You’re In Control
On behalf of my company, Express Employment Professionals, yesterday I had the honor and privilege to speak to the men at the Addictions Care Center of Albany. I was able to personal stories about beating the odds and overcoming addiction. I shared about the mental fortitude and drive it takes to make a commitment to change your life, to build something better for yourself and your family. I told them stories of people who’ve done it and have become wildly successful.
We all make mistakes. We all fall down. But when we get up the choice becomes where we go and how determined we are to get there. If any of the men we met yesterday have a path they want to go down and we can help them with employment, belief, or guidance – we will be happy to do so. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with them and hope I was able to share some wisdom and make an impact. Next week we speak to the woman at the Addictions Center.
Help is out there and it come in many forms. Take it when it’s offered, and if it’s not offered, please ask for it!
Just Think!
I do a lot of reading and fact checking. I’m not that smart so I need all the help I can get. I’m also not an accountant, but I know that numbers don’t lie and they usually can help support facts or dispel myths and falsehoods. I also realize that many decision in life are fear based.
While reading earlier today, I came across a few great lines. One in an article I was reading and the others from a book I’m reading. I should note that the book is not related to our current state of events.
The article had this statement “sometimes, perhaps always, collective fear makes bad situations worse.”
This excerpt is from the book I’m reading called Never Split The Difference. “You have to feel for the truth behind the camouflage; you have to note the small pauses that suggest discomfort and lies. Don’t look to verify what you expect. If you do, that’s what you’ll find. Instead, you must open yourself up to the factual reality that is right in front of you.”
“No matter how much research our team has done prior to the interaction, we always ask ourselves, “Why are they communicating what they are communicating right now?””
I implore everyone to shut the media, do your own research, think (you’re smart – use your brains and logic), breath, make an intelligent decision for yourself. I don’t really care what you believe or decide as long as you arrive at those decisions based on your own factual research and thought process and not what the media or Facebook or popular opinion dictates.
I believe we are the smartest species on earth, but everyone needs to be a positive contributor and use their brains as well as their individual ability to reason and think. And on any subject, whatever conclusion you arrive at, at least it’s your well thought out conclusion and not that of somebody else.
Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash
Be A Duck
Last Saturday night I was at a wedding, sitting at table 16 next to the dance floor with a clear view of the floor, the DJ booth and the bride and groom. It was a great wedding with fantastic food, music, and atmosphere. It was about 8:00 PM and I’d been awake since 4:30 AM and still had a long drive home and dinner hadn’t yet been served. Nonetheless, I was people watching and enjoying myself. That’s when I noticed the DJ. He wasn’t the M.C., he wasn’t the one to rile the crowd, he was just the guy who played the music. For all intent and purposes, he was behind the scenes.
As I watched the DJ, my already good mood got better. And then it hit me, he was being a duck. I know you have absolutely no idea what that means but I’m going to explain and take you on a small trip back to my days selling radio ads on Long Island. Names and such have been replaced out of respect.
It was the spring of 1999 and I was selling radio advertising on Long Island. I worked for a country radio station and that’s not an easy sell. I used to joke that selling country radio on Long Island was harder than selling rap to the rednecks. Based on some of my current friends I now know a fair amount of self-proclaimed rednecks that really like rap. Hence, another lesson about not making assumptions. But I digress. This one particular client I had, Rich was some type of bad-ass ex-military or covert government employee who had seen and experienced the things we hear about or see in movies. I remember Rich well. As I got to know him I realized he had incredible insight into people and that’s what made Rich so valuable to the government. I would stop and see him in the course of my travels and we would talk, initially about things like the weather or the seasons but the conversations became deeper and more engaging, the type of conversations I like. There was a point when Rich shared that he wasn’t feeling well, more of a terminal thing so I felt like my time with him was more valuable to him than me and I was happy to sit and listen to his stories and engage in conversations. His stories were fascinating. Of all the stories and the excitement that accompanied each one, I only remember one. At the time, I probably thought it was silly but it’s stayed with me for over 20 years and I think about it often.
Rich had shared that he and his wife had a nice house with a nice backyard, all the accompanying outdoor furniture and an inground pool that was seldom used. He then told me about a duck that had adopted him and his wife. I was puzzled. What do you mean a duck adopted you? It made no sense. Rich explained that one day when they came home from work there was a duck in their yard who seemed to be dazed, confused and possibly hurt. While they tried to approach the duck, it avoided them at all costs, kind of like a game of cat and mouse, but this was human and duck. They started putting food and water out for the duck and watched it slowly getting better. They never really knew what was wrong but they suspected a broken wing. Over time, as they would sit outside and soak in the sun while sipping on their drinks the duck would sit nearby and watch them, never really joining them but never leaving either. The duck was rather solemn and always peaceful, kind of like that relative that comes to stay and you don’t even know they’re around. Then one day that all changed. It was a nice summer day and Rich could hear a commotion in the yard. As he and his wife went to see what was going on they were astonished. It was the duck. He was swimming and splashing, flapping his wings and making waves, he was quacking and they were convinced he was laughing and smiling. He was bobbing his head in and out of the water, and frantically kicking his feet with joy. Then he’d stop and just float around for a few minutes and start all over again. It looked like he was having the time of his life. I remember asking Rich what the duck was doing and his response was perfect. He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to do, he’s being a duck and it’s beautiful. I’ve seen kids be kids, leaders be leaders and on Saturday night I saw a DJ be a DJ and it was awesome.
If you are going to do something, anything, find the purpose, find the passion and be a duck. Life’s too short to settle so be happy and kick ass in whatever you do!