I love technology.
Ever since that day I was handed a Heathkit catalog by Bill Buckley, I was hooked.
All those gadgets and widgets and flashing lights. It was as if science fiction had become science fact, at least in the mind of a 12 year old.
In my adolescent fantasy I imagined that I could become very powerful with it, even control the organization of the material universe.
Well, well, well. My childhood fantasy actually was more true than I could ever have imagined. Technology can and in fact does give us the power to alter the material world, rearrange the very nature of physical reality and ultimately dismantle it to a degree that would render human existence a historical footnote in the vast march of time, that is if there was anyone to record then.
Technology and technologies are gifts from the fertile minds of geeks and scientific freaks. We all benefit from it in one way or another. From the iPhone to the Kinzu knife, it was some technology that made it happen.
But what is technology?
In the simplest terms it is applied science for industrial or commercial applications. Science moved from lab to tabletop.
It is the engine that has delivered the modern world as we now know it.
But it comes with a price. Pollution, and the capacity to do us all in. Not a good thing.
Still, I love technology. It is a godsend to us all. Can it save us?
Time will tell of course. With wisdom it will make the world a better place. Without it anything can happen.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Deliberate Liberations
Freedom is not free and Pie is not in the sky:) Don't ask me why.
But none the less, a conversation about the true meaning of freedom is now on the agenda. Tired of hearing all the jibba jabba about freedom. The painful truth is that freedom comes at a price. A very high price.
When we are young, freedom means only one thing, "You can't tell me what to do!"
It seems like freedom, it feels like freedom but it is part of the beautiful lie. It says we can do what we want, when we want regardless of the circumstance, irrespective of the consequences.
Let someone else take responsibility. Let someone else clean up the mess.
This adolescent notion of freedom is embedded in the psyches of seemingly mature and responsible adults. Teens come in all sizes, all bodies and apparently all ages too.
The full energetic consequence has now come home to roost.
Yes Martha, we have a real mess on our hands. And the youthful proclamations proffered by teenagers in adult bodies and "Adults in Age Only" AAO's have created the biggest mess of this generation.
Fiscal chaos.
And who do all teenagers and the AAO's go to when the full consequences of their irresponsible choices come back to bite them in the butt?
Mom and Dad, and the collective Super Parent "Uncle Sam."
Wake up people. Stop the collective and individual insanity. You made this mess. I made this mess. We all made this mess. Stop the blame game. Take responsibility. It is our only hope for salvation. Blame is useless.
We the people, the immature people of the United States have sowed the seeds of psychic self-destruction and lived the freedom part without the responsibility part. The ugly truth is now upon us.
Freedom is not free.
Freedom comes at a price. A very high price of blood and treasure. Of deferred urges and sacred sacrifices.
Freedom is not free.It comes at the price of responsibility and wisdom. The sacrifices of good men and woman for the greater good of us all.
Its time to expose the beautiful lie before it does us all in.
Time to come to terms with the ugly truth. Freedom is not a feeling yet freedom has a feeling. Freedom is not license to act in anyway that the muse moves us, or our urges "urge" us. No no.
Freedom is our highest calling. Freedom is the at the heart of our very nature. It is deliberate. It aspires to call out the best in all of us. It is not selfish or egocentric. Rather it calls us into service to others.
It is a the grand paradox of our human experience. Freedom is not free.
But none the less, a conversation about the true meaning of freedom is now on the agenda. Tired of hearing all the jibba jabba about freedom. The painful truth is that freedom comes at a price. A very high price.
When we are young, freedom means only one thing, "You can't tell me what to do!"
It seems like freedom, it feels like freedom but it is part of the beautiful lie. It says we can do what we want, when we want regardless of the circumstance, irrespective of the consequences.
Let someone else take responsibility. Let someone else clean up the mess.
This adolescent notion of freedom is embedded in the psyches of seemingly mature and responsible adults. Teens come in all sizes, all bodies and apparently all ages too.
The full energetic consequence has now come home to roost.
Yes Martha, we have a real mess on our hands. And the youthful proclamations proffered by teenagers in adult bodies and "Adults in Age Only" AAO's have created the biggest mess of this generation.
Fiscal chaos.
And who do all teenagers and the AAO's go to when the full consequences of their irresponsible choices come back to bite them in the butt?
Mom and Dad, and the collective Super Parent "Uncle Sam."
