LIBERTY: FINISH THE RACE

"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty."              -Ronald Reagan

"Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith."                -Ronald Reagan

Many in the main-stream media will speak of the 2010 election cycle as the next significant opportunity for power to shift in government. That futuristic frame of reference ignores the more significant opportunity that citizens and elected officials have DAILY to speak up, dialogue, and take constructive action to tackle the pressing issues of our day. Today. Every day.

The state of the American economy may be one of the most pressing issues we face as a nation. Recessions occur cyclically regardless of which political party controls Congress or the Presidency, so I do not wish to devolve into a partisan finger-pointing exercise here. Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke have served Presidents of both parties. Unemployment lines and lost healthcare benefits deny families the fullness of the American dream in Democratic and Republican households alike. Simply, persistent economic struggles in our nation threaten our Liberty.

Economic strife is the volcano that spews forth the oppressive lava of government largesse and regulation. If we are to prevent the overreaching of federal regulation and federal financial entitlement spending, we must restore fiscal discipline to the outflow of our federal tax dollars. We must restrain the federal knee-jerk impulse to raise additional revenue through taxation. We must guard against benignly-titled legislation and programs that further restrict our free markets, free movement, and innovation.

We let our guard down as a nation when we focus too much media attention on the lingering effects of mortgage-backed securities, corporate downsizing, and bank failures. If we allow our elected officials to act on the media hysteria, we end up with new regulations, new controls, and limits on free market freedoms that kill entrepreneurship and innovation. One need only look back as far as the post-Enron media-frenzy to recognize the Sarbanes-Oxley framework that emerged from that event.

Our elected officials in every era--and especially our current era--must put partisanship aside to come together to craft fiscally-responsible, low-regulation solutions that will encourage free market entrepreneurship and innovation; reward research and development of new products and technologies; employ the hardworking men and women who welcome the workplace opportunities that full employment brings. Do not allow the mainstream media to lull our elected officials into building a Big Brother state.

Taxation, regulation, and unrestrained handouts will NOT strengthen our Nation and safeguard our Liberty.

We MUST do everything that can be done to restore our economic vitality in a responsible manner, so that those who come after us can recognize that we finished the race, kept them free, and kept our Faith.

TODAY'S QUESTION: As an elected official who represents ALL the citizens [regardless of party], can you put aside partisanship to build consensus toward restraining aimless taxation and regulation, to instead strengthen free market innovation that leads to increased employment and economic prosperity for America?

UNANIMOUS CONSENT: VICTORY WITH HONOR

"You give me your shield of victory,
And your right hand sustains me;
You stoop down to make me great."
                                                -Psalm 18

 

"Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They were wrong."

-Ronald Reagan

Today, as every day, I thank our veterans and active duty and reserve service members. No just war is entered into casually or without gut-wrenching deliberation given to the certain peril of our nation's sons & daughters, fathers & mothers, brothers & sisters. The entry into the Pacific theater that followed the bombing at Pearl Harbor and the horrific bombing of that September 11th both necessitated that our nation do "what we had to do."  Vietnam, Korea, Bosnia, Somalia and the first Gulf War were no less challenging. America always leads when called to action.

When our last Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces sent my brother, sister and brother-in-law to fight the War on Terror, along with hundreds of thousands of our brave service members, I believed (and still believe) that his decision was guided by wise counsel from above, sincere counsel from military leaders, and studied counsel from civilian leaders. Partisanship does not and cannot enter into the decision to deploy troops to safeguard the security of our Great Nation and its global security interests. Thus, I will likewise support the decision of the leaders who will redeploy my sister next year. I do not allow partisanship to enter into an arena where consensus is required to save lives.

War is expensive, but defeat is far more expensive. Peace is preferred, but passivity in the face of terrorism weakens a nation. We will eventually depart militarily from Afghanistan and Iraq, and our Nation will do so victoriously with Honor.

Thus, I move for unanimous consent...on the issue of the successful, fully-funded, fully-resourced prosecution of the War on Terror and full aftercare for our brave veterans upon their return. We are not a nation of warmongers, so we must trust our military leadership when they lead our troops toward victory. Save the partisan put-downs for debates over pork barrell projects!

There is no time for filibusters, holds, and delay on decisions that provide adequate reinforcements, armor, provisions, vehicles, artillery, and veterans benefits. We all can appreciate meaningful debate and the yearning for peace sooner than later, but God help the member of Congress whose partisan delay tactic allows one more soldier, sailor or marine to lay dying on the foreign battlefield for want of armor, ammunition, or reinforcements. That brave service member did NOT volunteer to become a partisan pawn in a cable news sound bite --he/she volunteered to protect our nation and bring home Victory with Honor.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Can we put aside petty partisanship on matters of successfully prosecuting and provisioning the War on Terror until the victory has been concluded and our troops have safely returned?

FOR THERE IS MUCH WORK TO BE DONE

"He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'" [Matthew 25:20-21]

"...[B]ut rather labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with one in need...[And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ." [Ephesians 4:28, 32]

***

What if we could invest in Americans, reduce waste, increase GDP, and improve family morale with a philosophical shift in the administration of taxpayer funded unemployment benefits? Would Congress have the courage to take action?

The recent extension of unemployment benefits is but another chapter in an economic saga for which the end has yet to be written.  Among the unemployed are many skilled and talented job seekers eager to return to gainful employment. The economic meltdown's domino effect has led many breadwinners to lose their previously "secure" positions, despite dedicated their dedicated service to their former employer, coupled with specialized technical training and/or post-graduate education.

