Saturday, September 24, 2011
Lawrence: Are you an entrepreneur? Check these crucial attri...
Lawrence: Are you an entrepreneur? Check these crucial attri...: “Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.” I wish to thank each and everyone of you who re...
Are you an entrepreneur? Check these crucial attributes and see if you reallymeasure up. (You probably don't.)
“Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.”
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:...Are you an entrepreneur? Check these crucial attributes and see if you reallymeasure up. (You probably don't.)
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinionhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is an article about bold, visionary, business risk- takers called "entrepreneurs". Such people, by their intelligence, diligence, and shear bravado, overawe movie and sports stars in public awareness and regard and dwarf any renown which may come with mere public office, even the most high.
Entrepreneurs are the heroes of our age; never have they been more discussed, emulated, venerated and even worshipped as they are right now. On campuses around the nation and the world, the giants of entrepreneurial fame draw standing room only crowds while mere authors, statesmen, and musicians take second place, or worse.
Oh, yes, these are the heady days for entrepreneurs. It is no wonder you wish to enroll yourself amongst their ranks. But are you really cut out to be an entrepreneur? This article will make that clear, one way or the other.
To put you in the right frame of mind, I've selected the theme music for the hit television series "Star Trek", which celebrates those who boldly go where no man has gone before. This music was composed by Alexander Courage for the series which debued in 1966. It is highly suitable for those who don't merely move into the future... they create it. You can easily find it in any search engine. Get it now... turn up the volume... and closely follow the points in this article which will make it clear whether you will captain your own Starship Enterprise, or not...
What is an entrepreneur? Let's start with the definition.
Entrepreneur was originally a French word taken over lock, stock and barrel by the English speaking world, much to the dismay of the Academie Francaise, official guardian of the French language. Its definition is "One who undertakes to start and conduct an enterprise or business, assuming full control and risk." Now let's see if you are this person.
1) Entrepreneurs see the world not just as it is... but as it should be. From this fundamental fact about entrepreneurs all other facts derive.
Scratch an entrepreneur and you'll find a person who is not just tinkering with human reality today... but has been tinkering with it right from the get-go, even from the cradle. They never see just what is... in their mind's eye they see each and every situation as it can be... must be; they have only to do their bit.
2) Entrepreneurs say with Harry S. Truman, who proved as president of these United States to have the soul and inclinations of an entrepreneur, that "You can't have anything worth while without difficulties". And, "Mistakes would be made. No one who accomplished things could expect to avoid mistakes. Only those who did nothing made no mistakes."
Those without the blood and fiber of an entrepreneur live their lives in chagrined remembrance for all the mistakes, errors, miscalculations and bonehead decisions they have already made... and are sure, given the chance, they will make again. This paralyzes them... for they are sure that when they decide, that decision will be wrong. On this destructive basis no progress is ever possible.
Entrepreneurs are very different.
Each and every decision made opens the possibility for error. This is the real world in which entrepreneurs live and flourish... accepting whatever transpires as yet another valuable learning step, as they walk the road to improving the human condition.
3) Entrepreneurs are "people-people". They understand their work, all their work, is for people, unlike those without the entrepreneurial wherewithal who, in this withering phrase, "love humanity but hate people."
An entrepreneur looks at a given situation and sees people unable to fulfill their God- given potential because of a condition, an obstacle which can, given the idea, the desire, the resources, and their own time and energy, be changed, improved, or even eradicated, sent to the scrap heap of invidious, enfeebling circumstances that the collectivity of entrepreneurs and their active, can-do ways have removed as obstacles to the perfectibility of mankind.
In short, while others immerse themselves in fallibilities and dismay, the entrepreneur activates Teddy Roosevelt's celebrated recommendation to "do the best you can, with what you've got, where you are."
They know to the depths of their being that there is nothing so wrong that cannot be righted by the sum and substance of their parts, their humanity, their problem-solving capabilities... and that je ne sais quoi that distinguishes them from the run of mankind which sees obstacles as finalities... not challenges which they can meet... with grace, joy, and gratitude that they had the chance to serve.
4) Entrepreneurs crash, burn, hurt... and get up to try it all over again.
In the international best-seller "Zorba the Greek" (published 1964), author Mikis Theodarakis writes of a young English entrepreneur who gets entangled with and wiped out by the bad advice and worse assistance of Zorba, who is at best a con man. He follows Zorba's catastrophic advice... and in a memorable scene watches as the Rube Goldberg machine Zorba has created collapses, costing the entrepreneur every cent he has... and more. For an instant, stunned by the implosion of all his prospects, every dream and expectation, he is stupified, angry, lost. Then he shows the true grit of even the grieving entrepreneur, "Teach me to dance," he asks Zorba, not at all the line we expected... but should have. It is what a real entrepreneur would say... and dance the sirtaki.
This is how entrepreneurs face catastrophe... for as Thomas Alva Edison, revered of American entrepreneurs, said, “I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work”, commenting on what he learned from the exasperation of years of "failure." Sublime.
5) Entrepreneurs uplift, never cast down.
No one knows better than an entrepreneur how difficult the improvement of the human condition can be; certainly those without the entrepreneurial disposition and experience cannot.
Thus, on any opportunity, wherever they happen to be, entrepreneurs lift up, encourage, and ease the way. Thus they administer in friendship and human solidarity essential truths and elements which have benefited them and from which hopeful others may benefit, too.
Entrepreneurs carry with them at all times, truths and insights derived from their unique vantage points, practical advice and admonitions, steady advice, always utilitarian, on what to do... and what not to. They never think, as those without entrepreneurial proclivities do, that to give to others is to diminish yourself. Their point of view is radically different -- and always helpful.
And one more thing...
Entrepreneurs, however much they have managed to achieve alone, know that their success is always predicated upon the dedicated assistance and endeavors of the crucial people who constitute their team. It is their honor, their pride and responsibility to recognize and thank these sinews of their success, and they are glad to do so.
When was the last time you did as much for the good people who have helped you? Isn't it time you did, you who aspire to be an entrepreneur?
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out 7 Figure Success Formula -> http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=sz6g119A
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S., If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:...Are you an entrepreneur? Check these crucial attributes and see if you reallymeasure up. (You probably don't.)
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinionhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is an article about bold, visionary, business risk- takers called "entrepreneurs". Such people, by their intelligence, diligence, and shear bravado, overawe movie and sports stars in public awareness and regard and dwarf any renown which may come with mere public office, even the most high.
Entrepreneurs are the heroes of our age; never have they been more discussed, emulated, venerated and even worshipped as they are right now. On campuses around the nation and the world, the giants of entrepreneurial fame draw standing room only crowds while mere authors, statesmen, and musicians take second place, or worse.
Oh, yes, these are the heady days for entrepreneurs. It is no wonder you wish to enroll yourself amongst their ranks. But are you really cut out to be an entrepreneur? This article will make that clear, one way or the other.
To put you in the right frame of mind, I've selected the theme music for the hit television series "Star Trek", which celebrates those who boldly go where no man has gone before. This music was composed by Alexander Courage for the series which debued in 1966. It is highly suitable for those who don't merely move into the future... they create it. You can easily find it in any search engine. Get it now... turn up the volume... and closely follow the points in this article which will make it clear whether you will captain your own Starship Enterprise, or not...
What is an entrepreneur? Let's start with the definition.
Entrepreneur was originally a French word taken over lock, stock and barrel by the English speaking world, much to the dismay of the Academie Francaise, official guardian of the French language. Its definition is "One who undertakes to start and conduct an enterprise or business, assuming full control and risk." Now let's see if you are this person.
1) Entrepreneurs see the world not just as it is... but as it should be. From this fundamental fact about entrepreneurs all other facts derive.
Scratch an entrepreneur and you'll find a person who is not just tinkering with human reality today... but has been tinkering with it right from the get-go, even from the cradle. They never see just what is... in their mind's eye they see each and every situation as it can be... must be; they have only to do their bit.
2) Entrepreneurs say with Harry S. Truman, who proved as president of these United States to have the soul and inclinations of an entrepreneur, that "You can't have anything worth while without difficulties". And, "Mistakes would be made. No one who accomplished things could expect to avoid mistakes. Only those who did nothing made no mistakes."
Those without the blood and fiber of an entrepreneur live their lives in chagrined remembrance for all the mistakes, errors, miscalculations and bonehead decisions they have already made... and are sure, given the chance, they will make again. This paralyzes them... for they are sure that when they decide, that decision will be wrong. On this destructive basis no progress is ever possible.
Entrepreneurs are very different.
Each and every decision made opens the possibility for error. This is the real world in which entrepreneurs live and flourish... accepting whatever transpires as yet another valuable learning step, as they walk the road to improving the human condition.
3) Entrepreneurs are "people-people". They understand their work, all their work, is for people, unlike those without the entrepreneurial wherewithal who, in this withering phrase, "love humanity but hate people."
An entrepreneur looks at a given situation and sees people unable to fulfill their God- given potential because of a condition, an obstacle which can, given the idea, the desire, the resources, and their own time and energy, be changed, improved, or even eradicated, sent to the scrap heap of invidious, enfeebling circumstances that the collectivity of entrepreneurs and their active, can-do ways have removed as obstacles to the perfectibility of mankind.
In short, while others immerse themselves in fallibilities and dismay, the entrepreneur activates Teddy Roosevelt's celebrated recommendation to "do the best you can, with what you've got, where you are."
They know to the depths of their being that there is nothing so wrong that cannot be righted by the sum and substance of their parts, their humanity, their problem-solving capabilities... and that je ne sais quoi that distinguishes them from the run of mankind which sees obstacles as finalities... not challenges which they can meet... with grace, joy, and gratitude that they had the chance to serve.
4) Entrepreneurs crash, burn, hurt... and get up to try it all over again.
In the international best-seller "Zorba the Greek" (published 1964), author Mikis Theodarakis writes of a young English entrepreneur who gets entangled with and wiped out by the bad advice and worse assistance of Zorba, who is at best a con man. He follows Zorba's catastrophic advice... and in a memorable scene watches as the Rube Goldberg machine Zorba has created collapses, costing the entrepreneur every cent he has... and more. For an instant, stunned by the implosion of all his prospects, every dream and expectation, he is stupified, angry, lost. Then he shows the true grit of even the grieving entrepreneur, "Teach me to dance," he asks Zorba, not at all the line we expected... but should have. It is what a real entrepreneur would say... and dance the sirtaki.
This is how entrepreneurs face catastrophe... for as Thomas Alva Edison, revered of American entrepreneurs, said, “I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work”, commenting on what he learned from the exasperation of years of "failure." Sublime.
5) Entrepreneurs uplift, never cast down.
No one knows better than an entrepreneur how difficult the improvement of the human condition can be; certainly those without the entrepreneurial disposition and experience cannot.
Thus, on any opportunity, wherever they happen to be, entrepreneurs lift up, encourage, and ease the way. Thus they administer in friendship and human solidarity essential truths and elements which have benefited them and from which hopeful others may benefit, too.
Entrepreneurs carry with them at all times, truths and insights derived from their unique vantage points, practical advice and admonitions, steady advice, always utilitarian, on what to do... and what not to. They never think, as those without entrepreneurial proclivities do, that to give to others is to diminish yourself. Their point of view is radically different -- and always helpful.
And one more thing...
Entrepreneurs, however much they have managed to achieve alone, know that their success is always predicated upon the dedicated assistance and endeavors of the crucial people who constitute their team. It is their honor, their pride and responsibility to recognize and thank these sinews of their success, and they are glad to do so.
When was the last time you did as much for the good people who have helped you? Isn't it time you did, you who aspire to be an entrepreneur?
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out 7 Figure Success Formula -> http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=sz6g119A
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S., If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Lawrence: The hemorrhage at the U.S. Postal Service gets wor...
