It's not what you know but who you know. But sometimes what know is the reason you know the people you do.
In medieval times, noblety would travel from their castles to far off lands to expand their realm of power. A king or prince would go to talk business with another country or dynasty in order to gain lands, rights or simply build rapport. I think sometimes this is one of the reasons people join dating websites. Hold on, it'll make sense in a sec.
Now don't read this negatively, there is nothing wrong with dating websites. They serve their purpose quite well. Sometimes though, one of the reasons people join them is because they just don't have many opportunities in their schedule to meet new people. They get up, go to work, see the same 32 people they see everyday. Weekends they might hit up the local redbox and spice up their life by making a potato casserole. Not alot of social interaction. Thats fine. Thats why Match.com can afford to waste money on TV commercials. What I'm saying is that these types of people are not going out to expand their lands as much as they should.
To un-fog this thought, what King Henry was doing by traveling to meet other leaders is he was simply expanding his sphere of influence. And that is something we all have. About the time when I discovered deodorant and I hit my growth spurt was when I started to develop my sphere of influence. (Anyone who has ever made fun of me, gets the growth spurt joke) This makes sense for most people, because in our teens when we starting to figure who we are going to be, we also figure out who we want and don't want to associate ourselves with. Now even I hung out with the freaks at table 9 at some point in my life. I think that's just part of the process when developing your set of friends. Or maybe I'm still a freak at table 9. Which I'm cool with too. And typically, as we physically and socially grow, so does our sphere of influence.
And as youre sphere of influence grows so too do your opportunities.
The opportunities I'm talking about could be occupational, social or romantical. But with a larger sphere of influence comes a larger database of contacts. And with more contacts, comes more opportunity. I read a study the other day that said a majority of people found their current job through a loose contact. Someone they kind of know. Makes sense. The beauty of it is that we have complete control of how big our sphere of influence is. Depending on the personality type, it could be the size of a jelly bean or more comparable to the arctic circle.
Another great thing is we don't have to ride in a wagon for a week to find opportunity. We've become much more socially efficient. So whether it's Match.com, or a book club, or church or your local watering hole; make a friend.... expand your lands. Who knows, it could be your next job. You don't necessarily have to be popular to have a great sphere of influence.
New in my life: As a toddler all I needed was my tricycle and my driveway. Then as a kid, my bike and my gravel road became my life support. Sequentially, at 16 a little blue pick up truck was my new found source of entertainment. And now at 24 I find only aviation can keep me satisfied. I feel I have peaked on my mode of transportation curve. At this rate, I don't even know what's next.
Keep smilin'
JM
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Perspective. Reflection. And A Stress Free Life.
"Sorry for cussin' atchu." I turned around, smiled and merely said "You're alright." Did I mean it? Kinda.
I was standing in a checkout line, and a woman with a P.H.D. in shopping from Wal-Mart was voicing her mind behind me about how the cashier closed the lane where she had been waiting in line. She apologized for cussing so that I could hear (see conversation above). Attitude is a direct reflection of perspective. Or in some cases, a lack of perspective.
Did Ms. Rolling Back Prices have a personal vendetta against the cashier? No, she just lacked the ability to step in other people's shoes. Everytime I encounter irrationality or conflict, (which is another blog in itself) I love to step back and disect why it's happening. From the irritated shoppers perspective, I thought "Maybe she forgot to tivo the season finale of COPS and really needs to get home." Made me laugh. From the cashiers shoes, her shift had probably been over for a half hour and Wally world wasn't paying her to make sure every last customer was served. Made me empathize. Neither circumstance may have been right but it helped me approach the situation with a slower heart rate.
Another great example of this is when I am driving to work in traffic and someone is driving aggresively around me, I think: "They must really have to pee." or "They must really love their job." Haha. That's ridiculous.
I don't like being around people who complain. What's funny is most of the people who do the complaining will say the same thing. Why do they do it? They lack the solution gene. When I feel the need to complain, I change my situation in one way or another. Grab the bull by the horns so to speak. But seriously. That happened. Call it empathy, perspective or just an understanding viewpoint.... it makes life easier and keeps everything on the sunny side.
