Tattoo of Popeye

In 2001, I got a Tattoo of Popeye on my upper right arm. Everyone asked why a cartoon. You will have a cartoon on your arm forever. A Popeye that looks like you? There were many comments about it. Mostly about my cartoon nature, never taking life seriously.

As a cartoon character, Popeye was wise. Every episode he said something we all should live our lives around. “ I am what I am.”

Many will criticize this. We should not excuse our behavior because it is what we are. If this is your thought, I will agree. Saying I am what I am, does not justify our behavior in any way. The silver rule should always apply. 

“Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

I digress. This is not the meaning I take from Popeye's saying.

Be comfortable with who you are, make mistakes, admit them quickly, do not judge, who you are is enough. Billy Joel sings of the stranger we hide away forever. Hide less, show more.

Work every day to be better than yesterday. Little things can create significant changes. Accept those around you, flaws and all.

If you have to be perfect to be loved, find someone else.

Warts are not necessarily bad traits.

I am not advocating, being stubborn, or using this as an excuse for lousy behavior. We cannot justify some actions, or we will die lonely.

I am saying we all need to love ourselves. Find that person. Be that person. It is okay to be you. Sometimes we make a mistake, we are all different, yet we are all alike.

Most people feel as you do about themselves. In times of darkness, we are who we are. Love that person, be that person. Continue to improve but love yourself.

“ Do not do to yourself that which you would not do to others.”

Remember you are always in the right place, at the right time, if you have the right attitude.

"Grandpa what would happen if you ran over a ninja?

• My 5-year old grandson asked me in the car the other day "Grandpa what would happen if you ran over a ninja?”
• Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies".

·                  Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

·                  Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

·                  I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

·                  Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

·                  Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQs. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

·                  There is a great need for sarcasm font.

·                  Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the fuck was going on when I first saw it.

·                  How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

·                  I would rather try to carry 10 grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

·                  I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

·                  LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

·                  I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

·                  Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies".

·                  I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

·                  I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

·                  Bad decisions make good stories.

·                  Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem …

·                  You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

·                  Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

·                  I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

·                  "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this. Ever.

·                  I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

·                  I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

·                  I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

·                  I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

·                  Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

·                  I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

·                  I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Its a repost from last year, still funny

From ruminations.com:

A Fish Story, sort of

We see the world as we are not as it really is. We continuously look for reinforcement around us. Anything that supports what we think, right or wrong.

Open our minds to the possibilities we do not see, they are endless.

A Fish Story, sort of.

“There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how's the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”

If at this moment, you're worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise old fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don't be. I am not the wise old fish. The immediate point of the fish story is that the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude — but the fact is that, in the day-to-day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have life-or-death importance. That may sound like hyperbole or abstract nonsense.

A huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded. Here's one example of the utter wrongness of something I tend to be automatically sure of: Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the most real, most vivid and important person in existence. We rarely talk about this sort of natural, basic self-centeredness, because it's so socially repulsive, but it's pretty much the same for all of us, deep down. It is our default-setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth. Think about it: There is no experience you've had that you were not at the absolute center of. The world as you experience it is right there in front of you, or behind you, to the left or right of you, on your TV, or your monitor, or whatever. Other people's thoughts and feelings have to be communicated to you somehow, but your own are so immediate, urgent, real — you get the idea. But please don't worry that I'm getting ready to preach to you about compassion or other-directedness or the so-called “virtues.” This is not a matter of virtue — it's a matter of my choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of my natural, hard-wired default-setting, which is to be deeply and literally self-centered, and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self.

People who can adjust their natural default-setting this way are often described as being “well adjusted,” which I suggest to you is not an accidental term.”

I took this from a speech called this is water. If you have not heard it or read it, take the time. David Foster Wallace on Life and Work.

The most effective way to do it is to do it.
Amelia Earhardt

Ethics in sales and the Automotive Industry

Several years ago, I attended a seminar titled “Legal vs. Ethical aspects of the Automotive Industry.” To this day I owe a debt of gratitude to Ken Petty. He gave me the courage to be right.

It is interesting to discuss this with anyone. Car Salesman argue about it, outside of the industry most think you cannot use the two in the same sentence.

I have been thinking about this class a lot in the past couple of months. Recently I read about a study conducted concerning relational ethics vs. situational ethics. It was not about the automotive industry. It should have been. In our business, it applies.

