Trust, Posts, and Comments

Our reputations are on-the-line every time.

Read Broadly; Question All of It

Reading through my email this morning. I read a financial advisory letter from someone that I do not know. His name is familiar but I can’t tell you why. It is probably why my address is on his distribution list.

As I read the letter, he relates the war in Ukraine to financial decisions that his clients need to make. I knew exactly where he gets his information. I realized that …

He wasn’t telling me what HE thinks, but rather where he gets his information.

His perspective displayed the shallowness of a socially acceptable understanding of a complex situation that should not be reduced to a game between good guys and bad guys. It made me wonder if his financial advice also has a similar shallowness.

It really wasn’t the shallowness that concerned me. It was rather the casual acceptance of a perspective that lacked an awareness of what is really going on in Ukraine. The only way to know is to dig for information. Be skeptical of everything that you read, hear or are told by a friend. If it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

I am suggesting that you treat every podcast, blog post, YouTube, TikTok or Instagram video, newspaper report, or television news broadcast as hearsay. Think of every bit of information that you receive as intended on one level to influence how you vote and spend your money. At a deeper level, to isolate you emotionally so that you are neutralized as a voice of reason and action.

At the same time, I think you need to read as broadly as possible. You are not reading to be convinced that they are right. You are reading to become aware of the diversity of perspectives. When you find a perspective that is interesting. Look for something that is critical of it.

Understand this clearly. There is no neutral information. Every bit of information that you received has been massaged to affect a certain reaction. This is what I refer to as The Spectacle of the Real. I included myself here. I have a specific purpose why I write and what I want to result from it. The difference is that I am trying to be open about what I am doing. There is no hidden agenda.

My Approach

I write about what I know. If I am unsure, I’ll do further research. If then, I am still uncertain, then I won’t write about it.

I’m studying, not just reading, but studying, every day to learn to make sense of what I see. If I actually described the range of thought, you think I was crazy. However, this range of thought, both current and historically, represents the cultural transition that we experience in real life. It is difficult to grasp this broad perspective because the way information comes to us is relevant just to that moment. There is little historical continuity in what we receive. This is how we are being manipulated.

I am a voice of reason, common sense, and practicality.

I am interested in influencing you to be politically involved at the local level. I want you to do something beneficial for your local community. If you want to be politically involved at the state or national level, then be clear about why, and the impact that you want from your involvement.

I am writing about things that matter to me. One of those is describing the transition that we are in as a civilization. This transition is political, economic, social, philosophical, spiritual, and personal. We live in a day where specialized information no longer provides the insight it once did. Instead, we need the capacity to blend multiple fields of knowledge.

Your latent potential for impacting your local community matters to me. I see that leadership doesn’t grow top-down, but bottom-up. If you want to change the world, it doesn’t happen with grand strategies for global change. Those are just too complex to work. Instead, we change the world one locale at a time.

One of the principles of the Circle of Impact model of leadership is:

Start Small. Act Locally. Share Globally. Take the Long View.

This is how we change the world. Slowly. One community at a time.

I value your respect and trust more than your approval. If you disagree with me, that is fine, as long as your reasons are yours.

Lastly, I am interested in helping people create networks where they can create impact that makes a difference that matters.

You can begin to build your network by printing off a copy of every post I publish and giving it to someone. Anyone. It doesn’t matter. Tell them why you are doing it, and if they are interested, talk over coffee.

Be Discerning

We live in a world where global issues intrude into our homes, workplaces, and communities. We are told that we must stay up to date on what is happening because it is important. Why is it? Seriously, why is Ukraine important to you right now. What are you going to do differently today because of it? I do believe what is happening there impacts us, and as the financial advisor wants to show, has an impact upon our wealth.

Be discerning by asking what does this person want me to do? If it is not clear, then move on.

All I want you to do is …

Think for yourself.

Take care of your community.

That’s all. I’ll do what I can to help you do that. Just let me know how and we’ll learn what we need to know together.