Part of my peculiar perspective on things comes from the way I think. I was just reminded today while discussing a mathematical problem at work. When explaining what I was thinking I was thinking visually and three-dimensionally. My colleagues didn’t have a clue what I was trying to communicate. They wanted formulas – their way of understanding and solving the problem.
I explained that I had a formula but in my head it was a three-dimensional diagram. Then came the odd looks. Anyway we worked through the problem, created a formula and gave me some insight for a better solution to what I was doing.
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I use a Franklin Planner as a work tool. I have used it since 1996. I would not say that I love it but I recognize that there is a great deal of power in its design and that paper is a technological marvel. As with other tools, the value depends on the way it is used. I would rate myself as so-so in terms of my Franklin prowess.
Where it is most valuable is the in the daily task list with priorities. If I make the list, I find that one way or another, the tasks get done. If I don’t make the list, then the tasks may not get done.
The next most useful function is finding information from the past. This works best when I log significant events in the monthly index, something that I don’t do enough. It seems difficult to know what events I will want to review in the future but it is probably more that I get too busy to remember.
Finally, my Franklin serves as my address book and a place to store passwords. The trouble there is that I don’t keep that up to date either. Passwords get changed all the time, either by me or by asking to have it reset when I forget (and did not bother to update my Franklin).
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In an earlier post I talked about John Eldredge and his book Wild at Heart and how it helped me improve my marriage. That was just part of it. John talks about masculinity, which is almost a dirty work these days and in describing the difficulties faced by men, he describes the wound which he says all men carry. I recognized that I carry the wound as soon as I read it. It was something I had carried for so long that I just accepted it as normal. But what is it and where does it come from? One way to describe it is not receiving a blessing from your father. But what is that blessing?
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Recently I created a list of 13 ways to improve your marriage. It turned out to be a pretty good list and it made me think about how I learned those lessons. At several times during our 37 years as man and wife, I was on the verge of a major train wreck which threatened to destroy our marriage. Somehow, we pulled together and over time I became a better husband. How did that happen?
There are many things that helped me grow but I received a major boost in insight when about 10 years ago I was pointed to Wild at Heart which really opened my eyes about my role as a man in making a good marriage. I came of age in the 60’s and was suckered into the feminist mindset about women. I think it was particularly appealing to me because it was so easy. Or at least is seemed easy to the chicken-hearted young man I was then, The wisdom at the time was that women wanted to lead their own lives without a man to slow them down. I was OK with not leading and being that sensitive man that feminists talked about. In short, I was a wimp.
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The stats tell me that I do have people dropping by this site. So far only my son has commented (and he does that because he is a good son more than for any other reason). This leaves me to speculate about what any of the others are thinking as they pass through these posts. Here are my thoughts about why they don’t leave a comment. Since my purpose in writing this blog is to attract and retain readers, knowledge about the reason would help me add value to my blog.
What is your reason? Leave me a comment—please. If it’s easier just enter a number.
It was such a wonderful post that I don’t have anything to add
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Last week I briefly discussed the three train wrecks that can mess up your life. Mine at this point in my life is the financial area because I am dependent on the income from my full time job and can’t enjoy that income the way I would like. My health is pretty good and I could use some friends but finances is my current number one.
I have a plan to replace my salary with income earned on the web. Part of that plan involves this blog but there is way more involved. Right now my goal is to create a blog that attracts and keeps involved readers. Clearly it is important o provide value. Finding and communicating that value is clearly something that takes commitment and work. It also takes some experimentation. I am on my way and committed to learn and grow my ability and make this blog and my other web pages sources of value to readers.
So that is how I am addressing my biggest train wreck.
So much for me, now to the important question. What is yours? Which of the three train wrecks is your biggest problem. What are you doing about it? How is it working? Leave a comment?
Maybe you are successful where I am struggling but you have a different train wreck and need help or encouragment.
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Last weekend we enjoyed a Giant’s-Dodgers exhibition game in San Francisco. Enjoying the dramatic vistas and freedom from traffic, we took the ferry from Vallejo. After our visit we returned to the Ferry Building to get the ferry back to Vallejo and found this sign where the taxi dropped us off. I stopped and laughed because something was off with this request.
Stepping back to get the full impression, you see the stairs leading to the second floor of the Ferry building. It is occupied by lawyers and the stairs are clearly intended for use as a means to walk from ground level to the second.
So what’s the deal with no sitting? I have not seen any prohibitions for sitting on any other stairs in San Francisco, historic or not. Would you prohibit sitting just because stairs are historic? I can’t think of any possible reason that makes any logical sense but I do have a guess.
I think that the sign is to keep the homeless from enjoying the comforts of the ‘historic’ stairs and scaring off tourists. The ‘historic’ reference is merely a cover to confuse the reader that there actually is a justification for this sign.
What do you think? Is it cover for the two-faced City fathers of San Francisco who provide payments to San Francisco homeless people on one hand and want to keep them away from tourists on the other or is there another reason that makes sense? Help me out.
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