by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It's the time of the year for the obligatory New Year's resolutions. You know, what I mean:
I plan to go on a diet and become chic and svelte by Valentine's Day.
I will go to the gym every other day, so help me Hannah. Muscles and enticing curves, or bust.
I will eschew the delights of eating one sugar-soaked Little Debbie after another.
I will... but you get the idea.
There is something abhorrent about admitting that you are imperfect. I don't like it at all.
New Year's resolutions imply that you have somehow fallen beneath the high standard of perfection, that there is something not quite right about you, a nagging something that needs instant attention.
But what could that be?
Like you, I look in the mirror of a morning and, despite advancing age, I see nothing but the spitting image of one who is, indeed, the fairest of them all. It affronts me to think otherwise.
Thus, while wishing to do my bit to uphold the traditions of Auld Lang Syne and making resolutions, I find it hard to do so... as I have nothing to improve and everything to enjoy.
Hence this modest idea: give up resolution making for yourself... and focus your full attention upon the others, lamentable, imperfect, with a pressing need for overhauls small and large.
Draw up a list of persons known to you with glaring, jarring imperfections.
Do not stint. Remember, you are performing a useful act, a noble act, and act of kindness and empathy. As such, let yourself go... think of your aging peers and their shocking habits... of your relatives who have outlived the excuse of "puppy fat."
Think of your loud, too boisterous, ear-splitting friends... and the motor-mouths whose decided opinions on everything under the sun are, perhaps, de trop.
Think of the always-late delivery boy and those with too many unattended felines in a confined space and the olfactory discomfort thereby occurring.
Think, I say, think of prevaricating politicians... and those with nookie on their minds and an acute inability to contain it. Look around you and weigh in with a will...for you have many resolutions to craft and far too little time in which to offer them. Timing is everything, after all, and New Year's resolutions in March seem, well, tardy. Act now.
Now write the New Year's resolutions -- for others.
This part could be troublesome and demands your full attention and craft. Resolutions must be simple, straightforward, honest and at least potentially do-able. Thus, calling your insufficiently loved and abundantly padded brother-in-law fat just won't do. Try this instead:
New Year's resolution of brother-in-law Bob:
To lose 15 pounds by month's end.
And then your signature and the date.
Keeping your resolutions short, sweet, and to the point is de rigueur.
Mail the resolution... email the resolution. Only ensure that your kind thought for their betterment and perfection reaches them early in January.
Imagine how grateful, how pleased the recipient will be when he of pronounced embonpoint receives this missive and its kind and thoughtful message becomes apparent.
Send your New Year's resolutions even to those near and dear who share your abode and are bosom buddies and dear companions on your earthly journey.
The temptation, even for those expert and experienced in providing life enhancing New Year's resolutions for others, will be to personally deliver, message upon hallmarked silver salver, your resolutions to the people near at hand, spouse, children, impecunious sons in law, etc. You will think of their profoundly grateful responses, you will think of the affection and love in their eyes. You will hear with delight words so lavish and abject that even that practised purveyor of the obsequious Uriah Heep would be put to shame. No, you do not want to miss a moment.
But you must.
For your recipient will need a moment or two to compose himself and, no doubt, let fall the grateful tear, that you should care so much and have gone to so much bother on their behalf. Allow them a moment of reflection in privacy, as they think how grateful, how very grateful, they are to have such a one as you in their (otherwise imperfect) life.
Savor this moment, glass of grog at hand for you have done the very best of deeds. Sing under your breath this little-remembered chorus from Robert Burns' immortal annual anthem of maudlin sentimentality, Auld Lang Syne:
"We two have run about the slopes, and picked the daisies fine ; But we've wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne."
And now, gratitude, indeed.
As I was finishing up this practical report, there was a knock at the door... then the telephone rang... then I noticed a decided up tick in my email. I was not surprised... I was expecting such a deluge. After all, I had contacted many with a hearty abundance of resolutions, necessary, specific, in depth, all resoundingly honest to a fault. Now, no doubt, the expected responses, the epistles of gratitude and fulsome thanks were at hand.
Ou la la!
Imagine my surprise upon reading the first of these messages:
New Year's Resolution of Dr. Jeffrey Lant...:
signed
your loving sister
Then the one signed by my (concerned) brother, my (worried) father, one jointly signed by my (still affectionate) niece and nephew, my (who-else-could-tell-you?) best friend, my (long suffering) partners... even my (silent-until-now) driver and his wife.. .and all the very many others.
It was jolting to be sure to learn that so many felt so strongly there was so much of me to enhance and correct. But these messages, profoundly honest, stimulated the only New Year's resolution I shall make this year: to love them all, warts and all, and be profoundly glad I have them in my life.
Happy New Year, 2011!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
What your local school is NOT teaching your children
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Have you considered lately just what your local school is -- or more importantly -- is not teaching your children? Probably not. Like most parents, you take the matter on faith; hoping they're teaching what your children most need to get ahead.
Unfortunately, in at least 4 key areas, your children are learning little or nothing of what they absolutely must know to get ahead and lead profitable, productive lives.
#1 Local schools don't teach necessary interview and job skills, leaving your children vulnerable particularly in tight job markets.
Here are just some of the items on which the school is letting you down:
* how to write a resume and cover letter * how to look for and find available jobs * how to follow up with prospective employers * how to dress for the interview * how to handle themselves during interviews.
Obviously obtaining employment is crucial. Sadly, your school is letting you down.
#2 Your school is not delivering detailed information on financial affairs.
Mastery of basic information about money, debt, investments, etc is crucial. However, here's what your school isn't teaching:
* how to open a bank account * how to use checks, including how to balance a check book * what a home mortgage is and how to get and keep one * how to do a home budget * understanding and benefiting from pensions * understanding mutual funds and other financial investments * how to complete a tax form.
We live in a "capitalist" culture, but the overwhelming majority of our citizens are clueless about how to benefit from it, because our schools teach nothing about it.
#3 How to be a good citizen. Your school isn't telling, leaving this to "catch as catch can" with disastrous results.
Election after election takes place with 40%, or more, of citizens failing to vote. No wonder. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* what is a citizen? What are his/her rights and responsibilities * what is the Constitution? What is the Bill of Rights? * how to register to vote * how to read a ballot * how to understand referenda and other citizen initiatives * how to vote.
We decry low voter turn-out and participation yet fail to teach what is necessary for a healthy democracy.
#4 Basic human relations skills
Have you looked at your children lately? Have you actually listened to them?
EVERY civilization prior to ours was painstaking in teaching young people successfully how to interact with other people. They realized that such skills were absolutely crucial for a successful marriage and life generally. Instead of this sensible system, we let matters take their course with predictable results. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* how to greet strangers and make them feel comfortable * how to look people in the eyes * how to handle a basic conversation * the meaning of courtesy and how to deliver it * how to express appreciation * how to reciprocate.
Get the picture? Without your school's interest or support, your children are left at sea with no assistance or insight whatsoever about necessary questions of human relations. Boorish and self-defeating behaviors are therefore inevitable.
Since The Schools Are Unable or Unwilling To Assist, These Things Are YOUR Responsibility
It is clear that leaving matters to your school is a bad mistake. Public educators are unable or unwilling to teach these matters. Thus, if you want the best for your children YOU must become their recognized, organized "life skills" teacher.
Don't treat this matter casually or lightly. It is far too important for that.
* Think what your children must know but are not getting in school. * Schedule regular meeting with your children. * Be clear on what you want them to know. * Encourage active participation and discussion. * Invite their friends to participate.
It is not the fault of the children that they are being short- changed in schools. Don't compound the problem by short-changing them at home. Start today. You'll be glad you did, and your children will reward you by maturing into better people, with suitable appreciation for all you did!
P.S. If your school district teaches at least some of these things, be glad.... then ask them to implement the rest!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/ ,
http://www.brainthingy.com/?r=Netmark1
Have you considered lately just what your local school is -- or more importantly -- is not teaching your children? Probably not. Like most parents, you take the matter on faith; hoping they're teaching what your children most need to get ahead.
Unfortunately, in at least 4 key areas, your children are learning little or nothing of what they absolutely must know to get ahead and lead profitable, productive lives.
#1 Local schools don't teach necessary interview and job skills, leaving your children vulnerable particularly in tight job markets.
Here are just some of the items on which the school is letting you down:
* how to write a resume and cover letter * how to look for and find available jobs * how to follow up with prospective employers * how to dress for the interview * how to handle themselves during interviews.
Obviously obtaining employment is crucial. Sadly, your school is letting you down.
#2 Your school is not delivering detailed information on financial affairs.
Mastery of basic information about money, debt, investments, etc is crucial. However, here's what your school isn't teaching:
* how to open a bank account * how to use checks, including how to balance a check book * what a home mortgage is and how to get and keep one * how to do a home budget * understanding and benefiting from pensions * understanding mutual funds and other financial investments * how to complete a tax form.
We live in a "capitalist" culture, but the overwhelming majority of our citizens are clueless about how to benefit from it, because our schools teach nothing about it.
#3 How to be a good citizen. Your school isn't telling, leaving this to "catch as catch can" with disastrous results.
Election after election takes place with 40%, or more, of citizens failing to vote. No wonder. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* what is a citizen? What are his/her rights and responsibilities * what is the Constitution? What is the Bill of Rights? * how to register to vote * how to read a ballot * how to understand referenda and other citizen initiatives * how to vote.
We decry low voter turn-out and participation yet fail to teach what is necessary for a healthy democracy.
#4 Basic human relations skills
Have you looked at your children lately? Have you actually listened to them?
EVERY civilization prior to ours was painstaking in teaching young people successfully how to interact with other people. They realized that such skills were absolutely crucial for a successful marriage and life generally. Instead of this sensible system, we let matters take their course with predictable results. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* how to greet strangers and make them feel comfortable * how to look people in the eyes * how to handle a basic conversation * the meaning of courtesy and how to deliver it * how to express appreciation * how to reciprocate.
Get the picture? Without your school's interest or support, your children are left at sea with no assistance or insight whatsoever about necessary questions of human relations. Boorish and self-defeating behaviors are therefore inevitable.
Since The Schools Are Unable or Unwilling To Assist, These Things Are YOUR Responsibility
It is clear that leaving matters to your school is a bad mistake. Public educators are unable or unwilling to teach these matters. Thus, if you want the best for your children YOU must become their recognized, organized "life skills" teacher.
Don't treat this matter casually or lightly. It is far too important for that.
* Think what your children must know but are not getting in school. * Schedule regular meeting with your children. * Be clear on what you want them to know. * Encourage active participation and discussion. * Invite their friends to participate.
It is not the fault of the children that they are being short- changed in schools. Don't compound the problem by short-changing them at home. Start today. You'll be glad you did, and your children will reward you by maturing into better people, with suitable appreciation for all you did!
P.S. If your school district teaches at least some of these things, be glad.... then ask them to implement the rest!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/ ,
http://www.brainthingy.com/?r=Netmark1
Saturday, December 25, 2010
'How come you do me like you do, do, do?' What your customers are saying about YOU!
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
In 1924 America's first crooner, red-hot pop star Rudy Vallee (and his Connecticut Yankees band) had the nation humming along with the catchy rhythm of his latest hit: "How come you do me like you do, do, do?"
The legions of liberated "flappers" who followed Vallee everywhere (unleashing a national debate about the "new woman") sang along with America's boy next door:
"Why do you try to make me feel so blue? I ain't done nothing to do!"
"You better treat me right, or let me be! 'cause I can beat you doing what you're doing to me."
It was a phenomenon, and a golden marketing model was born that in due course produced Crosby, Como, and Sinatra.
The flappers, and Vallee himself, are now history... but the song's lyrics carry on as insistent questions customers ask business owners worldwide:
"WHY do you do me like you do, do, do? WHY do you do me like you do?"
Your customers are talking about you. Do you like what they're saying?
Now hear this: EVERY customer who steps through your door, calls you on the telephone, writes or emails you is going to talk about what happened. Were they treated properly, professionally, promptly.... or was it a case of "Why do you do me like you do, do, do?" Remember, what they say is a direct result of what you do. Thus, you have it in your power to ensure that they never say -- and you never suffer from them saying -- ANY of these:
1) "They never returned my call!"
Not so long ago, every business made it a point to return calls promptly and have the information the customer needed readily at hand when they did. No longer. Now, there is not even the pretense by most businesses that they return every telephone call... much less promptly and thoroughly.
Yet, let's be clear, customers WANT their calls returned... and they are certain to complain to friends and family when YOU don't!
Make it a point to return all calls within 24 hours, even if you only report that you are working to get what the customer wants. The returned call itself signifies volumes!
2) "I filled out their online questionnaire and heard nothing."
This really bugs your customers... and rightly so. This is how the customer reckons: "you posted a questionnaire on your web site. I took the time and trouble to complete it. Then nothing, absolutely nothing, from you." Oh, yes, you can be sure the customer will tell the people he knows with a "can you believe this?" slant to a tale which you may be sure will lose nothing in the telling.
3) "They promised to send me... but never did!"
Customers are literal. They expect you to do what you say you're going to do... and they will shout it from the mountain tops when you don't. So, do.
If you can handle the customer's request today, do so. If you can't, then explain to the customer when she may expect to hear from you.
Don't just promise action, however; deliver it. Otherwise, in the words of the song "why do you try to make me feel so blue? I ain't done nothing to you." Believe me; they will start doing something, something you won't like, if you don't come through!
4) "They never told me what was happening."
When a customer says this, what they are really saying is this: "Can you believe this? Can you believe that those yahoos would treat ME like this... ME the all-important customer?" In short, the customer will make it clear to everyone who will listen that you are little better than a jerk and certainly far from delivering the prompt professional service they have every right to expect. Ouch!
Solution? If you want to impress your customer, instead of providing the fuel for the fire that ends up scorching you, then follow-up and keep the customer in the loop. Always.
5) "I waited and waited for service while the staff gossiped about what they did over the week-end."
