Thoughts On A Bad Thing

This week a bad thing happened....in my life, and in the lives of many of my friends and co-workers. A good man, a hard working, family oriented, church going man died. He was a man who made a contribution to the world. He spent more time than I would have imagined talking to me about religion and although he ultimately wasn't successful in convincing me we had important conversations about life, family, god, death and many other things. I have so much respect for how hard he tried to positively influence me in what he felt was the right direction.
The last few days I (and I suspect many others) have done some real soul searching. I've laid in bed a good portion of the recent nights staring at the ceiling. Here's what I think: I need to take my life and myself a lot less seriously. I need to make more effort in my relationships and have more important, intimate conversations. I should know the people in my life beyond the surface stuff. I need to slow my life down. It saddens me how quickly after hearing the news at home and at work we were forced to plow on with our lives and meet our obligations. I need to spend more time alone thinking. There should be time in life other than when I'm supposed to be sleeping when I can think about the really important things in life. Most importantly I need to teach these lessons to my children.
Larry I promise my life will change because of you. I promise I will be a better person in the world, with my family and most importantly to myself because of you. Rest in peace brother.

Harvey Mackay quotes

Harvey Mackay quotes:
The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about.

If you're looking for a big opportunity, look for a big challenge.

You don't have to know everything as long as you know the people who do.

To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done.

Be prepared, or be prepared to fail.

Giving someone a piece of your mind rarely gives you peace of mind.

Good luck usually depends on good judgment.

Some people dream about success, and others wake up and do something about it.

The world's work is done every day by people who could have stayed in bed, but didn't.

Binary Work

     "If you do a job where someone tells you exactly what to do he will find someone cheaper to do it." Seth Godin. This is a good segue to something I've been thinking about lately. I see in the world around us a push from workers to want their jobs to be binary. People push to have clear direction so that everything that comes at them is a one or a zero. Bosses increasingly try to add measurable items to employee performance evaluations to eliminate the grey areas and to be able to say here is why. The problem with making your work binary is you take the skill out of it and thus remove the value. When you remove the value why would the company or boss pay you a lot of money to do it? Now that job is a low skilled and ultimately low paying job. Next time we complain about the loss of good paying jobs in our economy perhaps we should consider the impact of us trying to remove the skill and personal responsibility from our jobs.

Macro vs. Micro

     Something I've been thinking about lately......it's important to judge things at the macro level not at the micro level. Judging at the micro level is when you are angry at someone because of something they said today rather than realizing all the wonderful things they have done for you. Or saying you hate your job after having a bad day rather than realizing that it paid for your house and vacation and gave you wonderful opportunities.                       
     Next time you're angry at someone or something step back and look at the whole picture. Your wife is a beautiful woman who loves you and keeps your family together not just the woman who yelled at you for tracking mud on the floor.....your kid is the good student who cuddles up and reads with you at night not just the kid who left his shoes where you tripped over them again.

First Post In A Long Time- Them

     Looking at my blog it looks like the last time I posted was September. I've been thinking about something lately though so here goes:
     I'm pretty conscious in life of trying not to use the phrase "them". People do it a lot when referring to the management of companies we work for and interact with, the government at various levels etc. The truth is though there really isn't a them, just a collection of people. "Them" comes up a lot with conspiracy theories. They are trying to screw us or plotting something etc. However recently I've come to believe that they and their conspiracy theories don't exist. We all go through life interacting with people and realize there are very different skill sets and levels of competency among individuals and then among collective groups of individuals. What I've been thinking about lately is that them is just a group of individuals some competent and some not. The conspiracies for the most part I think are the result of people of various levels of competency being put in positions where they are making it up as they go along. The result is what we think is a great conspiracy. There is a great quote that sums this up: "never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence".

Latest Letter to the Editor titled: I Don't Understand

     During the Municipal election campaign last October the question was asked repeatedly about what would happen to our town's current debt obligations related to Development Charges if the expected funds did not come in due to the poor economic conditions. We were assured that would not happen.
     In March of this year we became aware that the town was working on contingency plans to cover shortfalls in development charges brought on by the economic slowdown.
I argued at the time that borrowing or issuing credits against future development charges has a cost to residents in that it takes away from the value of future development charges. I got the usual response: fiscally conservative councillors said I was: "bang on." others fell back on: "you just don't understand."
     This week at council, a developer requested that he not be required to pay a portion of his development charges at the usual time but be allowed to defer payment of $7 million dollars. In essence the Town will pay now and will be repaid later when the homes are closer to being built. This will allow the developer to "borrow less money." No mention of the fact that the town will pay interest on this money in the meantime.
     As I may not "understand," perhaps it would be prudent to consider what the person who has the best understanding of the town's current financial situation, thinks. That would be Paul Whiteside, New Teumseth's retired CFO, and current Ward 3 councillor. "We are not a financial institution ... we have expended that money ... and we have to make those principle and interest payments," he said at council Monday night.
To those who would charge that I again "don't understand," I agree with you. I don't understand why the Town should pay carrying charges on debt that the developer is responsible for in order to put him in a better financial position.
     I and many others are concerned about the Town's debt and I ask that council follow Mr. Whiteside's direction and not use the Town's resources to essentially lend money at our expense to developers.
Rob Holliday
Alliston

Consider.....

     I like to think of myself as obsessively focused on not being the victim. I have a simple goal: to make the world a better place. The method of accomplishment: to be part of the solution in everything I encounter. At work, in the community and in all aspects of my life. It disappoints me when I look around and I see people whose solution is apparently to complain. Apparently some feel that if enough people whine and complain something will magically happen. People will suddenly realize they are right and the world will mobilize around their Facebook page. I have a simple request: consider getting involved. Whatever your issue is that bothers you.....get involved. If it pisses you off that the government doesn't do enough to help the poor give time or money to the food bank.If you hate the way something is at work try fixing it. If you hate the Prime Minister get out and support another party to try and get rid of him. DO SOMETHING! Try it. You might like it!