by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
To be blunt, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is making a fool of himself around the issue of gays in the military. His comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee the last few days have been an embarrassment, to himself and to the nation. In brief, his argument goes like this: 'We don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, see?'
McCain, of course, is on the wrong side of what is rapidly becoming a total and complete non-issue. As McCain should know (though he was a notoriously lazy student) the tides of history are determinant. And history is rapidly wrapping up the details on this issue.
Gays will serve in the military (as they always have from the time of the first army on this planet).
Gays will deliver good service. Many will be wounded. Many will die. Some will be dismissed... but dismissed for poor service, not bedroom gymnastics.
Gays will marry their same-sex partners in weddings which will feature snazzy uniforms and an arch of sabres. One day one such veteran will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... and she and her partner will get an engraved silver salver from the president on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. They may even be designated the "People of the Year" by Time Magazine. Stranger things have happened.
Any sensible person can read these tea leaves. They are clear, certain, irrefutable.
So, why is Senator McCain so adamant? There is surely something going on here, something more than meets the eye. Could it be this....
When Senator McCain gets in his car to go home at night, is he brainstorming ways to defend his outmoded views? Is he coming up with good reasons for obstructing from active service patriotic Americans merely because they choose to love in their own way?
Is he finding the defense he needs to justify why the military spends millions of dollars on television ads, telling fine, young Americans the services want them... then tossing them out because of their genetic orientation?
In short, is the senator thinking of how to defend opinions most of his fellow countrymen regard as antiquated and embarrassing?
Or is he visualizing, tormented, the lithe young bodies from every service locked together closer than Rodin's classic statue, "The Kiss"? Titillated, revolted, is John McCain wrestling with his own demons?
What did happen in the Hanoi Hilton all those many years ago when the handsome young McCain, not yet a hero or presidential candidate, was thrown together with other young prisoners all with normal appetites and no "suitable" way to satisfy them? No one has ever asked the Senator... no one ever will; he'll go to his grave without comment, with a vow of unbreakable silence.
Perhaps this speculation is unfair... but one must ask why he is so vehement about an issue whose inevitabilities are clear and in which there is absolutely no benefit for McCain or America in his remarks. In short, is this the politics of the personal, a man wrestling with suddenly insistent, unsettling memories? I cannot say, but the question for a public servant whose views impact both on those worldwide who are serving and who wish to serve, is most pertinent.
McCain vs the military establishment
The president is in an uncomfortable corner and has worked the senior military establishment to get out of it. Obama probably got 94% of the gay vote and in these meager days he and the Democratic Party wish to keep these absolutely essential voters who have repeal as their price.
So the president has made it clear to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of defense, the general who commands the army in Europe and the Pentagon's general counsel that "don't ask" must go... and swiftly so.
Thus McCain found himself, though one of the senators with the very closest military ties, arguing the matter publicly, tersely, tensely, with all his particular buddies, these military poobahs. They might be opposed to the coming policy, but they are military men and they will follow orders and complain quietly, while saying "yessir."
And McCain? "I remain concerned as I have been in the past, and as demonstrated in this study, that the closer we get to service members in combat, the more we encounter concerns about whether 'don't ask, don't tell' should be repealed."
The senator referenced a new Pentagon survey of 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members. This survey found that 70 percent believed the impact of "don't ask" on their units would be positive, mixed, or of no consequence. In other words, the movement has gone from "don't ask, don't tell" to "who cares"? As is right and proper. McCain, however, cites the 30 percent opposed and stakes his case, wrongly, on them. He is now the champion of a discriminatory policy whose time has come, and gone. There is nothing missing in this Arizona version of Don Quixote, the man who dreams his impossible dream.
A hint why McCain's archaic position is moribund
In today's Boston Globe (12/3/10) there is a brave little letter from 19 year old Joshua Rogers, of Taunton, Massachusetts, a gritty town of better days. Joshua and his words are why McCain will lose on this issue, so pivotal for Joshua... so embarrassing and, yes, silly for McCain.
Joshua, determined to stand by his man, writes: 'I am gay. I have survived through torture, hate, bias, and oppression. .. My boyfriend is in the ROTC, and plans to pursue a military career. I have accepted this, but not the pain that I would be forced to go through if I won't be able to visit him, talk to him, hug him, be with him.'
'If we have to hide everything, just so he can pursue something he believes in for everyone he wishes to protect, it would be truly disappointing.'
Joshua, it would be far worse than a disappointment for you... it would be a palpable diminution of our national freedoms and traditions. However, Joshua, consider this: you are the future... you and all the good people of this great nation who to defend their liberties must defend yours. Senator McCain, once a hero of these liberties, now works hard to diminish them. That's why you, Joshua, and not Senator McCain are the hero today.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is a speaker, consultant, well known marketer and the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Total Profit Plan -> http://silver45b.SCLNETWORK.hop.clickbank.net
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The lubricious dreams and lurid fantasies of Senator John McCain
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
To be blunt, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is making a fool of himself around the issue of gays in the military. His comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee the last few days have been an embarrassment, to himself and to the nation. In brief, his argument goes like this: 'We don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, see?'
McCain, of course, is on the wrong side of what is rapidly becoming a total and complete non-issue. As McCain should know (though he was a notoriously lazy student) the tides of history are determinant. And history is rapidly wrapping up the details on this issue.
Gays will serve in the military (as they always have from the time of the first army on this planet).
Gays will deliver good service. Many will be wounded. Many will die. Some will be dismissed... but dismissed for poor service, not bedroom gymnastics.
Gays will marry their same-sex partners in weddings which will feature snazzy uniforms and an arch of sabres. One day one such veteran will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... and she and her partner will get an engraved silver salver from the president on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. They may even be designated the "People of the Year" by Time Magazine. Stranger things have happened.
Any sensible person can read these tea leaves. They are clear, certain, irrefutable.
So, why is Senator McCain so adamant? There is surely something going on here, something more than meets the eye. Could it be this....
When Senator McCain gets in his car to go home at night, is he brainstorming ways to defend his outmoded views? Is he coming up with good reasons for obstructing from active service patriotic Americans merely because they choose to love in their own way?
Is he finding the defense he needs to justify why the military spends millions of dollars on television ads, telling fine, young Americans the services want them... then tossing them out because of their genetic orientation?
In short, is the senator thinking of how to defend opinions most of his fellow countrymen regard as antiquated and embarrassing?
Or is he visualizing, tormented, the lithe young bodies from every service locked together closer than Rodin's classic statue, "The Kiss"? Titillated, revolted, is John McCain wrestling with his own demons?
What did happen in the Hanoi Hilton all those many years ago when the handsome young McCain, not yet a hero or presidential candidate, was thrown together with other young prisoners all with normal appetites and no "suitable" way to satisfy them? No one has ever asked the Senator... no one ever will; he'll go to his grave without comment, with a vow of unbreakable silence.
Perhaps this speculation is unfair... but one must ask why he is so vehement about an issue whose inevitabilities are clear and in which there is absolutely no benefit for McCain or America in his remarks. In short, is this the politics of the personal, a man wrestling with suddenly insistent, unsettling memories? I cannot say, but the question for a public servant whose views impact both on those worldwide who are serving and who wish to serve, is most pertinent.
McCain vs the military establishment
The president is in an uncomfortable corner and has worked the senior military establishment to get out of it. Obama probably got 94% of the gay vote and in these meager days he and the Democratic Party wish to keep these absolutely essential voters who have repeal as their price.
So the president has made it clear to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of defense, the general who commands the army in Europe and the Pentagon's general counsel that "don't ask" must go... and swiftly so.
Thus McCain found himself, though one of the senators with the very closest military ties, arguing the matter publicly, tersely, tensely, with all his particular buddies, these military poobahs. They might be opposed to the coming policy, but they are military men and they will follow orders and complain quietly, while saying "yessir."
