Audio Tidbits

Whether the thirty tips from James are actually paths to success is an open question. Even so, they are thirty tips that help us come closer to that success we want. I think James has actually discovered thirty ways of making the same point, and that point is well worth five minutes to be sure we never forget. Please listen and remind yourself.

Thanks for giving me a few minutes to share a couple of thoughts about leadership and taking care of business. I found an interesting book that has some ideas worth consideration.

In Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, produced by the Arbinger Institute and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers in 2002, I discovered what I think is an important truth for everyone but especially for leaders. It starts with a simple but rather strange proposition.

Self-deception determines my experience in every aspect of life.

There you go. Let me share it again. I don’t know for sure about you but I personally find the assertion very strange.

Self-deception determines my experience in every aspect of life.

Okay, I’ll move on. The arguement works like this.

1. An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is an act of “self-betrayal.”

2. When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal.

3. When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted.

4. When I betray myself, I enter the box.

5. Over time, certain boxes become characteristic of me, and I carry them with me.

6. By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box with me.

7. In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.

With twenty or so Dems running for President and Trump fronting the Repubs for re-election, the every-four-year circus is upon us. Campaign season is underway. I thought we might all benefit from a short history of politics and a reminder that politics isn’t always what the politicians tell us it is. Please press play and come to your own conclusion.

Over the years, we accumulate quite a variety of rules and philosophy tidbits for life and living. How often do we take time to question them? For most of us, the answer is, “Not much.” In this episode of Audio Tidbits, I take a look at one area of well-tested advice that may need a second look.

I agree that having it done is usually better than getting it done, but may or may not be as much fun. Even so, this time, getting it done is a very nice outcome. Please have a listen and see how it works for you. Kevin has contributed another one of his cool tunes to the mix for us. That gives us half talk and half fun tune. That’s a mix that is hard to criticize.

Last year, I shared on PPOV.net an excerpt from a speech given by President Trump that focused on the promises he made to all of us. I think it is worth re-publishing for your consideration.

Mr. President, I have just again listened to your victory speech from 2016 from the night you learned that you were the President-elect. You said some very hopeful things in that speech and let us know that you had great plans for our country. You said a couple of things that I think need revisited. You seemed to have promised more than you are delivering, more than you seem to have any intention to deliver. Maybe its just too much to expect, but I think you and I should chat about it.

Okay, I know that’s not going to happen. You are way too busy to have little chats with retired liberals in Ohio. Since I’m not likely to be able to share my concerns with you, I am sharing them with my listeners. If you happen to have a few minutes to listen, just press play and we can pick that bone together.

The big crash is why I have not added any episodes to Audio Tidbits for quite a while. All went south around the first of April. My good fortune was that I had a backup from the middle of March. I was able to get things working again but lost everything between the middle of March and the big crash day. From there, it took three weeks to get back on-line. If you are interested in the four minute version of the sad story, please press play. If you only want to listen to one of Kevin’s cool tunes, skip the first three minutes and fifty-seven seconds. All things considered, I’ll just talk it up to a learning experience; and a learning experience it was.

Not everyone can be in charge. We certainly know that too many cooks…, too many chiefs…, and the old sayings could be continued. It’s a principle that we have all heard and even sometimes take to heart. There are times though, when we seem to forget. Consider this example from my past. Perhaps you have an example of your own.

Not everyone can be in charge. We certainly know that too many cooks…, too many chiefs…, and the old sayings could be continued. It's a principle that we have all heard and even sometimes take to heart. There are times though, when we seem to forget. Consider this example from my past. Perhaps you have an example of your own.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” according to Winston Churchill. But if a big difference is a bit more than you want to take on right now, a slightly better attitude is a good place to start.

If perhaps you think that changing your attitude won’t really make any difference, consider this from William James. “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” It’s worth mentioning that Norman Vincent Peale agreed. He said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” Just how much change you want is up to you.

What is stopping you from that attitude change James and Peale think are so important? Mahatma Gandhi had this advice for us, “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” I think the point is to figure out who in our lives is feeding the attitude we have and making sure their dirty feet are not pulling us in the wrong direction. I suspect that attitudes are contagious and it’s pretty easy to be infected by someone else’s bad attitude.

While you are considering even a minor attitude adjustment, it will help to keep the words of Isaac Bashevis Singer in mind, “If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of becoming a prophet. Will Foley put it a little more succinctly, “The world is full of cactus, but we don’t have to sit on it.”

I hear you. You are committing to a little attitude shift but don’t want to get carried away with this attitude thing. Although no one claims credit for saying it, not majoring in minor things is likely worth at least some consideration. Even so, “If you are not enjoying the journey, you probably won’t enjoy the destination.” The tip here is pretty simple: “Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.”

Is that you shrugging your shoulders and saying, “Who cares?” As Helen MacInness reminded, “Nothing is interesting if you’re not interested.” As the old Swedish Proverb suggests, “Those who wish to sing, always find a song,” and those who don’t, don’t. It’s that attitude thing all over again.

It was Arthur Christopher Benson who said, “Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene.” Of course the point is valid; but all things considered, I think going for a change of scene is sometimes a better first choice than undertaking changing ourselves. According to Edward de Bono, “Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.” Since you likely conclude that your unhappiness is because “they” just don’t appreciate your exceptional talents, moving on may be better than – and is certainly easier than one of those attitude adjustments “they” keep suggesting.

Ralph Marston may have argued that “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude,” but just who does he think he is anyway? When we are the ones with the skills, others will just have to get over it. Our attitudes are just fine thank you.

Even though I don’t know who said it, “It isn’t our position but our disposition which makes us happy.” As true as that is, I think I still should be the boss. How about you?