Wake up people. Stop the collective and individual insanity. You made this mess. I made this mess. We all made this mess. Stop the blame game. Take responsibility. It is our only hope for salvation. Blame is useless.
We the people, the immature people of the United States have sowed the seeds of psychic self-destruction and lived the freedom part without the responsibility part. The ugly truth is now upon us.
Freedom is not free.
Freedom comes at a price. A very high price of blood and treasure. Of deferred urges and sacred sacrifices.
Freedom is not free.It comes at the price of responsibility and wisdom. The sacrifices of good men and woman for the greater good of us all.
Its time to expose the beautiful lie before it does us all in.
Time to come to terms with the ugly truth. Freedom is not a feeling yet freedom has a feeling. Freedom is not license to act in anyway that the muse moves us, or our urges "urge" us. No no.
Freedom is our highest calling. Freedom is the at the heart of our very nature. It is deliberate. It aspires to call out the best in all of us. It is not selfish or egocentric. Rather it calls us into service to others.
It is a the grand paradox of our human experience. Freedom is not free.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
A Paradoxical Trip to the Mall
Went to the mall today. I know that doesn't sound particularly interesting. But it developed into yet another paradoxical encounter. Those who are familiar with my previous entries and my philosophy in general will find the "Mall" story curiously refreshing.
The day started out at Whole Foods. A cup of Colombian coffee, a bran muffin a bit of twitterpation:) All normal stuff for the holy mully. The cell phone rings breaking me free of the Twitter trance. But only for a brief moment. A friend inquiring about the best brand of black rifles to purchase.
Whole Foods and black rifles go together like love and marriage:)
An hour later Nat shows up inspired to go to the local gun store and look at---you guessed it "black rifles." Holding a black rifle in hand is a shot of pure testosterone for any man. Shooting one puts at least two inches on your biceps.
We meet at the gun store an hour later. 3 PM to be exact. The store was packed. I mean packed with men and a few woman too. Rumor has it gun sales are up. Today's experience confirmed it. Truly amazing. Nat asked a lot of questions. The kind of questions that drive busy store clerks to go "postal":)
While there, I picked up a Bush Master with a green laser. Amazing feeling. No bullets of course. Just the raw energy of life. Nat ran out of questions, and I ran out of time.
Was only a few blocks from the Mall. Hadn't been there since the election and decided to see what it could tell me about the mood of America. The Mall is an icon. Its denizens participants in the All-American pastime of shopping. Unlike the excitement and population density at the gun store, the Mall had a moderate amount of traffic. And no buzz.
Now I had no expectations at the Mall. Never do and never will. But I am open to receive. I am receptive. Today I am the "Yes Man", at least that is the intention I started the day with. Say "Yes" more often. Just like the yes man himself and the movie by the same name.
Today I chose to say yes more often.
No idea where it would lead and what miracles it would create. But I was a willing participant in this experiment. My stroll through the Mall was uneventful. That was until I entered the Brookstone store. I like browsing Brookstone. A guy thing I suppose. I get a "charge" out of gadgets. I had a pain in my right shoulder and decided to give it a little love, so I picked up the double Thumper massager and entered the kingdom of heaven:) It was pure bliss. Shoulder pain ebbed, mind relaxed. I could have stood there for hours, surrendering to the deep thumping pulsations.
But destiny and quantum physics conspired to pop me to a higher energy level. I was drawn into a lively conversation which danced with the muse of music, life and DNA. I thank the powers of good that invited me to be a part of such a eloquent exchange of energy, ideas and light.
The paradox?
The special mix of the day's experiences were the result of an attitude of "yes" and my intention to live in a deliberate and conscious way. To all who shared with me the joy of living today, I am grateful to have been touched by your light, your presence and your authentic humanity.
Dancing with the paradox, contradictions and ironies of the day reconnected me with the intrinsic nature of reality and enlightened my human experience.
The day started out at Whole Foods. A cup of Colombian coffee, a bran muffin a bit of twitterpation:) All normal stuff for the holy mully. The cell phone rings breaking me free of the Twitter trance. But only for a brief moment. A friend inquiring about the best brand of black rifles to purchase.
Whole Foods and black rifles go together like love and marriage:)
An hour later Nat shows up inspired to go to the local gun store and look at---you guessed it "black rifles." Holding a black rifle in hand is a shot of pure testosterone for any man. Shooting one puts at least two inches on your biceps.