What is the difference? We have two ethical standards. One for our personal relationships and one for business. I travel the west extensively visiting dealerships. I witness this double standard everywhere.

Many dealerships are successful with it and justify their actions with the facts they sold a record amount of cars in a month, weekend or year. I think the famous Cookie Jar close is an excellent example of this. (this entails adding money to the price of a car to give back to the customer.) The idea is for them put it in a cookie jar and take cash out each month to cover the payment. I suppose, in a small amount, it is justifiable to some. I often ask, would you do this to your daughter? If not, why is it justified with someone you do not know. It is situational ethics. If we have no real relationship, our ethics change.

During the seminar, Ken asked, “You are selling a car to someone, at first they agree on the price, later changing to a lease. You can raise the price by $3000 and keep the payment where they have agreed. The customer will not know. Do you do it?” Sadly, in a room full of salespeople, two of us were the only ones who voted no.

Before you start judging the Automotive industry, this is prevalent everywhere. It is the reason ecclesiastical leaders use to justify taking advantage of people, especially in Utah.

Many think it is ok to ethically separate personal relationships and business.  One ethical standard for each.

At the risk of being ostracized, I disagree. In life, we are what we are when no one we care about is looking.

Many will disagree with me. I sleep well at night; I am taking care of my family, they are adults free to choose and many more reasons. As long as it works, we all need to beware.

Success at any cost is not success.

Remember, you are always in the right place at the right time, if you have the right attitude.

A Fable called Motivation

A Fable called Motivation

fa·ble

[ˈfābəl]

NOUN

1.      A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

synonyms: moral tale · parable · apologue · allegory · bestiary

VERB

archaic

1.      tell fictitious tales.

"I do not dream nor fable."

I suppose it is a little harsh to call stories about Motivation Fables. Perhaps it is not. We all want to hear about someone who has it worse than we do overcoming their adversity and shining. I applaud anyone who has. I cannot relate to hacking off my hand to survive. These stories give us inspiration and hope. If I want to succeed as bad as I want to breathe, I will be successful. Successful with this much adversity, I should be able to as well.

When we fail, we become our worst critic. It is easy to sit up and take notice, what is difficult is getting up and acting. Everything can be improved. It is the role of the human being to improve your life and world.

Truth takes over from this fable called Motivation, and we are what we are. Can you change? Surely you can. For most of us that change will not come from walking across coals. It will give you a great story but not motivate you to reach your potential.

I have been to many seminars about how to achieve success. Most motivational speaking gets us to act for a few days, then has the opposite effect. Our thoughts turn contrary; it is so easy for everyone I must be a loser. Anyone can do this if I think positive thoughts it should happen. I am a loser, oh what a loser I am. The seminar or training has the unintended effect of turning our thoughts detrimental.

We all can and should find peace and happiness. Take small steps. Its ok to want just to pay your bills, to only be able to walk down the street. You are not less a citizen because you cannot find your success as easy as it always seems to come to others. For every success story, there are hundreds of stories about just surviving. Does that make them less compelling? Does not. These stories should inspire us more.

What thoughts stop us. Where you are in life is a direct result of the views that prevent us from success as well as propel us forward. How difficult is it to think about this when all you are focused on is paying rent, or buying food?

Change is uncomfortable; there is a scientific name. Conscious dissonance.

Why do some succeed, some fail, some just living enough to breathe.

Without a catastrophic event to help you change, how do you do it?

Real success comes from accepting you, improving you. Stop comparing yourself to others. It is okay to want to emulate someone; I want to be like them. We must stop comparing ourselves to others. I cannot say this enough. Experts give us the same advice. Set goals, write them down, think positive thoughts, Act as if, should I go on? What most fail to do is give you advice on what to do when you quit. The challenge is to be happy with you, set your goals for you. Stop comparing you to others. If you want to be the fastest man in the world, your goal should not be to beat Usain Bolt. Set your goal to be faster tomorrow than today. Break it down for you. Small changes create tsunamis of effect.

One small change at a time. Do not look at the whole picture and expect it to change. Find the discipline to change one little thing at a time. Your focus can still be on paying the rent or buying food. Perhaps you should let the small stuff that bothers you go. Stop yelling at drivers on the road. Quit worrying about that which you have no control.

Your success is up to you.

Remember, you are always in the right place at the right time, if you have the right attitude.

Ten things that require zero talent #10 Be prepared