ACT

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity"

- Amelia Earhart

WIN OR LOSE

There are any number of differences between winners and losers, one distinction that I like, from John Assaraf is;

"The winner says, it may be difficult, but it's possible. The loser says, it may be possible but it's too difficult"

It all comes down to attitude!

SEAL's continued

“Let’s talk this out.”

There is nothing like the camaraderie between SEALs. Nothing else even comes close to paralleling the tight bond, unity and cohesion found amongst men who live, eat, train and fight together. Having said that, some people just need a good whoopin’ once in a while to keep egos in check, and teammates are no different. Confronting difficult issues and learning from them is what turns mediocrity into greatness.

The SEAL Team Non-negotiables continued

 “Sorry I’m late.”

You don’t hear this in a culture of accountability because expectations are set, and if they’re not met then there are repercussions. Not to say that expectations don’t change, but it’s not for a lack of effort in fulfilling them.

SEAL Teams

From the Entreprenuer web site article, 10 phrases you won't hear from a SEAL Team, relative to life and business as much as special operations;

 “I can’t do that.”

If somebody had said this in the team room then he would’ve found himself cold, wet and duct taped. Unless a physical handicap is present, replace your “can” or “can’t,” with “will” or “won’t.” There’s always a way. Find it.

It is the Starting Point.

The father of all modern coaching and personal development, the author of Think and Grow Rich, got it right many decades ago;

The starting point of all achievement is desire. 

-Napoleon Hill

At times we can forget how really important our job is as parents or grandparents

AGAIN, SIMPLE BUT TRUE

Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

-Lolly Daskal

Sad but True

Giving money and power to government is like giving whisky and car keys to teenage boys.

- PJ O'Rourke

To Kill or not to Kill?

Perhaps I should preface these thoughts by letting folks know that I was for many years, decades in fact, not a supporter of the death penalty. This was based on having spent some 15 years working in the criminal justice system in New South Wales in Australia. I saw and read enough evidence of complete miscarriages of justice in this country and elsewhere to realise that there was a very real danger that society could actually be sanctioning the killing of innocent individuals. Although the risk was in reality quite small, the question I always had in my mind was, even if the risk was that remote could we, as a society, still justify killing individuals under the sanction of our laws in a civilised society. My genuinely held view for all those years was no.

For anyone who may think the views expressed above are a bit out of left field and a bit soft, just let me share one story with you. In the mid eighties while working as a NSW Police Prosecutor in the western suburbs of Sydney long before the court system became a lot more sensitive dealing with child victims I was the prosecutor in a case involving a girl aged ten who had been subjected to years of sexual abuse by her NATURAL father. I spent many hours talking with that child about the evidence she had to give in court in front of her father. As long as I live I will never ever forget the pain, hurt and confusion I saw in that child's eyes. At the time I would have had not one minutes hesitation in inflicting the death penalty myself. As for all the do gooders who might be tempted to bring up the arguements about children making things up, aside from the genuine pain and hurt expressed by this victim, it was supported by a raft of medical evidence. That is an experience that will haunt me forever.

This post was prompted by watching the story on the Seven Network tonight relating to Ivan Milat. Even allowing for my personal experience with the total lack of credibility of that networks current affairs programs if half of the factual content was correct I think it is time that we reconsidered the death penalty in this country. It is hard to believe that Ivan Milat is allowed to remain alive and be fed, and provided with basic comforts and medical attention for the rest of his life. Yes I have seen inside prisons in this country and I know they are not pleasant, in the seventies I spent one day a week going through the four prisons at Long Bay for work and they were not great places to be.

Maybe it is now time for a sensible public debate on the issue that is not totally hijacked by either the lunatic right wing "kill 'em all" attitude or equally the far left unbalanced arguements.

The greatest issue we have in this country that will prevent a sensible debate is the totally polarised media outlets that drive public opinion.

Winning

Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.

-Vince Lombardi

Who Knew!

Whilst I certainly am of the conservative side of politics I never really thought I would be quoting John MCain, but very difficult to disagree with his thoughts on this point,

"Courage is the enforcing virtue, the one that makes possible all the other virtues common to exceptional leaders: honesty, integrity, confidence, compassion and humility."

-John McCain

From Harry Potter

It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Misquote

How often have you heard people refer to Charles Darwin as heralding the survival of the fitest, or the strongest survive? In fact what he said was quite contrary to that;

Leadership

Wonderful quote from Mission Statement, "Outstanding leaders go out of their way  to boost the self esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish"

Just a different variation on the view that the main purpose of leaders should be to create more leaders, apologies to the original author for the paraphrasing.