Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
We Must Not Fear
Is change really so frightening? Change does not mean dark days, it means a willingness to risk new actions in order to get new, better results. “Change” is not a frightening word when we are already in dark days. Then “change” is a word of hope and a concept of empowerment. Why is "change" such a scary concept now?
Change is certain. Life itself is a process, not a steady state. It is by digging in heels and fighting to remain in that impossible steady state that we give up any control we might have over the outcome of this change. First, accept that there will always be a moment following the current one, and a moment following the next. Each moment exists with its own states and momentums, always in flux. These forces can be shaped and guided as we desire, but only once we accept that they exist.
Brothers and sisters, “change” is not evil. “Change” is not destructive in its own right. Change is whatever we make it into.
Change is certain. Life itself is a process, not a steady state. It is by digging in heels and fighting to remain in that impossible steady state that we give up any control we might have over the outcome of this change. First, accept that there will always be a moment following the current one, and a moment following the next. Each moment exists with its own states and momentums, always in flux. These forces can be shaped and guided as we desire, but only once we accept that they exist.
Brothers and sisters, “change” is not evil. “Change” is not destructive in its own right. Change is whatever we make it into.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bust-Butt Attitude
Talk to me any day, and I will proudly tell you that I love to work. I don't love doing mindless, often pointless, repetitious tasks. I can't stand trading my mortal time for a couple of dollars. But I love work.
Work is the act of creating value with actions. Most people tell themselves that they don't have time to do small tasks. They can't be bothered to help. A wonderful example of this is watching a Taekwando class set up at the local college. More than eighty percent of the people in this class are greenhorns. These people have little to no experience in a pseudo-military environment, and some adapt faster than others.
The first group of people, the doers, are in control of their lives, outcome, and surroundings. Some of them can be in the middle of a category 5 shitstorm and not feel helpless. At the very least, they do not wait. Things do not happen to them, things happen because of and around them. They turn each event to use. They work to overcome the inertia of idleness.
The second are the followers. They do not have control of their lives, and are generally somewhat lost, in a holding pattern, and unwilling to put forth effort to acheive a goal. They flounder. They do the bare minimum. The goal is simply declared "too hard" and discarded. The quick learn quicker not to expect true excellence from members of this group.
In order to set up for this class, two or three people need to go to a different portion of the building and fetch the mats. If there will be sparring or pad drills, that gear needs to be retrieved as well. But many is the time I have seen one, three, or even five people stand and wait in the empty gym, waiting for the equipment to magically appear. Then we doers arrive (or have already arrived and are bringing in equipment), and the rest of the class simply watches it all happen. No-one moves. No-one volunteers to assist in any small manner, from giving a mat a small push as we unroll it to maybe--gasp--walking with us to fetch the rest of the equipment.
Avoid these people. Surround yourself with doers, who evaluate and improve their own results. Who set up their own goals, ask for assistance, respect greater skill and knowledge, and most of all, do everything they can, in every field they can, whenever they can.
It isn't tough to have a bust-butt attitude. All you have to do is increase the value of things within your sphere through both small and large efforts. Pick up the flyer the person in front of you dropped rather than leaving it on the ground. When it's automatic, you don't even have to break stride. Don't wait for people to ask for help, offer it. Many times, you don't even have to ask. Just give your assistance in carrying out the details of the task at hand. Rather than standing around, ask where you can be useful. Even better, look for a place, identify it, and go be useful there! Why bother to ask a higher-up's permission when you can take the initiative?
Veteran wildland firefighter Peter Leschak writes of "developing a reputation as a 'good crew'" through hard work, volunteering for every assignment offered, and most of all, doing this work efficiently. On many fires, this attitude on the part of even a few crewmembers has been enough to earn a mention of their "bust-butt attitude." Among fire grunts, that takes something special! Leschak tells of working a shift with one crew recruited from the city by the Job Service. Because of the sheer amount of fire in the West that year, these people had not been through the regular process that self-selects the self-motivators and efficient workers for assignments on fires. Leschak's experience quickly revealed that these people, average joes in every sense, had no place on the fireline.
In fact, most people will act like the Job Service crew most of the time, throughout most of their lives. They will stand around while other people bust their butts on things that are "not my problem." Do this in a high-performance situation and you will be pulled out of that situation. Do this in everyday life and you will do nothing special.
______________________
In essence, that's what I mean when I say I love to work. I love to spend my idle time identifying and then doing all of the small, asynchronous tasks around me that most people leave undone. Oftentimes this means nothing more than working on the details of making my everyday performance better. When I choose to do something, I do it with a purpose. There is no place for being half-assed in a life well-lived. Take pride in the details. In my efforts to do everything I do as well as possible, I've come up with a few basic tenets to guide a purposeful life.
-- First, do no harm.
-- Seek learning and experiences
-- It is not the mark of a professional to deal well with action. It is the attitude and behavior in lulls that distinguishes the professional from the layman.
