“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
I heard a couple of acquaintances talk about a person they work with that was “older” and no longer contributing to their business. This person apparently couldn’t, or wouldn’t, learn new skills. Or, for that matter, even keep up with the skill-set needed for the job. Age was mentioned, and not favorably. They thought this person should be “put out to pasture.”
Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein. Geniuses both. One believed the speed of light unbreakable at 186,000 MPS.. One believed the speed of light barrier could be broken … because he’d already done it. Guess what? Looks like Tesla was right.
Too short. Too fat. Too dumb. No Imagination. No creativity. No skills. Face for radio. Voice for print. Too macho. Too Wimpy. Too lady-like. Too butch. Too bald. Too much fuzzy hair. Wrong color. Wrong race. Wrong sex. Out of his depth in a parking lot puddle. Neanderthal brain in a Cro-Magnon body. And … just who in the “H–E-doubLe-hockey-sticks” do you think you are?
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning.
We will remember them.
- From “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon
To win at the complex sale, one must be a storyteller, strategist, master tactician, cajoler, evaluator, philosopher, psychologist, bean counter and often, magician. But what about a really complex sale? Like selling your story to Hollywood and getting it made into a film? Find out with Pen Densham whose films include; Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Backdraft, Moll Flanders, Rocky II and Houdini. The films and television series Pen Densham and his partner have produced have grossed over $1 billion.
That opening … “Here it is. I’m dead. This is my last post,” showed up my Google Alerts. I thought, what a great opening line for a story. The person had to be a writer. A superb one. I had no idea the opening … was really the ending.
Our times our piled high with difficulty and uncertainty. Stress and anxiety. Problems too big to get your arms around, Too high to climb. Unless … you don’t have legs or arms.
Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. A modern-day heroine, Kaziah’s paintings soothe the wounded hearts of American families who have lost to war – their children. Those wounds, although soothed, never heal. What a wonderful, selfless woman. LOOK and SEE true compassion …
What would happen if you approached your CEO in a lunch room after just costing your organization millions of dollars in a legal claim because you had uncovered a critical mistake … and then made it public?
“We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.” – H.G. Wells.
Queasy easy? Stop here.
This is a true story. It’s graphic. Reality is rough. Truth is tough. So if you get queasy easy, stop here.
This story describes a complex melding of, and interplay between, some spectacular people, processes and technologies that combine to create a real-life, dynamic human organism. An organism that breathes, reacts, corrects, heals and cures. And, it’s powered by the …
THEY WERE THE LOVED AND LOST
Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, wives, husbands, cousins, nephews, nieces, all.
NOT BY ACCIDENT
They passed on not by accident, not by bodily deterioration brought on by the mean ravages of time, but because they had a special job.
“I’m a Loser. I’m a Looo-ser. But I’m not what I appear to be.” – John Lennon. Times are tough. If you’ve lost your job, your house, or your hope for a better future it’s enough to make you feel like a loser. Make you feel completely alone. How to turn it around?
A “Big Presentation” always has to address the two elephants in the room. Change and commitment. All the bold, creative thinking in the world won’t get you to a successful future without the courage to change—and commit to that change.
“He is one of those uncommon geniuses which spring up occasionally to produce revolutions, and overturn the established order of things. If it were not for the vicinity of the United States, he would, perhaps, be the founder of an empire that would rival in glory Mexico or Peru.
For those of you that are, at this very moment, being slowed by Resistance, taunted by Resistance, need inspiration to fight Resistance, aspire one day to defeat the evil beast of Resistance, meet a very special person …
70 years ago today 100 million people were sentenced to death by a charismatic, hypnotically mesmerizing megalomaniac. An evil beast with a silver tongue. An evil beast whose oratory powers seduced the masses until they gave up their liberties – then their lives, their souls – to this Anti-Christ wannabe. Come… look. Remember. Watch. Think. Question. And get ready to fight.
Is it possible to be a person of the highest character, chivalrous and honorable, retaining your humanity while fighting for the very survival of your civilization? To be a person that has the guts to stand up to a “Stand and Die” order? And if so, can people like this exist (succeed) today? Can people with all too human flaws – however borne up on the wings of honor, duty, compassion, justice and noble vision – even make it today?
It starts with a phone call. The one moment in life that every parent dreads. A nightmare every parent prays will never happen. A mad rush to the hospital. An anxious eternity. You finally arrive and burst through the doors. A doctor comes out, maybe two. Their faces tell you what you don’t want to know.
To win at business or life, adversity has to be encountered, faced, fought and defeated. There is no other way. No options. You either beat it, or it beats you. Win, or you lose. Simple. Right?
No. Never. It’s never black and white. Never win or lose. Something always bleeds over. Always. Sometimes good – sometimes bad. Sometimes funny – sometimes sad. Most times a little of both. This is one such story.
A step ahead. A step behind. A blink of the eye at the wrong time. And … it’s over. A memory bouquet to the loved and lost who faced the unfathomable unknowable on the way to their Last Post in 2008.
Featuring an interview with Dr. David Abshire, President of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and author of “Saving the Reagan Presidency.”
The story and interview that follows is not about avoiding a scandal or crisis, but how one American President through strength of character dealt with a situation that threatened his presidency, his reputation, his place in history and … America’s credibility.
Writing for a living is a tough job – depending on your perspective. This was used in a presentation for some business writers. They hated it. Some loved it. All disliked me for bringing it up. However … it’s a quick, empathetic, realistic road-map to how a writing masterpiece gets turned into a “disasterpiece.” And what to take from it?
Recent Comments
Does E Still =MC2?