As the unanimous Senate vote and earlier overwhelmingly bipartisan 331-83 House of Representatives vote suggest, no God-loving person would want to see their neighbor's family starve or lose their home simply as a collateral result of a layoff.  Yet I would put forth that there would be a more effective manner in which these taxpayer dollars could be transferred from the federal coffers to the family budgets.

If one were to agree that a majority of unemployed men and women possess the strong American work ethic and derive dignity and self-esteem from actively engaging in productive and creative work, then might there be a better manner to pay out these taxpayer-funded benefits?

• 
  
  Among the unemployed are skilled architects, engineers, and building trades. Are there not schools, government buildings, hospitals, and housing projects in needs of expansion, maintenance, or repair?
  
  
  
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  Among the unemployed are skilled technology professionals. Are there not public schools, state universities, government agencies, hospitals, and the military in need of networking & cabling, software design & programming, data mining, and hardware deployment?
  
  
  
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  Among the unemployed are skilled teachers, counselors, and administrators. Are there not at-risk children (pre-K through high school) who could benefit from the caring, compassionate attention that additional educators and specialists could bring to challenged & underfunded public school systems?
  
  
  
• 
  
  ...and so forth...
  
  
  

I think we would be hard pressed to find able-bodied Americans who wouldn't trade the hours of stress, loneliness, and uncertainty for the engagement of familiar or new meaningful contribution to the economy. So long as we've made the decision, through our Legislative and Executive Branches to spend taxpayer funds to support families through a prolonged period of unemployment, can't we at least structure such a program to produce a return on our investment instead of simply a government-funded benefit?

TODAY'S QUESTION: How can Congress restructure future unemployment compensation legislation to produce the greatest return to our nation on the meaningful and necessary investment of taxpayer funds?

GENUINELY PRO-LIFE HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION

"Happy those concerned for the lowly and poor; when misfortune strikes, the Lord delivers them...
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed, allays the malady when they are ill." [Psalm 41:2,4]

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." [Matthew 23:23]

If we are to engage in honest, Christ-focused debate amidst crafting truly comprehensive health care legislation and retake the lead in ensuring that a bill emerges that will reduce costs to businesses, protect human life at ALL stages, and encourage further medical technology innovation, we must restrain our urge to communicate solely via cable news soundbites and caustic blog postings.

Jesus valued LIFE...ALL life.  We tend to focus so much upon the blight caused by abortion that we neglect to speak to the truths of those already born and suffering (children, seniors, etc.).  Jesus cared for and encouraged others to care for the poor, the children, the sick, the widows.

He did not employ a partisan litmus test before administering healing.  Jesus did not come only to heal one party, one gender, or one economic class to the exclusion of others, and the Lord's message as told to us through Scripture is no less poignant and clear today than it was thousands of years ago: "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."  Be not a modern day Pharisee, but be a Light upon the Hill.

Instead of fighting AGAINST health care legislation, why don't we Conservatives retake the high ground in the debate and restore our principles to the legilation in a manner that will allow us to go back to our Districts and be able to share with our constituents our pro-active efforts on their behalf.  Cancer doesn't evade conservatives' children, nor does dementia evade their elderly parents.  Being uninsured after a job loss is not limited only to members of the liberal caste.  Wouldn't we benefit more if we could stand before our constituents back home, men and women, young and old, Republican and Democrat, business owner and retiree, and tell them of our SUCCESS in fighting for ALL OF THEM.

Personally, I wish Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater could have been with us longer...Why don't we retake the initiative on this legislation, build consensus around God-fearing, pro-life, fiscally responsible free market principles, and be heralded in history as the party that governed our citizenry with compassion and delivered REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM.  Or, as I heard a pastor say once, "Be Jesus to others in all of your affairs, as you may be the ONLY Jesus that someone encounters today."
TODAY'S QUESTION: How can YOU embrace the Lord's Word in the health care debate so that YOUR principles are encompassed in the final legislation in a manner that benefits ALL of God's children?

YOUR AUDIENCE: THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORATE

When the media spin is peeled away from the November 3, 2009 election results, one sees the unvarnished result in the seeming hodge-podge of results across the spectrum: the Independent Electorate spoke for themselves at the ballot box.

One can reconcile the seemingly diverse results of well-won gubernatorial victories by Bob McDonnell (VA) and Chris Christie (NJ), Michael Bloomberg's 3rd-term mayoral victory in the Big Apple, and Bill Owen's century-aged Democratic victory in the NY-23 congressional district within the context of voters choosing the candidates that they themselves perceived to be the best qualified to address their respective local, state and national issues.

Particularly in the Virginia and New Jersey contests, both victors sincerely and consistently engaged the citizens of their states in real dialogue so that they, as candidates, could develop broad-based plans to address their citizens' concerns. The 2010 gubernatorial contests in Texas (Governor Rick Perry) and Michigan (current Attorney General Mike Cox) reflect similar genuine family-focused, pro-free market solutions to the real challenges facing men and women, business leaders, and municipalities.  Particularly in Michigan, candidate Mike Cox continues his genuine, heart-felt mission of representing ALL citizens with his well-researched, comprehensive practical plan to rejuvinate Michigan on several critical fronts (see: http://www.mikecox2010.com/putting-michigan-back-to-work/).