And McCain? "I remain concerned as I have been in the past, and as demonstrated in this study, that the closer we get to service members in combat, the more we encounter concerns about whether 'don't ask, don't tell' should be repealed."
The senator referenced a new Pentagon survey of 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members. This survey found that 70 percent believed the impact of "don't ask" on their units would be positive, mixed, or of no consequence. In other words, the movement has gone from "don't ask, don't tell" to "who cares"? As is right and proper. McCain, however, cites the 30 percent opposed and stakes his case, wrongly, on them. He is now the champion of a discriminatory policy whose time has come, and gone. There is nothing missing in this Arizona version of Don Quixote, the man who dreams his impossible dream.
A hint why McCain's archaic position is moribund
In today's Boston Globe (12/3/10) there is a brave little letter from 19 year old Joshua Rogers, of Taunton, Massachusetts, a gritty town of better days. Joshua and his words are why McCain will lose on this issue, so pivotal for Joshua... so embarrassing and, yes, silly for McCain.
Joshua, determined to stand by his man, writes: 'I am gay. I have survived through torture, hate, bias, and oppression. .. My boyfriend is in the ROTC, and plans to pursue a military career. I have accepted this, but not the pain that I would be forced to go through if I won't be able to visit him, talk to him, hug him, be with him.'
'If we have to hide everything, just so he can pursue something he believes in for everyone he wishes to protect, it would be truly disappointing.'
Joshua, it would be far worse than a disappointment for you... it would be a palpable diminution of our national freedoms and traditions. However, Joshua, consider this: you are the future... you and all the good people of this great nation who to defend their liberties must defend yours. Senator McCain, once a hero of these liberties, now works hard to diminish them. That's why you, Joshua, and not Senator McCain are the hero today.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is a speaker, consultant, well known marketer and the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Total Profit Plan -> http://silver45b.SCLNETWORK.hop.clickbank.net
To be blunt, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is making a fool of himself around the issue of gays in the military. His comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee the last few days have been an embarrassment, to himself and to the nation. In brief, his argument goes like this: 'We don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, we don't want 'em, see?'
McCain, of course, is on the wrong side of what is rapidly becoming a total and complete non-issue. As McCain should know (though he was a notoriously lazy student) the tides of history are determinant. And history is rapidly wrapping up the details on this issue.
Gays will serve in the military (as they always have from the time of the first army on this planet).
Gays will deliver good service. Many will be wounded. Many will die. Some will be dismissed... but dismissed for poor service, not bedroom gymnastics.
Gays will marry their same-sex partners in weddings which will feature snazzy uniforms and an arch of sabres. One day one such veteran will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... and she and her partner will get an engraved silver salver from the president on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. They may even be designated the "People of the Year" by Time Magazine. Stranger things have happened.
Any sensible person can read these tea leaves. They are clear, certain, irrefutable.
So, why is Senator McCain so adamant? There is surely something going on here, something more than meets the eye. Could it be this....
When Senator McCain gets in his car to go home at night, is he brainstorming ways to defend his outmoded views? Is he coming up with good reasons for obstructing from active service patriotic Americans merely because they choose to love in their own way?
Is he finding the defense he needs to justify why the military spends millions of dollars on television ads, telling fine, young Americans the services want them... then tossing them out because of their genetic orientation?
In short, is the senator thinking of how to defend opinions most of his fellow countrymen regard as antiquated and embarrassing?
Or is he visualizing, tormented, the lithe young bodies from every service locked together closer than Rodin's classic statue, "The Kiss"? Titillated, revolted, is John McCain wrestling with his own demons?
What did happen in the Hanoi Hilton all those many years ago when the handsome young McCain, not yet a hero or presidential candidate, was thrown together with other young prisoners all with normal appetites and no "suitable" way to satisfy them? No one has ever asked the Senator... no one ever will; he'll go to his grave without comment, with a vow of unbreakable silence.
Perhaps this speculation is unfair... but one must ask why he is so vehement about an issue whose inevitabilities are clear and in which there is absolutely no benefit for McCain or America in his remarks. In short, is this the politics of the personal, a man wrestling with suddenly insistent, unsettling memories? I cannot say, but the question for a public servant whose views impact both on those worldwide who are serving and who wish to serve, is most pertinent.
McCain vs the military establishment
The president is in an uncomfortable corner and has worked the senior military establishment to get out of it. Obama probably got 94% of the gay vote and in these meager days he and the Democratic Party wish to keep these absolutely essential voters who have repeal as their price.
So the president has made it clear to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of defense, the general who commands the army in Europe and the Pentagon's general counsel that "don't ask" must go... and swiftly so.
Thus McCain found himself, though one of the senators with the very closest military ties, arguing the matter publicly, tersely, tensely, with all his particular buddies, these military poobahs. They might be opposed to the coming policy, but they are military men and they will follow orders and complain quietly, while saying "yessir."
And McCain? "I remain concerned as I have been in the past, and as demonstrated in this study, that the closer we get to service members in combat, the more we encounter concerns about whether 'don't ask, don't tell' should be repealed."
The senator referenced a new Pentagon survey of 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members. This survey found that 70 percent believed the impact of "don't ask" on their units would be positive, mixed, or of no consequence. In other words, the movement has gone from "don't ask, don't tell" to "who cares"? As is right and proper. McCain, however, cites the 30 percent opposed and stakes his case, wrongly, on them. He is now the champion of a discriminatory policy whose time has come, and gone. There is nothing missing in this Arizona version of Don Quixote, the man who dreams his impossible dream.
A hint why McCain's archaic position is moribund
In today's Boston Globe (12/3/10) there is a brave little letter from 19 year old Joshua Rogers, of Taunton, Massachusetts, a gritty town of better days. Joshua and his words are why McCain will lose on this issue, so pivotal for Joshua... so embarrassing and, yes, silly for McCain.
Joshua, determined to stand by his man, writes: 'I am gay. I have survived through torture, hate, bias, and oppression. .. My boyfriend is in the ROTC, and plans to pursue a military career. I have accepted this, but not the pain that I would be forced to go through if I won't be able to visit him, talk to him, hug him, be with him.'
'If we have to hide everything, just so he can pursue something he believes in for everyone he wishes to protect, it would be truly disappointing.'
Joshua, it would be far worse than a disappointment for you... it would be a palpable diminution of our national freedoms and traditions. However, Joshua, consider this: you are the future... you and all the good people of this great nation who to defend their liberties must defend yours. Senator McCain, once a hero of these liberties, now works hard to diminish them. That's why you, Joshua, and not Senator McCain are the hero today.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is a speaker, consultant, well known marketer and the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Total Profit Plan -> http://silver45b.SCLNETWORK.hop.clickbank.net
Friday, December 3, 2010
How to keep Christmas well in your heart throughout the year
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
"and it was always said of Ebenezer Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
The words, of course, are from Charles Dickens' masterful "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843, a present the world gratefully rediscovers each and every year. They remind us that Christmas, to be Christmas, must be about magic and memories, remembering both those who are with us and (especially) those who are not.. Christmas this year, as every year, began for me by unpacking my little electrified tree. It is battered now and bears its many bruises proudly if carefully.
All at once, I give way to memories insistent, vivid, one tumbling over another. The box opens and recollections of one year of my life after another pour out. First, I remember the day my grandmother gave me this marvelous present and how she solemnly told me to take good care of it, as she had done.
I agreed to do so, little knowing the significance or the power of what I promised. Now I know, for this year I am older than she was when she gave it to me... and I now ponder who, in due course, I must present this tree to and who will keep the faith of generations with me. You see, I have arrived at the stage of life when Christmas is far more about who I shall give to... rather than who will give to me.
