Sleeism # 5
Man is like the turtle…. You have to stick your neck out in order to get ahead
This is similar to some of the quotes in our Friday Filosophy today. No guts no glory. If you don’t try who can you blame but yourself. The course starts with the first step. There are many other pithy sayings that mean the same thing. The time is now.
Sleeism # 4
It is hard to soar with the Eagles
If you are up all night with the Turkeys
Sometimes it is hard to remember that the morning comes awfully early. When you are having fun in the evening and into the early morning it is wise to remember that the sun comes up every day (so far) and that you have to be race ready when you get up. It is not a sign of weakness to get to bed in the middle of a party. It is purely an understanding of the responsibilities we have the next day. The time is now.
Sleeism # 3
Always assume the other person is twice as smart as you are and work twice as hard to prove they aren’t.
This is another from Tony Doxsey and it has help up rather well over the years. It is expressed another way that might help make it more clear to you. “In the long run, the race belongs not merely to the swift, but to the farseeing, to those who anticipate change” – Lykes Lines. This gives me great hope. It means you don’t have to be good looking, to be muscular, to be athletic, to be intellectual, or in any other manner extraordinary. You just have to be curious.
That combination of curiosity and the ability to work hard will get you a long, long way in life.
The time is now.
It is Saturday and one of my favorite events is what I call a “Man Date.” This is when my grandson and I go and have our haircuts. It started when my daughter began to have trouble getting him to sit still for his haircut. So off we went for his first trip to the barbershop.
My barber is a terrific man, his name is Joe. He has run the typical old barbershop for many years. He is also a musician and entertains across the valley. He also leads the Scouts. He does a lot of things as well as providing a pretty mean haircut.
So there we are and my grandson is about four or so and he is going to have his first Barbershop haircut. He is not happy to hear the clippers or to see his mother and grandparents taking pictures of him crying. Joe you see has a grip on his head like it is bowling ball without the three holes. That is where it started. So for a number of years the two of us have gone off on a regular basis to have our “man date” at Joe’s.
This morning was our date and now it is a rather enjoyable time. The little guy sits in the chair – no booster required anymore – and has a chat with Joe. It is a fun and amusing watching the two of them talking about all kinds of weird and wonderful things. He has learned how to use the gels now – his grandfather (me) hasn’t got enough hair to use a gel and I am convinced that is Joe rubbing it in by teaching the little guy how to apply it and clean up afterwards. But it is a great haircut and I had one at the same time. So there we are – two “men” sharing time on a date getting our hair cut. You have to love it. The time is now.
I started working – an actual on a daily basis job when I was fifteen years old. Yes I did a bunch of stuff before that but I don’t count it. Sometime in those early years I took on this Sleeism #2. It has been heard by anyone who has ever worked with me or suffered a discussion with me or in one manner or another spent time with me – which leads to me two short stories. Remember me? I tell stories as a means of ensuring that people understand my strange mannerisms in communications.
Story #1: It is 1983 and my family and I have moved to Denver, CO. I was working for a computer software company, EBS. The VP of Sales was a gentleman named Bill McManes. He was one of the best sales people I have ever seen from a selling technique perspective. He was awesome in action. Well my family was invited to join Bill and his family for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a wonderful gesture. We were new in town and we didn’t know that many people so it was appreciated. We sat down for the dinner and Caroline my daughter was sitting to Bill’s left and Marlene, my wife, and I were down at the other end of the table. Bill looks to Caroline and asks innocently “Caroline have you heard about your father’s three strikes rule?” Caroline is an extremely wonderful person and she has a rather scary attribute – she is extremely intelligent. I know that is a father talking but I promise if anything I understate it. Well without missing a beat Caroline, who was somewhere around 8 years old at the time, said “Yes Bill I have one strike how many do you have?” Bill in amazement looked down the table and said “You do this to your kid???”
Story #2: It is about 2009 and my daughter Caroline is going through her student teaching assignments. She was in a rather rough school in an underprivileged area. Well Caroline is a small woman somewhere around 100 pounds soaking wet and about 5”3. She also is a runner so she is incredibly fit. She calls me after school one day and relates the following story.
One of the students was causing trouble. This was a grade 5 class and the students are always trying to be the center of attention. After politely attempting to get control of the room there was this one young man who continued on being a disturber. He wouldn’t stop. So what did my daughter do? She asked him to stand up and while he was standing, being watched by everyone in the room, she walked slowly up to him and get very close. She held up one finger and said to this astonished your person in the appropriate tone “That Is One” – she turned didn’t say anything else and walked away. When she turned around to face the class she told him that he could now sit down. He never caused trouble again. She said to me on the phone “Dad does that ever work.” And I asked her why she thought it worked. She said – and I love it – he didn’t know what #2 was going to be.
So there are two stories to explain Sleeism #2 here it is:-
Sleeism # 2
Once is happenstance; Twice is circumstance; Third time is Enemy Action
Over the years I have come up with a series of thoughts – either unique or in some cases I am sure repeats of someone much more sensible than I. These comments have started taking on the name of a Sleeism.
Of course there is no such word and at the risk of appearing to be more arrogant than I am sure I seem to be I have adopted this “moniker” for these words of wisdom.
Sleeism # 1
From my youth – It is NEVER too early to start winning. It is ALWAYS too early to start losing.