The victors in local, state, and national elections in 2010 (much like 2008 & 2009) will be drawn from the men and women who propose comprehensive, practical solutions. The real challenges facing our nation's citizens know no partisan bounds. Unemployment, high taxes, lost health insurance, foreclosure, and crime cut deeply through Republican, Democrat, and Independent families, farms, and business alike. While bitter, partisan punditry may make for entertaining cable news shows, only REAL solutions that address REAL FAMILY & BUSINESS concerns will lead that ever-important Independent Electorate to pull your lever in 2010.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What are YOU doing to engage YOUR electorate personally to sincerely identify the pressing challenges and craft meaningful solutions that will ensure the resurgence family and business financial security?

YOU: THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR

Ronald Reagan's 1976 is for many a forgotten footnote in the annals of history. Instead we should recognize its similarities to December 1773 aboard the cargo ship in Boston Harbor, followed by the tumult of 1775 and the Spirit of 1776.  Recall that when the War ended and the Constitution had been signed, many who had previously been in opposition to the Colonists eventually came to be governed by the new nation. We saw such consensus-building on the heels of defeat occur again following the Civil War, when the opponents again recognized the greater value in healing the nation and looking forward.

I have spoken earlier of the importance of adhering to our principles, even in periods of legislative loss, and continuing to convey those principles (and the solutions they undergird) in the most pro-active and broad-based manner possible.

Recall Reagan's smile...his charm...his wit. Reach back into your memory of the 1980 Presidential debate and hear Ronald Reagan chide Jimmy Carter to a knowing American audience, "There he goes again!"  America nodded in agreement all the way to the ballot box that year. Yet, Ronald Reagan never had to resort to banal name-calling, slander or lies against his enemies. No, President Reagan needed only to communicate to America why conservative principles, as intended by our Founders, could pull the nation out of deep recession, draw back the Iron Curtain, and restore Faith to families regardless of political affiliation.

When a conservative prevails in an election, he/she prevails because members of both major political parties, as well as a significant percentage of Independents have embraced his/her sincere message. As I mentioned in a previous segment, electoral victories are no longer won simply by garnering the votes of one party. Real solutions will affect partisans and non-partisans alike, just as real challenges (unemployment, loss of health care, crime) do not stop only at the doorsteps of Democrats or Republicans.

The United States of America was founded by God-fearing and spriritual individuals, committed not to anarchy but committed to balanced federalism, free markets, and strong national defense. More than two centuries later, a majority of Americans continue to adhere to these conservative principles and passionately shun losses of civil and fiscal liberty at the hand of bureaucratic legislatures and executives.  When you win your election, you represent not only your supporters but also those voters who had opposed you. We must be principled enough to boldly represent our entire electorate once the votes have been cast.

We must continue in our grassroots efforts and public campaigns for office to emphasize that we have the solutions that will deliver bi-partisan and non-partisan healing. Smile more, explain plainly, engender trust with your sincerity...and when you must draw distinction between your solid solutions and your opponents failed policies, do so with a wit and a knowing wink that would make President Reagan proud.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How can you improve your message to emphasize your principled, practical solutions in a manner that appeals broadly across party lines.

VISION TO VICTORY

Ronald Reagan had it; Governor Rick Perry has it. Do you have it?  If not, you'd better get it...so that others will get it.

Every election will be decided when the independents lean in. You want a clear landslide--but you'll win with 50.1% .  The right and the left will reliably remain loyal.  Always.  But the most recent presidential election differed from the 2000 presidential election simply because the independents leaned in a different direction.

Independents lean toward the most compelling vision, and then cast votes in the hope that the future will be better than the past. Ronald Reagan emerged at a time when America perceived that its President had yielded too much ground both at home (think Energy Crisis) and abroad (think Iranian Hostages). Ronald Reagan delivered confidence, growth, and patriotism to a nation that sorely needed it. Reagan successfully worked within his party and across party lines, ideological lines, and oceans.

More recently, Governor Rick Perry has skillfully guided Texas through the nation's economic turmoil. Education, entrepreneurship, clean energy, construction, and healthcare have all improved and prospered under his leadership. Texas' future looks equally bright under his continued leadership, because Governor Perry communicates his vision through actions that families and business leaders readily identify with and embrace.

Fear, negativity, and obstruction only have so much mileage. Name-calling and demagoguery provide red meat for pundits until the next news story comes along.  But families and business leaders look for tangible results and then vote accordingly.

Reagan and Perry, both smart leaders, have understood that the people (the voters) want to trust, identify with, and believe in their elected leaders. Their visions convey optimism without yielding values and principles. Both leaders could disagree with others without being disagreeable, both domestically and internationally.  Leading from a vision of growth, optimism and consensus-building, effective governance has followed.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How are YOU going to convey your PRINCIPLES and VALUES so that the deciding majority embraces your VISION?

HEALTH CARE: ANGELS AND DEMONS

The current multifaceted and very visible debate surrounding the proposed health care overhaul legislation provides us an excellent opportunity to further explore our theme of PRINCIPLED COMMUNICATION. If a fiscally responsible, market-based solution that reduces cost and reduces the number of uninsured American citizens is to prevail, then we shall all have to focus more upon what the sensible individuals (and their constituencies/organizations) on each size of the issue AGREE upon. We must all appeal to our better angels and defy the demons of doom if that solution is to emerge. Put aside petty partisanship and focus upon the basics.