It cheers
My little tree (circa 1935), just 16 inches tall, literally bubbles with colorful cheer. It is called a bubbler because its bulbs not only light up and glow... but one after another they bubble, except (some days) the one at the very top which, eccentrically,often fails to bubble at all. Moreover, when one bulb goes out.... they all go out which means a patient review of all. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. Age means appreciating even flaws, for they, too, are a part of the whole.
Because I am an historian and like many such have a tendency to collect and keep for a lifetime, I have been designated by my extended family as the "keeper", the one it is safe to leave with the mementoes we all agree are important, but which no one but me wants to take care of. Once the bubbler tree is set up, other boxes must be opened... and they can only be opened when there is sufficient time to pause, remember, reflect, and again and again be seized by their heart-tugging memories. One cannot rush this process for the memories will not be denied. They are forever bittersweet... featuring as they do those loved and gone before. Yes, one must have sufficient time for them for the memories that cascade at this time of the year are always vivid, poignant, rich... with new meanings that come as I age.
I smile, for instance, at a styrofoam bell given to me (as to all class members) by Mrs. Eigenbraugh, my third grade teacher. This ornament, a liberty bell, features my teacher in a stately formal pose. She looks at me as the dedicated prairie teacher she was. The autograph reads simply "Mrs. Eigenbraugh, 1955."
I am older now than Mrs. Eigenbraugh was then... and I clearly see her at her desk dutifully, carefully signing each gift in her copperplate hand. She no doubt paid for these herself... and gave them as a small memento of her and the season... little thinking that I, a half century later, should be so moved at her gift... or her conscientious generosity. Do teachers give as much today?
Just one left
I was born in 1947 to young parents who had, in those post war years, few dollars and sky-high aspirations, with days and energy to spare. Like everyone else in the neighborhood they had a young child, part of that baby boomer wave. For him, they bought a box of colored glass ornaments which I broke one by one by getting in my petal powered red car, pushing it backwards across the living room... then running car into Christmas tree... full speed ahead. No one seemed to mind. We were young, and we all had time and youth to spend without care.
Now I hold that glass ball in my hand, of faded purple hue. It, along with my father and I, are the survivors of this tale. And now this glass ornament, once so little valued that we all laughed every time I, with my running feet and determined glint, scored a direct hit... now this glass, I say, is precious and deeply valued as a memento of youth, both my parents and my own, and of the beautiful dark-haired woman whose carefree laughter and love are as clear in this ornament as if it were a crystal ball. She told me to take good care of this for there could never be another... I have and I will. And in time I shall ask of another what she asked of me: to remember.... and to take good care. For I am entitled to that as well., having well and truly kept the promise.
Remember and reconnect
Each year about this time, I set out to reconnect with someone from my past with whom I have lost touch, the way one does. Sometimes I succeed in this task; sometimes I don't. When I do... I make a point of writing them a memorable letter... about how important they are to me... and how well and what I remember. Such letters in a lifetime are rare to write and rarer still to receive. I am pleased to say they always stimulate a similar letter in response. That letter is always amongst my best Christmas presents. As such I place it carefully among my other treasured gifts and mementos and savor them as, each year, I take them out and let memory hold sway. Thus, with the help of my dearly beloved, I keep Christmas in my heart all year long, like the better, reformed, wiser Ebenezer Scrooge.
And so I say to you: God bless us everyone and every loving memory of yore. They make us what we are and remind us, lovingly, of where we have been and the people who have helped us along the way in so very many ways.
Merry Christmas!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Fr. Lant is a well known speaker, consultant and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Clickbank Traffic Warrior -> http://silver45b.atwarrior.hop.clickbank.net
"and it was always said of Ebenezer Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
The words, of course, are from Charles Dickens' masterful "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843, a present the world gratefully rediscovers each and every year. They remind us that Christmas, to be Christmas, must be about magic and memories, remembering both those who are with us and (especially) those who are not.. Christmas this year, as every year, began for me by unpacking my little electrified tree. It is battered now and bears its many bruises proudly if carefully.
All at once, I give way to memories insistent, vivid, one tumbling over another. The box opens and recollections of one year of my life after another pour out. First, I remember the day my grandmother gave me this marvelous present and how she solemnly told me to take good care of it, as she had done.
I agreed to do so, little knowing the significance or the power of what I promised. Now I know, for this year I am older than she was when she gave it to me... and I now ponder who, in due course, I must present this tree to and who will keep the faith of generations with me. You see, I have arrived at the stage of life when Christmas is far more about who I shall give to... rather than who will give to me.
It cheers
My little tree (circa 1935), just 16 inches tall, literally bubbles with colorful cheer. It is called a bubbler because its bulbs not only light up and glow... but one after another they bubble, except (some days) the one at the very top which, eccentrically,often fails to bubble at all. Moreover, when one bulb goes out.... they all go out which means a patient review of all. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. Age means appreciating even flaws, for they, too, are a part of the whole.
Because I am an historian and like many such have a tendency to collect and keep for a lifetime, I have been designated by my extended family as the "keeper", the one it is safe to leave with the mementoes we all agree are important, but which no one but me wants to take care of. Once the bubbler tree is set up, other boxes must be opened... and they can only be opened when there is sufficient time to pause, remember, reflect, and again and again be seized by their heart-tugging memories. One cannot rush this process for the memories will not be denied. They are forever bittersweet... featuring as they do those loved and gone before. Yes, one must have sufficient time for them for the memories that cascade at this time of the year are always vivid, poignant, rich... with new meanings that come as I age.
I smile, for instance, at a styrofoam bell given to me (as to all class members) by Mrs. Eigenbraugh, my third grade teacher. This ornament, a liberty bell, features my teacher in a stately formal pose. She looks at me as the dedicated prairie teacher she was. The autograph reads simply "Mrs. Eigenbraugh, 1955."
I am older now than Mrs. Eigenbraugh was then... and I clearly see her at her desk dutifully, carefully signing each gift in her copperplate hand. She no doubt paid for these herself... and gave them as a small memento of her and the season... little thinking that I, a half century later, should be so moved at her gift... or her conscientious generosity. Do teachers give as much today?
Just one left
I was born in 1947 to young parents who had, in those post war years, few dollars and sky-high aspirations, with days and energy to spare. Like everyone else in the neighborhood they had a young child, part of that baby boomer wave. For him, they bought a box of colored glass ornaments which I broke one by one by getting in my petal powered red car, pushing it backwards across the living room... then running car into Christmas tree... full speed ahead. No one seemed to mind. We were young, and we all had time and youth to spend without care.
Now I hold that glass ball in my hand, of faded purple hue. It, along with my father and I, are the survivors of this tale. And now this glass ornament, once so little valued that we all laughed every time I, with my running feet and determined glint, scored a direct hit... now this glass, I say, is precious and deeply valued as a memento of youth, both my parents and my own, and of the beautiful dark-haired woman whose carefree laughter and love are as clear in this ornament as if it were a crystal ball. She told me to take good care of this for there could never be another... I have and I will. And in time I shall ask of another what she asked of me: to remember.... and to take good care. For I am entitled to that as well., having well and truly kept the promise.
Remember and reconnect
Each year about this time, I set out to reconnect with someone from my past with whom I have lost touch, the way one does. Sometimes I succeed in this task; sometimes I don't. When I do... I make a point of writing them a memorable letter... about how important they are to me... and how well and what I remember. Such letters in a lifetime are rare to write and rarer still to receive. I am pleased to say they always stimulate a similar letter in response. That letter is always amongst my best Christmas presents. As such I place it carefully among my other treasured gifts and mementos and savor them as, each year, I take them out and let memory hold sway. Thus, with the help of my dearly beloved, I keep Christmas in my heart all year long, like the better, reformed, wiser Ebenezer Scrooge.
