I Scream No Ice Cream

"The one who hates correction will die."

             Proverbs 15:10b.

Sometimes people around us that we love dearly suffer steadily.  Their entire lives are a struggle.  There doesn't seem to be much that we can do about it, no matter what we try.

I feel for these people- it's sad and depressing to think of someones entire life being such a struggle.  Typically people who struggle in one area will slowly start to struggle in other areas as well, before you know it their entire life is a series of sad dramatic car wrecks.

If they're getting bad results consistently, maybe they need to do something differently?

People with tough lives usually hate correction.  They don't want to hear their friends advice, or if they do, they don't follow through with change.  Their parents, counselors, pastors, co-workers, and bosses cannot get through to them.  Can anyone correct a person who hates correction and is unwilling to change?

Breaking Bartering, The Empowerment of Independent Wealth

I just watched this marriage seminar with some friends, the guy talked about how husbands and wives should barter- just like how we barter for our jobs.  He said couples should barter for sex or favors.  I don't know about all that, but the thing that stuck out to me was what he said about work.  He said we only go to work because they pay us.  So if they didn't pay us, we wouldn't show up.

That makes a lot of sense, and it helped me put my greatest career goal into words- To truly show up- even if I wasn't getting paid.  

That is how I want to live my life, and I intend to as soon as possible.  To really do this, though, I do need to be in a place in my life where I can truly not worry about money.  Being the practical nerd I am, I need to do this in a healthy way, I can't just live on a credit card for 12 months and call that being able to "not care about money."

When Real Growth Starts

I've always thought my ability to grow my business was a direct reflection of my ability to grow myself.  After hearing a sermon this morning about accepting the hard seasons of life and enjoying the moment, though, my wife and I's post sermon discussion made me realize something.

I realized my ability to grow myself is about so much more than just growing my business.  So many of us have issues in ALL areas of our lives that land in the exact same category (myself included).  I realized our ability to grow ourselves is a direct reflection of our ability to grow ourselves.  No duh.  Right?

I really think there is something to be said about grasping this truth, though.  Really identifying that person in the mirror- objectively looking at their weaknesses, short comings, and hot buttons.  Our lives are a result of the decisions we make.  Those decisions are influenced by our character, and our character is shaped by our habits.

Thoughts on telemarketers

I used to put up w/ telemarketers justifying that maybe I could learn something from their techniques.  In reality I probably just didn't have the backbone to hang up.  I've finally gotten tired enough of them that now I simply and politely say, "No thanks, thanks anyways, Take care."  And then I hang up.  No matter what.

They almost always try and go into their next line or try and squeeze in 1 more question.  Their job is to get you to stay on the phone.  I don't have time for that crap, though.  No thanks, thanks anyways, take care.

I think a lot of time management falls into this same realm.  The countless distractions from Facebook to door knockers.  I'm not saying we shouldn't give someone the time of day, but if we don't have time for something, if there's something else we are needing to focus on- then it's OK to make what we have already committed to our priority.