Lawrence: The hemorrhage at the U.S. Postal Service gets wor...: “Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.” I wish to thank each and everyone of you who re...
The hemorrhage at the U.S. Postal Service gets worse. Face it, the time for massive overhaul at this venerable institution is nigh.
“Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.”
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..The hemorrhage at the U.S. Postal Service gets worse. Face it, the time for massive overhaul at this venerable institution is nigh.
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinion http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. If you were around in 1961 and were of a teen-age disposition, your trips to the soda shoppe were frequent and your search for The Sound was never-ending, punctuated as they were by gales of laughter, the hope for a class ring from that special someone bestowed during your special song; the someone you later you married only to discover he (or she) had feet of lead and no rhythm whatsoever.
One of your "finds" was The Marvelettes and you thought their catchy little tune, "Please Mr. Postman", was to die for. Now Mr. Postman himself is on his last legs. I know he'd appreciate it if you sent him good wishes. Just don't use email. It's already killing him. You'll find the song in any search engine. Please play it now and consider: it is a eulogy for an American institution.
Some postal history and perspective.
As human institutions go the creation and institutionalization of the post office is very recent history. And like so many great events of the time, it was born thanks to that patriot brainiac Benjamin Franklin who in 1775 became first Postmaster General of the United States. Franklin was after all the consummate communicator. A publisher, businessman, as well as polished diplomat and cunning revolutionary; he knew that the nation would never grow to its territorial greatness and full potential without the latest in communications.
And so, he helped organize what became in due course the pride of the democracy and necessary, too, where even the most humble could communicate and for prices which steadily decreased as the service -- and the nation -- grew. We were proud of our post office and knew how hard they worked to bring us the intelligence from the world beyond our gate and to live up to its charge:
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
That was then... this is now...
September 6, 2011 Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe laid the stark situation of the postal service before a committee of United States senators. Such officials, of course, gave themselves the franking privilege long ago and thus having secured the right to unlimited free postage while in office, they have turned a blind eye and no intelligence whatsoever to the postal concerns of everyone else. Now these chickens are well and truly coming home to roost.
This passage from his alarming, lugubrious remarks pretty much sums up the state of the USPS: "I'm operating with a week's worth of cash," said this exasperated, at-his- wits-end descendant of the luckier Franklin. You could sense his irritation, frustration, incensed to a palpable degree. How had things gone so very wrong? The "culprits" are things we see and use every single day: the Internet, email, skype, text messaging and every other communications convenience we have all come to use daily. The USPS is now, sad to say, the whitest of elephants and Donahoe is the wake-master, presiding if not yet at its death bed, then at least at its prospective demise. The innocent days when "Please Mr. Postman" wowed the adolescent set and the USPS was the only game in town, now seem as far away as Ancient Rome.
But the USPS -- and the government behind it-- has been loathe to see the problem and do the sensible things to solve it, sooner, not later. And so good money has been thrown after bad and our elected poobahs procrastinate; it is something at which they excel.
USPS facts.
Item: The Postal Service's weekly costs now exceed $1 billion dollars.
Item: USPS could post a $10 billion loss for its fiscal year.
Item: USPS needs a 90-day extension to pay billions of dollars in mandatory annual retirement payments due at the end of its fiscal year on September 30. Without this crucial extension, USPS will default on its obligations to retired employees.
In fairness to USPS and its string of (coming in hopeful, going out frustrated and embittered) postmasters general, the Postal Service has at least tried to advise Congress and stem the flood of red ink and lamentation. But Congress, ostrich-like here as elsewhere, has ignored the problem, buck passing with alacrity, while pleading reforms will take place "some day." Thus the hapless saga of a once-great institution, crucial for the growth of the Great Republic, continues.
Item: The USPS missed the chance to profit from overnight mail and the fast package deliver services like UPS, Federal Express, and all the others. Here the USPS, arrogant in its mail delivery monopoly, muffed the chance to be a serious player in the very lucrative game of speedy delivery. Lord Acton famously wrote, "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely," as the USPS demonstrated in spades.
Item: USPS missed the growing import of the Internet, email etc. They looked at these innovative message carriers and dismissed them as pesky and irritating to be sure, but not dangerous to their centuries of hegemony.
Item: USPS, as both Internet and its chief application email grow apace, failed to read the handwriting so clearly on the (electronic) wall and so failed to produce a sensible strategic plan that would redefine its role in an electronic world and determine what specific changes would be necessary with a clear plan for all necessary changes.
Get the picture?
Here were people minding the USPS store whom Ben Franklin would have fired in a heartbeat, as obviously not up to either their jobs or exalted titles and plush perquisites.
What should this gang who couldn't shoot straight, USPS and Congress, have done?
1) Saturday mail deliveries should have been abolished years ago. Canadians have lived quite well without them. This efficiency would not have meant the end of America and would have saved millions. P.S. If the postal carriers union had complained grievously at this sensible recommendation (and they most assuredly would had, being the insufferably coddled government employees they are), they could be honestly told that with the acute diminution of mail, it would be no strain to Monday's carriers when they would be expected to carry Saturday's mail, too.
2) The nation has had too many post offices for years. In part this is a hang-over from 19th century political realities. Newly elected presidents enjoyed the "spoils system" which allowed them to select members of their party for patronage as postmasters. This perquisite of the presidency was abolished in due course, but its memory lingered on, stinking to high heaven and padding the rolls of post offices without mail, or purpose. It goes unsaid that this would necessitate a comparable shrinking in the number of employees, with all its attendant savings. Of course senators and representatives will scream bloody murder, so let's give the Postmaster General the right to keep some of these smaller post offices for whatever he deems a good reason... even if that becomes a modern manifestation of the venerable Spoils System.
3) Let the USPS get access to the hundreds of millions of dollars overpaid into federal retirement funds for decades. This abuse no doubt benefited the congressional proponents of "voodoo economics." They could use these funds elsewhere while congratulating themselves on just how difficult it would be for USPS to reclaim them. Nice.
We need these and other sensible reforms... and we need them yesterday.
What we don't need are the silly statements by the likes of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) who issued this suggestion to improve the fortunes of USPS: "We should be writing more passionate letters to those we love," or the bonehead suggestion of Senator Clare McCaskiill (D-Missouri).
She said, "I really think that there is a longing out there right now, especially in these uncertain times, for some of the things that have provided stability over the years." She urges a national advertising campaign to get people to use letters! Senator, as Ben Franklin could have told you, the USPS at its finest was about cutting edge communications technology, never merely the letter, envelope, and stamp.
That's why whenever Mr. Postman looks in his bag nowadays there's no letter for The Marvelettes, never, ever. The message was delivered days ago... by email.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..The hemorrhage at the U.S. Postal Service gets worse. Face it, the time for massive overhaul at this venerable institution is nigh.
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinion http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. If you were around in 1961 and were of a teen-age disposition, your trips to the soda shoppe were frequent and your search for The Sound was never-ending, punctuated as they were by gales of laughter, the hope for a class ring from that special someone bestowed during your special song; the someone you later you married only to discover he (or she) had feet of lead and no rhythm whatsoever.
One of your "finds" was The Marvelettes and you thought their catchy little tune, "Please Mr. Postman", was to die for. Now Mr. Postman himself is on his last legs. I know he'd appreciate it if you sent him good wishes. Just don't use email. It's already killing him. You'll find the song in any search engine. Please play it now and consider: it is a eulogy for an American institution.
Some postal history and perspective.
As human institutions go the creation and institutionalization of the post office is very recent history. And like so many great events of the time, it was born thanks to that patriot brainiac Benjamin Franklin who in 1775 became first Postmaster General of the United States. Franklin was after all the consummate communicator. A publisher, businessman, as well as polished diplomat and cunning revolutionary; he knew that the nation would never grow to its territorial greatness and full potential without the latest in communications.
And so, he helped organize what became in due course the pride of the democracy and necessary, too, where even the most humble could communicate and for prices which steadily decreased as the service -- and the nation -- grew. We were proud of our post office and knew how hard they worked to bring us the intelligence from the world beyond our gate and to live up to its charge:
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
That was then... this is now...
September 6, 2011 Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe laid the stark situation of the postal service before a committee of United States senators. Such officials, of course, gave themselves the franking privilege long ago and thus having secured the right to unlimited free postage while in office, they have turned a blind eye and no intelligence whatsoever to the postal concerns of everyone else. Now these chickens are well and truly coming home to roost.
This passage from his alarming, lugubrious remarks pretty much sums up the state of the USPS: "I'm operating with a week's worth of cash," said this exasperated, at-his- wits-end descendant of the luckier Franklin. You could sense his irritation, frustration, incensed to a palpable degree. How had things gone so very wrong? The "culprits" are things we see and use every single day: the Internet, email, skype, text messaging and every other communications convenience we have all come to use daily. The USPS is now, sad to say, the whitest of elephants and Donahoe is the wake-master, presiding if not yet at its death bed, then at least at its prospective demise. The innocent days when "Please Mr. Postman" wowed the adolescent set and the USPS was the only game in town, now seem as far away as Ancient Rome.
But the USPS -- and the government behind it-- has been loathe to see the problem and do the sensible things to solve it, sooner, not later. And so good money has been thrown after bad and our elected poobahs procrastinate; it is something at which they excel.
USPS facts.
Item: The Postal Service's weekly costs now exceed $1 billion dollars.
Item: USPS could post a $10 billion loss for its fiscal year.
Item: USPS needs a 90-day extension to pay billions of dollars in mandatory annual retirement payments due at the end of its fiscal year on September 30. Without this crucial extension, USPS will default on its obligations to retired employees.
In fairness to USPS and its string of (coming in hopeful, going out frustrated and embittered) postmasters general, the Postal Service has at least tried to advise Congress and stem the flood of red ink and lamentation. But Congress, ostrich-like here as elsewhere, has ignored the problem, buck passing with alacrity, while pleading reforms will take place "some day." Thus the hapless saga of a once-great institution, crucial for the growth of the Great Republic, continues.
Item: The USPS missed the chance to profit from overnight mail and the fast package deliver services like UPS, Federal Express, and all the others. Here the USPS, arrogant in its mail delivery monopoly, muffed the chance to be a serious player in the very lucrative game of speedy delivery. Lord Acton famously wrote, "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely," as the USPS demonstrated in spades.
Item: USPS missed the growing import of the Internet, email etc. They looked at these innovative message carriers and dismissed them as pesky and irritating to be sure, but not dangerous to their centuries of hegemony.
Item: USPS, as both Internet and its chief application email grow apace, failed to read the handwriting so clearly on the (electronic) wall and so failed to produce a sensible strategic plan that would redefine its role in an electronic world and determine what specific changes would be necessary with a clear plan for all necessary changes.
Get the picture?
Here were people minding the USPS store whom Ben Franklin would have fired in a heartbeat, as obviously not up to either their jobs or exalted titles and plush perquisites.
What should this gang who couldn't shoot straight, USPS and Congress, have done?
1) Saturday mail deliveries should have been abolished years ago. Canadians have lived quite well without them. This efficiency would not have meant the end of America and would have saved millions. P.S. If the postal carriers union had complained grievously at this sensible recommendation (and they most assuredly would had, being the insufferably coddled government employees they are), they could be honestly told that with the acute diminution of mail, it would be no strain to Monday's carriers when they would be expected to carry Saturday's mail, too.
2) The nation has had too many post offices for years. In part this is a hang-over from 19th century political realities. Newly elected presidents enjoyed the "spoils system" which allowed them to select members of their party for patronage as postmasters. This perquisite of the presidency was abolished in due course, but its memory lingered on, stinking to high heaven and padding the rolls of post offices without mail, or purpose. It goes unsaid that this would necessitate a comparable shrinking in the number of employees, with all its attendant savings. Of course senators and representatives will scream bloody murder, so let's give the Postmaster General the right to keep some of these smaller post offices for whatever he deems a good reason... even if that becomes a modern manifestation of the venerable Spoils System.
