Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King
I’ve been sitting here in front of the computer trying to think of a good way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Many thoughts have entered and exited my brain before I settled on ‘what do you think he’d want someone to do to honor him?’ Little old me can’t possibly honor Dr. King in an appropriate way all by myself, but I think the answer might be to remember him as someone who stood for something major–equality.
Dr. King was a persistent man in his search for equality because he probably heard a million “no’s” for every one “yes” he received in his quest. In the end, he won so it was a successful quest. I admire the man for standing for something very important, not compromising his beliefs, and making the world a much better place. That’s quite a legacy that very few of us will leave, and it’s befitting that we honor a great man today in various ways. Thanks Dr. King for making the world far better for those of us you left behind. Regardless of your upbringing, race, or creed, the world IS a better place because of Dr. King and his quest, and we owe him a debt of gratitude if nothing else.
If you want to honor Dr. King in some personal way, I’d suggest starting by asking yourself a few questions. What do you stand for? What are you unwilling to compromise in your pursuit of whatever it is you strive to achieve? What is keeping you from pursuing that dream now?
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King
I’ve been sitting here in front of the computer trying to think of a good way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Many thoughts have entered and exited my brain before I settled on ‘what do you think he’d want someone to do to honor him?’ Little old me can’t possibly honor Dr. King in an appropriate way all by myself, but I think the answer might be to remember him as someone who stood for something major–equality.
Dr. King was a persistent man in his search for equality because he probably heard a million “no’s” for every one “yes” he received in his quest. In the end, he won so it was a successful quest. I admire the man for standing for something very important, not compromising his beliefs, and making the world a much better place. That’s quite a legacy that very few of us will leave, and it’s befitting that we honor a great man today in various ways. Thanks Dr. King for making the world far better for those of us you left behind. Regardless of your upbringing, race, or creed, the world IS a better place because of Dr. King and his quest, and we owe him a debt of gratitude if nothing else.
If you want to honor Dr. King in some personal way, I’d suggest starting by asking yourself a few questions. What do you stand for? What are you unwilling to compromise in your pursuit of whatever it is you strive to achieve? What is keeping you from pursuing that dream now?
New Year’s Resolution Idea
2006 is almost history so it’s time to consider some resolutions for the New Year. Even if you don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions, you likely want to improve your business or your professional status right? Sticking with that theme, why not consider the following:
Take an objective look at your competitors and make a list of the things they are not doing well. Pick out the areas your company is best equipped to take advantage of those current weaknesses and focus the appropriate effort on differentiating yourself versus attempting to do the same things well they are doing. There are plenty of “me too” companies out there so why not turn the tables on your competitors by attacking them where they’re weak for a change?
The beauty of this exercise is it can be equally effective for executives and employees alike. If you’re an employee looking to rise in the ranks, this will help set you apart from your co-workers and increase your perceived value to the organization. Executives should be making time for this type of analysis but many don’t because of the day-to-day operational concerns.
In the meantime, make it a great New Year!
Christmas Shopping: This Was to be THE Year
I’m happy to report I’m more or less finished with the Christmas shopping chores for 2006, but I’m rather disappointed in myself again. This was to be THE year I got all of that stuff done in September or October instead of waiting until December to knock it all out. This is probably the 10th year in a row I’ve told myself that, but it hasn’t happened yet. Thank goodness for Amazon.com and E-bay as they saved me a lot of headache by enabling me to avoid the messes that are the shopping malls and popular outlets.
I am not a fan of crowds unless it’s a sporting event or concert. Crowds attract masses of idiots who can’t make the simplest of decisions, and they seem to draw in that mom with three or four kids she can’t control yet she yells at the kids while attempting to shop as if the other people in the store can’t hear her or will have sympathy for her. I’m sorry, but I have zero tolerance for that nonsense! If you can’t control your kids, you don’t need to take them out in public to embarrass you because that’s what they’re going to do. They know when they have mom in a pickle, and they’ll exploit that with little to no hesitation. It’s punishment for being an overzealous and overprotective parent. Full Disclosure: I’m in no position to give parenting advice since I don’t have kids for which I’m responsible, but I seem to see a lot of kids these days that have parents who have forgotten what it’s like to be a kid so they try to control their kids in an attempt to “protect” them. It’s not going to work–kids will be kids. Anyway, I digress.
The point of this was to be how time got away and how the lesson to be learned is not to procrastinate, but I’m obviously in no position to give Christmas preparation advice to anyone since I always tell myself that “this is the year.” Next year will now have to be that year. Oh yeah, another pointed takeaway is don’t take your kids with you to shop thinking it’ll be cute when they misbehave and force you to make a scene. You know exactly who you are so don’t play coy like your kids are somehow different.
I’m done rambling about pretty much nothing. Another season is almost in the books so the focus can return to helping clients achieve greatness. Are you ready to propel your firm to greatness in 2007?
I hope you have a great holiday, and please share your perspectives with us.
