The American century was created by American leadership, which is scarcer than credit just about now.
Op-Ed Columnist – Revolt of the Nihilists – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com.
Seth's Blog: Get to vs. have to
I’ve excerpted half of this great post so do read it! As years pass I get to see people I know find success in their different endeavors , This is so very true.
How much of your day is spent doing things you have to do (as opposed to the things you get to do.)
In my experience, as people become successful and happier (the subset that are both) I find that the percentage shifts. These folks end up spending more and more time on the get to tasks.
Seth’s Blog: Get to vs. have to.
Stevey's Blog Rants: The Bellic School of Management Training
I’ve seen this in some upscale places I’ve eaten in, but not in mid to mass class establishments.
Which begs the question why they don’t do this considering that this directly affects employees pay?
Either they don’t know, or they don’t care, Here’s to hoping they do not know and would gladly implement the extra management overhead that such a scheme would entail if given the chance.
To illustrate why it’s popular, I’ll use an analogy from the restaurant industry. Have you ever noticed that at restaurants, your waiter doesn’t bring your food? Other waiters always bring out your food, during which time your waiter is nowhere to be seen. This is so that if you become infuriated because you specifically ordered tartar sauce on the side, and after a 45-minute wait the chef seems to have emptied the entire bottle of tartar sauce on your fish sandwich in some sort of twisted artistico-culinary attempt to make it look like he threw up on it, then you don’t blame your waiter. Instead, you unwittingly direct your anger at the person who brought your food, who makes sympathetic noises (“Gosh, I’m so sorry – I can’t believe they messed that up!”) and runs away, never to be seen again. After it’s eventually resolved (by still other people bringing replacements out), your waiter finally rematerializes and apologizes for the kitchen screwup.
Stevey’s Blog Rants: The Bellic School of Management Training.
rePost: — Ten Commandments for a Responsible Pet Owner as dictated by the pet from Unfogged
I feel that this is good advice for friends/lovers/families too.
read the whole thing from here: Unfogged
Ten Commandments for a Responsible Pet Owner as dictated by the pet.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainments. But I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too will grow old.
10. On the difficult journey, on the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Because I love you so.
Unfogged.
rePost: Paul Kedrosky: Evaluating Good Bank/Bad Bank, Banking Bailouts, etc.
I think this is excellent advice for problem solving in general.
- Imagine what you have to do to solve a problem. Now multiply it by 10(adjust by level of uncertainty) and that’s what you really have to do.
- Trying to keep things as they were is futile, be prepared for change.
- The surest way to solve a problem is to confront the roots of the problem. The disease and not the symptoms.
from pk here:
Be sure to read this too from the conclusion:
If there are lessons from the experience, several come to the surface:
1. Costs of intervention are generally larger than anticipated;
2. Interventions aimed at preserving the current institutional structure generally do not achieve the expected outcome;
3. The only sure resolution appears to come from confronting the insolvency directly and addressing its financial implications, no matter how large.
Paul Kedrosky: Evaluating Good Bank/Bad Bank, Banking Bailouts, etc..
Just Start Just Right Just Write
I have been on a self imposed blog diet. I am supposed to not post in anything for a few days and reasses. That’s why I had a somewhat longish post for my last post. And I think I finally got it.
I’ve been telling friends to start, start anything and the fact is that advice lacks its other half.
It’s not simply “Start, just start anything” , the advise should read “Start and continue for at least two weeks”.
The thing is, at least for me Two Weeks is enough to form a habit. Two Weeks daily is enough to destroy good habits or create new ones. And of course I am referring to blogging but not only to blogging or writing. In most any thing I do If I do something obsessively for one week and enjoy it enough to continue doing it unobsessively for another week its already a habit for me.
How do I know that its a habit for me? Short answer is that when eats at you inside when you are not doing it.
The long answer is that it when doing something obsessively for a even a few days its starts to change you. You if what you do produces at least within hour after effects, you begin to yearn for those stimulants or at least actions/reactions. Then if the action is within power to be done these stimuli results in sating this need. What happens next depends on two things the feedback effect and the longterm effects.
How the Feedback affects habit formation is determined by two things; how strong the sensation/stimuli is , how much of this strength is back propagated soon and how tiresome is it to do the habit. If something is so enjoyable yet is extremely hard to do or is enjoyable yet only after a long period of time , or if something is easy to do and provides feedback instantaneously but is just not that enjoyable; The habit will just not be formed.
The secret is finding the perfect mix of these things and you would would probably be able to form the habit.
Even if an habit is formed early on if it is just not sustainable through a multitude of means or reasons primarily due to scarcity or even worse adverse effects. Actions produce unintended consequences and ones actions now may prevent us from continuing a habit like lack of money , or time or for some activities maybe have helped end what you use to enjoy. Like maybe over fishing a small pond till you eventually leave a population of fish non-existent.
Well the personal part of this post is that I’ve been having this feeling that I am irritating a few people whenever I go about telling them or more accurately urging them to start blogging or writing or do something as a hobby, or do something to enrich their lives , their view or whatever. I get that “just agree” look that people give to those people trying to get them dupe in the lates pyramid/ponzi scheme
(Aside: In a poor country like the Philippines these schemes are a dime a dozen; and I’d bet you would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know within about two to three degrees of separation someone who has been duped by a ponzi scheme)
(Follow up Aside: In poor countries ponzi schemes or any get rich quick scheme is bound to be effective. Just look at some countries in africa where albinos are being killed because some body parts are said to bring someone great luck. I pray we do not reach that point. )
Continuing… I have all but learned to ignore that look ang continue trying to get them to do something just through a different way because I assume my present stance is just not convincing them. Its what friends do. I I may not be able to help everyone but hell I’m going to try to at least help someone. I may not be very effective in my advocacy but damn it I will try. I grab what I can get, even if its just convincing someone to start updating their resumes, or getting someone to smile more often, I don’t care or more accurately my mind,psyche, heart can take the extra stress so why not.
Just start. Just Right Just Write or Just Do Something Anything.Please. For You. For Me, but Especially For You!
Million Dollar Idea (Advice For the Day!)
smart people have a million dollar idea every week or two, but there are many smart people who are not millionaires. Why? They don’t start.
A Letter From DAD to SON!
An excellent letter written by leo of zen habits. Letter is here:
Best Part for me:
Love Should Be Your Rule
If there’s a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love. It might sound corny, I know … but trust me, there’s no better rule in life.