3) Let the USPS get access to the hundreds of millions of dollars overpaid into federal retirement funds for decades. This abuse no doubt benefited the congressional proponents of "voodoo economics." They could use these funds elsewhere while congratulating themselves on just how difficult it would be for USPS to reclaim them. Nice.
We need these and other sensible reforms... and we need them yesterday.
What we don't need are the silly statements by the likes of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) who issued this suggestion to improve the fortunes of USPS: "We should be writing more passionate letters to those we love," or the bonehead suggestion of Senator Clare McCaskiill (D-Missouri).
She said, "I really think that there is a longing out there right now, especially in these uncertain times, for some of the things that have provided stability over the years." She urges a national advertising campaign to get people to use letters! Senator, as Ben Franklin could have told you, the USPS at its finest was about cutting edge communications technology, never merely the letter, envelope, and stamp.
That's why whenever Mr. Postman looks in his bag nowadays there's no letter for The Marvelettes, never, ever. The message was delivered days ago... by email.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
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phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
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Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
Lawrence: Are YOU a selfish communicator? (Probably yes.)
Lawrence: Are YOU a selfish communicator? (Probably yes.): “Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.” I wish to thank each and everyone of you who re...
Are YOU a selfish communicator? (Probably yes.)
“Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.”
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..Are YOU a selfish communicator? (Probably yes.)
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinionhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston know "it takes two, babee, it takes two, me and you."Their hit song on the subject -- "It Takes Two "-- was released in 1965. Sadly lots of others, maybe including YOU, don't get it. That's why this article is so very necessary. You can find this tune in any search engine. Go now. Play it loud and proud. Then dig into this article with its relentless message, "it takes two."
More technology, less communicating.
Do you spend your days chasing people who should be doing their bit to communicate with you, but aren't?
My average day consists of endless follow-up e-mails and phone calls to people who want something from me but are too lazy and arrogant to follow up themselves. I swear, there must be a published communications pecking order some where; the more times you force a person to follow up with you the higher you rise (and the more annoying you become).
The most incredible aspect of the problem is this: the more ways we humans have to communicate with each other,the less real communication goes on. Hence this "in your face" list of things you need to do at once to become part of the solution... and leave your useless "communication" habits behind:
1) When someone contacts you, take the call whenever possible.
A great many communication problems would be solved if you answered the person attempting to reach you at once and dealt with the matter at hand promptly, efficiently, thoroughly.
2) What to do if you don't connect with the person you are trying to reach.
Trying to reach someone but getting nowhere? Assume the person in question is a communications prima donna. Assume, that is, the worst and take it upon yourself to do what the missing person won't do: try again! Remember this, bad communicators are expert at evading, "forgetting", excusing, procrastinating. If the person you are trying to reach is that way, nothing you can say will ever change their modus operandi; what you see is what you get. But you can use strategies which will smoke 'em out and get a response.
Try calling 6 times in a row. That'll get their attention.
If that fails and you're dealing with a business, leave two messages; then call the CEO's office and leave a detailed complaint. Remember, desperate times demand desperate measures. Don't hesitate to be exigent. Remember, the bad habits of someone who should know better constitute excellent reasons for what you must do to get assistance.
3) If you cannot take all your calls and respond to all your email, etc as they come in, then designate a time sacrosanct to responding to everything then.
Put this time on your answering machine, so people trying to get to you know; invite them, too, to return at that time for assistance.
Be clear about what you will do and when you will do it. Then honor your word; that alone will differentiate you from the selfish communicators who abound.
4) Stop being so arrogant.
There are two great reasons why people become selfish communicators. The first (and lessor reason) is that these people quite simply don't know what to do or that their behavior is affronting. This problem, of course, is the more easily dealt with.
The alternative is far more difficult: that the selfish communicator is so arrogant that he feels justified in ignoring you, frustrating you, insulting you, because he is so important, so desirable, so necessary to you and your life you'll take anything he chooses to dish out:
"Yes, Your Majesty. No, Your Majesty. Tell us how low to go, Your Majesty. Give us a kick if it please, Your Majesty. Give us a kick if you will, Your Majesty. Oh, that was good, Your Majesty."
So sings Mrs. Anna Leonowens, the "I" in Roger and Hammerstein's 1956 film "The King and I" to the king of Siam, her spoiled employer. Such people are, of course, insufferable, acutely irritating, intolerable, but (when you need them) cannot be caste off as unendurable. Thus, you must find a way... or make one (mulling over the appropriate revenge to be delivered later.)
5) Respond to EVERY email and phone message before you end your work day.
Imagine you are dazed, bleeding, in shackles. Your captor looks you in the eye and says, "You can escape this thrall if and only if you will contact all the folks who have tried to reach you today but have so far been unsuccessful." What would you do, stay chained... or get on the computer and phone and steadily move towards your freedom?
You'd get on with the job, wouldn't you? Well, then, approach all your messages the same way. Until such time as you take care of each and every one appropriately and professionally, these messages own you... take note and get on with the job of freeing yourself!
6) Be conscious of your habits.
For years, I have been informally studying all communicators. I want to know the answers to questions like these: Are they aware of their particular communications habits? Are they untrained? Or just oblivious to the right ways to communicate for maximum effect? Do they care that they inconvenience the very people they should be most careful of and considerate to?
Better communications skills can only commence as you gradually scrutinize your own habits. The sad truth is, you may be one of the communicators who approaches your work with your mind on anything other the business at hand. Your attitude can best be summed up as "dolce far niente", "delicious idleness." You do what is easiest and most convenient for you, without ever considering the inconvenience to the other party. Your own sweet idleness is far more important than the irritation, frustration, yes, rage you manage to engender. You are a communicator out of "Mad" magazine, your motto "What me worry?"
7) And now a point of such significance that your failure to grasp it could easily result in bruised relationships, arguments, umbrage, and even (and justifiably) worse.
Do not sit in front of a person and obsessively read your phone messages, then hold up a single finger by which you mean "I'm sorry. I've got to take this call," then blow your auditor off.
I am awaiting with eagerness the first murder trial on this matter, where an otherwise calm and even-tempered individual facing that raised finger, gets up and shoves that phone where the sun don't shine, only to face a jury of his peers. And they, knowing the feeling, having experienced the insolence.... let the angry auditor off without even a warning; what's more they cheer him to the echo.... so flagrant the crime, so insulting the matter of sitting patiently while the clueless, arrogant communicator imposes... and aggravates.
This situation happened to me the other day in a restaurant where I was with an insufferable communicator whom I have warned and warned again about his infuriating habits. Still the finger went up and the plea for "just a minute." This time I didn't hesitate or demur. I got up, emptied first the water glass and then the salad bowl on the miscreant and walked out without a word. The culprit's been calling and calling... but I'm involved in a new project; finding out how long it is till Hell freezes over. I won't take his call until then.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books and known as a Home Business Expert. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..Are YOU a selfish communicator? (Probably yes.)
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinionhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at lawence.rinke http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif . And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston know "it takes two, babee, it takes two, me and you."Their hit song on the subject -- "It Takes Two "-- was released in 1965. Sadly lots of others, maybe including YOU, don't get it. That's why this article is so very necessary. You can find this tune in any search engine. Go now. Play it loud and proud. Then dig into this article with its relentless message, "it takes two."
More technology, less communicating.
Do you spend your days chasing people who should be doing their bit to communicate with you, but aren't?
My average day consists of endless follow-up e-mails and phone calls to people who want something from me but are too lazy and arrogant to follow up themselves. I swear, there must be a published communications pecking order some where; the more times you force a person to follow up with you the higher you rise (and the more annoying you become).
The most incredible aspect of the problem is this: the more ways we humans have to communicate with each other,the less real communication goes on. Hence this "in your face" list of things you need to do at once to become part of the solution... and leave your useless "communication" habits behind:
1) When someone contacts you, take the call whenever possible.
A great many communication problems would be solved if you answered the person attempting to reach you at once and dealt with the matter at hand promptly, efficiently, thoroughly.
2) What to do if you don't connect with the person you are trying to reach.
Trying to reach someone but getting nowhere? Assume the person in question is a communications prima donna. Assume, that is, the worst and take it upon yourself to do what the missing person won't do: try again! Remember this, bad communicators are expert at evading, "forgetting", excusing, procrastinating. If the person you are trying to reach is that way, nothing you can say will ever change their modus operandi; what you see is what you get. But you can use strategies which will smoke 'em out and get a response.
Try calling 6 times in a row. That'll get their attention.
If that fails and you're dealing with a business, leave two messages; then call the CEO's office and leave a detailed complaint. Remember, desperate times demand desperate measures. Don't hesitate to be exigent. Remember, the bad habits of someone who should know better constitute excellent reasons for what you must do to get assistance.
3) If you cannot take all your calls and respond to all your email, etc as they come in, then designate a time sacrosanct to responding to everything then.
Put this time on your answering machine, so people trying to get to you know; invite them, too, to return at that time for assistance.
Be clear about what you will do and when you will do it. Then honor your word; that alone will differentiate you from the selfish communicators who abound.
4) Stop being so arrogant.
There are two great reasons why people become selfish communicators. The first (and lessor reason) is that these people quite simply don't know what to do or that their behavior is affronting. This problem, of course, is the more easily dealt with.
The alternative is far more difficult: that the selfish communicator is so arrogant that he feels justified in ignoring you, frustrating you, insulting you, because he is so important, so desirable, so necessary to you and your life you'll take anything he chooses to dish out:
"Yes, Your Majesty. No, Your Majesty. Tell us how low to go, Your Majesty. Give us a kick if it please, Your Majesty. Give us a kick if you will, Your Majesty. Oh, that was good, Your Majesty."
So sings Mrs. Anna Leonowens, the "I" in Roger and Hammerstein's 1956 film "The King and I" to the king of Siam, her spoiled employer. Such people are, of course, insufferable, acutely irritating, intolerable, but (when you need them) cannot be caste off as unendurable. Thus, you must find a way... or make one (mulling over the appropriate revenge to be delivered later.)
5) Respond to EVERY email and phone message before you end your work day.
Imagine you are dazed, bleeding, in shackles. Your captor looks you in the eye and says, "You can escape this thrall if and only if you will contact all the folks who have tried to reach you today but have so far been unsuccessful." What would you do, stay chained... or get on the computer and phone and steadily move towards your freedom?
You'd get on with the job, wouldn't you? Well, then, approach all your messages the same way. Until such time as you take care of each and every one appropriately and professionally, these messages own you... take note and get on with the job of freeing yourself!
6) Be conscious of your habits.
For years, I have been informally studying all communicators. I want to know the answers to questions like these: Are they aware of their particular communications habits? Are they untrained? Or just oblivious to the right ways to communicate for maximum effect? Do they care that they inconvenience the very people they should be most careful of and considerate to?
Better communications skills can only commence as you gradually scrutinize your own habits. The sad truth is, you may be one of the communicators who approaches your work with your mind on anything other the business at hand. Your attitude can best be summed up as "dolce far niente", "delicious idleness." You do what is easiest and most convenient for you, without ever considering the inconvenience to the other party. Your own sweet idleness is far more important than the irritation, frustration, yes, rage you manage to engender. You are a communicator out of "Mad" magazine, your motto "What me worry?"
7) And now a point of such significance that your failure to grasp it could easily result in bruised relationships, arguments, umbrage, and even (and justifiably) worse.
Do not sit in front of a person and obsessively read your phone messages, then hold up a single finger by which you mean "I'm sorry. I've got to take this call," then blow your auditor off.
