Failure Is Not An Option, Really?

Failure is not an option! This is a mantra that many of us have used in the passed. I will not accept anything other than success. It is a motivational thing that kept me and many others on track and for many years i felt that to be true as I worked through school and jobs and marriage and children. On the scale of raising children, being a failure is not acceptable. I will not and cannot fail my kids. On the other hand, the only way to fail as a parent is to not take the time and make the effort. I am not always right and I make wrong decisions but is that failure when I make a decision that doesn’t exactly turn out the way I planned. I am, of course, not considering life and death type decisions. Those decision need to be on a whole other level and thank goodness I have not had to make that many of them.

I have recently come to the realization that our society has taken a motivational saying and changed the entire culture from the top down. Our Education system is being redesigned in order to not allow anyone to fail. The bar is set so low that the system does not have a failure option. The bailouts! How many time have I heard that whatever the industry is to important to fail or to big to fail. That really makes me wonder why the bankruptcy system is even in place.

What I am getting to is that I have changed my mind on the “failure is not an option” mantra. From now on I think I will go by a new mantra and I hope as many people as possible, including businesses and government that make tough decisions every day. Try and remember that those who you are leading are looking to you for guidance and depending on you. In that, I hope we remember –

“Failure is an option, consequences are not.”

Happy MLK Day

At this point I am completely frustrated with everything going on around me. My car is getting a $1700 repair. My wife has sent me to the doghouse. I finally got around to helping my daughter use her iTunes card and of course I have to convert the format into mp3.

But then I remember. Today I am not at work, which in itself gives it all a positive taste. It is also the day we celebrate a great man who led to a more equitable society, I think. All I know is that I got the day off and instead of honoring two of the greatest men in American history, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, as we did when I was in school we get to honor a civil rights activist that gave a really good speech. I am not trying to diminish the accomplishments of the civil rights movement. I am just wondering if this PC Holiday needs to be reconsidered as fairness day or everybody gets to share in everything equally day. Maybe it is because that day has not come yet.

I am a white guy who really wants the African American community to look at itself and fix what is wrong just like the rest of the country did thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. and the rest of the civil rights activists no matter what race, creed, color, or religion.

Looking for Answers

recently I have been feeling the urge to create/improve on something that can get the juices flowing in a positive way. I am trying to find the courage to bring to my boss the vision of the future that I have for our small group that can do so many great things and can become a real player in the market. I don’t know how receptive he will be to my ideas and the last thing I want is to step on his toes.

I am very passionate about things that i enjoy and things that make a difference. I love to get involved in things (sometimes too much) that make a difference. I don’t do it for my own good, but for the good of the project/organization. That is why I got involved in Nosebleed, and started writing about stuff that I love, sports. Unfortunately, the passion has been squashed a little in that area.

 I am also passionate about politics but I try to keep my emotions out of that realm because it causes irrational things to be said and bad decisions to be made. I find that politics is something that strikes to the core of all Americans. it is the degree of the strike that I find most interesting. It seem as though the politicians that are the most successful can touch that nerve that gets people to get involved. If the passion that lies in us all can be aroused, that is how they get the ground game moving. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it is brainwashing, but it is like an adrenaline high that you can over look all the bad stuff. Kinda like exercise, the pain is difficult to deal with, but the result of it is what matters.

I am on a Gary Vaynerchuk kick lately. i just love the passion he brings to a subject that quite honestly, is boring. But, like I said earlier, passion is what gets things moving. I am gonna go get some wine.

Socialism Is Sneaking In, Right in Front of Us, In Broad Daylight.

The lack of confidence in the Government is reaching an all time high. I would say the lack of confidence in the American people is at an all time high. The uneducated, ill-informed, celebrity mentality that is leading the sheeple to the slaughter is making me want to scream from the mountain top. Don’t you see what is happening!? Do you realize that you are being fattened with incentives to distract you from the problems!? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

The “Bailout” was the biggest money grab, backstabbing, lack of respect, overreaction, and best example of what is wrong with our government officials at this time. The only solution is throw money at it, protect our self interests, and keep our rich buddies safe and not look bad. The fact that it failed the first time gave me faith that there may actually be a spine in Washington. Now, I am thinking it was a political move to show strength to constituants and then “compromise”. After they added the $150 Billion in pork to get the extra votes, I felt like I went in for a root canal and came out with that and a colonoscopy. Please, stop spending my money.

Now, to the realization that the socialist are steadily taking over. The bailout is step one. The congress blatently ingnored us, the taxpayers and voters, to do what they think is a necessary thing. The few are leading us into government control of everything from the housing industry, to credit cards, to Wall Street, to education, to health care, you name it. I am begging the American people to wake up and smell the stench of socialism. Read 1984. Understand that a government that it’s sole purpose is self-preservation cannot and will not be of the people, by the people, or for the people.

I have concerns that either candidate will not be able to stop the tide of big government. McCain has not shown me that he can be a “Maverick” all that much. Obama has said, he wants to “spread the wealth around” so he wants to become the head of the huge government that provides for all the teet of nationalized health care, taxes for unacceptable behavior and tax credits for good behavior, everybody in a home that would give bankruptcy judges the ability to adjust the terms of a negotiated mortgage.

