metaya-danjacobs

This is an old parable in modern form.  It is from the TV show, “West Wing”  when Leo tells Josh the following story.  It deserves repeating as the message is deeply personal yet universal. – daniel w. jacobs

“This guy’s walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out.

“A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, ‘Hey you. Can you help me out?’ The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

“Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, ‘Father, I’m down in this hole can you help me out?’ The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on

“Then a friend walks by, ‘Hey, Joe, it’s me can you help me out?’ And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, ‘Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here.’

The friend says, ‘Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.”

From my point of view as an Executive Consultant/Advisor the message is clear.  When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!  Get competent, experienced help from someone who has been down that road before and knows the way out.  This is exactly what I do.

I’m trying to work myself out of a job by providing a correct analysis of what needs handling; developing a doable program to handle it  and putting it in to action now!

With over thirty years of study and one on one experience with top executives, I ready to tackle the thorniest issues and get you out the other side “back to battery.”  (a military term meaning, ready to fire again!)

Give me a call and we’ll get you started.  The most common thing clients say to me is “I wish I had started sooner.”  If something needs to change, help is available, now!

Give me a call or drop me an email.

Dan Jacobs

VMail: 800-900-6660

Email: seniorexecutiveadvisor@gmail.com

Your future is suspiciously related to what you’re doing today.

Trust your instincts and they’ll be there when you need them.

Reassurance of affection can soothe the soul and quiet the twin dragons of worry and fear.

The price of freedom is never too great – when the cost of indifference is so dear.

Develop walk away power – be willing to use it.

You’ll never be more interest-ing - than when you’re interest-ed.

Stress causes worry and worry causes stress, both are a
waste of time.

The best cure for an uneasy mind is a clear conscience.

Admiration attracts admiration.

Remember, you are unique . . . just like everyone else.

The lengths some people will go to to create trouble for others is beyond belief – believe it anyway.

People who consider you a disposable asset or an
acceptable casualty, are not your friends.

Don’t become a lawyer, a thief, or a banker.

The pain of contraction is always worse than the pain of expansion.

Explanations don’t justify and justifications don’t explain.

If you’re hearing only what you want to hear – it’s a set up -
cut your losses and get out fast.

Don’t let yourself end up as collateral damage to the ignorance of others

If they’re lying to you – they’re trying to manipulate you.

If something feels wrong, it is wrong – don’t do it.

Not everyone is a liar, but anyone can be.

If it sounds too good to be real – it’s probably illegal.

When anyone says “it’s not about the money” . . .
it’s about the money.

Don’t deal with synthetic people – the upside potential is
not worth the downside risk.

Sometimes you have to ask the right question to find
the correct answer.

Look for what is not there that should be.

Keep on the lookout look for opportunities -
they’re all around you, all the time.

Your power is infinite – so is your ability to limit yourself.

Things will change.

Business success: locate people with money who have problems you can solve – solve them – get paid.

Don’t ask yourself questions that only someone else can answer – instead, ask them.

Never assume anything . . . good or bad.

Never tell them more than you know.

Do it now.

An accident happens once, a coincidence twice; three times means something is very wrong – take action now.

The greed and hubris of some people can have with horrible unintended consequences for you.

All people lie some of the time – some people lie all of the time – learn to tell the difference.

Yes, some people really do specialize in creating trouble for others.

Expect miracles – sometimes they do happen

You create the life that you think about most.

Don’t worry – it makes you and your life boring.

Don’t let your only creative outlet become finding
more ways to limit yourself.

Quit arguing when others express a willingness to listen and cooperate.

In any negotiations, you always have more power than you think you do . . . so do they.

Information and time are power – to be used for you or against you.

It something seems “in-credible,” it is not-credible.

When they think their position is strong, they’ll stand on facts. If their facts are weak, they’ll stand on principle. If they’ve got neither, they’ll stand on the table.

Something that could never happen - can and most likely will – remain constantly vigilant.

The perceived value of a favor or service quickly diminishes
once it’s completed.

Develop a reputation for never bluffing . . . but never be afraid to bluff.

Observe how others treat waitresses and workers – that’s how
they’ll treat you.

