Monthly Archives: June 2017

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Feeling Good

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Most people engage in a regular activity whether it is paid employment, charitable work or just a participation in a hobby or an association.

For me this very broad calassification could be playing golf regularly, traveling or going to work at a physical or mental job.  What I am refering to is how you spend the bulk of your time.

How do you Feel?

When you think about your prime activity,  the thing you spend the majority of your time doing, does it elicit positive thoughts?  Just to clarify,  you might spend a significant part of your days sleeping (maybe even a thirds) this question is not about that.

This is not about frustrating moments in a point in time but the overall feeling you get when thinking about the way you spend most of your time.

If what you do is not making you happy overall you should consider a change.  Broadly this will be one of three things (these are generic descriptions)

  • Pick another activity, that is stop your current one (i.e., quit your job, swim instead of golf and so on).
  • Change the way you feel about the activity.  Simply put happiness is an internal feeling you own, check out why you think the way you do and change your mind.
  • Change the things that are bothering you (e.g., take golf lessons so you get lower scores, ask your boss to help solve the things bothering you, manoeuvre things so the obsticles are removed.

What ever you choose to do, do something.  Don’t worry, be happy.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Groundhogs

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Over the years I have massed a large music collection.  Although the genre definitely leans toward blues/ rock there is a good representation  of pop.

The media ranges from compact disc, cassette tape, vinyl album to digital libraries.  The time periods of original issue peak in the early to mid seventies but overall the collection ranges from the mid ninteen fifties to today.

Randomly, I am going to sneak in a post about some favorite albums. My intention is to write about those hidden gems many listeners are not aware of.

The lack of global popularity could result from the electic nature of the music, or the band just were not in the right place at the right time.  All I highlight will be a personal favorite though.

The Groundhogs

A British based power trio, this group had a number of top ten successes in the UK but not much noticible popularity elsewhere. The base format was blues rock, played loud with lots of base.

The melodies followed typical blues coupled with the atonal singing associated with classic southern negro blues of the thirties and forties.

Sharp Lyrics

With a solid musical foundation of basic blues, the standout talent of this group was their humorous/ satirical lyrics.  For examole two early song/albums  clearly demonstrate this  “Thank Christ for the Bomb ” and “Who will save the world – The Mighty Groundhogs”

A complete package

So sharp witty lyrics with a solid (and loud) rhythm section and vocals you can hear and understand the words alltied together making a great package.

If you are going to give their tunes a spin I suggest you try one of the aforementioned albums

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

High crimes and misdemeanors

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Only two U.S. presidents have been empeached and a third resigned before empeachment.  Neither of the empeached presidents were convicted of the crimes they were accused of.

Impeachment does not necessarily result in removal from office; it is only a legal statement of charges, parallel to an indictment in criminal law.

Both of the empeached presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were acquitted by the senate and so stayed in office to end of their terms.

Nixon

Richard Nixon is the most interesting case.  He decided to resign before the impeachment hearing, thus avoiding both empeachment and being turfed from office.

Following his resignation, Vice-president Johnson (Nixon’s running mate and friend) pardoned him.  This avoided a trial where he was actually convicted and sentenced.

The acceptance of the pardon is said to represent an admission of guilt on Nixon’s part, but that is just supposition.  If he had declined the pardon and gone to criminal trial many would have been more satisfied.

Trump

Recent events involving former FBI director Comey and Trump have raised the possibility of obstruction of justice, which is a crime.  High crimes and misdemeanors can be a cause for empeachment.

If empeached though, the senate would still need to vote Trump out of office by two thirds majority which based on past history, is unpresidented ( no pun intended).

Whether there are tapes or not of Trumps alleged obstruction, it is highly unlikely he would resign like Richard Nixon.   So to all you hopeful optimists out there, I don’t think its going to happen.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Throwing Bowling Balls

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Sometimes communication needs a little punch.  A colleague of mine calls this throwing bowling balls.  Sometimes I  get a snappy email response from him, “thanks for the bowling ball”

A touch of levity empowers communication  and as long as it can be taken in good humour, as a bowling ball versus a nuclear detonation there is nothing wrong with spicing the message to increase noticeability.

