Notes to myself

Pet Peeve: Out-of-Touch Leaders

You know one of my pet peeves? Something that really pisses me off? When people in positions of authority and power become disconnected from the community they serve, they become clueless about the feelings of the ordinary person.  This happens in government. We see it a lot lately in Canadian politics. It also occurs in…

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Do Epic Things

Epicness, not for this: It’s basic to think that doing some epic shit is a great way to grab attention and increase standing in your social hierarchy. This true. Doing epic shit can give you the fame and admiration your weak little soul may yearn. And with one step in this direction, you’ll have started…

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Algorithmic Addiction (pt 2)

Just a little. Only a couple minutes.  Telltale signs of addiction.  When you’re on autopilot. When your hands and feet move effortlessly, gracefully, into the fire you know will burn.  How little control we have when our controls get stuck on autopilot.  Who amongst us is above addiction? Who amongst us above the highly trained…

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How to Write

1. Write. Write jibberish. Write stupidity. Write your feelings. Then, write why your feelings are dumb. Write why you love someone. Then, write all the things you hate about someone. Write why liberals are stupid. Then, write why conservatives are dumb. Write about racism, prejudice, and social justice. Then, write why you can’t stand certain…

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Military Hat 🪖

When I’m wearing my military general hat, my Captain’s hat… I love it. I love the clarity.I love the absolution.Structure.Precision.Focus.Pointed and with purpose. Yes, this is an extreme version of me. And while I wear this hat and live through this uniform, I am intense. Those who don’t know me, understandably mistake me for being…

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Wants, and other questions

What don’t you want? This is equally, if not more important, than what you want.  But be careful not to not-want things that are good for you. For example, suffering.  And what about those you love? What do they (think they) want? In what domains and categories are you willing to help others achieve their…

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A young lady’s charm.

At some point in a young lady’s childhood, she learns that she can get far using her charm, her wit and her beauty. There comes a point in her adult life when her charm, wit, and beauty do not suffice. What else does she have to offer? She better have the grit. The might, discipline,…

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New day. New life.

Every morning is an opportunity for a new life. This gets forgotten, often, especially when the night ends in drink and smoke. This is karma. Waking up in debt for decisions of yesterday. Not careful; this can replicate in weeks, months, and years, setting you so far back that no time available to you is…

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The Descent of a Soul: A Journey Through Temptation and Reflection

In many ways, bad ways, I have devolved. Weaknesses have run amok. Coasting. Eating away the good fortune created yesterday.Stealing goodwill from tomorrow.  Where is my soul? Like being trapped by a black hole. Being pulled. I see the disasters, and rather than change trajectory, rather than fly back the opposite way, I flow like the river into…

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Expectations for leaders

Want more money?Want to think and perform like a leader?What is your current thinking like?What is your current behaviour like? How fragile are you?How much of your thoughts and actions are unchecked? Are you easily disturbed?Do you easily break? Would you follow someone like you? What are the qualities you believe a leader should exhibit? How…

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Doing well.

We have a responsibility to build a business that not only supports but goes above the basics. Mother birds “In measuring out rewards, wise rulers act like mother birds. While seeing into every corner; they are unobtrusive. While protecting the people, they do not control them.“ excerpt from Chapter 10, Tao Te Ching

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LOL. Your Looping.

Lol. You’re looping.  Same shit, every week.  You need to be yourself. Your level of intensity. But different from before.  Yes, you can live with your people. But more important, you must lead them.  First, you must lead yourself.  What a joke. You’re cycling. Looping. Week after week.  What are your expectations?  You love _______….

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What ruins a community

Having qualms about a member of your community, sharing your qualms with others, but not having the guts to talk to the person directly. This plants seeds of resentment in your own heart, and seeds of doubt and dislike in the hearts of the listener. Some of those doubts and disenchantment are of the person…

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Business as usual

You’re all good. We’re all good. From your core to the gross warm yellow liquid that gets flushed out. We’re absolutely perfect through and through. Business, however, requires not perfection, but specificity. It’s in these specificities that we sometimes are trapped in, and sometimes need releasing.