I am awaiting with eagerness the first murder trial on this matter, where an otherwise calm and even-tempered individual facing that raised finger, gets up and shoves that phone where the sun don't shine, only to face a jury of his peers. And they, knowing the feeling, having experienced the insolence.... let the angry auditor off without even a warning; what's more they cheer him to the echo.... so flagrant the crime, so insulting the matter of sitting patiently while the clueless, arrogant communicator imposes... and aggravates.
This situation happened to me the other day in a restaurant where I was with an insufferable communicator whom I have warned and warned again about his infuriating habits. Still the finger went up and the plea for "just a minute." This time I didn't hesitate or demur. I got up, emptied first the water glass and then the salad bowl on the miscreant and walked out without a word. The culprit's been calling and calling... but I'm involved in a new project; finding out how long it is till Hell freezes over. I won't take his call until then.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books and known as a Home Business Expert. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
Friday, September 9, 2011
Lawrence: 9/11, closure, and an important new book by Profes...
Lawrence: 9/11, closure, and an important new book by Profes...: “Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.” I wish to thank each and everyone of you who re...
9/11, closure, and an important new book by Professor Nancy Berns.
“Wow! I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ve snagged another one of Dr. Lant’s superb articles.”
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..9/11, closure, and an important new book by Professor Nancy Berns.
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinion matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at Lawrence.rinke. And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!”
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is a story about death and remembrance, one of the most difficult of subjects; universal reality for every human... but one we approach with the utmost diffidence, wanting to make the troubling matter which touches upon our own mortality short, clean,crisp, so that the experience is sanitized and efficient. We want to treat it as a management problem not as profound unsettling event. We want closure... and we want it as soon and as effortlessly as possible.
But death and remembrance do not work that way... it is not a management problem; it is about our own oblivion, and it must be treated with the high seriousness it deserves.
That's why I have selected revered Mozart's "Requiem Mass in D minor" (K. 626) for the musical accompaniment for today's article. It is the precise sound needed to help you consider the matter of eternity, including your own. You will find it in any search engine. Allow yourself to be touched by this masterpiece unfinished at his death, which the Master left in 1791 for his encounter with God. It will help us with ours and help the loved ones who must deal, in due course, with our own passing.
How a new book by Professor Nancy Berns can help.
Drake University associate professor of sociology Nancy Berns has just published a work which may perhaps become seminal, offering as it does vital insights into the prevailing American way of grief, remembrance and the matter of "closure." Her book is titled "Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What It Costs Us," and it comes just as the nation faces another agonizing bout of remembrance on the never-must-be-forgotten events which fall under the name "9/11".
Her subject is important, timely, and of the greatest significance to every one of us: is closure a desirable objective, or is it another illustration of our national disinclination to deal with subjects at once difficult, distasteful, and perhaps irresolvable? Let's start with a definition of "closure," "that which closes or shuts down."
It's easy to see why real everyday people want death and its aftermath to be an "over ASAP" matter. We live in a culture which not only values but obsessives over the need for youth, beauty and boundless health and which sees in age and the weight of enfeebling years the markers of debility, always measuring by how much is gone and how much may remain. Death thus becomes not just an event but the event which deprives us of everything... and gives the hot potato of your death and disposal to people who want to pass it on immediately and get back to life. For such people (for all they may have loved us) the concept of "closure" is absolutely essential because it gives them the right to forget and forget as fast as possible. This is especially true where the fatalities have been significant... as they can be in wars, natural disasters and traumatizing outrages like 9/11.
Images of 9/11
9/11 seared the national memory with images profound, haunting, horrifying, indelible. Each of us, all of us, have been bothered and afflicted by these images which in an instant altered our consciousness and diminished our securities. We close our eyes and will it otherwise but these images abide with us forever, the residue of carnage. We attempt to make sense of the senseless by creating statistics, for that is easier than remembering the victims, those blown to Kingdom Come mid-air and those on whom the debris and the bodies fell, eliminating lives in a cascade of unimaginable flames.
65 percent of the victims were between 31 and 50 years old.
76 percent of those killed were men.
64 percent of the dead were married.
72 percent had at least one dependent.
Nearly 39 percent made at least $100,000 a year.
Statistics give a kind of distance -- and closure.
9/11 oppresses us, not merely because of the original event, but because we want to "move on", into a world where the impact of this tragedy lessons and gives us peace... without guilt; closure, with finality.
Here's where the deeper insights of Professor Berns come in.
She argues, and I think rightly, that closure is a concept born n our speed-driven culture. It is an appealing idea because it offers a definitive end to our suffering or grief and thereby offers an acceptable basis for starting a new life chapter where there is no sorrow, guilt, or anger. An invention of Gestalt psychology, this concept is now a cultural commonplace in every area of national life. But the fact that this notion is widely cited and believed does not make it real or true, merely convenient.
Thus we do a grave disservice to the dead, to ourselves, and to what we should rather do to reaffirm our humanity and gain the benefits that come from celebrating the dead... and letting them abide, much loved, never forgotten, as vital as our brain can make them and recall.
Thus, grief is not bad. It is not some set destination, to be concluded at a certain time and in a certain manner. It is not something that must necessarily end, or which by ending, brings peace and serenity.
Grief is not like an illness which can and should be ended with the right pill or prescription. It is highly personal and cannot be regulated, regimented, erased by rules or reason. And so it is difficult for all and most want an early exit, a strategy that does not soothe or lesson the pain. Thus the pain continues, to the growing frustration and irritation of others who, grieving differently or not grieving at all, have "moved on".
Things were different 100 years ago.
Just a century ago, people grieved quite differently; no doubt in part because they had more time and the pace of life was leisurely compared to our own. When people died, at home more often than not, strands of hair would be carefully cut, then annotated in copperplate hand and dispatched to relatives and a few special friends who loved the deceased. Some would be placed in or made into keepsakes, brooches, lockets with pictures. No one rushed the matter of grief... and social mores dictated a liberal amount of time, how long and in what way black should be worn, and the degree of reserve and retirement from society. No one vexed you by telling you to "move on, get closure."
And no one should say so today. As we age, the ranks of our dear departed increase until, at the last, they undoubtedly outnumber the living. But the dead remain with us, too, and should for to forget them is to diminish ourselves. The intensity of that grief will wane... but the fact and meaning of that grief cannot.
And so I'll end on this personal note. I have before me a letter from my mother dated Monday, November 18, 1985 and begins "My very dear son...." I would recognize the careful writing anywhere. This is how it opens "your letter came Saturday and I've been answering it ever since and throwing away the pages. I would so like to hold you and comfort you and 'make the world go away'".
I no longer remember the incident which provoked this response, but in every word I see her... and feel her love. And so I grieve anew for her death... and rejoice again that she abides with me and so long as I remain she remains and must be grasped and treasured accordingly. There is pain in this course... but there is solace,too... and to give up the one is to lose the other. And that would never do.
Which is why we must not seek closure but rather understanding that grief is the way we keep our beloved and honored dead in our lives... world without end, for ever and ever... amen.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
I wish to thank each and everyone of you who read this “Blog” and those who take the time out of their busy day to comment. We are only just getting started here. So please do keep reading and especially making comments. The direction of this “Blog” comes from you and the comments that you impart to us. Today’s “Blog:..9/11, closure, and an important new book by Professor Nancy Berns.
So as I mentioned to you above. Comment, Comment, Comment. Your opinion matters so make it known. Until Tomorrow. You can reach me by email lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com; cell phone 310-561-2580, or Skype me at Lawrence.rinke. And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of YOU!”
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is a story about death and remembrance, one of the most difficult of subjects; universal reality for every human... but one we approach with the utmost diffidence, wanting to make the troubling matter which touches upon our own mortality short, clean,crisp, so that the experience is sanitized and efficient. We want to treat it as a management problem not as profound unsettling event. We want closure... and we want it as soon and as effortlessly as possible.
But death and remembrance do not work that way... it is not a management problem; it is about our own oblivion, and it must be treated with the high seriousness it deserves.
That's why I have selected revered Mozart's "Requiem Mass in D minor" (K. 626) for the musical accompaniment for today's article. It is the precise sound needed to help you consider the matter of eternity, including your own. You will find it in any search engine. Allow yourself to be touched by this masterpiece unfinished at his death, which the Master left in 1791 for his encounter with God. It will help us with ours and help the loved ones who must deal, in due course, with our own passing.
How a new book by Professor Nancy Berns can help.
Drake University associate professor of sociology Nancy Berns has just published a work which may perhaps become seminal, offering as it does vital insights into the prevailing American way of grief, remembrance and the matter of "closure." Her book is titled "Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What It Costs Us," and it comes just as the nation faces another agonizing bout of remembrance on the never-must-be-forgotten events which fall under the name "9/11".
Her subject is important, timely, and of the greatest significance to every one of us: is closure a desirable objective, or is it another illustration of our national disinclination to deal with subjects at once difficult, distasteful, and perhaps irresolvable? Let's start with a definition of "closure," "that which closes or shuts down."
It's easy to see why real everyday people want death and its aftermath to be an "over ASAP" matter. We live in a culture which not only values but obsessives over the need for youth, beauty and boundless health and which sees in age and the weight of enfeebling years the markers of debility, always measuring by how much is gone and how much may remain. Death thus becomes not just an event but the event which deprives us of everything... and gives the hot potato of your death and disposal to people who want to pass it on immediately and get back to life. For such people (for all they may have loved us) the concept of "closure" is absolutely essential because it gives them the right to forget and forget as fast as possible. This is especially true where the fatalities have been significant... as they can be in wars, natural disasters and traumatizing outrages like 9/11.
Images of 9/11
9/11 seared the national memory with images profound, haunting, horrifying, indelible. Each of us, all of us, have been bothered and afflicted by these images which in an instant altered our consciousness and diminished our securities. We close our eyes and will it otherwise but these images abide with us forever, the residue of carnage. We attempt to make sense of the senseless by creating statistics, for that is easier than remembering the victims, those blown to Kingdom Come mid-air and those on whom the debris and the bodies fell, eliminating lives in a cascade of unimaginable flames.
65 percent of the victims were between 31 and 50 years old.
76 percent of those killed were men.
64 percent of the dead were married.
72 percent had at least one dependent.
Nearly 39 percent made at least $100,000 a year.
Statistics give a kind of distance -- and closure.
9/11 oppresses us, not merely because of the original event, but because we want to "move on", into a world where the impact of this tragedy lessons and gives us peace... without guilt; closure, with finality.
Here's where the deeper insights of Professor Berns come in.
She argues, and I think rightly, that closure is a concept born n our speed-driven culture. It is an appealing idea because it offers a definitive end to our suffering or grief and thereby offers an acceptable basis for starting a new life chapter where there is no sorrow, guilt, or anger. An invention of Gestalt psychology, this concept is now a cultural commonplace in every area of national life. But the fact that this notion is widely cited and believed does not make it real or true, merely convenient.
Thus we do a grave disservice to the dead, to ourselves, and to what we should rather do to reaffirm our humanity and gain the benefits that come from celebrating the dead... and letting them abide, much loved, never forgotten, as vital as our brain can make them and recall.
Thus, grief is not bad. It is not some set destination, to be concluded at a certain time and in a certain manner. It is not something that must necessarily end, or which by ending, brings peace and serenity.
Grief is not like an illness which can and should be ended with the right pill or prescription. It is highly personal and cannot be regulated, regimented, erased by rules or reason. And so it is difficult for all and most want an early exit, a strategy that does not soothe or lesson the pain. Thus the pain continues, to the growing frustration and irritation of others who, grieving differently or not grieving at all, have "moved on".
Things were different 100 years ago.
