Living Simplified

Average is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top.

I used this today on a co-worker. I don’t know who said it, where I read it or when.

All I know is it is the truth. 100 % fact. No doubt.

If you think that you’re okay just because you think you’re an average worker, you’re wrong.

I hate average people. I hate wishy-washy. I hate fence riders.

Make a decision, Morty. ( remember that line from Bill Murray ? If you know what movie it was, leave me a comment. First one to identify it gets a link, a post, an opportunity to post, or some digital ebook that I can send you )

I’m not sure why people get up in the morning and go off to school, work, the lake, the golf course or wherever it is they go, and go there without the idea of being exceptional, remarkable or unforgettable.

If you’re average, you’re just as likely to get gobbled up by the world as those that are just below average. Think of it like this: You and I are on a golf course in the Canadian Rockies. We come to hole 11 and we hit our drives over by a river. Cold rushing water with Salmon swimming upstream to get to the place where they turn them into fish-oil capsules. A bear see’s us and starts to chase us. You are an average runner. I’m not. I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.

There is absolutely no reason to ” Wake Up And Be Average ! “. You ever see that book on the NY Times Bestseller list ? Me neither. Then why the heck do you do it ?

I’m sure not skilled enough with the English language to learn you how to excel, but if you want to read some fine articles and get some top of the line info on how to excel in all aspects of life, then head over to The Mental Fitness Center and Out Of Bounds. My wife has a multiplicity of good info waitnig on you there.

Tell her Mike sent you.

I just read Mark Cuban’s thoughts on some of the processes in use by some of the relief organizations.

He make’s some good points in his post, which you can read by clicking HERE.

I’d like to say that I’m glad that the organizations are there and I think they are doing a helluva job. Were I in the middle of this horrific event, I’m sure I’d be glad to have ANY help. Whether that help is as good as it could have been really would not matter to me. I’d take any help, good, bad or indifferent, over NO help.

There has got to be better ways for us to get help to those in need. Those that are there are doing all they can, but the processes that they are stuck with seem to be less than best. We can do better next time. I’m sure we have a lot of fat in the management of most of those organizations and for us to do a better job next time, we need to trim it. We need people in place that have been there and done that. We need to have more checks of the processes and spend less time on making sure we have pretty marketing campaigns, promo materials and commercials.

Simply, we need do’ers and not tellers.

Our society is starting to be overran by academics and there are far too few of those that can actually show you how to get it done.

I first noticed this during high school. I had a teacher for my first Mass Communications class that had never bought a newspaper, much less worked for one. Far too few of our educators have never been outside of a classroom, except for waiting tables during college. During my 6 years of service in the US Army, I saw way too many officers that had zero experience in the field and way too much classroom time. And in the 18 years since I got out, I have seen way too much of it in the business world.

We need for those that are in leadership positions to place more value on real world, gettin’ it done experience and less emphasis on pretty resume’s.

Especially in a situation that will be ( somebody’s ) life or death.

Simple solutions to problems are going to stand up to the heat better than pretty resume’s, college classes or last names.

May God bless those that are in need during this horrible event’s cleanup and may He bless those that are doing all they can to help those in need.

LifeHack.org has posted a list from MSN.

It’s simply a MUST READ and it’s easier to read at their site.

Go check it out and learn 20 simple rules for an easier life.

Click HERE to go to the article.

Just got back from my local Subway restaurant. ( The new Buffalo Chicken sub ROCKS ! ) Just behind me was a lady who answered her cell phone just as the young lady behind the counter asked for her order. She took several minutes to tell the caller what her doctor’s name was, and even spelled it. Then she proceeded to tell the called all about the diagnosis. Yada yada yada.

I could have been one of the unfortunate souls behind her who had the good fortune to listen to all of the details of her visit AND who had to wait longer than they should have to get their lunch.

Here’s a NEWS FLASH for those of you who don’t know it - EVERY freakin’ call doesn’t have to be answered RIGHT NOW ! There’s a feature called voice mail for when you can’t get to the call or for when you SHOULD NOT answer the call.

Or you simply answer and tell the caller that you’re not in a place where you can talk and you’ll get back to them as soon as it’s convenient and good manners allow.

C’mon people, what the heck did you do with all those meaningless conversations before cellphones ?

You saved them until you had time for them. Try doing that now.

Over on the Freakonomics blog, Steven Levitt has asked some dumb questions, but that’s his right.

