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Accountability

Unfortunately, we once again suffered another senseless school shooting in our great nation. 10 more of those destined to guide us into the future, perished in senseless slaughter. This aggravates me to no and, as it should all of us. I spent the weekend racking my brain for the why and the what can be done to stop the deaths of so many young people in their haven of learning.

I first looked at the schools themselves, and realized arming teachers is not the answer. I looked at local law enforcement, the legislature for caving into demands, and other places to lay blame. It took me a while and then I think I stumbled on an answer.

My first thought was that all weapons should be locked in the town Armory and signed out by their owners as needed, and then returned to the armory and signed back in. And then, I realized the irrational fear of the government taking guns. I then thought of the owners of weapons developing and running their own armory where the people they would hire would control the arms and sign them in and out. For many, the fear of armed villains breaking into their homes would preclude this. That’s when I realized I was overthinking the entire problem.

What we need is to hold the NRA responsible for gun violence in schools. The Second Amendment did not guarantee 33 round magazines. Nor did it guarantee automatic weapons. The Second Amendment was written in a time where if you were really good with your gun you might possibly get off two shots a minute. Today’s automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and high capacity magazines were not dreamed of when the Second Amendment was written.

The NRA lobbied and bullied to have its way in Congress, and the street armament we have today is a result of that. It is time to hold the NRA responsible. Until the NRA makes our schools safe from mass murder by weapons it lobbied to make legal, they are on the hook and should be held accountable.

I am not talking in a figurative, or pie-in-the-sky thought pattern. The NRA as a whole needs to set protections in place to ensure no schoolchild or teacher is injured by a rifle or a gun at any time on campus. If they fail to do so, federal and state government should step in and hold them accountable for this protection. And, they should reconsider their need of high-capacity magazines. If it takes you 30 rounds to shoot a deer or an elk, you probably need to stop hunting and take up a hobby that would be safer for the rest of us.

By the way, when I was a kid, I was a member of the NRA. They taught me to shoot with my single shot .22, and they did an excellent job on gun safety. Like anyone else in life, they have their good points in their bad points. Don’t we all.

Just one mean old master sergeant’s opinion.

 

Softly Speaking Wins

From time to time, we will run into situations where someone will get aggravated and start speaking loudly or aggressively. And, when peaceful calmness is broken, no one wins. Aggravation and loss of one’s temper never put anyone in a good light.

Speak softly, for loudness and agitation only bring more volume and anxiety in return. If you talk softly and look at the other person while doing so, and the louder they get, the softer you speak, they will calm down, and the tension will begin to evaporate. No one is helped by anger. And, no one is understanding anything, while voices are enraged.  Anger only causes more anxiety and rage.

At that point, everyone is trying to outdo everyone else to win.

If you want to win, be quiet and in control. Doing so you can disarm rising tensions.

Critical Thinking

I’ve talked to you lately about time being more important than money because you can make more money and you know you can’t make more time. And we have talked about planning. Today we have to talk about the ‘do it’ factor.

Once we know what is important enough to us that we are willing to trade time we cannot get back to see ‘it’ done, no matter what ‘it’ may be, we have to do ‘it’.  Believe me, everything looks easy until that point. But when it comes down to getting something scheduled, done, or playing the video game, or just sitting and resting, actions may become hard to accomplish. At this point, an interesting item called critical thinking can come to your rescue.

Actually, you can do either, the task or something else. The question asked  is, “Do you really want to do something else?” At the moment the mind will probably tell you, “Yeah just relax.” Yet, you know the task needs to get done.

Critical thinking allows you mentally to walk around to the other side of your decision and see what comes out. You were supposed to clean up the kitchen and run the dishwasher. That’s what was scheduled. It has been a long day, and you’re sitting in the easy chair playing your favorite video game. You can quickly decide what to do by using a little critical thinking.

Start by thinking of the task you need to do, and how long it will take. It’s not a big kitchen, you can probably be done in half an hour. When you start to play your game, it takes about an hour. Now, imagine what the kitchen looks like after you clean it up. It’s nice it’s clean, and it makes you feel good.

Now imagine what the kitchen will look like after an hour of playing the video game. A pile of dishes is sitting in the sink waiting to go into the dishwasher. Below all the dishes puddles of gum get the bottom of the sink. Who knows what that could be? Crumbs and spills over the counters. And a floor that needs to be swept.

If you’re like me, there is no one else that will do it for you, so that vision is only going to stay with you and get worse until it’s cleaned up anyway. If you do the task now, you will feel better. There will probably be time for some video games a little later on. You may even do better because you feel better.