We meet at the gun store an hour later. 3 PM to be exact. The store was packed. I mean packed with men and a few woman too. Rumor has it gun sales are up. Today's experience confirmed it. Truly amazing. Nat asked a lot of questions. The kind of questions that drive busy store clerks to go "postal":)
While there, I picked up a Bush Master with a green laser. Amazing feeling. No bullets of course. Just the raw energy of life. Nat ran out of questions, and I ran out of time.
Was only a few blocks from the Mall. Hadn't been there since the election and decided to see what it could tell me about the mood of America. The Mall is an icon. Its denizens participants in the All-American pastime of shopping. Unlike the excitement and population density at the gun store, the Mall had a moderate amount of traffic. And no buzz.
Now I had no expectations at the Mall. Never do and never will. But I am open to receive. I am receptive. Today I am the "Yes Man", at least that is the intention I started the day with. Say "Yes" more often. Just like the yes man himself and the movie by the same name.
Today I chose to say yes more often.
No idea where it would lead and what miracles it would create. But I was a willing participant in this experiment. My stroll through the Mall was uneventful. That was until I entered the Brookstone store. I like browsing Brookstone. A guy thing I suppose. I get a "charge" out of gadgets. I had a pain in my right shoulder and decided to give it a little love, so I picked up the double Thumper massager and entered the kingdom of heaven:) It was pure bliss. Shoulder pain ebbed, mind relaxed. I could have stood there for hours, surrendering to the deep thumping pulsations.
But destiny and quantum physics conspired to pop me to a higher energy level. I was drawn into a lively conversation which danced with the muse of music, life and DNA. I thank the powers of good that invited me to be a part of such a eloquent exchange of energy, ideas and light.
The paradox?
The special mix of the day's experiences were the result of an attitude of "yes" and my intention to live in a deliberate and conscious way. To all who shared with me the joy of living today, I am grateful to have been touched by your light, your presence and your authentic humanity.
Dancing with the paradox, contradictions and ironies of the day reconnected me with the intrinsic nature of reality and enlightened my human experience.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Paradoxical Intent or Why "IT" Happens
Why do the best laid plans of mice and men and women often go astray?
Why does "IT" happen?
Paradoxical intentions offers some insight.
Intention is the motivation for our actions. Often invisible, our stated intentions don't always seem to line up with our results. Why? The old adage that "intentions are measured by results" can help to reveal the hidden effect of conflicting intentions.
Our conscious intentions are only the tip of the ice berg. Below the surface lay the infinite entanglement of all our aspirations. The truth is that some of these aspirations conflict with each other.
The result is conflicted outcomes. "IT" happens.
Our paradoxical intentions need to be exhumed from the depths of our psyches and reevaluated in the light of day. Clarity of intent is the key. Take a look. Ask the hard questions. Know what you want and why. "IT" may still happen but less often.
Why does "IT" happen?
Paradoxical intentions offers some insight.
Intention is the motivation for our actions. Often invisible, our stated intentions don't always seem to line up with our results. Why? The old adage that "intentions are measured by results" can help to reveal the hidden effect of conflicting intentions.
Our conscious intentions are only the tip of the ice berg. Below the surface lay the infinite entanglement of all our aspirations. The truth is that some of these aspirations conflict with each other.
The result is conflicted outcomes. "IT" happens.
Our paradoxical intentions need to be exhumed from the depths of our psyches and reevaluated in the light of day. Clarity of intent is the key. Take a look. Ask the hard questions. Know what you want and why. "IT" may still happen but less often.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Serve, Deliver and Serve Some More
Today's message is perhaps the most profound and perplexing of all human endeavors.
Service.
Service is the delivery of value, benefits and ultimately who you are for the betterment of others.
Why do it?
Why give away a portion of your supply, resource and time to benefit others?
In business a typical transaction is "quid pro quo", aka "this for that." What would happen if our business was truly about creating value for others? How would that change the way you did business?
Perceived value can make us "feel good" real value will transform our life. Service is the key to delivering real value. In business and in life, real value transcends hype, temporary feel goods and seductive promises.
With an attitude of service, we choose in a conscious way to deliver real value to each other, to our clients and to the world in general. Real value makes the world a better place for you and for me and the entire human race.
Making a profit without delivering actual value is a soulless and empty proposition. In the most fundamental sense, Profit is your reward for taking a risk to deliver value to customer.
