New Maxim - Lose the ego!

From Shane Parrish on Twitter

"Trying to be less wrong is better than trying to be right.  When you focus on being less wrong, blindspots become visible, beliefs no longer need protecting, and you become open to better ideas.  OUTCOME OVER EGO."

https://twitter.com/jkempcpa/status/1206929777891979265?s=20

Rest is better than quitting

Picked this addition to my list of Leadership/Life Maxims up from FaceBook today:

When tired, learn to rest not quit.

Going to make this trip someday.

Guns & Sex

It's right there on the news and nobody seems to get it.

The lead story last night was, of course, about the most recent shootings in Dayton & El Paso.

Later in the same newscast there was a story about the declining birth rate in the USA. One of the reasons noted for the decline was that people, especially millennial's, were having less sex.

Right there in the same newscast was reported a huge society problem and the obvious solution. Love is the answer and we should have more sex.

Notes from trip to Dad's house.

I went to Calico Rock last weekend.  Here is an interesting item:

Dad found this sermon by David Morrow while going through mom's stuff.  Here is the story:

After dad retired from the drug store he and mom bought a RV and hit the road. One of their trips was out to the northwest.

David Morrow is the son of famous Cumberland Presbyterian pastor and theologian, Hubert Morrow.  Early in his career, Hubert was the pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Calico Rock. He wrote a brief history of the Calico Rock Cumberland Presbyterian church while living in Calico Rock. I have an autographed copy but that is another story.

David became a Cumberland Presbyterian pastor and served at least one church in Arkansas before he went to South America on the mission field. While in South America he fell in love and married a Mennonite girl and subsequently joined the Mennonite church.

While on their RV trip to Washington mom and dad visited David's church. Attached is the sermon he preached that day.


Click here to read the sermon

Tweet by GEN(R) Marty Dempsey on Twitter

	GEN(R) Marty Dempsey (@Martin_Dempsey)
5/11/19, 7:31 AM "I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions" (Lou Holtz). The best leaders are the best learners. #Leadership

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Steven R Perryman CPA

Screenshot 2019-05-11 at 9.25.29 AM

Too funny not to share

Bill Maher on Trump

"Trump sold himself to this country as a business genius. Turns out he's a reverse billionaire. Elizabeth Warren should start calling him #Brokeahontas."

Always be the biggley person

I had the opportunity to hear Gary Vaynerchuck speak at a conference earlier this week.  Was impressed so I started following him on twitter and linkedin.  This is a quote from a linkedin post from him today:

"Not being able to be the bigger person even when you're right is an enormous vulnerability - especially as a manger or leader."

More great advice I wish I had learned much earlier in my career. 

#leadershipmaxims #nevertooold #T19 #Transparency19 #FreightWaves

Is the light on?

For what it’s worth

I just had a thought

I was in the usual place taking a break.  As usual, I was running through all the apps (FaceBook, Twitter, Linkedin, CNN, Fox, etc).  Something must have caught my eye because this thought popped into my head.....

Some evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham have preached that Donald Trump is an imperfect man but that God is still using him.  The argument continues that Christians should look past Trump's imperfections since he was sent by God. 

The Bible has many stories of imperfect men and women being called upon by God.  The message is clear to me.  We are all sinners and that does not exclude us from being called upon to do His work.

I believe that.  It is possible that Donald Trump is God sent.

However, for me to believe that God could/would use Donald Trump, I also have to believe he could/would use Hilary Clinton, or Elizabeth Warren or Peter Buttigieg or Vladimir Putin. 

I also think it is dangerous for Christians to pontificate about what God's plans are and how he is using us sinners.  It sometimes sounds like we are trying to get God to fit into our own agenda. 

I was reminded at church last Sunday that our mission, as Christians, is to spread the Gospel to everyone we meet regardless of political party. 

Books have a great ROI

Choose your habits wisely

It’s an in between day Saturday April 30, 2019

Here is what is on my mind this morning after I have read all the post about walls and reports and other divisive and bigoted crap.   

From Matthew 25:

""When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'"

Matthew 25:31-40 MSG

https://www.bible.com/97/mat.25.31-40.msg

And the Coach of the Year is.......

My good friend Mike King is retired now but he spent his career coaching high school basketball at Southside Batesville in Arkansas.   I consider Mike to be the best coach I have ever known.  He is a quite man and he coached that way.   He wasn't assessed a technical foul until his 17th season. 

He was described as being able to take a below average team based on skills, teach them the fundamentals and, more often than not, have a winning season.   He was that kind of coach.

He posted this on FaceBook this morning.

Watch and listen

"Lyndon Johnson used to say to his aides, "What people tell you with their eyes and hands is more important than what they tell you with their mouth." And he would also say, "There's always something the other guy doesn't want to tell you, and the longer the conversation goes, the easier it is to figure that out.""





Steven R Perryman CPA

On this day in MLB history

Employee Value

From Cy Wakeman's book "No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results"

According to Wakeman and her theory of Realty Based Leadership, the formula to measure the value of an employee is:

Employee Value = CP + FP - (3 x EEx)

Where CP = Current Performance (How am I doing today?)
and 
FP = Future Potential (How am I preparing for whats next?)
and
EEX = Emotional Expense (Amount of emotional waste and drama.)

Quit it right now

From twitter

10 things to quit right now:

1 a sense of entitlement

2 speaking poorly behind someone's back

3 constant complaining

4 resentment

5 making excuses

6 worrying about the past

7 interrupting people

8 bragging about being busy

9 fishing for compliments

10 settling for mediocrity

Don’t quit

What about taxes?

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." — Marcus Aurelius


Steven R Perryman CPA

In the beginning....