Just a thought.

Have a great day!

Before You Teach

There’s a sign in a Boy Scout camp down in Alabama, and it says:

You can’t teach what you don’t know

like you can go back to where you ain’t been

Poor grammar aside, it is a truism. To teach one of the most significant requirements is that you actually know what you’re talking about. And yet, it is not the only requirement.

To teach others, you need to meet them where they are. After you have the connection, then you can guide them to wherever they need to go. Failure to do so would mean a collapse in the transfer of knowledge. And that could happen no matter how knowledgeable the instructor is.

The greatest thing you could have in teaching others is to know and understand those you are working with. Until that understanding occurs, more likely than not, there merely groups of people trying to search for something in the dark.

The question becomes if you are writing a course, how do you really know your audience and what they need? The answer to that is easier than you think. You need to go out and interact with them.

Many people miss the step because they think it can’t be done or is very hard to do. Yet, is one of the easiest things in the entire training process. To know your students, you just need to go out and communicate with them, be with them, empathize with them. Then, you will know how to teach them and what they need to learn.

Where and how you may ask? If you’re teaching people, who build computers, go to the factory and be on the line with those people for a while as they build the computers. If you’re writing lessons for vets, go to veterans organizations and military bases, and maybe a bar or two near those places.

Coffee houses are great places to learn about other potential students and what they have to live with on a daily basis. Restaurants, parks, charities, organizations, and meet-ups are just a few of the places you could go to talk to people and learn something before you teach others.

Worried you’ll be ignored? Say hi a time or two, and you may be surprised. Offer to buy somebody a cup of coffee, and then listen to what they say. Watch their mannerisms. Their timber and emotion in the voice will tell you where the pain points really are.

When you teach somebody something, you are actually offering them a better way to deal with the pain point. Students need to know something which you are going to teach them so they can do something better. And that relieves the irritation, pain, or worry.

In doing this preliminary work, you are actually removing your own worry, stress, and pain points. Because once you have done this learning about your students, you have made your own work of teaching much easier to accomplish.

I Have the Cord…

I left my phone at home today. 

I do not know why.  Pam and I had a discussion about it, I checked to ensure I had the cord in my satchel and then I left the house, forgetting to pick up the phone which was sitting next to the TV.

I could blame forgetting the phone on many things. And no, it was not a Freudian slip. I just seemed to be one of those people who have too many concerns at once going on inside the noggin. Worse than that, I seem to have an internal monologue which just doesn’t seem to have a clue about what the word ‘quiet’ means.

The VA has put out an excellent application which I have recently put on my iPad. It is a mindfulness program. It is a directed method of meditation to help with many situations. The folks who designed this did an extensive and excellent Job.

I have had the program for a little while, yet I have not used it on a regular basis. If getting ready for work today is any indication (and yes it has happened before,) I will be finding time very soon to use this VA application and start a better campaign to quiet that inner dialogue.

If you have faced this type of a problem and had success, I would appreciate any and all suggestions. Unfortunately, I find myself somewhat of the novice at meditation.

Thanks,

Learn a Different Perspective

I don’t think it’s a secret that I believe in continuous learning. Right now, I’m taking a course online to become a certified life coach. I have worked with people most of my life, as a coworker, a trainer, as a mentor, and as a manager. I like working with people and helping them to learn new ways and best practices.

I honestly believe you’re never too young to learn; and, you are never too old. Although I have done coaching most of my life, with the new courses I am taking, I have had several aha moments. It is always good to look at what you do in a new way. Taking a different look will usually give you a fresh perspective.

When you look at learning something new or learning something in a different point of view, the question is not money. Instead, the issue is time. I know we’ve talked a lot about time versus money this week. Yet this is very true. I have bought courses for thousands of dollars. I have also taken classes for between $10 and $20 that were almost as good. And, I have enjoyed free courses online which were really able to help me to understand the basics.

Even if you don’t have a computer, that is okay. Your local library is a marvelous place. Libraries have books they will loan you for free as long as you bring them back on time. And, there are often programs and classes at the libraries which could help you to learn.  All you need to do is block off the time you need to meet learning head-on and learn something new.

Have a great day.

Learn Something New

Ever watch kids grow? They learn something new every day. They are excited about it. When they first learn they feel that there’s something that they have learned, which no one else may know about. And they go out to tell everyone.

