I got my first jigsaw puzzle from the library the other
day. The librarians both do jigsaw
puzzles. I told them it was my
first. I got a 300-piece puzzle and one
of the librarians said—my grandkids can put that together in about 3
hours. The other librarian said her Dad,
John, who was a friend of mine, use to do 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. Now that is putting pressure on me. Soooo I goggled it. Goggle says--The
deceleration of cognitive decline – The mental
stimulation a jigsaw puzzle activates the brain and
slows the memory loss process. An increase of dopamine – Working and completing
a puzzle produces dopamine, which in turn improves motor skills and increases
concentration, optimism, confidence, and recollection. They checked it out to
me for a month; I wonder what that means!!!!
haha Then one of the librarians said to me—erv, you are uninformed! What does that mean!!!! I just went to the
library to check out a jigsaw puzzle.
Wilie Shoemaker, the four-time Kentucky Derby and fire-time
Belmont Stakes winning jockey, said, “Desire is the most important factor in
the success of any athlete.” Sooo if you
want to be successful (i.e. whatever that means), think about that will
ya. While eating my oatmeal with half a
banana on it, I read—The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the
nonobvious. My smart friend calls it ppp proper prior planning. GeorgeTheCrook
says—From my experience ppm will result in failure—piss poor management. LuckieEddie says—It appears that some folks continue
to do something that ain’t going to work but they can’t see it that way (e.g.
80% of all business startups end up in failure). Yikes.
I actually talked to a friend at pickleball recently who is starting a
new business and we talked about this.
He understands that his business might fail but it might also do very
well. He doesn’t know nor do I. A
grandfather helped his grandson get started in a business—it failed. He said—His grandson didn’t want to work hard;
he was rather tepid about work! CrazyMarvin says—As hard as it is for many to
understand in this entitlement culture we live in, most who succeed, work very
hard. Yes, ok, if you call having a lot of money being successful, then ok,
some do acquire a lot of money by inheritance or by marrying it, but it doesn’t
seem like getting it from the government seems to work. Maybe it does for some; I don’t know. What do
you think? That is what I thought. Here
is an interesting thought I have—Do you think our economy will ever be better
than it is right now? Really do you
think soooooo? We are sooooo affluent
from top to bottom it appears. I realize
that some of you won’t agree with me.
But just think about that. Like my mentor use to say to me—erv, when
things are good, folks think they will be good forever and when things are bad,
folks think they will be bad forever. In either case, they won’t stay that
way. JoeQuestion asks—Are folks really
that naïve?
I watched the documentary DVD, Free Solo, as it intrigued me. These cliff climbers go up rocks that are
1,000 feet or more straight up with no ropes.
One slip and they are dead. They
have a saying—Good enough isn’t! Good enough is a C grade. Like in business starts, 80% is a B. Ya gotta be great to succeed. ItchieBitchie says—I wonder why many of my
relationships don’t last but I’m sorta kinda a C guy and my life proves it.
ItchieBitchie, you need to get after it more. You probably have the ability but
are lazy or ignorant or egotistical and self-centered or had bad luck or it was
just not to be. BUT we all fail; yes we
do. It appears that the ones who succeed
are the ones who can get up and try again.
For sure if we don’t try, we won’t succeed. Now that is a 100%
certainty. A friend of 40 years or more sent me this quote—"Take the first
step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first
step." -Martin Luther King Jr. She is sooooo sweet!
Are you ever a “solo” performer? I mean you won’t listen or ask others for an
evaluation. You will only listen to
yourself. You don’t want to discuss it
with wise folks. You are always right,
and others are always wrong. It appears
maybe that that attitude gets a lot of folks in a lot of hot water (i.e. the
water starts to get hotter and hotter and hotter and pretty soon it’s boiling
and they are dead in the water—look around folks, it doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to figure that out. Ain’t that
the truth!
I was reading Isaiah 40:28-31 from my Bible (i.e. my favorite
verses). I had written in the margin
that this is a very comforting to a friend who was in a small group with me in
l972. Soooo I took a picture of it and sent it to her. Her response—"These verses go through my
head all the time. I'm not that great at memorizing except when things
are made into song. (That's how I learned the books of the Bible and to
this day when I am given a verse to look up, I sing to myself the "Books
of the Bible" really quick to find it). These Isaiah verses are a song
also. He gives strength to the weary - who wouldn't need or want that?”
Ain’t that the truth!
CockyJoe (i.e.who is a BombCyclone) says—Folks with a
positive self-image typically have a better posture and head position and walk
with a more positive gait. Flip the pancake, folks who have their heads down
and have no confidence struggle with their self-image. I think this is an interesting analysis. We know all those kinds of folks and we are
them or somewhere in the middle I would guess.