They can be simply answered, so I’ll try and do so. Simple is right up my alley. I excel at simple. Sometimes that’s good, often it’s bad. It’s all I got.

His #1 question - ” How much of the damage/human toll is because of the hurricane per se versus the levees breaking? If we had perfect foresight, would 1,000 well-placed national guardsmen and some heavy machinery have been enough to save the levees? ”

My simple answers are ( for the first part ), does it really matter now ? The levee’s didn’t blow the windows out of the hotels, nor did they blow down phone and power lines. They have allowed massive flooding and they have contributed to the extremely high toll for clean-up, but as of right now, it really doesn’t matter. What matter’s is making sure it doesn’t happen again and getting these peoples lives back in order.

The second part of the question is asked in an honest, matter of fact way, so I’ll anawer it that way. No. Hell no. It should not have been necessary for them to even try to do that and they would have no shot at stopping the levee’s from breaking. Mostly, this type of damage comes from the backside and inside, so external forces are, for the most part, futile.

His question #2 - ” If terrorists had thought of this first, could they have achieved the same effect as the hurricane, except more devastating because the attack would have come with no warning? ”

Wow. I find it hard to believe that a person would even write this down. Why would you even plant this scenario in their minds ? Nevertheless, I’ll answer with a resounding NO ! They would not have had the power of the winds, all the extra water that was being driven at over 100 mph. This one isn’t even close. Would it have been catastrophic, sure it would, but not even close to the hurricanes devastation.

His question #3 - ” If so, are there other potential situations like this out there where a terrorist with a few explosive devices could cause such ruin? ”

Another Wow ! You don’t have to be a terrorist to cause ruin. Idiots do it every day with trains, planes and automobiles. This one is too simple even for me. We simply cannot live in an enviromment that is free from possible ruin. Can’t happen. Won’t happen. A better question would be to ask how can we rid society of those that would target scenario’s like this ?

His question #4 - ” Would the initial rescue response have been different if the victims weren’t poor and black? ”

That’s an ugly question to ask, but it’s honest and it’s his right, so I’ll give my opinion. No, the people who are responding did not and will not even think about the race creed or color of those that need help. They’re helping because it’s their job or because they feel compelled to. There’s no other reasons a human would face this mess. Mr. Levitt feels compelled to ask stupid questions, although it seems he does so from the right angle and others feel compelled to help those in need. Probably takes about the same amount of effort to do either. One is far more profitable than the other.

We have done posts about the relief efforts on several of the blogs in our network. We have put up banners that link potential donors to the proper organizations. We have donated.

I challenge Freakonomics to do the same or more.

You guys are highly educated, which could actually hurt your chances of doing the simple, right thing. You get a lot of traffic to your blog, so you could give a lot of info out to those that could donate time, money or physical effort. You are very articulate, versus my simple ways, so surely you can do more than you’ve done so far.

Leave it to the men and women who operate the website of the finest fighting force of men and women in the world to help in a simple, yet ultimately, extremely positive way.

This just in:

Hurricane Katrina left much of the Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi gulf coast obliterated. It will be months, even years before many of the displaced can return to their homes and jobs. Many organizations
are collecting food, water, medical supplies, and other necessities to meet the immediate and critical needs of those left in Katrina’s wake. Army.com, along with the rest of our grief stricken nation supports this effort. In addition, Army.com wants to offer long term help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina’s wrath by offering employers and workers a FREE site to post and search for short-term, temporary,and permanent employment.

Corporate America and its employees have displayed overwhelming compassion by opening their hearts and pocket books to help those affected by this disaster. Army.com
now asks Corporate America to take the next step and help those displaced by Katrina’s wrath find employment. “Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.”

Army.com urges companies to look inside their company, evaluate their needs, and help long term by offering temporary or permanent employment to these Americans.

Job openings, either short-term, temporary, permanent, contract or part time can be posted FREE OF CHARGE to http://www.army.com/katrina.
No fees will be charged to employers, employment services, or job applicants. Let’s pitch in and help the victims of Katrina re-establish their lives.

Let’s simply do all we can to reach out like never before to help our neighbors get back on their feet. We simply cannot stop giving, thinking or helping, tomorrow, next week or next month. These people are going to hurt for years. Let’s you and I do our part and 10% more, for that entire time.

“The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are; first, hard work, second, stick-to-it-iveness, and third, common sense.” - Thomas Edison