Just a century ago, people grieved quite differently; no doubt in part because they had more time and the pace of life was leisurely compared to our own. When people died, at home more often than not, strands of hair would be carefully cut, then annotated in copperplate hand and dispatched to relatives and a few special friends who loved the deceased. Some would be placed in or made into keepsakes, brooches, lockets with pictures. No one rushed the matter of grief... and social mores dictated a liberal amount of time, how long and in what way black should be worn, and the degree of reserve and retirement from society. No one vexed you by telling you to "move on, get closure."
And no one should say so today. As we age, the ranks of our dear departed increase until, at the last, they undoubtedly outnumber the living. But the dead remain with us, too, and should for to forget them is to diminish ourselves. The intensity of that grief will wane... but the fact and meaning of that grief cannot.
And so I'll end on this personal note. I have before me a letter from my mother dated Monday, November 18, 1985 and begins "My very dear son...." I would recognize the careful writing anywhere. This is how it opens "your letter came Saturday and I've been answering it ever since and throwing away the pages. I would so like to hold you and comfort you and 'make the world go away'".
I no longer remember the incident which provoked this response, but in every word I see her... and feel her love. And so I grieve anew for her death... and rejoice again that she abides with me and so long as I remain she remains and must be grasped and treasured accordingly. There is pain in this course... but there is solace,too... and to give up the one is to lose the other. And that would never do.
Which is why we must not seek closure but rather understanding that grief is the way we keep our beloved and honored dead in our lives... world without end, for ever and ever... amen.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Please leave a comment!
I personally reply to all !
Come on in at
http://www.worldprofit.com Sign in as a FREE associate. See what we do! Meet and chat with the Master himself!
Let US add you to our VIP list for our DAILY LIVE WEBCAST!
FREE now to the first 20 comments, I will GUARANTEE you
50,000 visitors to the website of YOUR choice!
You do need to come on in and visit us, for this phenomenal
offer!
Please include some kind of commentary, saying only
“Thanks for posting” is not a comment on my articles!
Chance of a Lifetime to actually meet and chat with Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Any questions? email me personally at lrewhomebusiness@gmail.com
Could you use 50.000 free visitors to a website of Your choice?
Give me a call and Find out How!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
phone:310-561-2580http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Thank you for stopping by, and Please Come again!
Lawrence Rinke
Business Coach
President : ActionEqualsProfit.com
Join Me On Skype: lawrence.rinke
P.S, If you would like content like this free to use in your blog to generate leads .Give me a call at 310-561-2580, I’d be glad to tell you how, or Leave phone number in comment. . I respond immediately to all comments.
Thanks Again
LCR
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Lawrence: Up to $60 billion squandered in Iraq and Afghanist...
Lawrence: Up to $60 billion squandered in Iraq and Afghanist...: By Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author's Program Note: Are you a tax-paying American? Then today's article will not merely irritate or anger you; it w...
Up to $60 billion squandered in Iraq and Afghanistan says The Wartime Contracting Commission. It's time for massive overhaul.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's Program Note: Are you a tax-paying American? Then today's article will not merely irritate or anger you; it will enrage you.
It is the story of stupidity, of waste, of fraud, of corruption -- and of a government asleep at the switch; it's all too frequent position.
There are three ways to approach this story:
1) you can ignore the facts and, ostrich-like, put your head in the sand and keep it there for the duration, or
2) you can say, "What can I do? I have no way to influence the people who need to be influenced to effect the necessary changes", or
3) you can say, "I am mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."
I want you to know, I am very definitely in the third camp, and I want you in the third camp, too.
To get you in the right mood to tackle this problem, I've chosen one of the best "jump-up" songs ever, "You keep me hangin' on," by The Supremes (released in 1966). The lyrics are perfect for this article. As you read them, imagine you are uttering them -- to the people in charge, the people frittering away your hard- earned money:
"Set me free, why don't cha babe Get out my life, why don't cha babe 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on."
In this tune, an exasperated Diana Ross says, "And there ain't nothin' I can do about it."
But there is......
Start by going to any search engine to get this tune. Clear a space. Turn up the music... and get the necessary "in your face" attitude. Then dig in...
The facts.
The United States has lost billions of dollars to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan and stands to repeat that in future wars without big changes in how the government awards and manages contracts for battlefield support and reconstruction projects, independent investigators reported August 31, 2011.
The Wartime Contracting Commission urged Congress and the Obama administration to put in place its detailed recommendations to overhaul the contracting process and increase accountability. The commission suggested that the joint House-Senate debt reduction committee take a close look at their proposals.
The commission was adamant, failure to act now ensures continuing waste and fraud at the massive current levels. "What you're asking for is more of the same", said Dov Zakheim, a commission member and the Pentagon comptroller during President George W. Bush's first term. "More waste. More fraud. More abuse."
The bipartisan commission, created by Congress in 2008, estimated that at least $31 billion and as much as $60 billion has been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade due to lax oversight of contractors, poor planning, infrequent competition, and corruption. "I personally believe that the number is much, much closer to $60 billion," Zakheim said.
The commission's recommendations.
The commission offered 15 recommendations including creating an inspector general to monitor war zone contracting and operations, appointing a senior government official to improve planning and coordination among federal agencies, and carefully monitoring contractor performance. Representative John Tierney (D-Massachusetts), top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee said the commission's findings are alarming and that he'll introduce legislation to create the inspector general's post.
This is all fine as far as it goes, but it's not good enough, not least because it won't capture the attention of the American people and get them sufficiently interested to demand the necessary reforms, and demand them NOW!
What then is necessary?
Senator Harry Truman and his approach suggest a do-able solution.
All wars produce massive fraud, mismanagement and corruption, even "good" wars like World War II. And all wars require that every expenditure be reviewed. The man who did this in WWII was an obscure senator from Missouri, Harry Truman. Thanks to David McCullough's magisterial biography, at hand as I write this, I am in a position to share Truman's important work as chairman of the (Senate Special) Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. It provides the necessary inspiration and specific steps we must take to solve this infuriating, debilitating problem and solve it now before we hemorrhage to death through mind-boggling selfishness, mismanagement, and stupidity.
Truman's secret? Legs.
Harry Truman had no idea what he was getting into when he decided to see for himself what was wrong with the nation's wartime contracting process. But he was a game fellow and knew the secret was understanding how the process worked, including where abuses were likely to occur. This meant getting out of Washington, to visit wartime facilities, meet the people, understand the procedures. And so facility managers woke up to discover an unexpected and unannounced Senator Truman at their door, pleasantly (but sternly) asking for admittance and cooperation. This is the kind of thing he found, this time at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri:
There "he found costly equipment and material lying about in the snow and rain 'getting ruined, things that could never be used, would never be used...' The contractor had no previous construction experience.' And there were men, hundreds of men, just standing around collecting their pay, doing nothing'. Truman walked about this and other sites taking notes on what he saw and whatever people were willing to tell him."
In due course, through one on-site visit after another and then informative Senate hearings showcasing the usual abuses, Truman captured the attention of America... and fueled by concerned, aggravated, irritated Americans he was able to effect dramatic changes and save millions of dollars needed elsewhere. They knew, Senator Truman knew, as we know -- there is nothing Americans cannot accomplish together so long as we clearly understand the task and have an inspiring hard-working leader like Truman, willing to put shoe leather to pavement to achieve the goal. And by the way, if it hadn't been for this work he would never have been selected by President Roosevelt for vice president in 1944 and thus would never have become president of the United States.
President Obama take note.
This vast effort needs an elected leader, a big man or woman with grit, determination, perseverance -- and a smile, the better to put a human face on the task, work and achievement of the goal, no mere bureaucratic inspector general will do. We need leadership and we need it now, capiche?
And remember, Diana Ross and The Supremes are here to help us aggrieved taxpayers. We need all the help we can get!
"You're just using me Go on, get out of my life And let me sleep at night 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on...
Why don't you be a man about it And set me free Now you don't care a thing about me You're just using me."
Exactly.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Author's Program Note: Are you a tax-paying American? Then today's article will not merely irritate or anger you; it will enrage you.
It is the story of stupidity, of waste, of fraud, of corruption -- and of a government asleep at the switch; it's all too frequent position.
There are three ways to approach this story:
1) you can ignore the facts and, ostrich-like, put your head in the sand and keep it there for the duration, or
2) you can say, "What can I do? I have no way to influence the people who need to be influenced to effect the necessary changes", or
3) you can say, "I am mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."
I want you to know, I am very definitely in the third camp, and I want you in the third camp, too.
To get you in the right mood to tackle this problem, I've chosen one of the best "jump-up" songs ever, "You keep me hangin' on," by The Supremes (released in 1966). The lyrics are perfect for this article. As you read them, imagine you are uttering them -- to the people in charge, the people frittering away your hard- earned money:
"Set me free, why don't cha babe Get out my life, why don't cha babe 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on."
In this tune, an exasperated Diana Ross says, "And there ain't nothin' I can do about it."
But there is......
Start by going to any search engine to get this tune. Clear a space. Turn up the music... and get the necessary "in your face" attitude. Then dig in...
The facts.
The United States has lost billions of dollars to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan and stands to repeat that in future wars without big changes in how the government awards and manages contracts for battlefield support and reconstruction projects, independent investigators reported August 31, 2011.
The Wartime Contracting Commission urged Congress and the Obama administration to put in place its detailed recommendations to overhaul the contracting process and increase accountability. The commission suggested that the joint House-Senate debt reduction committee take a close look at their proposals.
The commission was adamant, failure to act now ensures continuing waste and fraud at the massive current levels. "What you're asking for is more of the same", said Dov Zakheim, a commission member and the Pentagon comptroller during President George W. Bush's first term. "More waste. More fraud. More abuse."
The bipartisan commission, created by Congress in 2008, estimated that at least $31 billion and as much as $60 billion has been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade due to lax oversight of contractors, poor planning, infrequent competition, and corruption. "I personally believe that the number is much, much closer to $60 billion," Zakheim said.
The commission's recommendations.
The commission offered 15 recommendations including creating an inspector general to monitor war zone contracting and operations, appointing a senior government official to improve planning and coordination among federal agencies, and carefully monitoring contractor performance. Representative John Tierney (D-Massachusetts), top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee said the commission's findings are alarming and that he'll introduce legislation to create the inspector general's post.
This is all fine as far as it goes, but it's not good enough, not least because it won't capture the attention of the American people and get them sufficiently interested to demand the necessary reforms, and demand them NOW!
What then is necessary?
Senator Harry Truman and his approach suggest a do-able solution.
All wars produce massive fraud, mismanagement and corruption, even "good" wars like World War II. And all wars require that every expenditure be reviewed. The man who did this in WWII was an obscure senator from Missouri, Harry Truman. Thanks to David McCullough's magisterial biography, at hand as I write this, I am in a position to share Truman's important work as chairman of the (Senate Special) Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. It provides the necessary inspiration and specific steps we must take to solve this infuriating, debilitating problem and solve it now before we hemorrhage to death through mind-boggling selfishness, mismanagement, and stupidity.
Truman's secret? Legs.
Harry Truman had no idea what he was getting into when he decided to see for himself what was wrong with the nation's wartime contracting process. But he was a game fellow and knew the secret was understanding how the process worked, including where abuses were likely to occur. This meant getting out of Washington, to visit wartime facilities, meet the people, understand the procedures. And so facility managers woke up to discover an unexpected and unannounced Senator Truman at their door, pleasantly (but sternly) asking for admittance and cooperation. This is the kind of thing he found, this time at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri:
There "he found costly equipment and material lying about in the snow and rain 'getting ruined, things that could never be used, would never be used...' The contractor had no previous construction experience.' And there were men, hundreds of men, just standing around collecting their pay, doing nothing'. Truman walked about this and other sites taking notes on what he saw and whatever people were willing to tell him."