Extreme self-centered, cocky, obnoxious, over-confident folks can be
very successful in whatever their mission is even if they are not much fun to
be around. Maybe the opposite type of person is more fun to be around but
aren’t very strong in their drive and not as successful because they lack
confidence. I don’t know; I just wonder.
I know many of you folks quite well; it appears the best ones are the ones who
are very confident (i.e. hold their heads high) but have a humble heart. It can be done; many of you do it; my kind of
folks. MissPerfect says—It appears in different geographical parts of the
country and of the world, folks seem to be different in how they express their
confidence. It appears they were raised
that way, maybe; and they don’t know any different, almost part of their DNA. What do you think of that? That is what I thought.
An average person talks 15,000 to 25,000 words a day (i.e.
that is about a book). That sure seems
like a lot. CadillacJack says—What
counts is what are we saying with all those words. I know folks who talk a lot but really don’t
say much and other who don’t say much but say a lot (i.e. that is my opinion). I have thought about this past experience sooooo many
times. Why? I have no idea; I really don’t but it always
makes me laugh when I think of it. When
I was being quizzed during my oral exam for my masters, one of the panel of
professors asked me why I didn’t expound on some certain topic in my written exam. I said in a nice way (i.e. I think)—It was not asked sooooo
I didn’t see a need tooooo. He was
satisfied with my answer. Good thing as
I didn’t know the answer! Sometimes it’s
better I just keep my mouth shut especially when I don’t know what I’m talking
about. haha
“Because
we don’t need more people just like me! We need people who can do what I can’t.
Our natural tendency is to surround ourselves with people like us. But if you
want to grow yourself and your organization, you can’t surround yourself with a
bunch of yes men and yes women. You need people who think differently and lead
differently.” — Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too
Small by Mark Batterson One of my
opportunities was to be part of a board of a company with some really smart
business folks who came from different backgrounds and experiences and were
just plain smart. I learned a lot and
also experienced that we all didn’t think alike. The combination of our experiences, education
and business backgrounds made for good discussion and hopefully good
decisions. There are many folks that
can’t discuss anything openly and listen to someone who disagrees with them.
Many husbands and wives are that way tooooo.
But there are some marriages that one of the them is the alpha dog and
the other has no say (i.e. little puppy dog).
I guess that works tooooo. haha
MissPerfect says—Unless the little puppy dog grows up some day and
starts barking, growling and biting!
JoeBlow says—Then we had to spit the assets and I had to buy back half
the farm which I couldn’t afford soooo we had to sell the farm and go out of
business. JoeBlow said—Yabut, I was
right, and I won the battle! And there
lies the problem JoeBlow. Ain’t that the
truth!
I find the story of marginalized Hagar interesting. She was the maid servant to Abram and Sarah
if you remember the story. They didn’t
have children sooo the ancient custom was that Abram would sleep with Hagar. Did you get it, an ancient custom which we
don’t do anymore that I know of. How
come we don’t continue that custom, it’s in the Bible. They had a child who was called Ishmael who
lived like a wild donkey in the wilderness. Why you ask. Well the footnote in my Bible says—The hostility between
Abram and Sarah was passed on to their descendants. Ouchy ouchy! Many of you folks are very
smart. I’m not; I’m just a little ol’ farm boy from a mile and quarter south of
Roseland, MN. ANYWAY, what is the cutoff
date that we no longer believe and follow ancient customs of the Bible or don’t
we ever. I really don’t know. Please
help me here folks.
If the king or queen wants it, he or she will ram it through! Have you ever felt you were a peon? I mean, folks ask for your advice or
suggestions, but the kings and queens are the trump cards and they just pee on
you. They really don’t care about anyone’s
opinion; it is only a formality. And
many times, the trumps aren’t any different than the peon folks. Soooo how does that make you feel. I have
learned from some of you and also by reading and by actually experience, toooo
treat everyone’s opinion with value. I
found out that I don’t know any more than others (i.e. most of time less). The folks who think they are God themselves
usually have a problem (i.e. my opinion).
Great leaders are humble from my experience. And who cares about my experiences, I’m just
a peon! Ain’t that the truth!
Here is a piece of advice given to me that I think is very
good. Ask everyone and anyone for their
advice and listen intently. I’m amazed
how much I learn. You folks are soooo darn
smart!!!! Ain’t that the truth!
Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:
erv
MyFriendJean says—Oaks spring from acorns. But not
overnight.
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