-- On the same token, the smallest thing you do reflects on you. Nothing is "close enough" only because nobody else is watching.
--You are always on duty.
-- Be your own worst critic, be your own best motivator.
-- Keep your own counsel, but seek the advice of people more capable than you.
--No situation is a waste of time until you are not learning anything from it.
-- Share the glory with whom it is due, but when something goes awry, aways shoulder the full responsibility.
-- "Sorry" means it won't happen again.
-- When you make a mistake, work to make it right.
-- Nobody can "make" you feel or act a certain way. It is always a choice.
--Everything is possible.
-- Avoid poisonous people, poisonous attitudes, and poisonous environments. Something is wrong when you say "I can't because..." and not "How can I?"
Work is the act of creating value with actions. Most people tell themselves that they don't have time to do small tasks. They can't be bothered to help. A wonderful example of this is watching a Taekwando class set up at the local college. More than eighty percent of the people in this class are greenhorns. These people have little to no experience in a pseudo-military environment, and some adapt faster than others.
The first group of people, the doers, are in control of their lives, outcome, and surroundings. Some of them can be in the middle of a category 5 shitstorm and not feel helpless. At the very least, they do not wait. Things do not happen to them, things happen because of and around them. They turn each event to use. They work to overcome the inertia of idleness.
The second are the followers. They do not have control of their lives, and are generally somewhat lost, in a holding pattern, and unwilling to put forth effort to acheive a goal. They flounder. They do the bare minimum. The goal is simply declared "too hard" and discarded. The quick learn quicker not to expect true excellence from members of this group.
In order to set up for this class, two or three people need to go to a different portion of the building and fetch the mats. If there will be sparring or pad drills, that gear needs to be retrieved as well. But many is the time I have seen one, three, or even five people stand and wait in the empty gym, waiting for the equipment to magically appear. Then we doers arrive (or have already arrived and are bringing in equipment), and the rest of the class simply watches it all happen. No-one moves. No-one volunteers to assist in any small manner, from giving a mat a small push as we unroll it to maybe--gasp--walking with us to fetch the rest of the equipment.
Avoid these people. Surround yourself with doers, who evaluate and improve their own results. Who set up their own goals, ask for assistance, respect greater skill and knowledge, and most of all, do everything they can, in every field they can, whenever they can.
It isn't tough to have a bust-butt attitude. All you have to do is increase the value of things within your sphere through both small and large efforts. Pick up the flyer the person in front of you dropped rather than leaving it on the ground. When it's automatic, you don't even have to break stride. Don't wait for people to ask for help, offer it. Many times, you don't even have to ask. Just give your assistance in carrying out the details of the task at hand. Rather than standing around, ask where you can be useful. Even better, look for a place, identify it, and go be useful there! Why bother to ask a higher-up's permission when you can take the initiative?
Veteran wildland firefighter Peter Leschak writes of "developing a reputation as a 'good crew'" through hard work, volunteering for every assignment offered, and most of all, doing this work efficiently. On many fires, this attitude on the part of even a few crewmembers has been enough to earn a mention of their "bust-butt attitude." Among fire grunts, that takes something special! Leschak tells of working a shift with one crew recruited from the city by the Job Service. Because of the sheer amount of fire in the West that year, these people had not been through the regular process that self-selects the self-motivators and efficient workers for assignments on fires. Leschak's experience quickly revealed that these people, average joes in every sense, had no place on the fireline.
In fact, most people will act like the Job Service crew most of the time, throughout most of their lives. They will stand around while other people bust their butts on things that are "not my problem." Do this in a high-performance situation and you will be pulled out of that situation. Do this in everyday life and you will do nothing special.
______________________
In essence, that's what I mean when I say I love to work. I love to spend my idle time identifying and then doing all of the small, asynchronous tasks around me that most people leave undone. Oftentimes this means nothing more than working on the details of making my everyday performance better. When I choose to do something, I do it with a purpose. There is no place for being half-assed in a life well-lived. Take pride in the details. In my efforts to do everything I do as well as possible, I've come up with a few basic tenets to guide a purposeful life.
-- First, do no harm.
-- Seek learning and experiences
-- It is not the mark of a professional to deal well with action. It is the attitude and behavior in lulls that distinguishes the professional from the layman.
-- On the same token, the smallest thing you do reflects on you. Nothing is "close enough" only because nobody else is watching.
--You are always on duty.
-- Be your own worst critic, be your own best motivator.
-- Keep your own counsel, but seek the advice of people more capable than you.
--No situation is a waste of time until you are not learning anything from it.
-- Share the glory with whom it is due, but when something goes awry, aways shoulder the full responsibility.
-- "Sorry" means it won't happen again.
-- When you make a mistake, work to make it right.
-- Nobody can "make" you feel or act a certain way. It is always a choice.
--Everything is possible.