As they grow, the young learners find out that although what they learned was new to them, it was already well-known by many others. They start to doubt the remarkable vision of the vast world before them. And, as they grow older, they slow in their learning of new things.

The slowing of their learning is not because of a lack of wondrous new things to learn. It is because they are inundated by so much. Also, because they don’t want to look awkward or uninformed by trying to master new skills.

The difference between the third-grader and a mature adult is the ego. In children that ego is not yet developed. In mature adults, the ego is formed, and the ego is also very fragile. Because of the delicate ego, adults are less inclined to try things they know little about.

As I have grown, I have grown out of the belief I know everything about everything. The higher I have gone in education, the more I realize there is an entire universe out there, and then some, of things I know nothing about. And that is okay, because I am curious and interested, and I don’t mind looking the fool if it means I can ask questions and learn new things.

I encourage everyone to reach out and be curious. Learn something new. Do not worry about how others perceive you. Just have fun and feel good about yourself.

If you see me being foolish, that is all right.  Just figure it is because I am learning something new.

GOT TIME?

Do you know what’s worse than a photographic mind? No film. I guess I must go digital. If only I had more memory…

I know you’ve heard me tell you before that time is more important and more precious than money. If you need money, you can always go out and earn money. When it comes to time, we are only given so much on this earth. Good luck getting an extra hour. I just don’t think that happens.

To use your time wisely, everyone tells you to write down a list of things you have to do. Yet, that is only half the equation. You need to know all the things you have to do. You also need to see a list of what is most important to you. Start with a list of what is most important to you.

Although this is a list of what is most important, start by writing down everything you can think of that is important to you. Then, go back and number the items on the list, with one being the most important, two the next most important, and so on. Then you can rearrange that list or rewrite it in the correct order, most important on down.

Now, figuring you only have 24 hours in a day and between seven and eight of those hours should be spent in sleep. The question becomes, ‘what the most important things are, and what can you do for the rest of the time?’ Please remember that paying the utility bill may not be more important than some other things. Getting the bill paid, can be urgent if you don’t want to watch TV by candlelight.

This is just something for you to consider and it may help to make your life a little bit easier.

If you do not think you have more ways you can make money easier than time, please send me a comment with an email, and I will send you some info and also offer you a free 20-minute call where we could discuss some of your options.

A Question, Please

I have had a fantastic week. It’s the kind of week where I get a lot of work done and raised even more questions. It seems as though Friday’s are turning into ‘ask my friends’ day. With your permission, I’ll tell you a little of what I am doing, and I would like to ask you a question that you may be able to help with.

I am working on my blog daily. I also just put two gigs on Fiverr and a course on Thinkific. I am also updating my life and motivational coaching skills. Now, my question comes in the form of marketing.

I’m trying to figure out a form of marketing that does not cost an arm and leg. Also, I would like to have marketing that does not cause my friends and acquaintances to turn the corner as soon as they see me, to avoid feeling I am putting the touch on them to purchase something. I know many of my friends and acquaintances would appreciate not having to ignore me.

I know many who read my blog, have blogs and/or businesses of their own. So here’s my question:

What do you find as the most efficient and most economical way of marketing?

I don’t wish to steal any trade secrets or any proprietary information. If you do have a way that works well for you, and you would like to share it, I would be very interested.

Thank you for allowing the question. Thank you in advance for your ideas and comments.

Have a great weekend.

The Road

I believe in doing things and going somewhere.  I have a hard time with just standing still.  So, I have a question. 

Lately, a millennia-long wrong has started to be set right. Women have joined together to take a stand against gender bias and sexual misconduct in the workplace. This is an excellent thing. No one deserves to be Discriminated against for any reason nor should sexual demands or expectations play any part in business.

At some point, to thoroughly heal, there has to be a reconciliation between offenders and those offended. Therefore, I have to ask a question:

What is the road to redemption?

The reason I ask this is that until a way to redemption is agreed-upon and undertaken, the wounds will not heal. Until the wounds heal the job is only half completed.

Even worse, as the pendulum swings in the opposite direction, the accused become a minority unable to participate in the workplace. Rather than entirely righting the wrong, we end up with a new minority who face the same wrongs which they were once responsible for inflicting.

I will agree if you say, ‘This sounds like just desserts.’ And it does. I just want to mention that nothing was ever solved through history without an agreement on atonement for crimes committed, whether legal or moral.

In the atonement, recognized as the road to redemption. I am not sure I have the wisdom to know what the way is in this case. I only understand the new injustices which could be inflicted without one.

Have a good day, and I look forward to blogging again tomorrow.