motivation

TalkingHeadJoe says—This “It’s Saturday” is nothing more than a rope-a-dope!  TalkingHeadJoe, you might be right.  Of course, that might be your opinion.  Everyone has an opinion and in America everyone has the right to voice their opinion (i.e. and they do).  AverageJoe says—Many opinions are no more than a lot of rattling with not much said.  Sooooo this “It’s Saturday” could be just that.  Sooooo take that into consideration when reading it. Suggestion—Don’t take me or yourself toooo serious!  You and I aren’t that important even though we think we are at times.  We aren’t; at least I’m not!

A friend told me this story about himself.  He owns a large number rental units.  One renter didn’t pay his rent for a couple of months.  He checked it out and found out he died.  He had no family or close friends.  He went into the unit and took out his cloths, his Bible, his bike and some tools and then the next day rented it another person as furnished.  He told the new renter--If you don’t like any of the stuff, the dumpster is out back.  That sorta kinda just hurts my heart as this guy “lived to day and gone tomorrow” and basically no one even cares.  Life just goes on!  Such is life.

I wanted to clean out the spices in our cabinets for maybe 5 years but never did it (i.e. our daughter and daughter-in-law said they were no good anymore and besides, I have done the cooking for the about the last 7 years and never used any of them).  Those are good reasons.  BUT I never cleaned them out until today.  Sooooo what motivated me to clean them out today?  I have no idea.  I remember a friend who told me maybe 20 years ago that his biggest motivating factor was failure (i.e. the world would say this guy is very successful and the public would never guess this).  Recently another friend told me that a huge massive shaping/motivating factor for him is—growing up with limited resources (i.e. the world would say this guy is very successful as well).  Saturday question—What motivates you?  Really!

I read this while eating my oatmeal with a half a banana on it--You need to set goals because they give you hope to keep moving and endure (i.e. motivates us). Job says, “What strength do I have left that I can go on hoping? What goal do I have that I would want to prolong my life?” (Job 6:11 GW). You have to have a goal to keep you going. A goal doesn’t have to be big to motivate you. For instance, if you had to have surgery, your first goal in recovery could be to sit up in bed. Then you might work toward standing up and then later walking down the hallway. All of those are very small goals, but they’re all important, because getting from where you are to success isn’t one big leap. It’s many small steps. A goal doesn’t have to be big to be important — it just has to encourage you to carry on. It appears that RickyRick is saying we need to have goals in order to be motivated.  I suggest we write them down and then check them off when completed (e.g. clean spices out of cupboard, check ha ha).  

Click those heels Dorothy! I really had to laugh; lol!  I was watching A-P basketball at the state tournament (i.e. streaming it).  An announcer said after something disappointing happened--That drives a coach to quitting and to go and sell insurance.  That is just what I did; bought into an agency and sold insurance and real estate for 34 years.  Do you know that you don’t need any education to sell insurance and real estate?  You just need to pass a state test.  I think that is really interesting.  Sooooo a person’s education has no effect on how successful a person will be.  Is that crazy or what.  It might depend a great deal on how motivated a person is.  I have friends who have made a ton of money with a high school education and others have failed with a master’s degree (i.e. that is how free enterprise works).  But beware—Only about 16% succeed in the insurance business!  LuckieEddie says—It’s all luck, magic!

I enjoy being around folks who are amazing to me.  Many of you are very interesting, unique folks (i.e. many of you folks are really something a.k.a. amazing—my opinion). You are not the vanilla flavor of the generic version.  You are different and very interesting.  I often wonder why you folks are as you are (i.e. you intrigue me).  I have no idea but there has to be a reason.  I have told you many times that I get bored easily.  If I would talk to the same type of person all the time, it would be very boring.  Some folks just have a lot more interests and are much more open minded it seems.  I realize that many of you don’t care to be around this type of person.  Hey, listen, you don’t have tooooo; you can stay in your little huddle or club and that is fine.  We are all different.  And that is ok.  Arlene’s Alzheimer’s wants her to like a very simple routine (i.e. very comfortable).  That is how her diseased brain works.  It’s easier for her. 

