The Critic.

Just who am I to criticize?

We all do it. We notice and pay attention to the failings and missteps of others a little more than our own. We are Coaches, Comedians and Critics all. It's easy to see what others need to work on. Some call it helping, some satire and some constructive insight. ~ It's Not.

Take any great person from history, any one, and focus on their personal frailties and failings. It's easy to find them. Are those the point? Are our failings who we are? Isn't it up to us to ultimately recognize and do something about those dastardly things that we all know so well about ourselves.~  Isn't that why it's called self help?

So when we coach and communicate. When we want to help. Do we honestly believe that the person doesn't know their failings? Is it really about pointing them out ~ Does our emphasis get them to take action?

Perhaps if we light a candle to their strengths. Tell them what we like and admire first. Tell them what good qualities we've noticed and learned from them and then ~ Ask them what they think they need to work on. Perhaps if we can get them to initiate an inward look rather than responding to an external judgement. We may get somewhere together. ~ But ultimately isn't personal development personal?

We can lead a horse to water but we can't make them drink.

Just who am I to criticize
What I perceive with my dull eyes
I'll hold my candle high and then
Perhaps I'll see the hearts of men.

Why Blog?

"If I don't write to empty my mind I go mad." ~ Lord Byron.

There are many good reasons for writing a blog and yet not as many good reasons for us to read them. If you're doing it for money ~ Well you'd better be damned good. If your doing it for fame ~ well you'd also better be damned good. If you're looking to enlighten and educate others ~ come on give us all a break. But if you're doing it for a catharsis, a way to empty your mind, then it makes a bit of sense.

Writing helps us to organize our thoughts, get stuff out and... Well it helps with a lot of things. Whether you just jot down draft ideas or go ahead and publish them on the net. Whether you share 'em on social media or just keep 'em to yourself. The digital blog is this centuries diary, journal or moleskin. You don't have to be Hemingway, Dickens or Shakespeare. You don't need an agenda, an expertise or even a popular topic if you don't care who or how many read your thoughts.

Just give it a go and empty your mind. Don't take it too seriously and especially don't take yourself too seriously. Just have some fun.

"Write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Two Words.

"We anticipate what's to come...then ignore what's actually there." 
~ Stephan Rechtshaffen.

The sales manager was clearly very frustrated. She sat down with her boss for their regular one and one and let it all out. "It's like nothing is getting through" she said. They agree that the advice is good, and they even take notes, then go back to doing what they've always done.

I figure they're either ~ Unable or Unwilling. If they're unable I try to teach a little more. If they're unwilling I try to lead a little better.

 What am I doing wrong?

"You may be focusing on the wrong words" her boss said. "What do you mean?" she replied. "Well it doesn't really matter whether they're unable or unwilling. It's not about can't or won't. Both ultimately end up at the same place" he said. ~ "It's really about two other words that they're either thinking or saying when you try to coach or lead them."

The young sales manager interrupted her boss ~ "Yeah But..."

The old man stopped her in mid sentence, smiled, and said ~  Bingo.

Passion.

"Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman".  ~ Ludwig Van Beethoven.

I remember the very first time I heard Beethoven's ninth symphony,  'Ode To Joy', as a young boy and I thought. - What A Genius.

What Passion.

After hearing the masterpiece I sat in stunned silence, amazed, truly gobsmacked in awe. To think that such power and beauty was within any human being inspired and humbled me. It was pure passion.

Passion drives people.  To create great masterpieces, overcome insurmountable odds, and inspire others. We have only to call on it. Everyone agrees that focused passion is the ingredient that makes the difference between average and great. Yet most people put their daily lives on auto pilot. We forgo focused passion. We slumber through our days. But the fact is passion's the partner we need to dance with if we want to achieve anything of note.  She inspires greatness. She's the muse that drives, determines and defines timeless accomplishment.

So where does passion come from?

From experiences, both good and bad. From memories, dreams and fantasy. From visions and images that dance in our mind we stir ourselves up. We inspire ourselves. ~ What do we need to focus these images? A catalyst.  Some use music, art or words. Some memories. Some anger and hurt. Some use family and the comforts of altruism.

And how do we focus passion?

We take a powerful emotional experience combine it with a drive to accomplish something and add a reminder. A bell for pavlovs dog. Whether it be a piece of music, art, video or literature ~ Most of us need visual or auditory prompts to wake us from our slumber.

Unless we are Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Who Cares?

"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." ~ Teddy Roosevelt.

The old man didn't say much. But he knew how to judge character. So I asked him ~ What should I look for ~ What should I ask them?

He looked up at me and said ~You know it's the same anywhere.
In the Military, Business, Sports or any arena  ~ Just know that:

The guy who blames others
~ Will blame you.
The guy who talks about others
~ Will talk about you.
The guy who cares about others
~ Will care about you.




Find Out Who Cares.

What's Your...

"Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand." ~ David Ogilvy.

There's a lot of talk about Branding. What is It? Why is it important?

Well think about Walmart ~ Do they have a brand? What about Nordstrom or Apple? Do they have a brand? Think about historical figures like Gandhi and Mandela or come up with a person at the other end of the spectrum (We don't even have to mention a name).  Why?   Because they had a brand.~ An identity, good or bad, which conjured up images, thoughts and feelings, that we aligned with them.

How do you establish a brand both personally and as an organization?

A brand is simply ~ Who You Are AND What You're Known For.

But isn't that a reputation? ~ Yes. ~ Isn't that an image? ~ Yes.
Doesn't that depend on others ~ Yes and No. ~ Brand is Identity.
Once you figure out who you are, what you stand for, and what you represent as a person, and as an organization, then the rest follows.

Branding isn't about logos, colors, pictures or words. Branding happens before advertising and marketing. Branding is really all about determination. Determining who and what you are. Your brand strength, recognition and awareness, is all about how others view the consistency and application of what you've determined you are.

Logos, colors, images and words can reinforce and spread awareness of who we think we are. But ultimately branding is about determination.

Your Brand is about determining what you are  ~ And Being That.

Time & Focus.

"You may delay but time will not." ~ Benjamin Franklin.

The Digital World Is A Distraction.

(Go Ahead ~ Click on the image.)

And Time Goes On.





So what should we focus on?