A Creative Soul in the 21st Century

YES. WE. CAN. Speech by Barack Obama

2008-03-01T16:30:00.002-05:00

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.
We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check.
We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
we will remember that there is something happening in America;
that we are not as divided as our politics suggests;
that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea -- Yes. We. Can.

I have attached the link to the Will.i.am video, based on this speech, below.
http://www.yeswecansong.com

YES WE CAN

2008-02-18T14:31:00.013-05:00

I watched the Obama, Yes We Can, speech on You Tube this weekend. I had heard the speech before, but this time; the speech took on a completely different meaning. It was almost spiritual. I watched the speech twice and than saw there was a music video. So, I watched the music video by Will.i.am, and before I knew it; I was sitting in a pool of tears. The speech and the lilting music by Will.i.am just reached into my heart and pulled my soul out, breathed new life into it, and then placed it back into my chest. I walked out of my studio hours later with a renewed energy of invincibility, that I had not experienced since my early twenties. I felt as though I was BACK!! Only better, NEW and IMPROVED!!

I know that on the surface this is a political speech. But it goes far beyond your affiliation to the democratic party, republican party or independent. It speaks to the individual souls of us all. Maybe one soul can not change a town, but collective souls can change the world. How? ... By example. The willingness to say YES I CAN, when all who surround you say NO You Can't! The belief in yourself that you can make a difference. And that any positive small change will eventually create a tidal wave of change.

The only thing you have to do is say....

YES I CAN!! do anything I choose to do.
YES I CAN!! dare to live the life of my choice.
YES I CAN!! be free to be me!!!
YES I CAN!! make a difference in my life and in others for the good.
And YES YOU CAN!! as well.

....and eventually you will believe.

I strongly urge you to watch the Obama speech and Will.i.am music video. I have added the link below for your convenience. It might possible change your life. And if it doesn't, perhaps impact your day.

LIVE YOUR LIFE ... YOUR WAY... YES YOU CAN!!!

http://www.yeswecansong.com

The Measurement of Oneself

2008-01-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

The Measurement of Oneself
December 2007

Inside oneself, exists our authentic selves.
It is there, where our true feelings reside.
Honest thoughts lay unspoken.
Here the measurement of man is not described by the wealth one holds,
Nor the power one reels.
This a direct contradiction to the definition set forth by this world.

Such a measurement is evaluated by ones ability to exhibit the hidden person within-outward.
To possess the capacity to show oneself without regard and fear of reprisals.
Placing the pressure on oneself not to assimilate, but to be original.
Refusing to succumb to the artificial trappings this world so blindly promotes.
To do what is true to ones given nature, not others.
In essence; following your inimitably given path, not the path others have plotted on your behalf.

The true measurement is to what degree, does one embrace ones insecurities, dreams and fears.
Holding these truths high, proudly celebrating them.
To what degree does one validate what is uniquely theirs?
Risking all that is material and probable isolation -
Subsequently opens oneself to receive what is truly important and beautiful. An understanding of oneself and ones place within this reality.

Ladder of Success

2008-01-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

LADDER OF SUCCESS
July 2003

While climbing the ladder of success-
each rung represents a loss.
Fewer friends.
Less time for oneself.
No children.
Divorce.

Few accomplish the climb to the top.
Most settling on a step along the way.
Disillusioned and confused.
No one is warned of the pitfalls.

The gains are few by comparison.
Power, Compromise, Money, Loneliness
I ask you-
is the climb worth it to you?

Working and Business in America

2008-01-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

I was having brunch with some friends the other day and each one of us complaining about the same problems at work. Over worked, under paid, not appreciated. I was more distressed than the rest and had decided to brush off my resume and begin the audacious task of looking for another job. When I retrieved my resume from the gallows of my computer I was shocked and dismayed of how many job changes I had made in my career. I was coming in with six changes in twenty years. I was barely averaging three years a job. What was worse was that two of those jobs, I had the same desk but worked for two and three different companies during my stay. I called a couple of my friends to inquire if their resume looked like mine. The answer was a resounding yes. This did make me feel better for a short while. But I began to think. If I have had six jobs so far and currently working on number seven. When I finally retired, how many companies will I had worked for. And a bigger question, were there enough companies to sustain me until I reached 72 ½. This was the most important question. The business world is becoming smaller and smaller - each company gobbling up the next. Eventually there will only be a hand full of companies controlling everything. I having had worked for all of them. And...this scared me!

So my next question was; what has happened to the work life in America? Why do Americans work 50 - 60 hour work weeks? and Why do Americans feel compelled to leave their jobs every two, four and six years? Our industrial counterparts do not work the long hours we work and tend to stay with their companies for a far much longer time period than us. Why is this? Americans are afraid to take a personal day, sick day or vacation time, which they have earned. Why is this? I believe most Americans are afraid that either their co-workers or superiors will maneuver them out of their office - to the unemployment line. Companies today are so concerned about that penny that they loose the dollar. They cringe when their employees ask for a raise more than the standard 3%. By the way; can anyone tell me how 3% keeps a person and their family, in pace with the rising costs of housing, fuel, utilities and food? I haven’t figured that one out yet and would love someone to explain it to me. Anyway, companies feel we should be grateful year after year with our 3% (if we get that) and fall closer and closer to the poverty line, while they become richer and richer.

So I digress…I believe that companies have lost focus on what makes them who they are. Not their product or service but their employees. Having managed large numbers of people myself, I have learned that it is better to work with what you know and who knows you than to start over again with the unknown. Companies forget how much time and real cost it takes to find, hire and train a new employee. An employee that you do not know is going to even work out. It is a gamble every time. And 9 times out of 10, it is a gamble that does not pay. It is better to give a little more to who you already have or move an employee to a position more suited for them, then to let them leave.

Anyway, I can remember my grandfather working for the same company all his life. One day he did not go to work, because ... well ... he died. The relationship between company and employee was an expected life time relationship. Even after his death, the company took care of his family. For those young people unfamiliar with this practice, that is called a pension.

So what happened? How did we go from there to here?

My mother and father were raised to go to school. Get an education. And go to work for a company. Then retire. Well they were on track with this directional path, but something happened. The companies were not taking care of them as they did in my grandfather’s day. So, like most employees of the late sixties and early seventies, they began to move from one company to the next. Earning more money with each move. If a company would not satisfactorily take care of them; ie. increase their wages acceptably, treat them correctly and with respect, they moved to the company that would. Now here’s the point! The company they left, always ended up replacing them with the wage they wanted. So why not just pay the increase to the existing person and skip all the loss. This is what I mean about companies chasing the pennies and losing the dollars. This practice has been perfected in my generation. At least my parents stuck it out for ten or fifteen years. My generation gives these companies two or three years to make it right or we’re gone!

Now, I’m not saying this failed relationship is their fault or our fault. I believe however; that each side has its part to play in this dysfunctional relationship. It’s like the age old question, what came first? The Chicken or the Egg. I believe the companies started it and the employees are finishing it. But how do we correct this? Well this is the million dollar question. I wrote this article, not because I had the answer. But in the hope that enough people both business owners, company leaders and employees would read it and contemplate the issue. If enough us want change, perhaps change will occur. My final thought is we do need change. Companies need to get back to taking care of their employees and in return employees need to take care of their companies. If we both did our part, maybe we would get back to those lifetime relationships or at least those relationships that last longer than the life-span of my underwear.