I think about it...a person only has a right to those things...which he can defend...
Although I would like to chase down that rabbit hole...I will avoid the temptation...but let it suffice that I can reduce this right to a point to where "all we have is life...all else is a benefit and a gift!" Even those guaranteed by the Constitution..."Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
Think deeply about it...A person only has a right to that which they can defend...
What can you truly defend?
AND...
What do you really have a right (obligation) to chase?
*****************************************
Another thought for you...
Every person is unique in make-up (genetics) and experience...
It is that combination of nature and nurture...sets the stage for some interesting conclusions...
Every person may have a specific role to play in the drama!
Even on the most basic (natural) platform...our role is to contribute to the future success of our species...
Passing on our genes...a most basic drive...and on a higher level...passing on our experience and learnings! Sometimes...I think that the two and intertwined...this is an entirely different subject that we'll hit some other day!
We have come to a point that we do understand that our role is to create an endowment for our future generations...some genetic message and perhaps some intellectual message also...which were the result of our unique combination of experiences...
Our genetic code and our intellectual code!
That means that you actually have TWO messages to pass on to your (ours) future generations...
*********************************************
Our next thoughts serve only to enforce our role in this drama...
To paraphrase a quote that I recently read...and paraphrased across the social network world...
"Those things that we have done for ourselves...die with us...those things that we do for others...live beyond us..."
**********************************************
Let's contemplate our naturally driven uniqueness
Question: Just how unique are you?
You have probably watched DNA experts testify on the probability of a genetic match and heard the statement that the Genetic uniqueness is 1 in 16 billion...today I heard a DNA expert testify 1 in 50 billion! Whatever the numbers...it means that every individual is more unique than the total number of human beings that has ever lived or probably ever will live!
This understanding of DNA shows how unique you genetically are! You are alone in your uniqueness among all human beings that have ever lived or ever will live! My mind is boggled by this and this alone!
I have to say it again!
Your genetics actually makes you unique from everything that has ever existed...since life began...every virus...YES EVERYTHING...and those that will live...you are absolutely unique...
OK...I have rode this horse to death...but what a cool thing to ponder!
The message is...You are VERY unique!
**********************************************
Now let's go even further into how unique you are...
There is something making us even more unique...what?
It is our intellectual experience...
Our experiences from the time of conception is only ours and paralleled by no other person...or living thing for that matter! AGAIN...any organism that has ever lived...is living or will live...
If we are naturally unique and complex...and are inherently driven to pass our genetic uniqueness into the future...why shouldn't we also have a drive to pass our intellectual uniqueness (messages) into the future?
A message containing your learnings from your experiences are just as unique and complex...
Isn't that a cool thoght to ponder?
**********************************************
Now let's start thinking about that message...
For those who have been following me...you know that I have been promoting a simplistic understanding of your journey...
Your Signature...what are the habits that you are known for?
Your Legend...what mark have you made?
Your Mission...what is the concise description of your journey and goal?
Your Meaning...What is your one sentence description?
The fact of the matter is...I still believe that these are components leading to success...each with a specific purpose...they should be short...concise and accurately understood by anyone with whom they are shared...
This message is different...
The message that I am describing is different...
It potentially contains a plethora of your life's experiences and the learnings associated with them...good and bad...
**********************************************
Our message is complex...it is as complex as our DNA!
The cool thing about this series of thoughts and the things that we are obligated to pass into the future...is that the DNA part is already forwarded to the future...if you have fulfilled that part of your special purpose!
I think everyone has at one time or another everyone has seen a drawing of a DNA "spiral chain." Our intellectual chain is similar, but instead of 46 rungs of complex genes...your experience message has 4 rungs but the details contained therein are just as complex as an individual genetic rung!
Even though an effort as large as the human genome project would be needed to fully understand the details of your intellectual message, it can be briefly described...in a way that we all can understand it!
An intellectual message ladder has only 4 rungs...they are...
1 - Praise for our unique opportunity and role in the drama...
2 - Remorse for having fallen short on a continual basis
3 - Appreciation for what you have learned and can share
4 - Your lessons learned and the message that the future needs to heed!
If you haven't caught it...the first 4 letters spell out the word PRAY!
You do not have to be a fanatic...or a spiritual person to pray...
To PRAY...simply means to connect one's heart and mind...to the point that it elicits a change in your actions and behaviors...(your actions)...
It may be time that you consider looking deeply into yourself and clearly determining the message your unique message...
Enough said about this for now!
