Monday, November 26, 2012

Thank Goodness It's Monday #384

THE 30-DAY COUNTDOWN
IS UNDERWAY
  
My old-school paper pocket planner has that feature that shows the number of days past/days remaining in the calendar year for each date. And, according to it, we’ve got 35 days left to accomplish all those items we detailed in our New Year’s Eve 2011 list of resolutions for 2012.
 
So let me ask –

How are you doing? Have you made major headway on making all those lofty 2012 goals a reality?

I’m going to be right out there and confess that, at this point in the fourth quarter of 2012, I am not eleven-twelfths of the way through all the things on my made-last-December/January list. 

Not even close. 

Sure, I’ve knocked off items. But not nearly all of them. 

And, I can see clearly now that there’s not a chance I’m going to wrap up but one or two of the biggest ones that remain in the 35-days-including-weekends-and-holidays ahead.

And now I’m going to tell you what I’d wager you’ll hear from no other self-improvement blog/chat/whatever:

That’s great news! Depending on the time of day you’re reading this, between now and the beginning of 2013, you have roughly 840 hours to devote to determining how you will memorialize 2012 and how you lay the groundwork that determines how 2013 will evolve.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Begin now to chart your course to the eventful days ahead with a positive mental attitude. Don’t be overly concerned with what didn’t or won’t get accomplished.  Remember what transpired thus far this year – good, bad, and stops between -- as part of a worthwhile, formative, learning process. 

No SuperStorm Sandy excuses. No “Back in February there was that family thing …” Or, “Well, last summer I couldn’t …” Or, “With all the pre-election run up clients just wouldn’t commit …” Or …

Or … OR… OR….

That’s all behind us now.

Don’t look back. Don’t mope and fret the days away in this 30-day countdown period.
 
Let the successes of the 331 days gone by guide your thinking, planning and actions. Instead of allowing your current 2012 Goal Achievement shortfall to distract and discourage you between now and calendar year end, fire up the positive self talk.

Sure the looming year-end is significant. But the year’s end is also an artificial thing. There’s no particular magic in 365 days divided into the common, civilly accepted 12 Gregorian months. 
Query: If, in the Latin that’s at the root of so much of our language, “septimus” indicates 7th and “octo” means 8, “novem” 9 and “decem” 10, why are the months of the final stretch of the year linked to those designations – September, through December – the 9th through 12th months of the year?

Answer: Their number rank IS right in the “old” Roman calendar of 304 days spread over 10 months (the Calendar of Romulus), which began with the Spring equinox in Martius, (now March) named for Mars, the god of war. 

And that’s exactly the point.

A countdown to some deadline can BEGIN at any time.
And END at any time. 

December 31, 2012 can be a significant deadline only if you want it or allow it to be. 

Even the IRS allows calendar-year taxpayers to make decisions and take actions that impact a taxpaying year after the days of that year have become history. 

TGIM Challenge: Why should you be more demanding on yourself for most things?

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Don’t feel pressured to make this 30-day countdown period any more significant than it needs to be. Set goals for the future, sure. But live and do your work in the present.

You have roughly 840 hours left in 2012. 

  • Does that seem like too little?
  • Or a lot?
Don’t be driven to distraction and wrong action by a self-imposed need to get done by a date certain some idea that seemed sensible nearly eleven months in the past but deserves a different priority now.

Only one thing is for sure: The moment you’re certain things won’t change, they will. Because things always change. 

Just thinking about change changes things. And so, having thought about it, maybe you now realize how the year-end goals that you set nearly a year ago may have revised, reformed, and evolved so that, perhaps, they are not so great a priority now. 

Your job right now is to get on with what matters most right now. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that you lose track of what’s behind you. You do not have permission to quit trying just because the road turned out to be longer, harder, steeper than you initially expected. 

Good goals remain good goals. And --

Goals not accomplished by a deadline matter. But deadlines can often be adjusted. As a student of self improvement you know there will be setbacks as well as successes and that you can best prepare for each by a process of continuous learning. 

The thing you absolutely don’t want to do is let delayed or postponed or dropped goals from months ago discourage you from the very vital and worthwhile process of having forward-looking goals today and plotting a path to accomplishing them.

So, in the time you have remaining to you in 2012 – 1,512,000 seconds, give or take – what are you going to do? 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: I’m looking forward to taking some part of that time to plot out my short- and longer-term business, financial, personal, health and spiritual goals for the month and fitting them to my plans for the years (yes, years – plural) ahead. And I’ll give some time each and every day to evaluate and revise how I’m moving forward on making those goals a reality.