Want your customers to see red... and tell the world? Then ignore them. Don't bother to show your staff how to treat customers; don't treat them properly yourself. Just continue to ignore them while chatting away. This is an absolutely sure-fire way to lose a customer and launch a stream of comments, the worse because they are absolutely true.
You and your staff do gossip in front of customers.
Indeed, you seem to not even see the customers, much less regard them.
As a result, thoughtless, avoidable rudeness by rudeness you are helping your customers create the negative image that kills your profits and enriches your competitors. Ouch again!
6) "He was texting his girl friend while I waited for assistance!"
Inappropriate and untimely text messaging has become a worldwide problem and a sure-fire way to get your customers to bad-mouth you and your business.
Be assured that if you text message in front of customers, particularly about personal matters, you will tap into the rich, inexhaustible vein of customer irritation, exasperation, and rage. Text in front of customers, and you can be sure the customer will retaliate in ways that hurt your bottom line. Count on it! "cause I can beat you doing what you're doing to me!"
7) "He left for a break right in the middle of 'helping' me!"
More avoidable customer exasperation and disbelief. OK, so you want your break! OK, you "need" that cigarette... or that sugar high RIGHT NOW. But must you make your feelings about your acute boredom with and disdain for customers quite as clear as you do by walking away from them when you're supposed to be assisting?
We live in rude, vulgar, selfish, acute me-centered times. These are getting worse and worse as general acceptance of boorish behavior grows. Customers, however, continue to expect businesses like yours to exhibit service and civility... the more so since they get so little of it otherwise.
Last Words
So, WHY do you do your customers like you do, do, do when they are the life blood of your business? WHY do you allow behaviors and actions which not only irritate customers but hurt yourself and your business? You see, every negative situation cited above is entirely avoidable. Instead of doing things which infuriate customers, start singing them Rudy Vallee's greatest hit -- "My time is your time" . With that as your focus, they'll stop moaning "How come you do me like you do, do, do?" and start whistling a tune you'll like a whole lot better.
Rudy Vallee's Official Web Site: For biographical details about the man who made the megaphone and raccoon coats fashionable, America's first crooner, visit http://www.rudyvallee.com/
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski <a href="http://cashgrowthunlimited.com%22%3ehttp//CashGrowthUnlimited.com%3C/a>.
In 1924 America's first crooner, red-hot pop star Rudy Vallee (and his Connecticut Yankees band) had the nation humming along with the catchy rhythm of his latest hit: "How come you do me like you do, do, do?"
The legions of liberated "flappers" who followed Vallee everywhere (unleashing a national debate about the "new woman") sang along with America's boy next door:
"Why do you try to make me feel so blue? I ain't done nothing to do!"
"You better treat me right, or let me be! 'cause I can beat you doing what you're doing to me."
It was a phenomenon, and a golden marketing model was born that in due course produced Crosby, Como, and Sinatra.
The flappers, and Vallee himself, are now history... but the song's lyrics carry on as insistent questions customers ask business owners worldwide:
"WHY do you do me like you do, do, do? WHY do you do me like you do?"
Your customers are talking about you. Do you like what they're saying?
Now hear this: EVERY customer who steps through your door, calls you on the telephone, writes or emails you is going to talk about what happened. Were they treated properly, professionally, promptly.... or was it a case of "Why do you do me like you do, do, do?" Remember, what they say is a direct result of what you do. Thus, you have it in your power to ensure that they never say -- and you never suffer from them saying -- ANY of these:
1) "They never returned my call!"
Not so long ago, every business made it a point to return calls promptly and have the information the customer needed readily at hand when they did. No longer. Now, there is not even the pretense by most businesses that they return every telephone call... much less promptly and thoroughly.
Yet, let's be clear, customers WANT their calls returned... and they are certain to complain to friends and family when YOU don't!
Make it a point to return all calls within 24 hours, even if you only report that you are working to get what the customer wants. The returned call itself signifies volumes!
2) "I filled out their online questionnaire and heard nothing."
This really bugs your customers... and rightly so. This is how the customer reckons: "you posted a questionnaire on your web site. I took the time and trouble to complete it. Then nothing, absolutely nothing, from you." Oh, yes, you can be sure the customer will tell the people he knows with a "can you believe this?" slant to a tale which you may be sure will lose nothing in the telling.
3) "They promised to send me... but never did!"
Customers are literal. They expect you to do what you say you're going to do... and they will shout it from the mountain tops when you don't. So, do.
If you can handle the customer's request today, do so. If you can't, then explain to the customer when she may expect to hear from you.
Don't just promise action, however; deliver it. Otherwise, in the words of the song "why do you try to make me feel so blue? I ain't done nothing to you." Believe me; they will start doing something, something you won't like, if you don't come through!
4) "They never told me what was happening."
When a customer says this, what they are really saying is this: "Can you believe this? Can you believe that those yahoos would treat ME like this... ME the all-important customer?" In short, the customer will make it clear to everyone who will listen that you are little better than a jerk and certainly far from delivering the prompt professional service they have every right to expect. Ouch!
Solution? If you want to impress your customer, instead of providing the fuel for the fire that ends up scorching you, then follow-up and keep the customer in the loop. Always.
5) "I waited and waited for service while the staff gossiped about what they did over the week-end."
Want your customers to see red... and tell the world? Then ignore them. Don't bother to show your staff how to treat customers; don't treat them properly yourself. Just continue to ignore them while chatting away. This is an absolutely sure-fire way to lose a customer and launch a stream of comments, the worse because they are absolutely true.
You and your staff do gossip in front of customers.
Indeed, you seem to not even see the customers, much less regard them.
As a result, thoughtless, avoidable rudeness by rudeness you are helping your customers create the negative image that kills your profits and enriches your competitors. Ouch again!
6) "He was texting his girl friend while I waited for assistance!"
Inappropriate and untimely text messaging has become a worldwide problem and a sure-fire way to get your customers to bad-mouth you and your business.
Be assured that if you text message in front of customers, particularly about personal matters, you will tap into the rich, inexhaustible vein of customer irritation, exasperation, and rage. Text in front of customers, and you can be sure the customer will retaliate in ways that hurt your bottom line. Count on it! "cause I can beat you doing what you're doing to me!"
7) "He left for a break right in the middle of 'helping' me!"
More avoidable customer exasperation and disbelief. OK, so you want your break! OK, you "need" that cigarette... or that sugar high RIGHT NOW. But must you make your feelings about your acute boredom with and disdain for customers quite as clear as you do by walking away from them when you're supposed to be assisting?
We live in rude, vulgar, selfish, acute me-centered times. These are getting worse and worse as general acceptance of boorish behavior grows. Customers, however, continue to expect businesses like yours to exhibit service and civility... the more so since they get so little of it otherwise.
Last Words
So, WHY do you do your customers like you do, do, do when they are the life blood of your business? WHY do you allow behaviors and actions which not only irritate customers but hurt yourself and your business? You see, every negative situation cited above is entirely avoidable. Instead of doing things which infuriate customers, start singing them Rudy Vallee's greatest hit -- "My time is your time" . With that as your focus, they'll stop moaning "How come you do me like you do, do, do?" and start whistling a tune you'll like a whole lot better.
Rudy Vallee's Official Web Site: For biographical details about the man who made the megaphone and raccoon coats fashionable, America's first crooner, visit http://www.rudyvallee.com/
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski <a href="http://cashgrowthunlimited.com%22%3ehttp//CashGrowthUnlimited.com%3C/a>.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
2010 U.S. Census, Republicans savor the population trends, as Democrats digest and despair.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Imagine the scene on December 21, 2010
Officials of both major political parties waited impatiently as the minutes ticked far too slowly for Republicans and Democrats alike. They were awaiting the delivery of the pivotal report of the Census Bureau. Released every 10 years, this report contains crucial population information that determines just what percentage of federal funds for every project the states get... the number of representatives for each state in the federal House of Representatives... and the number of electoral votes each state casts for president.
The stakes for politicians and their parties couldn't be higher, and one sensed the tension as they waited. There was palpable anxiety and sweaty palms in both party headquarters... for no one in the nation understood better than these Tadpoles and Tapers what was happening and what it would mean -- positive and negative -- for them.
Within minutes of report arrival, these expert crystal ball readers had hard numbers to work with. The broad outlines of the game ahead began to emerge as these practiced number crunchers commenced work at the core of America's political establishment, work vital to every politician, little noticed or understood by the average (woefully uninformed) citizen.
The game begins
The Census Bureau's numbers, as stated above, determine how many seats each state is entitled to in the national House of Representatives.
In the current report, two states are big winners and two states are big losers. Texas, now at the pinnacle of its steadily expanding power, gains 4 seats; Florida's sun- drenched growth also continues apace, now entitled to 2 more seats.
On the flip side, both New York and Ohio lose two seats each.
6 states -- South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Washington state add 1 representative each.
8 states -- Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana, lose 1 representative each.
The theory, the reality
Once state politicians know the task (in Texas' case to add 4 seats), the game becomes acutely, unabashedly political, often ending in bare knuckle brawling. Remember, the stakes could not be higher.
In theory, per order and guidance of the U.S. Supreme Court, districts are to be drawn up with equity and equality solely in mind. The word "fairness" is much employed.
In reality, while giving judicious lip service to the justices directives, politicians immediately set to work with a will, determined to deliver the most seats (and benefits) to themselves while happily dishing their opponents. After all, to the victors belong the spoils, whatever the Supreme Court may think, (though this sentiment is never uttered publicly.)
This is a great American game and tradition, with every politician involved saying one thing openly and quite another behind closed doors. To watch this is to understand how politicians really think and work. It is the best and most useful civics lesson of all.
"All politics is local."
This famous phrase was uttered by the late Representative Thomas O'Neill (D-Massachusetts), sometime Speaker of the House of Representatives. He knew whereof he spoke, and no where is this more true than in the matter of implementing the district changes necessitated by the U.S. census. Let's look at just one of the affected states, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts, father of (more) presidential candidates and (occasional) presidents, will lose yet another seat. 100 years ago this Commonwealth had 16 House seats. As a result of this census, the number will drop to 9. Since all Congresspersons from this state are Democrats, this most likely means a permanent reduction of one in potential Democratic seats and a rise of 1 in potential Republican seats.
This is of the utmost importance, because the census data make clear that the states losing seats are overwhelmingly Democratic... while the states gaining seats are comfortably Republican. Thus these changes, helped along by more GOP governors and state legislators from the massive Republican victory of November, 2010, move appreciably towards the Republican objective of a permanent, structurally based majority with nothing the Democrats can do about it. This is what the census numbers suggest and why Republicans are so jubilant as they read them. They see, with reason, a nation happily and permanently Republican, the only exceptions being those interregna brought about by GOP embarrassments, missteps and goofs... all of which are theirs from time to time.
Viva Hispanics
However, to (potentially) confound GOP exuberance and (potentially) save the Democrats' bacon there are the Hispanics, America's fastest-growing ethnic group. As all the political types know, these hold the key to American politics. Thus both parties are engaged in strenuous outreach to Hispanics, outreach which will inevitably be increased to match its importance and historic consequences.
Here the Democrats currently lead but not overwhelmingly so. Republicans, already popular with Cuban-Americans, have every chance to improve their standing with other crucial Hispanic constituencies. And they will do so, in my humble opinion, by becoming the first major party to put an Hispanic on the ticket, as vice president. You read it here first. Viva!
And what of once golden California, the dream of determined pioneers
No report on the 2010 census would be complete without a few words, but only a few, on the once golden state of California. For the first time in decades, California gains no seat, thus indicating that the great days of growth are gone forever. The golden gate has shifted Florida and Texas way, and they are glad to seize the palm -- and crow. Perhaps it is fitting that the census report arrived in the midst of torrential, constant, unused to (much complained about) California rains, as if the very gods above wept for the end to a great American dream, obliterating its proverbial sunshine.
And so the census has arrived.
Let the (inevitable) games begin... with fervor,craft, masterful lies and dissemblings, hard work and deceit. It will all be most amusing, this set piece of American politics and democracy. I can't wait to see how this cookie crumbles.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski
http://tiny.cc/34yz4
Imagine the scene on December 21, 2010
Officials of both major political parties waited impatiently as the minutes ticked far too slowly for Republicans and Democrats alike. They were awaiting the delivery of the pivotal report of the Census Bureau. Released every 10 years, this report contains crucial population information that determines just what percentage of federal funds for every project the states get... the number of representatives for each state in the federal House of Representatives... and the number of electoral votes each state casts for president.
The stakes for politicians and their parties couldn't be higher, and one sensed the tension as they waited. There was palpable anxiety and sweaty palms in both party headquarters... for no one in the nation understood better than these Tadpoles and Tapers what was happening and what it would mean -- positive and negative -- for them.
Within minutes of report arrival, these expert crystal ball readers had hard numbers to work with. The broad outlines of the game ahead began to emerge as these practiced number crunchers commenced work at the core of America's political establishment, work vital to every politician, little noticed or understood by the average (woefully uninformed) citizen.
The game begins
The Census Bureau's numbers, as stated above, determine how many seats each state is entitled to in the national House of Representatives.
In the current report, two states are big winners and two states are big losers. Texas, now at the pinnacle of its steadily expanding power, gains 4 seats; Florida's sun- drenched growth also continues apace, now entitled to 2 more seats.
On the flip side, both New York and Ohio lose two seats each.
6 states -- South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Washington state add 1 representative each.
8 states -- Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana, lose 1 representative each.
The theory, the reality
Once state politicians know the task (in Texas' case to add 4 seats), the game becomes acutely, unabashedly political, often ending in bare knuckle brawling. Remember, the stakes could not be higher.
In theory, per order and guidance of the U.S. Supreme Court, districts are to be drawn up with equity and equality solely in mind. The word "fairness" is much employed.