Look around the table: if you can’t spot the sucker – you’re it.

Never believe all your reviews – good or bad.

Effective marketing captures the attention and ignites the imagination.

Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.

Always have a plan B – never have to use it.

Never underestimate a human being’s ability to justify, rationalize or explain a mistake.

Practice using your bullshit detector until it’s infallible.

If you only focus on what you don’t want . . . that’s what will show up.

If they lie about small things, they’ll lie about big things.

Change is the only constant.

Never be afraid to act when it is right to do so.

True riches in life come from the things that money can’t buy.

Sanity stems from the ability to tell right from wrong.

Complexities follow lies.  Simplicities follow truth.

Conventional wisdom is a waste of good imagination and sound judgment.

True security does not stem from things – it resides within.

Sanity, happiness and power are a direct consequence of following your true purpose in life.

When you talk too long, everyone will know what you don’t know – and forget what you do.

You’ll be happier if you speak and write with simplicity, brevity and humanity . . . so will everyone else.

People will care what you know – when they know that you care.

You are what you are perceived to be.

Act as if your future depends on what you do today - it does!

Become expert of at least one thing that you really love.

Take all the time as you need to write a short letter.

It’s never too late to be who you really are and who you always have been.

Your future unfolds with inexorable certainty, but in minute increments. Big changes can and do occur, but only when they’ve been preceded by countless infinitesimally small ones.  Even a slight shift of viewpoint can precipitate enormous changes in your life.

We all carry with us the seeds of our futures – planted, given life and sustenance by our ongoing attention on them .

Criticism can expose the existence of something not evident in the message.  Subtle signs can reveal a hidden harmful intent embedded in the words. Stay alert; listen with your eyes, see with your ears, trust your instincts and act or re-act accordingly.

daniel w. jacobs
(c) 1997 – 2020, all rights reserved

*INVICTUS, the poem by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

*Latin for “unconquered”

Marcus Tullius Cicero  was born in January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC. He is a very well renowned author and thinker, and was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and philosopher. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists.

He is mostly seen as one of the greatest minds of Roman culture and his writing are treated to be the paragon of Classical Latin. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary. An impressive orator and successful lawyer, Cicero likely thought his political career his most important achievement.

However, today he is appreciated primarily for his humanism, philosophical and political writings.

Here is one of his better-known quotes with a topical relevance of the highest significance to what is occurring in the world today. ~ daniel w. jacobs

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

Cicero - 55 BCC

You either expand or you contract, and if you’re not expanding . . . you’re contracting.  Change is inevitable and in life, you’re either going up or you’re going down.  You can never stay level forever.

But, why is it that certain types of people always end up successful and expanding?  And other people end up on the short end of the stick no matter what advantage they start out with?

Even when given the advantage of knowledge, training or experience, the individuals in the latter group seem to not be able to apply or use this advantage. Yet people in the former group mentioned above somehow seem to be able to turn any situation into a “win” for not only themselves but those connected with them as well.

So, what is the fundamental difference between these two types of people?

Some people get so involved with their negativity that this becomes the theme of their lives and the justification and excuse for their failures. It tends to feed on itself and create more of the same.

Successful people also have a pattern of success in their lives.   But to fully grasp it, you have to look for a factor that is as simple as it is significant.

Successful people EXPECT to succeed.  They live their lives with an expectancy of positive things happening to them. You can sense it and feel it when you’re around someone who is positive and expects good things to happen.

Winners may not always have been on top, but the vast majority of them “expected” to win. Once in a great while, by some fluke someone – who never expected to win, but just expected to “run the race” – ends up crossing the finish line first, usually because of some accident other unusual circumstance, but this is the exception.

It’s how you see yourself; as a winner or a loser.   Either way, your opinion of yourself is a self-fulfilling prophecy – a positive expectancy or a negative expectancy.  Which one do you have?

Do a little survey of yourself by asking: What do I expect to happen mostly?  Am I mostly optimistic or pessimistic?  How do I really see myself?