In due course, through one on-site visit after another and then informative Senate hearings showcasing the usual abuses, Truman captured the attention of America... and fueled by concerned, aggravated, irritated Americans he was able to effect dramatic changes and save millions of dollars needed elsewhere. They knew, Senator Truman knew, as we know -- there is nothing Americans cannot accomplish together so long as we clearly understand the task and have an inspiring hard-working leader like Truman, willing to put shoe leather to pavement to achieve the goal. And by the way, if it hadn't been for this work he would never have been selected by President Roosevelt for vice president in 1944 and thus would never have become president of the United States.
President Obama take note.
This vast effort needs an elected leader, a big man or woman with grit, determination, perseverance -- and a smile, the better to put a human face on the task, work and achievement of the goal, no mere bureaucratic inspector general will do. We need leadership and we need it now, capiche?
And remember, Diana Ross and The Supremes are here to help us aggrieved taxpayers. We need all the help we can get!
"You're just using me Go on, get out of my life And let me sleep at night 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on...
Why don't you be a man about it And set me free Now you don't care a thing about me You're just using me."
Exactly.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Lawrence: Strippers have rights, too, so sayeth a Massachuse...
Lawrence: Strippers have rights, too, so sayeth a Massachuse...: About the Author By Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author's program note. This article absolutely requires a musical background, and I have just the piec...
Strippers have rights, too, so sayeth a Massachusetts superior court judge. It's about time!
About the Author
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This article absolutely requires a musical background, and I have just the piece for it: "You gotta get a gimmick." It's a song from one of the best Broadway shows ever, "Gypsy", which opened in 1959. Many ladies of the theatre have headlined as Rose, the ultimate stage mother, including Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone, Angela Lansbury.
"Gypsy", of course, is the story of perhaps America's best known stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee. The song "You gotta get a gimmick" is a clever number where the experienced strippers advise Gypsy on how to succeed in burlesque. It's bold, brassy, and belted out by the strippers who know a thing or two about their craft and exuberantly impart this intelligence to Gypsy, the ingenue.
You can find this song in any search engine. Go now. Then lock yourself in a room that's sound proof. Man, woman, or lubricious teen-age boy, this tune will get you up and into your own bump and grind. Trust me.
Full disclosure of your author's knowledge of strippers.
I first became aware of exotic dancers (which is what strippers now call themselves, the better to get the respect and professional treatment they today insist upon) from a story about my grandfather, Walt. It seems he made a particular point of attending the great Chicago exhibition of 1933, called A Century of Progress International Exposition. Reason? The most prominent exotic dancer of her era, Sally Rand (1904- 1979), was performing de'nude' and every red-blooded American male wanted to see if she did indeed cover the subject with her massive ostrich plumes -- and nothing else. How they longed for indiscretion and a glimpse of flesh... but Sally was a pro, expert in teasing, the consummate flirt, capable of admonishing any over-eager hand with a slap carefully calibrated to the infraction.
Grandpa Walt had, of course, spent his hard-earned money on Sally Rand souvenirs, including a viewfinder with the most provocative pictures the traffic (and Chicago's lax rules) would allow. All the boys in the family had seen these venerable artifacts; it was part of our "masculine" education. The girls were sternly warned away least they see an unacceptable vocation.
Grandpa Walt was as much teased on the matter of Sally Rand as Grandma Victoria was on the matter of her "Two Rudys," Valentino and Vallee. This teasing, these stories, and the arch looks the grandparents shot us never lost their flare or hilarity.
My maternal uncles went to Chicago on carefully planned excursions to the best burlesque (always called bur-lee-que by the aunts) house in the Windy City. Whatever the women of the family may have thought (and none was reticent) it was accepted that "boys will be boys" especially after they had fought their way across Europe in World War II.
What they did at the house of burlesque was never officially acknowledged, but the high secrets always leaked and became the more lurid with each telling.
As for me, I didn't see a stripper in the full glory of her embonpoint until Christmas vacation, 1967. It was my very first day in Paris. I was 21, I was free of teachers, rules and parents, I was in a city that was a byword for indulgence, decadence, and SEX. And I meant to live!
Thus we ended up on the Rue Pigalle at the Follies Bergere, home of plunging necklines, garish colors and oceans of feathers and beads. We must have been drinking, that too was a sure portent of liberation. And no doubt made too much noise as we stood in the back of the theatre. We were living and unmercifully scrutinizing les dames de Pigalle was a necessary part of our travels.
But all of a sudden, one of the ladies literally jumped off the stage and marched purposefully towards -- us. The general tenor of her remarks, delivered in high octane French, was, "Just what do you cockroaches think you're laughing at?" whereupon she dropped her feathers and stood before the titillated, reeling, astonished boys in all her natural allure.
Wow! Abashed and chagrined though we were, we all knew This Was Life. I haven't been back to the Rue Pigalle or the Follies Bergere, either.
Dark, furtive, pathetic, sad.
Whether it was from television or films (but not from actual visits) I picked up a firm impression about the milieux where the exotic dancers sport and preen. I thought of them, if I thought of them at all, as places not of excitement but of lonely people adrift, where simulated joy could not cover the fact there was no joy at all, and where men desert wives, families and pressing bills to shove dollar bills into g-strings, pathetic.
Into this equation,the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the person of Essex Superior Court Justice Maynard Kirpalani has now entered his finding, viz that four former exotic dancers at a Salisbury, Massachusetts establishment called Ten's Show Club were employees, not independent contractors. As such they are entitled to minimum wage and other benefits.
As a result of this ruling each of the aging and not quite so nimble Salomes -- Katherine Sandoval, Noel Van Wagner, Bonnie Griffin, and Amy Bloodgood -- are entitled to more than $40,000 in back pay... and not a moment too soon.
In 2009, Van Wagner told the (Boston) Globe that when she began dancing about 17 years ago, she typically received a modest wage or no salary at all. But she earned so much in tips, $300 to $800 per shift, that she did not mind paying the club between $10-$20 to dance each night.
But the economy severely cut into her tips in recent years. Coupled with higher performance fees and other charges, she said, dancers sometimes earned barely enough to make a shift worthwhile. After she and her colleagues filed suit in 2009, they either quit or were fired. The ladies, however, had been wronged...
Judge Kirpalani wrote in his ruling, "First, aside from keeping their regular customers informed of their performance schedules, there is no evidence that the plaintiffs engaged in any type of private marketing. (They) did not have personal websites, business cards, or professional photographs... They were required to comply with numerous rules and policies established by the club."
But the news for the ladies who now have rights once stripped from them, gets even better. Kirpalani separately granted class certification status to the plaintiffs. This means about 80 current and former dancers can claim damages.
Where will the money come from to pay these damages? I suggest the owners buy jock straps, learn to pose, posture, and work that pole. If they get a good gimmick, they might just pull it off.
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
So now that you have Read this
What’s your opinion on this?
DID YOU READ THIS????????
Please leave a comment!
I hope you Enjoyed this article.
Lawrence Rinke
YOU Can have for yourself over 278 Articles on YOUR Blog
Call me at
310-618-8107
http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Takes the time to check out what Worldprofit offers. You not only learn extensively how to market your business, but how to market yourself as well.
For Leaving a comment you will get
When YOU click and fill the form on the next page.
100% Give Away: Software Packages To Generate Massive Waves Of Traffic To Your Website
http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=uv82n09j
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This article absolutely requires a musical background, and I have just the piece for it: "You gotta get a gimmick." It's a song from one of the best Broadway shows ever, "Gypsy", which opened in 1959. Many ladies of the theatre have headlined as Rose, the ultimate stage mother, including Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone, Angela Lansbury.
"Gypsy", of course, is the story of perhaps America's best known stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee. The song "You gotta get a gimmick" is a clever number where the experienced strippers advise Gypsy on how to succeed in burlesque. It's bold, brassy, and belted out by the strippers who know a thing or two about their craft and exuberantly impart this intelligence to Gypsy, the ingenue.
You can find this song in any search engine. Go now. Then lock yourself in a room that's sound proof. Man, woman, or lubricious teen-age boy, this tune will get you up and into your own bump and grind. Trust me.
Full disclosure of your author's knowledge of strippers.
I first became aware of exotic dancers (which is what strippers now call themselves, the better to get the respect and professional treatment they today insist upon) from a story about my grandfather, Walt. It seems he made a particular point of attending the great Chicago exhibition of 1933, called A Century of Progress International Exposition. Reason? The most prominent exotic dancer of her era, Sally Rand (1904- 1979), was performing de'nude' and every red-blooded American male wanted to see if she did indeed cover the subject with her massive ostrich plumes -- and nothing else. How they longed for indiscretion and a glimpse of flesh... but Sally was a pro, expert in teasing, the consummate flirt, capable of admonishing any over-eager hand with a slap carefully calibrated to the infraction.
Grandpa Walt had, of course, spent his hard-earned money on Sally Rand souvenirs, including a viewfinder with the most provocative pictures the traffic (and Chicago's lax rules) would allow. All the boys in the family had seen these venerable artifacts; it was part of our "masculine" education. The girls were sternly warned away least they see an unacceptable vocation.
Grandpa Walt was as much teased on the matter of Sally Rand as Grandma Victoria was on the matter of her "Two Rudys," Valentino and Vallee. This teasing, these stories, and the arch looks the grandparents shot us never lost their flare or hilarity.
My maternal uncles went to Chicago on carefully planned excursions to the best burlesque (always called bur-lee-que by the aunts) house in the Windy City. Whatever the women of the family may have thought (and none was reticent) it was accepted that "boys will be boys" especially after they had fought their way across Europe in World War II.
What they did at the house of burlesque was never officially acknowledged, but the high secrets always leaked and became the more lurid with each telling.
As for me, I didn't see a stripper in the full glory of her embonpoint until Christmas vacation, 1967. It was my very first day in Paris. I was 21, I was free of teachers, rules and parents, I was in a city that was a byword for indulgence, decadence, and SEX. And I meant to live!
Thus we ended up on the Rue Pigalle at the Follies Bergere, home of plunging necklines, garish colors and oceans of feathers and beads. We must have been drinking, that too was a sure portent of liberation. And no doubt made too much noise as we stood in the back of the theatre. We were living and unmercifully scrutinizing les dames de Pigalle was a necessary part of our travels.
But all of a sudden, one of the ladies literally jumped off the stage and marched purposefully towards -- us. The general tenor of her remarks, delivered in high octane French, was, "Just what do you cockroaches think you're laughing at?" whereupon she dropped her feathers and stood before the titillated, reeling, astonished boys in all her natural allure.
Wow! Abashed and chagrined though we were, we all knew This Was Life. I haven't been back to the Rue Pigalle or the Follies Bergere, either.
Dark, furtive, pathetic, sad.
Whether it was from television or films (but not from actual visits) I picked up a firm impression about the milieux where the exotic dancers sport and preen. I thought of them, if I thought of them at all, as places not of excitement but of lonely people adrift, where simulated joy could not cover the fact there was no joy at all, and where men desert wives, families and pressing bills to shove dollar bills into g-strings, pathetic.
Into this equation,the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the person of Essex Superior Court Justice Maynard Kirpalani has now entered his finding, viz that four former exotic dancers at a Salisbury, Massachusetts establishment called Ten's Show Club were employees, not independent contractors. As such they are entitled to minimum wage and other benefits.
As a result of this ruling each of the aging and not quite so nimble Salomes -- Katherine Sandoval, Noel Van Wagner, Bonnie Griffin, and Amy Bloodgood -- are entitled to more than $40,000 in back pay... and not a moment too soon.
