Divide and Conquer–Recruiting the Sheeple

Never be intimated by your enemy's appearance. Instead, look at the parts that make up the whole. By separating the parts, sowing dissension and division, you can bring down even the most formidable foe. When you are facing troubles or enemies, turn a large problem into small, eminently defeatable parts

Since no creature can survive without the ability to see or sense what is going on around it, make it hard for your enemies to know what is going on around them, including what you are doing. Feed their expectations, manufacture a reality to match their desires, and they will fool themselves. Control people's perceptions of reality and you control them.

Robert Greene - The 33 Strategies of War

The #1206 “fiction” series continues …

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The two “men” sat in silence, both intently observing the holograms in front of them.

“I am surprised”, thought the first, “I didn’t realize that a species this advanced could be undermined so easily.  You were right after all.”

The second chuckled in his mind.  “Your mistake was that you gave them too much credit”, he thought, “Divide and conquer is the only universal means proven to submit a group that would ordinarily put forward great resistance to being conquered.”

“Possibly”, thought the first, “But the things you have come up with recently are, to be honest, brilliant.  The people of Earth have truly become blinded by their ignorance and rather than find common ground that unites them, they seem incredibly focused on everything that divides them.  As I thought earlier, brilliant.”

“Thanks”, thought the second, “But it wasn’t easy and some things have taken a lot longer to incubate than originally anticipated.  Climate change seemed to ignite significant divisiveness but that died down.  Terrorism divided countries but that seems to have become trite now, with Earth people mostly ignoring terror attacks.”

“True”, thought the first, “But the divisiveness around gender was truly brilliant.  It is setting people against each other, against their governments, against their religious institutions and even setting institution against institution.  We still haven’t see how far such divisiveness will take them.  Look at their State of New York which now has over 30 gender types available when applying for a vehicle licence.  That alone drove a lot of Earth people crazy.”

“Yes”, thought the second, “but what we are incubating right now is the best of all. “

“How so?”, thought the first.

“The election of their American President presents phenomenal opportunity for us”, thought the second, “We can use two candidates to divide people on racial lines, gender lines, wealthy versus impoverished lines and even create international incidents between their countries.  We are prepared to potentially harvest one of the greatest opportunities we have ever had.  The hatred being shared between long-time friends, family members, organizations and governments is fantastic.”

The first shivered slightly with excitement as he contemplated the potential that this event contained.

The second thought again to continue his ideas.

“Their social media as they call it has become one of the greatest antisocial tools at our disposal.  Humans who bully others do so under the guise of being a victim of bullying, misinformation amongst their species is at an all time high and people would rather respond to negative emotion and hatred than the potential to create good in their world.  As I thought to you earlier, we are exceeding our expectations with this election for their American leader.  This will likely be the last task necessary for us to move on to the next part of our strategy.”

The first reflected about this, his face incapable of showing emotion.  “Do you really think it will be this easy?”, he thought.

“There appears to be no limit to how easily they are overrun with divisiveness and negativity”, thought the second, “Despite how they cherish small acts of kindness and use it to justify their belief that love overcomes evil, the significant, damaging events are ours to control.  Earth people are blinded by their own ignorance.  Their primal need to be paranoid and fearful of everything, something that has served to protect their species for thousands of Earth years, now presents itself as potentially the greatest means of undermining them.”

The first nodded thoughtfully.

“Come forward”, thought the second as he sensed a presence, “There is no need to hide in the shadows.”

A third came forward.  He had been observing the thoughts of the first two in silence.

“What do you think of our thoughts?”, thought the first.

The third shrugged.

“I think we are encouraging a powerful species with unlimited potential for good to destroy themselves”, he thought, “A dreadful waste.”

“If they don’t think they are worthy of uniting to meet their unlimited potential to do good, why should we care?”, thought the second.

“And besides”, the second continued, “For them to unite in such a way doesn’t serve our intentions for them or their planet.”

The third shrugged again as all three watched the holograms of Earth news.