Another thing that keeps me high on life is I have developed an anti-stress policy. This cross references well with alot of my previous groups of words. But when something starts to flirt with stressing me out, I just avoid, eliminate and cut it out of my life. So whether it is that person that requires more patience (an RMP as I like to say) or trying to figure out the opposite sex or just making life too complicated all together; I crop the stress out of my life as much as possible. It makes breathing air a little simpler.
Unrelated but funny, being around people who commercially make music I have realized that 90% of them were not in band throughout school. So thinking, why do parents get their kids into playing a clarinet? To socially stunt them throughout their education? To help them avoid developing athletically competitive habits? Anyone who was/is in band that is offended, shoot me straight here.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But next time before you react, stop and take ten seconds to try on the other person's shoes. Literally and figuratively. Serious though, this little concept will help you develop your own anti-stress policy. Life is all about having a good perspective.
New in my life: I love going to the dentist, and lakes.
Keep smilin'
JM
I was standing in a checkout line, and a woman with a P.H.D. in shopping from Wal-Mart was voicing her mind behind me about how the cashier closed the lane where she had been waiting in line. She apologized for cussing so that I could hear (see conversation above). Attitude is a direct reflection of perspective. Or in some cases, a lack of perspective.
Did Ms. Rolling Back Prices have a personal vendetta against the cashier? No, she just lacked the ability to step in other people's shoes. Everytime I encounter irrationality or conflict, (which is another blog in itself) I love to step back and disect why it's happening. From the irritated shoppers perspective, I thought "Maybe she forgot to tivo the season finale of COPS and really needs to get home." Made me laugh. From the cashiers shoes, her shift had probably been over for a half hour and Wally world wasn't paying her to make sure every last customer was served. Made me empathize. Neither circumstance may have been right but it helped me approach the situation with a slower heart rate.
Another great example of this is when I am driving to work in traffic and someone is driving aggresively around me, I think: "They must really have to pee." or "They must really love their job." Haha. That's ridiculous.
I don't like being around people who complain. What's funny is most of the people who do the complaining will say the same thing. Why do they do it? They lack the solution gene. When I feel the need to complain, I change my situation in one way or another. Grab the bull by the horns so to speak. But seriously. That happened. Call it empathy, perspective or just an understanding viewpoint.... it makes life easier and keeps everything on the sunny side.
Another thing that keeps me high on life is I have developed an anti-stress policy. This cross references well with alot of my previous groups of words. But when something starts to flirt with stressing me out, I just avoid, eliminate and cut it out of my life. So whether it is that person that requires more patience (an RMP as I like to say) or trying to figure out the opposite sex or just making life too complicated all together; I crop the stress out of my life as much as possible. It makes breathing air a little simpler.
Unrelated but funny, being around people who commercially make music I have realized that 90% of them were not in band throughout school. So thinking, why do parents get their kids into playing a clarinet? To socially stunt them throughout their education? To help them avoid developing athletically competitive habits? Anyone who was/is in band that is offended, shoot me straight here.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But next time before you react, stop and take ten seconds to try on the other person's shoes. Literally and figuratively. Serious though, this little concept will help you develop your own anti-stress policy. Life is all about having a good perspective.
New in my life: I love going to the dentist, and lakes.
Keep smilin'
JM
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Damn Right Dogs Bite.
I don't really watch TV. The fact of the matter is I have to feel productive most of the time. Through my habits I have made myself this way. But when I do sparatically watch TV, I certainly don't expect to learn life lessons. However, I was watching the show called House, and there was a scene where the main doctor was talking to an attractive nurse. Dr. House in his usual nature makes a comment about how the nurse used her good looks to get through nursing school. She got offended stating how hard she worked for her grades. House fires back: "Well you may have worked hard, but you certainly didn't have to." That one little line reiterates a life lesson of mine.