1) America is a Pro-Life nation. The Declaration of Independence spoke of the "the separate and equal station to which...nature's God entitle them...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life..." We would be hard-pressed to find a Christian, Jew, or Muslim who would condemn a stranger to death simply over economics. Thus, to be a pro-life nation, we must look beyond economics and recognize that access to health care is congruent with God's command many times over in the Bible to look out for the poor, the widows and the orphans.

2) Access to Health Care reduces costs associated with absenteeism. Some 85% of American citizens participate in a health care plan. Preventative care detects warning signs of early-stage disease, allowing for the timely application of lifestyle changes, medications, and medical technology to prolong life. Most employers provide access to health care plans because it is humane, but also because healthy employees show up for work more often, have higher morale, and manufacture/sell more products/services. Contrast that forethought with the obscene costs thrust upon private citizens and companies when uninsured individuals seek last-minute chronic care at America's emergency rooms. Like our grandmothers told us, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

3) America is a free-market nation whose business ingenuity can overcome any challenge. Malicious slander and venomous lies won't attract stakeholders to the table. Whether applied to putting a man on the moon in less than a decade or curing cancer, our free market economy can often provide timely solutions to critical problems when dialogue is dignified. While government can certainly be a partner with private industry through appropriate legislation (i.e. the Interstate Highway System, NASA, Medicare, the Armed Forces, university research & development), government shouldn't be running the businesses themselves.

Thus,

• Let's first acknowledge that all of God's children should have the opportunity to access health care as needed.
• Then let us stop beating up on doctors, insurance companies, and employers, and instead invite all stakeholders to brainstorm and recognize their many points of agreement.
• Finally, let the stakeholders, both public and private, work together without the venomous rhetoric to develop a market-based system that will allow (but not mandate) all American citizens to access affordable health care and the doctors/hospitals of their own choosing in a fiscally responsible manner.

Sometimes it's seems easier to digress into the demons and doomsayers, but our nation has always risen above (think Berlin Wall coming down) when all sides on an issue allowed their better angels to prevail. No one loses if the solution is God-inspired, pro-life, and market-based.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How do we reframe the dialogue surrounding a divisive issue to (1) increase consensus, and (2) to reduce non-essential cacophony, so that a majority will embrace our sensible solution?

PRINCIPLED COMMUNICATION

Joe and his wife Martha were approaching a stop sign on their way home one evening. Having come to a complete stop, Joe looked both ways and was preparing to proceed through the intersection. Martha, also looking both ways from her passenger seat vantage point, saw what appeared to be a semi barreling down on the intersection from the right. She exclaimed to Joe, "Don't go yet! I don't think that vehicle coming the other way is going to stop." Joe calmly replied, "Martha, it's a four-way stop and I have the right of way," and proceeded into the intersection...

Joe was right...dead right in proceeding upon his principled conviction. Oftentimes we hold beliefs that we know are true for us, and perhaps are universally held truths across cultures (i.e. Thou shalt not kill). We can express and live out our convictions in a principled and respectful manner with moderation toward others.

When communicating to a diverse audience toward achieving that margin of victory, we should be able to comfortably express our personal conviction with a tone and volume appropriate to remove any doubt about our principles.

We begin to lose our margin of victory when, in an effort to demonstrate the moral strength of our character, we infuse our personal convictions with such tone, volume, and fervor so as to appear full of disdain, intolerant, extreme. For every citizen we may attract with such vitriol, we may lose two who previously leaned toward our core message.

Hold firmly and live out your personal and universal principles, but be mindful of how you are communicating the moral strength of your character to a diverse audience. We are a Big Tent, not a Big Top.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are your principled communications conveying solutions to your audience's widely-held concerns, or narrowing the appeal of your message only to your existing base?

THE BIG TENT OR THE BIG TOP?

Nothing gets 24/7 cable news coverage like extremist acts or extremist rhetoric. The torching of a luxury vehicle dealership by an environmental terrorist group or the gruesome homicide of an abortion provider might garner huge "ratings" and attract a certain segment of the television-watching population. The margin of victory is subtler and more substantive.

There will certainly be times when we will effectively and appropriately employ the media catalyst of the "extreme" (yet lawful) event/rhetoric. But the vast majority of our time will be spent broadly communicating, through our sincere actions and rhetoric, our positive solutions to issues affecting a plurality of our citizens and businesses.

Conservative principles by their very nature are time-tested, transparent, and largely codified in the U.S. Constitution, our state Constitutions, and the laws that flow forth from those documents. Conservative principles have provided the guiding and moderating influence in our nation that has ushered in and fostered certainty, freedom, faith, and opportunity--even as society and technology have evolved.

So, let's leave the Big Top circus antics to the extremists and fringe groups to pander to the ratings-hungry media. And instead let us win the hearts and minds of all persons who value freedom, opportunity, the rule of law, and God--under the Big Tent of principled solutions.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are YOU communicating your conservative ideals as positive solutions to widely-held concerns, or are YOU merely targeting specific issue groups?

THE MARGIN OF VICTORY

Bill and Bob had taken their families to the zoo one fine Sunday afternoon. While their wives had taken the children over to the ice cream stand, Bill and Bob stood admiring the lions in their natural habitat exhibit. The lions looked hungry, licking their chops in anticipation of the next feeding.