“I’ll wager a nation that your brilliance will prove to be hugely successful”, thought the first.

“A nation?”, thought the second, “I will wager an entire planet that we will be successful.”

“What do you think?”, the first thought as he looked at the third.

The third blanked his mind as he continued to observe the holograms with his large, dark, glittering eyes.

To be continued.

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© 2016 – Harry Tucker – All Rights Reserved

Background

This blog was inspired by observing friends and colleagues, some of whom are drinking the Kool Aid of one side or the other of the political comedy / tragedy known as the US Presidential Election.  They are blinded by what they are being fed and they feed it to others without thinking.  When someone doesn’t want to partake in what they are being fed, they find themselves having the verbal diarhea shoved down their throat.

Meanwhile others are caught up in the insanity of defending famous people against bullies, not realizing that the data suggests that some of the victims are in fact bullies themselves who don’t like it when people stand up to their bullying.  When the resistance comes, the bully now victim plays the gender card, the race card or something else to show how in fact they are the real victim.  Such bullies remind me of the Emperor in Star Wars who would play the victim when confronted but once the other character let their guard down, the Emperor revealed his true intentions and attempted to kill them.

I was inspired by Alex and Vin to write this blog.

I love you both.

You are both sensitive and brilliant – don’t be played by others who seek divisiveness to drive their agenda, using you and others as their stepping stones to power.

You will be long forgotten as they reap the harvest they rely on you to sow the seeds for.

Series Origin

This series, a departure from my usual musings, is inspired as a result of conversations with former senior advisors to multiple Presidents of the United States, senior officers in the US Military and other interesting folks as well as my own professional background as a Wall St. / Fortune 25 strategy advisor and large-scale technology architect.

While this musing is just “fiction” (note the quotes) and a departure from my musings on technology, strategy, politics and society, as a strategy guy, I do everything for a reason and with a measurable outcome in mind. :-)

This “fictional” musing is a continuation of the #1206 series noted here.

Living On The Edge–How Close Do You Dare?

* A musing somewhat continued from “Preventing A Disaster – Or Preparing To Survive One”, originally posted on November 29, 2012, "Divide and Conquer", originally posted in August of 2012, and “Financial Crisis”, originally posted on March of 2008.  There is some benefit to reading those first but it is not required.

This series, a departure from my usual musings,  is inspired as a result of conversations with former senior advisors to multiple Presidents of the United States and senior officers in the US Military. *

John paused for a moment and wiped the sweat from his brow.  The air was filled with the scent of pine and insects buzzed busily around him.

His colleague, whom he had just recently met at a conference stopped about 20 yards ahead of him, turned and smiled.  “You’re not tired yet, surely””, he said jovially.

John examined his colleague closely and noticed that he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“I’m ok”, he replied, determined to see what his new friend had insisted he must see.

30 minutes of arduous hiking later, John suddenly crested a small outcropping and found himself on the peak of the mountain they had been climbing.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”, his colleague proclaimed, his hands spread as if to embrace the valley spread far below them.

John was overcome by the beauty he saw and found himself speechless.

“I wonder what it will be like when it’s all gone”, mused his colleague quietly.

Snapping awake from his reverie, John turned to him and said “What do you mean?”

His colleague motioned him closer to the edge and John approached tentatively, fearful of the dizzying height.

Suddenly his colleague grabbed him and swung him over the edge.  John’s feet gripped the edge of the cliff but his upper body leaned dangerously over the precipice, the iron grip of his colleague being all that separated him from certain death.

The valley spun dizzily below him.  John grabbed his colleague’s arm with both hands and stared into his face, terrified at the realization that he was about to die.

His colleague’s face was stoic and his eyes burned into John’s.

“For the love of God, what are you doing?”, cried John as he felt his colleagues eyes burrow into his psyche.

“For the love of God, you say”, his colleague said. “What are you afraid of?  Don’t you enjoy living on the edge?”.

“Not like this”, John stammered.