Profit = Revenue - Expenses.
A simple equation from the financial end. A convenient way to keep score. Profit is good. It drives the economic engine.
Paradoxical profit is better.
The revenue driver is service first. You give not to get, you give to share from your bounty. You give to share from your abundance. You create value by giving value away. You give not specifically to get, you give specifically to make the world in your own unique way a better place. To make the lives of people in your sphere of influence better, not bitter.
Service first delivers real value to others who are looking for the unique solution that is you.
Mike Litman, a very savvy business developer has observed, "You are the solution for a thousand people!" Our unique set of experiences, talents, skills and way of being in the world form the core of our personal value proposition. In this new way of looking at the core business equation defining profit, marketing is transformed from an expense to a profit driver. Give and it shall be given.
The key is create a "value delivery model" that puts service first.
This means we give away a portion of our wisdom, abundance and knowledge in service to others. The new profit model expands marketing from a process of simply finding qualified buyers to an "a priori" means to delivering value first. It is paradoxical adjunct to typical marketing strategies that look at potential customers with a filter to find the "golden buyers" in the amorphous landscape of potential buyers for your product or service.
The new golden rule is the same as the old golden rule, "Give and it shall be given." A slightly different way to look at "Do unto others" but the essential idea is there, give. An attitude of service is the key to transforming your personal and business mind from "giving to get" to " giving to give."
The paradox is both poignant and prescient. Giving is good for you..and good for your business.
Service.
Service is the delivery of value, benefits and ultimately who you are for the betterment of others.
Why do it?
Why give away a portion of your supply, resource and time to benefit others?
In business a typical transaction is "quid pro quo", aka "this for that." What would happen if our business was truly about creating value for others? How would that change the way you did business?
Perceived value can make us "feel good" real value will transform our life. Service is the key to delivering real value. In business and in life, real value transcends hype, temporary feel goods and seductive promises.
With an attitude of service, we choose in a conscious way to deliver real value to each other, to our clients and to the world in general. Real value makes the world a better place for you and for me and the entire human race.
Making a profit without delivering actual value is a soulless and empty proposition. In the most fundamental sense, Profit is your reward for taking a risk to deliver value to customer.
Profit = Revenue - Expenses.
A simple equation from the financial end. A convenient way to keep score. Profit is good. It drives the economic engine.
Paradoxical profit is better.
The revenue driver is service first. You give not to get, you give to share from your bounty. You give to share from your abundance. You create value by giving value away. You give not specifically to get, you give specifically to make the world in your own unique way a better place. To make the lives of people in your sphere of influence better, not bitter.
Service first delivers real value to others who are looking for the unique solution that is you.
Mike Litman, a very savvy business developer has observed, "You are the solution for a thousand people!" Our unique set of experiences, talents, skills and way of being in the world form the core of our personal value proposition. In this new way of looking at the core business equation defining profit, marketing is transformed from an expense to a profit driver. Give and it shall be given.
The key is create a "value delivery model" that puts service first.
This means we give away a portion of our wisdom, abundance and knowledge in service to others. The new profit model expands marketing from a process of simply finding qualified buyers to an "a priori" means to delivering value first. It is paradoxical adjunct to typical marketing strategies that look at potential customers with a filter to find the "golden buyers" in the amorphous landscape of potential buyers for your product or service.
The new golden rule is the same as the old golden rule, "Give and it shall be given." A slightly different way to look at "Do unto others" but the essential idea is there, give. An attitude of service is the key to transforming your personal and business mind from "giving to get" to " giving to give."
The paradox is both poignant and prescient. Giving is good for you..and good for your business.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Why You Do What You Do
An ancient and timeless question; "Why do I do what I do?"
The answer is simple.
You do what you do to preserve your sense of equilibrium. If you tip too far in any direction, you have a tendency to self-correct to preserve your current state of equilibrium. Real life has a way of knocking us out of our current energy shell, just like it happens in the atomic and subatomic world.
Electrons move around. They get shared, borrowed or sent to another molecule for purposes only that molecule knows.
We get knocked around too. Sometimes to our great distress. But tension is always seeking resolution. We will always end up somewhere. Usually at the point where the tension has resolved itself. Of course we may not like it. But no need to fight it. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
No need to panic. Just need to see how all this movement fits into the scheme of the universe. In the simplest of terms, tension seeks resolution. And it is this tension resolving aspect that ultimately drives the ship of you.