In reality, while giving judicious lip service to the justices directives, politicians immediately set to work with a will, determined to deliver the most seats (and benefits) to themselves while happily dishing their opponents. After all, to the victors belong the spoils, whatever the Supreme Court may think, (though this sentiment is never uttered publicly.)
This is a great American game and tradition, with every politician involved saying one thing openly and quite another behind closed doors. To watch this is to understand how politicians really think and work. It is the best and most useful civics lesson of all.
"All politics is local."
This famous phrase was uttered by the late Representative Thomas O'Neill (D-Massachusetts), sometime Speaker of the House of Representatives. He knew whereof he spoke, and no where is this more true than in the matter of implementing the district changes necessitated by the U.S. census. Let's look at just one of the affected states, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts, father of (more) presidential candidates and (occasional) presidents, will lose yet another seat. 100 years ago this Commonwealth had 16 House seats. As a result of this census, the number will drop to 9. Since all Congresspersons from this state are Democrats, this most likely means a permanent reduction of one in potential Democratic seats and a rise of 1 in potential Republican seats.
This is of the utmost importance, because the census data make clear that the states losing seats are overwhelmingly Democratic... while the states gaining seats are comfortably Republican. Thus these changes, helped along by more GOP governors and state legislators from the massive Republican victory of November, 2010, move appreciably towards the Republican objective of a permanent, structurally based majority with nothing the Democrats can do about it. This is what the census numbers suggest and why Republicans are so jubilant as they read them. They see, with reason, a nation happily and permanently Republican, the only exceptions being those interregna brought about by GOP embarrassments, missteps and goofs... all of which are theirs from time to time.
Viva Hispanics
However, to (potentially) confound GOP exuberance and (potentially) save the Democrats' bacon there are the Hispanics, America's fastest-growing ethnic group. As all the political types know, these hold the key to American politics. Thus both parties are engaged in strenuous outreach to Hispanics, outreach which will inevitably be increased to match its importance and historic consequences.
Here the Democrats currently lead but not overwhelmingly so. Republicans, already popular with Cuban-Americans, have every chance to improve their standing with other crucial Hispanic constituencies. And they will do so, in my humble opinion, by becoming the first major party to put an Hispanic on the ticket, as vice president. You read it here first. Viva!
And what of once golden California, the dream of determined pioneers
No report on the 2010 census would be complete without a few words, but only a few, on the once golden state of California. For the first time in decades, California gains no seat, thus indicating that the great days of growth are gone forever. The golden gate has shifted Florida and Texas way, and they are glad to seize the palm -- and crow. Perhaps it is fitting that the census report arrived in the midst of torrential, constant, unused to (much complained about) California rains, as if the very gods above wept for the end to a great American dream, obliterating its proverbial sunshine.
And so the census has arrived.
Let the (inevitable) games begin... with fervor,craft, masterful lies and dissemblings, hard work and deceit. It will all be most amusing, this set piece of American politics and democracy. I can't wait to see how this cookie crumbles.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski
http://tiny.cc/34yz4
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
'Suffer the little children.' How the Vatican's good old boys protected Ireland's most notorious pedophile priest, Father Tony Walsh.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
We have been accustomed for years now to the steady drip, drip, drip of stories of pedophile priests -- known, protected, unrelenting, sickening. The drill goes something like this:
First, the abuse.
Then the denial.
Then the acknowledgement.
Then the settlement.
Then the cash payments.
Then the (ordinarily too weak) promises of new oversight and reform.
Surely, there could be nothing new under this cloud.
Think again.... for now you will meet (then Father) Tony Walsh... a priest with a penchant for impersonating Elvis... and a rapacious sexual appetite rivaling Don Giovanni. But this is not so much a story about Tony Walsh as it is the tale of how the Vatican, knowing much and fearing more, winked for nearly 20 years at a man known to many as Ireland's most predatory pedophile priest. This is the Rosetta Stone of pedophile priest stories... for understanding this, reveals all.
The joy boy of Ballyfermot
Ballyfermot is part of Dublin. It is grim, poor, but fertile for those seeking the very young and winsome, for they are omnipresent and without voice or influence, the choicest morsels, available, helpless.
These were tailor-made for Father Tony Walsh. As such, he lost no time making good use of them when he took up this parish in 1978. He molested his first boy there just two days after he started. It was simple and oh so easy. He knew he was on to a very good thing.
Father Tony honed his approach and his solicitation skills. He toured as Elvis in a traveling Catholic song-and-dance production. He ran the Boy Scouts (de rigueur for pedophile priests) and brought boys to the Dublin seminary, Clonliffe College. Through such means, an embarrass du choix, he kept a steady flow of what he desired while keeping up appearances so that those who would not see would have no grounds for suspicion. It was all very well organized, cynical, loathsome.
Bit by bit, the story of Father Tony seeped out. Ballyfermot was rife with noisome rumors. So much incessant seduction spurred an avalanche of saucy tales, which lost nothing in the telling, not least because they were true.
This went on for 19 years, between 1975-2004 by which time the matter was widely known, conspicuous, flagrant. Yet Father Tony continued to work his cynical magic with the boys of Ballyfermot. He had a system that worked, and he enjoyed it accordingly while his superiors discussed, dithered, procrastinated... then postponed, delayed, and discussed some more. It was the Catholic version of Dickens' Circumlocution Office... and, of course, was perfectly created for Father Tony Walsh. He was one of the boys, he was inside the charmed circle... he had protection, tolerance, cover, right up to and including his eminence Cardinal Desmond Connell, Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of All Ireland.
What did his eminence do?
Over time, stories like those of Father Tony and his ilk became general knowledge; so general that even the Primate of All Ireland was forced to pay attention. But he moved too little too late so that reformers, despairing of Church-lead reform, turned to the Irish government instead. The findings of the state-ordered investigation shocked the nation and raised profound questions about how so much abuse could have occurred with so little and so ineffective response.
Item: Church officials knew of widespread abuse.
Item: Church officials shielded the perpetrators and ensured that abuse cases be treated internally, which meant they were not treated at all.
Item: No abuse cases or sexual crimes were reported by the Church until the mid-1990's. Not a single one.
And what of blissful Father Tony Walsh?
Investigators focused their attention on 46 priestly abuse cases occurring between 1975-2004. Of these cases, all heinous, the most flagrant of all was Father Tony Walsh, who in his Elvis impersonations gave a whole new meaning to "Love Me Tender..."
He was, the investigators concluded, "probably the most notorious child sexual abuser" of all... a man who knew the system well, knew that he was shielded from repercussions, and took full advantage of his superiors' penchant for shuffling, disregarding, and willingness to tolerate any abuse, no matter how young the victim or revolting the act. The man, the abuser, was a priest, elect of God, and that was enough. It was a passport to mayhem.
But the luck of Father Tony Walsh was even now not exhausted. In the report of the state-ordered investigation the chapter on Father Tony was excluded. Why? Because his criminal case was then before the courts and his rights must be protected. Indeed.
However, at long last, the case of Father Tony was heard in all its lurid, sordid, riveting detail. The nation watched, angry, sorrowful, wondering how so many could have done so wrong for so long. How parents and teachers, how priests and cardinals could have known so much and done so little... creating the fetid environment in which Father Tony et al had flourished. How could this have happened in Ireland, to all its good people? How?
Tony Walsh, no longer a priest, was convicted and convicted yet again. First he was convicted of a May, 1994 assault on a boy in a pub restroom following the funeral of the boy's grandfather. Then, later, he was convicted of sexually assaulting several more boys, receiving a further 10-year sentence.
In its wisdom the court saw fit to reduce this sentence, giving Tony Walsh instead a term of just 6 years. Just six years, after a lifetime of abuse and assault.
And what of the victims, all young, all innocent susceptibility? Who is to reduce their term by 40 percent, or by any number? Who can eradicate Father Tony Walsh from their minds and lives by even a moment? Who will be there for them when devastating memories surface and terrorize in depth of night? For they who needed the most help, got the least... to the shame of all Ireland and all its holy clerics and princely potentates who are hereby sentenced to remember and regret.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski <a href="http://cashgrowthunlimited.com%22%3ehttp//CashGrowthUnlimited.com%3C/a>.
We have been accustomed for years now to the steady drip, drip, drip of stories of pedophile priests -- known, protected, unrelenting, sickening. The drill goes something like this:
First, the abuse.
Then the denial.
Then the acknowledgement.
Then the settlement.
Then the cash payments.
Then the (ordinarily too weak) promises of new oversight and reform.
Surely, there could be nothing new under this cloud.
Think again.... for now you will meet (then Father) Tony Walsh... a priest with a penchant for impersonating Elvis... and a rapacious sexual appetite rivaling Don Giovanni. But this is not so much a story about Tony Walsh as it is the tale of how the Vatican, knowing much and fearing more, winked for nearly 20 years at a man known to many as Ireland's most predatory pedophile priest. This is the Rosetta Stone of pedophile priest stories... for understanding this, reveals all.
The joy boy of Ballyfermot
Ballyfermot is part of Dublin. It is grim, poor, but fertile for those seeking the very young and winsome, for they are omnipresent and without voice or influence, the choicest morsels, available, helpless.
These were tailor-made for Father Tony Walsh. As such, he lost no time making good use of them when he took up this parish in 1978. He molested his first boy there just two days after he started. It was simple and oh so easy. He knew he was on to a very good thing.
Father Tony honed his approach and his solicitation skills. He toured as Elvis in a traveling Catholic song-and-dance production. He ran the Boy Scouts (de rigueur for pedophile priests) and brought boys to the Dublin seminary, Clonliffe College. Through such means, an embarrass du choix, he kept a steady flow of what he desired while keeping up appearances so that those who would not see would have no grounds for suspicion. It was all very well organized, cynical, loathsome.
Bit by bit, the story of Father Tony seeped out. Ballyfermot was rife with noisome rumors. So much incessant seduction spurred an avalanche of saucy tales, which lost nothing in the telling, not least because they were true.
This went on for 19 years, between 1975-2004 by which time the matter was widely known, conspicuous, flagrant. Yet Father Tony continued to work his cynical magic with the boys of Ballyfermot. He had a system that worked, and he enjoyed it accordingly while his superiors discussed, dithered, procrastinated... then postponed, delayed, and discussed some more. It was the Catholic version of Dickens' Circumlocution Office... and, of course, was perfectly created for Father Tony Walsh. He was one of the boys, he was inside the charmed circle... he had protection, tolerance, cover, right up to and including his eminence Cardinal Desmond Connell, Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of All Ireland.
What did his eminence do?
Over time, stories like those of Father Tony and his ilk became general knowledge; so general that even the Primate of All Ireland was forced to pay attention. But he moved too little too late so that reformers, despairing of Church-lead reform, turned to the Irish government instead. The findings of the state-ordered investigation shocked the nation and raised profound questions about how so much abuse could have occurred with so little and so ineffective response.
Item: Church officials knew of widespread abuse.
Item: Church officials shielded the perpetrators and ensured that abuse cases be treated internally, which meant they were not treated at all.
Item: No abuse cases or sexual crimes were reported by the Church until the mid-1990's. Not a single one.
And what of blissful Father Tony Walsh?
Investigators focused their attention on 46 priestly abuse cases occurring between 1975-2004. Of these cases, all heinous, the most flagrant of all was Father Tony Walsh, who in his Elvis impersonations gave a whole new meaning to "Love Me Tender..."
He was, the investigators concluded, "probably the most notorious child sexual abuser" of all... a man who knew the system well, knew that he was shielded from repercussions, and took full advantage of his superiors' penchant for shuffling, disregarding, and willingness to tolerate any abuse, no matter how young the victim or revolting the act. The man, the abuser, was a priest, elect of God, and that was enough. It was a passport to mayhem.
But the luck of Father Tony Walsh was even now not exhausted. In the report of the state-ordered investigation the chapter on Father Tony was excluded. Why? Because his criminal case was then before the courts and his rights must be protected. Indeed.
However, at long last, the case of Father Tony was heard in all its lurid, sordid, riveting detail. The nation watched, angry, sorrowful, wondering how so many could have done so wrong for so long. How parents and teachers, how priests and cardinals could have known so much and done so little... creating the fetid environment in which Father Tony et al had flourished. How could this have happened in Ireland, to all its good people? How?
Tony Walsh, no longer a priest, was convicted and convicted yet again. First he was convicted of a May, 1994 assault on a boy in a pub restroom following the funeral of the boy's grandfather. Then, later, he was convicted of sexually assaulting several more boys, receiving a further 10-year sentence.
In its wisdom the court saw fit to reduce this sentence, giving Tony Walsh instead a term of just 6 years. Just six years, after a lifetime of abuse and assault.
And what of the victims, all young, all innocent susceptibility? Who is to reduce their term by 40 percent, or by any number? Who can eradicate Father Tony Walsh from their minds and lives by even a moment? Who will be there for them when devastating memories surface and terrorize in depth of night? For they who needed the most help, got the least... to the shame of all Ireland and all its holy clerics and princely potentates who are hereby sentenced to remember and regret.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski <a href="http://cashgrowthunlimited.com%22%3ehttp//CashGrowthUnlimited.com%3C/a>.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
'I wonder who's kissing him now.' Marine Commandant General James Amos' inconvenient jeremiads on 'Don't ask, don't tell.'
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
The winds of change are blowing through the military establishment. It is clear that openly gay service personnel are an inevitability and that "Don't ask, don't tell" is on its way out.
These days Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a man trusted by both political parties and the service chiefs, has a message for them all: if we are to manage the end of "Don't Ask, don't tell" the way we want it... we had best act quickly before the civilian courts step in and tell us what to do. Change is inevitable, he says, but handling it our way is not.
Right now, various judges, their itchy fingers and intrusive court orders at the ready, are giving the military time to sort out their own house. But the clock is ticking... ticking.
