Author: Jim Gohrick (Page 116 of 159)

There is a big difference between being wise and being educated. I’ve found there’s a false narrative being told to our youth that when you become educated you will become smart, run your own company and change the world. This may be true and I hope my children have the same ambitions to make a difference. However, one huge aspect left out of education is problem solving.

This area of focus can be hard to find in the classrooms of high schools as well as lecture halls of university’s. Here is a place where it would seem the business of education is as important – or maybe more – than the what the undergraduates are actually learning.

The act of regurgitating material onto a test page is an antiquated system that needs overhauling. Unfortunately, there’s no rush to do so as the system itself and the people involved don’t wish to rock the boat on something that can and is exploited for capital gains. Unfortunately, the only people involved who aren’t benefiting as a whole – teachers in the classroom – especially at the younger ages – are the most disrespected in the whole system.

Maybe there will be a time when the fox in the henhouse will look at himself in the mirror and ask himself, “Is there a better way?” Until then, I choose wisdom and life experiences every time.

In the financial world, compounding means generating earnings from previous earnings. The more you earn, the more you make. The more you make, the more you earn.

In our day to day world, it can go both ways. It would seem at times when things are going your way, you can do nothing wrong. When it’s “not your day” you feel like the whole world is against you. These are the times when we need to step away and take a deep breath. The last thing we need is us compounding the results by sabotaging ourselves due to our own baggage we bring to the scene.

When we continue to “invest in our future” by engaging in tasks to enrich ourselves rather than pass the time away (TV, surfing social media, etc.) we are making investments into our account which build upon themselves on a daily basis. Those, over time, have a compounding effect (momentum) which can give us the courage to move forward in the face of fear and risk a bit more of ourselves. How else can we learn, grow and evolve?

I have found over the years, one of my biggest blind spots is getting married to an idea and not letting go of it. Whether it benefits me or not. I’m not exactly sure why we do this as human beings. We choose a stance and refuse to move from it. At least I do. Why do we feel obligated to subscribe to a point of view/idea/belief that doesn’t work for us? Fear. Fear of taking responsibility for our actions – positive and not so positive. Possibly.

Maybe we should be married to the outcome instead of our own dogma. Or even better, we could implement sound principles and integrity to our intentions and carry those through all of our work and have faith the results will be exactly what we need when we need it.

All too often I show up for a new day to face down a challenge with a preconceived notion of how I’m going to take it on. Instead, maybe we can arrive on the scene without our baggage from the past and a newfound willingness to be open to what’s in front of us. Approaching our challenge with fresh eyes, without our ego and allowing our inner-compass to guide us to our results.

After the entitled album from one of my favorite rock groups as a pre-teen, I look at this question from quite a different perspective nowadays.

Without going too far down the rabbit hole, we can find out much about ourselves by our past behavior. If we don’t like what we see, then we can engage in new experiences and change how we react. This is how we begin to shape and define who we are.

We can talk all day long about how “giving” of a person we are, but if our actions don’t support that, then we’re kidding ourselves.

There are times when we seek out “goals” and “challenges” because we inherently know it’s in these difficult moments when we can see our true selves come out in full form. You may not like it or maybe you do. But, it’s in these “real” – and albeit chaotic times – when we establish the boundaries of who we are as people and discover what we’re made of.

As we move through life we tend to draw upon these past experiences when we’re unsure whether we can rise to the next challenge. When we do, we are building a foundation that we will utilize for years to come. We’re forming our character.

Just as “trust” takes years to earn and moments to destroy, so is your character.

Who are you?

There is a book we read to our youngest son when he was little called “Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon” about a little buck-toothed girl who was the smallest in her class with a voice “that sounded like a bullfrog being choked by a boa constrictor.”

She didn’t care what anybody else thought – even the class bully. She showed him up by doing things her way and coming out on top. Eventually the bully had to accept her into the fold as she was.

It’s not about fitting in or being accepted. That’s not the moral to the story. It’s about accepting what you bring to life and making it your best.

Nothing is more attractive and radiant (inside and out), than a person who knows who they are, accepts it and is proud of what they have. No matter what it may be.