Wayne’s Blog

The problem with getting involved in politics is you’re forced to take sides.    Most of us normal people out here are not completely on either side of any political party.  Most of us are in the middle somewhere.  We agree and disagree with the left and right.

Yes, I am the middle.  I define the middle.  I am absolutley conservative on a lot of issues, and I am absolutely liberal on a lot of issues, and I am absolutely against a lot of conservative and liberal stances.   Also, though I know experience is the greastest teacher, I don’t know that there’s a single politician from either party that’s been in office over two or three years that can be completely trusted.

It might seem like it would be cool to have a political party to represent the middle, but that can’t happen, will never happen, the middle is not controversial, not morbid or fatalistic, so it doesn’t warrant notice.  It will never be noticed, so we’re forced to pick the best of the polar opposites to maintain the middle.  

However, that’s the advantage and beauty of democracy, the constant tension between those opposite poles is what makes it work.  Those opposite poles are what defines the middle.

I’ve witnessed this countless times over the years, yet it still bothers me so much that I question why I keep putting myself into a position to be disappointed so much, so often. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re dumb as a post, everybody knows that you can learn alot from other people.   So, you can certainly learn what it takes to be successful from successful people simply by finding out what worked for them, and what they’ve learned from the successful people they’ve known or imulated throughout their life.  I want to be successful someday, and I sure want my students to be successful, so I started asking successful people to visit my classes several years ago to talk about their life, their success, and the things they’ve learned along the way.   I knew how incredibly valuable it would be to have the opportunity to spend an hour or so visiting with people I look up to and respect… and want to be like.  It completely thrills me every time I have a guest in class, I learn so much, even from the ones who come by every semester.

The dissappointing thing is how few students see the value of it; how few take advantage of the opportunity to improve their chances of success.   They see it as just another class, just something else they’re required to do for the class.  It’s proven by the lackluster superficial questions they ask, the lack of enthusiasm, and the absolute absence of anyone not enrolled in the class taking me up on my always open invitation to anyone and everyone to come to the guest presentation to meet and hear any guest I have coming to any of my classes.

I love my students, so it really bothers me how many (most!) are headed straight for mediocrity… or less!

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

Success is about what you know and how much you know, but even more importantly, it’s about what you do with all that you know… and… it’s about who you know,  but more importantly, it’s about who knows you, and… most importantly of all… it’s about what people who know you think of you.

And, you are completely and solely responsible for all of that.

“Want to” may be the most powerful force on earth, yet you never hear anybody talk about it.  Robin said I ought to get a Nobel Prize or something for discovering it (anybody know how to apply for one of them?)  I think the case could be made that it may be the most damaging force for this country.  There are millions of social issues hurting this country (and world); I would suggest that the driving force behind most is “want to”… or more specifically, the lack of it.   People don’t get educated because they don’t want to.  They don’t try to improve their lives because they don’t want to.  They don’t want to make things better.  They don’t want to put out the effort it takes to do it.  It’s just so much easier and less work to sit back and not want to.   It’s the American way: it’s not my fault; it’s not my job; I didn’t do it; etc., etc., etc.

It’s sad and scary thinking about how many people in the US don’t want to.  What’s to happen to those who do want to when they’re so outnumbered?  What’s to happen to the country?

I was struggling the other morning in Leadership class to figure out how to describe what I couldn’t teach, conjole, or even force anyone to do, and now I realize that it’s what I talked about in the book… WANT TO!!!  You can learn the skills and develop the abilities to do just about anything you want, but if you don’t want to, you just aren’t going to.

Got to learn how to create and spread want to.

Well, it took long enough, but there’s finally a Redneck with a Blog.  There’s probably other Rednecks with Blogs, but since I’ve never even seen a Blog, I don’t know that!