Secretary Gates reminds all that "Don't ask, don't tell", that invidious, unconstitutional, discriminatory policy that has kept military gays locked firmly in the closet since the Clinton Administration is moving inexorably into the scrap heap of history's lousy ideas. He aims to be on the right side as inevitability unfolds.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen knows it, too. He's on board with the new political realities as are all savvy officers who can see the way the wind blows.
But, conspicuously brand-new Marine Commandant James Amos is not. To the increasing embarrassment of the military establishment, General Amos has become a fountainhead of notoriously unpersuasive insipidities on the subject:
One by one, the panjandrums of the military have thrown in the towel and taken up the new party line, admitting that gays (imagine!) have been serving, are serving and will serve in every service with distinction... what is the big deal, after all?
General Amos, new kid on the block, Bourbon-like, has learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Bourbon-like he has now become the problem... and you know what happened to these clueless French monarchs.
If his military brethren have weakened and strayed, he most assuredly has not. Why just the other day he uncorked this sour vintage, designed to frighten Marine parents everywhere:
"I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any kind of distraction."
This, of course, is demagoguery of the worst kind... seeking to support an outmoded policy through fear mongering. It defines the man's approach to this issue. If he cannot have victory, he can at least have the last word. (But there is that in him which feels that even now, against all odds, he can still have victory. After all he is a Marine... and that is enough.)
Should we abolish "Don't ask, don't tell," he emphasizes, your Marine son, who needs to focus on winning the engagement and staying alive, could well face and would have to respond immediately to unwanted sexual advances from deviate members of the corps who could use war to get sex. Thus, instead of moving against the enemy, your comely lad would be distracted... even unto the ultimate sacrifice.
"I wonder who's kissing him now."
In 1909 America danced to and hummed along with a catchy Gilded Age pop tune, "I wonder who's kissing her now." This lilting waltz, with changed gender, now appears to be running through General Amos' fetid mind:
"I wonder who's kissing him now, I wonder who's teaching him how? Wonder who's looking into his eyes? Breathing sighs! Telling lies! I wonder if he's got a boy? The boy who once filled me with joy, Wonder if he ever tells him of me? I wonder who's kissing him now."
Fascinated, revolted, the licentious scene is painfully clear to the general. As the enemy's attacks intensify, as the enemy moves in, as your son's full concentration is earnestly required... he has to fend off an amorous corpsman intent on nookie instead of self-protection... and victory. Oh, my.
Imagine, they sleep together. The general cannot forget.
The Marine Corps, unlike other services, houses a pair of people in a room, collegiate style. This, they say, promotes "unity." Perhaps, as the general worries, too much so. Here's what he said in November, 2010 in a statement that alerted the politically sensitive to the problem they faced in General Amos:
“There is nothing more intimate than young men and young women and when you talk of infantry we’re talking of our young men laying out, sleeping along side of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers,” General Amos said. “I don’t know what the effect of that will be on cohesion. I mean, that’s what we’re looking at. It’s unit cohesion, it’s combat effectiveness.”
It's buncombe.
The general says, and no doubt believes with all the power of the last pterodactyl, that men of a certain sexual orientation will during combat do things other than everything they can to stay alive. Does anyone else concur with this lapse of insight and intellect?
Let's be clear: men, women, gay, straight during combat they will all focus on staying alive, then on achieving the objective. Sexual orientation does not change this truth one iota.
As a result, basing his case on a rancid fallacy, this general of antiquated views and big mouth lumbers on, embarrassing the president, the military establishment, and every thinking Marine; all of them with gay friends and colleagues and absolutely no problem serving with them worldwide.
Then what of General Amos? So newly installed, he has already committed political hara kiri, still walking and too much talking, but of no earthly consequence. The Marine Corps deserves better. Fortunately, in due course, as General Amos keeps talking, they will get it. For such a man with such views has besmirched Semper Fi. And that will never do.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
The winds of change are blowing through the military establishment. It is clear that openly gay service personnel are an inevitability and that "Don't ask, don't tell" is on its way out.
These days Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a man trusted by both political parties and the service chiefs, has a message for them all: if we are to manage the end of "Don't Ask, don't tell" the way we want it... we had best act quickly before the civilian courts step in and tell us what to do. Change is inevitable, he says, but handling it our way is not.
Right now, various judges, their itchy fingers and intrusive court orders at the ready, are giving the military time to sort out their own house. But the clock is ticking... ticking.
Secretary Gates reminds all that "Don't ask, don't tell", that invidious, unconstitutional, discriminatory policy that has kept military gays locked firmly in the closet since the Clinton Administration is moving inexorably into the scrap heap of history's lousy ideas. He aims to be on the right side as inevitability unfolds.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen knows it, too. He's on board with the new political realities as are all savvy officers who can see the way the wind blows.
But, conspicuously brand-new Marine Commandant James Amos is not. To the increasing embarrassment of the military establishment, General Amos has become a fountainhead of notoriously unpersuasive insipidities on the subject:
One by one, the panjandrums of the military have thrown in the towel and taken up the new party line, admitting that gays (imagine!) have been serving, are serving and will serve in every service with distinction... what is the big deal, after all?
General Amos, new kid on the block, Bourbon-like, has learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Bourbon-like he has now become the problem... and you know what happened to these clueless French monarchs.
If his military brethren have weakened and strayed, he most assuredly has not. Why just the other day he uncorked this sour vintage, designed to frighten Marine parents everywhere:
"I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any kind of distraction."
This, of course, is demagoguery of the worst kind... seeking to support an outmoded policy through fear mongering. It defines the man's approach to this issue. If he cannot have victory, he can at least have the last word. (But there is that in him which feels that even now, against all odds, he can still have victory. After all he is a Marine... and that is enough.)
Should we abolish "Don't ask, don't tell," he emphasizes, your Marine son, who needs to focus on winning the engagement and staying alive, could well face and would have to respond immediately to unwanted sexual advances from deviate members of the corps who could use war to get sex. Thus, instead of moving against the enemy, your comely lad would be distracted... even unto the ultimate sacrifice.
"I wonder who's kissing him now."
In 1909 America danced to and hummed along with a catchy Gilded Age pop tune, "I wonder who's kissing her now." This lilting waltz, with changed gender, now appears to be running through General Amos' fetid mind:
"I wonder who's kissing him now, I wonder who's teaching him how? Wonder who's looking into his eyes? Breathing sighs! Telling lies! I wonder if he's got a boy? The boy who once filled me with joy, Wonder if he ever tells him of me? I wonder who's kissing him now."
Fascinated, revolted, the licentious scene is painfully clear to the general. As the enemy's attacks intensify, as the enemy moves in, as your son's full concentration is earnestly required... he has to fend off an amorous corpsman intent on nookie instead of self-protection... and victory. Oh, my.
Imagine, they sleep together. The general cannot forget.
The Marine Corps, unlike other services, houses a pair of people in a room, collegiate style. This, they say, promotes "unity." Perhaps, as the general worries, too much so. Here's what he said in November, 2010 in a statement that alerted the politically sensitive to the problem they faced in General Amos:
“There is nothing more intimate than young men and young women and when you talk of infantry we’re talking of our young men laying out, sleeping along side of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers,” General Amos said. “I don’t know what the effect of that will be on cohesion. I mean, that’s what we’re looking at. It’s unit cohesion, it’s combat effectiveness.”
It's buncombe.
The general says, and no doubt believes with all the power of the last pterodactyl, that men of a certain sexual orientation will during combat do things other than everything they can to stay alive. Does anyone else concur with this lapse of insight and intellect?
Let's be clear: men, women, gay, straight during combat they will all focus on staying alive, then on achieving the objective. Sexual orientation does not change this truth one iota.
As a result, basing his case on a rancid fallacy, this general of antiquated views and big mouth lumbers on, embarrassing the president, the military establishment, and every thinking Marine; all of them with gay friends and colleagues and absolutely no problem serving with them worldwide.
Then what of General Amos? So newly installed, he has already committed political hara kiri, still walking and too much talking, but of no earthly consequence. The Marine Corps deserves better. Fortunately, in due course, as General Amos keeps talking, they will get it. For such a man with such views has besmirched Semper Fi. And that will never do.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
The # 1 Marketing Mistake that 90% of marketers are making. Are you?
I've been an online marketer for nearly 18 years, my business partner has been marketing on and offline for over 30 years.
I'm going to tell you what we've learned and know for a fact so you get better results from your advertising NOW.
If you are like most marketers you have a snazzy website that you either spent good money on or you have laboured to build yourself. Now all you have to do is promote it. Right? WRONG! Before you spend one dime to promote your website, read this article. Don't make the same mistake made by 90% of marketers that costs them thousands and thousand of dollars, lost leads and lost sales.
You do NOT want to promote your website as your primary method of generating leads. Here's why.
If your website is like 99% of those I have reviewed, it's copy dense. You've got links, video, flash, offers, affiliates, graphics, pages, charts, forms, RSS Feeds, blogs, Twitter feeds, the Daily Weather, and a little or a lot of other organized chaos. The viewer (your potential buyer) doesn't know here to look, what to click on, it's information OVERLOAD. (This is all great for key word content for Search Engine Optimization or general promotion but NOT the best way for generating leads). The result is immediate. If they don't instantly see what they want they click OFF. Say Goodbye to your lead! You might as well add, "Sorry I wasn't a little more clever about helping you get what you want so I could get what I need." The SMART marketer understands this and says, I want to meet the needs of my viewers. I want to convert my viewers into leads. That means giving your visitors a positive FAST loading experience with an immediate offer and a call to action. This is a very precise experience with a very specific message and directive. How do you this? By creating what is called a Landing Page strictly for promotional purposes.
What is a Landing page? It's also known as a Squeeze page because you are squeeeeezing information from the viewer, converting the looker into an actual lead. The concept is simple, pitch an offer, the looker completes a form. They are enticed by the offer, you get a lead. You've converted a looker into a LEAD!
Why is the promotion of Landing Page(s) INSTEAD of your website critical? It's simple. Keep your potential buyers happy and YOU will get better advertising results. Specifically, a fast-loading landing page that includes a headline with an immediate benefit and a call to action. Example: HERE's what you GET! Followed by punchy benefits of what else they get, concluding with an offer and a lead form.
Now, here is a critical point for all you advertisers who think graphics are the king, that more is better. Take a quick lesson from an experienced marketer (who is also a designer). If you do nothing else to improve your ad copy - get rid of the fancy and weighty images. Often an overabundance of graphics detracts from your marketing message. We have tested boring simple text ads against the exact same ad copy on a rich graphic landing page. Guess what? The simple ugly plain text ads consistently got higher click rates than the graphical ones. We eliminated instant play video, got rid of flash, and used just really good ad copy. Landing pages with no video perform better than those with video. Why is this? Videos can take a while to load and may not add immediate value to what you offer. You often have less than 30 seconds to get your message into the brain of the viewer. Well-chosen key words get in the brain of your potential buyers IMMEDIATELY when time and limited attention is critical. We humans are greedy. This is a fact. We have short attention spans. We want something and we want it now. Smart marketers recognize this and tell people what they can get and how to get it if they act now!
One of the powers of a Landing Page comes from the fact that you can create a specific Landing Page for EVERY product you offer. You can create them quickly and test them. If you create a dud that gets no result, replace it by creating another. Many advertising sources offer an option to pause a campaign which means you can cancel one ad and replace it with another more effective one before your ad dollars are depleted. Compare this to making edits to a web site that can take considerable time for major marketing changes, while a Landing page can be put up and taken down in minutes.
Finally, remember where you are marketing - online. Full page colour graphic ads do well in a full page print ad. My guess is that you don't have the 10 K + for a fully page glossy ad. You are most likely relying on the tried true tested forms of free an low cost advertising like Traffic Exchanges and Safelists. These are powerful ways to promote your product or service and are ideal for simple Landing Pages. In fact you WANT a fast loading simply ad for Safelists and Traffic Exchanges because you have a very limited (20 sec or less) to get these people attention. Keeping it simple is just as effective now as it always has been. Graphics used effectively can bring your ad alive, but very few other than professionals can master this combination of copy and graphics to solicit response.
Ok, I want to make sure I have made this point clear as it is so very important. Use LANDING PAGES to generate leads for specific products or services. Use your website to promote your company in general. Landing Pages are ALL about the reader and turning them into a lead. If you want to stock your website with page after page about product development, research, your years in business, how wonderful you are and your customers think you are, put all of that on your website. Content about your company, products and services is of course valuable for many reasons, post it to your site but don't rely on this as you one and only lead generator.
Now, let's dig a little deeper into your advertising strategy. Look at your ad or your landing page. I mean really look at it.
Do you have a clear benefit headline to get attention. Do you follow this headline up with benefit-laden offers, reason after reason why people have to act now! Do you include an invitation to DO IT NOW offer that will motivate your reader to become a buyer! Or if not a buyer at least to take some action - to respond to your offer, join your newsletter, try a free sample, participate in a free trial. Whatever get them to DO something! You accomplish this with well written offers not with blinking links, and boring videos that take forever to load. Have you included an OPTIN to your company mailing, newsletter, product updates etc? This is a CRITICAL inclusion. A Landing page doubles as a List Building Tool. Do not underestimate this. Landing pages and list building work hand in hand as required marketing tools.
Review your advertising material. Is it about YOU or is it about your potential buyer? If the ad is more about how wonderful you are then about how beneficial your product or service is to the user, you have what is called an EGO ad. Your ad should NOT be about you, or your company, or that you are family owned business, or that you support charities. Your ad has one purpose: to tell people all the benefits of what your product/services offers and why they need to act now to get it! Want a quick lesson in this strategy? Watch late night infomercials. See how these infomercials verbally hit you over the head INSTANTLY with all the BENEFIT OF X product. You are drawn in more and more because they offer you X, then add Y to it. But wait if you buy now you get X, Y and Z too! Watch how they give you the pitch, make the offer, then make a better offer, and than a limited time offer to motivate you into action NOW!! Great marketing offers value and a sense of urgency to get an immediate action.