Suddenly one of the lions jumped over the enclosure from the rocky perch and landed on the concrete pedestrian walkway. Bill looked at Bob, terrified, and exclaimed, "Do you think you can outrun a hungry lion?" Bob replied smiling over his shoulder as he took off, "No, but I think I can outrun you."

Campaigns are won by a margin of victory, sometimes (as in the examples of Bush v. Gore and Franken v. Coleman) quite slim. But a victory is a victory nonetheless. At the pre-primary stage of many contests you will find a field of mostly well-meaning individuals committed to principles and ideals, and as the election cycle continues, those who are focused upon the "lion" begin to fade away. The contest ultimately ends when one individual remains statistically ahead of his/her final competitor(s), even if only fractionally so.

Every race of consequence will have its valiant heroes willing to stand entirely upon one or a few pungent issues that fan the passions of a core constituency. Much media attention may even be paid to the fervor. But as the last confetti and balloons fall, the man/woman who outran the lion is the individual who put forth the issues that propelled him/her beyond the fearful footfalls of the lion's prey, who only a few months before may have stood side-by-side peering into the lion's den. The electorate will judge which candidate put forth the critical solutions...with its hearts and minds [and feet] on election day.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are YOU putting forth the critical solutions that address the issues and win the hearts and minds...or will the lion eat YOU?

COMPROMISING POSITIONS

We may hear phrases like, "Go with the flow"..."Don't be so stubborn"..."Why do you always have to stick to your principles?"...and the like. What do YOU do when faced with that cajoling, thinly veiling the underlying implication that your position is too rigid and should be cast aside?

I do not pretend to say that which is a principle for you, a truth for you is absolutely a principle or a truth for me. Certainty, except in foundational matters, is in the eye of the beholder. But YOUR principles are your principles.

Trust your instincts. You can recognize the difference between a preference for which you will yield on occasion versus a bedrock principle for which you would lay down your life. Throughout life we are faced with tension from others (and occasionally from ourselves, our "inner demons") when the temptation to set aside that which is right for us appears to be getting in the way of what other options beckon.

He who pushes you to abandon that which you hold dear may simply mean well and want company on his journey. But beware the alternative, the insidious invitation designed to separate you from your principles. One might think of matters of faith, honor, chastity perhaps. Each of us knows in our hearts how we define those positions for which compromise is not an option we would choose.

Compromise should always remain an option for matters of mere preference. But do not fall victim to the urgings of the misguided or the miscreant, but instead hold true to your own uncompromising positions.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What ideals or truths are you unwilling to compromise?

WIN BY LOSING

No, I haven't lost my mind. Like many of you, I enjoy my creature comforts and lifestyle perks. We live in challenging economic times full of societal upheaval. For many of us, the "rules" appear to have been broken. Good people are hurting, but instead of languishing in the pain of economic hardship, we collectively must strengthen the foundation upon which our lives have been constructed.

I am suggesting that you take a step away from your material world and close your eyes and imagine your world if your status symbols, titles, accolades and possessions were severely diminished or taken away from you.

Who would you be? Would you still be happy with yourself? Could you be? Certainly.

How would your friends and loved ones view you? Critical in that response would be the realization of who your real friends truly are. What about your spouse? Children? Parents? Would they still love you? Again, certainly.

Only you have the power to denigrate your personal power and potential to rebuild yourself. You spouse and children love you. Your intelligence and education, as well as your experiences, cannot be taken away from you. You must identify how much of your life you truly control. You must rewrite the rules while abiding by your integrity so that you can rise anew.

We often will not make critical changes in our lives until we are faced with crisis. Sometimes we can only win by losing.

TODAY'S QUESTION: If you lost every material possession and every mark of status, what would YOU be left with?

THE MYTH OF SPEED = QUALITY SERVICE

• If you were to visit a noted surgeon to have a delicate operation performed--especially upon an organ whose destruction would prove painful or incapacitating--would you be seeking "speed" from your surgeon?
• Are the most enjoyable visits with longtime friends the visits shoehorned between other pressing appointments?
• Would you describe as a factor in your most joyous and memorable interludes of intimacy the expediency of your partner?

If you answered "NO" to at least 2 or 3 of those questions, then you comprehend why the corporate mantra equating speed to the ideal customer/guest experience may be the very myth that I claim it to be. Don't get me wrong...I like my drive-thru at Dunkin' Donuts to be reasonably quick, and I run into Little Caesar's for a "Hot and Ready" for exactly the reason that the name implies, but there is a reason why Borders Bookstores have couches and cafes.

Additionally, there are still many of us who relish the human dialogue that occurs naturally when you make a purchase, mail a letter, or go on a date. I subscribe to renowned author Stephen Covey's notion that you cannot rush the harvest.

It may very well be that the very business leaders who tout speed as the equivalency of quality service may be masking the very lack of true sustainable quality in the service itself, or simply in the character of the speaker herself/himself. Authentic quality need not be set to an egg timer to be appreciated by its purchasers.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are your most satisfying and relaxing personal experiences in life always...FAST?

THE MYTH OF THE 24/7 LIFESTYLE

You have seen this individual: always moving, always talking, always "connected" via various gadgets. Advertisers and futurists would have us believe that EVERYONE is living the 24/7 lifestyle. Images of smart phones buzzing at 3 a.m., text messages, email, PCs that are never powered down amidst the perma-glowing screen. Fast. Available. On the go.