And so I say to you: God bless us everyone and every loving memory of yore. They make us what we are and remind us, lovingly, of where we have been and the people who have helped us along the way in so very many ways.
Merry Christmas!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Fr. Lant is a well known speaker, consultant and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Clickbank Traffic Warrior -> http://silver45b.atwarrior.hop.clickbank.net
Too busy? Need extra time? Then it's time for your 'NEVER DO' list!
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
We all know the importance of "to do" lists, that is lists where you write down what you need to do and when you need to do it. You DO have such lists, don't you? They are essential for maximum efficiency and focus.
Well, this is a recommendation to start drawing up and living by items on your "never do" list, a list that becomes absolutely necessary as you see your opportunities and tasks expanding exponentially and your time remaining inflexible and limited.
Time is infuriatingly limited
Face it. Since you were born, no one has been able to figure out how to get more than 24 hours in a day. Generations of trained, often brilliant, scientists have come and gone... yet we have the same amount of time as the Caesars with no change in sight. Bummer.
Thus instead of wishing we had more time, the challenge becomes making better use of the time we have. Inspired allocation of time becomes the goal... and this includes the all-important "never do" list.
The residual pull of "do it yourself".
If your upbringing was anything like mine, you were constantly admonished: "if you want it done right, do it yourself."
Without detracting from the wisdom of this remark, I must tell you this in all seriousness: quite simply you cannot do it all yourself... and to achieve increasing success you must make the determination and live by it... that that which can be done by others, must be done by others; this is the only way you can perfect your ability to make money and mastermind the growth and expansion of your empire.
Start today. What task(s) can you stop doing at once?
Review what you did yesterday, everything you did. Write it down. It is time to see where you currently invest your time... and to stop doing at least 1 of the items currently being done by you. Now, when I say write down EVERYTHING you did....I do mean EVERYTHING. The goal is freeing up time... which means a total review of what you now do for yourself.
Looking at what you do
This list will include items like these
* household tasks like laundry, food shopping and preparation, taking care of pets
* time you spend with children and elderly parents
* running errands (list every one you must do)
* driving and upkeep of your vehicles.
Be thorough, be exhaustive, be honest!
Selecting the first item to be done by others
Remember, the amount of time is rigidly fixed. What you personally do... and what you delegate to others to do is not. Now is the time to start this crucial delegation.
Household help
Busy people, important people, people with lots of things to do... and the desire to advance... almost all have household help and so must you.
Hire your help (recommendations from friends help). Then train them to meet your exacting standards and to create the lifestyle of ease and efficiency that you require as a necessary condition for your own success.
Now, I'm not saying it's not possible to live without household help. What I am saying is that if you want the maximum amount of free time that you can devote to getting on and getting richer, then you MUST have household help. That help is a crucial factor in your success.
Training such people in what you require is essential. You'll need a "to do" list for them, and you'll need to monitor carefully what they do and how they do it. Allowing them to get on with the job of helping and serving you will yield a huge dividend in time and a general feeling of contentment and satisfaction.
A driver
If you're like most people you spend a spectacular amount of time in and around your vehicles. This is time better spent in advancing your economic well- being and comfort. In short, you require a driver.
Drivers can be used for a myriad of purposes, from running errands to making an evening out comfortable and efficient. If you've never had such help before, you can hardly imagine how liberating it is to acquire and use it... and how promptly you become accustomed to its many advantages. And the cherry on the cake, of course, is that it frees up a huge volume of time, time you can better use for other purposes.
A word of recognition
My own driver is Aime Joseph, a man of efficiency and concern, who with his charming wife Mercedes, take care of me and mine. Indeed, so popular is Mr. Joseph, that when my relatives visit they always ask whether he will be picking them up at the air port. An affirmative answer cheers them immensely. I am glad to attest to his virtues... and to the essential services he delivers, services which have given me both leisure and the time required for enhanced business profits and a better, more serene existence.
A word of advice: slow and steady wins the race
The first problem to overcome will be accepting the need for help to free up time. Then there is the matter of cost. You'll say that you don't have the money to delegate life's essential tasks to others. That's rubbish. You simply need to be sure that you can generate the necessary money from your business and that this money is greater than the cost of the assistance you are acquiring. If it is, no problem.
But don't go mad... before you add additional help to your expense ledger, always make sure you can generate the income to pay for it. Once you are sure, proceed. This means moving ahead with all due deliberation. Help is great, help is essential, help gives you the better life... but you must be able to pay for it.
Now begin. You are about to stop doing one essential task after another, tasks you may have done for a lifetime but which you cannot afford to do yourself any more. Why? Because you truly know and intend to live by the fundamental truth that is Benjamin Franklin's famous line: "time is money." Indeed it is... and now, with all your new and vital help, you are about to liberate a great deal of that time and reap the very substantial benefits that come when you do!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
We all know the importance of "to do" lists, that is lists where you write down what you need to do and when you need to do it. You DO have such lists, don't you? They are essential for maximum efficiency and focus.
Well, this is a recommendation to start drawing up and living by items on your "never do" list, a list that becomes absolutely necessary as you see your opportunities and tasks expanding exponentially and your time remaining inflexible and limited.
Time is infuriatingly limited
Face it. Since you were born, no one has been able to figure out how to get more than 24 hours in a day. Generations of trained, often brilliant, scientists have come and gone... yet we have the same amount of time as the Caesars with no change in sight. Bummer.
Thus instead of wishing we had more time, the challenge becomes making better use of the time we have. Inspired allocation of time becomes the goal... and this includes the all-important "never do" list.
The residual pull of "do it yourself".
If your upbringing was anything like mine, you were constantly admonished: "if you want it done right, do it yourself."
Without detracting from the wisdom of this remark, I must tell you this in all seriousness: quite simply you cannot do it all yourself... and to achieve increasing success you must make the determination and live by it... that that which can be done by others, must be done by others; this is the only way you can perfect your ability to make money and mastermind the growth and expansion of your empire.
Start today. What task(s) can you stop doing at once?
Review what you did yesterday, everything you did. Write it down. It is time to see where you currently invest your time... and to stop doing at least 1 of the items currently being done by you. Now, when I say write down EVERYTHING you did....I do mean EVERYTHING. The goal is freeing up time... which means a total review of what you now do for yourself.
Looking at what you do
This list will include items like these
* household tasks like laundry, food shopping and preparation, taking care of pets
* time you spend with children and elderly parents
* running errands (list every one you must do)
* driving and upkeep of your vehicles.
Be thorough, be exhaustive, be honest!
Selecting the first item to be done by others
Remember, the amount of time is rigidly fixed. What you personally do... and what you delegate to others to do is not. Now is the time to start this crucial delegation.
Household help
Busy people, important people, people with lots of things to do... and the desire to advance... almost all have household help and so must you.
Hire your help (recommendations from friends help). Then train them to meet your exacting standards and to create the lifestyle of ease and efficiency that you require as a necessary condition for your own success.
Now, I'm not saying it's not possible to live without household help. What I am saying is that if you want the maximum amount of free time that you can devote to getting on and getting richer, then you MUST have household help. That help is a crucial factor in your success.
Training such people in what you require is essential. You'll need a "to do" list for them, and you'll need to monitor carefully what they do and how they do it. Allowing them to get on with the job of helping and serving you will yield a huge dividend in time and a general feeling of contentment and satisfaction.
A driver
If you're like most people you spend a spectacular amount of time in and around your vehicles. This is time better spent in advancing your economic well- being and comfort. In short, you require a driver.
