Listening.” There is confusion about where this originated, and even more about its meaning. I first saw it almost thirty years ago, thought it sounded nice and profound, but really didn’t understand it. Am starting to just now though. We all talk too much, maybe even write too much. Maybe we could all be just a little more… silent. I have concluded (just yesterday while mulching in the garden actually, for I’ll never forget the visual and the smell of the setting), that it is ONLY when we shut up (mouths, pens, keyboards, minds, hearts)… that we can hear the inner sense within us which has the answers to everything. That inner sense accessed by us being pure, and humble and patient.
Doing More than You’re Paid to do…
Should you? Shouldn’t you? Many say if you DO… it will be expected, and that becomes the new minimum. Others say absolutely do, and eventually you’ll be paid more– sometimes it happens, sometimes it does not. Peer pressure will often kick in… “Hey man, you’re making the rest of us look bad.” Sometimes the opposite type of peer pressure kicks in, were the culture becomes “Let’s all work up to our potential… fully and completely.”
There’s an old IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE story where a day shift in a factory made four products each shift, so did the night shift. One day, the day shift made one more, and simply put a big chalk “5″ on the factory floor. Night shift followed suit… replaced the 5 with a “6.” Day changed it (after obviously stepping up their own production, somehow, someway) to a “7.” No one could go further than that. The “7″ remained on the factory floor for sometime, until it just faded out. But what did not fade out was the new minimum quantity made each day– by both the night shift and the day. No quarterly productivity reports, no highly paid consultants. Just chalk. And workers’ healthy sense of competition.
Zig Zigler says you gotta’ put the wood in the stove first, as opposed to saying “Hey, stove, give me some heat, and I’ll toss in some wood.”
“Oh yeah, tough guy?!”
It’s adorable when my four-year old Grandson says it, but stomach-churning when it’s solicited in the work place. I am referring to bosses who are “tough guys,” gals included of course. A tough guy is a boss who praises him or herself for being a “buster.” Numerous other more colorful terms apply as well.
He’ll be the type who enjoys when employees are fearful. Does fear motivate? Certainly… in advertising, in the classroom, in homes, and of course– at work. But it’s an empty motivator, in all those cases. Why empty? Lacks substance, lacks staying power, lacks love. It’s flimsy, and the moment the manager turns her back… bammo! The employee screws her/him. How? Could be as mild as spreading not-nice things around the division or company… to hard-core lies concerning the manager– just to get back at ‘em! One of the most dangerous however is the work slow down; productivity slows down, is hardly noticed, is contagious with other employees. So where’s the danger? Everyone is still smiling; seemingly cooperative. The naive manager has no idea why things are slipping, sales, orders, shipments… whatever gets tracked. It’s subtle payback, but oh so potent.
BOSS spelled backwards is “double S. O. B.” Tough is out, boys and girls. Out of the classroom, out of the workplace, out of homes, out of politics. Nice is in. PHP is in.
First Day of Class…
ass. Try this techniques instead: go in “empty-handed,” and begin the semester by having them ask you questions. Nothing else. Risky, maybe. Amazing? You’ll be pleasantly shocked. Show is starting at 7:00 AM today! Link is below.
Many teachers, let’s say most… hand out the outline, insist on multiple chapters being read by the next class (while many students are wondering how they’re going to fill their gas tanks– forget about book buying). Another way is to ease into it. Maybe not even hand out the outline. I teach students to ask questions (Sounds silly, right? Teaching someone how to ask questions?!) But we’re not programmed for that. And I remind them that the person asking the questions is in (good) control of the situation. Control is not a dirty word. How do I teach this? By being silent. No course outlines, nothing in my hand, nothing but perhaps blank notebooks on their desks. It’s unfamiliar to them. They have to (what a concept)… think.
Stuff a Professor Thinks About Sitting at a Graduation…
Will we be applauding all thousand graduates, or will it be okay to just smile and look and then rouse applause at the end? I think this allergy pill I took may be making me sleepy. Will the Senator’s speech be identical to last year, or with a new twist perhaps? That one legislator on stage has not stopped talking the entire time… what could someone have to talk about for that long? My calculations show we’ll be here for three hours– getting up and passing by a dozen tight-seated colleagues is not an option… glad I did not front-load with water this morning as urination is not an option. Why does everyone seem to quote Kipling, Dr. Suess, and Wilde? (I’d quote the waiter from that restaurant at Disney). What is the name of this person sitting next to me? (Can’t ask, as we’ve “known” each other for years… even on a hello-kissing basis!). I think this allergy pill I took may be making me sleepy. I learned that in 1993, there were twelve Web-sites, now there are fourteen billion! Let’s see, if there are a thousand graduates, and you’d be expected to applaud at least eight times, that’s… wow. Yup, allergy pill is definitely making me sleeeepy. Probably should have eaten breakfast. That person over there brought a couple candy bars (smart teacher). Am not sneezey and eyes are not watering, that’s good, but … zzzzzzzzzzzzzz………..zzzzz……
“Always HAPPY… no matter what happens.”
So said Bishop Fulton Sheen. He was one of the first motivators before it was vogue to be a motivational speaker. One of the original guys on TV, and quite consistent in his message(s). He never got “ultra fire and brimstone,” which numerous other preachers do. I never like fire and brimstone. I believe it’s an (unintentional) distraction used by preachers cause they may not be coming from the heart (the God, the Love). Sheen always seemed to be speaking from the heart– words were always “on.”
One of my fave phrases was/is “We cannot find perfect happiness here, it doesn’t exist… we just get flashes of it.” Fulton’s advice was to hang on to that piece of joy, somehow someway– cause those tidbits of peace are elusive; bolt right away from us IF we don’t relish them and cherish them. But first, we must find them– by simply recognizing them.
Teachers call them “teachable moments.” Grandparents call them hugs. Managers call them “Well that worked out better than I thought it would.” Musicians just smile. Lovers just stare. It all can be catagorized under PEACE. ‘All anyone is craving– know it or not. Find the flash of happiness, find the peace. Find more flashes, find more peace. String together bands of flashes, and you may find (or be) one of those (attractive to all and nice when they join your party) individuals who always seems to be … happy. Not sure many of the commuters on the trains are all that happy, but then again– who knows? It’s an inside job.
PS. Yes, they do get worn and tired, and need re-juicing and spiritual-recharging. And sometimes they even need to just “book” from a situation (like how Jesus dusted off His sandals, and went to the next house if they weren’t buyin’ what He was sellin’). Maybe that’s all part of it too? “Know when to hold, know when to fold” (Thanks, Kenny).
