Photos
Jerry Clower from www.yazoochamber.com
Sojourner Truth from www.blackpast.org/1851-sojourner-truth-arnt-i-woman
Brushy One String from http://vk.com/brushy_one_string
George Patton from writingriffs.com/2013/05/old-blood-and-guts-through-a-glass-darkly
Community Projects
Redefining Success: Where's the Beef?
Everywhere everyday people are creating ways to stay perky and pie full according to traditional work ethics; get up in time, go to work on time, and work every day. However, the days when not having a job meant that “you are lazy and don’t want to work” are over; and so are the days of “nobody rides for free.” But this is the 21st century, some say, and traditional work ethics and measures for success no longer apply; some say. Perhaps a new view of success, along with proactive efforts to redefine success, is a good thing and methods for measuring success really do need to be reexamined.
“And though we haven't altered our culture's definition of success yet (the conference's theme) … It’s time to redefine success. A lot of people know it and now it’s time to make some real progress”. (1). I trust I will stand corrected when I say that perhaps reducing America’s u-6 unemployment rate of 13.1% (2) could be a part of the vision for success, along with stress management and happiness.
“Americans are recalibrating their view of success. It used to be that success meant stuff – and more stuff and more stuff … However, a slew of recent studies, including the recent Life Twist study commissioned by American Express, find that rather than traditional measures of material wealth, intangibles, such as a good marriage, having a good balance between work and personal life, and being able to take a day off when desired, have soared in importance.” (3) Oh!, so I won't be the first to call into the big boss man and leave the message: “Happy wife, happy life boss; see ya Tuesday”
There can be no doubt that everybody needs the mental safety net/flex time, and oh how natural it is to advocate for the needs and benefits of allowing people to stop and smell the roses of life; traditionally these were pleasures earned not given. Also, there can be no doubt that redefining success is not a good thing if you are the sole subscriber. Because after all, regardless of how fully functional adults define personal and professional success, the definition must include an individualized path of survival in an economic system that provides for their daily needs and wants. "Accomplishments are based on actions, not on thoughts--yet the thought is always father to the deed. Achievement starts with an idea, a perspective, a point of view, or even just an attitude". (4)
Fairness is helping everyone achieve according to need and abilities: fairness is not treating ever one equally. Consider that not everyone needs steel toed boots and not everyone needs a new definition of success or a flex day. In fairness, those in most need of a flex day are the skilled and unskilled workers who labor in the open air in excess of 40 hrs a week and in all weather extremes. “Because the destructive definition of success we're living (and dying) under affects people at every social and economic level. But those working two or three jobs are also those with the least leverage to insist on policies and workplace practices that allow for any kind of work-life balance.” When personal economic systems break down and the bottom line is “stuff” like food and car payment, do we really need definitions of success based upon studies by vested interest and practices that may potentially stress small businesses?
Ultimately, American success is defined by our ability to provide for ourselves in a market economy; is this really a definition that we want to change? I’ve read Upton Sinclair, Kurt Vonnegut, Chomsky and a variety of others but this flex and go and redefinition of success thing … Where’s the beef? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0 ). Is redefining success really a positive social change?
References: 1) .http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130615015214-143695135-redefining-success-takeaways-from-our-third-metric-conference (2) http://www.cnbc.com/id/101326426 and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm (3) http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130724182336-114980113-redefining-success-what-s-flex-got-to-do-with-it (4) http://www.inc.com/ss/jeff-haden/things-remarkable-people-think-every-day#0
