Saturday, May 10, 2008
Career Day Redux
If you're wondering what happened at my son's Career Day, you can read about it here.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Dogged
How do you know when you've crossed that fine line between laudable perseverance and foolhardy stubbornness?
Especially when your decisions affect many others, at what point does personal resolve become perversely selfish?
When is it time to throw in the towel and devise a graceful exit strategy -- without having to wonder if things might have gone your way if you had stayed in the game just a little bit longer, and fought just a little bit harder?
Especially when your decisions affect many others, at what point does personal resolve become perversely selfish?
When is it time to throw in the towel and devise a graceful exit strategy -- without having to wonder if things might have gone your way if you had stayed in the game just a little bit longer, and fought just a little bit harder?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Rights vs. Right
Just because you have the right to do it doesn't mean it's right to do it.
Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Career Day
I've been asked to give a presentation at my son's middle school tomorrow for Career Day.
Which career should I talk about? I've worn many hats: writer, editor, entrepreneur, Web pioneer, mediator, magician. I have had so many "careers" that, in truth, I've arguably had none.
And what can I possibly tell them, knowing that whatever jobs these kids will someday have, in 2020, don't even exist yet today. Maybe that's the lesson. Gone are the days when someone would embark on a career at 22 and retire 40-odd years later from the same field, much less the same company.
For the generation currently entering the work force, the big question when they were kids was, "What will you be when you grow up?" It should have been: "What will you DO?" We've created a generation of aspirers, not achievers. Everybody wants to be; nobody wants to do.
My daughter majors in Russian Studies in college. People ask, "Why? What kind of job can she get with that?" And: "What does she want to be?"
"She's pursuing her passion," I explain. "She's doing what she enjoys." She's doing. And maybe that's the lesson.
Which career should I talk about? I've worn many hats: writer, editor, entrepreneur, Web pioneer, mediator, magician. I have had so many "careers" that, in truth, I've arguably had none.
And what can I possibly tell them, knowing that whatever jobs these kids will someday have, in 2020, don't even exist yet today. Maybe that's the lesson. Gone are the days when someone would embark on a career at 22 and retire 40-odd years later from the same field, much less the same company.
For the generation currently entering the work force, the big question when they were kids was, "What will you be when you grow up?" It should have been: "What will you DO?" We've created a generation of aspirers, not achievers. Everybody wants to be; nobody wants to do.
My daughter majors in Russian Studies in college. People ask, "Why? What kind of job can she get with that?" And: "What does she want to be?"
"She's pursuing her passion," I explain. "She's doing what she enjoys." She's doing. And maybe that's the lesson.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Magic of Making Money
A magician entertains a street crowd by borrowing a $1 bill, giving it a few folds, and then -- a wave, a snap, and presto! -- the captivated audience gasps as he unfolds a crisp $100 bill.
But it's just an hallucination, he declares, as he origami-folds it back into the audience member's original $1 and returns it, no sign of that C-note in his empty hands.
It's a good trick, and the spectators appreciate it as such, recognizing that anybody who really had magical powers wouldn't waste them by converting Washingtons to Franklins (and back again!) sheerly for the amusement of strangers.
Or would he? Think about it. What superhuman powers would YOU like to possess that would obviate your need for money altogether? Most respond "invisibility" -- suggesting that they could procure anything they wanted illicitly because nobody could catch them!
But that would be wrong. Better to have the power to enchant one of these.
But it's just an hallucination, he declares, as he origami-folds it back into the audience member's original $1 and returns it, no sign of that C-note in his empty hands.
It's a good trick, and the spectators appreciate it as such, recognizing that anybody who really had magical powers wouldn't waste them by converting Washingtons to Franklins (and back again!) sheerly for the amusement of strangers.
Or would he? Think about it. What superhuman powers would YOU like to possess that would obviate your need for money altogether? Most respond "invisibility" -- suggesting that they could procure anything they wanted illicitly because nobody could catch them!
But that would be wrong. Better to have the power to enchant one of these.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Ask Not For Whom Eight Belles Tolls
My pal Eric Estrin writes:
Hillary Clinton, in a typically shameless and pointless attempt to make political hay out of anything under the sun, has been hyping the Kentucky Derby all week because a highly regarded filly was racing against a field of males.
That wacky, fun-loving Hillary was so positive that the female horse would win, she even sent Chelsea to Louisville to place a bet and to drum up further publicity for her cause across the border in Indiana.
The filly finished second and tragically suffered two broken ankles, which caused her to be euthanized right there at the track.
The horse that finished first was a male by the name of Big Brown.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Action News at 11!
I watched a mike-wielding TV news guy, cameraman in tow, descend on a solitary diner at an outdoor table at the Farmer's Market the other day.
Two tables away, I couldn't make out the conversation, but the TV news guy looked pretty somber, and seemed to be posing earnest, hard-hitting questions.
The unsuspecting target of his interrogation was a thirtysomething scruffily bearded guy who seemed nonchalant but accomodating of the camera and mike being shoved in his face while he was trying to eat.
After the TV guys left, my curiosity got the better of me, and so I went over to the interviewee and asked what that was all about.
"I guess they're doing a story on the rising price of rice," he explained. I noticed the remnants of a rice-and-beans side order on his plate. "They wanted to know how it affected me."
And what did he tell them?
"It didn't."
Two tables away, I couldn't make out the conversation, but the TV news guy looked pretty somber, and seemed to be posing earnest, hard-hitting questions.
The unsuspecting target of his interrogation was a thirtysomething scruffily bearded guy who seemed nonchalant but accomodating of the camera and mike being shoved in his face while he was trying to eat.
After the TV guys left, my curiosity got the better of me, and so I went over to the interviewee and asked what that was all about.
"I guess they're doing a story on the rising price of rice," he explained. I noticed the remnants of a rice-and-beans side order on his plate. "They wanted to know how it affected me."
And what did he tell them?
"It didn't."
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