Really? No, I mean REALLY?

Is that really what life is about? Are the seasons, the oceans, the mountains, the sunset, the full moon, streams, rivers, foliage, ski slopes, ponds...all created simply to be backdrops to concrete, glass and asphalt office parks? Certainly not.

Again, picture the individuals you see allegedly living this 24/7 lifestyle. Do they appear peaceful? Do they enjoy hobbies? How are their family lives? How are they faring physically? Beneath the steely veneer of being a "go getter" lies deep-seated insecurity. The whirl of activity and work may mask the individual's inability to relax, converse, bond, until viewed more closely...in slow motion.

At the hour of the final judgment, will the Creator look this one-dimensional corporate "titan" in the eye and exclaim "well done"? Or will the Creator look beyond the trappings of earthly life, and see the broken spirit that would have benefited from more friendship, more healthful living, more balance? This mystery is not for you and I to judge, but from which we can certainly learn to shun.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Will you choose balance or will you pay the price for life unbalanced?

SLEDGEHAMMER COMMUNICATION

Have you ever observed someone who fails to employ an appropriate communication style when addressing a less-than-ideal situation? It appears as if the individual fails to grasp the nuances of either the situation or the ongoing nature of the relationship with the individual to whom he/she is speaking?

No, to this individual, communication is always wielded as a blunt offensive weapon in other than polite conversation...painful to observe as a third party. More sadly observed when the casual observer immediately recognizes that either the situation is of non-life threatening magnitude and/or the recipient of the missile is caught totally off-guard. Equally so, the recipient of the undeserved and unforeseen attack recognizes the interpersonal shortcoming in the delivery.

If you are simply observing this inappropriate use of communication, then you may be the individual who recognizes that a much calmer, rational, team-oriented communication style would serve far better to facilitate the solution while maintaining the desired ongoing nature of the relationship. True, some individuals will travel their entire lives dispensing ignorant tirades, leaving needless destruction behind, without ever concerning themselves with the constant need to begin anew (friends, partners, vendors, employees). In fact, instead of recognizing his/her own brutish behavior, that very individual may always blame the others for the departures, divorces, and discontinued business relationships...

Something good comes from observing or enduring this style of sledgehammer communication... one learns never to practice it upon others. The insecure, angry individual who exhibits this brutish behavior unintentionally delivers a teaching moment that can bolster our own interpersonal dynamic. At a common sense level, we recognize that appearing to be a jackass--regardless of title, status, or elected office-- is an appearance that no person of integrity would ever aspire to.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Is there ever really a need to use communication as an blunt offensive weapon in everyday interpersonal discourse?

YOUR PROUDEST MOMENTS

There will certainly be times when life's troubling events appear to cloud (and perhaps even rain upon) your vision for yourself. We've all been there. Though the events may differ from person to person, the effects often share common threads:

• Lack of momentum
• Loss of focus
• Doubt about purpose
• Fear

What can you do? Well, for starters let's do something counterintuitive. I want you to look as far back into your own personal history as you can...look back into your childhood, if possible. Think about something unpleasant that you experienced, endured. And overcame.

Yes, as disconcerting as that old memory may have been, you can recognize that whatever challege it posed to you back then eventually passed away. All gone. You overcame the fear, the doubt. You regained focus and you created momentum. Heck! You're still here to recall it and it didn't kill you--even if at the time you thought it might.

I would propose that as much fun as it might have been to win an award, ace a test, receive a promotion, hold your newborn child...that some of your proudest moments in retrospect were the moments that you thought you'd never survive. Yet, I would go on to say that it was those very gut-wrenching, embarassing, painful experiences that forged the faith, love, drive and perseverence that you exhibit today. Celebrate your proudest moments...

TODAY'S QUESTION: What challening chapter in your personal past has proven to be the bedrock upon which you have lived some of YOUR proudest moments?

RESURRECTION

Death precedes resurrection. While we all ultimately pass from this world into the next, throughout the years we experience thousands of "deaths" of varying degrees. Habits die. Relationships die. Situations die. But from that which dies, something new is born.

When you look back over your life, you can review that which you thought would last forever. Some of it you had hoped actually would last forever. Others of it you were ecstatic when you realized it wouldn't last forever.

Focus upon something (a habit, a relationship, a situation) that you had wanted to change. Perhaps you had been struggling personally with how to proceed with making that change. What prompted the action that finally resulted in that change? How did you feel once that change had been made?

Do you ever notice that once once change has been made, you become keenly aware that you must make additional changes? It's almost as if you could not see the next change because it was buried beneath the change you were currently making. More likely, you weren't ready to make that next layer of change, but once you succeeded at the first change, the second change became more likely. Your confidence and experience with achieving a breakthrough strengthened you to move forward with additional changes.

Life is full of changes. You have a change you know you need to make now to more fully live your life. Renewal awaits. What is holding you back? What step can you take today that will take you closer to living you life at a higher level?

Take that step...and live.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What must die within you so that you may be resurrected?

ONE STEP

What is that one step you could take today that would move you closer to a desired outcome?

When you strip away all the busy-ness of today, all of the "musts" and "have to's", you could spend perhaps as little as five minutes taking one concrete step toward a goal. You will set goals to reach your desired outcome, and you will take steps toward each of those goals.

