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What's more important what's Right or getting caught

By Michael Fletcher On July 25, 2011 · 25 Comments

I’m becoming more and more annoyed with the state of humanity. It seems the notion of right has completely dissappeared from the world. Everywhere I go I see people trying to get away with a shortcut here, a corner cut there. By small degrees the world’s gone to hell. Next thing you know they’ll make a movie based on the A-team.

What’s right?

Nothing, well not at the moment. Having worked with the public for a while I can tell you parents are pretty much oblivious to the lessons they’re teaching their children. Every time a mother insists an under age child be allowed to watch an age restricted movie or that some policy doesn’t apply to them, they’re simply telling their kids the rules don’t apply to us. What do you expect in a society where kids call their parents by their first names and parents jockey for popularity.

So what’s that mean Mike?

It means the end of personal development as we know it. The contempt for the rules we’re breeding in our offspring is meaning kids are increasingly looking outside of themselves for the causes of their problems. We are as a planet becoming less self aware.

So what’s this ultimate right crap you’re talking bout?

Some would argue there is no ultimate right. What we should and shouldn’t do are relative. Fair comment. So relative to our current reality, what is the absolute right? Is that what we’re teaching our kids? Or are we teaching them it’s ok to wake up late and then break the speed limit on the drive in too work, as long as you don’t get caught?
Evidence of what we’re teaching our kids is all around us. Go walk round outside in an unpoliced area and tell me how safe you feel. We’ve socially devolved as a species by about 100 years and are heading back into the wild west where the only law is the law that can be enforced.

So next time you:

Jump a stop street
Jaywalk
Break the speed limit
Sneak food into the movies
“Borrow” some stationary from work
Cut-in in traffic
Talk about someone behind their back
Argue that the customer is always right when you know you’re wrong
Cut in line at a fast food outlet
Park illegally
Submit a creative version of your taxes
Overlook the cashier giving you too much change
Cheat at a board game
Put an empty milk carton back in the fridge

Think about the lesson you’re teaching and the statment you’re making. This rule doesn’t apply to me… Unless I get caught.
Image Credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitterlysweet/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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If by Rudyard Kipling

By Michael Fletcher On July 25, 2011 · 6 Comments

Today I thought I’d keep it light and casual as we all slow down into the holidays. Last year this time I created the image, you see below from free stock and then got it printed and framed as a gift for a good friend of mine who was starting a new business. If by Rudyard Kipling despite it’s apparent male bias is for me a great place to start looking at your personal development journey. I was going to go through the poem in a bit of detail and give my thoughts on it, but reading it again now, I think the poem speaks volumes without my prattling.

So enjoy and feel free to leave a comment if any part of this resonates with you.

If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

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Let’s make everyday New Year’s in 180 seconds a day

By Michael Fletcher On December 29, 2009 · 1 Comment

The shackled Muse makes mention how pointless New Year’s is in her post New year’s resolutions. While commenting on the post though it struck me how motivating those new year’s resolutions can be. Sure we all get a bit cock-eyed and proclaim from the stage of New Year our lovely intentions, much like Miss Universe rambling on about world peace, but in those few moments as we rattle off our goals we’re energised. Our misguided resolve to magically become better people, tomorrow, invigorates us and stirs us into action, well almost.

New Year’s Resolve

That big fat wad of New Year’s resolve is what gets us all fired up. The reality of 12 months spent like a little old lady with a large bowl full of coins at a casino, pulling every one armed bandit in hopes of some luck dawns on us. Oh the shame and horror, 12 months wasted and how many more years do we really have, who know. Oh the horror. That’s when lights go on! We need to sweep the cobwebs clear. Start exercising quit smoking stop and buying our tools to catch the roadrunner from acme. In the cold dark shadow of a whole year’s inaction our options are simple, collapse in a snivelling heap or start planning to make it better.

This is the bit of the New Year’s resolution we need to tap into. The reflection and the refocusing on the good stuff. The meat and potatoes of our life. Now imagine if we did that every morning. Looked back on the day before and said oh crap, I can’t do that again.

All is quiet on New year’s day

So it’s new years day we stare into the mirror at our hangover ravaged face and you know what? I’m off work today and I don’t really have any work to do tomorrow. So I’m livin’ la vida loca . Yes, and we’re off to the races extending New Year’s eve to New Year’s day. I’ll start eating better tomorrow. I’ll quit smoking tomorrow.

The day after New years comes and we’re still wasted from our jelly shot drinking heroics the day before. We’re back to work and we feel like death, but dammit we will do what we resolved… tomorrow.

The day after the day after New Year’s

The problem you see is not New year’s resolutions, it’s the day after the day after New Year’s. Whenever we’re living “out there” in tomorrow or the in the day after we’re in deep trouble.

The key then for a great 2010 is to bottle that New Year’s resolve:

Decide that the first step to achieving your resolution is right now!
Right now write down your resolutions
Now write down the reasons behind your resolutions eg. if you want to lose weight, why do you want to? To feel better about your self? To increase the quality of your life? Only you can answer These questions. Review the reasons often. They tend to change and you’ll tend to lose site of them.
Set a SMART goal – Take your time now, and set a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time driven goal for your proposed resolutions
Keep these goals in 2 places, Next to your bed so you can review them daily in the morning and night and in your time management system. Whether you use a traditional diary or a tool like outlook leave a note in your diary or a daily task in Outlook to review your goals and the reasons they are important to you.
Spending a minute in the morning, afternoon and night on reviewing your goals you’ll be immediately more in touch with them and will start feeling the energy of New Years spilling over from day to day. Three minutes a day is equal to 18.25 hours, so you’ll be spending bout one day, less sleep, on your goals not a bad deal, for achieving the stuff most important to you in 2010