Alternate Forms of Energy

By now, unless you watch no television, don't listen to radio or surf the web, you have heard of T. Boone Pickens and his alternative energy plan. His plan consist of creating a large field of wind turbines and distributing their energy back into the power grid. Several states allow and some even demand that power companies purchase excess energy.

Other applications like solar and wave energy are less effective and haven't met the necessary efficiencies that will lend large efforts such as the Pickens Plan.

With the massive exodus of US capital to the Middle East in payment for the millions of barrels of oil purchased per day, we must question our means of producing effective and efficient energy. Perhaps there is a greater cost to be paid by not investing in renewable forms of energy than the loss of capital.

A reduced carbon footprint cannot hurt our environment. Here's the link to Pickens Plan, check it out for yourself. Report back if you have some time.

Is it real?

Check it out if you wonder....

Obama and the burden of being a star.

Sic Transit Gloria!

In ancient Rome when a conquering general was invited to the capital for a victory parade, he was crowned with a garland of laurel and clothed in scarlet. The treasures of his conquest were paraded before him along with the captured slaves and often defeated kings. The crowd would chant yet all the while a slave positioned to speak directly into the conqueror's ear "Sic Transit Gloria" translated as "All Glory is Fleeting."

Yesterday we treated to a visage of the past as we watched the mighty Obama as he wooed the German public. He spoke of not being there as a candidate but as a citizen of the world. His platitudes were hollow and empty. Unlike the famous speeches given by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, Obama chose to state the obvious. He spoke of tearing down walls...most any wall would seem to do; religion, global warming, education or even perhaps the one between your kitchen and dining room.

Obama would do well to have the ancient Roman wisdom whispered in his ear. Hopefully it could remind him that the President is a servant of the citizenry of the United States of America. There is perhaps no higher calling within political office than to serve freedom and protect democracy a s a means to preserve that freedom. One last thing that could be whispered; your not the President. I think he keeps forgetting this.

While the Senator enjoys rock star status he should remember Glory is Fleeting and Europeans can't vote in our elections! Every star will flame out, has Obama peaked too soon?

Being Heard not part of the Herd

Being Heard not part of the Herd!

Seth Godin writes in today's blog that it is not the product or the price but the audience's ability to listen. Seth makes a great point that should be considered long before contact. Ask yourself, "Am I necessary and will my products/ services benefit my audience?"

As a business owner, perhaps nothing is more frustrating than someone wasting your time. I understand the need to be in front of the customer, just make sure they are a potential customer. Better to waste some of your sales time as a researcher digging into what your customers really need than being a nuisance.

Three steps that will set you apart from the herd of sales people beating the path to the front door of your client;

1. Be sincere. I don't need another back slapping salesman trying to persuade. Instead, look at my position and if you have products that will help me...I want to hear about em...if not, move on and stop wasting both of our time.
2. Ask about my biggest challenge. Even if you can't help me with your own product, you may have a connection who can help. So as your moving on...call your friend and mention my need. If he calls on me, make sure he mentions you. i won't forget that you looked beyond self interest.
3. Follow up after the sale. Don't just do what you said you would do...beat it to death with over delivery and do it every time. I will expect it.

If you can keep it up...I will notice you aren't a herd kind-a-guy /gal at all. Then you will have my trust and with my trust comes the chance for me to listen better and better.

Twitter

I have recently become slightly addicted to Twitter. My wife teases me about it. The computer will chime and she will joke..."some one just tweeted you." I am building friends there and meeting new people, but there is something pretty rich about it. These little url attachments have introduced me to a whole new world of sites that i could never find on my own.

So if you have time. Twop by and tweet me. I have to run...just received 11 new tweets and have to check them out :).

Finding God (part 1) Good and Evil

Good and Evil

As I have been thinking about the presence of God perhaps one of my first thoughts was about the existence of evil. When I hear people speak of God they often use words like omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and many phrase from the Bible speak of his goodness and excellence. So...where does evil come from and is there such a thing? Lets look at the logic argument.

1. If there is evil then we accept there is good. A comparison that can be made between the behavior of free thinking individuals.
   
2. Instinct alone does not control the actions of humankind. Instinct is a piece of the data we collect and process when we make decisions. There is a choice involved.
3. One chooses to act morally or immorally. One is seldom wholly committed to one or the other. In fact this is very rare. More likely each person is a blend of moral and immoral behavior. We are free to choose our actions.
   
4. As actions become a choice, moral will define good behavior and evil will define immoral behavior.
   
5. There are many generally accepted principles of goodness and evil; e.g. charity, trustworthiness, murdering, stealing and dishonesty are a few. These widely accepted principles are a universal moral law.
   
6. Then a moral law exist that transcends religions, ethnic origin and geographic origin. These beliefs are universally true.
7. If there is a moral law it originated somewhere. For there to be a moral law, there must be a moral law giver.

Logic would explain that we are free to act on our own accord. Free to choose behavior that has been defined by a moral law giver. In other words; there are some absolutes in life. We are free to decide if we shall pursue a life that attempts to walk the path that agrees with these truths or if we will pay them no regard at all.

Choosing to be moral or immoral does not guarantee success. Each of us will likely be faced with situations where we fail to take the path we would find most congruent to our past behavior. Circumstances may intervene that cloud a usual practice or make it less desirable. However, one may take a general path towards goodness just as one may choose a path of hedonism and self fulfillment.

This week consider the possibility of a law giver. How did we establish the ideas of good and acceptable behavior?

Rhetoric: Harmful or Helpful

The "Art" of reading and writing persuasively is called rhetoric. It may seem a bit odd that fiery rhetoric, we often hear in political debates or on the daily news shows, is very similar to the Greeks and their goal of persuasion. However just because it's old doesn't mean it's good, you may note the major failure in the Greek world ( think Alexander the Great).

Rhetoric hopes to fashion an argument that is persuasive, not always honest. If we tell a story and cover a single perspective, we get a flat image that lacks depth. It is very difficult to make worthy decisions based on this type of information. More over, rhetorical discussions often ignore scientific evidence and speak more deeply to the soul of man. These are discussions of passion.

One may ask if rhetorical arguments are even worth while these days. The answer would be a resounding yes! Just remember to listen to more than one side of an argument. This will add the depth that a single view blurs. Check out Cicero and The Murder Trials. Great examples of a superior orator and rhetorician.