What is stopping you today? You know that you're not satisfied in at least one facet of your life right now, yet day after day passes with little more than token wishes and monotonous complaints about this or that issue. Instead of spending the time feeling bad about what isn't working, spend that same time (or less!) committing to take one step, one action, one phone call, one email, one visit that will propel you toward...the next step.

Don't respond by defending your inaction in that one troublesome facet of life by pointing at how well the other nine areas of your life are going? We wouldn't be having this conversation if you hadn't acknowledged that you were ready to improve that troublesome facet. Remember that it is easier to work toward a better outcome now than to wait until the small issues become the larger issues.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What one action must you absolutely commit to taking today?

WALKING AWAY

Quitters never win and winners never quit. Right? Generally speaking, yes.

Yet you and I both know that there have been times when the benefits of remaining engaged in an activity, a discussion, a project simply no longer outweigh the inconvenience, price, or sacrifice.

You have the right idea to turn a situation around, but groupthink or an insecure boss shuns or outright buries the idea. You have a solution to an ethical issue plaguing your organization, but ingrained corruption chokes off all discourse before your solution can reach the appropriate leader. We've all been there at least once in our lives.

Our Creator places us exactly where He wants us at any given point in our lives to fulfill a mission. Sometimes the purpose for our presence in a group, a situation, or at an employer doesn't initially become clear to us until much later, perhaps even after we have departed. But our presence is no mere accident, and it is designed to serve a vital role.

Perhaps you have been placed at a certain spot to strengthen you? As the old cliche' goes, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Said slightly differently, we will never be given more than we can handle.

You may have been put into a position where you are able to help others grow, or to shield others from peril? What may appear to be a frustrating, dull, or disrespected position for you may unbeknownst to you actually be a safeguard for others.

You may not know now. It may be some time before your purpose becomes clear. What will become clear is when your mission at that spot has ended, and you are being called to another purpose.

How will you know it is time to move onward? External forces will serve to signal your departure, and you will embrace the seemingly external decision. Or you will intuitively sense that you no longer wish to continue the direction you've been journeying, and you will either pause or you will simply take another fork in the road. The common theme is that you will feel the peace within you.

You will know within your soul that you have not chosen today to quit, but that you have chosen to walk away...toward your next calling.

TODAY'S QUESTION: In what area of your life is it your time to walk away?

The Price of Submission

Everything has a price. Each time we make a decision, we may have to decide to forgo a second mutually-exclusive alternative. Often, our time is the price that we pay.

Time is the currency of our very existence but it is also the great equalizer. Each day each of us-- young or old, financially well-to-do or struggling, male or female--receives 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds to invest how we choose.

We can spend the time on nonsense or we can invest the time in ourselves, in the ones we love, in our passions.

We can also simply get up and go through the motions, because doing the same thing tomorrow as we did today is comfortable, convenient. But did your actions and intentions get you where you wanted to go today? If not, then do you honestly think that spending your time on those same actions and unfulfilled intentions will garner you any additional satisfaction tomorrow?

Have you actually accepted decisions made by others, and have conformed your actions to work toward their success at the peril of your own peace and your own success? Could it be possible that you made an initial decision because you truly believed that you could achieve your objectives, and only later discovered that your investment of time had become a waste of your time?

Tomorrow you will get 86,400 seconds to invest...or to spend wastefully.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are you investing your allocated time for YOUR benefit, or to simply pay the price of submission for another individual's benefit?

UNVARNISHED YOU

Do you like to dine out? I know I sure do. Nothing better than a delicious meal to satisfy an appetite.

But what do YOU do when the meal isn't delicious? Perhaps the meal took longer than expected to arrive, and when the meal did arrive, your dish was cold. The burger was cooked to a temperature other than what you had ordered. Your beverage glass or coffee cup was allowed to become empty...or remained empty far too long.

How did YOU feel about the subpar dining experience?
What action(s) did YOU take?
What did YOU say when the food server or the manager finally came over to your table?
When you had finished having your say, were YOU satisfied with yourself?
Did you get the intended outcome, or did you leave the restaurant vowing to yourself that YOU wouldn't return?

The restaurant provides a service. The food server, the food preparer, the manager all work together to provide that service. Most of the time, the restaurant and its team perform well. Occasionally, they provide a subpar experience to the guest. A myriad of factors may have contributed to the error.

I contend that no employee gets up in the morning intending to provide bad service or to produce subpar goods. Certainly, if employees engage in a flawed process devoid of quality assurance and feedback mechanisms, then at some point bad service/production becomes unacceptable. But in the immediate example, I assume a simple error has occurred.

I contend that YOU do not get up in the morning intending to provide bad service or to produce subpar goods. You are human, and you occasionally make mistakes. While you certainly can benefit from receiving feedback or engaging in quality assurance exercises, you gain nothing of value if you are taken to the woodshed by a customer, a co-worker, or a manager for your unintentional error.

You might say, "Of course not. I would never treat my employees or my co-worker in that demeaning manner." I believe you.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How did YOU treat the food server following your subpar dining experience?

Authentic You

When do you smile the most? What makes you laugh? When do you feel most proud?...When are at peace?

Closing a deal. Sharing a story with your husband. Cheering your son's basketball team. Watching the sun rise or set over a body of water.

The answers will be as unique and as plentiful as the number gathered in any one setting. Personality, preferences, and environment will certainly color your response. There is no "right of wrong", no "good or better." But the common thread will be authenticity.