Getting Attention

Not surprisingly, getting attention is not as useful as keeping it.  When crafting your message, verbal, written or even through body language the key is not just to be noticed but more importantly to be heard.

Bowling balls come in hard and fast, you need to pay attention and react or risk getting hurt.  It’s the reaction which creates the opportunity for dialogue and ultimately opens the door for understanding.

Mutual ackowledgement and understanding (very different from agreement) is the place to start the communication.  Moving on to agreement, if you can, is the next step.

Why Listen

Communication entails transmission of a message.  Most important to the sender is receptivity.  Without motivation why would anyone waste time on your communication.

In today’s environment digital messaging abounds.  People with a large volume of email can be selective about what they pay attention to.

In some cases this is just a defensive tactic.  Time management can be over whelming and the motivation to bypass seeming innocuous or low priority messages is high.

So send that bowling ball spinning to it’s destination when some motivation toward having your message selected for attention is warranted.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Exploring your anger

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I watched the Disney cgi/live action version of Beauty and the Beast on the weekend.  One of the notable features of Disney movies, often attributed to Walt’s legacy, is the clever, intelligent and philishopical dialogue.

Disney focused on family entertainment.  While that is still the case they do produce more more adult oriented features now than during their early days.

Even, with many of their features having a strong focus on  children, because they are generally smart witty and worldly, the adult audience is drawn in as well.

So what’s this about anger

A simple quote, spoken by the animated tea pot played by Emma Thompson (Mrs.Potts) really caught my attention.  So simple but so true.

“People say a lot of things in anger. It is our choice whether or not to listen.”

Sage wisdom from a tea pot.  Beauty and the Beast begin  their relationship from a foundation of stored anger that in fact was related to circumstances beyond their control.

By ignoring the anger, they are able to form a loving relationship.  The realty at the core of the plot is really what appeals to me.

That is the truth in fact;  Anger will not lead to love or friendship but get past it and the sky is the limit.

So kudos to Walt Disney and inheritors.  Keep on spreading the word.  Ignore angry words and most likely good results will be achieved.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Seeking Fullfillment

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From birth, we are all seeking to achieve our desires, get what was promised to us or our predicted destiny.  Getting these things creates a sense of fullfillment.

It is both satisfying and a good feeling.  I remember a moment years ago following a family visit to my parents, my dad commented on how fullfilled I appeared.

At that point, in my life with a young family consisting of myself, wife and three young children, I did feel very content and satisfied.  He was right.  It was such a powerful feeling that my Dad could sense the aura.

Journey or Destination

For a moment in time, I had reached my destination.  Very quickly though, the journey to the next point of fullfillment began.  For me, this is as it should be.

Life is a combination of seeking and achieving.  Without the thrill of the chase the outcomes have far less meaning.  This is not just keeping busy to avoid boredom but doing so in a meaningfull way.

True fullfillment requires both the effort of the attempt as well as the achievement of the desire.

Enjoy

A key aspect of the journey, and ultimate achievement of your desires,  is to enjoy along the way.  Embrace the opportunity to live your life to the fullest.

Both the things that annoy and worry you and those that make you explode with pleasure comprise your journey through life.  Your personal enjoyment is constructed of all these things.  Don’t let them derail you.

It’s all good (what a mantra).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Friendship

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Probably the framework of friendship is simply defined as a relationship of mutual affection between people.  A stronger bond than acquaintance, but weaker than love.

Simple description aside,  friendship is a favourite study  topic of academia.  The cornerstone behaviours associated with friendship can be very subjective in behaviour, hence the quest to better define the term.

Relationship Driven Behaviour

Typically there is a bond between siblings.  This familial relationship can include friendship, love or even hate relationships but typically there is a positive respect respect and close relationship with your siblings.  (A caring relationship).

Civil wars create a fascinating perspective in the study of relationships.  Friends, family even lovers can be pitted against on another just on the basis of geography.

Do you live in the north and your brother in the south?  Regardless of your relationship, circumstances might drive you to take arms against one another.

The typical behaviour associated with your relationship (e.g, friend) might be transformed to foe overnight.  All for the sake of political expediency.