Ok here is your homework. If you don't have an ad strategy that accomplishes this you have failed your first lesson in online marketing. Go back write it again, take away distraction of video and flash. Whittle your ad down to ONLY what matters to the buyer. Get back to basics. Your goal is always to compel action. Don't risk making anyone wait to see what you offer. Get to the point instantly. Web surfers are easily bored. Get their attention INSTANTLY or they are gone! You may get a hit on your ad, but you can quickly send people away with a poorly thought out advertising strategy. Advertising that does not generate leads and sales will eat up your hard-earned dollars faster than my dog woofs down his doggie chow.
About the Author
Sandi Hunter is the Director of Website Development at Worldprofit Inc. As a result of the company's home business bootcamp training and resources devoted to small and home based business, Worldprofit has become known as the Home Business Experts. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
I'm going to tell you what we've learned and know for a fact so you get better results from your advertising NOW.
If you are like most marketers you have a snazzy website that you either spent good money on or you have laboured to build yourself. Now all you have to do is promote it. Right? WRONG! Before you spend one dime to promote your website, read this article. Don't make the same mistake made by 90% of marketers that costs them thousands and thousand of dollars, lost leads and lost sales.
You do NOT want to promote your website as your primary method of generating leads. Here's why.
If your website is like 99% of those I have reviewed, it's copy dense. You've got links, video, flash, offers, affiliates, graphics, pages, charts, forms, RSS Feeds, blogs, Twitter feeds, the Daily Weather, and a little or a lot of other organized chaos. The viewer (your potential buyer) doesn't know here to look, what to click on, it's information OVERLOAD. (This is all great for key word content for Search Engine Optimization or general promotion but NOT the best way for generating leads). The result is immediate. If they don't instantly see what they want they click OFF. Say Goodbye to your lead! You might as well add, "Sorry I wasn't a little more clever about helping you get what you want so I could get what I need." The SMART marketer understands this and says, I want to meet the needs of my viewers. I want to convert my viewers into leads. That means giving your visitors a positive FAST loading experience with an immediate offer and a call to action. This is a very precise experience with a very specific message and directive. How do you this? By creating what is called a Landing Page strictly for promotional purposes.
What is a Landing page? It's also known as a Squeeze page because you are squeeeeezing information from the viewer, converting the looker into an actual lead. The concept is simple, pitch an offer, the looker completes a form. They are enticed by the offer, you get a lead. You've converted a looker into a LEAD!
Why is the promotion of Landing Page(s) INSTEAD of your website critical? It's simple. Keep your potential buyers happy and YOU will get better advertising results. Specifically, a fast-loading landing page that includes a headline with an immediate benefit and a call to action. Example: HERE's what you GET! Followed by punchy benefits of what else they get, concluding with an offer and a lead form.
Now, here is a critical point for all you advertisers who think graphics are the king, that more is better. Take a quick lesson from an experienced marketer (who is also a designer). If you do nothing else to improve your ad copy - get rid of the fancy and weighty images. Often an overabundance of graphics detracts from your marketing message. We have tested boring simple text ads against the exact same ad copy on a rich graphic landing page. Guess what? The simple ugly plain text ads consistently got higher click rates than the graphical ones. We eliminated instant play video, got rid of flash, and used just really good ad copy. Landing pages with no video perform better than those with video. Why is this? Videos can take a while to load and may not add immediate value to what you offer. You often have less than 30 seconds to get your message into the brain of the viewer. Well-chosen key words get in the brain of your potential buyers IMMEDIATELY when time and limited attention is critical. We humans are greedy. This is a fact. We have short attention spans. We want something and we want it now. Smart marketers recognize this and tell people what they can get and how to get it if they act now!
One of the powers of a Landing Page comes from the fact that you can create a specific Landing Page for EVERY product you offer. You can create them quickly and test them. If you create a dud that gets no result, replace it by creating another. Many advertising sources offer an option to pause a campaign which means you can cancel one ad and replace it with another more effective one before your ad dollars are depleted. Compare this to making edits to a web site that can take considerable time for major marketing changes, while a Landing page can be put up and taken down in minutes.
Finally, remember where you are marketing - online. Full page colour graphic ads do well in a full page print ad. My guess is that you don't have the 10 K + for a fully page glossy ad. You are most likely relying on the tried true tested forms of free an low cost advertising like Traffic Exchanges and Safelists. These are powerful ways to promote your product or service and are ideal for simple Landing Pages. In fact you WANT a fast loading simply ad for Safelists and Traffic Exchanges because you have a very limited (20 sec or less) to get these people attention. Keeping it simple is just as effective now as it always has been. Graphics used effectively can bring your ad alive, but very few other than professionals can master this combination of copy and graphics to solicit response.
Ok, I want to make sure I have made this point clear as it is so very important. Use LANDING PAGES to generate leads for specific products or services. Use your website to promote your company in general. Landing Pages are ALL about the reader and turning them into a lead. If you want to stock your website with page after page about product development, research, your years in business, how wonderful you are and your customers think you are, put all of that on your website. Content about your company, products and services is of course valuable for many reasons, post it to your site but don't rely on this as you one and only lead generator.
Now, let's dig a little deeper into your advertising strategy. Look at your ad or your landing page. I mean really look at it.
Do you have a clear benefit headline to get attention. Do you follow this headline up with benefit-laden offers, reason after reason why people have to act now! Do you include an invitation to DO IT NOW offer that will motivate your reader to become a buyer! Or if not a buyer at least to take some action - to respond to your offer, join your newsletter, try a free sample, participate in a free trial. Whatever get them to DO something! You accomplish this with well written offers not with blinking links, and boring videos that take forever to load. Have you included an OPTIN to your company mailing, newsletter, product updates etc? This is a CRITICAL inclusion. A Landing page doubles as a List Building Tool. Do not underestimate this. Landing pages and list building work hand in hand as required marketing tools.
Review your advertising material. Is it about YOU or is it about your potential buyer? If the ad is more about how wonderful you are then about how beneficial your product or service is to the user, you have what is called an EGO ad. Your ad should NOT be about you, or your company, or that you are family owned business, or that you support charities. Your ad has one purpose: to tell people all the benefits of what your product/services offers and why they need to act now to get it! Want a quick lesson in this strategy? Watch late night infomercials. See how these infomercials verbally hit you over the head INSTANTLY with all the BENEFIT OF X product. You are drawn in more and more because they offer you X, then add Y to it. But wait if you buy now you get X, Y and Z too! Watch how they give you the pitch, make the offer, then make a better offer, and than a limited time offer to motivate you into action NOW!! Great marketing offers value and a sense of urgency to get an immediate action.
Ok here is your homework. If you don't have an ad strategy that accomplishes this you have failed your first lesson in online marketing. Go back write it again, take away distraction of video and flash. Whittle your ad down to ONLY what matters to the buyer. Get back to basics. Your goal is always to compel action. Don't risk making anyone wait to see what you offer. Get to the point instantly. Web surfers are easily bored. Get their attention INSTANTLY or they are gone! You may get a hit on your ad, but you can quickly send people away with a poorly thought out advertising strategy. Advertising that does not generate leads and sales will eat up your hard-earned dollars faster than my dog woofs down his doggie chow.
About the Author
Sandi Hunter is the Director of Website Development at Worldprofit Inc. As a result of the company's home business bootcamp training and resources devoted to small and home based business, Worldprofit has become known as the Home Business Experts. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Kids in your life? The Life Letter is for them -- and for you. Start yours today.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I knew the late Mrs. John (Elizabeth) Edwards was particularly devoted to her children and family... but when I learned from her funeral coverage that she had left behind a long letter which she had been writing for them over the course of many years, my admiration for the lady rose still more.
In my family we call such a letter, the Life Letter and encourage particularly parents and grandparents to start one as soon as you know a little one is on the way. It will quickly become one of your own most valued possessions... as it will become, in due time, valuable for the kids you leave it to. This article will help you get started with your own Life Letter, the gift of generations, assisting you to create a masterwork.
What is a Life Letter?
A Life Letter is a letter written by you to your children and/or (in due course) your grand children. It is "one-sided" in the sense that you are writing it for your dearly beloved without any expectation that they will either respond to it or even see during your life time. A Life Letter has a specific mission. It is to let the recipient into both your own life... and into theirs from your unique standpoint as parent or grandparent.
A Life Letter is neither a personal journal nor a regular posted letter. Nor is it either an email or random jottings and particular information as found in a baby book. It partakes of certain elements from these genres and types. However, it is very much its own thing, sui generis, as you come to see and enjoy as your Life Letter takes shape over time.
Get going, keep going
For a thing destined to rank amongst the most important possessions of your life, a treasured heirloom, surprisingly little is needed for its creation except for two must have features: the willingness to start creating your Life Letter at once... and an iron-clad determination to keep working at it for the duration of your life. A labor of love it may be... but the work involved is real nonetheless and must be properly organized.
What you need to start today
Before writing a word of your Life Letter, gather what you'll need:
fountain pen a ream of lined paper a folder with pockets a "writing place".
A quick word about these items:
fountain pen. Remember, your objective is to reveal yourself through your Life Letter and create a thing of beauty and insight for your family. For this a fountain pen is desirable. However, in recommending this essential tool, I know full well that today copperplate writing is as rare as a hen's tooth. As such, if you cannot rise to the elegance and style of a fountain pen... make sure you have a typewriter (my IBM Selectric II is a gem) or email.
There are trade-offs here. Your handwriting (execrable though it may be, like my own) is a better indicator of who you are than typed words. Moreover, your Life Letter must be spontaneous and "of the moment." Typing and email smack too much of deliberation -- and business. Unfortunately, too many people today have my problem of illegible scrawling. Thus, for us, while our Life Letter may be less personal if not hand written, it will be infinitely more readable. So, how about a compromise?
If your poor handwriting warrants, write the headings and special notes and salutations in ink. Type the rest. Thus you retain the special bond with recipient that comes with words handwritten.
Proper storage is crucial.
That's where the folder with pockets comes in. As you write, number the pages and put them away in folders. Each folder must be dated for the time covered... and always kept in the safest place in the house. (Unsurprisingly people who have spent decades on their Life Letters keep them in a safety deposit box, thereby indicating their value.)
Your warm, confiding "writing place".
When you sit down to "talk" to your children and grandchildren via your Life Letter, you need a warm, inviting, confiding place in which to do it. In such a place you are completely and entirely at home. It should be comfortable... with a family pictures, books, mementoes, a room redolent of cherished memories and always of cherished people.
Here favorite foods and liquids are de rigueur, with stains and spots proving use and personal title. Here shoes are kicked off and shirt collars opened. Here there is always a place for you... and as such the words flow thick and fast as you tell your posterity and record for yourself your journey on this planet... a journey that has brought you to this time and place and which you, no matter how imperfectly, want to share. Such a place is for you and the very carefully selected only, the people you value most and profoundly. They deserve your best... and you must give it to them, for their good and for your own soul's sake.
Begin today
Most people leave nothing on this globe but their genetic footprints implanted in their successors. You have chosen to leave more, a record of tales and occurrences, of items significant, hilarious, mundane, heart rending.
Start today.
Ready your writing place. Place before you the most challenging item in any writer's kit... the blank page. Then begin your Life Letter.
Write the date you have commenced on your folder. Write your salutation... and begin. Where? It doesn't matter for this is a letter. It has a place for everything... and tolerates random disclosures as well as lapses in communication, just as we do with old and valued friends who, loving us, abide our infirmities and inefficiencies, too.
And if such lapses occur, don't blame yourself, no matter how long it has been since you have written in this lifelong epistle. Simply pick up your pen and begin again. Your reader, your flesh and blood, will be fascinated by whatever you share, for in sharing yourself so you not only fill gaps in their personal intelligence... you illuminate and reveal their own lives. Begin this voyage now for you have much to tell:
Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage. -- Joachim du Bellay.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant's is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
I knew the late Mrs. John (Elizabeth) Edwards was particularly devoted to her children and family... but when I learned from her funeral coverage that she had left behind a long letter which she had been writing for them over the course of many years, my admiration for the lady rose still more.
In my family we call such a letter, the Life Letter and encourage particularly parents and grandparents to start one as soon as you know a little one is on the way. It will quickly become one of your own most valued possessions... as it will become, in due time, valuable for the kids you leave it to. This article will help you get started with your own Life Letter, the gift of generations, assisting you to create a masterwork.
What is a Life Letter?
A Life Letter is a letter written by you to your children and/or (in due course) your grand children. It is "one-sided" in the sense that you are writing it for your dearly beloved without any expectation that they will either respond to it or even see during your life time. A Life Letter has a specific mission. It is to let the recipient into both your own life... and into theirs from your unique standpoint as parent or grandparent.
A Life Letter is neither a personal journal nor a regular posted letter. Nor is it either an email or random jottings and particular information as found in a baby book. It partakes of certain elements from these genres and types. However, it is very much its own thing, sui generis, as you come to see and enjoy as your Life Letter takes shape over time.
Get going, keep going
For a thing destined to rank amongst the most important possessions of your life, a treasured heirloom, surprisingly little is needed for its creation except for two must have features: the willingness to start creating your Life Letter at once... and an iron-clad determination to keep working at it for the duration of your life. A labor of love it may be... but the work involved is real nonetheless and must be properly organized.
What you need to start today
Before writing a word of your Life Letter, gather what you'll need:
fountain pen a ream of lined paper a folder with pockets a "writing place".
A quick word about these items:
fountain pen. Remember, your objective is to reveal yourself through your Life Letter and create a thing of beauty and insight for your family. For this a fountain pen is desirable. However, in recommending this essential tool, I know full well that today copperplate writing is as rare as a hen's tooth. As such, if you cannot rise to the elegance and style of a fountain pen... make sure you have a typewriter (my IBM Selectric II is a gem) or email.
