Yesterday this guy gave an excellent talk on entitlement.  I couldn’t capture the whole thing but really enjoyed his message.  These words particularly stood out to me. 

“The worldly aspiration of our day is to get something for nothing. The ancient evil of greed shows its face in the assertion of entitlement: I am entitled to this or that because of who I am-a son or a daughter, a citizen, a victim, or a member of some other group. Entitlement is generally selfish. It demands much, and it gives little or nothing. Its very concept causes us to seek to elevate ourselves above those around us. “

He used a 2 year throwing a temper tantrum as an example of how entitlement works.  The 2 year old wants something and the concept of sharing, taking turns or that it might belong to someone else doesn’t enter into their minds.  Often when and if they get/take what it is they want they seldom seem to enjoy it… instead they clutch it fearful that someone else may snatch it from them as they just did from someone else. 

Getting or demanding something because you think you deserve it offers none of the joy, satisfaction and growth that accompany the obtaining of the same thing through ones personal efforts. ~ Kirk Weisler

(I’ll try to find the original source material for his quote and post it in the blog comments later today).

Kirk out

I think laughter may be a form of courage. As humans we sometimes stand tall and look into the sun and laugh, and I think we are never more brave than when we do that.  ~  Linda Ellerbee (1944- ) American Journalist

To follow me on Twitter - my user name is cleverly  kirkweisler  -  http://twitter.com/kirkweisler

Kirk Out

“I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.”  ~  Abraham Maslow   1908-1970, Psychologist

Be Present - Act Well - Kirk out

Technology is a wonderful thing…or at least it can be.  It can also be frustrating when it crashes, doesn’t work properly or is less intuitive than we are smart.  It can also be a complete waste of time as we sift through mildly entertaining YouTube clips, follow facebook links, and skim through entertaining yet irrelevant data for a “few minutes” that somehow turns into hours.  It’s a bit like turning on the TV skimming the channels in search of just the right show…but not watching anything for more than a few minutes… then realizing WOW, 3 hours has gone by.

The studies recently published on the amount of time kids spend texting and on facebook tell us that far more time is being spent on far less depth than ever before… culminating in the nurturing of a narcissistic culture that emotionally stunts the development of real character.   In short technology acting as culture accelerant moving us towards a “Shallow Hal” society.  Far too many people, spending far to much time with far too little purpose, depth and meaning on the internet.  One could easily write a book entitled 10,000 Keystrokes to Nowhere!  (On Twitter - it could be only 140 strokes).

Still the potential of technology is too great to abandon, the possibilities to do great things and improve life with it are too numerous to count, and to infinite to imagine.  So what is one to do?  It’s a question whose answer is greater than I have the time or talent to answer in full.  But in part I would simply suggest a mindful and deliberate focus… for “the Purposeful Use of Technology.”  

FOR EXAMPLE - I wanted to have my own kids spend less time on facebook, line rider, and tetris, but still continue to keystroke on their computers.  So for us, the “Purposeful Use of Technology,’ is focused on using technology to aid in the telling of stories and the sharing of insights and inspiration that may help others to realize more of their own potential as parents, peers, pals, or just as everyday people.  And of course it is to keep current with all the tech trends - or at least attempt to.

I’ve asked our 3 oldest children… Brittany Age 14.5 , Jacob age 13, and Joshua age 10, to write weekly content for 3 separate blogs.  Two of these blogs are, in my opinion, ready enough to share with you.  I invite you to check them out… if inclined please offer feedback, if not - just enjoy the content.  The sites will improve and get better as they do.  It is my hope that this purposeful use of technology will inspire other adults both young and old to spend less time wastefully and more time thoughtfully. 

The quote Brittany posted on “Quotes My Kids Like” yesterday” is certainliy worth consideration.

http://quotesmykidslike.wordpress.com/

http://dateswithdad.wordpress.com/

Please understand.. I’m NOT saying I have all the answers..  or that what I am hoping to do is the right thing or the best thing.  But for now, it’s the best thing I can think of to do the right thing for my kids future.  I want technology to do more than entertain or engage them.  I want it to do far more than just provide a service for them to participate in.  I want them to know how to make technology serve them as a magnifier of their natural strengths and abilities.  I don’t want them to be along for the ride… I want them to be driving the car. 