There. Got this TGIM done in time to get it to you today. Accomplished that.

Now on to meeting other deadlines.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
 
P.S.  “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” Hal Borland (1900 - 1978) said that. He was an American novelist and journalist who called much of his non-fiction newspaper work “outdoor editorials.”

Monday, November 19, 2012

Thank Goodness It's Monday #383

 

THE ART OF THANKSGIVING

No, not kid pictures on refrigerators.

·         No Puritan forebears in stiff white collars, shiny buckled shoes and funny hats dining with clad-in-deerskin Native Americans with feathers in their hair.
·         Not the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock.
·         Not stalks of corn and pumpkins. 

· Not even silly turkey cards.
Sure, some of those images have a powerful place in our culture. And while the “art” factor may be questionable and the evolved version of history is not particularly accurate, they are symbolic of the abiding sprit of the seasonal celebration.

But “The Art of Thanksgiving” for TGIM purposes is linked to an idea put forward by Wilfred Arlan Peterson (1900–1995).  And it too is about the – 

Spirit of the season. Peterson found his life’s calling when his inspirational essays began to appear in This Week magazine. His most well-known piece, The Art of Marriage, has been called the one of the "most frequently recited English-language wedding poems and one of the greatest odes to matrimony.”

But marriage is not our focus today. Looking forward to the upcoming Harvest Home/Thanksgiving celebration, I’d like us to consider Peterson’s suggestion that -- 

The Art of Thanksgiving
is
The Art of “ThanksLiving”

Expanding on the idea of “ThanksLiving,” Peterson suggests it is –

GRATITUDE IN ACTION: It is applying Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer’s philosophy: “In gratitude for your own good fortune you must render in return some sacrifice of your life for another life.”

The Art of ThanksLiving then is --

►Being thankful and showing your gratitude for the gift of life
… by living it triumphantly.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for your talents and abilities
… by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common good.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for all that others have done for you
… by doing things for others.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for opportunities
… by accepting them as a challenge to achievement.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for happiness
… by striving to make others happy.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for beauty
… by helping to make the world more beautiful.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for inspiration
… by trying to be an inspiration to others.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for health and strength
… by the care and reverence you show your body.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for the creative ideas that enrich life
… by adding your own creative contributions to human progress.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude for each new day
… by living it to the fullest.

► Being thankful and showing your gratitude
… by giving voice to your thankful spirit.

► Adding to your annual celebration of Thanksgiving
… an all-year-round commitment to these Acts of ThanksLiving.

Pollyanna nonsense and greeting card sentimentality? I see your point.

But –

This year, particularly in our storm-wearied part of the Northeast, the exuberant parts of a Thanksgiving celebration may be dampened for many who remain hard-pressed. And while even a large number of these folks will manage to take heart and give thanks that greater troubles and cares did not bear upon us, the burden still weighs heavily.

But Acts of ThanksLiving still surround us. Despite a reputation as a state bursting with “What exit?” Jersey Attitude, abutting a city where “Up yours!” has been deemed a friendly greeting, everyone -- virtually EVERYONE – can recall a recent tale of outreach, compassion, or support in the wake of SuperStorm Sandy’s devastation.

Those are splendid examples of
Acts of – as well as –
The Art of ThanksLiving

TGIM Takeaway: I’m thankful for these – and much, much more in my life. And I trust, no matter how difficult current circumstances seem, you too will find and share some of the Thanksgiving/ThanksLiving spirit in the days and weeks and years ahead. 

Finally, as always at this time of year: I certainly don't imagine most of you will busy yourself with too much head-down, nose-in-digital gear behavior on Thursday. (Please be present with those who are near and dear; don't neglect "the human touch.") So I want to take this TGIM opportunity to –

Thank YOU, one and all: For your generous acceptance of these TGIM blog post messages. Thanks for sharing the ones you like with folks you think will enjoy them or benefit from them. I’m pleased to make their acquaintance.

And thanks for your feedback, both critical and favorable. 

I appreciate your views and the effort you make to convey them. I learn from what you have to say and hope that TGIM can continue to be a conduit for sharing that wisdom and understanding.

I hope this message finds you far from want ... that life is always plentiful for you ... and that once again on Thanksgiving Day you will use the occasion to resolve to be thankful every day of the year. 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." A contemporary of William A. Peterson, inspirational speaker and writer W.T. Purkiser (1910-1992), said that.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Thank Goodness It's Monday #382


VENERABLE MEN (AND WOMEN)
A VETERAN REFLECTS
ON VETERANS DAY

I did not give uniformed service to our country in the youthful days when I might have been most valued for it. 