"We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on." — Richard P. Feynman


Steven R Perryman CPA

Invictus - William Ernest Henley

Good vs Evil

"Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties — but right through every human heart and through all human hearts." -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Gulag Archipelago

Steven R Perryman CPA

Army Days - Part 1

This is the 3rd edition of my StoryCorp interviews with dad. This picks up from the last edition. He and mom had just gotten married and less than a week later he left for the army. This is Part 1 of their Army days.

Love your enemies

The New Testament Bible reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for yesterday, Sunday February 25, 2018 was Luke 6: 27-37.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

This is Jesus talking and it is the continuation of the Beatitudes found in verses 20-26.

Jesus is preaching about loving those that don't return your love.  

As in Jesus's time, we live an a divided time.  Us against them.  These words, Jesus's words, should be considered by all, but especially those that call themselves Christian.

• Always forgive your enemies;  nothing annoys them so much.  – Oscar Wilde

Girl Friends

Here is the second in a series of interviews that I am calling Reed's Ramblings - The Audio Series.

It was recorded at Dad & Mom's house in Calico Rock on Sunday afternoon February 17, 2019.   Dad is the main story teller here but mom was also at the table with us.

Early in the program I reference one of Dad's Ramblin's, which was a series of essay's written by dad for the White River Current back in 2012 to 2015.   The essay is titled "Girl Friends (Old Age) but is really about meeting mom.   You can read the essay here.

hbd! - Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei, the great astronomer was born on this day in 1564.  In honor of his birthday, here are a couple of great quotes:

"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

Leadership/Life Maxim - 2 new ones

I added two new Leadership/Life Maxims to my list this week:

I came across this one somewhere on Linkedin.   There are many variations but simply put:

• Never argue with someone that believes their own lies.

And then from my friend Duke Naiphon who is a prolific Instagram poster:

• Don't count on the advice of your dime friends to make dollar decisions.

In a follow-up post to my liking his Instagram post of this maxim and that I was adding it to my list, Duke said this:

"It's an original quote.  Feel free to use it.  To clarify, I'm referencing relying on the advice of people who have only a small perspective of or experience (dime) relating to your larger problem (dollar).  Although their intentions are "good", poor counsel is disastrous when you rely on your dime friends advice."

Jealous

I am jealous of those that believe there is a bright line that divides liberals and conservatives. They despise those on the other side of the line. One opponent to defeat, to shout down, to never agree with despite any common ground.

I am a moderate which means I believe there is a left/right spectrum with no bright dividing lines.

For example, a recent study has shown that 20% of self-identified Democrats are more conservative than 20% of Republicans.

In the middle means looking both ways.

Just a few Friday night observations as I look down from the fence.

Steve

Isn’t it special

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." — Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

An interview with Dad

On Sunday January 13, 2019 I sat down at mom & dad's dinner table at their house in Calico Rock and recorded our first StoryCorp conversation. It really was intended to be a practice run to see how well my iPhone 8 would perform as a recorder. I also was interested in learning more about how to use the StoryCorp app on my phone. The final product exceeded my expectation. Take a few minutes and listen to our conversation.

Do Stuff

This reminds me of a couple of my Leadership/Life Maxims:

Pay backs are hell

Going to add this passage from 1 Thessalonians as a new Leadership/Life maxim

"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else."

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/1th.5.15.niv

Over achiever

Quote of the day

By Shelby Metcalf, Texas A&M BB coach, to a player who received one D and four Fs -

"Son, looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject."






Steven R Perryman CPA

A road less traveled

Adding a new Leadership/Life Maxim this morning:

"Don't think you are on the right road just because it's a well-beaten path."  - Author unknown. 

I picked this up from the book Uncommon: Finding your path to significance by Tony Dungy

It is similar to Robert Frost famous poem The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Teach them to dream

"If you want to build a ship, don't summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs, and organize the work; teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Let it go

Interesting quote from "Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance"

Hi - I'm reading "Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance" by Tony Dungy, Nathan Whitaker and wanted to share this quote with you.

"Keys for Developing Your Core 1. Remember that what you do when no one is watching matters. 2. The means matter as much as the ends, if not more. 3. Hang in there. Character is revealed through adversity. 4. Often we grow as much through the little things as we do through the big ones. 5. Truth is critical. Being truthful is too. 6. Don't rationalize your way around honesty. 7. Don't blow your own horn. 8. Don't be falsely modest; you have amazing gifts. Just recognize that others do too. 9. You are important, but not indispensable. The same goes for others. See yourself as a significant part of the process. 10. Be careful what you do with your resources, gifts, time, and talents. You've been entrusted with them. 11. Some of the most rewarding times in life are when you have to stand alone, even if you are uncomfortable doing so. 12. Life is hard. Courage is essential. 13. Never give up. Never."

Start reading it for free: http://a.co/ghcedwt
--------
Download Kindle for Android, iOS, PC, Mac and more
http://amzn.to/1r0LubW


Sent from my iPad

Interesting quote from "Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance"

Hi - I'm reading "Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance" by Tony Dungy, Nathan Whitaker and wanted to share this quote with you.

""We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people," said Dr. King."

Start reading it for free: http://a.co/eMOswBu
--------
Download Kindle for Android, iOS, PC, Mac and more
http://amzn.to/1r0LubW


Sent from my iPad

Got to watch this movie again.

There’s a scene in Lawrence of Arabia where one man puts out a match with his fingers, and doesn’t flinch. Another man watching tries to do the same, and yells in pain.

“It hurts! What’s the trick?” he asks.

“The trick is not minding that it hurts,” the first man says.

Useful Hacks: Collaborative Fund

Mark Twain - Courage

I have spent most of today - January 1, 2019 - reviewing the past year's wins and losses and pondering the new year and it's vast opportunities.

Sometime today I came across this Mark Twin quote. It is one of my favorite quotes and think it is worth reposting.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the landing