Every animal has a purpose in life. Cows eat grass to grow and make milk. Bats eat mosquitos. Birds chirp. Snakes suck, but even they are here to eat mice and scare people. That's why dogs are the best. A dog's only purpose is to be loyal to its owner (Man's best friend concept). The point being is that all these animals do what comes natural to them and they do what they are best at. Such a simple concept, but I can't figure out why we humans don't run with this idea.
I think we can all agree that every single person has different strengths. I like to refer to them as assets. Some people's best asset is communicating. Others best asset is simply being easy on the eyes. And each one of us is uniquely blessed with a skill that makes us fantastic. Now the reason that average Joe's fall short of being the tall hog at the trough is that they continue to focus on one of their sub-par assets. For example, have you ever seen an extremely good looking person sitting at a desk doing a job where they hardly ever get seen by the human eye? Wasted asset. Or someone who has fantastic people skills that sits at a computer and doesn't speak to a single person all day. No bueno. The challenge we have is becoming aware of our MVA (most valuable asset).
In the sum of things, do what you love and love what you do. Because it's most likely what comes natural to you and what your'e best at. Just like the loyal canine. If you're good at public speaking, do things that give you opportunities to be in front of a group. If you are a leader by nature, start a revolution. If you're a great debater, don't talk to me. ha.
In the opinion section of the newspaper,a lady wrote a column about how she didn't like how everyone is blogging now and how they are writing about completely stupid topics. O the irony of that. Really? Wonder what she's thinking while she's typing out her article.
New in my life: I recently have gone from shaving my face once a week to twice a week. I think puberty is going to kick in soon. And I went camping.
All the cool kids are leaving comments below.....
Keep smilin'
JM
Every animal has a purpose in life. Cows eat grass to grow and make milk. Bats eat mosquitos. Birds chirp. Snakes suck, but even they are here to eat mice and scare people. That's why dogs are the best. A dog's only purpose is to be loyal to its owner (Man's best friend concept). The point being is that all these animals do what comes natural to them and they do what they are best at. Such a simple concept, but I can't figure out why we humans don't run with this idea.
I think we can all agree that every single person has different strengths. I like to refer to them as assets. Some people's best asset is communicating. Others best asset is simply being easy on the eyes. And each one of us is uniquely blessed with a skill that makes us fantastic. Now the reason that average Joe's fall short of being the tall hog at the trough is that they continue to focus on one of their sub-par assets. For example, have you ever seen an extremely good looking person sitting at a desk doing a job where they hardly ever get seen by the human eye? Wasted asset. Or someone who has fantastic people skills that sits at a computer and doesn't speak to a single person all day. No bueno. The challenge we have is becoming aware of our MVA (most valuable asset).
In the sum of things, do what you love and love what you do. Because it's most likely what comes natural to you and what your'e best at. Just like the loyal canine. If you're good at public speaking, do things that give you opportunities to be in front of a group. If you are a leader by nature, start a revolution. If you're a great debater, don't talk to me. ha.
In the opinion section of the newspaper,a lady wrote a column about how she didn't like how everyone is blogging now and how they are writing about completely stupid topics. O the irony of that. Really? Wonder what she's thinking while she's typing out her article.
New in my life: I recently have gone from shaving my face once a week to twice a week. I think puberty is going to kick in soon. And I went camping.
All the cool kids are leaving comments below.....
Keep smilin'
JM
Monday, March 22, 2010
I'll Take a Raincheck on That Pair of Pants
Irony is a beautiful thing. I live and look for it everyday. I think the Big Man upstairs put irony on this spinning ecosystem to teach us lessons in an innocently humorous way. Now irony is funny as long as we stay positive about things. The concept I find the most ironic lately is the pressure for people my age to get married. Now, believe me, I'm not pressured to get married. I just see some people fret about it. The reason the idea is ironic is that simultaneously the divorce rate has never been higher. Hmmmm.....