Drivers can be used for a myriad of purposes, from running errands to making an evening out comfortable and efficient. If you've never had such help before, you can hardly imagine how liberating it is to acquire and use it... and how promptly you become accustomed to its many advantages. And the cherry on the cake, of course, is that it frees up a huge volume of time, time you can better use for other purposes.
A word of recognition
My own driver is Aime Joseph, a man of efficiency and concern, who with his charming wife Mercedes, take care of me and mine. Indeed, so popular is Mr. Joseph, that when my relatives visit they always ask whether he will be picking them up at the air port. An affirmative answer cheers them immensely. I am glad to attest to his virtues... and to the essential services he delivers, services which have given me both leisure and the time required for enhanced business profits and a better, more serene existence.
A word of advice: slow and steady wins the race
The first problem to overcome will be accepting the need for help to free up time. Then there is the matter of cost. You'll say that you don't have the money to delegate life's essential tasks to others. That's rubbish. You simply need to be sure that you can generate the necessary money from your business and that this money is greater than the cost of the assistance you are acquiring. If it is, no problem.
But don't go mad... before you add additional help to your expense ledger, always make sure you can generate the income to pay for it. Once you are sure, proceed. This means moving ahead with all due deliberation. Help is great, help is essential, help gives you the better life... but you must be able to pay for it.
Now begin. You are about to stop doing one essential task after another, tasks you may have done for a lifetime but which you cannot afford to do yourself any more. Why? Because you truly know and intend to live by the fundamental truth that is Benjamin Franklin's famous line: "time is money." Indeed it is... and now, with all your new and vital help, you are about to liberate a great deal of that time and reap the very substantial benefits that come when you do!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling books. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Not the pope we wanted... Brussels' Archbishop Andre Leonard clearly indicates why Benedict XVI is in trouble
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
As protests go, it was short and undeniably sweet: a man ran up the central aisle of Brussels' main cathedral and shoved a cherry pie in the face of Archbishop Andre Leonard, a man seemingly tailor-made by history and Catholicism to roil and divide. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Leonard's in-your-face pastry clearly indicated that he was adding to the hapless Benedict's already at-risk pontificate instead of helping out, as he was supposed to.
And the pope had no one to blame but himself.
Archbishop Leonard is smiling.. but the well- living, comfortable Belgians are not.
It's easy to see why the archbishop is enjoying himself. At 70, an age when other men contemplate their gardens and the dinner menu, Archbishop Leonard is a man of destiny. Striding through an airport the other day, his grace was dogged by paparazzi and protestors... the cynosure of every eye, the darling of Rome and other intractables. His deeply self-satisfied smile could not be mistaken. He was where he was meant to be defending (in)fallibility, injustice, and the deeply troubled Church of Rome, whose saviour he could imagine becoming.
It was the perfect formula for maximum unhappiness and division... and his grace was nothing if not the man to savor every divisive moment of this unexpected opportunity.
And the pope had no one to blame but himself.
The pope's policy has been this: remove liberals, like retired Cardinal Godfried Danneels, beloved of the dwindling believers, and replace them with hard-liners, driven by an ardent desire to bring back the good old days of Pius XII and the undoubted majesty of Torquemada and the ardent joys of the long lamented, so satisfying Spanish Inquisition. Ah, yes, those good old, good old days.
The pope laid his hands upon the exultant Leonard, whom he had plucked from well-warranted obscurity in January, 2010 from a picturesque Belgian citadel town. Exultant, indeed, because he thought his rising days were long over.
But the Holy Father needs loyalists to do his bidding, and there is no one more loyal than a washed out party man who is summoned to a higher fate by a leader who desperately needs such troops... and has all the loaves and fishes to reward those who serve -- and obey.
The archbishop returned to Brussels and its over 30 years of progressive theological thought and an unceasing attempt to reconcile the Church of Rome with the satisfied, live- and-let-live people of Belgian... and he returned with a determined vengeance. He would root out the heresies of the Belgians with vigor, determination and the joys of complete and total submission by the erring (no longer) faithful.
His grace lost not a minute in announcing his red-blooded views... and his determination that the Belgian faithful must submit today, tomorrow, forever.
Pow! AIDS is a form of "justice" for homosexuals. They deserve what they get.
Pow! Retired pedophile priests must go UNpunished for their transgressions, ending their years of abuse in prayer and protected from further review and action.
Pow! Women who undergo abortion will be greeted in the afterlife by the heart-rending screams of their murdered children "Momma! Momma!"
The archbishop, like so many hard-liners, has a gift for the trenchant, chilling, hell- conjuring phrase... and he uses this gift lavishly.
The hapless Vicar of Rome sent this man of stern views and complete self satisfaction to the Belgians of all people, cosmopolitan, sophisticated, laissez faire, tolerant.... and now appalled by this archbishop's distinctly unBelgian views.
Two of the 10 bishops of Belgium have publicly challenged Archbishop Leonard's views; he is their superior in the hierarchy but they have distanced themselves from him notwithstanding.
M. Yves Leterme, Belgium's prime minister and a Catholic, has been resolute in his condemnation of the archbishop, who no doubt is not surprised by the protests of the easy-living miscreants, for all they may be a prime minister. Let them howl, so long as they submit.
Bert Claerhout, editor of Church and Life, a Catholic weekly, reports he's been inundated with fierce letters of complaint from readers, awakened from their good living lethargy by a determined man who quite clearly believes everything he says and is equally determined that you believe it, too --or else.
Then there is the matter of the cherry pie which in its simple, gastronomic way made such a tasty impression on a nation which insists upon the proper preparation and delivery of its fine cuisine. For such a people, such a pie, presented and delivered properly was most apropos.
And then this: even Archbishop Leonard's spokesman resigned, saying he could no longer morally defend his slash-and-burn employer. Ouch. Juergen Mettepenningen called the archbishop a "loose cannon who thinks everybody else is wrong."
All this the pope brought on himself and must continue to do if he maintains his flawed policies which have only the aging intransigents to draw on to defend them. In short, this is a pontificate in deep, profound trouble which every word from the fiery archbishop and his ilk intensifies. As the Church of Rome removes itself from the people, the people will firmly and irrevocably remove themselves from the Church of Rome.
A sense of doom surrounds the Bishop of Rome and his stewardship of the Vatican. These are the words that come to mind about this beleaguered, increasingly unhappy Holy Father: misguided, flat-footed, slow to understand, slower to address. He is a man whose pontificate was bound to be difficult, following John Paul II for whom the adoring faithful filled St. Peter's Square shouting "Santo! Subito!" But it didn't have be this difficult, this unsatisfactory, this unhappy.
However, Benedict XVI selected doctrinal purity over universal inclusiveness; he chose to look backwards... when we all, whether Catholic or not, wanted him to look ahead and plot the way to bring us all demonstrably closer to universal harmony and peace.
The strident partizan Archbishop Leonard is the merest detail, easy to return to the obscurity from whence he came at the pope's merest motion. But the pope himself? He is the unhappy man... the man who called upon to improve the future, gave us nothing more than patches on the past. And he did it to himself.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is a well known marketer, speaker, consultant, and author of 18 best-selling books.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Clickbank Traffic Warrior -> http://silver45b.atwarrior.hop.clickbank.net
As protests go, it was short and undeniably sweet: a man ran up the central aisle of Brussels' main cathedral and shoved a cherry pie in the face of Archbishop Andre Leonard, a man seemingly tailor-made by history and Catholicism to roil and divide. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Leonard's in-your-face pastry clearly indicated that he was adding to the hapless Benedict's already at-risk pontificate instead of helping out, as he was supposed to.
And the pope had no one to blame but himself.
Archbishop Leonard is smiling.. but the well- living, comfortable Belgians are not.