Whatever your answer, you’ll be better off by finding out what it is.  If you’re a winner in your own mind, strengthen it.  If you see yourself as a loser, take fast action now to change that attitude but whatever effective method available.

Your future and your life depend upon it.

daniel w. jacobs
© 2000-2020, all rights reserved

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, “Someone may steal from it at night.” So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job..

Then Congress said, “How does the watchman do his job without instruction?” So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?” So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, “How are these people going to get paid?” So They created the following positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, Then hired two people.

Then Congress said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?”  So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, “We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost.”

So they laid off the night watchman.

And that’s how government really works.

I always enjoy Lori Borgman’s work and this essay is no exception.  It perfectly describes my marital relationship except in reverse.  I’m the one who finds “relaxation” tedious.  Always looking for something to do.  It’s an affliction I’m cursed with it seems.  I live with it. – daniel w. jacobs

Lori Borgman

RELAXATION IS HARD WORK
Lori Borgman | Monday, Aug 24, 2009

The way the husband is forever telling me to pace myself, you’d think I was a race horse.

I fold laundry with lightning speed and he says to pace myself. I paint a room and he says to pace myself. I throw dinner on the table in 15 minutes and he says to pace myself.

The man tells me to pace myself one more time and I’m going to hang a wreath around my neck and claim the Triple Crown.

He claims I collapse at the end of the day because I get out of bed too early in the morning and move too fast.

“No,” I explain, “I collapse at the end of the day because it is the end of the day.”

We both have high energy windows, they just happen to be at opposite times. I’m on full alert in the morning, he comes to life at night.

It could be the secret to a long marriage. When you have different sleep and wake cycles, you have less time to argue.

We recently took our first ever extended trip without any of the kids with the sole purpose of relaxing.

The plan was to sit and watch the waves. The plan was to chill and do nothing. The plan was to lounge.

On the first day we sat around a lot. We ate out. We read. We watched a movie then we sat around some more.

On the second day we did it all over again.

“Are you enjoying relaxing?” the husband asked.

“All except for the part where I feel like I’m in the hospital,” I said. “This is what sick people do — sit, read and sleep.”

I expected a doctor to phone with test results and a nurse to appear with ice water at 5 a.m.

After two days of relaxing and five more to go, I began carving hatch marks on the kitchen wall above the sink.

On the third day, we sat some more, watched the waves, ate out and sat some more.

“Isn’t this relaxing?” he asked.

“I guess so,” I said. “Although some people might find it boring.”

On the fourth day, I ripped one of his white T-shirts in half and waved it on a broomstick out the front door of our vacation rental.

On the fifth day, I was so relaxed I was ready to jump out of my skin.

Every fall I love reading essays by people who wax poetic about the melancholy they experience as they close up their summer cottages and return to the city. But now I’m wondering what it is they do all summer.

Nobody could keep up this relaxing business day after day. I think people who go away for the summer actually just play house in a different location. They market, cook, fix broken things, answer e-mail, pay bills and worry about their kids. But because they do it at a different address, it is somehow considered relaxing.

It would be a lot less work to rent a post office box.

I’m not good at relaxing. I’m also not good at pacing myself.

For those of you who have the stamina to relax — best wishes. All I can say is I tried relaxing and it nearly killed me.

Copyright © 1999-2009 Lori Borgman

Join Lori’s weekly email list by sending an e-mail to  list-request@loriborgman.com with the word subscribe in the subject line of the email.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes?

He’s now 82 years old and has published a new book,
‘Where Have All The Leaders Gone?’.

Lee Iacocca Starts his book:

‘Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums out!’

You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have.. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard questions.. That’s not the promise of the ‘America’ my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?

I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. The Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C’s of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here’s where we stand.

We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.

We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.

Our borders are like sieves.

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire.. I’m speaking out because I have hope – I believe in America. In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America’s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises: The ‘Great Depression,’ ‘World War II,’ the ‘Korean War,’ the ‘Kennedy Assassination,’ the ‘Vietnam War,’ the 1970’s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: ‘You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a “Call to Action” for people who, like me, believe in America’. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap and go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had ‘enough.’

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It’s our country, folks, and it’s our future. Our future is at stake!!