As a disclaimer to my friends whom are happily married, I want to say that I am extremely proud of the fact that you found the right equal (TB, MK...etc). I mean, if you guys can find someone to marry you, that gives me so much hope. Haha. Thats a joke. I hope you are offended. No it's just that in my current personal situation, a dog is too much commitment. That leads alot of women to quickly throw the "commitment issues" card on the table in my direction. Do it. The only reason more women don't have commitment issues is because of that little clock inside their bodies that has a monthly alarm screaming....CHILDREN!!! Just another reason I am proud to pee standing up, outside, and with my shirt off thanking God I am a man. Do I sound chauvanistic? Yep. Have I offended some women with the previous sentences? Yep. Do I drink Busch Light? Yep. Sorry, I need to just go watch Gladiator, Braveheart and 300 and get over my man pride.
Speaking of the matter, I've heard people say that persons with commitment issues also have decision making issues. That's wrong. In fact, to prove it, I have decided not to commit.
Back to the marriage idea...I think it's great that people go looking for a spouse. But I don't even know how that works. I mean, I've heard of shopping around for a wife, but I can't relate to that. Mainly because when I shop I love me a good deal and I normally look extensively through the clearance rack. So as far as dating goes then, should I steer clear of TJ Maxx? They're still good clothes, they just didn't sell well at other stores. (For those of you who know the pair of pants analogy, this fits in perfectly. I just can't explain it because that's secretive guy code) And when shopping at Express, I think it's great looking stuff, I just can't justify spending that much money. Because in reality, Target's clothes last just as long and I look just as good. (Pause) Let the analogy sink in. Bueno.
This spell of words may seem anti-marital. On the contrary, I think marriage is a wonderful thing. Thats why I will eventually think I'll do it.... once. I feel that as long as you don't make a habit of getting married, it's a great vocation. So to all my fellow tumbleweeds.... Salud! No pressure.
New in my life: I bought two boxes of girl scout cookies. Do the boyscouts still sell popcorn? Really? I bet they are getting demolished by the girl scouts in sales. Boyscouts really need to re-think their marketing plan....
Keep smilin'
JM
As a disclaimer to my friends whom are happily married, I want to say that I am extremely proud of the fact that you found the right equal (TB, MK...etc). I mean, if you guys can find someone to marry you, that gives me so much hope. Haha. Thats a joke. I hope you are offended. No it's just that in my current personal situation, a dog is too much commitment. That leads alot of women to quickly throw the "commitment issues" card on the table in my direction. Do it. The only reason more women don't have commitment issues is because of that little clock inside their bodies that has a monthly alarm screaming....CHILDREN!!! Just another reason I am proud to pee standing up, outside, and with my shirt off thanking God I am a man. Do I sound chauvanistic? Yep. Have I offended some women with the previous sentences? Yep. Do I drink Busch Light? Yep. Sorry, I need to just go watch Gladiator, Braveheart and 300 and get over my man pride.
Speaking of the matter, I've heard people say that persons with commitment issues also have decision making issues. That's wrong. In fact, to prove it, I have decided not to commit.
Back to the marriage idea...I think it's great that people go looking for a spouse. But I don't even know how that works. I mean, I've heard of shopping around for a wife, but I can't relate to that. Mainly because when I shop I love me a good deal and I normally look extensively through the clearance rack. So as far as dating goes then, should I steer clear of TJ Maxx? They're still good clothes, they just didn't sell well at other stores. (For those of you who know the pair of pants analogy, this fits in perfectly. I just can't explain it because that's secretive guy code) And when shopping at Express, I think it's great looking stuff, I just can't justify spending that much money. Because in reality, Target's clothes last just as long and I look just as good. (Pause) Let the analogy sink in. Bueno.
This spell of words may seem anti-marital. On the contrary, I think marriage is a wonderful thing. Thats why I will eventually think I'll do it.... once. I feel that as long as you don't make a habit of getting married, it's a great vocation. So to all my fellow tumbleweeds.... Salud! No pressure.
New in my life: I bought two boxes of girl scout cookies. Do the boyscouts still sell popcorn? Really? I bet they are getting demolished by the girl scouts in sales. Boyscouts really need to re-think their marketing plan....
Keep smilin'
JM
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Should I Read Your Paper?