In 2009, Van Wagner told the (Boston) Globe that when she began dancing about 17 years ago, she typically received a modest wage or no salary at all. But she earned so much in tips, $300 to $800 per shift, that she did not mind paying the club between $10-$20 to dance each night.
But the economy severely cut into her tips in recent years. Coupled with higher performance fees and other charges, she said, dancers sometimes earned barely enough to make a shift worthwhile. After she and her colleagues filed suit in 2009, they either quit or were fired. The ladies, however, had been wronged...
Judge Kirpalani wrote in his ruling, "First, aside from keeping their regular customers informed of their performance schedules, there is no evidence that the plaintiffs engaged in any type of private marketing. (They) did not have personal websites, business cards, or professional photographs... They were required to comply with numerous rules and policies established by the club."
But the news for the ladies who now have rights once stripped from them, gets even better. Kirpalani separately granted class certification status to the plaintiffs. This means about 80 current and former dancers can claim damages.
Where will the money come from to pay these damages? I suggest the owners buy jock straps, learn to pose, posture, and work that pole. If they get a good gimmick, they might just pull it off.
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
So now that you have Read this
What’s your opinion on this?
DID YOU READ THIS????????
Please leave a comment!
I hope you Enjoyed this article.
Lawrence Rinke
YOU Can have for yourself over 278 Articles on YOUR Blog
Call me at
310-618-8107
http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Takes the time to check out what Worldprofit offers. You not only learn extensively how to market your business, but how to market yourself as well.
For Leaving a comment you will get
When YOU click and fill the form on the next page.
100% Give Away: Software Packages To Generate Massive Waves Of Traffic To Your Website
http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=uv82n09j
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Lawrence: The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Comm...
Lawrence: The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Comm...: By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very serious error. Bl...
If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very serious error. Bl...
The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Communist government imprisonspro-democracy blogster... and immediately shows how powerful a blog can be
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very serious error. Blogs are crucial for running a business, including helping grow organizations with a message for the world. To see just how important a blog can be, consider the case of Pham Minh Hoang, 56, a French-Vietnamese math professor. August 10, 2011 he was sentenced to three years in prison. His crime? Belonging to a banned pro-democracy group and publishing an anti-Communist blog.
The facts.
The organization Viet Tan is a US-based advocate of democracy. Pham Minh Hoang is a member. Their goal is a democratic Vietnam. Obviously the in-control Communists take a dim view of people who want to make decisions for themselves and enjoy the basic freedoms and human rights we take for granted. Anyone opposing the government and its rigid system of personal and mind control is immediately dubbed a "terrorist" and imprisoned, or worse.
But the profound desire to live for oneself, to think for oneself, to be able to go where one wants, when one wants... is irresistible. And so the number of anti-government, pro-democracy "terrorists" continues to grow in Vietnam, even as the government engages in acts that prove just how necessary the pro-democracy forces are, with their sublime goal of liberty for all!
The advent of the blog has proven of the utmost usefulness to pro-democracy forces. For the cost of an Internet connection they can get their message out to the world. That message will be exactly as they write it and want it... going out whenever they want. On this basis, Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoang started a blog and published at least 33 articles against Vietnam's one-party Communist system.
It was a bold action... a brave action... a gallant action that put his very life on the line as he lived his principles -- until the totalitarian forces of the government found and arrested him.
Let us be clear: though Hoang was arrested and tried for his "crimes", he was lucky. He does not appear to have been tortured, though perhaps he must endure that, too, in due course.
His trial and defense.
The government's case was this: that Hoang had conspired to overturn the government, first, through his various blog posts; that he held membership in the Viet Tan, a recognized terrorist organization, and that he recruited others to join and subvert the government. These were the same arguments the government put forward in its second high-profile dissident trial in just over a week.
Hoang told the court during his half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City that he joined Viet Tan, which he insisted was not a terrorist organization, in France where it is not banned. He insisted that he did not at anytime do anything to oppose the government.
Hoang, who was teaching mathematics at a Ho Chi Minh City university at the time of his arrest, said he returned to Vietnam in 2000 to contribute to his country and care for his aged parents.
Viet Tan confirmed Hoang's testimony and reaffirmed that it is an advocate of democracy and peaceful change. The government's attorneys strongly disagreed, saying Hoang had attended a Viet Tan-organized course in Malaysia and was helping recruit new Vietnamese members. And there the matter of Pham Minh Hoang rests --- for the moment.
What all blogsters can learn from this situation:
1) Whether you are running a profit- or not-for-profit organization, you must establish your blog at once.
Remember, a blog enables you to say exactly what you want and disseminate your important message to your designated lists whenever you want without being censured or interferred with by anyone.
2) The more interesting and valuable your blog copy, the more frequently you can publish your blog and the more advertisements you can include.
Smart Internet marketers know that you cannot just email your lists nothing but ad copy every single day, no matter how worthwhile what you offer. The people on your list will quite simply not tolerate this and will signify their strong disapproval by unsubscribing.
Blogs solve this problem by providing your subscribers with excellent copy that is timely, substantial, and of demonstrated interest. Thus, you are able to blog to your list daily -- and publish far more ads, thereby reaping additional profits while simultaneously ensuring long-term readers and relationships.
3) Blogs should be personal, always writing directly to and always for your subscribers.
The best blogs give you the opportunity to establish ongoing interactive communications with your readers. This leads to essential long-term relationships; you know your readers/customers and they know you.Thus, when you say something, they pay close attention, including the products you recommend and sell. People accept and act on your recommendations, because they know you, and trust you.
4) As a blog publisher you have influence that grows with the quality of your information and the number of your subscribers.
Once you've established your blog you are no longer "just" an-emailer. You are a card- carrying member of the most influential group of people on earth, publishers. Act like it!
Your job is to motivate, enthuse, urge, educate, train, excite, and support through the articles, information and, yes, even the ads you publish.
Last words.
We are now in the earliest days of blog creation, maintenance and development. Smart blogsters, and there are thousands of them, are doing today the steps which will guarantee them a lifetime of profit (for for-profit organizations), donations (for not-for-profit organizations), and influence for all.
These days for the blog are like the early days of the settlement of the Western United States and Canada. There determined pioneers saw nothing but opportunity and regarded the necessary work of achieving it as nothing more than what was essential for profits and success. They felt exhilaration, excitement, and privileged to be in that position and so grew their empires with a song in their hearts.
You do the same.
And as for Pham Minh Hoang, my heart and prayers go out to you, a true hero of our often selfish, vulgar, scam-ridden Internet age. You are using this great technology for a worthy cause, the betterment of your nation and its storm-tossed people. We hope for your prompt release and continued dedication to the great cause and what you have already given for it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
So now that you have Read this
What’s your opinion on this?
DID YOU READ THIS????????
Please leave a comment!
I hope you Enjoyed this article.
Lawrence Rinke
YOU Can have for yourself over 278 Articles on YOUR Blog
Call me at
310-618-8107
http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Takes the time to check out what Worldprofit offers. You not only learn extensively how to market your business, but how to market yourself as well.
For Leaving a comment you will get
When YOU click and fill the form on the next page.
100% Give Away: Software Packages To Generate Massive Waves Of Traffic To Your Website
http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=uv82n09j
If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very serious error. Blogs are crucial for running a business, including helping grow organizations with a message for the world. To see just how important a blog can be, consider the case of Pham Minh Hoang, 56, a French-Vietnamese math professor. August 10, 2011 he was sentenced to three years in prison. His crime? Belonging to a banned pro-democracy group and publishing an anti-Communist blog.
The facts.
The organization Viet Tan is a US-based advocate of democracy. Pham Minh Hoang is a member. Their goal is a democratic Vietnam. Obviously the in-control Communists take a dim view of people who want to make decisions for themselves and enjoy the basic freedoms and human rights we take for granted. Anyone opposing the government and its rigid system of personal and mind control is immediately dubbed a "terrorist" and imprisoned, or worse.
But the profound desire to live for oneself, to think for oneself, to be able to go where one wants, when one wants... is irresistible. And so the number of anti-government, pro-democracy "terrorists" continues to grow in Vietnam, even as the government engages in acts that prove just how necessary the pro-democracy forces are, with their sublime goal of liberty for all!
The advent of the blog has proven of the utmost usefulness to pro-democracy forces. For the cost of an Internet connection they can get their message out to the world. That message will be exactly as they write it and want it... going out whenever they want. On this basis, Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoang started a blog and published at least 33 articles against Vietnam's one-party Communist system.
It was a bold action... a brave action... a gallant action that put his very life on the line as he lived his principles -- until the totalitarian forces of the government found and arrested him.
Let us be clear: though Hoang was arrested and tried for his "crimes", he was lucky. He does not appear to have been tortured, though perhaps he must endure that, too, in due course.
His trial and defense.
The government's case was this: that Hoang had conspired to overturn the government, first, through his various blog posts; that he held membership in the Viet Tan, a recognized terrorist organization, and that he recruited others to join and subvert the government. These were the same arguments the government put forward in its second high-profile dissident trial in just over a week.
Hoang told the court during his half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City that he joined Viet Tan, which he insisted was not a terrorist organization, in France where it is not banned. He insisted that he did not at anytime do anything to oppose the government.
Hoang, who was teaching mathematics at a Ho Chi Minh City university at the time of his arrest, said he returned to Vietnam in 2000 to contribute to his country and care for his aged parents.
Viet Tan confirmed Hoang's testimony and reaffirmed that it is an advocate of democracy and peaceful change. The government's attorneys strongly disagreed, saying Hoang had attended a Viet Tan-organized course in Malaysia and was helping recruit new Vietnamese members. And there the matter of Pham Minh Hoang rests --- for the moment.
What all blogsters can learn from this situation:
1) Whether you are running a profit- or not-for-profit organization, you must establish your blog at once.
Remember, a blog enables you to say exactly what you want and disseminate your important message to your designated lists whenever you want without being censured or interferred with by anyone.
2) The more interesting and valuable your blog copy, the more frequently you can publish your blog and the more advertisements you can include.
Smart Internet marketers know that you cannot just email your lists nothing but ad copy every single day, no matter how worthwhile what you offer. The people on your list will quite simply not tolerate this and will signify their strong disapproval by unsubscribing.
Blogs solve this problem by providing your subscribers with excellent copy that is timely, substantial, and of demonstrated interest. Thus, you are able to blog to your list daily -- and publish far more ads, thereby reaping additional profits while simultaneously ensuring long-term readers and relationships.
3) Blogs should be personal, always writing directly to and always for your subscribers.
The best blogs give you the opportunity to establish ongoing interactive communications with your readers. This leads to essential long-term relationships; you know your readers/customers and they know you.Thus, when you say something, they pay close attention, including the products you recommend and sell. People accept and act on your recommendations, because they know you, and trust you.
4) As a blog publisher you have influence that grows with the quality of your information and the number of your subscribers.
Once you've established your blog you are no longer "just" an-emailer. You are a card- carrying member of the most influential group of people on earth, publishers. Act like it!
Your job is to motivate, enthuse, urge, educate, train, excite, and support through the articles, information and, yes, even the ads you publish.
Last words.
We are now in the earliest days of blog creation, maintenance and development. Smart blogsters, and there are thousands of them, are doing today the steps which will guarantee them a lifetime of profit (for for-profit organizations), donations (for not-for-profit organizations), and influence for all.
These days for the blog are like the early days of the settlement of the Western United States and Canada. There determined pioneers saw nothing but opportunity and regarded the necessary work of achieving it as nothing more than what was essential for profits and success. They felt exhilaration, excitement, and privileged to be in that position and so grew their empires with a song in their hearts.
You do the same.
And as for Pham Minh Hoang, my heart and prayers go out to you, a true hero of our often selfish, vulgar, scam-ridden Internet age. You are using this great technology for a worthy cause, the betterment of your nation and its storm-tossed people. We hope for your prompt release and continued dedication to the great cause and what you have already given for it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Jeffrey Lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
So now that you have Read this
What’s your opinion on this?