It's easy to see why the archbishop is enjoying himself. At 70, an age when other men contemplate their gardens and the dinner menu, Archbishop Leonard is a man of destiny. Striding through an airport the other day, his grace was dogged by paparazzi and protestors... the cynosure of every eye, the darling of Rome and other intractables. His deeply self-satisfied smile could not be mistaken. He was where he was meant to be defending (in)fallibility, injustice, and the deeply troubled Church of Rome, whose saviour he could imagine becoming.
It was the perfect formula for maximum unhappiness and division... and his grace was nothing if not the man to savor every divisive moment of this unexpected opportunity.
And the pope had no one to blame but himself.
The pope's policy has been this: remove liberals, like retired Cardinal Godfried Danneels, beloved of the dwindling believers, and replace them with hard-liners, driven by an ardent desire to bring back the good old days of Pius XII and the undoubted majesty of Torquemada and the ardent joys of the long lamented, so satisfying Spanish Inquisition. Ah, yes, those good old, good old days.
The pope laid his hands upon the exultant Leonard, whom he had plucked from well-warranted obscurity in January, 2010 from a picturesque Belgian citadel town. Exultant, indeed, because he thought his rising days were long over.
But the Holy Father needs loyalists to do his bidding, and there is no one more loyal than a washed out party man who is summoned to a higher fate by a leader who desperately needs such troops... and has all the loaves and fishes to reward those who serve -- and obey.
The archbishop returned to Brussels and its over 30 years of progressive theological thought and an unceasing attempt to reconcile the Church of Rome with the satisfied, live- and-let-live people of Belgian... and he returned with a determined vengeance. He would root out the heresies of the Belgians with vigor, determination and the joys of complete and total submission by the erring (no longer) faithful.
His grace lost not a minute in announcing his red-blooded views... and his determination that the Belgian faithful must submit today, tomorrow, forever.
Pow! AIDS is a form of "justice" for homosexuals. They deserve what they get.
Pow! Retired pedophile priests must go UNpunished for their transgressions, ending their years of abuse in prayer and protected from further review and action.
Pow! Women who undergo abortion will be greeted in the afterlife by the heart-rending screams of their murdered children "Momma! Momma!"
The archbishop, like so many hard-liners, has a gift for the trenchant, chilling, hell- conjuring phrase... and he uses this gift lavishly.
The hapless Vicar of Rome sent this man of stern views and complete self satisfaction to the Belgians of all people, cosmopolitan, sophisticated, laissez faire, tolerant.... and now appalled by this archbishop's distinctly unBelgian views.
Two of the 10 bishops of Belgium have publicly challenged Archbishop Leonard's views; he is their superior in the hierarchy but they have distanced themselves from him notwithstanding.
M. Yves Leterme, Belgium's prime minister and a Catholic, has been resolute in his condemnation of the archbishop, who no doubt is not surprised by the protests of the easy-living miscreants, for all they may be a prime minister. Let them howl, so long as they submit.
Bert Claerhout, editor of Church and Life, a Catholic weekly, reports he's been inundated with fierce letters of complaint from readers, awakened from their good living lethargy by a determined man who quite clearly believes everything he says and is equally determined that you believe it, too --or else.
Then there is the matter of the cherry pie which in its simple, gastronomic way made such a tasty impression on a nation which insists upon the proper preparation and delivery of its fine cuisine. For such a people, such a pie, presented and delivered properly was most apropos.
And then this: even Archbishop Leonard's spokesman resigned, saying he could no longer morally defend his slash-and-burn employer. Ouch. Juergen Mettepenningen called the archbishop a "loose cannon who thinks everybody else is wrong."
All this the pope brought on himself and must continue to do if he maintains his flawed policies which have only the aging intransigents to draw on to defend them. In short, this is a pontificate in deep, profound trouble which every word from the fiery archbishop and his ilk intensifies. As the Church of Rome removes itself from the people, the people will firmly and irrevocably remove themselves from the Church of Rome.
A sense of doom surrounds the Bishop of Rome and his stewardship of the Vatican. These are the words that come to mind about this beleaguered, increasingly unhappy Holy Father: misguided, flat-footed, slow to understand, slower to address. He is a man whose pontificate was bound to be difficult, following John Paul II for whom the adoring faithful filled St. Peter's Square shouting "Santo! Subito!" But it didn't have be this difficult, this unsatisfactory, this unhappy.
However, Benedict XVI selected doctrinal purity over universal inclusiveness; he chose to look backwards... when we all, whether Catholic or not, wanted him to look ahead and plot the way to bring us all demonstrably closer to universal harmony and peace.
The strident partizan Archbishop Leonard is the merest detail, easy to return to the obscurity from whence he came at the pope's merest motion. But the pope himself? He is the unhappy man... the man who called upon to improve the future, gave us nothing more than patches on the past. And he did it to himself.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is a well known marketer, speaker, consultant, and author of 18 best-selling books.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com. Check out Clickbank Traffic Warrior -> http://silver45b.atwarrior.hop.clickbank.net
Your lousy communication skills are hurting yourself and others. Here's what you need to do at once.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It's time to call a spade a spade. We are members of the most communications savvy and personally wired generation ever. Even the tiniest mite has her cell phone with camera. Yet the truth is, the explosion of communications tools has produced less real communication than ever; you and your poor communications skills are one of the culprits. Listen up! After all, it's time your communication skills improved to the level of your communications tools.
The quality of communications is not strained...
You, being an educated soul, are no doubt familiar with Portia's famous speech:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
(The Merchant of Venice. Act 4, scene 1.)
Bold and even impious, I now advise you (while great Shakespeare rolls in his grave) to change the word "mercy" to "communications," thus:
The quality of communications is not strain'd... it is twice blessed..."
And so it is. Good communications are good for the recipient and for the sender too.
You know this... but you do not act accordingly. Which is why this (shall we say) motivating article is so necessary and why you should take every single word to heart and make radical adjustments in your lamentable behavior.
Poor communicators (with the probability strong that you are one of them) exhibit these traits:
Arrogance. The human animal is a selfish animal, conceived in selfishness and nurtured in the belief that the Great Me, the universe-centered I Am is the most important animal anywhere at any time. As a result, this animal well and truly believes that she is so important that others must feel grateful, even when the communication is not returned. Oh, my!
People (like you?) who do not communicate effectively are people who are telling others, clear as crystal, that they are superior to you; that their time is more valuable than yours... and that these lesser folk need wait (and happily so) and wait and wait some more until you condescend to respond.
Such people by their behavior and non responsiveness clearly indicate that you and your concerns are, by definition, of infinitely less consideration than theirs. And that you'd best be glad for the little you get, for it is infinitely more than you deserve.
Poor communicators are slothful.
Good communicators, effective communicators realize that the business of communicating is like a tennis match. The ball must always be in motion between the communicator and those he wishes to communicate with. When the ball stops moving, the communication stops with it. The person who has stopped the communicating process is , by definition, the lazy, inhibiting one.
All too often the communication stops and is not extended because of unadulterated sloth. It takes work to communicate... it takes work to conceive a message and deliver that message. It takes work to be prepared and move matters to their next stage. However the slothful communicator can and does think of a myriad of "reasons" why he can obliterate the communications process without remorse. Thus he goes blithely on with his affairs while others, fuming, apply language which is ever more blue as time passes and their legitimate reasons for communicating go without any response whatsoever. Oh, my!
A special cycle of hell
For the intractable, for the miscreants arrogant and slothful who will not change, an idea: for them: a special cycle of hell wherein they are asked such questions as "are you hungry?" or "are you feeling hot and uncomfortable?" These hungry and uncomfortable miscreants answer and answer and answer. But response comes there none, ever. Delicious.
Help for the socially challenged and shy johns and janes everywhere.
