Life's Rules
©2011
Pi Arthur Stuart, pastuart.com
Never lie to yourself.
I think in one of William Shakespeare's plays he wrote, "To thy own self be true." Regardless of who said it, it is profoundly true. I know that there are many people that lie and cheat and become apparently successful. These people are usually extreme egotistical or sociopathic. They are the only ones that matter, to themselves. But for most of us that really care about others and believe that lying and cheating is wrong then this rule should be the number one to follow. If there were only two rules to follow they would be "Never lie to yourself and Take responsibility for your actions."
Take responsibility for your actions.
While I was working for a school district I co-facilitated a seminar: "The Seven Habits of Effective People." "Be Proactive" was the first habit. I have come to the conclusion that being Proactive is the basic foundation. The stronger the foundation the stronger the structure. When faced with a situation requiring action there are three responses: Reactive, Proactive and In-active.
Reactive:
Proactive:
In-active:
Success is usually proceeded by failures, sometimes a lot of them.
When I was early into my Naval career, one of my shipmates told me of a saying when he saw that I was having a real difficult day. The saying was, "A quitter never wins and a winner never quits." I really do think of this when I run into problems and challenges.
I understand that Thomas Edison had tried hundreds of different materials under varying conditions until he discovered that tungsten in a vacuum produced usable light from electricity.
I believe that there are two essential elements needed for success: A strong belief in what your doing and unwavering commitment.
Adjust your attitude for success.
When I think about attitude I am reminded of a joke I heard over fifty years ago:
There were these newly weds that had just checked into their suite. The guy was the size of an NFL linesmen. He was 6 feet 6 inches and weighted around two hundred and ninety pounds. Our girl was a high school cheerleader. She was 5 feet 4 inches and weighted about 105 soaking wet.
When they were just about settled in the guy took off his pants and handed them to his wife. He said, "Put these on."
The girl looked at the pants and giggled, responding she said, "These are to big I can't wear them."
He replied, "Now you know who wears the pants in this family."
It took his wife lest than a half second to reach down and remove her panties. She handed them to her husband and said, "Put these on."
Holding them up he looked at them and began to laugh. He then said, "I can't get into these."
His wife then stated, "And you won't until you change your attitude."
You have probably heard or read the saying, "The customer is always right." Yes! There are times when the customer is probably wrong and even downright out-of-bounds. For the sake of this rule, let's leave out any aggressive, abusive (abusive can be very subjective, so be careful) or criminal behavior. That aside follow, use the Two Rules in dealing with customers, bosses, and other people you deal with, that you need or want to support you.
Rule One -- The ______ is always right!
Rule Two -- If the ______ is wrong, refer to Rule One.
You will never know unless you go for it.
I found that the only things I regretted were the things I didn't do. Yes, I made lots of mistakes but I don't regret them. I really do believe I learned from them and in the end they didn't make much difference.
Eat Right
Exercise
Choose a work that gives you a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment.
When I left my job with a hospital I worked at, my staff gave me a cup. On it were these saying: "Success is Loving what you do, and Loving what you do is Success." They really are words to live by. Also, for what it's worth, the value of a gift is not always relate to its cost.
I was asked at a job interview what I would like to do most. I guess they thought I would say the job I was applying for. In truth there were many more things I would prefer to do but I lack the ability, training or skills. I answered that I would like to be an assistant to a research professor but that I didn't have the qualifications and it wouldn't pay enough to support my family. I told them that I really like what I'm doing and get a great deal of satisfaction out of it. I have always like to fix things and get them to work. The job I was applying for was at the top of the list of jobs I loved and could do.
A corollary to this rules is: Don't choose a job you hate and dread doing. We spend about one quarter of our lives working.
Sometimes, it's not the work that is bad, it's the people we have to work with. That was one thing that was really great about the military; you're never going to be stuck with someone more than a couple of years.
Meditate
It's Best To Do It In Person
At the time, I was an Electrician's Mate First Class. Because making chief petty officer was becoming more difficult in my rating due to limited openings I applied to change my rating to Missile Technician. Since my ship was home ported in Newport, RI I went to the Bureau of Naval Personnel to find out how my request was doing and if there was anything I could do to help it get approved.
At the bureau I met with a lieutenant that was going to process my request. I asked him what the status was. He told me he hadn't processed it yet but because of my rating, which was considered critical, it would most likely be disapproved. I asked if I could speak to the officer-in-charge, not really expecting it to happen.
After I was introduced to the officer-in-charge, a naval Commander, I asked what I could do to improve my chances of getting my request approved. He told that by coming here and asking I did the best thing. He went on to explain that when they receive a request the requester is just a statistic, just one of the numerous people making requests. If a requester calls then they become a person but there are still lots of callers. When a requester meets with us, as you are doing, they become an individual and it becomes that much harder to say no when you are facing them.
In summary, if you want something from someone go see them if possible. The next best thing is to call; in today's day video call if your able
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