If we were to simplify this for everyday living purposes, it would look like this:
1. You want to maximize your experience of living in accordance with your particular beliefs and do it in such a way that minimizes your chance of loss and more importantly minimizes the chance of your ultimate demise.
2. Depending on your personal frame of reference, you make choices which reduce or eliminate the current pain with only marginal regard for the longer term consequence or you make choices which consider both the current and future consequences.
3. These choices are made within the framework of your belief system, values and habits of being.
4. Every choice you make is a bifurcation or split point that gives birth to an entirely new world.
5. These choices will either preserve your current equilibrium or lead to its disruption. The two prime forces at work is your self-correcting homeostatic mechanism and the Second Law of Thermodynamics which predicts increasing amounts of randomness.
If the assertions above are true then we have to rise to a higher level of consciousness to shift our equilibrium on purpose. This shift from unconscious habit bound living to a creative dance partner with the universe demands a shift in out attention, a conscious intention to do so and a tool we can use to correct and adjust the energy distribution.
I propose a mindful combination of the Japanese martial art Aikido, Hegel's Dialectic and game theory to help keep the life energy moving ever higher. Together they can create a context for better energy management and new levels of understanding.
The key is the complete acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of our choices. Tough but not impossible.
Somewhere in a future post, I will discuss the impact of the Nash Equilibrium on our personal economies.
The answer is simple.
You do what you do to preserve your sense of equilibrium. If you tip too far in any direction, you have a tendency to self-correct to preserve your current state of equilibrium. Real life has a way of knocking us out of our current energy shell, just like it happens in the atomic and subatomic world.
Electrons move around. They get shared, borrowed or sent to another molecule for purposes only that molecule knows.
We get knocked around too. Sometimes to our great distress. But tension is always seeking resolution. We will always end up somewhere. Usually at the point where the tension has resolved itself. Of course we may not like it. But no need to fight it. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
No need to panic. Just need to see how all this movement fits into the scheme of the universe. In the simplest of terms, tension seeks resolution. And it is this tension resolving aspect that ultimately drives the ship of you.
If we were to simplify this for everyday living purposes, it would look like this:
1. You want to maximize your experience of living in accordance with your particular beliefs and do it in such a way that minimizes your chance of loss and more importantly minimizes the chance of your ultimate demise.
2. Depending on your personal frame of reference, you make choices which reduce or eliminate the current pain with only marginal regard for the longer term consequence or you make choices which consider both the current and future consequences.
3. These choices are made within the framework of your belief system, values and habits of being.
4. Every choice you make is a bifurcation or split point that gives birth to an entirely new world.
5. These choices will either preserve your current equilibrium or lead to its disruption. The two prime forces at work is your self-correcting homeostatic mechanism and the Second Law of Thermodynamics which predicts increasing amounts of randomness.
If the assertions above are true then we have to rise to a higher level of consciousness to shift our equilibrium on purpose. This shift from unconscious habit bound living to a creative dance partner with the universe demands a shift in out attention, a conscious intention to do so and a tool we can use to correct and adjust the energy distribution.
I propose a mindful combination of the Japanese martial art Aikido, Hegel's Dialectic and game theory to help keep the life energy moving ever higher. Together they can create a context for better energy management and new levels of understanding.
The key is the complete acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of our choices. Tough but not impossible.
Somewhere in a future post, I will discuss the impact of the Nash Equilibrium on our personal economies.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
How do Strategy and Opportunity Work Together
Strategy is vision, goals and intentions. A plan that considers the consequence of all actions and opportunities within the overall strategy. The entrepreneur trades risk and time for rewards in the future.
Opportunity can produce income but not always equity.
Opportunist respond to and look for opportunity independent of strategy. Income is vital for business development and profitability.
Entrepreneurs seek opportunity consistent with their vision. They are willing to forgo opportunity to build their vision. Opportunity is always pursued within the framework of the strategy.
Both have value.
The key difference is the entrepreneur pursues opportunity to create equity and income.
Opportunity can produce income but not always equity.
Opportunist respond to and look for opportunity independent of strategy. Income is vital for business development and profitability.
Entrepreneurs seek opportunity consistent with their vision. They are willing to forgo opportunity to build their vision. Opportunity is always pursued within the framework of the strategy.
Both have value.
The key difference is the entrepreneur pursues opportunity to create equity and income.
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