In 1661, Frances Hawkins wrote a book, Youth’s Behavior, Or, Decencie in Conversation Among Men. It was popular as a text in the education of young men. Notably among them was George Washington, the “Father of our Country”, who, as a youth, copied Hawkins’ 110 guidelines for maintaining respect and […]
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Progress, Like Performance, is a State of Mind
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw For the past several years, I have been grappling with my realization that pretty much everything I think, and everything that we think, is made up, which is to say: Whatever […]
Engagement at Work
What would make the difference to your team? In Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Hall reflects on the higher nature of Man, characterized by clarity, Spirit, grace and compassion, whereas the lower nature of man is characterized by fear, superstition and ignorance. Whether consciously or unconsciously, […]
Who Do We Listen To?
Who is Calling the Shots Here? Apparently, our internal dialogue, the internal running conversation, has been running for a very long time. The Toltecs call this “the Narrator,” which kind of sums up that role. It is constantly talking to us, advising, judging and yes, criticizing. Modern Definition:“An internal monologue, also […]
The Economics of Decency in the Desert
My wife Marlene, who is also my business partner, and our daughters Christa Marie and Caitlyn Rose, both in their young twenties, just returned from our first trip to Burning Man. Burning Man is in its 39th year and currently held annually in the Black Rock desert North of Reno. […]
Back to the Economic Power of Decency
I recently had a first in a lifetime experience! Pete Buttigieg, a Presidential candidate, was in town. A friend, who thinks highly of him, invited us to go with her to hear him speak. We went! It was held downtown at an event facility and there were several hundred, maybe […]
What do we Know about Reality? Nothing, Really!
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent, as opposed to that which is merely imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, reality is the totality of the universe, known and unknown. Wikipedia distinguishes between […]
Conscious Capitalism
I recently attended the annual Future Frontiers conference in Austin, Texas… And after a somewhat sobering interview with Psychologist Ken Wilber, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, began to speak. Most of the conversation revolved around the courtship with Jeff Bezos prior to becoming part of the Amazon family. John spoke […]
The economics of decency
Yes, it pays to be nice! I recently returned from a 10-day silent meditative retreat. Now, “silent” is a bit of a misnomer, to be sure. Just because I am not talking for that period in no way means I am fully silent. It simply means I am more present than […]
Why it’s vital to respect and recognize mistakes
Finding fault is not leading. Assigning blame is not correcting the issue. Over the years I have noticed the common response to mistakes or breakdowns in organizations is “whose fault is it?” Punishment is to follow. Over time people learn to: Avoid mistakes over taking calculated risks Hide their mistakes, so nothing […]