“What do you mean?”, replied his colleague.  “You live in a world where you are surrounded by beauty and yet you seem content to live on the edge all the time, always threatening to destroy yourselves with weapons, always using the downtrodden as a stepping stone for your own personal needs, taking from the earth as you please and not paying attention to those who would use you for their own personal gain, no matter how dangerous their intention or how problematic their result.”

John’s feet slipped a little and he felt his heart wanting to explode out of his chest.

His colleague continued.

“Forces are at work that threaten the unlimited potential that you have.  A beautiful Life doesn’t happen by accident, you know.  It takes effort and intention to create a beautiful Life in a world that has forces of evil and darkness intent on destroying that beauty, wilfully or accidentally”.

He shook John a little, as if to emphasize what he had just said.

“So you can choose to allow those forces to continue their work or you can choose to do something about it?  Which do you choose, John?”.  His colleague leaned John a little further back and John’s panic increased.

John tried to avert his colleague’s intense stare.  He felt like they were examining his soul.

“Ok, ok, I’ll do something about it.  What should I do?”, pleaded John.

“Why should I believe you?”, replied his colleague.  “People will say anything to please someone with no intention to follow through once imminent danger has passed”.

“I mean it.  Please, for the love of God, don’t let me die like this”, John screamed.  The echo of his voice mocked him as it reverberated in the valley below.

His colleague studied John’s face carefully and suddenly drew him up onto the peak and released him.  John collapsed, his body soaked with sweat and his heart beating painfully as he shook uncontrollably on the ground.

His colleague knelt down and helped him up.  Steadying him by his shoulders, his eyes looked into John’s and he said firmly, “2000 years ago, you were given a warning, you have been given repeated warnings since and still you chose not to listen.”

“I don’t understand”, replied John, trying to avert his colleague’s gaze.

“You will”, replied his colleague, suddenly reverting back to the gentle person whom John had befriended.  His colleague smiled, put his arm around John’s shoulders and said,  “Come, let’s go down the mountain before darkness sets in”.

John felt strength returning to his legs and started towards the path that led back down the mountain.

As he reflected on whether he was with an enlightened soul or a madman, a thought suddenly came to mind as he realized that he had blindly followed this man and yet he still didn’t even know his name.

When he realized how stupid and absurd he had been to follow a complete stranger to such a remote place, he turned quickly to confront his colleague.

And was startled to discover ….

….. that he was alone.

To be continued.

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© 2013 – Harry Tucker – All Rights Reserved

The Paradox of Our Progress

I saw this note by a social media friend today and it caused me to stop and reflect on how well (or not) we use the tools and knowledge at our disposal.

Question: If someone from the 1950’s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about Life today?

Answer: I possess a device that fits in my pocket and that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man.  I use it primarily to look at pictures of cats and get caught in arguments with strangers.

I won’t offer any analysis of this exchange.

I think it speaks volumes in terms of our potential and what we do (and don’t do) with it.

Are you living up to your potential?

How do you know?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Life and Software–When The Obvious Is Not So Obvious

Some years ago, I was working on a project on Wall St. where one of the Big 4 consulting companies had just implemented a very expensive IT system.

Its architecture was glorious in theory, perfect in its purity and yet one day, this glorious manifestation took down the entire internal network of a major bank.

What happened?

Without getting too technical, the application was designed to get any message that needed to be displayed to its user from a centralized database of messages.

One day, someone inadvertently took the message database offline and the application realized that an error occurred when it couldn’t retrieve the messages it needed to display.

In order to display the error message describing what happened, the application naturally went looking for the error message in that database and it couldn’t find it, producing another error.

That error in turn caused the application to look for the same database to obtain the same error message to display and then ……

You get the picture.

The application architects and developers had failed to plan for the fact that the message database itself could disappear.

The application “panicked” and tried harder and harder to obtain the information it needed and in doing so, spun itself into oblivion while producing nothing in the way of a positive result.  Thousands of PCs started doing the same thing and the network came down.

A multi-million dollar system had been brought to its knees by a simple oversight.