*****************************************
A fundamental component of our society has eroded...through well meaning but narrow thinking individuals. In an effort to be non-discriminatory, unbiased and unoffensive, they have convinced us that to PRAY is forcing the beliefs and behaviors of a minority on others who do not wish to participate in "rituals" that may run contrary to their own belief system. It is interesting that they have fallen prey to that which they are attacking...they are guilty of doing that which they abhor...
I contend that to PRAY is not an opinion or ritual of a specific segment of our society...but an obligation of humanity on the whole! This is especially true when you use my definition...which is to connect your emotions and intellect and affect your behaviors...POSITIVELY!
I take this position by moving from a narrow definition that defines praying as a ritualistic behavior...to an exercise of connecting and directing one's genetics, emotions and intellect towards one purpose and action...
It is "action" that sends an enduring message to future generations and makes them better for your having been here!our
To pray is not to focus on a mental or spiritual exercise...but to affect your behavior and your actions...
So my advice is...
Pray not for yourself...but for others sake!
Why?
Let's think about that thought I posted...and use its message to create an auxillary statement...
If you pray for yourself...it dies with you...if you pray for others...it lives into the future...
*******************************************
Time for some amusement...
I am not a proponent of time travel! I do not believe that the past or the future has the substance that is contained in the present...
In fact by intellectual definition...if one was able to travel back or forward...it is still their present...so I believe that time is an illusion...huh?
Time is a rationalized continuum...but that linearity is only a rationalization...there is no substance in the past or the future...the only substance is the present...and from my perspective...there is only the present!
Enough of that intellectualizing!
To PRAY in my prescribed manner...is to send a message into the future...it is an investment and our attempt to make the world a better place...
It may also call us to account for everything that we are and do! In the present!
OK...Let's cut to the chase...
What is your message?
How well have you crafted it?
This week's advice is not to forget to PRAY...
You owe it to our future generations...and like the old saying...
"Be careful what you PRAY for...it may send the wrong message!"
You have a right to chase only that which you can defend...alone or together...
Hasppy Birthday America...you have made the list of things that we can defend longer than it would be if we tried to do it alone...
Enough Said!
I hope...from the deepest part of my being...that you had a successful week...of chasing your dreams and making them real!
We often chase many things that we believe that we have a right to chase...
Do not make the mistake of Don Quixote...and take time for reality checks periodically...look to others outside yourself to help you ascertain what is real...because our perceptions are automatically skewed by our internal drives...
This takes us to an interesting place in our thoughts...
What do we have a right to chase?
As I think about it...a person only has a right to those things...which he can defend...
Although I would like to chase down that rabbit hole...I will avoid the temptation...but let it suffice that I can reduce this right to a point to where "all we have is life...all else is a benefit and a gift!" Even those guaranteed by the Constitution..."Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
Think deeply about it...A person only has a right to that which they can defend...
What can you truly defend?
AND...
What do you really have a right (obligation) to chase?
*****************************************
Another thought for you...
Every person is unique in make-up (genetics) and experience...
It is that combination of nature and nurture...sets the stage for some interesting conclusions...
Every person may have a specific role to play in the drama!
Even on the most basic (natural) platform...our role is to contribute to the future success of our species...
Passing on our genes...a most basic drive...and on a higher level...passing on our experience and learnings! Sometimes...I think that the two and intertwined...this is an entirely different subject that we'll hit some other day!
We have come to a point that we do understand that our role is to create an endowment for our future generations...some genetic message and perhaps some intellectual message also...which were the result of our unique combination of experiences...
Our genetic code and our intellectual code!
That means that you actually have TWO messages to pass on to your (ours) future generations...
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Our next thoughts serve only to enforce our role in this drama...
To paraphrase a quote that I recently read...and paraphrased across the social network world...
"Those things that we have done for ourselves...die with us...those things that we do for others...live beyond us..."
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Let's contemplate our naturally driven uniqueness
Question: Just how unique are you?
You have probably watched DNA experts testify on the probability of a genetic match and heard the statement that the Genetic uniqueness is 1 in 16 billion...today I heard a DNA expert testify 1 in 50 billion! Whatever the numbers...it means that every individual is more unique than the total number of human beings that has ever lived or probably ever will live!
This understanding of DNA shows how unique you genetically are! You are alone in your uniqueness among all human beings that have ever lived or ever will live! My mind is boggled by this and this alone!
I have to say it again!
Your genetics actually makes you unique from everything that has ever existed...since life began...every virus...YES EVERYTHING...and those that will live...you are absolutely unique...