There are trade-offs here. Your handwriting (execrable though it may be, like my own) is a better indicator of who you are than typed words. Moreover, your Life Letter must be spontaneous and "of the moment." Typing and email smack too much of deliberation -- and business. Unfortunately, too many people today have my problem of illegible scrawling. Thus, for us, while our Life Letter may be less personal if not hand written, it will be infinitely more readable. So, how about a compromise?
If your poor handwriting warrants, write the headings and special notes and salutations in ink. Type the rest. Thus you retain the special bond with recipient that comes with words handwritten.
Proper storage is crucial.
That's where the folder with pockets comes in. As you write, number the pages and put them away in folders. Each folder must be dated for the time covered... and always kept in the safest place in the house. (Unsurprisingly people who have spent decades on their Life Letters keep them in a safety deposit box, thereby indicating their value.)
Your warm, confiding "writing place".
When you sit down to "talk" to your children and grandchildren via your Life Letter, you need a warm, inviting, confiding place in which to do it. In such a place you are completely and entirely at home. It should be comfortable... with a family pictures, books, mementoes, a room redolent of cherished memories and always of cherished people.
Here favorite foods and liquids are de rigueur, with stains and spots proving use and personal title. Here shoes are kicked off and shirt collars opened. Here there is always a place for you... and as such the words flow thick and fast as you tell your posterity and record for yourself your journey on this planet... a journey that has brought you to this time and place and which you, no matter how imperfectly, want to share. Such a place is for you and the very carefully selected only, the people you value most and profoundly. They deserve your best... and you must give it to them, for their good and for your own soul's sake.
Begin today
Most people leave nothing on this globe but their genetic footprints implanted in their successors. You have chosen to leave more, a record of tales and occurrences, of items significant, hilarious, mundane, heart rending.
Start today.
Ready your writing place. Place before you the most challenging item in any writer's kit... the blank page. Then begin your Life Letter.
Write the date you have commenced on your folder. Write your salutation... and begin. Where? It doesn't matter for this is a letter. It has a place for everything... and tolerates random disclosures as well as lapses in communication, just as we do with old and valued friends who, loving us, abide our infirmities and inefficiencies, too.
And if such lapses occur, don't blame yourself, no matter how long it has been since you have written in this lifelong epistle. Simply pick up your pen and begin again. Your reader, your flesh and blood, will be fascinated by whatever you share, for in sharing yourself so you not only fill gaps in their personal intelligence... you illuminate and reveal their own lives. Begin this voyage now for you have much to tell:
Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage. -- Joachim du Bellay.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant's is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
Monday, December 13, 2010
An appreciation of the life of Lewis H. Clark, dead at 85, and the community bank he helped craft, Cambridge Trust Company.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
After the economic debacle so many banks contributed to in the last few years, one may wonder whether they deserve any good words at all, much less a stellar recommendation. Most don't, but Lewis H. Clark and the bank he helped create, certainly do. For here the virtues of old-style community banks are revered, practised, perfected.
Location, Location, Location
The headquarters of Cambridge Trust Company are right across the street from the main gate of Harvard University, right in front of the house General George Washington used as his command post while turning the feisty colonials hereabouts into the soldiers who, in due course, humiliated the greatest empire on earth. It's a special place... and like everything in Harvard's neighborhood requires equally special services, banking not the least amongst them.
Any banking chain might like... and many banking chains have unsubtly coveted ... this location, replete with its hordes of style-challenged Harvard students, the best and the brightest worldwide. It is one of the planet's signature locations.
However, thanks to the vision of James H. Clark this location and its bank remain resolutely community- centered, Cambridge-centered, service-centered. This is why a tribute is due to James H. Clark, not because he was president and chief executive officer of Cambridge Trust (1980-1991)... but that he used his power and position for maximum community service.
About Lewis H. Clark
First and foremost, he was a Cambridge man. Born in Boston (no one held that against him), he was brought up in Cambridge, went to Harvard College (class of 1947), and went to work at Cambridge Trust Company immediately following World War II service in the US Navy.
During his 45 years with the bank, he served in almost every job, each one being a stepping stone to the next... and each one giving him insight into why a community bank was infinitely preferable to a chain. It was a conviction that would be sorely tested during the go-go years when a cacophony of voices shouted that to get along Cambridge Trust must go along... as one bank merger followed another.
Clark was plain-spoken and adamant. According to retired senior vice president Robert DeGregorio, "He thought the best way to serve the community was to remain independent and not become part of a larger institution. He wanted to be able to control the product and service that was delivered to the community." Thus, small(er) was always better. Today Cambridge Trust has more than $1 billion in assets with 11 locations.
What makes Cambridge Trust special
Service
Service
Service.
I know whereof I speak.
For about 40 years now, I've been an enthusiastic customer at Cambridge Trust. Why? Because they are just so incredibly good at what they do and because other banks are, well, banks. Cambridge Trust understands what other banks mouth but never implement: that banking is first and foremost about people. I have exhaustive information about one of these community people and his particular banking needs. This person is -- me!
Item: one day I was toodling around Harvard Square when I told my chauffeur Aime Joseph that I needed to run an errand but had no money. He advised me to call one of the bank officers on the car phone and ask her to withdraw some funds from my checking account so I could just run in and get them.
But Cambridge Trust did better than that. They had, in minutes, the funds at the drive through window for me, no paperwork required. They knew me... and they helped, at once.
Nowadays I often send Mr. Joseph to the bank by himself after I've advised an officer on the phone about the funds I need. He picks them up without a signature and brings them to me... so that I don't have to break into my demanding work schedule. Cool.
Item: One wire after another to Europe sending funds for my burgeoning art and artifact collection.
I am an obsessive collector of European art and artifacts from the 17th-19th centuries. I required a bank equally obsessive about assisting me. Cambridge Trust does... often.
One way is by the very frequent wires they send to auction houses around Europe paying for my latest acquisitions. Over time it became apparent that the volume of wires (not to mention the amounts being wired) necessitated an individual system. Cambridge Trust, truly customer-centered, obliged.
As a result, I could handle everything on the telephone: authorizing the wire amount, faxing auction house paperwork, helping helpful officer Helen Van Nostrand create a system that met my highly particular needs, not least being able to provide those shipping my merchandise with a whole lot of detailed information required by both tax authorities and British and US customs officials.
Item: crystal glass ware
During my first visit to the Trust Department water was requested and duly arrived in... plastic cups. I made a point of mentioning to the senior officer that such glassware was infra dig and should be replaced by appropriate crystal glassware. At the next meeting, I was pleased to note that my water was served appropriately... in (practical) crystal.
Item: special help for a man who has never balanced his check book in his life.
There are many things in life that one really cannot ignore. You'd think that balancing one's checkbook would be one of them. But, as I have amply proven, you can, for decades, go without doing so... if you have observant, tolerant, frequently forgiving bank officers... like I do at Cambridge Trust. Such folk, always more friend than mere banker, with a nudge, a gentle reminder, and constant flow of information help me appear what I am frequently not: organized.
The banker as friend.
How many of you think of your bank and its many personnel as your friends? I do, because Cambridge Trust Company makes this plausible, likely, and eminently desirable. I have no reason to think the above-and-beyond service I regularly receive is unique; indeed, I know otherwise.
I am now greeted by name as the front door; every teller knows me (and the state of my credit reserve balance), officers and trust officers ask me intelligent questions about my latest acquisitions and are as regularly invited, along with the greenest teller, to come see.
Recognition to Lewis H. Clark and thanks for his vision.
Human institutions are often flawed and far from perfect. Even Cambridge Trust has matters that could be better; (how about at least one day a week when open until 6 pm, instead of just 5?). However, these matters are minor, microscopic in the big picture. And that is the picture that Lewis Clark, grounded, clear headed, a man who knew the value of predictability and conservative habits, kept in mind through decades of service. It was all about anchoring his bank firmly in the Cambridge community and operating accordingly.
Other banks, often to their detriment, merged into nothingness, divisions within divisions, loyal to nothing and no one, rootless. Lewis Clark kept his bank firmly and deeply planted in the community, which was always the focus of his perspicacious eye and cheerful manner.
So, today, I thank Lewis H. Clark for resisting the glib and trendy... for staying firmly where a bank's focus should always be: on a community and its people. For all could use a bank like his, and mine, Cambridge Trust. Now you know why.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
After the economic debacle so many banks contributed to in the last few years, one may wonder whether they deserve any good words at all, much less a stellar recommendation. Most don't, but Lewis H. Clark and the bank he helped create, certainly do. For here the virtues of old-style community banks are revered, practised, perfected.
Location, Location, Location
The headquarters of Cambridge Trust Company are right across the street from the main gate of Harvard University, right in front of the house General George Washington used as his command post while turning the feisty colonials hereabouts into the soldiers who, in due course, humiliated the greatest empire on earth. It's a special place... and like everything in Harvard's neighborhood requires equally special services, banking not the least amongst them.
Any banking chain might like... and many banking chains have unsubtly coveted ... this location, replete with its hordes of style-challenged Harvard students, the best and the brightest worldwide. It is one of the planet's signature locations.
However, thanks to the vision of James H. Clark this location and its bank remain resolutely community- centered, Cambridge-centered, service-centered. This is why a tribute is due to James H. Clark, not because he was president and chief executive officer of Cambridge Trust (1980-1991)... but that he used his power and position for maximum community service.
About Lewis H. Clark
First and foremost, he was a Cambridge man. Born in Boston (no one held that against him), he was brought up in Cambridge, went to Harvard College (class of 1947), and went to work at Cambridge Trust Company immediately following World War II service in the US Navy.
During his 45 years with the bank, he served in almost every job, each one being a stepping stone to the next... and each one giving him insight into why a community bank was infinitely preferable to a chain. It was a conviction that would be sorely tested during the go-go years when a cacophony of voices shouted that to get along Cambridge Trust must go along... as one bank merger followed another.
Clark was plain-spoken and adamant. According to retired senior vice president Robert DeGregorio, "He thought the best way to serve the community was to remain independent and not become part of a larger institution. He wanted to be able to control the product and service that was delivered to the community." Thus, small(er) was always better. Today Cambridge Trust has more than $1 billion in assets with 11 locations.
What makes Cambridge Trust special
Service
Service
Service.
I know whereof I speak.
For about 40 years now, I've been an enthusiastic customer at Cambridge Trust. Why? Because they are just so incredibly good at what they do and because other banks are, well, banks. Cambridge Trust understands what other banks mouth but never implement: that banking is first and foremost about people. I have exhaustive information about one of these community people and his particular banking needs. This person is -- me!
Item: one day I was toodling around Harvard Square when I told my chauffeur Aime Joseph that I needed to run an errand but had no money. He advised me to call one of the bank officers on the car phone and ask her to withdraw some funds from my checking account so I could just run in and get them.
But Cambridge Trust did better than that. They had, in minutes, the funds at the drive through window for me, no paperwork required. They knew me... and they helped, at once.
Nowadays I often send Mr. Joseph to the bank by himself after I've advised an officer on the phone about the funds I need. He picks them up without a signature and brings them to me... so that I don't have to break into my demanding work schedule. Cool.
Item: One wire after another to Europe sending funds for my burgeoning art and artifact collection.
I am an obsessive collector of European art and artifacts from the 17th-19th centuries. I required a bank equally obsessive about assisting me. Cambridge Trust does... often.
One way is by the very frequent wires they send to auction houses around Europe paying for my latest acquisitions. Over time it became apparent that the volume of wires (not to mention the amounts being wired) necessitated an individual system. Cambridge Trust, truly customer-centered, obliged.
As a result, I could handle everything on the telephone: authorizing the wire amount, faxing auction house paperwork, helping helpful officer Helen Van Nostrand create a system that met my highly particular needs, not least being able to provide those shipping my merchandise with a whole lot of detailed information required by both tax authorities and British and US customs officials.
Item: crystal glass ware
During my first visit to the Trust Department water was requested and duly arrived in... plastic cups. I made a point of mentioning to the senior officer that such glassware was infra dig and should be replaced by appropriate crystal glassware. At the next meeting, I was pleased to note that my water was served appropriately... in (practical) crystal.
Item: special help for a man who has never balanced his check book in his life.
There are many things in life that one really cannot ignore. You'd think that balancing one's checkbook would be one of them. But, as I have amply proven, you can, for decades, go without doing so... if you have observant, tolerant, frequently forgiving bank officers... like I do at Cambridge Trust. Such folk, always more friend than mere banker, with a nudge, a gentle reminder, and constant flow of information help me appear what I am frequently not: organized.
The banker as friend.
How many of you think of your bank and its many personnel as your friends? I do, because Cambridge Trust Company makes this plausible, likely, and eminently desirable. I have no reason to think the above-and-beyond service I regularly receive is unique; indeed, I know otherwise.
I am now greeted by name as the front door; every teller knows me (and the state of my credit reserve balance), officers and trust officers ask me intelligent questions about my latest acquisitions and are as regularly invited, along with the greenest teller, to come see.
Recognition to Lewis H. Clark and thanks for his vision.
Human institutions are often flawed and far from perfect. Even Cambridge Trust has matters that could be better; (how about at least one day a week when open until 6 pm, instead of just 5?). However, these matters are minor, microscopic in the big picture. And that is the picture that Lewis Clark, grounded, clear headed, a man who knew the value of predictability and conservative habits, kept in mind through decades of service. It was all about anchoring his bank firmly in the Cambridge community and operating accordingly.
Other banks, often to their detriment, merged into nothingness, divisions within divisions, loyal to nothing and no one, rootless. Lewis Clark kept his bank firmly and deeply planted in the community, which was always the focus of his perspicacious eye and cheerful manner.
So, today, I thank Lewis H. Clark for resisting the glib and trendy... for staying firmly where a bank's focus should always be: on a community and its people. For all could use a bank like his, and mine, Cambridge Trust. Now you know why.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
Friday, December 10, 2010
An appreciation of the life of Elizabeth Edwards, a great lady who unexpectedly touched our lives.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It wasn't supposed to end this way. John and Elizabeth Edwards had a plan.... and were entirely, happily focused on its achievement.
