I'll take permanence over convenience any day. Cassettes from my youth, 8 tracks and vinyl records I've collected as a teenager are permanent. Even if it means bulk. The front seat, back seat and trunk of my car are usually filled with CD's and books.
The bulk is both the problem and the solution.
I know I could download all of those books and CD's to my iPad or Kindle, but what am I losing in those few seconds it takes Amazon's Whispernet to download?
I am losing my connection to others. I lose an artifact from my history. I lose a story. Or I lose the opportunity to create a story and add a little to my history.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The Credit Economy
We are living in a time of credit dependency. Not only do we rely on credit to fund our homes, business, vacations and clothes, we rely on credit to prop up our egos.
The trouble with the credit economy is that we are too concerned with who gets it.
In our workplaces, teams and homes, how much attention do we pay to the quality of the task versus the attention and credit given for accomplishing it?
The credit economy requires us to do more with less and not give any thought to who gets the credit.
The trouble with the credit economy is that we are too concerned with who gets it.
In our workplaces, teams and homes, how much attention do we pay to the quality of the task versus the attention and credit given for accomplishing it?
The credit economy requires us to do more with less and not give any thought to who gets the credit.
Monday, March 5, 2012
What you do proves what you believe
Just finished watching Simon Sinek's TED talk. I learned about him from the EntreLeadership podcast. Here are some takeaways from the talk:
1. What you do serves as proof of what you believe.
2. People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
3. Money is a result, not a purpose.
4. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.
5. The Golden Circle-Why, How, What- Believe and explain and market in that order.
As I start some of my endeavors, I will be sure to take this to heart. Thanks Simon
1. What you do serves as proof of what you believe.
2. People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
3. Money is a result, not a purpose.
4. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.
5. The Golden Circle-Why, How, What- Believe and explain and market in that order.
As I start some of my endeavors, I will be sure to take this to heart. Thanks Simon
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Punctuation
Let's eat grandma.
Let's eat, grandma.
Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention! Deficit disorder!
That punctuation mark makes all the difference!
We do have a deficit disorder that threatens to bring more mayhem than the Allstate agent. I'm not a preacher of doom, but the deficit disorder represents all that needs to be changed in our lives.
More to come on the pitfalls of the unlimited, extra large and immediate culture we live in.
Let's eat, grandma.
Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention! Deficit disorder!
That punctuation mark makes all the difference!
We do have a deficit disorder that threatens to bring more mayhem than the Allstate agent. I'm not a preacher of doom, but the deficit disorder represents all that needs to be changed in our lives.
More to come on the pitfalls of the unlimited, extra large and immediate culture we live in.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Replace
Every day in class I teach the idea of replacing the old with the new, the bad with the good and the harmful with the healthy. We talk at length about what they did to get in trouble and what they could replace it with. What hobbies, interests, goals and dreams have they lost touch with that could be replacements for what they did to get into trouble?
Darren Hardy discusses this idea in The Compound Effect. He posits that it's the little things done consistently over time that make the biggest difference. Replacing the soda or coffee with water, the tasty treat with a healthy snack. I remember seeing a quote on Pinterest that said "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips." Too true.
So what can you and I replace? Maybe it's not as huge as a drug addiction or a devastating coping strategy. Maybe it's not replacing friends who are a negative influence. Maybe it is. Now I try to ask myself if I am replacing the unhealthy for the healthy, the endless for the limited and the super sized for the reasonable.
Darren Hardy discusses this idea in The Compound Effect. He posits that it's the little things done consistently over time that make the biggest difference. Replacing the soda or coffee with water, the tasty treat with a healthy snack. I remember seeing a quote on Pinterest that said "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips." Too true.
So what can you and I replace? Maybe it's not as huge as a drug addiction or a devastating coping strategy. Maybe it's not replacing friends who are a negative influence. Maybe it is. Now I try to ask myself if I am replacing the unhealthy for the healthy, the endless for the limited and the super sized for the reasonable.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Myself last
I have always prided myself for putting myself last. I've often looked down on friends who occupy themselves with themselves. My dad used to eat a meal a day at the soup kitchen to not take food from his family. I thought that was the way to be a dad.