Yet is the world of the non communicators made up solely and exclusively of the arrogant and slothful? Certainly not. It is also, and in significant numbers, the preserve of the shy, the timid, the socially malaprop, and untutored.
For them a single word: study.
There is one thing and only one thing which sets us apart and elevated from animals of every kind and place... and that one thing is communicating. So, if you truly wish to learn, improve and foster rather than retard communications, here is what you must learn and do.
1) Learn empathy, that crucial ability to enter into the minds and hearts of the people you are to communicate with. What is it they are expecting from you? Deliver that, to the furthest extent possible, and you have the essential element of success.
2) Be prompt about responding. In an age of instant communications, there can be absolutely no reason for delayed or no response at all except your own failure to provide it. The means are at hand; use them "as quick as boiled asparagus." And that's very fast!
3) Be clear on where you can be reached. Assume the person you are communicating with does not have this vital intelligence. State it clearly, thoroughly... and reiterate to avoid any confusion whatsoever.
4) Be willing to try again if the person you are trying to reach (even if that person initiated the communication) fails to respond. Remember, empathy is the basis for successful communications.
5) Above all else, never stop improving your knowledge of communication and its techniques. In this golden age of communications, the overwhelming majority of loaves and fishes will go to the communicating elite... those who make it a point to master communications and steadily enhance their knowledge and expertise. Make that person you!
Give this article to the communicating challenged. They need it so.
Your last task for today is to give a copy of this article to every substandard and inadequate communicator you can. The task at hand, training communicators and enhancing their skills, is a lifetime affair. Start it now. There is so very much to do and so many who need the help.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books, as well as being an internationally recognized marketer. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
It's time to call a spade a spade. We are members of the most communications savvy and personally wired generation ever. Even the tiniest mite has her cell phone with camera. Yet the truth is, the explosion of communications tools has produced less real communication than ever; you and your poor communications skills are one of the culprits. Listen up! After all, it's time your communication skills improved to the level of your communications tools.
The quality of communications is not strained...
You, being an educated soul, are no doubt familiar with Portia's famous speech:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
(The Merchant of Venice. Act 4, scene 1.)
Bold and even impious, I now advise you (while great Shakespeare rolls in his grave) to change the word "mercy" to "communications," thus:
The quality of communications is not strain'd... it is twice blessed..."
And so it is. Good communications are good for the recipient and for the sender too.
You know this... but you do not act accordingly. Which is why this (shall we say) motivating article is so necessary and why you should take every single word to heart and make radical adjustments in your lamentable behavior.
Poor communicators (with the probability strong that you are one of them) exhibit these traits:
Arrogance. The human animal is a selfish animal, conceived in selfishness and nurtured in the belief that the Great Me, the universe-centered I Am is the most important animal anywhere at any time. As a result, this animal well and truly believes that she is so important that others must feel grateful, even when the communication is not returned. Oh, my!
People (like you?) who do not communicate effectively are people who are telling others, clear as crystal, that they are superior to you; that their time is more valuable than yours... and that these lesser folk need wait (and happily so) and wait and wait some more until you condescend to respond.
Such people by their behavior and non responsiveness clearly indicate that you and your concerns are, by definition, of infinitely less consideration than theirs. And that you'd best be glad for the little you get, for it is infinitely more than you deserve.
Poor communicators are slothful.
Good communicators, effective communicators realize that the business of communicating is like a tennis match. The ball must always be in motion between the communicator and those he wishes to communicate with. When the ball stops moving, the communication stops with it. The person who has stopped the communicating process is , by definition, the lazy, inhibiting one.
All too often the communication stops and is not extended because of unadulterated sloth. It takes work to communicate... it takes work to conceive a message and deliver that message. It takes work to be prepared and move matters to their next stage. However the slothful communicator can and does think of a myriad of "reasons" why he can obliterate the communications process without remorse. Thus he goes blithely on with his affairs while others, fuming, apply language which is ever more blue as time passes and their legitimate reasons for communicating go without any response whatsoever. Oh, my!
A special cycle of hell
For the intractable, for the miscreants arrogant and slothful who will not change, an idea: for them: a special cycle of hell wherein they are asked such questions as "are you hungry?" or "are you feeling hot and uncomfortable?" These hungry and uncomfortable miscreants answer and answer and answer. But response comes there none, ever. Delicious.
Help for the socially challenged and shy johns and janes everywhere.
Yet is the world of the non communicators made up solely and exclusively of the arrogant and slothful? Certainly not. It is also, and in significant numbers, the preserve of the shy, the timid, the socially malaprop, and untutored.
For them a single word: study.
There is one thing and only one thing which sets us apart and elevated from animals of every kind and place... and that one thing is communicating. So, if you truly wish to learn, improve and foster rather than retard communications, here is what you must learn and do.
1) Learn empathy, that crucial ability to enter into the minds and hearts of the people you are to communicate with. What is it they are expecting from you? Deliver that, to the furthest extent possible, and you have the essential element of success.
2) Be prompt about responding. In an age of instant communications, there can be absolutely no reason for delayed or no response at all except your own failure to provide it. The means are at hand; use them "as quick as boiled asparagus." And that's very fast!
3) Be clear on where you can be reached. Assume the person you are communicating with does not have this vital intelligence. State it clearly, thoroughly... and reiterate to avoid any confusion whatsoever.
4) Be willing to try again if the person you are trying to reach (even if that person initiated the communication) fails to respond. Remember, empathy is the basis for successful communications.
5) Above all else, never stop improving your knowledge of communication and its techniques. In this golden age of communications, the overwhelming majority of loaves and fishes will go to the communicating elite... those who make it a point to master communications and steadily enhance their knowledge and expertise. Make that person you!
Give this article to the communicating challenged. They need it so.
Your last task for today is to give a copy of this article to every substandard and inadequate communicator you can. The task at hand, training communicators and enhancing their skills, is a lifetime affair. Start it now. There is so very much to do and so many who need the help.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books, as well as being an internationally recognized marketer. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Abdicate? Not a chance. Here's why Charles will reign when his time comes.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
The engagement of Prince William of Wales and the comely commoner Kate Middleton has caused a long simmering question to flare up again. Will Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, stand down in favor of the lovely couple?
Those who advocate such an unprecedented event base their case on the following points:
* Charles is uninspiring, eccentric, even odd.
* Charles will be "too old" at his accession to have a meaningful, effective reign.
* By his caddish treatment of his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, he forfeited the affection and respect of the nation... and should therefore lose the throne.
* His son William and his winsome Kate are young, popular, already national icons. As a result, it makes more sense for them to reign... than the shop-worn Charles and his frumpish Duchess Camilla.
What do the people think?
An October, 2010 poll of 2,012 adults by ComRes shows support for changing the order of succession. 25 percent of those polled say that Charles should make way for Wills and Kate. The younger the respondent, the more that person is likely to support such a change.
Let's take a look at all the "reasons" advanced for altering the line of succession for the world's most prestigious monarchy.
* Charles in uninspiring. True. Mention the Prince of Wales' name and the likely response will be tepid, at best. But this is hardly reason for revoking his right to reign. In World War I, Charles great grand father King George V was pilloried by H.G. Wells as "alien and uninspiring." George when he heard the comment was outaged: "I may be uninspiring," he said. "But I'm damned if I'm alien." His reign was successful (unlike those of the principal dynasties of Europe), and he lived long enough to see himself as respected, admired, even loved. Britain will never pull the rug on Charles because he lacks charisma.
* Too old. This, too, won't fly. Right now the queen is 84 years old. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, lived to 101. She could live as long, or longer. Each second reduces the reign of Charles III.. But that is irrelevant.
