Newsletter for May 2007: Your Personal Memorial Days
This Months Thought
Your Personal Memorial Days
Quotes of the Month
Strictly Business: Your Summer Campaign
Humor: Testimony from St. Louis Courts
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Freedom and opportunity only exist if they are used! And more than that, one of the ways we fuel our dreams and empower the future is by "borrowing" confidence from the past. Celebrate your past achievements and use them to know, deep inside, that you can boldly go wherever you wish in the future. Go climb some big mountains!
In America on the last Monday of this month we celebrate Memorial Day, a time traditionally set aside to honor those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Liberty and democracy are fragile things and they do not flourish by themselves. They require loving care and, too often, costly sacrifice by those who cherish them. Every day, liberty is under attack by those who would censor our words, our thoughts and our prayers. Every day, freedom is challenged, sometimes by well-intentioned people who simply want more "order" at the expense of chaotic, inefficient democracy.
We are free people and we can disagree about where, and how, and when we should defend freedom, but we are only free because brave men and women have resisted tyranny. In honor of those who have sacrificed much and to those who paid the ultimate price so we can have our picnics and watch our races, and have our debates: Thank you.
And now I want to make a tricky intellectual "pivot" and turn from talking about honoring those who fought for our freedoms, and talk about how we build our own lives, and the "Memorial Days" that signify our progress. Clearly, we must first acknowledge Memorial Day the way it was intended and honor those who have given their lives for our freedom, but we honor them most by USING our freedom, not merely luxuriating in it.
I'm going to make a strong, blunt statement that may offend some, but here goes: I believe too many of us (around the world, not only in the U.S.) have grown flabby and lazy. We enjoy our freedoms, our wealth and our opportunities, but we also squander them.
Too often, we use our freedom to become consummate consumers, rather than expert builders. Too often, we use our freedom to complain rather than to create. Too often, we use our wealth and our power to become couch potatoes and channel-surfers rather than pursuing our potential and exploring the limits of possibility.
As you celebrate this Memorial Day, what are the key dates in your own life? As you look back, do you mark the date you graduated, or the date you launched your business? Do you mark the date you set your own course, and risked everything to pursue your dreams?
On a pleasant, sunny day in late August of 1985 I hiked alone in on part of the Colorado Continual Divide trail and reached a spot where the scenery opened up to a beautiful view. The sky was a cobalt blue, the air was crisp, there was hardly a breeze and I hadn’t seen another person all day. I was going through a difficult life challenge and getting away in solitude help me focus on redirecting my life. That day on the mountain is one of my personal "Memorial Days." I remember; it was the first step of many steps that followed that led to significant changes in my life. When I look back on that time I know now that some of the decisions I made were not good for me and others, but in the end things have worked out well. I’m indeed fortunate because in spite of myself I have been very blessed.
I recall another special day in late summer of September 2002. That was the day I walked away from a project management career in corporate America. Shortly after that I launched in a totally new direction and life that has opened wonderful opportunities through my coaching career. It’s another one of my Memorial Days.
How about you? What are your personal Memorial Days? Have you used your freedoms, your talent, your dreams and abilities to create the life you want? Some dates are specific and easy to recall, others may not have seemed special but in retrospect, we know they were turning points. We all have these Memorial Days and they are important.
Honor them. Honor yourself! Freedom and opportunity only exist if they are used! And more than that, one of the ways we fuel our dreams and empower the future is by "borrowing" confidence from the past. Celebrate your past achievements and use them to know, deep inside, that you can boldly go wherever you wish in the future. Climb some big mountains!
"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." -- Jeremy Kitson
"Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?" -- Ben Franklin
"In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them." -- Dr. Joyce Brothers
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
This issue of This Months Thought has been about Memorial Day and our American holiday weekend, and I recommend that every professional and entrepreneur enjoy it. Take the last weekend of the month off! Have some family time, and enjoy it! But come Tuesday after the holiday, you've got work to do.
I am a huge believer in short-term goals. Long-term goals are useful, but it's the short-term projects and summer campaigns that make all the difference in life.
Your competitors will take time off during the summer. Your employees will take vacations and you'll need to cover for them, and you will want to do some of your own fishing or attend some ball games, or take the kids camping. These are good things! But-and it's a huge but!-the coming few weeks after Memorial Day can make all the difference to your bottom line at the end of the year.
While the world is enjoying the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" you want to set new sales goals, and achieve them! While everyone else is relaxing in the long days of summer, you want to be laying the foundation for a magnificent year!
This summer, get a jump on the competition. Get a jump on your future! This summer, be busy. It's during the long days of summer when our harvest is growing, that our fortune is created. Use the summer well. Be busy about important things and when fall comes and everyone else is picking up where they left off this spring, you'll be ahead of the game.
If having a coach makes sense, drop me an email. My email is: rodger@rodgerblaker.com and I have a few openings for new coaching clients. If you are serious, and have the resources to make a splash in something other than the neighborhood swimming pool, I look forward to working with you. Let's get going.
Over the years, there have been many collections of absurd and silly exchanges in courts. Recently, I ran across the following, ostensibly from actual records in St Louis. Enjoy!
Judge: I know you, don't I?
Defendant: Uh, yes.
Judge: All right, tell me, how do I know you?
Defendant: Judge, do I have to tell you?
Judge: Of course, you might be obstructing justice not to tell me.
Defendant: Okay. I was your bookie.
From a defendant representing himself . .. .
Defendant: Did you get a good look at me when I allegedly stole your purse?
Victim: Yes, I saw you clearly. You are the one who stole my purse.
Defendant: I should have shot you while I had the chance.
Judge: The charge here is theft of frozen chickens. Are you the defendant?
Defendant: No, sir, I'm the guy who stole the chickens.
Lawyer: How do you feel about defense attorneys?
Juror: I think they should all be drowned at birth.
Lawyer: Well, then, you are obviously biased for the prosecution.
Juror: That's not true. I think prosecutors should be drowned at birth, too.
Judge: Is there any reason you could not serve as a juror in this case?
Juror: I don't want to be away from my job that long.
Judge: Can't they do without you at work?
Juror: Yes, but I don't want them to know it.
Defendant: Judge, I want you to appoint me another lawyer.
Judge: And why is that?
Defendant: Because the Public Defender isn't interested in my case.
Judge (to Public Defender): Do you have a comment on the defendant's motion?
Public Defender: I'm sorry, Your Honor. I wasn't listening.
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life!
For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
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