A few days ago I had my 10 year old daughter in the car with me and we slid off the road in an ice storm. I've needed new tires for months, but put it off as I also needed to fix my wife's car, my roof, had a new baby and many other demands on our limited financial resources. As I slid off the road and nearly into a canal, I realized that those tires represented all that I had chosen not to balance and take care of. My needs are also my families needs. They need new tires to be safe, not just me.
What I thought was selfishness was really putting off the necessary and a lack of prioritizing. What are you not getting done that needs to be? What could take a few minutes or dollars and save time or money, or a life? What could you replace to free up resources? What are you not noticing the importance of, like my bald tires?
A few days ago I had my 10 year old daughter in the car with me and we slid off the road in an ice storm. I've needed new tires for months, but put it off as I also needed to fix my wife's car, my roof, had a new baby and many other demands on our limited financial resources. As I slid off the road and nearly into a canal, I realized that those tires represented all that I had chosen not to balance and take care of. My needs are also my families needs. They need new tires to be safe, not just me.
What I thought was selfishness was really putting off the necessary and a lack of prioritizing. What are you not getting done that needs to be? What could take a few minutes or dollars and save time or money, or a life? What could you replace to free up resources? What are you not noticing the importance of, like my bald tires?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Test your beliefs
A student of mine had an important insight a few days ago. I'll call her Lacey. I teach at a juvenile detention center school and Lacey is a girl who has had some challenges in her young life. Lacey has a 2 year old daughter who she misses greatly and wants to be with. This daughter is her motivation to change her life.
Our students often get caught up in only seeing what they want to see and defending the reasons they are in detention. Marijuana is a big issue, with students having tunnel vision in their defense of it and their ability to choose and be independent. Lacey asked a fellow student if he would introduce marijuana to his child at a young age and teach his child how to use it. The student said no, of course he wouldn't. Lacey then told the student that he did not believe in marijuana then. Lacey then related how she used to cut herself as a coping strategy. She struggled with this behavior, occasionally going back to it in times of depression or stress. A counselor asked her once if she would give a blade to her young child and teach the child how to do it and do it together. A stunned Lacey answered no, she loved her daughter and wanted only the best for her. The counselor said that if she wouldn't teach her child a certain behavior, then she did not believe in it herself and knew it was wrong. As she related this story, Lacey said that from that time on, her test of whether something was good for her or not was to ask if she would allow her child to do it or teach it to her child.
I think about this in my own life. Would I have my child eat the junk food I eat? Would I let my child view the movies and TV shows I watch? Would I introduce them to a website? Would I sit next to them and teach them how to do things that hurt their mind, body or spirit? Would I teach or introduce them to habits, entertainment, media, language and behaviors I choose? I love my kids more than I love myself and I treat them better than I treat myself. It's too easy to excuse a behavior with a negative consequence for me, but if it's harmful to my kids I'd be quick to protect them. Why not protect myself too?
Our students often get caught up in only seeing what they want to see and defending the reasons they are in detention. Marijuana is a big issue, with students having tunnel vision in their defense of it and their ability to choose and be independent. Lacey asked a fellow student if he would introduce marijuana to his child at a young age and teach his child how to use it. The student said no, of course he wouldn't. Lacey then told the student that he did not believe in marijuana then. Lacey then related how she used to cut herself as a coping strategy. She struggled with this behavior, occasionally going back to it in times of depression or stress. A counselor asked her once if she would give a blade to her young child and teach the child how to do it and do it together. A stunned Lacey answered no, she loved her daughter and wanted only the best for her. The counselor said that if she wouldn't teach her child a certain behavior, then she did not believe in it herself and knew it was wrong. As she related this story, Lacey said that from that time on, her test of whether something was good for her or not was to ask if she would allow her child to do it or teach it to her child.
I think about this in my own life. Would I have my child eat the junk food I eat? Would I let my child view the movies and TV shows I watch? Would I introduce them to a website? Would I sit next to them and teach them how to do things that hurt their mind, body or spirit? Would I teach or introduce them to habits, entertainment, media, language and behaviors I choose? I love my kids more than I love myself and I treat them better than I treat myself. It's too easy to excuse a behavior with a negative consequence for me, but if it's harmful to my kids I'd be quick to protect them. Why not protect myself too?
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