He's prepared his entire life to be king and if he rules for just 5 minutes or less... he'll reign for those. There is no provision in the Constitution to remove the sovereign merely because of his age... and the righteous uproar from senior citizens would be mind boggling if a man were removed from his job because of age alone. Remember, centenarians are the fastest growing segment of the population... and they know how to make themselves heard. Charles will NEVER lose the throne because of his age alone, never.
Charles the cad doesn't deserve to reign. Here the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales appears, accusing Charles of every crime in the calendar. For betraying his young wife, and for a frump at that, he deserves to pay the ultimate price, losing the throne. More rubbish.
Sovereigns are not chosen because they have (or have not) remained faithful to their marriage vows. If this were the case, there would be precious few sovereigns.... or presidents of republics either. Bedroom morality has no place in the succession of kings, randy or otherwise. And it should have no place here either, whatever fanatical partizans of Diana, Princess of Wales may say. They have it in for the hapless Charles... and always will have. By his duplicitous treatment of Diana, he certainly forfeited the affection and respect of a great nation... but he did not forfeit his long-recognized right to the throne. His right to that is secure.
Charles is not as popular as the winsome two-some. True... but, again, beside the point.. Advancing princes is not determined "American-Idol" like by the voting masses. It is a matter of established custom, rights, and the little matter of the Constitution. Charles has done nothing to forfeit his rights. Unimaginative, odd, eccentric, true... but hard-wording, dutiful, loyal... and patient.
Why abdication is unthinkable
Now hear this:
The queen will NEVER abdicate. The most conservative of all the Windsors, her majesty will fight tooth and nail for Charles to be king. She is a woman who has lived for the dynasty... and fought for its ever dwindling rights and privileges. Support for another over Charles is unthinkable, not merely because he is her first-born son... but because he is Prince of Wales, the recognized and acknowledged heir.
So, it comes down to this:
Charles will NEVER be removed from the succession; there is no reason or party sufficient to urge or persuade. He will never willingly give up his right to the throne, even for a reign of months, or even weeks. He cannot, for such an act diminishes the monarchy to which he had dedicated his life.
What's more can anyone, anyone at all, imagine Prince Wills and his newly minted princess broaching the topic with his father, the long-patient prince? Unthinkable. For Prince Wills to ascend the whole royal establishment would have to concur... starting with a father who never could or would agree.
Like it or not... in the fullness of time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that high and mighty princess, will by her passing transfer the throne to his gracious majesty King Charles III.... and he, in his time, will do the same to King William V.
Now for a radical prediction: Charles will reign. Camilla will become, in due course, queen consort. Their reign, very likely short, will be diligent, respectable, even popular. For you see, it is in the interest of all to have it so. Charles and Camilla cannot want it otherwise; they will work hard for this result.. The nation he has served responsibly owes it to him, if not to her, to deliver this result. What's more it will be better for their royal highnesses Wills and Kate to succeed to a well- run, respected institution than one marred by controversy and in tatters.
God save the Queen! God save them all! And may they all reign happy if not glorious.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant's is the author of 18 best-selling business books, including 'Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria's Court.' This book was the result of Dr. Lant being the first American to gain access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
The engagement of Prince William of Wales and the comely commoner Kate Middleton has caused a long simmering question to flare up again. Will Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, stand down in favor of the lovely couple?
Those who advocate such an unprecedented event base their case on the following points:
* Charles is uninspiring, eccentric, even odd.
* Charles will be "too old" at his accession to have a meaningful, effective reign.
* By his caddish treatment of his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, he forfeited the affection and respect of the nation... and should therefore lose the throne.
* His son William and his winsome Kate are young, popular, already national icons. As a result, it makes more sense for them to reign... than the shop-worn Charles and his frumpish Duchess Camilla.
What do the people think?
An October, 2010 poll of 2,012 adults by ComRes shows support for changing the order of succession. 25 percent of those polled say that Charles should make way for Wills and Kate. The younger the respondent, the more that person is likely to support such a change.
Let's take a look at all the "reasons" advanced for altering the line of succession for the world's most prestigious monarchy.
* Charles in uninspiring. True. Mention the Prince of Wales' name and the likely response will be tepid, at best. But this is hardly reason for revoking his right to reign. In World War I, Charles great grand father King George V was pilloried by H.G. Wells as "alien and uninspiring." George when he heard the comment was outaged: "I may be uninspiring," he said. "But I'm damned if I'm alien." His reign was successful (unlike those of the principal dynasties of Europe), and he lived long enough to see himself as respected, admired, even loved. Britain will never pull the rug on Charles because he lacks charisma.
* Too old. This, too, won't fly. Right now the queen is 84 years old. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, lived to 101. She could live as long, or longer. Each second reduces the reign of Charles III.. But that is irrelevant.
He's prepared his entire life to be king and if he rules for just 5 minutes or less... he'll reign for those. There is no provision in the Constitution to remove the sovereign merely because of his age... and the righteous uproar from senior citizens would be mind boggling if a man were removed from his job because of age alone. Remember, centenarians are the fastest growing segment of the population... and they know how to make themselves heard. Charles will NEVER lose the throne because of his age alone, never.
Charles the cad doesn't deserve to reign. Here the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales appears, accusing Charles of every crime in the calendar. For betraying his young wife, and for a frump at that, he deserves to pay the ultimate price, losing the throne. More rubbish.
Sovereigns are not chosen because they have (or have not) remained faithful to their marriage vows. If this were the case, there would be precious few sovereigns.... or presidents of republics either. Bedroom morality has no place in the succession of kings, randy or otherwise. And it should have no place here either, whatever fanatical partizans of Diana, Princess of Wales may say. They have it in for the hapless Charles... and always will have. By his duplicitous treatment of Diana, he certainly forfeited the affection and respect of a great nation... but he did not forfeit his long-recognized right to the throne. His right to that is secure.
Charles is not as popular as the winsome two-some. True... but, again, beside the point.. Advancing princes is not determined "American-Idol" like by the voting masses. It is a matter of established custom, rights, and the little matter of the Constitution. Charles has done nothing to forfeit his rights. Unimaginative, odd, eccentric, true... but hard-wording, dutiful, loyal... and patient.
Why abdication is unthinkable
Now hear this:
The queen will NEVER abdicate. The most conservative of all the Windsors, her majesty will fight tooth and nail for Charles to be king. She is a woman who has lived for the dynasty... and fought for its ever dwindling rights and privileges. Support for another over Charles is unthinkable, not merely because he is her first-born son... but because he is Prince of Wales, the recognized and acknowledged heir.
So, it comes down to this:
Charles will NEVER be removed from the succession; there is no reason or party sufficient to urge or persuade. He will never willingly give up his right to the throne, even for a reign of months, or even weeks. He cannot, for such an act diminishes the monarchy to which he had dedicated his life.
What's more can anyone, anyone at all, imagine Prince Wills and his newly minted princess broaching the topic with his father, the long-patient prince? Unthinkable. For Prince Wills to ascend the whole royal establishment would have to concur... starting with a father who never could or would agree.
Like it or not... in the fullness of time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that high and mighty princess, will by her passing transfer the throne to his gracious majesty King Charles III.... and he, in his time, will do the same to King William V.
Now for a radical prediction: Charles will reign. Camilla will become, in due course, queen consort. Their reign, very likely short, will be diligent, respectable, even popular. For you see, it is in the interest of all to have it so. Charles and Camilla cannot want it otherwise; they will work hard for this result.. The nation he has served responsibly owes it to him, if not to her, to deliver this result. What's more it will be better for their royal highnesses Wills and Kate to succeed to a well- run, respected institution than one marred by controversy and in tatters.
God save the Queen! God save them all! And may they all reign happy if not glorious.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant's is the author of 18 best-selling business books, including 'Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria's Court.' This book was the result of Dr. Lant being the first American to gain access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.
Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
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