So I believe Veterans Day doesn’t evoke the response in me that it does for those who gave over a portion of their life – or in the families of those who died – in the Armed Forces. 

Actually, I struggle with very ambivalent feelings on Veterans Day. 

·        My father did his duty as part of “the greatest generation.” And I recall, even as a child, I was proud to see his name on the hometown monument honoring veterans of World War II and moved by the idea that his name was among the lucky service men without a star next to it denoting their having made the ultimate sacrifice in service.

·        On what may be the other side of the emotional equation, I am a draft card carrier from the Vietnam era who, by some quirks of fate, was never called upon to choose a course of action other than military service. Had I been, I can’t honestly say what I might have done. I know I lost a number of friends in that conflict, both to death and trauma. The Memorial Wall in Washington DC never ceases to move me in indescribable and complex ways.

These are things I normally hold close. But today I share them with you in TGIM because a recent little editorial “opinion” in our local weekly giveaway newspaper, penned by Ed Flynn, a regular contributor whose writing and insight I often enjoy, encapsulated much of the ambivalence I suspect many feel.

I’d like to believe his view fairly says what I (and perhaps others) am challenged to articulate. 

And Ed has earned the right to say it.

Here it is, in its entirety.

****
Ed Flynn
 I always feel a bit guilty on Veterans Day.

Like many other veterans, particularly those who have seen combat, when I remember the dead and wounded – as we’re supposed to do on Veterans Day – I can’t help but wonder; why them and not me?

In my case, I spent two years in the Pacific during World War II.

Most of that time was with the Seventh Fleet as a radioman aboard an amphibious flagship overseeing landings in the Philippines and other Pacific islands.

While we faced constant Japanese attacks from the air -- and while several ships near us were hit and sunk, and we were strafed several times ourselves -- our peril was nothing compared to that of the Marines and soldiers we put ashore on those beaches.

More than 400,000 Americans, mostly young boys like me in their late teens or early 20s, never came home from that war, giving their life for our freedom on some Pacific island or European battlefield.

I came home.

I had married before I went overseas to the wonderful girl who would be my wife for the next 66 years until I lost her two years ago.

We bought our first home in River Edge NJ with a G.I. mortgage; and we had two beautiful daughters who grew up to give us three grandchildren who, in turn, gave us six great-grandchildren.

Like most families, we had our trials and tribulations in the course of those years.

It wasn’t always easy but, for the most part, it was a good life, without the tragedies some other families have had to face.

We had a life that those who died during our nation’s wars never had a chance to live.

Now I’m 90 years old and living alone, forced by arthritis to use a walker to get around, dependent on my children and grandchildren to perform tasks for me that once seemed so simple.

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel sorry for myself.

But, then I reflect on all the good years I’ve had, thanks to those who never came home, those whose life ended when they were young -- not just in World War II, but in World War I and Korea, and Vietnam, and now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I thank those who are buried in some cemetery in Normandy where poppies grow, or whose bodies were returned home in a flag-draped coffin to be interned here; to those to whom politicians and other orators pay tribute on Veterans Day.

In World War II, more than 16 million Americans were in uniform.

Tiny flags were displayed in the windows of almost every home. A blue star indicated that the boy who lived there was now in service; a gold star indicated that he would never return home.

The whole country was mobilized during World War II; women worked in factories helping to produce tanks and planes; children collected scrap that could be turned into bullets; gasoline and food were rationed; everyone sacrificed.

Today, there are more than 60,000 members of our volunteer armed forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

But, here at home, you would never know we are at war.

Most families are untouched by the struggle against terrorism. For most, life goes on as usual.

There is no draft, no rationing; in fact, no call for sacrifice.

And, so on this Veterans Day, while you’re enjoying a barbecue, eating a hot dog or downing a cold beer, you might pause and ask yourself, "Why them?"

Why not your own son, or daughter, or grandchild?

And, the next time you hear someone loudly proclaiming how we should put "boots on the ground" in order to overthrow some foreign dictator, you might want to ask them, "Whose boots?"

While you’re at it, you might try to find the time to attend a parade or a memorial service – if there is one in your community anymore – and say thanks to a veteran.

Not that the average veteran is looking for thanks, but he or she will still appreciate the fact that someone cares.


****
I care, Ed Flynn. 

I’m confident my circle of TGIM friends cares as well. 