Having failed to achieve the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 (which didn't worry this effervescent pair one whit), their task was clear: persuade Massachusetts senator Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that they (for then they were always a couple) were what he needed for victory.
Then work relentlessly to move up.... a second vice presidential term in 2008.... then the heady joys of the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination... then, as they strode into their inaugural ball, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States and the First Lady, Elizabeth Edwards."
Theirs was more than a plan... it was a reality so clear and certain they could taste it.
In these days, Elizabeth Edwards did as she was told. Her task (unannounced of course) was nothing less than helping America swallow John Edwards, preparing the way for his all-but-certain coronation.
Even in the early days, America was cautious about Edwards... he was too handsome, too glib, that Southern golden boy smile flashing too often, too automatically. We might be persuaded to like him... but we didn't entirely like him yet.
Which was where Elizabeth Edwards came in. She we could identify with at once. Her smile was warm... her manner congenial, believable. People didn't know her then... but as they did, they liked her. While catty commentators purred that she looked like his mother, mothers everywhere thought: "if he could truly love this good woman of a few extra pounds, he was indeed a good man and worth a second look."
It was a winning formula.
But, it was threatened from its earliest days.
John Edwards, you see, had the wandering eye... and Elizabeth now had cancer. Fate, the master of irony, was not such an easy thing as they had supposed.
Now choices had to be made. Elizabeth needed constant treatment... John Edwards, in the time-tested behavior of men who did not stand by their gals, decided to give infidelity a whirl, with his own particular bedside manner. Why not? He was, after all, the golden boy... and Elizabeth would, he knew, stand by him whatever he did to her.
Bit by bit the facts came out. Had the senator had an affair?
No, he said, he had not. It was all a tissue of lies perpetrated by his political opponents.
Are you sure, senator? Well, okay, I erred but just (he was adamant) for one night and the child being hawked as his own was... someone else's. Not his, so help me God.
Are sure, senator? Well, okay, the affair was longer than I said... but, I swear, the child is not mine.
Are you sure, senator? Well, okay, it is my child, sure as shooting.
And what of Elizabeth Edwards? Struggling as she was with an illness getting more and more serious she had, at that exact moment, to confront the fact that her husband, the man she believed in, had lied to her and lied and lied again, always confident of the forgiveness that golden boys believe is theirs when their mates are plainer with extra pounds. There was here, as there always is, the whiff that she was lucky to have him, then flash that thousand-volt, always-winning smile, the one that makes friends and influences people.
This time it didn't work... for, in Elizabeth Edwards, America was already aware of what she had that was so deeply lacking in her unrelentingly cynical and prevaricating mate. She was real, genuine, authentic, a woman confronting the failure of her body and her mate with self-control, dignity, and honesty. Thus, John Edwards learned the hard way that you cannot cheat on the woman you have lied to when that woman is in the process of becoming a saint.
In her last Facebook session, Elizabeth Edwards said a graceful good-bye to her many friends worldwide, people whose lives her authentic behavior and courage had inspired:
"I have been sustained throughout my life," she wrote "by three saving graces -- my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."
Thus, simply, Elizabeth Edwards ended a life of events spectacular and heart-rending. At the end, she was no longer defined as John Edward's wife, the designated junior partner. She had long ago surpassed him in importance and stature. It was she America looked to for inspiration, kindness and care.
Scourged by the tragic death of her beloved first-born son, by the blatant betrayal of her mate, and by insistent, weakening health crises, Elizabeth Edwards showed us all how to grow while confronting issues which cripple and demoralize so many. In private, she no doubt gave way to doubt, pain, and that sickening feeling when one confronts the loss of life and love. But whatever her private demons, publicly Elizabeth Edwards moved towards her destiny with a manner invariably gracious and an unshakable message of inspiration and joy.
Thus, at her deathbed, there was the feeling that a great lady was passing. Thousands worldwide stopped to inquire how she was... and to wonder at her unfailing generosity even at this penultimate moment.
And what of John Edwards, now separated from the woman he had spurned and lied to? "A family friend said John Edwards was present." Did he flash his mega-watt smile, that now seemed so contrived? Did he whisper death-bed condolences to the woman he had insulted and who knew just what any of his words were worth?
I think in the end, seeing for him a long life without any of his dreams achieved... or even an ability to dream at all; I think she smiled at him, knowing all, forgiving much, and held his hand for a moment, ready for an eternity she did not fear.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
It wasn't supposed to end this way. John and Elizabeth Edwards had a plan.... and were entirely, happily focused on its achievement.
Having failed to achieve the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 (which didn't worry this effervescent pair one whit), their task was clear: persuade Massachusetts senator Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that they (for then they were always a couple) were what he needed for victory.
Then work relentlessly to move up.... a second vice presidential term in 2008.... then the heady joys of the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination... then, as they strode into their inaugural ball, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States and the First Lady, Elizabeth Edwards."
Theirs was more than a plan... it was a reality so clear and certain they could taste it.
In these days, Elizabeth Edwards did as she was told. Her task (unannounced of course) was nothing less than helping America swallow John Edwards, preparing the way for his all-but-certain coronation.
Even in the early days, America was cautious about Edwards... he was too handsome, too glib, that Southern golden boy smile flashing too often, too automatically. We might be persuaded to like him... but we didn't entirely like him yet.
Which was where Elizabeth Edwards came in. She we could identify with at once. Her smile was warm... her manner congenial, believable. People didn't know her then... but as they did, they liked her. While catty commentators purred that she looked like his mother, mothers everywhere thought: "if he could truly love this good woman of a few extra pounds, he was indeed a good man and worth a second look."
It was a winning formula.
But, it was threatened from its earliest days.
John Edwards, you see, had the wandering eye... and Elizabeth now had cancer. Fate, the master of irony, was not such an easy thing as they had supposed.
Now choices had to be made. Elizabeth needed constant treatment... John Edwards, in the time-tested behavior of men who did not stand by their gals, decided to give infidelity a whirl, with his own particular bedside manner. Why not? He was, after all, the golden boy... and Elizabeth would, he knew, stand by him whatever he did to her.
Bit by bit the facts came out. Had the senator had an affair?
No, he said, he had not. It was all a tissue of lies perpetrated by his political opponents.
Are you sure, senator? Well, okay, I erred but just (he was adamant) for one night and the child being hawked as his own was... someone else's. Not his, so help me God.
Are sure, senator? Well, okay, the affair was longer than I said... but, I swear, the child is not mine.
Are you sure, senator? Well, okay, it is my child, sure as shooting.
And what of Elizabeth Edwards? Struggling as she was with an illness getting more and more serious she had, at that exact moment, to confront the fact that her husband, the man she believed in, had lied to her and lied and lied again, always confident of the forgiveness that golden boys believe is theirs when their mates are plainer with extra pounds. There was here, as there always is, the whiff that she was lucky to have him, then flash that thousand-volt, always-winning smile, the one that makes friends and influences people.
This time it didn't work... for, in Elizabeth Edwards, America was already aware of what she had that was so deeply lacking in her unrelentingly cynical and prevaricating mate. She was real, genuine, authentic, a woman confronting the failure of her body and her mate with self-control, dignity, and honesty. Thus, John Edwards learned the hard way that you cannot cheat on the woman you have lied to when that woman is in the process of becoming a saint.
In her last Facebook session, Elizabeth Edwards said a graceful good-bye to her many friends worldwide, people whose lives her authentic behavior and courage had inspired:
"I have been sustained throughout my life," she wrote "by three saving graces -- my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."
Thus, simply, Elizabeth Edwards ended a life of events spectacular and heart-rending. At the end, she was no longer defined as John Edward's wife, the designated junior partner. She had long ago surpassed him in importance and stature. It was she America looked to for inspiration, kindness and care.
Scourged by the tragic death of her beloved first-born son, by the blatant betrayal of her mate, and by insistent, weakening health crises, Elizabeth Edwards showed us all how to grow while confronting issues which cripple and demoralize so many. In private, she no doubt gave way to doubt, pain, and that sickening feeling when one confronts the loss of life and love. But whatever her private demons, publicly Elizabeth Edwards moved towards her destiny with a manner invariably gracious and an unshakable message of inspiration and joy.
Thus, at her deathbed, there was the feeling that a great lady was passing. Thousands worldwide stopped to inquire how she was... and to wonder at her unfailing generosity even at this penultimate moment.
And what of John Edwards, now separated from the woman he had spurned and lied to? "A family friend said John Edwards was present." Did he flash his mega-watt smile, that now seemed so contrived? Did he whisper death-bed condolences to the woman he had insulted and who knew just what any of his words were worth?
I think in the end, seeing for him a long life without any of his dreams achieved... or even an ability to dream at all; I think she smiled at him, knowing all, forgiving much, and held his hand for a moment, ready for an eternity she did not fear.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
How to keep Christmas well in your heart throughout the year
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
"and it was always said of Ebenezer Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
The words, of course, are from Charles Dickens' masterful "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843, a present the world gratefully rediscovers each and every year. They remind us that Christmas, to be Christmas, must be about magic and memories, remembering both those who are with us and (especially) those who are not.. Christmas this year, as every year, began for me by unpacking my little electrified tree. It is battered now and bears its many bruises proudly if carefully.
All at once, I give way to memories insistent, vivid, one tumbling over another. The box opens and recollections of one year of my life after another pour out. First, I remember the day my grandmother gave me this marvelous present and how she solemnly told me to take good care of it, as she had done.
I agreed to do so, little knowing the significance or the power of what I promised. Now I know, for this year I am older than she was when she gave it to me... and I now ponder who, in due course, I must present this tree to and who will keep the faith of generations with me. You see, I have arrived at the stage of life when Christmas is far more about who I shall give to... rather than who will give to me.
It cheers
My little tree (circa 1935), just 16 inches tall, literally bubbles with colorful cheer. It is called a bubbler because its bulbs not only light up and glow... but one after another they bubble, except (some days) the one at the very top which, eccentrically,often fails to bubble at all. Moreover, when one bulb goes out.... they all go out which means a patient review of all. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. Age means appreciating even flaws, for they, too, are a part of the whole.
Because I am an historian and like many such have a tendency to collect and keep for a lifetime, I have been designated by my extended family as the "keeper", the one it is safe to leave with the mementoes we all agree are important, but which no one but me wants to take care of. Once the bubbler tree is set up, other boxes must be opened... and they can only be opened when there is sufficient time to pause, remember, reflect, and again and again be seized by their heart-tugging memories. One cannot rush this process for the memories will not be denied. They are forever bittersweet... featuring as they do those loved and gone before. Yes, one must have sufficient time for them for the memories that cascade at this time of the year are always vivid, poignant, rich... with new meanings that come as I age.
I smile, for instance, at a styrofoam bell given to me (as to all class members) by Mrs. Eigenbraugh, my third grade teacher. This ornament, a liberty bell, features my teacher in a stately formal pose. She looks at me as the dedicated prairie teacher she was. The autograph reads simply "Mrs. Eigenbraugh, 1955."
I am older now than Mrs. Eigenbraugh was then... and I clearly see her at her desk dutifully, carefully signing each gift in her copperplate hand. She no doubt paid for these herself... and gave them as a small memento of her and the season... little thinking that I, a half century later, should be so moved at her gift... or her conscientious generosity. Do teachers give as much today?
Just one left
I was born in 1947 to young parents who had, in those post war years, few dollars and sky-high aspirations, with days and energy to spare. Like everyone else in the neighborhood they had a young child, part of that baby boomer wave. For him, they bought a box of colored glass ornaments which I broke one by one by getting in my petal powered red car, pushing it backwards across the living room... then running car into Christmas tree... full speed ahead. No one seemed to mind. We were young, and we all had time and youth to spend without care.
Now I hold that glass ball in my hand, of faded purple hue. It, along with my father and I, are the survivors of this tale. And now this glass ornament, once so little valued that we all laughed every time I, with my running feet and determined glint, scored a direct hit... now this glass, I say, is precious and deeply valued as a memento of youth, both my parents and my own, and of the beautiful dark-haired woman whose carefree laughter and love are as clear in this ornament as if it were a crystal ball. She told me to take good care of this for there could never be another... I have and I will. And in time I shall ask of another what she asked of me: to remember.... and to take good care. For I am entitled to that as well., having well and truly kept the promise.
Remember and reconnect
Each year about this time, I set out to reconnect with someone from my past with whom I have lost touch, the way one does. Sometimes I succeed in this task; sometimes I don't. When I do... I make a point of writing them a memorable letter... about how important they are to me... and how well and what I remember. Such letters in a lifetime are rare to write and rarer still to receive. I am pleased to say they always stimulate a similar letter in response. That letter is always amongst my best Christmas presents. As such I place it carefully among my other treasured gifts and mementos and savor them as, each year, I take them out and let memory hold sway. Thus, with the help of my dearly beloved, I keep Christmas in my heart all year long, like the better, reformed, wiser Ebenezer Scrooge.
And so I say to you: God bless us everyone and every loving memory of yore. They make us what we are and remind us, lovingly, of where we have been and the people who have helped us along the way in so very many ways.
Merry Christmas!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Fr. Lant is a well known speaker, consultant and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
"and it was always said of Ebenezer Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
The words, of course, are from Charles Dickens' masterful "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843, a present the world gratefully rediscovers each and every year. They remind us that Christmas, to be Christmas, must be about magic and memories, remembering both those who are with us and (especially) those who are not.. Christmas this year, as every year, began for me by unpacking my little electrified tree. It is battered now and bears its many bruises proudly if carefully.
All at once, I give way to memories insistent, vivid, one tumbling over another. The box opens and recollections of one year of my life after another pour out. First, I remember the day my grandmother gave me this marvelous present and how she solemnly told me to take good care of it, as she had done.