Life Is Like That Sometimes

Sometimes Life is the same.  Something that we thought should be happening in Life is not happening and so we try again.

But instead of doing something different, we try the same thing and produce the same result.

Getting frustrated (or panicking) we do the same thing again.

It feels natural to do this until someone points out that in fact we are doing the same thing over and over. 

And if n0body points this out or they do and we ignore them, eventually our “network”; our brain, our strength, our courage or our faith in ourselves and others fails.

And then comes the inevitable crash just as the crash that occurred within the Bank I mentioned.

All it would take to avoid this crash is a slight change in our approach or a slight change in our understanding of the environment that we live within.

But sometimes when we are in the thick of things, the slight modifications needed in our actions or our environment are not easily visible – we’re too focused on rapidly finding a solution.

And when we get caught up in our ever-increasing need to find a solution, the solution we seek will evade us with ever increasing speed …. causing panic, pain or failure as a result.

The Objective Observer

In the case of the application I mentioned, the architects came to me and said “We’re stuck – what can we do?”.  They had spent weeks of meetings trying to sort it out.

I looked at the architecture and said “Perhaps if the error routine already had knowledge of the “Message database is not available” message without having to go get it, it could report the error without spinning itself into oblivion”.

A simple answer – easily discerned and seemingly obvious to me because I wasn’t buried in the weeds of the thing nor did I have any concern around admitting I had created the problem.

Life is the same.

Sometimes when we find ourselves buried in the weeds of something that doesn’t appear to be working, we need to find the objective observer who can point out what is obvious to them.

It took the Big 4 consultants with their $2500 per day bill rates a long time to suck up their ego before asking me what the issue was.

But eventually the embarrassment (and potential punishment) from failure was more powerful than the ego that was holding them back.

Einstein’s Law of Insanity applies here, the notion that we shouldn’t expect a different result from the same actions. However, I wonder if it should be renamed Einstein’s Law of Ego.

When we finally push our ego down enough to ask “Can you help me understand why this is not working?”, we open ourselves up to new results that are dramatically better.

Isn’t that better than spinning ourselves into oblivion?

Our level of perfection as human beings may be perfect in potential, just as this application’s architecture was perfect in theory.

But potential means nothing if the results don’t match the potential.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS  I was reminded as I wrote this about a conversation I had with an NTSB investigator years ago.  He mentioned that in some situations, a pilot was able to avert disaster when, as an unanticipated event occurred, he took 10 seconds to stop and ask “What is happening here?” instead of just instantly reacting to the situation and possibly making it worse if not fatal.

An interesting thought and somewhat related.

Why Wouldn’t ET Be Fascinated With Us?

People who know of my connection to certain military and government projects often ask me “If extraterrestrials are real, why would they even care about humans on Earth?”.

Think about it.

A species that attains a state of perfection would be perfect in love or perfect in destructive capability.  Keep in mind that perfection doesn’t necessary mean a positive thing.  It merely means that one is perfect in its ability to carry out its purpose.

Mankind, however, sits on the cusp of perfection in love or destructive capability, having not leaned either way yet.  What a fascinating opportunity for a superior intelligence, good or bad, to observe a culture early in its march towards perfection.

We see examples every day that show what our society is capable of, both good and bad.

Some people complain when they have unlimited amounts of everything while others are grateful when they have practically nothing.

Some create war when the death of thousands or millions solves nothing while others find ways to create peace amidst chaos.

Some gorge themselves selfishly into early death while others seek to find ways to share everything with those in need.

Some see hatred everywhere while others see love.

Some see scarcity while others marvel at unlimited abundance.

Some people see the complexity of the world as proof that “God” doesn’t exist while others point to the same complexity as the very proof they need to establish that “God” is real.

Our ability to create love or hatred, abundance or scarcity, war or peace and ultimately life or death, in unlimited quantities, would be fascinating for an external species to observe (and maybe to influence).

Heck, it would be fun to start a pool as to which way the savage Terrans with fantastic potential will finally lean as they make their way towards their ultimate state of perfection.