I read it in the paper soooo it must be right--The study shows that false information on the social media network travels six times faster than the truth…”fake new” speeds through Twitter “farther, faster, deeper and more broadly than the truth”…No matter how you slice it, falsity wins out…while true news stories almost never got retweeted to 1,000 people, the top 1 percent of the false ones got to as many as 100,000 people.  Is that crazy or what (i.e. maybe it’s just “false news”)!  What motivates folks to like stuff, that many times they know isn’t true; how gullible are we anyway.  Abraham Lincoln said—You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time but not all the people all the time.  BUT obviously if you want to get a point out there, make it a negative and false Tweet it; the juicer the better! 

Do you think we have mixed motives at times?  I mean part of our motives are good and part are evil?  I wonder as I wander. Jeff (i.e. anybody can be a Jeff) says—Qoheleth (i.e. a very unique person) says in Ecclesiastes that our motives are always mixed (i.e. maybe Qoheleth is noting paradox and ambiguity—concepts that disturb more than settle us). He’s saying there is a relativity to righteousness, that no one is good or wholly evil. To paraphrase a onesmartperson, the line between good and evil runs through the center of every human heart.  Soooo is Qoheleth saying there is some good and bad in all of us?  He probably has a motive for saying these things and making me think about it!

"Investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Abraham Lincoln    Reading and encouraging your children to read should be a great motivating factor.  Children who have encouraging parents about anything, have a huge massive advantage (i.e. my opinion).  What do you think?  That is what I thought.  

It appears to me that to be a good leader, a person must be a good motivator.  If a person can’t motivate, they can’t be a good leader (i.e. that is in business, sports, church, family, whatever). Maybe folks have different methods of leadership in motivating but the good ones all can motivate (i.e. the good ones all do it).  Just look around folks.  Some folks just can, and others just can’t.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.  Just look around folks.  Don’t kid yourself.  Don’t fool yourself.  C’mon folks, face reality.  Why do some coaches seem to always win?  Why do some CEOs always make money?  Why are some teachers better? Da!

I have had many things change my life that I would consider both good and bad at the time. I sometimes didn’t even recognize what was going on.  How about you? Have you had such experiences?  Many of those events were not by my design or wish (i.e. they just fell in my lap).  I read this what Dr. J wrote—"Martin Luther’s mentor, Johann von Staupitz, assigned him the books of Romans and Galatians. While studying, Luther’s eyes were opened to the true Gospel message—salvation by grace through faith. This discovery was a Damascus Road experience for him, and he devoted his life to advancing the cause of the Gospel. We’re often on the road to life as we design it when God intervenes with storms, lightning bolts, mentors, and the Gospel message. Every one of us needs a Damascus Road experience. It may not be as dramatic as Paul’s or Luther’s, but we need a moment in our life when we understand and receive the Gospel.”  There are some strange and crazy motivations alright; about as crazy as some of us. Just crazy! 

CadillacJack asks--Is worry a motivator?  Do you worry?  How effective is it?  Are you just a worrier or a champion worrier?  What do you mostly worry about? Does worrying keep you awake at night? Does worry affect your personality?  Soooooo answer it again to me, why do you worry?

Stephen Hawking passed this week.  Some feel he was the most intelligent man on earth.  He was a physicist and a genius. He said this on intellectualism—"People who boast about their IQ are losers.”  I think what is very interesting is that he was fairly well rounded (e.g. he was funny).  He maintained a great attitude while having ALS for years.  ANYWAY, some say he was an atheist.  Some say he believed in God. I heard on the radio, soooo it must be right, that he said—We all see God differently.  He said this on the reason the Universe exists--“If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God” – A Brief History Of Time, published 1988.

I think of a friend often (i.e. I like him and probably will never see him again—I feel bad about that).  He says he doesn’t believe in God a.k.a. an atheist.  I don’t know for sure if he really doesn’t believe in God.  I really wonder.  I sense some feelings that part of him does.  He really makes me think.  Why do I really care?  I also know folks who are very indifferent to God (i.e. at least they act that way).  That makes me sad.  I can’t do anything about it (i.e. only God can).  I pray for these folks.  What will happen? I have no idea.  Billy Graham was asked, who are saved?  He said—Jesus Christ is the gate; no one comes to the Father except through me; but I am not the judge; only God can do the judging.  

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean says—In pleasure or pain, in sun or rain, in loss or gain, always be positive.

P.S. Those people whom we define as being wealthy get much more pleasure from owning substantial amounts of appreciable assets than from displaying a high-consumption lifestyle. That is what motivates them.