Power of Persuasion

A diplomat... is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
-- Caskie Stinnett, Out of the Red (1960)

I love this quote.

We've all experienced this phenomenon. Someone that has great negotiation skills and has mastered the power of persuasion can get you to do almost anything. It's an amazing power if you can learn to use it. But as always, use it for good, not evil.

My Attention is Waning

Thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative.
-- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cold Turkey", In These Times, May 10, 2004

More true today than four years ago when he said it. Take for example the recent "faith forum" held in Rick Warren's California megachurch. Pundits are criticizing Obama for not answering in rapid-fire style like McCain did. Instead, Obama explained his answers in a thoughtful manner showing us how he came to the decision. Neither method (McCain's or Obama's) was any more correct than the other, but when you live in a world where the TV has less than 10 seconds to capture your attention, anything but split-second, knee jerk reactions will be considered slow and uncertain.

Oh, the horror, if we actually had a President who thought out their answers before blurting them out. We'll all be doomed if someone decides to apply the thought process to their semi-regular decisions...

Coloring Book of Life

Men who never get carried away should be.
-- Malcolm Forbes

I think this speaks to the thought that great progress cannot occur without a little over-the-top attitude from time to time. One of my friends has a great saying himself: If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. Every once in a while, you need to color outside the lines and see what happens. Living a live entirely within your boundaries will provide a rather mundane existence.

Diversify Your Life

In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.
-- Peter Drucker

People love to be sold hope. They'll also be sold fear. An economist sells both, seemingly on a whim. Financial advisers, stock brokers, portfolio managers -- they all have the same thing in common: trying to convert other people's money into their hopes or dreams. Alternately, they try to diminish the fears of investors by giving advice on how to prevent disaster.

When all goes well, it's their cunning brilliance that brings in the paycheck. When it all falls apart, then "it wasn't supposed to happen this way", "no one could have predicted this", and "well, that's just the market-based economy for you". It seems to be a win-win game for people involved in projecting the economy. They have turned an already inexact science (at best) into a masqueraded-oft-confusing guessing game, all the while planning their next meal.

Plastics!

Spice of Conversation

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.
-- George Bernard Shaw

How true. People love to talk about themselves, especially when it can get them things. People like to think that they're funny and witty, even when they're not. Some people are simply amazed that they had the gall to write or speak something, so when they realize this, they take every opportunity to make others aware of their bold declaration.

As with most things, moderation is key. It's productive to highlight the good, and bad, things we say because we have the ability and responsibility to learn from our actions. But when it goes beyond our own self-advancement and steps into obnoxious self-righteousness, that's when the "spice of conversation" turns into a repellent.

Quoth the Raven

In another valiant attempt to jump-start my blog habits, I'm trying a new idea: I've subscribed to a quotations mailing list and each morning, I will be emailed four quotes from various sources: pop culture, literature, great thinkers, etc. I'll choose one, re-quote it for your pleasure, and attempt to reflect on the quote in whatever way I see fit. I only envision it as a one-to-two paragraph response -- and sometimes maybe less -- but it may be something fun to do.

My first email should arrive in the wee hours tomorrow morning with, hopefully, my reflection to follow a few hours later.

There is Water at the Bottom of the Ocean

The Talking Heads are the perfect Sunday morning band. Some songs make you think, some make no sense whatsoever. Some are light and airy, some are deep and heavy. All have some degree of infectious melody that sets a good tone for the day.