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Archive for July, 2010

Jul 29

Babe-Ruth-at-bat
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Don’t Be Bashful

The larger the company the less agile they are. This is a basic truism of business. In fact, companies often spend millions of dollars trying to improve processes, streamline workflows, and reduce unnecessary staff – all with the aim of becoming more agile, more competitive. Smaller companies can react more quickly to market changes. What is the tipping point though? There are plenty of large companies doing very well. Some companies are reporting earnings completely off the charts. These sorts of earnings can evoke disgusted reactions from even the greediest of greedy. So, what is the secret?
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Jul 27

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You’re Already Dead

I’m not sure how the dream started but I found myself in the middle of a worldwide panic. I think I was watching the news. There was some sort of catastrophe approaching. In my dream it seemed to take the form of an earthquake. I was in a large city and the buildings were collapsing everywhere around us. I was somehow able to jump from building to building. A friend was always there with me but I’m not sure who. I saw another friend and his kids. I tried to get him to leave with me but he said that he needed to stay with his family. A moment later we were all underwater. I was looking for a little girl’s stuffed animal. I found it and gave it to her but it was the wrong one. It belonged to some other kid. She died holding some other kid’s teddy bear. My friend and his family were gone and somehow I moved on to the next place.

I was standing on the edge of a large window while a building was falling backwards and I jumped and somehow floated to the next building and then ended up on the street. People were flocking to priests of all sorts on the street corners. Each priest was trying to help people by quoting words from each of their scriptures. Donald Trump was on another corner selling cars and gasoline for ridiculous amounts of money so that people could try to escape. I remember looking at the crowd and thinking of a quote from Moby Dick about Jonah: “He thinks that a ship made by men will carry him into countries where God does not reign…” I ran to a gas station where I found a puppy and I held on to him. I think it was a bulldog. We jumped to a parking garage, a big ship floating through the middle of the city, and other strange places. And, after what seemed like an endless journey of jumping from building to building I finally said, “This is it” as I looked up and saw the side of a skyscraper falling on us.

The next thing I knew I was standing in a garden with Vishnu, Buddha, and Jesus. I asked why I was there and they said it was because I truly believed. I said that of course I believed. Then credits started rolling like it was the end of a bad religious movie. Next, I found myself floating just above the chaos as if taking a tour of the devastation. Some people were still barely alive but most were dead. The people that were still alive were like zombies. One of the barely alive zombies saw me floating by and tried to shoot me. The bullet went through me and I said, “you missed me.” But they responded by saying, “No, you’re already dead.” Then I woke up.

Jul 26

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Row Your Boat

There were always those people that amazed me with their clarity of vision for their own futures. I’ve often wondered about those with such a clear vision. They always seemed to know exactly what they wanted – they always had a plan on how to achieve it. I have a sort of admiration for those that have their act together enough to have a vision and a plan to get there. I’m a little jealous.

After high school they knew where they were going to college. After college they knew where they were going to work. After working for a while they knew that they would get married and where they were going to live and how many children they were going to have. We all have friends like this. I have many friends like this. One by one I have watched as their plans have splintered, unraveled, and just fallen apart. The energy it takes to hold to the vision must be exhausting. In personality terms, these are the folks that love certainty and predictability. They wonder why people do dangerous things.

From the perspective of a psyche, the more certain the ego is of doing something the more obstacles there will be to overcome. Jung called this the ‘transcendent function’. It’s a kind of pressure valve on the ego and it goes into action exactly when we wouldn’t want it to. Imagine walking up to the stage to receive the award that you are absolutely certain you deserve and you trip and fall walking up the stairs. This is the transcendent function in action. It keeps things like pride in check. I’m not saying that having a plan is a bad thing. A plan is a great thing. However, without any built in flexibility a plan is certain to fall apart. Be open to what comes and try to welcome adventure. Or in other words…

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.