OK...I have rode this horse to death...but what a cool thing to ponder!
The message is...You are VERY unique!
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Now let's go even further into how unique you are...
There is something making us even more unique...what?
It is our intellectual experience...
Our experiences from the time of conception is only ours and paralleled by no other person...or living thing for that matter! AGAIN...any organism that has ever lived...is living or will live...
If we are naturally unique and complex...and are inherently driven to pass our genetic uniqueness into the future...why shouldn't we also have a drive to pass our intellectual uniqueness (messages) into the future?
A message containing your learnings from your experiences are just as unique and complex...
Isn't that a cool thoght to ponder?
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Now let's start thinking about that message...
For those who have been following me...you know that I have been promoting a simplistic understanding of your journey...
Your Signature...what are the habits that you are known for?
Your Legend...what mark have you made?
Your Mission...what is the concise description of your journey and goal?
Your Meaning...What is your one sentence description?
The fact of the matter is...I still believe that these are components leading to success...each with a specific purpose...they should be short...concise and accurately understood by anyone with whom they are shared...
This message is different...
The message that I am describing is different...
It potentially contains a plethora of your life's experiences and the learnings associated with them...good and bad...
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Our message is complex...it is as complex as our DNA!
The cool thing about this series of thoughts and the things that we are obligated to pass into the future...is that the DNA part is already forwarded to the future...if you have fulfilled that part of your special purpose!
I think everyone has at one time or another everyone has seen a drawing of a DNA "spiral chain." Our intellectual chain is similar, but instead of 46 rungs of complex genes...your experience message has 4 rungs but the details contained therein are just as complex as an individual genetic rung!
Even though an effort as large as the human genome project would be needed to fully understand the details of your intellectual message, it can be briefly described...in a way that we all can understand it!
An intellectual message ladder has only 4 rungs...they are...
1 - Praise for our unique opportunity and role in the drama...
2 - Remorse for having fallen short on a continual basis
3 - Appreciation for what you have learned and can share
4 - Your lessons learned and the message that the future needs to heed!
If you haven't caught it...the first 4 letters spell out the word PRAY!
You do not have to be a fanatic...or a spiritual person to pray...
To PRAY...simply means to connect one's heart and mind...to the point that it elicits a change in your actions and behaviors...(your actions)...
It may be time that you consider looking deeply into yourself and clearly determining the message your unique message...
Enough said about this for now!
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A fundamental component of our society has eroded...through well meaning but narrow thinking individuals. In an effort to be non-discriminatory, unbiased and unoffensive, they have convinced us that to PRAY is forcing the beliefs and behaviors of a minority on others who do not wish to participate in "rituals" that may run contrary to their own belief system. It is interesting that they have fallen prey to that which they are attacking...they are guilty of doing that which they abhor...
I contend that to PRAY is not an opinion or ritual of a specific segment of our society...but an obligation of humanity on the whole! This is especially true when you use my definition...which is to connect your emotions and intellect and affect your behaviors...POSITIVELY!
I take this position by moving from a narrow definition that defines praying as a ritualistic behavior...to an exercise of connecting and directing one's genetics, emotions and intellect towards one purpose and action...
It is "action" that sends an enduring message to future generations and makes them better for your having been here!our
To pray is not to focus on a mental or spiritual exercise...but to affect your behavior and your actions...
So my advice is...
Pray not for yourself...but for others sake!
Why?
Let's think about that thought I posted...and use its message to create an auxillary statement...
If you pray for yourself...it dies with you...if you pray for others...it lives into the future...
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Time for some amusement...
I am not a proponent of time travel! I do not believe that the past or the future has the substance that is contained in the present...
In fact by intellectual definition...if one was able to travel back or forward...it is still their present...so I believe that time is an illusion...huh?
Time is a rationalized continuum...but that linearity is only a rationalization...there is no substance in the past or the future...the only substance is the present...and from my perspective...there is only the present!
Enough of that intellectualizing!
To PRAY in my prescribed manner...is to send a message into the future...it is an investment and our attempt to make the world a better place...
It may also call us to account for everything that we are and do! In the present!
OK...Let's cut to the chase...
What is your message?
How well have you crafted it?
This week's advice is not to forget to PRAY...
You owe it to our future generations...and like the old saying...
"Be careful what you PRAY for...it may send the wrong message!"
You have a right to chase only that which you can defend...alone or together...
Hasppy Birthday America...you have made the list of things that we can defend longer than it would be if we tried to do it alone...
Enough Said!
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