If I were  a betting man, I would wager that our potential to become an all-loving, knowledge-seeking, sharing, collaborative, peaceful species is the stronger of the two potentials.

But to get there (or as close as “humanly” possible) requires conscious choice, effective strategy, strong tactics, proactive action, visionary leaders and a will to make it that way.  It requires conscious choice in how we think and execute at every level of society, in our personal and professional lives, from the foundational building blocks of our immediate relationships right up to international governance.

It requires a will to avoid something as incredibly frightening as is illustrated in this video:

 

Nuclear testing around the world.

 

Last call ….. care to make a wager?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS Does anyone know the intergalactic exchange rate from dollars to cubits?

The Difficulty With Being Perfect

I was having an exchange with a colleague today who was getting exasperated with my advice.  In the last exchange, he (whom I will refer to as Dave) said “Look, it’s easy for you to say this.  You’ve never made mistakes.  You never worry.   People like you don’t understand how the rest of us live”.

It’s not the first time I have tried to help someone and been told that.

If Dave and others knew the burden of being perfect, they wouldn’t treat perfect people such as myself and others so harshly.

Of course, if they really knew the definition of a “perfect” person, they would know something else.

They would know that those whom they consider perfect are as far from perfect as one could get.

Yes, it is true that my upbringing gave me an unfair advantage that put me far ahead of the pack in the Race of Life.  For example, here is a picture of my family’s first house when I was young:

An unfair advantage indeed!

And yes, I had a very successful career from an early age, whether it was architecting Canada’s first PC-based insurance system or solving complex problems on Wall St.   I did it so effortlessly, I am told. 

Truth is, I just never let people see me sweat or hear me second-guessing my capabilities as I dealt with fraud complex at an early age (the inability to accept that one deserves the awards and accolades that one is receiving).

Years later, when I was driving the software company that I cofounded in NYC towards a subsequent acquisition / IPO, a number of colleagues wished they could trade places with me.  After all, they said, Life is much easier when you are on the top than it is when you are working for someone else.

Yes, there was a lot of excitement working at the top.  But sometimes when my colleagues were fast asleep, I was awake wondering if we would make the next payroll or if the next big deal was the one that would save or sink the company, its employees and their families whom I was responsible for.

Did I make any mistakes along the way? Hah – if you only knew! :-)

When it comes to personal relationships, I have made more than my share of mistakes.  In fact, some mistakes were outright failures on my part.

So what does all of this mean?

Absolutely nothing.

Life is what it is - I am perfect in my imperfection as is everyone on this planet.

If Life were easy, we would all steamroll to the top and then, looking around and experiencing a challenge-free Life, we would look to the sky and say '”Is this it?  Is this all there is?”

We would have little to be proud of, including accomplishments or examples of personal growth.  After all, how many of us brag about the days when we were rewarded for no effort on our part?

Fortunately, Life forces us to be challenged, forces us to grow and to rise above challenge.

Even when we don’t want to.

Or rather .... especially when we don’t want to.

It has been said that when a bird wants to fly fast, it flies with the wind but when it wants to fly high, it flies against the wind.

So the question is:

Do we prefer to get somewhere easily with minimal reward or to be forced to fly high to find the rewards that are commensurate with our immeasurable potential?

I believe that when we reach our personal end-of-days, we discover at that moment that we were indeed perfect for the journey we just experienced.

In the meantime, we shouldn’t allow our potential to be diminished by the belief that our state of perfection is any different than anyone else’s, since that belief becomes a millstone around our neck and prevents us from accomplishing the things we wish to achieve.

We should focus on enhancing the state of perfection in ourselves and others instead of constantly comparing ourselves to others.

Until then, we’ll have to be content with our state of imperfection and continue to work towards refining ourselves, to bringing our result as close as possible to our potential. 

We will also need to be content with failing once in a while, since such mistakes and the learning associated with them bring us closer to growth and a state of perfection.