Thank you, one and all.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. In 1825 at the laying of the corner stone for the Bunker Hill Monument, Daniel Webster, perhaps the most famous orator of the day, was to make the day’s most significant speech. The crowd estimated at 50,000 included perhaps two hundred gray-haired men, remnants of the days of the Revolution.
Daniel Webster
with the Bunker Hill Monument
in the background
Among them stood some forty scarred and time-worn veterans who had actually shared in the bloody conflict they now gathered to commemorate. 

As Webster passed these forty in the crowd, it’s reported his voice trembled as he uttered the words –

“Venerable men.”
 
Addressing the veterans directly he also said: “Our poor work may perish, but thine shall endure:  this monument may moulder away, the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to the level of the sea; but thy memory shall not fail. Wherever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of patriotism and liberty, its aspirations shall claim kindred with thy spirit!”

Monday, November 5, 2012

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY #381

“NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE REAL
THE PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY”
 
Thank Goodness It’s Monday doesn’t “do” politics -- at least not overtly. 

However – 

Tomorrow is Election Day 2012. And as a matter of principle we will make a last minute attempt to add some wisdom and understanding to this election’s noisy and noisome process and thereby inform TGIM readers/leaders in a way which, we hope, will encourage you to participate tomorrow (if you have not been actively engaged all along). 

In addition: Ideally we will also find some lessons we -- each and all, without regard to political affiliation -- can take into our everyday world as well.

No stump speeches here: In the bundle of items that follow you’ll find nuggets of wisdom, touches of humor, quotes and anecdotes and perhaps some overlooked history. They’re drawn from sources inside and outside the political world that I hope we can agree are “informed.”

So let’s get going. 
 
I saw this on a bumper sticker, many elections ago.

 
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Plato (c.428-347 BCE) said that.

What this country needs is more people to inspire others with confidence, and fewer people to discourage any initiative in the right direction; more to get into the thick of things, fewer to sit on the sidelines merely finding fault; more to point out what’s right with the world, and fewer to keep harping on what’s wrong with it; and more who are interested in lighting candles, and fewer who blow them out.
Father James Keller (1900-1997) founder of The Christophers said that.

Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) said that.

As I stand aloof and look
there is to me something profoundly
affecting in large masses of
men following the lead of those who do
not believe in men.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) shared that poetic thought in Leaves of Grass.

County judge, chair of a committee, President of the U.S., they are all the same kind of jobs. It is the business of dealing with people.
Harry S Truman (1884-1972) 33rd US President said that.

Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.
Financier and statesman Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) said that.

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.
Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971) is alleged to have said that.

Never tell them what you won’t do.
Clergyman/Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908-1972) said that.

Be sincere. Be simple in words, manners, and gestures. Amuse as well as instruct. If you can make someone laugh, you can make that person think and make that person like you and believe you.
The so-called Happy Warrior, statesman Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) said that.

People criticize me for harping on the obvious. Perhaps someday I’ll write an article on “The Importance of the Obvious.” … If all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, perhaps most of our big problems would take care of themselves.
The taciturn 30th US President, Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge (1872-1933) said that.

Have you noticed that many people who laugh at kids who believe in Santa Claus are the same people who believe in campaign promises?
Comedian Joey Adams (1911-1999) is credited with that observation.

If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.
Graffiti in London, 1979

It’s useless to hold a person to anything he says while he’s in love, drunk, or running for office.
Actor/advocate Shirley MacLaine said that.

I can imagine a political campaign purged of all the current false assumptions and false pretenses – a campaign in which, on election day, the voters went to the polls clearly informed that the choice between them was not between an angel and a devil, a good man and a bad man, an altruist and a go-getter, but between two frank go-getters, the one, perhaps excelling at beautiful and nonsensical words and the other at silent and prehensile deeds.
Commentator and curmudgeon H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) wrote that.

These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties. This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it.
Humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935) said that.

There are men who, by their sympathetic attractions, carry the nations with them and lead the activity of the human race.
TGIM favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) wrote that.

All voting is a gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it.
RWE’s friend and neighbor Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) said that.

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
French President Charles De Gaulle (1890-1970) concluded that.

TGIM Takeaway: In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, “holds office”; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

The 35th US President, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) gave us that Takeaway and I share it as a nonpartisan conclusion and will add only: 

If you don’t vote, you’ve got nothing more to say on the subject. 

I’m Geoff Steck and I approve these messages. 

I hope to see your right-minded participation as they tally the votes tomorrow.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
 
P. S. Today’s TGIM headline -- “Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy” – originates with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).