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Getting out of a funk in 2021 Q4

Notes taken whilst listening to a Queen. Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 10:21 PM I want to feel understood and understood. Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 10:23 PM I don’t need other people to understand me, of I’m willing to understand myself. Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 10:25 PM To ___: 1. I’m so glad I talked with…

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Happenings

9:31 am // A few questions participants should ask. How do you define attack? How do you define defence? What is the relationship between claiming what is and asking what is? How do you stop the spread of suffering? What behaviours amplify and spread suffering? What is Truth if two or more parties witnessing an…

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Stop

Essentialism Stop trying to help everyone. Help only ten that will help ten. Too many projects on the go. We can only close so many projects at the same time. Initiatives: Beachhead Firing too many cannons in too many directions. I don’t want to be like N____l S_____y. Spread too thin. Behaving erratically. I must…

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Intense few weeks

Below are my unfiltered thoughts to myself. Thought I’d share. I’m either a commander, a captain, a ruler, or a commando. When I am a commando, everything seems to be too slow, an obstacle to overcome, an enemy to slice. Nothing is good enough. Things are not good enough. People are not good enough. I…

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Being your best

Get the best out of you. Would you like to: strive to be your best? The majority of people will never once feel the euphoria of being at one’s best. This is not because of any lack of desire. It is that to be at your best, you require an ideal environment and strong systems….

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Don’t be an “HNR”

Q: What is an HNR? A: Human Network Router Q: What does that mean? A: It means you’re literally moving information from one place to another. You cease to be creative. You are reactionary. Your time is mostly spent in emails, instant messaging apps, and social media. Don’t. Be a person. Live life.

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Opinions

Let’s have less of them. Fewer, but better in quality. Q: What is a quality opinion? A: One that has been thought through, and as close as possible to fact and far as possible from bias.

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Human Capital, wasted

There’s an incredible waste of resources in the world. One of the biggest, is human intellectual capital. Leaders must learn to tap into the explosive power of team. So many people are bored at work. So many people are unengaged. Which leaders are willing to do what it takes to reap the rewards?

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Fast, reckless, slow, careful

Move fast, move recklessly. Move careful, move slow. Can you move fast and careful (with precision)? Many cannot. Yes, you can. Also know, how you move will communicate. Sometimes the truth, sometimes fiction. Move fast and with precision. Let it be magical, and fiction.

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I don’t need permission

To be the best leader I can be. Neither do you. I used to think I needed permission to be my best. I’m reminded of the following: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness That most…

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Everybody has a story

Everybody has a magical fantastic story. Everybody. No exception. For some, it’s a sad story. For others, a story of triumph. Regardless of theme, everyone has an unbelievable interesting story worth hearing. Organizations are no different. They have a beginning, a middle, an end. And even a resurrection. We fall in love with these stories….

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Imitation

Imitate Why do what someone else is doing or being, when we are all One, anyway. You are him and he is you. Now be you, uniquely You. Open yourself to the UniVerse. Let it move you freely, ungrudgingly. MESSAGE TO J_____: A message to myself. Perhaps relevant in your life when you admire others…

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Only one

There is one mission. No other missions. Raise I+C high enough to reach Escape Velocity. There is one war. Fight against those that intentionally or unintentionally decrease I+C. There is one war. All other conflicts are battles. Some matter. Most do not. Winning can be measured. Individuals. Families. Communities. The world. Strategies not accounting for…

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The power of saying no

People respect those who can stand their ground, say no, not beat around the bush. People respect those that can plainly, simply, and directly, say NO. [ I’m an oddball leader who likes to test by trial by fire ] I had a young intern. I encouraged him to shoplift something to test his resolve…

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Leadership, thoughts on what it takes