Well … you will have to be content with this.

Because I’m already perfect. :-)

Create a great day for yourself and others, in service and servanthood.

Harry

You’ve Learned To Say No – How About Yes?

There is an old adage that says that you become what you focus on.

As I contemplate that insight, I think about the many messages that we are bombarded with that insist we say “no” to.

Say “no” to drugs.

Say “no” to bullies.

Say “no” to the oppression of others.

Say “no” to ………..

I wonder sometimes if we have focused on saying “no” to so many things that we have forgotten how to say “yes” to much any more - that we have become conditioned to lean towards “no” when faced with a decision.

“No” seems so safe, doesn’t it?  In a world of uncertainty, many people believe that while a “yes” may put them at high risk, the worst that a “no” can do is leave them where they were before with nothing gained BUT nothing lost either.

It is true that the ability to say “no” can be an important skill to have; for example if you are contemplating whether or not you should walk down that dark alley alone, invest in a company that claims to have perfected eternal life or jump out of a plane with a sleeping bag on your back instead of a parachute.

Perhaps the ability may be of some use when deciding if you really need that new car, the house that is twice is large as you really need or that second piece of cheese cake.

Yes, “no” can come in handy. :-)

However, sometimes, the Universe / God / karma / whatever will put things in front of us because we need to say “yes”.

Perhaps we need to say “yes” to better enable us for the next big step in our life.

Maybe we need to say “yes” to better enable us to serve others.

It is possible that we need to say “yes” to allow us to find a solution to a challenge.

Perhaps we need to say “yes” to create or experience collaboration, healing or love.

If we constantly use the word “no” every time an opportunity manifests, for whatever reason, then perhaps we are denying ourselves and others a chance to reach our fullest potential.

Learning to say “yes” more is not easy.  The inability to say “yes” is rooted in many things, but I think the most common reasons are excess ego and fear.

Excess ego tells me that there is not enough in it for me, I can do it better myself or that the only one who can be trusted to get it done is myself.

Fear tells me that perhaps I am incapable of rising to the occasion of “yes”, that I may screw it up once I get engaged in the opportunity or that I am unworthy of the opportunity.

So “no’ slips out of our mouth or manifests in our actions much easier – there is a lot less to contemplate.  After all, “no” doesn’t set us back (so we think) while “yes” often has to run the gauntlet of internal struggle, before eventually acquiescing to a “no” or the equally dangerous “maybe” that is presented as a potential “yes” but is actually meant to be a disguised “no”.

We can look at every experience that is placed in front of us, say “no” to everything (thinking we are playing it safe) and live our lives, oblivious to the potential we are denying in ourselves and others.

Playing it safe …….. yeah …… right.

I shared on a previous blog (“The Importance of Conversation”) how I happened to be in a situation a few years ago where a woman in my presence was contemplating suicide (I didn’t know it at the time).  Something told me that something was wrong and I initially fought off the urge to say or do anything. 

I wanted to say “no” to the feeling for a variety of reasons, but eventually I gave in to the feeling.  I said “yes” to the Universe and engaged in conversation with a complete stranger.

In turn, she could have said “no”, discouraged my help and then completed the deed she had intended for herself.

However, she also said “yes”.

We both said “yes” and that made all the difference.

Perhaps if we explored “yes” a little more often we might find that Life is a lot more rewarding for ourselves and others.

I’m not suggesting that we be reckless about how we say “yes”.

However, to say “yes” more often is no more reckless than to say “no” more than we should.

What do you think?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

My Musings-in-a-Minute version of “You’ve Learned To say No – How About Yes?” is the same as this one and can be found here.

Sowing the Seeds of Hope

As a strategy guy, I look upon the world some days with great concern.  In fact, if I evaluate the world using the same lens and filters that I use when working with Fortune 25 companies, I am alarmed about where we are heading and how we are getting there.

However, every once in a while, I am reminded that we have reasons for hope.

Today I happened to overhear a performance review in a local Starbucks. 