At those moments when we are honoring our inner impulses, our inner drive, our inner joy, our inner peace --that is when we are our authentic selves. Sounds simple enough. We generally don't intend to put on a front for ourselves, our loved ones, our Creator. Why would we?

Recently, a woman shared with me that when she exited her vehicle at her workplace each day, she felt she was putting on a uniform. Figuratively speaking, she donned an "acceptable garment" and left a portion of herself in the car before walking across the parking lot to enter the building. Her admission wasn't uncommon. Many of us are conditioned at one time or another to conform our words, our actions, our style, our activities and interests to fulfill some spoken --or unspoken-- request.

Certainly there will be situations when we should consciously choose to adopt a moderate tone so as not to diminish the objective of our presence. Hence, I continue to recommend not showing up for corporate job interviews dressed like the Crocodile Hunter. But more often than not, we allow others to choose (influence, dictate, suggest...) when we will not merely moderate ourselves, but actually submit and suppress our authentic selves. For whose benefit are we suppressing ourselves (i.e. who stands to gain)?

Today's Question:

Am I choosing to be authentic in all of my interactions, or am I allowing others to choose for me?

YOU Are Responsible

I made a decision this morning. And another decision. And another. Some of my decisions resulted in favorable results. Admittedly, some of my decisions were poorly made and resulted in embarassing, ugly, and unintended results.

So have YOU. What decisions have YOU made this morning? Last evening? A week ago? A year ago?

Each of those decisions YOU made were made consciously, of your own free will. For better or for worse.

• That book you read and enjoyed.
• That class you enrolled in and developed a new skill.
• That compliment you gave your child.
• That rude gesture you made to the driver who cut you off.
• That late arrival to work.

Yes, each of those decisions were made by YOU. And YOU will likely embrace the first three as being obvious good exercises of your decision-making prowess. Yet YOU may just as quickly provide an "explanation" of why the latter two actions occurred, certainly not of your own free will:

• "The jerk wasn't looking where he was going, and he could have hurt someone!"
• "The train was running late, because of the flooding from the rains."

We have been conditioned to accept the favorable results of our decisions (even if the decision was prompted by an external suggestion, question, or request). Likewise, we have been conditioned to justify the frankly embarassing results of our decisions (the italicized portion following the initial reason).

In the five examples above, let's elaborate a little more:

• I was lent the book by a friend who shares my taste in fiction. I made the decision to read it, because I believed that my friend's past recommendations have been accurate. Result: I enjoyed reading the story that I read.
• My boss instructed me to enroll in a software class to prepare me to implement the software across our division. I made the decision to enroll in the class, because I believed that her request was aligned with my role at work and would result in greater visibility to management. Result: I mastered the skill required to lead the software implementation.
• I love my child and although he continues to struggle to earn a C in Algebra, I know that he has been applying himself with his tutor which has elevated my son's grade from the D- he initially was earning. I made the decision to acknowledge my son's effort, because I believed that it is better to highlight his progress than to deride his lack of mastery. Result: I built trust and confidence with my son.
• I was frustrated by the driver cutting me off while I was talking on my cell phone. I made the decision to lash out toward that drive, because I believed that it could absolve me from my own embarassment at my personal distraction that contributed to my diminished awareness while driving in the presence of my passenger. Result: I built up frustration and disappointment in myself that continued to distract me while I drove on that road.
• I was late to work when I failed to leave the apartment earlier than usual, despite my prior experience with how heavy rains can affect the commuter train schedule. I made the decision to blame my late arrival on the training without acknowledging my failure to catch an earlier train, because I believed that my boss would accept my "Act of God" excuse and not question my own failure to be proactive in leaving home earlier. Result: I beat myself up inside for appearing irresponsible, especially once I realized that all of my similarly-situated commuting co-workers had managed to arrive at work on time.

Bottom line is that we decide (sometimes well-reasoned, sometimes defensively) because we believe that a certain outcome will result. When we decide with forethought in an authentic manner, generally our result will reflect our belief. It is when we pervert the decision-making process that we somehow think that our result will differ from our hidden, self-protecting belief. We know that the results in the latter case do not generally please us.

Today's Question:

What decisions will YOU make differently today?

LIFE: Fully Lived

"LIFE: Fully Lived"

...that's how I want it to read when my name is being checked in St. Peter's book. I certainly will not know the day nor the hour, but I am confident that when my time comes, there will be an opportunity to review the impact that my life (in deeds and in words) had upon my family, my friends, and my community at large.

Wouldn't it have been a shame to show up to meet our Creator face-to-face on that glorious day, only to then have to admit to Him that I only used 25, 50, or 75% of my life's purpose? Hence, I'm aspiring to have that entry read as above: Fully Lived.

I believe that many of the other entries on my page in the book will be of lesser importance. I don't anticipate that our Creator is going to praise a workaholic attitude toward work...a perfectly tidy home...an enviably manicured lawn...a large retirement account...

No, I have a much simpler outlook on how that glorious dialogue will pan out. I believe that our Creator will look at my wife, my daughter, my parents, my neighbors, my community, my city as the living embodiments of areas in my life that I left an indelible impact. People -- not property, titles, bank accounts, plaques. In the hearts of those individuals with whom I came into contact, did I leave them better than I found them or did I serve my own ego by taking something away from those relationships without nurturing and growing those relationships?

Today's Question:

When YOU arrive at the threshold of death and see YOUR name in the book, what entry will YOU find beside the category of LIFE?