I agreed to do so, little knowing the significance or the power of what I promised. Now I know, for this year I am older than she was when she gave it to me... and I now ponder who, in due course, I must present this tree to and who will keep the faith of generations with me. You see, I have arrived at the stage of life when Christmas is far more about who I shall give to... rather than who will give to me.
It cheers
My little tree (circa 1935), just 16 inches tall, literally bubbles with colorful cheer. It is called a bubbler because its bulbs not only light up and glow... but one after another they bubble, except (some days) the one at the very top which, eccentrically,often fails to bubble at all. Moreover, when one bulb goes out.... they all go out which means a patient review of all. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. Age means appreciating even flaws, for they, too, are a part of the whole.
Because I am an historian and like many such have a tendency to collect and keep for a lifetime, I have been designated by my extended family as the "keeper", the one it is safe to leave with the mementoes we all agree are important, but which no one but me wants to take care of. Once the bubbler tree is set up, other boxes must be opened... and they can only be opened when there is sufficient time to pause, remember, reflect, and again and again be seized by their heart-tugging memories. One cannot rush this process for the memories will not be denied. They are forever bittersweet... featuring as they do those loved and gone before. Yes, one must have sufficient time for them for the memories that cascade at this time of the year are always vivid, poignant, rich... with new meanings that come as I age.
I smile, for instance, at a styrofoam bell given to me (as to all class members) by Mrs. Eigenbraugh, my third grade teacher. This ornament, a liberty bell, features my teacher in a stately formal pose. She looks at me as the dedicated prairie teacher she was. The autograph reads simply "Mrs. Eigenbraugh, 1955."
I am older now than Mrs. Eigenbraugh was then... and I clearly see her at her desk dutifully, carefully signing each gift in her copperplate hand. She no doubt paid for these herself... and gave them as a small memento of her and the season... little thinking that I, a half century later, should be so moved at her gift... or her conscientious generosity. Do teachers give as much today?
Just one left
I was born in 1947 to young parents who had, in those post war years, few dollars and sky-high aspirations, with days and energy to spare. Like everyone else in the neighborhood they had a young child, part of that baby boomer wave. For him, they bought a box of colored glass ornaments which I broke one by one by getting in my petal powered red car, pushing it backwards across the living room... then running car into Christmas tree... full speed ahead. No one seemed to mind. We were young, and we all had time and youth to spend without care.
Now I hold that glass ball in my hand, of faded purple hue. It, along with my father and I, are the survivors of this tale. And now this glass ornament, once so little valued that we all laughed every time I, with my running feet and determined glint, scored a direct hit... now this glass, I say, is precious and deeply valued as a memento of youth, both my parents and my own, and of the beautiful dark-haired woman whose carefree laughter and love are as clear in this ornament as if it were a crystal ball. She told me to take good care of this for there could never be another... I have and I will. And in time I shall ask of another what she asked of me: to remember.... and to take good care. For I am entitled to that as well., having well and truly kept the promise.
Remember and reconnect
Each year about this time, I set out to reconnect with someone from my past with whom I have lost touch, the way one does. Sometimes I succeed in this task; sometimes I don't. When I do... I make a point of writing them a memorable letter... about how important they are to me... and how well and what I remember. Such letters in a lifetime are rare to write and rarer still to receive. I am pleased to say they always stimulate a similar letter in response. That letter is always amongst my best Christmas presents. As such I place it carefully among my other treasured gifts and mementos and savor them as, each year, I take them out and let memory hold sway. Thus, with the help of my dearly beloved, I keep Christmas in my heart all year long, like the better, reformed, wiser Ebenezer Scrooge.
And so I say to you: God bless us everyone and every loving memory of yore. They make us what we are and remind us, lovingly, of where we have been and the people who have helped us along the way in so very many ways.
Merry Christmas!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Fr. Lant is a well known speaker, consultant and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
How to prepare for your dreaded class reunion
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Ok, it's time you acknowledged that inconvenient truth you've buried for so long. In high school, in college you were not the most popular kid on the block. And it hurt.
That acne!
That hideous hair!
Those clothes! Yikes!
And the nickname! (One of my room mates was called "The Worm" and for good reason).
The elect called you
dweeb
nerd
loser
They called you everything but on the telephone where the in-crowd disseminated the latest designed-to-exclude patois and invitations to its (unauthorized and therefore highly desirable) parties.
It is not a pretty story.
Still time for damage control
You can't erase those grotesque memories of yore (and your own psychological damages)... but you can significantly modify them IF (and it's a crucial if) you ace your class reunion(s). This primer of must-follow advice is just in the nick of time to do so. Kool.
You see, class reunions give you the opportunity to put unsettling ghosts to rest. They both help reshape your personal history while updating you on the have-to-know histories of your classmates, particularly the ones you didn't like.
The 18th century sage Voltaire wrote that "history is a pack of tricks the living play on the dead." If he'd had class reunions to attend, he might have added that such events are occasions where the olds play tricks on the young. As such, it's most important to play your reunions absolutely right.
It's still about looks, stupid!
Wise, empathetic teachers soothed you with the profound knowledge that when you got older, you'd be valued for who you were, for your many attainments and gifts to civilization; that it wouldn't be all be about looks and clothes and such superficial matters. Rubbish!
In writing this article, I asked several reunion survivors what points they'd like me to make. The first, a sensible Midwestern woman of a certain age, blurted out "weight"; she was immediately followed by another such woman, Canadian, who chimed in with "clothes."
These two items headed the most-agonized-over items in high school... and they still head the list, at least as class reunions go, today. Those soothing lines expertly delivered were just that... soothing lines. The inconvenient truth, irrefutable, is what we always knew: the superficials count as much as ever, maybe even more as time's winged chariot runs over and pulverizes our much prized little vanities.
Work it, baby, or it's not just the eyes of Texas which are upon you
Remember that great ball screen from "War and Peace" where the young countess Natasha Rostova ascends the grand staircase of a St Petersburg palace, certain that every jaundiced, aristocratic eye, particularly of the feminine persuasion, is looking at her, critically assessing? She was right...
This is a truth you cannot forget. Reunions are about assessments raised and lowered. They are about who made it... and who didn't. As such everything about you (and your dearly beloved) can and will be scrutinized and scrutinized again. Prepare accordingly, weeks in advance because the assessments your classmates will make start the very instant you appear. They are inevitable, withering, without mercy or chance of appeal. This is true whether your reunion is stylish and sophisticated, in an opulent hotel's grand ballroom... or at Billy's greasy pizza parlor.
To make the right entrance and start your reunion experience off right, the following features are de rigueur:
1) Weight. Every extra pound (the ones your careful spouse dances around denominating) detracts from the effect you must make. The Duchess of Windsor said, "No one can be too rich or too thin," and her grace ought to know. The weight loss and toning program produces far more than health benefits; it's all about making the killer entrance that the high school in crowd always had down pat.
2) Clothes. The effect you seek, whether man or woman, is unmistakable, immediately visible, always impacting casual chic; that is, clothes classically cut, elegant even when older and even worn. It takes a trained eye to produce the effect... but any eye can see it's there.
My mother, for instance, had a classic little black dress. One day I noticed a tiny moth hole. My mother's resounding response, "But, darling, it's Chanel!". Ah, yes. Of course. That's the perfect effect your ensemble should produce.
One 20-year reunion veteran claimed he didn't understand why the women made such an effort. Then, upon a moment's thought, he had that "aha" moment: "I bet they want to impress all the men!" My, my. Can't pull the wool over his eyes. So, tell me, do you think that's what those indomitable femme fatales are doing as they strut their stuff before the censorious and unyielding eyes of their sex? Every reunion veteran certainly knows.
3) Mandatory, chauffeur-driven limousine. This has many advantages: 1) designated driver already in place; 2) definitely come ups those peons who drive themselves; 3) causes all the necessary heads to turn... and wonder how you (of all people) turned out so well after all. Enough said.
By the way, should you need such a driver and equipage when in the Boston, Massachusetts area, contact me, and I'l refer Mr. Aime Joseph, who has driven me elegantly and always on time for many years.
Quick Reunion Tips
Item: Always come fashionably late. Act as if you are the person people wait for.
Item: Always have business cards. Writing particulars indistinctly on napkins is infra dig.
Item: Don't dance unless it's a tune you can fox trot to with elegant figures. Disarranging your clothes and coiffeur is indefensible, and unnecessary.
Item: Don't drink. As you can tell from this article, you need your wits about you. Don't let the sauce spoil all your plans.
Item: do take pictures. And do remember to write down at the time they are taken (not developed) just who's in them. If you don't, in time you'll forget and fail to note even your first high octane high school flame.
One more thing
If you intend that this reunion be your last, feel free to disregard any or all of these rules. Just go and have a helluva good time, always remembering that when you do you'll confirm every catty thing your classmates have ever said. Party hardy, however, with the people you care about and have reconnected with, and it will be worth it.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books as well as a well known marketer and consultant.
Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
Ok, it's time you acknowledged that inconvenient truth you've buried for so long. In high school, in college you were not the most popular kid on the block. And it hurt.
That acne!
That hideous hair!
Those clothes! Yikes!
And the nickname! (One of my room mates was called "The Worm" and for good reason).
The elect called you
dweeb
nerd
loser
They called you everything but on the telephone where the in-crowd disseminated the latest designed-to-exclude patois and invitations to its (unauthorized and therefore highly desirable) parties.
It is not a pretty story.
Still time for damage control
You can't erase those grotesque memories of yore (and your own psychological damages)... but you can significantly modify them IF (and it's a crucial if) you ace your class reunion(s). This primer of must-follow advice is just in the nick of time to do so. Kool.
You see, class reunions give you the opportunity to put unsettling ghosts to rest. They both help reshape your personal history while updating you on the have-to-know histories of your classmates, particularly the ones you didn't like.
The 18th century sage Voltaire wrote that "history is a pack of tricks the living play on the dead." If he'd had class reunions to attend, he might have added that such events are occasions where the olds play tricks on the young. As such, it's most important to play your reunions absolutely right.
It's still about looks, stupid!
Wise, empathetic teachers soothed you with the profound knowledge that when you got older, you'd be valued for who you were, for your many attainments and gifts to civilization; that it wouldn't be all be about looks and clothes and such superficial matters. Rubbish!
In writing this article, I asked several reunion survivors what points they'd like me to make. The first, a sensible Midwestern woman of a certain age, blurted out "weight"; she was immediately followed by another such woman, Canadian, who chimed in with "clothes."
These two items headed the most-agonized-over items in high school... and they still head the list, at least as class reunions go, today. Those soothing lines expertly delivered were just that... soothing lines. The inconvenient truth, irrefutable, is what we always knew: the superficials count as much as ever, maybe even more as time's winged chariot runs over and pulverizes our much prized little vanities.
Work it, baby, or it's not just the eyes of Texas which are upon you
Remember that great ball screen from "War and Peace" where the young countess Natasha Rostova ascends the grand staircase of a St Petersburg palace, certain that every jaundiced, aristocratic eye, particularly of the feminine persuasion, is looking at her, critically assessing? She was right...
This is a truth you cannot forget. Reunions are about assessments raised and lowered. They are about who made it... and who didn't. As such everything about you (and your dearly beloved) can and will be scrutinized and scrutinized again. Prepare accordingly, weeks in advance because the assessments your classmates will make start the very instant you appear. They are inevitable, withering, without mercy or chance of appeal. This is true whether your reunion is stylish and sophisticated, in an opulent hotel's grand ballroom... or at Billy's greasy pizza parlor.
To make the right entrance and start your reunion experience off right, the following features are de rigueur:
1) Weight. Every extra pound (the ones your careful spouse dances around denominating) detracts from the effect you must make. The Duchess of Windsor said, "No one can be too rich or too thin," and her grace ought to know. The weight loss and toning program produces far more than health benefits; it's all about making the killer entrance that the high school in crowd always had down pat.
2) Clothes. The effect you seek, whether man or woman, is unmistakable, immediately visible, always impacting casual chic; that is, clothes classically cut, elegant even when older and even worn. It takes a trained eye to produce the effect... but any eye can see it's there.
My mother, for instance, had a classic little black dress. One day I noticed a tiny moth hole. My mother's resounding response, "But, darling, it's Chanel!". Ah, yes. Of course. That's the perfect effect your ensemble should produce.
One 20-year reunion veteran claimed he didn't understand why the women made such an effort. Then, upon a moment's thought, he had that "aha" moment: "I bet they want to impress all the men!" My, my. Can't pull the wool over his eyes. So, tell me, do you think that's what those indomitable femme fatales are doing as they strut their stuff before the censorious and unyielding eyes of their sex? Every reunion veteran certainly knows.
3) Mandatory, chauffeur-driven limousine. This has many advantages: 1) designated driver already in place; 2) definitely come ups those peons who drive themselves; 3) causes all the necessary heads to turn... and wonder how you (of all people) turned out so well after all. Enough said.
By the way, should you need such a driver and equipage when in the Boston, Massachusetts area, contact me, and I'l refer Mr. Aime Joseph, who has driven me elegantly and always on time for many years.
Quick Reunion Tips
Item: Always come fashionably late. Act as if you are the person people wait for.
Item: Always have business cards. Writing particulars indistinctly on napkins is infra dig.
Item: Don't dance unless it's a tune you can fox trot to with elegant figures. Disarranging your clothes and coiffeur is indefensible, and unnecessary.
Item: Don't drink. As you can tell from this article, you need your wits about you. Don't let the sauce spoil all your plans.
Item: do take pictures. And do remember to write down at the time they are taken (not developed) just who's in them. If you don't, in time you'll forget and fail to note even your first high octane high school flame.
One more thing
If you intend that this reunion be your last, feel free to disregard any or all of these rules. Just go and have a helluva good time, always remembering that when you do you'll confirm every catty thing your classmates have ever said. Party hardy, however, with the people you care about and have reconnected with, and it will be worth it.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling business books as well as a well known marketer and consultant.
Republished with author's permission by Ray Wisniewski http://cashgrowthunlimited.com/.
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