It was a very positive review for the Starbucks partner, which in itself is nothing new to any organization that values its processes and its staff.

However, listening to this review, I was deeply touched by the interaction.

The young partner is a wonderful example of the gifts that EVERYONE brings to the table in the journey we call Life.

She exemplifies the notion that EVERYONE on this planet has potential to make a huge difference to those around them.

She is an example of how EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to allow their gifts to shine.

She is also an example of someone who powerfully demonstrates that sometimes, if a person may not feel like they have equal opportunity to bring their gifts to the table, that ANYONE can accomplish what they put their mind to when we all work together to bring out the best in each other.

This young partner has Down’s Syndrome. 

So what?

She is a powerful reminder that we must never dismiss someone just because we might perceive they are not as capable of others.

Because in truth, that is merely a perception and a poor, inaccurate one at that – nothing could be further from the truth.

And as I listen to this exchange built upon respect, love and encouragement, I am reminded of something else.

That as long as exchanges like this occur around the world, the seeds of hope are still being planted.

Seeds that have the potential to blossom into a world of incredible potential and beauty.

We are called every day to help plant seeds of hope whenever we can.

Have you planted your seeds today?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

My Musings-in-a-Minute version of “Sowing the Seeds of Hope” is the same as this one and can be found here.

I’m Getting Nothing Done Today …. Or Maybe …

I started the day with a lot of great intentions , many of which I am making my way through but not quite the way I had hoped.  I’m usually fairly disciplined about how I approach my day and goodness knows that I have a full task list of high priority items these days.

So what’s slowing my day down today?

Interruptions …. by people who have always wanted to say hi to me but didn’t previously, by people intrigued by a book in front of me, by people who just wanted to stop by to say “hi”, etc.

Ordinarily, I have no issue saying “no” to people.

However, today, despite the pressure of my workload, I didn’t say “no”.  In fact, every time someone stopped by to chat, a quiet voice said “Be still and listen”.

And I did.

And by doing so, I was blessed, honored and privileged to share some time with people who, like all of us, are on a journey filled with wonder, excitement, complexity, difficulty and challenge.

Journeys that invite us to be the best we can be while challenging us to overcome obstacles that we may sometimes feel cannot be overcome.

Many times on such journeys, it is beneficial or essential to stop, to rest, to recharge or just to exchange a thought with someone else on their own journey.

And so today, different people on their respective journeys took a moment and provided me with the privilege of exchange, inviting me into their journey while asking me about mine.

These little moments may seem like coincidental moments, fleeting, random connections that have no impact.

But everything we do in Life has impact.

Sometimes we may not see it or believe it.

But the impact is there if we embrace the moment and allow the seed of potential to be planted.

And as I think about this seed of potential, I wonder what our encounters may have created today.

Maybe such encounters will have an impact far more profound than finishing my to-do list ever would have.

Which causes me to think that maybe I actually achieved a lot more today than I could have ever hoped to accomplish by myself.

Or rather … perhaps WE achieved a lot more today than WE set out to accomplish.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

My Musings-in-a-Minute entry for “I’m Getting Nothing Done Today …. Or Maybe ….” is the same as this one and can be found here.

Random Connections … Or Are They?

It’s a quiet afternoon at Starbucks store #4853, in a community within Calgary, Alberta known as Copperfield.

It’s rarely this quiet, although I savor the moment and reflect on the time I have spent here, Starbucks being my office away from the office when I am not with clients. 

I am reflecting on the Life stories of everyone here, whether it be the GREAT staff or the customers who come and go in a steady stream.

I find it fascinating to see how the Life stories of people are brought together randomly in places like this, sometimes for a brief, temporary moment and sometimes planting a seed for a lifelong relationship.

These connections are random, aren’t they?  What value would there be in assuming they are anything but accidental, meaningless interactions? 

Assuming they are merely a collection of chance encounters, wouldn’t it be a tremendous waste of time to bother attempting to create anything from them?

Perhaps.

But imagine, just for a moment, that none of them are random, accidental encounters.