What is it to be a leader at PD? You study hard. Hard like your life depends on it. Because it does. You are decisive. Not wish-washy, uncommitted. You continuously raise your own standards and those around you. You win. And when you lose, you lose magnificently, pushing hard to the very end. You know…

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MTP – Solving Problems

Solving major problems. Hypothesis: When more people are empowered through knowledge, they should be able to solve the major challenges. Why it won’t work: Because people may have the right knowledge, but they may not have the discipline, courage, or economic freedom to apply the information. Improved hypothesis: When the right people Right people =…

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Stories

2014-06-26 Don’t underestimate the power of stories. This whole world runs on stories. We sell based on stories. We buy based on the stories we believe. Your value, tell a story. Your ‘differentiation’ tells a story. It’s simple. You must craft your story as well as the company’s. Not having a story is profoundly underrated….

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Buy time

Buying Time The number one reason you need to get better at leadership. It’s not about the company. It’s about every area of your life. When you get good at leadership, you can multiple your time. When you understand business and money, you’ll have more money to trade for time. Time = freedom. You can…

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Seek problems

Be a problem seeker. Most people avoid problems. Solving problems require us to see and understand the problems. Solving problems is all about delivering value. The value returned to us manifests in a change in numbers in your bank account. More value delivered and problems solve = more money. More money = greater available options….

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Many stories to tell

How wild is it that we live one life but many stories. Depending on how we view our past, we can become heroes, villains, victims, and even just useless bistandards. Different ways to tell my story include: A love story Fatherhood The immigrant experience Shitty jobs to CEO A dreamer An artist A builder A…

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Who’s number one?

I’m a warm person, not a cold person. I take pride in the niceties of civil behaviour. The simple things like warm smiles, warm hellos, kind gestures. I want our kids to be raised to be warm, not cold. How we react/respond to their questions, requests, and needs will impact how they grow up. We’re…

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Asserting Reality

Like many other posts, and email to myself. This one dated 8:21am, Feb 6, 2020. — Written and posted on April 28th, 2020, at 8:40am What’s more to say? A lot perhaps. Reality is fluid. Reality is much more grand than we perceive. Reality is impossible to experience fully by any one creature or organism….

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Interacting with people comes with a risk, another song maybe?

Every time you speak to another person, you are at risk. Risk of what? Oh so many things. Risk of talking too much talking too little interpreting incorrectly interpreting correctly, and wishing you didn’t acting like a fool saying things you regret miscommunicating creating a new frienemy creating a new enemy sowing doubt, anger, hostility…

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What’s the state of your washrooms?

I don’t care how beautiful your consumer facing facade is, it’s what’s on the inside that [often] counts. Most brands care a little too much about what their external audience thinks and not enough what their internal teams think. A big stickler for me is washrooms. Way too often they are deliver a horrible experience….

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The Courage To Be Disliked, a song

I’d like to create a song. Sorta like a children’s sing-along song. One on the importance of not giving a fuck, and being okay to be disliked. Something fun, cheeky, but also critical. Cast of people the song can refer to include Jesus, Galileo, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Perhaps even a few non-people like…

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Kindness

Popping balloons in Saigon, 2020 the year of Kindness. I got it. But now I really get it. It takes unbelievable strength, courage, and power to be kind, especially to those who are not, but need it the most. Kindness is one of the answers. Love. – Vietnam, 4:28am

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Underworld

We go into the depths of the underworld to seek answers to complicated questions, not just recreation. Kindness. Love. We only have one life. We must seek kindness. And acceptance. 3:44 am Our annual summer getaway was originally inspired by a mushroom trip. Let’s not pretend it was anything other than a trip creating new…

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Men, and the West

The West is pushing hard for men to be more feminine. Cool. But other countries (our enemies) that look to devour us, are not feminine. They are not fair, equitable, beautiful, and complicated. They are masculine. Fierce. Dominating. Looking to devour its prey. Let’s not forget. For centuries, men were the protectors of women and…