Kirk Out

Memorial Day - A day to remember.  Originally called Decoration Day - is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.  For those interested in a detailed history of this day (pretty good read) click here. or follow this link http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Memorial Day - Whether they have served or fallen in national service this day is a day for many to visit the resting places of family members and loved ones.  My dear grandmothers may have never worn a uniform, or enlisted in national service.  however,  one worked in the factories that ran to support our military efforts in World War II and another raised my father, Douglas Weisler who  enlisted to become a helicopter pilot.  The young man in the cockpit, is me.  I think one could easily argue that the pictures that follow exist only because of these dear grandmothers and their influence.

Rangers in training… a treasured bit of down time while on a training mission somewhere in Panama.

While serving as US Army Ranger I was able to pin the airborne wings on my older brothers chest.  On that day we jumped out of a “perfectly good aircraft” together which has become a cherished memory.  Greg would go onto become a Ranger qualifed officer in the US Army Intelligence community.  Like so many of our great young men & women in service, Greg has been to the deserts of the middle east and continues to serve as a member of the 19th Special Forces Group.

A WEISLER ON THE WALL? On a visit to DC in 1995 - I made a deliberate visit to the Wall Memorial.  Like nearly all who have done so, I felt the reverance and gratitude for all it represents.  On a whim I thought to check the wall to see if there were any who shared my last name.  Our name is still relatively unique and less common and I knew of no stories of relatives who had fought and fallen.  I was surprised to find a “Weisler” on the wall.  I was even more surprised to find myself filled with feelings that came so strongly to my heart and mind.  Who was he?  Who was this man who shared my name…why had he fought, and how had he fallen?  Who misses him, who is honoring him today?  I don’t know the answers to those questions.   Nevertheless, I don’t have to know him, to remember him and to decorate his memory with my thoughts of gratitude for his sacrifice, his willingness to serve, and my current state of freedom.  

Thank you for your service…

Kirk Out

===============================================================

Kirk,   Happy Memorial Day to you.   As a genealogist and Google fan, your comments about your visit to The Wall piqued my interest.  I thought I’d share this with you. Just so happens that the Sergeant was from my neck of the woods.       http://thewall-usa.com/info.asp?recid=55128  

JAMES ROBERT WEISLER

SGT - E4 - Air Force - Regular
Length of service 2 years
His tour began on Dec 4, 1968
Casualty was on Oct 2, 1969
In , THAILAND
Non-Hostile, died of illness/injury, GROUND CASUALTY
VEHICLE CRASH
Body was recovered
 
Panel 17W - Line 34

There’s a link on the bottom of the page for Personal Info and Photos.  I learned from there that he had a only brother Elliot and a sister Laurie, and that he had the nickname “weasel”.  Probably not the only Weisler to have had that nickname.  There’s an email address from the comrade in arms who left that greeting, if you really did want to learn more about the man who shared your name.

An even more personal page is found at  http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=110&Wall_Id_No=29146 complete with photo. 

http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=110&Wall_Id_No=29146 reveals that he was married.

I also saw that he is buried at Ft. Snelling cemetery, which you’ve flown over when ever you fly into MSP.

All for now.  There are at least two of us who are remembering his name today.

Peace,

Tom Aguilar-Downing

We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic. — E. Merrill Root (1895-1973) American Writer

“The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might of the force of habit and must understand that practices are what create habits. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.”    J. Paul Getty  ~  1892-1976, American Oil Tycoon

Some may recognize this quote from a few months back…but I just felt to send it out again.  It’s from a book called “Happy For No Reason” which is kind of interesting because I think of lots of reasons to be happy… not including all of the scientific ones that tell us we’ll live longer and healthier lives if we are happy.

“When you’re ‘happy for no reason,’ you bring happiness to your everyday experiences rather than try to extract happiness from them. It’s not that your life always looks perfect - it’s that however it looks, you’ll still be happy!”

Marci Shimoff  -  Author, NY Times bestseller “Happy For No Reason”

In all that we need to do today… let’s not forget the things we can also be today.  Be kind, be patient, be a friend…and BE HAPPY!!

Kirk Out

Read, every day, something no one else is reading.

Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.

Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.

It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.   - Christopher Morley

I had to look up unanimity to be sure I knew what it meant!

u⋅na⋅nim⋅i⋅ty

  /ˌyunəˈnɪmɪti/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [yoo-nuh-nim-i-tee] Show IPA -noun

It’s unanimous… let’s all make it a great day!

Kirk Out

from fellow T4D susciber Scott Koon who got it from a Crucial Conversations newsletter…

The bottom line is this: If there is nothing that would cause you to walk away, then you’re a prisoner not a leader. Prisoners blame their captors for their misery. Leaders look to themselves.   -Joseph Grenny 2009

Sometimes you have to lay down your pen(keyboard) and walk away. 

Kirk Out