College Talking Points

Some people go to college not because they want to but because they feel they have to. What they really want is the money tied to the career and not the career itself.

When I was in college, I recall instances of people talking about how fed up they were about the subject they were studying. I didn't realize it at the time, but choosing a college degree is committing to make the subject the main area of your life for decades to come. If you don't like talking about it, while you're learning about it, then what are the chances that you're going to enjoy it as a career? It's definitely not going to be the last time the subject is brought up!

Don't rush into a career you're not really passionate about. Don't feel bad about taking a sabbatical, work a few jobs, before committing to a subject.

Tariffs and New Beginnings

The War on Tariffs will bring changes to the Canadian working landscape. Now, more than ever, is the time to re-imagine ourselves in order to face the challenges ahead of us. To some, this will mean a career change.

"We don't control where we start our journeys, but we do control what we do once we've started. The goal is to take what we've been given and do the most we can with it."
-Chris Brady/Orrin Woodward

It's never too late to re-invent ourselves. We have to do what we must to thrive in this new, uncertain, economy.

Survival mode activated...

Hold off on big purchases as this isn't the time to get into unnecessary debt. If you don't need that new vehicle then wait until such time as a degree of stability has returned.

No one knows what tomorrow will brings but we know for a fact that things are not as stable as they used to be. 

Prepare in consequence.

CEO's Situation Isn't The Same as An Employee

CEOs are quick to point out when they "work on weekends" or "don't take vacations" or "do 16 hour days" somehow thinking this is the path to become a CEO or what any employee should be doing. What they fail to understand is:

• CEO build their dreams while their employees have their own goals or lack thereof. Whether it be consciously or unconsciously, an employee knows when he's building someone else's dream versus his own and act in accordance.
• CEO's paycheck is generally disproportionately higher than most other employees and tied to the company's overall performance creating an incentive not usually shared with employees.
• To some, there's more to life than work.
• When an employee goes above and beyond he's usually rewarded with more work rather than a promotion.

How does someone become a CEO?

Whoever creates their own business or change jobs whenever a higher position is available, at a different company, has a higher chance of becoming a CEO than the person that remained within the same company trying to climb the corporate ladder. The reason why "working harder than anyone else" doesn't usually work is because there's too much competition; everyone else is fighting for the same promotions within the company. 

If a different company has an opening for a higher position, it means they've already looked internally and don't feel anyone is qualified to do it.

"Work smarter" is something that seems to be shared quite often nowadays which, to me at least, means do what you're supposed to do at work without sacrificing your wellbeing.

Could Science/Technology be Simplified?

"We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces."
-Carl Sagan

Our world has become complex and requiring one to spend more time learning its intricacies in order to find success within its systems. We need to find ways to make our society more approachable for the generations that precede us.
A.I. may be able to help humanity make sense of the complexities of science and technology for future generation but we also need to find ways to simplify information in order not to require an expert to understand it.

10-20 years ago existed a "for dummies" book series which was designed to be the first step in learning any new subject. The authors essentially simplifying complex subjects and sprinkling a bit of humour into the mix in order to keep the attention of the reader. It was a genius idea that seems to have died down.

Of course, individuals also have their parts to play as it doesn't matter how simple we make something people will still need to learn it.

What Happened in the USA can Happen Anywhere...

"A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers."

-W. Cleon Skousen

The transition from Federal Republic to Oligarchy/Dictatorship/Kleptocracy that is currently happening in the United States of America can happen anywhere. If anything, this is a reminder that we must pay closer attention to our governments/leaders because if we don't then we may see changes that will make things worse for our country.

• Netherlands, Italy, Hungary and Poland have seen a rise in far-right extremist beliefs.
• Germany is facing similar problems with the rise of the AfD political party.
• In Canada, the conservative leader seems to be using similar strategies as Trump did during his campaign.

It's a concerning trend, as these movements often target marginalized communities and push for more illiberal democratic systems. The rise of such parties can have real-world consequences, including the rollback of human rights for various communities.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

-Jiddu Krishnamurti

It's important that we vote, while we still can, and develop an ability to identify good vs bad leaders. If, for example, a leader keeps saying he'll "become a dictator on day 1" this may not be the person you want to represent your country no matter what other silly promises he may be talking about.

Nature Documentaries Have Changed

When I was a kid, I used to find nature documentaries quite inspiring but nowadays most of those documentaries are alarming - for good reasons. Rare is the documentary that doesn't mention climate change, an animal that is now critically endangered, or an ecosystem that's been almost completely destroyed due to human activity.

Humans have assumed control of our planet's stewardship, but our management skills have fallen woefully short.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems is that too much of our economy is based on the destruction of our environment and the planet is now fighting back. If we don't learn how to work with nature then it's a battle that we'll most definitely loose.

If You Can't Do the Time, Don't Do The Crime

I recently had a chat with an ex-convict who told me about her past of crime and I was surprised at how much time was lost through the ordeal. Time is the most important resource we have and we're free to do what we want with it. When we're in prison, our life is on hold until such time as we've repaid society for the troubles we've caused - sometimes this can mean that we've missed out on important life events such as, in this case, finding a suitable mate to build a family with. Motherhood is one goal that she likely won't be able to experience.

If your goal is to be a mother you don't need to spend time in prison to miss out - spending time in unrelated activities can also yield the same result. The difference here is, of course, that you prioritized other things rather than been forced out of your goal while spending time in prison.

Why someone ends up in prison varies but if time has any value to you, then you will see prison as a complete waste of it and do what is necessary not to end up there. 

Nobody Cares About What You Know*

"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words."

-Proverb 23:9

After years of reading good books you may begin to see the foolishness of others (*cough* like Americans voting for a convicted felon *cough* *cough*). You can't share most of what you know with the majority of the people that you meet. If they're not fools then they don't care and you're not actually that important.

What is there to do?

You can write a blog *cough*, write in a journal, or focus on your relationships until people start opening up to you and seeking your council. The late Theodore Roosevelt said "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" and it certainly is true here. Before people know that you care, there's no point in trying to "teach" them anything.

Book Covers are To Be Judged

"Don't judge a book by its cover" is a methapor that means we shouldn't judge a person, or something, solely on appearance or first impression. However, the very purpose of a book cover is to judge the book - it's marketing tool to hopefully intice people to buy the book. 

If we weren't supposed to "judge a book by its cover" then why does it have pictures, short summary, "New york time best seller" stickers ... or anything else meant to get the book in peole's hands?

The cover of a book is, by design, meant to be judged. We also tend to judge people on first impression and, if its negative, we must find it in our heart to give the person the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was having a bad day, maybe he can't afford a nice suit, maybe he's anxious... let's give people a chance to redeem themselves.

The Climb

Life is a mountain that we climb until the day we die. The older we are, the higher up on the mountain we are and the further we can see. The responsibility of those higher on the mountain is to show the path to those that are lower on the mountain - the generations that follows.

“When you’re young; you learn. When you get older; you understand.” 

-Unknown

An idiot is someone who doesn't learn from his mistakes.

A smart person is someone who learns from his mistakes.

A genius is someone that learns from someone else's mistakes.

There are no greater shortcuts to success in life than to learn from someone else's mistakes. Whether it be a mentor's counsel or a great book be humble enough to seek the the advice of others. One day, it'll be your turn to pass on what you've learned.

2024 - A Retrospective from My Perspective

Well here we are again... another year has gone by and this one sure was eventful:

• We had an American election that didn't really go in the direction I would of liked.
• We had a Canadian Provincial election that went well.
• A.I. is quickly gaining ground everywhere.
• Tension all around the world are rising.
• The National debt of most countries is at an all time high.

For me, 2024 went by in a flash. I've learned more this year than I did the previous 5 due to a steady diet of books and Podcasts. Some notable books I managed to read this year are:

• "The Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker
• "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill
• "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey
• "The 5 love languages" by Gary Chapman
• "How to have confidence and power in dealing with people" by Les Giblin

For 2025, I intend on maintaining my reading habits and would like to eat better - try different foods and stay away from junk.

May 2025 be your year!

Forever "Cringe"

When I was a kid, I fabricated a story where my cousin Marc created a club for which I would go at night and all sorts of crazy things would be happening (alien encounters, development of secret weapons...) All of this was made up and pretty "cringe".

I would tell these stories to my friends and most wouldn't believe me (of course).

It's not uncommon for a kid to create stories but fast forward 20+ years and nobody remembers, or cares about, my cringy stories. While I may of gotten some weird looks from my schoolmates, these ended when I got home.
Nowadays, you have kids share these stories online for the entire world to see which opens the doors for bad actors to embarrass the author - online/at home/forever.

It's a lot more difficult to be a kid today than it use to be. Cringy stories are forever recorded into the annals of the Internet. The school bullies have made their way into the homes.
Parents have a responsibility to limit their child's online activities until such times as they get a better feel of what it means to be human and partake in a society with its good and bad actors.

Voting Democracy Out

“History shows that almost all tyrants have been demagogues who gained the favour of the people by their accusations of the notables.”

-Aristotle

How did we get here? This is something I've been asking myself every day since we've learned about the American Presidential election results. 

While it certainly happened before, I never thought I would witness, firsthand, the possible fall of a Democracy as a result of popular vote. To me, the only way to bring down this form of Government would of been through force but what can be done when the majority wants something different?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

-Thomas Jefferson

The problem is that the voters have no idea what they're actually voting for as they're only paying attention to that "one thing" that matters most to them. The candidate, of course, has gone to great lengths to insure to be seen as the only person who can fix whatever issue "that" is. Lies, deceit ... anything to get power - that's the only motivation of tyrants.

Hopefully, the American people will realize the error in their ways and do what is necessary to rectify it. I doubt history will remember favorably this period as the representation of the Country is no longer exhibiting the values of the founding members.

As I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened, I leave you with this advise: Don't give up, educate yourself, hope for the best but prepare for the worst. 

Book Recommendation: "A Miracle That Changed the World. The 5000 Year Leap" by Dr. W. Cleon Skousen

So This Is How You Destroy A Democracy...

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

-Benjamin Franklin

Americans have shown us that the way to loose a democracy is not by force but through popular vote.

Americans have shown that if you give people freedoms they eventually, willingly, surrender it.

Americans have shown us that they would rather have a convicted felon than a highly educated woman, with a wealth of law/politic experience, to represent them.

The United States of America, as we know it, is no more: It was killed by it's own people. The once great nation is but a shadow of it's former self and the world is now worse because of it.

It's not clear which form of Government will emerge but it's unlikely to remain as it is now.

“LIKE THE FRAMERS themselves, many Americans in the early years of the Republic truly regarded the Constitution as a miracle. Not only did they praise the competence, wisdom, and motivations of those who served in the federal convention of 1787, but they declared that the formation and adoption of our new system of federal government represented a political achievement unprecedented in human history. They looked upon it, moreover, as an event that was actually "influenced, guided and governed" by the hand of God. Thus it is not hard to understand why our Founding Fathers believed that the Constitution was destined to bless all mankind-and that it was "incumbent on their successors" to preserve and defend our national charter of liberty…”

-Andrew M. Allison

The Canadian Government has A Problem

I've watched hours of political debates lately and am frustrated with most of what I saw: A bunch of politicians trying to justify their existence through needless bickering with little to no progress made on the subject of the day - How are we, the citizens, benefiting from this? 

The problem in Canada is two political parties owns almost the same amount of seats. Every decisions made, by either parties, are met with a barrage of criticism and the charade is carried out for days. In situations like this, what's even the point of these debates?

The obvious fix is to have a majority Government but even then we need ways to improve this process as we can't be spending weeks to come to an agreement on the most basic of decisions. We can't be having all these people in a room for hours with no progress made.

In the private sector, business leaders don't have the luxury of endless meetings to make decisions as time is money but Government has access to a large amount of money and can take however much time they want. 

Am I missing something or can this process be improved in some way?

If Easier is Available

Nobody will take the most difficult path if an easier path is made available to them. This is not only true for humans but also for other species as well.

My dad recently placed a bird feeder on his property and a large gathering of birds have ensued. They eat the free food with such vigor that one has to wonder what they were eating before this came along.
This has been going on long enough that birds are now waiting for the food to come rather than find their own. The birds will continue to wait for as long as they have hope that more food will come.

Humans are like that too aren't they? If you offer them social assistance, you effectively remove their willingness to go hunt for their own food. This will go on for as long as there's free money available.
While I understand that some can't get their own food and are required to be on social assistance - others are abusing it.

Merchandising Rebel Movements

When I was younger, the Punk lifestyle was considered a way to "rebel" against the system. With age, I came to see these movements as nothing more than a way to sell merchandise to young minds. 

When joining these groups, we get a sense of belonging or fighting for a cause that is believed, by the group at least, to be a worthy one. Let's not deceive ourselves, however, as most of these movements are nothing more than channels created to sell - some artists livelihood depends on it.

This isn't to say that there's something wrong with these strategies but we must recognize them for what they are.

Midlife Crisis

I'm currently experiencing the sort of melancholy that is typically experience by those, like me, that are near their 40th birthday. In movies, this is a period typically associated with a big purchase such as a sport car or a motorcycle but I've had no such desires.

My experience with midlife crisis has been one where I think more of death whether it be mine or my friends/family. If I do manage to reach old age, I wonder what sort of problems awaits me. Will I suffer from dementia? Will have knee or back problems? Will I be a grumpy old man?

Family gathering have taken on a new meaning as I'm left wondering if it'll be the last time where we will be able to all gather in the same room. Every year, we seem to loose a few members. How many more family gathering do we have left? Will we know when we've had our last one?

It's increasingly difficult for me to spend time on things that doesn't matter as there's a greater sense of urgency to everything I do. The feeling of invincibility I had in my youth is no more - there's a definite sense that life is finite. 

When we're young, life gives us everything and slowly takes it all away as we get older.

Change is inevitable.

Thinking Distance

“From the neck down you're worth minimum wage, from the neck up your opportunity is unlimited.” 

-Zig Ziglar

One of the downside of reading non-fiction is that you may come to the point where you're no longer as comfortable being involved in deep conversations with those that don't read for the simple reason that you feel there's a distance between how they think compared to you.

Bodybuilders are sometime faced with the "leave humanity behind" prerogative which essentially mean that they reach a point in their bodybuilding careers where they make the decision to do whatever it takes to be as big as they can be. 

Intellectuals also go through a similar change as they can reach a point where they decide that they will no longer think like the masses.

The distance felt can go both ways as intellectual can meet people that are further along their journey just as much as those that aren't as far. The important part is to be respectful of everyone and keep our minds open to new ideas. Be patient to those that aren't as far along as you just as you would expect someone further along to be patient with you.

No Work No Problem?

A friend of mine was injured back in 2014 and has been on disability ever since. She admitted to me that not working was boring for her and she didn't wish it on anybody. My retired dad has been telling me the same.

Try me...

While I can certainly understand that we can run out of "shows" to watch or "video games to play" I still believe that getting bored wouldn't happen to me because I have plenty of things to occupy myself outside of the mindless entertainment.

Feeling useful is what my dad misses the most about working but that's because he hasn't really found  ways, outside of work, to get that feeling. I not only have, through such things as writing, I've also found ways to do it outside of my full time work.

In the workplace, some people can't do anything unless they're told what to do. I suspect that those are people that would miss work the most as they can't seem to function without someone else telling them what to do. 

That's never been my problem because I've approach every project with the "how can I add value to this" mindset. I need very little guidance before I find ways to contribute and this attribute has spilled out in my personal life as well.

For now, however, I can only speculate how I'll be during my own retirement.