Thoughts for the Day

“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
-Will Rogers

“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
-Mark Twain

Thoughts for the Day

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
-Oscar Wilde

“Everybody knows how to raise children…except for the people who have them.”
-P. J. O’Rourke

“The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop."

A Different View of the World

I normally try to post things humorous that might bring a smile to your face. There’s enough misery in the world right now that we all need a momentary pause. Then I ran across this: a person that has thought thru what’s going on in various countries and, from that, presents trends that make good sense to me. Hopefully, you can spare a few minutes to hear him out.

Potty Training

My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training, and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room.

While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course, I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Matt had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him and he said, "No."

I kept thinking, "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident and I didn’t have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Matt, are you sure you did not have an accident?

"No," he replied.

I just knew that he must have, because the smell was getting worse. So, I asked one more time, "Matt, did you have an accident?"

Matt jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over spread his cheeks, and yelled.. "SEE, MOM, IT’S JUST FARTS!!!" While 100 people nearly choked to death on their tacos, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down to eat his food as if nothing happened. I was mortified!

Some kind elderly people made me feel a lot better when they came over and thanked me for the best laugh they had ever had!!! Another old gentleman stopped us in the parking lot as we were leaving, bent over to my son, and said, "Don’t worry son, my wife accuses me of the same thing all the time. I just never had the nerve to make the point like you did."

New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions. You know, resolution is such a strong word. I much prefer casual promises. I make these to myself fully aware that I am, thankfully, under no legal, moral, or ethical obligation to fulfill.

Best Photos of 2023

Just a link to the site where the photos are hosted. Some are quite spectacular. Worth a few minutes of your time to look ‘em over.

https://mymodernmet.com/best-photos-of-2023/

What It Takes to be Human

Essential Skills for ModernLlife

Respecting consistency as much as you respect hard skills.
The willingness to change your mind when presented with better data/knowledge.
The ability to prioritize high-value work over low-value tasks.

Relying on compounding processes for long-term results.
The capacity to effectively communicate your value: what are you selling? Learn to persuade fast.
Learning from as many smart people as possible in a short time.

If you want to outperform 90% of the people, be consistent for as long as possible: it’s the fastest way to get results.
90% of people can’t focus long enough: mastering your attention and concentration skills will 10x your results.
Playing the long finite game but focusing on small daily wins.

The ability to quickly change thinking hats to work better with others.
Listening more than you speak: active listening means a lot. “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway.
The capacity to measure progress and do more of what works.

Considering the first, second and third-order consequences of actions.
Lifelong learning mindset: an open mind to learn and improve. “Learning how to learn is life’s most important skill.” — Tony Buzan
The ability to synthesize many skills to achieve a long term goal.

Cross-domain knowledge will help you connect ideas better.
Respecting the brilliant ideas of people from different backgrounds.
Pragmatic optimism: combining hope and the realistic approach to solving life and career goals.

Knowing when to be rational, objective and when to show empathy.
Expressing yourself clearly: You need this skill to share your opinions, thoughts, and ideas fully.
Never underestimate the importance of the tools you use for work: they can save time. Upgrade them when necessary.

Compounding productivity is learning to ignore 1001 things and knowing how to choose tasks.
Maintaining a beginner’s mindset: don’t stop questioning the obvious.
The ability to replace “perfect” with “good enough”.

The ability to know when to double down your efforts and when to quit…sometimes referred to as “beating a dead horse”.
Skills like integrity and humility are masters, but they are crucial for long-term success.
Ego kills potential: master it to connect better with others.

The ability to narrow your focus: don’t be all things to all businesses.
The willingness to dig deeper into your personal monopoly will make you an expert.
Repeating or doubling down on what works, even when it feels unconventional.

Email is a time suck: learning to ignore urgent but unimportant emails will save you a ton of time for high-priority work.
Asking for what you want is a skill.
Loving what you do and doing what you enjoy will accelerate progress.

Respecting the downside as much as you respect the upside. Long-term success is not linear – failure is part of the journey.
The ability to take responsibility for your growth – self-directed learning is a superpower in the age of knowledge abundance.
Learning to take a break more often helps you make better progress. Respect your downtimes as much as your uptimes.

Action is the antidote to overthinking – when in doubt, ship good enough ideas and gather feedback for the next iteration.
Managing the many distractions thrown at you is a vital skill in our information-rich world.
Acknowledging your ignorance but striving to improve your knowledge will equip you with the skills you need for the next sprint.

Identifying the most critical daily commitments you need to make progress every week. How you spend your time defines the size of your success.

Many Thoughts for the Day

"Are right and wrong convertible terms, dependent upon popular opinion?"
-Willian Lloyd Garrison

"Zeal will do more than knowledge."
-Willian Hazlitt

"To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own."

-Anne Morrow Lindberg

"Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught."
-Winston Churchill

"The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more."
-Kin Hubbard

"The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can."
-Paul Tournier

"More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause."
-Rose Kennedy

"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action."
-Honore de Balzac

"Big words seldom accompany good deeds."
-Charlotte Whitton

"One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present."
-Golda Meir

"What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens."
-Ellen Glasgow

"Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only."
-Samuel Butler

"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers."
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

"Only the educated are free."
-Epictetus

"Blessed is the person, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact."
-George Eliot

"You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need."
-Vernon Howard

"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."
-Jean Paul

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."
-Saint Augustine

"There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle."
-Alexis de Tocqueville

"We have, I fear, confused power with greatness."
-Stewart Udall

"A person will sometimes devote all of their life to the development of one part of their body – the wishbone."
-Robert Frost

"Life is a long lesson in humility."
-James M. Barrie

Moses (Good News, Bad News)

Moses is sitting in the Egyptian ghetto; things are going terrible. The Pharaoh won’t even talk to him, the rest of the Hebrews are mad at him for making the overseers even more irritable than usual, and so on, and so on, and so on… He’s so depressed about it all, he’s almost ready to give up.

Suddenly a booming, sonorous voice speaks from above: "YOU, MOSES, HEED ME. I HAVE GOOD NEWS, AND BAD NEWS."

Moses is staggered. The voice continues: "YOU, MOSES, WILL LEAD THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL FROM BONDAGE. IF THE PHARAOH REFUSES TO RELEASE YOUR BONDS I WILL SMOTE EGYPT WITH A RAIN OF FROGS."

"YOU, MOSES, WILL LEAD THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO THE PROMISED LAND. IF THE PHARAOH BLOCKS YOUR WAY, I WILL SMOTE EGYPT WITH A PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS.

YOU, MOSES, WILL LEAD THE PEOPLE TO FREEDOM AND SAFETY. IF THE PHARAOH’S ARMY PURSUES YOU, I WILL PART THE WATERS OF THE RED SEA TO OPEN YOUR PATH TO THE PROMISED LAND."

Moses is stunned. He stammers, "That’s, that’s fantastic, I can’t believe it! — but… but… but what’s the bad news?"

"YOU, MOSES, MUST FIRST WRITE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT."