The Mark of a Good Manager

It fascinates me
Observing how
Different managers
Handle problems
Whenever they occur.
A good manager
Doesn't waste time
Trying to find
Someone to blame
When things go wrong.
He or she is too busy
Solving the problem.
The incompetent one
Is more interested
In finding a scapegoat
Rather than accepting
Responsibility for
The solution.
A good manager
Doesn't give
And doesn't accept excuses.
All a competent manager
Wants to hear is that
The problem is solved.

Reflections of Language

Who you are,
Your education level,
And the kind of people
You associate with
Are all reflected
In the language you use.
It doesn't matter
What country,
Or what part of the country
You come from,
Or what language
You happen to speak,
Educated people tend to have
A much wider range
Of words they use
On a daily basis.
I have heard various numbers
Bantered about,
But let's say that out of
Roughly one million words
In the English language,
A high school dropout
Might use roughly 1500 words
In normal speech,
A college graduate,
Possibly as many as
Ten to fifteen thousand,
A writer or a poet,
Typically as many as
25,000 to 150,000 words.
You should also be
Aware of the pitfalls
Of repeating the same words
Over and over again,
Especially if those words
Are impolite or off color.
They add nothing
To your communication,
And subtract from
Your standing
In the ears of
The listener.
You should also avoid
Punctuating your sentences
With meaningless utterances
Such as "ahs" and "you knows"
Which certainly don't add to
Clarity of communication.
When learning a new language,
Be aware of who
You are learning from,
For you can easily pick up
Words and phrases
Which reflect badly
On your class
Or level of education,
Your language is a mirror
Reflecting who you really are.

A Man of Two Minds

There have been
Many times in my life
That I have wrestled
With a set of problems
That seemed insolvable,
Only to go to bed
And wake up in the morning
With a solution in hand.
I have come to consider
It a fact that
My subconscious mind
Is quite a bit more
Powerful than
My conscious mind,
And can often
Figure things out
That I can't solve
When I am awake.
I have learned to trust
My subconscious mind
Whenever I have
A difficult problem
Or when I have to make
A major decision,
And can't decide
What I should do.
Maybe it is just that
I have learned
Not to trust
My conscious mind.
Most, if not all,
Of the mistakes
I think I have made,
Have been made
While I was awake.
In fact, I can't remember
A single mistake
I made while sleeping.

The Best You Can

As a parent,
You simply do
The best you can
Raising your children.
There is no guidebook
That tells you
Exactly what
You should do when.
You have to
Figure that out
As you go along.
You are only human.
You will make
A mistake or two
As you stumble
Bumble along,
And you just hope
And pray
That it all works out
Because of you,
As well as
In spite of you.
As your children grow
And take on
Lives and attitudes
Of their own,
Try not to haunt yourself
In retrospect
Of the things
You didn't do
When you had a chance.
Whether or not
Your children turn out
Good or bad,
You set the best example
You could
Knowing what you knew then.
Sometimes
You might confidently think
You taught them well,
But only time will tell .
Eventually each child
Will choose his or her
Own path
Largely independent of you,
And as always,
You hope for the best.
Sometimes
An older child
Will try to blame you
For what they judge
You did wrong
When they were
Growing up.
What was done was done.
You did the best
You could,
And until they realize
And accept that fact,
They will never
Really grow up!
Sometimes
Your children will do
Astounding things,
And you will feel
Rightfully proud,
And sometimes
They will do
Terrible things,
And you will
Feel deeply ashamed
And question
Everything you did
Raising them,
Trying to figure out
What went wrong.
Either way,
Passing blame
Helps neither you nor them.
Ultimately,
You can't take
Full credit for
Their successes
Any more than
You can take full credit
Their failures.

The Parenting of Personalities

No two children
Are exactly alike,
Probably not even
Identical twins.
Parents need to adjust
Their parenting style
To what works with
Each particular child.
What works with one
Might not work
With the other,
For each child
Is motivated
By different things.
Each will have
His or her own
Unique way of seeing
And doing things.
As a parent,
There is no guidebook
That tells you how
To compensate
For differences
In personalities
Between your children.
Just as your children
Learn to recognize
And take advantage of
The differences
In personalities
Between you
And your spouse,
You must do the same
With them.

Regrets

Regrets, I have to admit
I have had a few,
For I have done
A lot of crazy things,
And made my share
Of foolish blunders.
In retrospect,
I can see a multitude
Of mistakes I made,
Things I should have done
Or would have done
If I had only known,
But what is done is done
And I must move on.
At times I must swallow
My burdensome pride,
And ask those close to me
To forgive me
For those things I’ve done,
But inevitably
The one who must
Forgive the most
Is simply me,
For I know
I could have done better,
And each time
I feel those pangs of sorrow,
I vow it will be different
If and when I get
Another chance.

Rejoicing at the Questions

Last night I saw a program
On the science channel
Summarizing the latest theories
On the nature of the universe
And the laws that govern
Its makeup and actions.
There were theorists
And mathematicians
From major universities
Postulating ideas
On how quantum mechanics
And the Theory of Relativity
Developed by Albert Einstein
Can be united into
A single unifying theory.
Quantum mechanics
Appears to apply to
Very small particles
And relativity applies
To very large bodies,
But the two theories
Break down
And seem mutually incompatible
When dealing with
What is happening inside
Black holes.
Some of the greatest minds
In the world
Are playing with this problem
And trying to
Theorize possible solutions.
One of the major
Theorists featured
Was a certified beach bum
Who spends most of his time
Surfing the waves of Hawaii
When he isn't wrapping his mind
Around complex formulations
And higher mathematics.
I can just imagine him
Catching a major wave
While toying with
The next evolution in
Mathematical logic.
At a time when
Much of the world
Seems absorbed in
The unworkability
Of our planet,
I found myself
Fascinated with the discussions,
And I rejoiced
In the knowledge
That there are people
Grappling with ideas
Few of us comprehend
Or even bother thinking about.
I was reminded
Just how mysteriously beautiful
And utterly complex
The world we live in
Really is.

Cementing a Dream

I remember a long time ago
Hearing about Charles Goddard,
The famous rocket scientist,
How when he was very young,
He wrote a list down of all
The things he wanted
To accomplish in his life.
Some of them were fairly simple
Like milking a rattle snake,
But others were quite imaginative,
And impossible to achieve
At the time he wrote them down,
Ideas like traveling in space,
Or going to the moon.
The list was found later in his life
And he realized that he
Had accomplished almost everything
He had listed and then some.
He had traveled to nearly every
Country in the world.
He had sailed the seven seas.
He had been responsible
For getting men into outer space
And to the moon.
He had become one of the most
Accomplished men in history.
All of that was largely the result of
His having cemented his dreams
By writing them down,
And then going out and living them.

My Reason for Being

It’s the question
I have asked myself
A thousand times
And maybe more,
What is my purpose
In being here,
What am I
Supposed to do?
I have always assumed
There was a reason
For everything
I had to go through,
That the any mistakes
I say I made,
Had to be made,
For there was always
A lesson to learn,
Or some insight to be gained.
Did I have to take
Such a circuitous route
To get where I am,
Or was it simply
The only path for me,
Given what I didn’t know?
I stumbled or tripped
Any number of times,
But each time I got up again,
And continued on the road.
I was never sure
If the path I took
Was the only one for me.
I could have gone
A million different ways
Then the way I went,
And I will never really know
Where any of the other
Paths might have led,
Except that my life probably
Would have turned out
Completely different.
Was some destiny
Predetermined for me,
And have I already
Fulfilled that destiny,
Or is my true purpose
Yet to come?
I think to the day I die,
I will always speculate
On why I am here,
And whether or not
The path I took
Was really right for me.

Mental Playtime

One of the many lessons
Life has to teach us
Is the art of using
Our time wisely.
None of us can claim
We are 100% efficient,
Or that we use our time
Being fully productively,
In fact, we are far from it.
We may try
Not to waste time,
But all to often,
We catch ourselves drifting off,
Loosing focus,
Disconnecting from
What we are doing.
Or just spinning our wheels
Lost in never-never land.
Most of us spend
Much more time
Then we care to admit
Simply daydreaming,
Our minds entertaining
Themselves and us
With wild imaginings
Seldom based on reality.
We may flip our computers on
And start playing solitaire
Instead of being productive,
Or we may be driving
And momentarily lose track
Of where we are
And what we are doing.
It happens to all of us.
While it is important
To pay attention to
What we are doing,
We must learn to accept
The need for a certain amount of
Mental playtime
In our daily routine.
The difficulty we frequently face
Is keeping our mental recreation
Within bounds
So that we actually accomplish
Something during our day.
Somewhere in life,
Most of us come up
With a balance of work and play
That allows us to get by
Without being too hard on ourselves
For the time we waste.

As a Teacher

Occasional in the course
Of our lives
We will have the opportunity
To be instrumental
In life of another person,
To be the pivotal point
At which a major decision
Is made by them
On which direction
They choose in life.
Sometimes we can be
Their inspiration,
Sometimes we can be
Their mentor,
Or sometimes we just
Happen to be
In the right place,
At the right time
With the right person,
And we read
The barometer of their passion,
And simply tell them
“Yes” You can do that.
We are in position
To see the future
Long before it unfolds,
And we merely tell them
What we see,
But in the telling,
The future is set.
This is an everyday possibility
In the life of a teacher,
And I think this is what
Every great teacher lives for.

Passion

I think happiness is
A measure of the passion
We have in our lives.
I have noticed that the
Happiest people I meet
Are always the ones
Who have something
They love to do,
And are doing it,
Or a least they are
Studying to do it,
And they are so close,
They can virtually taste it!
Sometimes we can
Find ourselves in a position
Where our job
Is clearly not our passion,
But we can still be happy
If we have something else
We love to do.
Maybe we love to travel,
And each chance we get,
We escape our job,
And go to some place new.
We can endure almost anything
If we know that we will
Get to pursue our passion
In a little while.
Maybe the love of our life is music,
And each night
We get together with
Other musicians
To play and practice,
None of which occurs as work.
It is our life’s blood,
Our reason for being.
Life responds to passion,
Magically becoming
Brighter and more colorful
Under its influence.
Perhaps genius
Is nothing more than
Unbridled passion,
And if so, then
The possibility of being a genius
Lies within each of us.
All we need to do is to discover
And pursue our passion.
We may not know where
That passion will take us,
But we will surely enjoy the ride
While it gets us there.

The Comedian Principle

One thing I learned
A long time ago
Is that I can’t tease people
I don’t like,
And the more I like them,
The more fun I will have
Teasing them.
Anytime I try to tease
Someone whom I don’t
Like or respect,
It comes across as ugly
And disrespectful,
And there is no justification
For acting that way
Towards anybody.
If I don’t like somebody
For whatever reason,
I just stay away from them
Or ignore them altogether.
I imagine any good comedian
Would tell me
That I must
Love my audience
Or my performance
Is doomed from the start.
Whether I am on stage
Or simply joking with a friend,
The Comedian Principle applies.

The Photographic Filter

The art of photography
Is developing your eye
For seeing the available picture.
You could have
The best camera in the world,
But if you don’t know
Where to point it,
Or are not intrigued
By what you are looking at
Your photography will be flat
And unappealing.
Photography is an act of love,
An expression of passion,
Or nothing at all.
If you are not fascinated with the world
Don’t even bother trying
To capture a picture worth taking.
The camera only reflects
The mental filter through which
You see the world.

The Noise Inside My Head

That mischievous little voice
Inside my head,
The pessimist within,
Warns of impending danger,
Sounds doubt at every turn,
Is critical of what was,
Questions what is
And second guesses
Every decision ever made.

It is all wrapped up
In the struggle to survive,
Convinced that life is hard,
Full of pain and sorrow,
Suffering and despair,
That evil lurks
Around every corner
And screams out
That it shouldn’t be this way.

It is constantly
Judging and comparing,
Trying to keep up
With the Jones’s,
Telling me that
I am not good enough,
That I should have,
Could have or would have
Done better if only…!

The voice tells me to avoid risk,
To play safe or not at all,
To settle for average,
Some mediocre standard
That is good enough to get by,
To avoid responsibility,
To stay in my comfort zone
To not even try
For fear that I might fail.

It tries to keep me indecisive
Or confused
As it entertains fear
In all its mischievous forms,
Betting that something is wrong,
Looking every gift horse
In the mouth,
Waiting, waiting
For the other shoe to drop.

It tries to make me think
That I should pretend
To know it all,
That I should be someone else
Than who I am,
That vulnerability is a sin,
That it is better to hide
So that nobody knows
Who I really am.

It constantly complains
Saying it is overwhelmed,
That there is too much to do
And no time to do it
That now is not the right time,
That tomorrow would be better,
That it doesn’t feel like doing it,
Doesn’t want to do it,
Or wants to do something else instead.

It challenges me to look good
No matter what,
To feign self confidence
Where there is none,
To hide my insecurity,
To cast blame
Or make excuses
Whenever things
Don’t quite turn out.

It is the self-proclaimed
Master of my limitations,
Telling me how far I can go
How much I can do,
When to give in
Or when to give up,
Telling me to take it easy,
Not to try too hard,
To give up on my dreams.

The voice is also vicious
In its attacks on me,
Calling me odious names,
Belittling my efforts,
Ridiculing my successes,
Reminding me of my failures,
Questioning who I think I am
That I should ever commit
To do something great.

Once in a great while
The voice might have
Something beneficial to say,
The danger it warns of
May actually be real,
But as a rule
It is not my friend.
It is just
The noise inside my head.

The Filtering We Do

One of the properties
Of being human
Is that we see
Or hear things
Only through the filter
Of our mind.

Maybe there are advantages
To being able to tune out
Certain sights and sounds,
And to tune in others,
But we need to be careful
Of the filtering being done.

Our minds have
A mischievous ability
To limit and simplify
The sensory input
On which they
Choose to act.

If we are traveling
On any familiar path
Our minds tend to
Go to sleep
Oblivious to anything
We see or hear.

As soon as we
Venture of out normal path,
Especially when we travel to foreign land,
We go into heightened alert,
Noticing every little thing
Simply because it is different.