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Brain readings, pt 2

Look into: [ ] Receptor Modulation [ ] Receptor up and down Regulation [ ] Trigger -> Behavior -> Reward [ ] Dependent Origination, the Bhudha [ ] Ruminate vs perseverate – activating Default node network Part 1 – Vietnam

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Master reality

Mastering reality. Mastering reality. Mastering reality. Mastering reality. Bending reality. Bending reality. Bending reality. Bending reality. Making reality. Making reality. Making reality. Making reality. The Grand Ho Tram Strip Ven Biển, Phước Thuận, Xuyên Mộc, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Vietnam Dec 25, 2019, 11:58 PM,

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Trading, for what?

We’re always trading. Trading time, friends, experience, and so on. But for what? How often are our trades making us richer? Not often. North American culture of consumerism, individualism, and atheism is what is being sold. Sold to us in trade for what? In trade for minimalism, essentialism, and wealth? Individualism at the exchange of…

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Looking for peace

Just working through life like the rest of us, looking for answers, admittingly with biases. We need to lay down some basic assumptions and rules. We’re good people looking for truth. There’s never a need to insult or resort the ad hominems. When one does, we will forgive. Why? Because we know that only lack…

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Corporate Leadership is the last stronghold

In an ever morally decaying and intellectual downsizing of humanity. Who else is there left to lead? With the exception of the few, the noble, the anomalies: Governments and their politicians are concerned with elections, unable to think or exercise initiatives further out then 3-4 years ahead when our troubling times need steadfast progress over…

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The Cult Elephant in the Room

Are we becoming cult-like? Yes and no. We must be careful. We must be inclusive of different people and ideas, while maintaining and adhering to our core values. We must know the difference between cult and not. Cults require blind Faith. Healthy organizations consist of curious people who question and engage in healthy conflict. From…

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Career Politicians

The president is a tool. Anyone or group who controls the king, controls the nation. Control the king of worlds, control the worlds. Career politicians outlast presidents, rulers, kings, and emperors. Beware of career politicians, those who are behind the scene. How can you beware of something you do not see? Be on the lookout,…

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Great power

Uncle Ben said, “Peter, with great power comes great responsibility.” True. But you know is truer? With great responsibilities, come great power. Choose to take on more. Choose to be responsible for more. Choose to be a leader, a motivator, a champion of goodness. The greater your responsibilities, the more power the universe will give…

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Be okay with getting shed, and shedding friends

We will grow apart. This is a non-negotiable reality. If you’re working hard, studying, learning, and growing – there’s a very high likelihood that you have friends that are not keeping up with you. This is normal, especially when you’re young. Or perhaps, you have a friend or two that’s really pushing themselves, and you…

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To say we want diversity is a half truth

We want diversity only if it is profitable. Profitable being defined as something that is good for us. What use is diversity if it negatively impacts ones culture, one’s organism? We call that a virus, which can lead to an eventual mutation of the organism. Diverse thoughts and thoughts that lead to a degradation of…

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Culture Shield

Thoughts running through my mind: Protection. Shield. Empire. Careful entries. Undocumented immigrants. Virus. Infection. Mutation. Assimilation. It’s naive to underestimate the damage that can be caused to culture by not guarding and protecting it. Would you not guard your castle, empire, city, state against invaders designed to wipe you out – cease your existence? How…

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Dear Father

Dear Khalid: What do you love and cherish about your childhood? What do you value, respect, and want to preserve from your childhood? — Yes. Life is nothing. Yes. We’re all going to die. Yes. My whole life, whether another year or fifty, is a minuscule moment in the universe’s grander timeline. But what, out…

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When I die

Dear Mother: if you’ve outlived me, I know it’s tragic to outlive your child. I cringe in fear at the thought of anything happening to Philo or Sophie. But such is life. A few things to consider. I’ve lived long and I have prospered. I’ve achieved so many of my dreams, more than most people…

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