DID YOU READ THIS????????
Please leave a comment!
I hope you Enjoyed this article.
Lawrence Rinke
YOU Can have for yourself over 278 Articles on YOUR Blog
Call me at
310-618-8107
http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Takes the time to check out what Worldprofit offers. You not only learn extensively how to market your business, but how to market yourself as well.
For Leaving a comment you will get
When YOU click and fill the form on the next page.
100% Give Away: Software Packages To Generate Massive Waves Of Traffic To Your Website
http://www.ActionEqualsProfit.com/?rd=uv82n09j
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Lawrence: On the getting, and the getting rid of, tattoos.
Lawrence: On the getting, and the getting rid of, tattoos.: By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I want you to know, right from the start: I am tattoo- phobic, have been my whole life. I'm not, and I mean ever, goi...
I want you to know, right from the start: I am tattoo- phobic, have been my whole life. I'm not, and I mean ever, goi...
On the getting, and the getting rid of, tattoos.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I want you to know, right from the start: I am tattoo- phobic, have been my whole life. I'm not, and I mean ever, going to give some total stranger with a needle the chance to "improve" upon what God gave me, and so amply. No way.
I wish further to impart this intelligence: I have never been in or (so far as I know) near any tattoo "parlor" or have suffered from even a fleeting moment of belief that I would be better off with such decoration. Tattoos and I don't get along.
Still I am forced to admit that millions of my fellow earth travelers do not agree with me... up to and including having the most grotesque and meretricious designs and colors injected into the skin of any and every body part.
We've all seen such people; indeed, nearly every friend I've got has at least one colorful outrage. This perhaps isn't too surprising. You see, I'm a vintage Baby Boomer and here, as elsewhere, it was Boomers (starting in about 2000) who challenged the status quo and removed tattooing oneself from the odd and outre to the mainstream. It's something we Boomers do.
Eric.
I have an acquaintance named Eric who pops up in my life every few years. Every time he shows up (as he did the other evening) he wants to show me, indeed insists on showing me, his latest tattoos. I demur, but not even a court order with cease and desist all over it could get him to stop, refrain, and cover up. That just ain't gonna happen.
Anyway, Eric arrives, announces his colorful new acquisitions, and strips right then and there... and he does this whether I'm alone or whether Her Majesty the Queen is present. Like I told you, nothing interferes with his presentation, as carefully organized -- and eye-catching -- as that by any Parisian couturier.
Eric's body is a journey through the infrequent ups and often roller-coaster downs of a tumultuous, hard-drinking, self-abusing life. Indeed, his body reads like the plot outlines for a dozen soap operas.
The name of every girl he's "loved" is there, including "Rosetta" his first and so far only wife. It's telling that her name has the smallest print, the blackest color (black being the easiest color to erase, orange and yellow being the most difficult), and the worst location; (I talk like I know, but I'm only guessing that the back of the left leg is not a position of honor. I'm sure some aficionado will correct me if I'm wrong. Perhaps she left him disgruntled that he hadn't given her a better position on the body she was deserting.)
By now, of course, Eric has shown off his tattoos so often to so many he has an established tour of his body. You can get either the short, medium, or full-fledged, see everything, learn everything version. Forced to choose, I always opt for the shortest option; he hasn't, I think, noticed this is my usual selection. I'm thus in for a rough quarter hour, I can tell you... but I grin and bear it; it could, after all, have been longer and worse.
First, as stated, Eric has all the outmoded "love" tattoos.
Most people tattooing their bodies believe that a tattoo of their beloved's name is a) proof of that love and b) a sure sign that love will last, the tattoo a symbol of true and enduring affection. Thus, a visit to the tattoo establishment is a "must" date for lovers of any age; indeed, not beautifying your body so could be construed as a sign the relationship will be fleeting and must certainly give grounds for serious doubts and reservations. What's a poor boy -- or girl -- to do, and so the course of least resistance occurs, fortified by alcohol and hope, a very dangerous combination.
Tattoo in haste, regret at leisure.
Frequent practitioners add one tattoo after another, despite the fact that most are afflicted by the tattoos of long departed lovers who have made the lovey-dovey image a thing of profound (and embittered) irony. Those who tattoo are optimists by nature. They believe
1) tattoos make one more attractive, even irresistible.
2) the feelings they possess today, they will possess tomorrow.
3) in all powerful, love ever lasting and the contentment that comes from telling the world, gloriously if garishly about it in this way.
4) more of the above is necessarily better.
Oh, yes, they are optimists, indeed, every single one of them.
They also believe they can improve upon the most glorious of God's glorious creations, the human body. Thus, they tattoo themselves with human words of great meaning and designs of no meaning whatsoever. They try different colors and different locations. They select classical images and motifs and images and motifs which are new, provocative, and so they think, seductive, erotic. In short, the number of tattoos is limited only by the number of people succumbing to them. And that number is now at least 45,000,000 in the United States alone. Mercy!
But what happens when love dies, you and your best friend quarrel and your favorite cat Fluffy is superceded by another, more winning, more desirable? In short what happens when you wish to banish and erase the now embarrassing (and erroneous) effusion? Aye, there's the rub.
Millions once happily in, now want immediately (and completely) out.
A Harris Interactive Poll puts the tattoo remorse rate at 16 percent in 2008. In 2009, members of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery performed an estimated 61,535 tattoo removal procedures. In short, a whole new industry associated with tattoos is growing, the tattoo removal business. It's booming.
Now hear this: stubborn tattoos can take up to 15 or even more sessions to remove. And it can cost thousands of dollars, a sad fate for something that usually costs under $100 and is meant to showcase your good and loving heart.
But consider this: as arduous as today's removal process is, it used to be worse. Prior to selective tattoo-ink targeting lasers, the options for removal included surgical excision or dermabrasion and ablative lasers. Both physically removed the entire skin where the tattoo was placed and replaced the tattoos with scars and obvious discolorations.
But surely this will never be the fate of Eric and his colorful painted body, or at least I used to think so. However, on his recent visit, he confided a distaste for one of his tattoos; it wasn't for Rosetta, but for a dog named Chipper, who had bit him and run away. Unrequited love is the main reason for total erasure with all its pains and costs. Eric is looking at several expedients, including good honest work to raise the funds. I'm glad to hear it, but I won't believe it until I don't see it anymore.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
I want you to know, right from the start: I am tattoo- phobic, have been my whole life. I'm not, and I mean ever, going to give some total stranger with a needle the chance to "improve" upon what God gave me, and so amply. No way.
I wish further to impart this intelligence: I have never been in or (so far as I know) near any tattoo "parlor" or have suffered from even a fleeting moment of belief that I would be better off with such decoration. Tattoos and I don't get along.
Still I am forced to admit that millions of my fellow earth travelers do not agree with me... up to and including having the most grotesque and meretricious designs and colors injected into the skin of any and every body part.
We've all seen such people; indeed, nearly every friend I've got has at least one colorful outrage. This perhaps isn't too surprising. You see, I'm a vintage Baby Boomer and here, as elsewhere, it was Boomers (starting in about 2000) who challenged the status quo and removed tattooing oneself from the odd and outre to the mainstream. It's something we Boomers do.
Eric.
I have an acquaintance named Eric who pops up in my life every few years. Every time he shows up (as he did the other evening) he wants to show me, indeed insists on showing me, his latest tattoos. I demur, but not even a court order with cease and desist all over it could get him to stop, refrain, and cover up. That just ain't gonna happen.
Anyway, Eric arrives, announces his colorful new acquisitions, and strips right then and there... and he does this whether I'm alone or whether Her Majesty the Queen is present. Like I told you, nothing interferes with his presentation, as carefully organized -- and eye-catching -- as that by any Parisian couturier.
Eric's body is a journey through the infrequent ups and often roller-coaster downs of a tumultuous, hard-drinking, self-abusing life. Indeed, his body reads like the plot outlines for a dozen soap operas.
The name of every girl he's "loved" is there, including "Rosetta" his first and so far only wife. It's telling that her name has the smallest print, the blackest color (black being the easiest color to erase, orange and yellow being the most difficult), and the worst location; (I talk like I know, but I'm only guessing that the back of the left leg is not a position of honor. I'm sure some aficionado will correct me if I'm wrong. Perhaps she left him disgruntled that he hadn't given her a better position on the body she was deserting.)
By now, of course, Eric has shown off his tattoos so often to so many he has an established tour of his body. You can get either the short, medium, or full-fledged, see everything, learn everything version. Forced to choose, I always opt for the shortest option; he hasn't, I think, noticed this is my usual selection. I'm thus in for a rough quarter hour, I can tell you... but I grin and bear it; it could, after all, have been longer and worse.
First, as stated, Eric has all the outmoded "love" tattoos.
Most people tattooing their bodies believe that a tattoo of their beloved's name is a) proof of that love and b) a sure sign that love will last, the tattoo a symbol of true and enduring affection. Thus, a visit to the tattoo establishment is a "must" date for lovers of any age; indeed, not beautifying your body so could be construed as a sign the relationship will be fleeting and must certainly give grounds for serious doubts and reservations. What's a poor boy -- or girl -- to do, and so the course of least resistance occurs, fortified by alcohol and hope, a very dangerous combination.
Tattoo in haste, regret at leisure.
Frequent practitioners add one tattoo after another, despite the fact that most are afflicted by the tattoos of long departed lovers who have made the lovey-dovey image a thing of profound (and embittered) irony. Those who tattoo are optimists by nature. They believe
1) tattoos make one more attractive, even irresistible.
2) the feelings they possess today, they will possess tomorrow.
3) in all powerful, love ever lasting and the contentment that comes from telling the world, gloriously if garishly about it in this way.
4) more of the above is necessarily better.
Oh, yes, they are optimists, indeed, every single one of them.
They also believe they can improve upon the most glorious of God's glorious creations, the human body. Thus, they tattoo themselves with human words of great meaning and designs of no meaning whatsoever. They try different colors and different locations. They select classical images and motifs and images and motifs which are new, provocative, and so they think, seductive, erotic. In short, the number of tattoos is limited only by the number of people succumbing to them. And that number is now at least 45,000,000 in the United States alone. Mercy!
But what happens when love dies, you and your best friend quarrel and your favorite cat Fluffy is superceded by another, more winning, more desirable? In short what happens when you wish to banish and erase the now embarrassing (and erroneous) effusion? Aye, there's the rub.
Millions once happily in, now want immediately (and completely) out.
A Harris Interactive Poll puts the tattoo remorse rate at 16 percent in 2008. In 2009, members of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery performed an estimated 61,535 tattoo removal procedures. In short, a whole new industry associated with tattoos is growing, the tattoo removal business. It's booming.
Now hear this: stubborn tattoos can take up to 15 or even more sessions to remove. And it can cost thousands of dollars, a sad fate for something that usually costs under $100 and is meant to showcase your good and loving heart.
But consider this: as arduous as today's removal process is, it used to be worse. Prior to selective tattoo-ink targeting lasers, the options for removal included surgical excision or dermabrasion and ablative lasers. Both physically removed the entire skin where the tattoo was placed and replaced the tattoos with scars and obvious discolorations.
But surely this will never be the fate of Eric and his colorful painted body, or at least I used to think so. However, on his recent visit, he confided a distaste for one of his tattoos; it wasn't for Rosetta, but for a dog named Chipper, who had bit him and run away. Unrequited love is the main reason for total erasure with all its pains and costs. Eric is looking at several expedients, including good honest work to raise the funds. I'm glad to hear it, but I won't believe it until I don't see it anymore.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Friday, September 2, 2011
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