Titles and entitlement

Titles mean nothing to me and never have.

I was promoted up the ladder in a multi million dollar business , went from manager to director to Vice President to Senior Vice President- pretty good right ?
Who really cares ?

What matters more is - did I make difference in someone’s life ?
I hope I did - my reward was and still is when someone I worked with or worked for me tells me that I helped them or say I made a difference in how they work.

Funny story- I was VP of Operations for this 100 million dollar company and the head of HR called me in to her office and said that they wanted to promote me to Senior Vice President and at first I said no I am ok thanks, she told me no, you want this title , for one the company was about to distribute stock for the first time ever and being a Senior VP would mean being offered stock, so I accepted.
But I truly felt that titles should not speak to who I am or what I do or how much worth I am to the company.

The big problem in today’s business world is people no longer even work their way up the ladder, those in “power” think to be better and smarter you need to have the “sheepskin” A degree- if you have that you can by pass the workers actually doing the work and gain a title and then you stand on the mountain top and bark out your orders.
The issue here is respect and knowledge in that particular business, how can you obtain the knowledge needed to lead if you never actually worked your way up and how can those people you are supposed to lead respect you if they know you do not even have that knowledge.

Just because you have a title it does command respect- that you have to earn.
Unfortunately some people think the title will make people listen and most obtain an office with their title which is even worse because they will never truly listen to their employees thus will never be able to train or help give them the tools they need to succeed. They go to their, shut the door and think how smart they are and look at the pictures they put up on their wall.

Titles seem to give people entitlement, no matter what you do or what your title is we all enter this world the same way and will some day exit it , life is short. What you do with that like is what is important.

Look Around

Look around, look around at how lucky we are
To be alive right now
Look around, look around

- Lyrics from Hamilton - Song- That would be enough - Lin-Manuel Miranda 

I turned 63 last week and I can definitely say that I have never lived in more troubling or negative times. Everyone seems angry, everyone is choosing a side, you are either with me or against me. News channels turned into reality shows years ago but it has certainly deepened and everyone stays on their channel and listen to their talking points meanwhile life goes on.

Life has slowed down for me now that I am 63 and I try my best to stay active both physically and mentally , at 63 I certainly know that I have less time in front of this cart then in back and I want to suck it all up. 

I talk walks on quiet backroads and look up and appreciate the sky and the trees and the birds, I do believe that this life is precious and that this just could be paradise-look around.

I enjoy my friends and family and love watching life through the eyes my grandkids.

As far as all the negative and living in tough times I think of my mom and dad born in the early 1900’s- they grew up with kerosene lamps in the house and an outhouse in the back, they had no TV and their snacks was saltine crackers. They lived through wars and worked long hours for little pay, third shifts in the mills pulling lace and a batch maker at a chemical plant. 

I did not know or appreciate what I had growing up, I don’t think any of us really do.

Life comes at you fast.

Yesterday I sat outside and read a book in total quiet and I could hear the birds and the crickets and when the wind blew through the trees I would stop just a second and put my face up to feel it and listen- and I thought of my dog Lola that passed away last year , she would sit outside and do that very thing - like I have said I have learned more from my dog then any book or class.

Look around.

Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now !

Rights

In this great experiment of Democracy and America we are different from many other countries because we, the people, have rights.
We have rights that are built in to our constitution to prevent our leaders becoming a dictator or king and to enable each and every one of us the opportunity to continue to reshape this great experiment.
In those rights Freedom of Speech is the most important because once that is suppressed we lose our voice and ability to hold our leaders accountable.
The hardest up thing about free speech is when we do not agree with others, I do no not have to agree with you but it is your right in the United States to be able to say out loud what you believe and live that life you want.
I have people in my life that I love and I do not agree with them when it comes to politics or beliefs but I still love them. In some cases we can have an open dialogue and discuss our differences and others we cannot because it escalates to quickly, so those friends and loved ones I do my best to respect their space and ideas.
I wish we could all talk honestly to each other but because some feelings are so personal it is very hard.
I do know that when we talk more to each other we start to understand why someone may think the way they do. I always try to look at it from their side and keep the conversations civil and maybe just maybe we can find common ground.

Destiny

Watch you thoughts;They become your words...
Watch your words;They become your actions...
Watch your actions;They become your habits...
Watch your habits;They become your character...
What your character;It becomes your destiny... 😁 #Destiny

History

Know our true history-

400 years ago, white people brought Black people over here 

 - and enslaved them. 
- And sold them. 
- And treated them as less than human. 

For 250 years. While white men built the country 

+ and created its laws 
+ and its systems of government. 

==> While 10-15 generations of white families 
+ got to grow 
+ and flourish 
+ and make choices that could make their lives better.

And then 150 years ago, white people "freed" Black people from slavery. 

- But then angry white people created laws that made it impossible for them to vote. 
- Or to own land. 
- Or to have the same rights as white people. 
- And even erected monuments glorifying people who actively had fought to keep them enslaved. 

==> All while another 5-10 generations of white families 
+ got to grow 
+ and accumulate wealth 
+ and gain land 
+ and get an education.

And then 60 years ago we made it "legal" for Black people to vote, and to be "free" from discrimination. 

- But angry white people still fought to keep schools segregated. 
- And closed off neighborhoods to white people only. 
- And made it harder for Black people to get bank loans, 
- or get quality education 
- or health care, 
- or to (gasp) marry a white person. 

==> All while another 2-3 generations of white families 
+ got to grow 
+ and pass their wealth down to their children 
+ and their children's children.

And then we entered an age where we had the technology to make PUBLIC the things that were already happening in private

— the beatings,
— the stop and frisk laws, 
— the unequal distribution of justice,
— the police brutality (police began in America as slave patrols designed to catch runaway slaves). 

==> And only now, after 400+ years and 20+ generations of a white head start, are we STARTING to truly have a dialog about what it means to be Black in America.�

White privilege doesn't mean you haven't suffered or fought or worked hard. 

It doesn't mean white people are responsible for the sins of our ancestors. 

But it DOES mean that we need to acknowledge that the system our ancestors created is built FOR white people. 

It DOES mean that we aren't disadvantaged because of the color of our skin and 

it DOES mean that we owe it to our neighbors-- of all colors-- to acknowledge that and work to make our world more equitable.


BLACK LIVES MATTER!