When a tree falls in the forest, is there a noise? When someone ignores your phone call, do you know it? Maybe... sometimes. The phone lights up, you look at who is calling, you push ignore and continue watching Jersey Shore. Everyone has done it and for a cornicopia of different reasons. Maybe he's just not that into you. The key is to not make a habit of it. Now if I am awake and near my phone, I'm usually going to answer (obviously depending on the situation.) But one of the reasons that people ignore phone calls lines up exactly with a theory of mine...
You ever get home from work, and just don't feel like talking to humans? Yup. Even if your grandmother called (Rosemary is a saint), you wouldn't answer. According to some researchers, men use an estimated 7,000 words per day while women are in the upwards of 20,000 words per day. Makes sense. It's called a word count. Everyone has one and its personalized depending on the day and circumstances. For me, my daily word count depends on how much sleep I got the night before, how hungry I am or how much debauchery was raised at happy hour. And once I reach my word count for the day, I know it and you know it. Now based on the different personalities (introvert vs. extrovert) some people naturally will have a much higher word count. More science.
Tied into this word count is an emotional tank. De novo, everyone has an emotional tank. Some people have the emotional tank like an 18 wheeler, others have one comparable to a mo-ped. Just depends on your personality and who you decide to communicate with during the day. Every single person that you talk to during the day is emotionally draining to an extent. Meaning you use just a little bit of emotion everytime you speak. Some people you talk to will be extremely emotionally draining, they are least like your personality. Other primates will be hardly draining at all, those are the person's more like you and are very easy to confabulate with.
So for all you tyrants of the telephone, don't freak out if it's been awhile since I've talked to you; I probably have just been maxing out my word count. Or I don't like you. Just kidding. I probably like 98% of the people reading this. Now you're wondering if you're that 2%. Yep. You probably are.
Nutshelling this theory, everyday is like writing a paper and you get to choose the length and format of it. A pamphlet? A novel? Doesn't matter, as long as you're happy with it. Just make your paper worth reading. I'm at my word count for this blog.
New in my life: I'm still fighting the iphone craze but I recently just upgraded to unlimited texts. I feel like a college kid at an all you can eat buffet trying to get his money's worth.
Learning southern speak:
'Preciate Ya! = Thank You
Bless Your Heart = Sucks to be you/ Ain't that a shame.
Keep smilin'
JM
You ever get home from work, and just don't feel like talking to humans? Yup. Even if your grandmother called (Rosemary is a saint), you wouldn't answer. According to some researchers, men use an estimated 7,000 words per day while women are in the upwards of 20,000 words per day. Makes sense. It's called a word count. Everyone has one and its personalized depending on the day and circumstances. For me, my daily word count depends on how much sleep I got the night before, how hungry I am or how much debauchery was raised at happy hour. And once I reach my word count for the day, I know it and you know it. Now based on the different personalities (introvert vs. extrovert) some people naturally will have a much higher word count. More science.
Tied into this word count is an emotional tank. De novo, everyone has an emotional tank. Some people have the emotional tank like an 18 wheeler, others have one comparable to a mo-ped. Just depends on your personality and who you decide to communicate with during the day. Every single person that you talk to during the day is emotionally draining to an extent. Meaning you use just a little bit of emotion everytime you speak. Some people you talk to will be extremely emotionally draining, they are least like your personality. Other primates will be hardly draining at all, those are the person's more like you and are very easy to confabulate with.
So for all you tyrants of the telephone, don't freak out if it's been awhile since I've talked to you; I probably have just been maxing out my word count. Or I don't like you. Just kidding. I probably like 98% of the people reading this. Now you're wondering if you're that 2%. Yep. You probably are.
Nutshelling this theory, everyday is like writing a paper and you get to choose the length and format of it. A pamphlet? A novel? Doesn't matter, as long as you're happy with it. Just make your paper worth reading. I'm at my word count for this blog.
New in my life: I'm still fighting the iphone craze but I recently just upgraded to unlimited texts. I feel like a college kid at an all you can eat buffet trying to get his money's worth.
Learning southern speak:
'Preciate Ya! = Thank You
Bless Your Heart = Sucks to be you/ Ain't that a shame.
Keep smilin'
JM
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