-- Avoid poisonous people, poisonous attitudes, and poisonous environments. Something is wrong when you say "I can't because..." and not "How can I?"
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Peace. Love. Freedom. Happiness.
Have you ever noticed there are some themes that crop up over and over again, in some of the most far-flung parts of life? Quick, name something that The 5th Dimension and Metallica have both written songs about! Puppets. But for Metallica, it's oppressive. The master of puppets listens for you to scream. He twists your mind and smashes your dreams. Surely Hetfield can't be talking about the same sort of puppet that we hear the 5th Dimension almost rejoice about. They're talking about love.
But can love and hate come from the same place? They can and they do. They grow from the same root, in the same soil. But while one bears a sweet fruit, the other is poison. And yet... both love and hate can fulfill. Both endow you with purpose. Both demand immense input of energy. Now, which can't be deadly?
But can love and hate come from the same place? They can and they do. They grow from the same root, in the same soil. But while one bears a sweet fruit, the other is poison. And yet... both love and hate can fulfill. Both endow you with purpose. Both demand immense input of energy. Now, which can't be deadly?
I think.
That I thunk.
I think,
I'm a might bit drunk.
Ah, it's been forever since I heard that one. I've only heard it used to rouse people into the school fight song, or any of many rude and crude drinking songs. I'll never touch a drop. My parents haven't had one since before I was born. All our family get-togethers are dry. One clan of cousins has beers on hand for just about anything, but we don't spend much time at shindigs they planned. If it's not a Norvell thing, and Trumbos will be involved AT ALL, don't plan on drinking there. Sure, you can smoke in the building, but take your beer outside.
That I thunk.
I think,
I'm a might bit drunk.
Ah, it's been forever since I heard that one. I've only heard it used to rouse people into the school fight song, or any of many rude and crude drinking songs. I'll never touch a drop. My parents haven't had one since before I was born. All our family get-togethers are dry. One clan of cousins has beers on hand for just about anything, but we don't spend much time at shindigs they planned. If it's not a Norvell thing, and Trumbos will be involved AT ALL, don't plan on drinking there. Sure, you can smoke in the building, but take your beer outside.
Can we ever go back?
To the blankness
To the potential
Before it was harnessed
And broke for the eventual
Taming of the page.
The Page, the Tyrant!
I've been opressed and uplifted
By the same page
On different days.
Have you?
Did you overthrow the tyrant
With the violence of your words?
Or did you see him how he is,
Vulnerable.
Stubborn, but weak.
I greive for this page,
Stained with my words.
He was stubborn indeed,
But I had to write
So you could read.
I do not regret it,
But with every poem there is pain.
The potential, lost
All too easily
With a few careless strokes of a pen.
To the blankness
To the potential
Before it was harnessed
And broke for the eventual
Taming of the page.
The Page, the Tyrant!
I've been opressed and uplifted
By the same page
On different days.
Have you?
Did you overthrow the tyrant
With the violence of your words?
Or did you see him how he is,
Vulnerable.
Stubborn, but weak.
I greive for this page,
Stained with my words.
He was stubborn indeed,
But I had to write
So you could read.
I do not regret it,
But with every poem there is pain.
The potential, lost
All too easily
With a few careless strokes of a pen.
How? Imagine.
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
How can I go forward when I don't know which way I'm facing?
How can I go forward when I don't know which way to turn?
How can I go forward into something I'm not sure of?
Oh no, oh no
How can I have feeling when I don't know if it's a feeling?
How can I feel something if I just don't know how to feel?
How can I have feelings when my feelings have always been denied?
Oh no, oh no
You know life can be long
And you got to be so strong
And the world is so tough
Sometimes I feel I've had enough
How can I give love when I don't know what it is I'm giving?
How can I give love when I just don't know how to give?
How can I give love when love is something I ain't never had?
Oh no, oh no
You know life can be long
You've got to be so strong
And the world she is tough
Sometimes I feel I've had enough
How can we go forward when we don't know which way we're facing?
How can we go forward when we don't know which way to turn?
How can we go forward into something we're not sure of?
Oh no, oh no
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
How can I go forward when I don't know which way I'm facing?
How can I go forward when I don't know which way to turn?
How can I go forward into something I'm not sure of?
Oh no, oh no
How can I have feeling when I don't know if it's a feeling?
How can I feel something if I just don't know how to feel?
How can I have feelings when my feelings have always been denied?
Oh no, oh no
You know life can be long
And you got to be so strong
And the world is so tough
Sometimes I feel I've had enough
How can I give love when I don't know what it is I'm giving?
How can I give love when I just don't know how to give?
How can I give love when love is something I ain't never had?
Oh no, oh no
You know life can be long
You've got to be so strong
And the world she is tough
Sometimes I feel I've had enough
How can we go forward when we don't know which way we're facing?
How can we go forward when we don't know which way to turn?
How can we go forward into something we're not sure of?
Oh no, oh no
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