Familiarity breeds contempt!

If we think that we
Have heard something before
Or know what is going to be said,
Then those spoken words
Will be wasted
On our inattentive ears.

How many relationships
Have been ruined
Because in our knowing the person
And what they generally say,
We discontinued listening
To their efforts to communicate?

If we presume that they,
Whoever they may be,
Have nothing important to say,
Then we render
Every word they speak
As so much mindless chatter.

If we listen through
Some inner prejudice,
No matter how misguided
Our belief,
We will find ample evidence
To support our claim.

If we believe that evil lurks,
That the world is out to get us,
That fate is harsh or cruel,
Then we will not be disappointed
In the world we find
For that is the filter we hold.

We can use that
To our benefit though.
If we choose
To listen for the gold
In all that is said,
Then we will be amply rewarded.

If we look for the greatness in others
Then guess what we will find,
Greatness beyond belief
Heroes at every corner
People larger than life
Masquerading as ordinary human beings.

Our minds are lazy beasts,
Constantly trying to sleep,
Looking for an easy way out,
Trying not to think,
Forcing us to be vigilant
In order to be present to life.

Perhaps the greatest revelation
Of this or any age
Is that we can adjust our filter
And dramatically affect
The world we see
And the reality we find.

Maybe

Maybe we will wake up
Wake up from this tomorrow
And realize it was all
Just a bad dream
We collectively shared,
Or maybe we will reason
That it needed to happen
To correct some wrongs.

I tell myself that
Everything happens
For a purpose, so of course
I am assuming there is
A purpose for this too.

If it doesn't grind me down,
It will only make me stronger.
I have learned to take what comes
And make the most of it,
So maybe these hard times
Are meant to make me
Think a little more
And try a little harder.

Someone once said
"There is nothing
So constant as change!"
And I see that as true,
So maybe I need to
Change as well.

Maybe if I close my eyes,
It will all go away,
But then maybe not.
How long should I
Close my eyes then?

Maybe this is another
Learning experience,
And if so, then what
Will the lesson be?

Maybe there are
Opportunities in this,
Ones I can't now see.
Maybe this will open
A whole new realm
Of possibilities
I never considered.

Maybe it is good,
And maybe it is not.
Only time will tell,
Or maybe it is up to me
To make of it
What I might.

The Cost of My Resistance

I am a consummate artist
At complicating simple things,
Able to turn any lowly task
Into a monumental undertaking
At the drop of a hat.

The ratio of the time spent
Thinking about doing something
Compared to the time
That I actually spend doing it
Is enormous.

I fight protracted battles with myself
Over which way to go
When either way will work
As long as I get off the dime
And choose which way to go.

I am ruled by my fear
Of somehow making a mistake
When any mistake made
Can easily be corrected
If I don’t let fear get in the way.

It is my resistance
That makes any task tedious,
That grinds things to a halt,
That perpetuates the struggle
That I have with life.

Productivity

I noticed that I am
Super effective some days
And on other days
It seems that
I might as well have stayed in bed
For all that I accomplish.

I always felt better
When I got more done
Than when I didn’t,
So I was naturally curious
Why one day should be
So radically different than another.

I observed that some people
Consistently produce results
No matter the circumstances
Day in and day out,
And I wanted to be
More like them.

The idea that there might be
Some natural biorhythm
Or inner clock
That controlled when I am on
And when I am not
Was not the answer I wanted.

It was obvious
There are many factors
That have an impact on
How much I get done
And the effort it takes to do it,
And most are within my control.

When I am sleepy or tired,
Feeling irritable or overwhelmed,
Sick or indifferent to outcome,
Wishing I was doing something else
Or otherwise resisting what I am doing,
Productivity is clearly a challenge.

I learned to be aware
Of my inner state,
Not to push myself beyond endurance,
To clear my head
And manage my attitude
Before tackling each task.

I accepted the responsibility
Of mastering me,
Realizing that if productivity is to be,
It is up to me,
That I can be incredibly effective
If I choose to be.

Newsaholic

We had been over two months at sea
And had not seen or heard
Anything from the rest of the world.
We had not encountered
A single ship at sea
Other than the wrecks
At Palmyra Island.
Obviously we were not traveling
Along the major shipping lanes.
We had not even seen
A single plane pass overhead,
And were beginning to realize
How incredibly immense
The Pacific Ocean is.
For all we knew
The rest of the world
Could have gone to war
Or simply vanished,
And we wouldn’t have known.
For someone who read
Two or three newspapers
Every single day
For years and years,
I was utterly amazed
How well I could get along
Without the slightest idea
Of what was going on
Anywhere else in the world.
As it turned out,
The rest of the world
Got along just great without me.
Sure, there were plenty
Of tragedies and travesties,
Just like always,
But I didn’t miss anything
By failing to keep up with them.