Imagine if we were privy to the secret that every random encounter was a gift, a chance for us to create something of unlimited potential between two or more individuals.

Maybe the encounter was put before us to create a new friendship.

Maybe we are being offered a new business opportunity.

Maybe we are being offered a chance to learn something or share knowledge with someone else.

Maybe we are being provided with an opportunity for us to lend an ear to someone who needs it.

Maybe the connection has been created so that someone may lend an ear to us just when we need it.

I can’t help but think that if we looked at every chance encounter as a gift of unlimited potential, we might look at every encounter a little differently.

I’m not suggesting that we start passing out business cards to every stranger that we meet.

However,  if we were more open to hearing the “quiet voice” as we go through our busy lives, we might allow ourselves to be open to the fact that every person who crosses our path has done so for a reason.

We may not know the reason right away.  It is possible that we will never learn the reason at all.

But to acknowledge the gift of connections opens us to new possibilities that we may have closed the door on before.

When we have an opportunity to look back through our memories, every connection seems to be anything but random.

Recognizing this should remind us of the potential gift in every connection that we make.

Such a gift only matters if we accept this gift with gratitude and do something to proactively acknowledge and nurture it.

Otherwise, we may be saying “no thank you” to the most profound potential imaginable in our lives.

And who wants to do this?

So if I see you in a Starbucks (or anywhere else), please forgive me if I say “hello” and strike up a conversation.

By doing so, I am simply acknowledging and exploring the miracle of our seemingly random connection.

And the miracle of our unlimited potential.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

My Musings-in-a-Minute entry for “Random Connections … Or Are They?” can be found here.

You’re Not Worth Much, Are You?

It must be difficult being you.

You have no gifts to share with others.

You have no talents, insights or strengths that others want.

Few opportunities come your way that have real potential to change your life.

Your time and your life in general are of so little value that it doesn’t matter if you squander them.

Your career is not bringing a sense of purpose any more.  Maybe it never did.

You are not loving yourself and others to your fullest ability.

You are living a good life, you exclaim.  I know nothing of your life and so you question where I get the audacity to make such claims.  You are right where you want to be and I have no right to say such things.  I should mind my own business.

Heated words are exchanged as you defend yourself, as your ego attempts to assert itself over mine.

I am glad that you are defending yourself.

Because everything I said about you is NOT true.

However, if an objective observer were to evaluate you on your actions and not your words, they might come to the same conclusion as I just did.  They might say the same things about me also.

Think of these two questions.  For each question, answer on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (very much so).

First question - don’t think about the answer … answer whatever comes to mind immediately.

1. On a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you REALLY believe you are WORTHY of everything you want - not how badly you want it .. how WORTHY are you of receiving it?

Second question – don’t think about the answer .. answer from your gut.

2. On a scale of 0 to 10, have you TRULY done EVERYTHING you could to achieve what you desire in your life?

When people are really honest, most people find their answers to be in conflict with each other.  Most people score higher on the first question then the second.

The questions are often followed by a need to rationalize why this is the case.

The reasons don’t matter.

The first question applies to hope.

The second question applies to belief.

In theory, they are related.

In practice, we put more effort into hope than belief and when this happens, we bet our future on dreams instead of belief, the latter fueling action and subsequently a better reality.

Hope and belief should fuel and reinforce each other … but oftentimes, we come up short when it comes to execution.

And that’s when, to the objective observer, you are settling for far less than you are capable of.

That being said, what you achieve in your life is your business and no one else’s.

You decide how far you would like to go in Life.

However, if someone offered you more of what you need right now; better health, fewer bills, more fulfilling career, etc., most would accept it immediately.

So your hopes and dreams are alive. :-)

Thank goodness!

It’s up to you to do something about converting your hopes and dreams into beliefs, which fuel action, which creates results.

You are more than worth it.

So what are you waiting for?

In service and servanthood.

Harry

For my Musings-in-a-Minute version of “You’re Not Worth Much, Are You?”, please click here.