The thing that has gotten me fired up the most is that none of the conversation that is needed to get our country moving in the right direction is taking place. All I hear is sound bites and talking points, bad news about everything, and how it’s the other guys fault. We, the people of these United states, must put this crap aside and rethink who we are sending to Washington. Get informed about the issues, understand who and what you stand for, and most importantly remember what a miracle this country is. If you would like to end up being a so-so diplomatic power in the world that is unable to stand on it’s own, ignore the problems and look for “Hope” and “Change” that the government provides. Let’s start taking responsibilty for our own future, believe in each other, and perpetuate the American Dream. Work hard, do good, be responsible, and strive for excellence.

For clarification: socialism – any of various
economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental
ownership and administration of the means of production and
distribution of goods. per http://www.merriam-webster.com

If the government become overbearing and demanding that those that actually achieve greatness are forced to give away there hard earned capital to bailout anybody or any failing company/city/state it is nobody’s fault but our own.

VP Debate – Good. Reaction – Holy Crap!

I watched the entire VP debate last night and I have the opinion that Gov Palin did a little better than I thought she would and that  Sen. Biden was exactly what I thought he would be. The fun began immediately after the debate ended. I stuck with FoxNews because I find Brit Hume and his panel to be the best on TV. I switched over to the great MSNBC and listened to Olberman challenge Palin to come on with him and do an hour unedited. I would take him up on it, personally. I watched CNN break down the debate and immediate reaction. I have to admit, they claim to have the best political team on TV, they definitely have the largest. I saw no less than 10 analyst/broadcasters behind laptops on the same set. Geesh!!

Here is the one I can’t let go. Please read Bob Beckel’s column. This is the Washington establishment’s take on the debate if i have ever heard it. Let’s not fool ourselves, as “debates” go  these are not debates. These are basically joint job interviews with limited time to answer. For me, I would hire Gov. Palin solely because she is not ingrained in the Washington circle that creates the out of touch mentality that Government is the solution to everything and that the smartest people in the country are there and have the same party affiliation. I think she has a true conservative view and will shrink the size of government as much as the VP can, which honestly is not much. Sen. Biden spoke like a Senator that has been in office since she was in 2nd grade and I was barely a year old. The idea that he won on points would work in a college/high school debate, I would agree with. I do believe she won overall because she got her point across to me that she does have a grasp of what is going on, that she knows what she believes, and she will stand up for it.

The Elitist in politics is the Press.

Elitism is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as:

The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups
deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as
in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

As I logged in to my Yahoo page this afternoon I could not help but read this headline:

Palin press may boycott UN conference

I am really concerned that the “Yellow Journalism” that I studied in the 9th grade is in full effect. Relying on the new media to set the record straight and do your research for you is where the “mainstream” media seems to be headed.

As someone who likes to write my opinions on my blog, that is what I write, my opinion. If you are coming to me for well researched, edited, and vetted information I respectfully send you somewhere else. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything or a source for much of anything.

That is what is concerning me, the newspapers and news agencies are the sourced, edited, researched, proof-read, and vetted providers of the news, or at least they should be. The fact that they have progressively learned that they have a very large sway over the country and have started to use it. I believe Thomas Jefferson was highly in favor of the Free and Responsible Press, this is definately not what we have today. Start recording the events and report the record versus presenting the story that you would like to based on ratings or political bias.

In an effort to fully disclose my position, I am a conservative with mostly Republican leanings. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, I beg you to please look past whether you agree with the story or not, where do they get off threatening to not cover and event based on the facts that you would not be allowed to send in your own reporters, only one pool reporter was allowed, because there would not be a question an answer session. Wouldn’t you rather have your reporters tracking down real stories rather than standing in a room where they will not be allowed to ask anything? By subsequently “boycotting” the coverage, you are inserting yourself into the story that is really not a story. Please, get a grip and quit taking yourself so seriously. This is really not a big deal.

Hey Europe! If You Want Obama, listen up…

For many years the European continent has created such greatness. They seem to have it all figured out and want to offer their assistance to us lowly Americans. Suggestions like get that Cowboy out of there and install the enlightened one are great, from your point of view, and i respect that. But here’s the thing. WE ARE AMERICAN’S!!!!  Our forefathers came here to get away form your ideals and way of thinking. We don’t like being told how to think and act according to the diplomatic terms of the EU. We decide our own fate. And as far as I am concerned the Cowboy has done quite a bit to protect your sorry butts on more than one occasion.

Your holier than thou, high and mightiness, rubs us the wrong way. Especially when a “comedian” comes over here and says that. Now, please understand one thing, I respect Europe very much having lived there for a few years. Your ways of doing things are very European. In that I mean the state is the solution for everything and you love being able to have a 30 hour work week and 6 weeks vacation and 6 month maternity leave and all those social programs that you love to tote as great strides towards the future. From here it looks like a blast from the past. Creating a class of powerful and the serfs that serve under them.

So here is the secret, if you want to get your boy Obama elected, shut the hell up! The more you squawk about how he would be so great for your country, he would bring you into the world community. Here’s what it would do, destroy our morale, get us into more debt, and become more reliant on others, just like you are. So I ask you to not listen to what I have to say and  continue to blather on about it. It fires me up and gets me ready to vote for McCain even more.