The point is, typical relationship behaviours can be overcome by circumstance.  Your friend might not act in accordance with your expectations.  It is important to consider the root cause of this disappointment to help you understand what is happening.

Loyalty

A relatively common trait of friendships is loyalty.  You expect support from your friend but circumstances can cause loyalty to waiver (civil war being an extreme case)

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Graduation Day

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Every year men and women (mostly young from my perspective) receive graduate and post graduate degrees in recognition of their scholarly accomplishments.

Degree is simply reference to the level of education and is always accompanied by the associated qualifier.  Bachelor degree being the basic level, Masters next and topped by a doctorate.

Others forms of scholarly recognition come in the form of professional degrees (e.g., LLB) or an academic certification.  Combinations of degrees and certificates are common.

Attending the Ceremony

My wife and I were fortunate enough to attend four regular degree granting ceromonies and two professional certifications for our chlidren.  We missed one masters degree ceromony and one professional degree granting.

Today a collegue was presented (granted) his Masters of Business administration.  I did not attend the ceromony but did show up for pictures opportunities afterward.

Don’t get me wrong, sitting in hot stuffy halls for an hour of speeches followed by graduates recieving their degrees one by one is a lot of fun, but after six times I decided to take a pass.

Historical Significance

European universities and colleges initiated the degree granting process and it has circled the world and virtually every country follows the basic practices started by the traditional European  medieval institutions.

At first Christian authorities controlled the degree granting process but this gradually  morphed to institutional control with government beuracracy close at hand ( of course)

Given the level of adoption, worldwide, the system probably works.  At least, it stands on it’s own merits.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Relax,enjoy

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Most people allow themselves to become, angry, fearful, nervous, annoyed, upset and so on.  These emotions can elicit unpleaseant results.

For example, it is clear that some anger related behaviours can dissaffect others.  Often the outcomes can lead to regret, dissappointment or even internal anger for acting the way you did.

Unfortunately, it is most likely these behaviours cannot be erased.  The impact could be diminished or the situation resolved and it could be an improvement.

Most likely though the journey was not pleasent.

Why get Angry?

I am focusing on anger but the points I raise here can generally apply to any negative emotions.  External factors trigger the emotions, some very real, some only percieved.

I sometimes wonder whether the emotion I experience is totally witin my control.  Linked to this of course, is the question of whether the emotional experience was of value.

If it was fully in my control would I have stopped myself from getting angry (or annoyed)?  Would I have behaved more effectively as a result of tighter emotional control?

Managing how you feel

Managing how you feel, being aware of how others percieve you are in fact key life skills.  This is the principal at  the core of the iconic book by Dale Carnegie, “How to make Friennds and Influence Others”

In my view, a simplistic summary of the book is that it  covers behavioral skills you can use to ultimately manage your emotional reactions and the associated reactions.

It’s hard to practice these skills, but when you successfully avoid the unpleasant , the reward is great.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Mixing Communisum and Capitalism

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A colleague of mine recently returned from a MBA class trip to China.  I was curious about his on the ground observations of the combined capitalist/communist economy

Although a hard discussion to have without some political considerations creeping in, my own focus was on the difference between private and state owned enterprise.

Freedom to Get Rich

One of the intereting aspects appeared the key incentive of a capitalist model, the freedom to get rich, was offset somewhat by restrictions on your capital.

That is investing/reusing within China was okay but investing internationally (unless specifically to China’s benefit had some restrictions.

Moving your wealth out off the country, along perhaps with yourself is a freedom kept in check.

Making Everything at Home

A key aspect of China (from what my colleague observed) was the enormous manufacturing capability.  He toured a number of factories and while his gruop was somewhat guided in what they were shown, it was impressive.

This  manufacturing mightiness, an obvious abundance of capital and the political will to build the needed infrastructure  was clearly on display.

Working with Chinese Businessmen

Of course a key objective of the trip was to build knowledge around Chinese business practices and gain a sense of the best ways to collaborate.

An interesting observation about business negotiations was they stared with getting to know one another.  The social aspect was critical to building a business relationship and was not to be avoided, without negative effect.

It is an interesting concept, get to know who you are dealing with, before beginning to deal.