on half-truths and honesty..............

Honesty is seen as a fluid concept, shades of grey changing slightly depending on the needs of the moment, the people around and the risks involved. Little white lies sprinkle our days and yet we think nothing of them. We see them as merely a way to get along with others without putting us in danger.

In some ways, I agree with this perception, when you are truly confronting danger, but in most cases, people try to apply the same excuse to leaps of dishonesty that go far beyond the little white lie. No , I believe that we all must be as honest as possible as much as possible, less we slip into the delusion that honesty is only some vague philosophical concept that really doesn't apply to the real world.

It is important to be honest with others, and yourself, for the simple reason that life demands it. Those who are chronically dishonest are always wary, always on guard, lest their deceptions be exposed. They pile lie upon lie to cover yet another lie until, inevitably, it all comes tumbling down, leaving those around them to suffer the consequences.

You need to cultivate a reputation for honesty because honesty is required to build trust. Trust is required by all of us who wish to do great things. We must trust that those around us are working in their best interest and the best interest of their work. We need to feel that we can turn our attention to this and that, without fear the others will somehow take advantage of our lack of attention. We need to feel that those around us will not do us harm. If you want to gain the trust of others, you must be as honest as possible.

Being honest is more than telling half-truths and white lies to smooth the waters. Honesty involves telling the truth even when it isn't easy. Only petty people fear the truth. The people you want to know are not afraid of the truth or the person who speaks it. It may seem laughable, but there are others out there who respect honesty as much as you and it is those you need to seek out and emulate. Everyone will be better off for acknowledging the truth.

Being honest with yourself is also terribly important. Too many of us hide our inadequacies behind false bravado, forcing others to suffer. When we hide our failures, we hurt everyone, sometime even more than ourselves. I am sure you have been on the receiving end of of someone who hid their failures until the last minute. You don't like it when others do that to you, so why would you even think of doing it to others. Be honest and take responsibility for your own actions, good and bad.

Developing a reputation for honesty helps you in several ways. First, you will find that people are more open to you...and your ideas. They know you will give an honest opinion and not use the information in ways that might hurt them. People will also give you the benefit of the doubt when issues do arise.

Of course, there is a complimentary danger when you develop a reputation for honesty. Should you ever abandon that honesty, or use the trust you have developed to take advantage of someone, the retribution will be swift and heavy. Don't pretend honesty, if you don't truly believe in its importance or your fall will be worse than if you had been chronically dishonest all your life. This doesn't mean you shouldn't start being honest, though, only that you need to continue it in the future.

Honesty leads to trust and trust leads to collaboration with others on equal footing. Deny this honesty, or deny this trust, and you are crippling your life with every passing day.

This will make you think.........and admire!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRRDzFROMx0

The "V" Formation overhead..................

I am a waterfowl hunter. Geese and ducks. I have killed lots of smart geese and lots of dumb geese. What kills the smart ones is their relationship with their life-long mates, causing them to fly back into the goose decoy spreads looking for the mate that just dropped out of the sky. Most geese killed over decoys are responding to the greed factor that the geese on the ground (the decoys) are feeding on food the geese in the air want.

These two basic goose-killing methodologies have significant lessons for market players. One, don’t fall in love with your positions because you can be gunned down at any time if they get you into strange territory. Two, don’t get yourself into situations where you “need” to be in the trade with everyone else who is feeding at the trough. That will get you killed faster than anything. One more thing, when you exit a position where shots were fired and you escaped, don’t come back and visit any time soon. There are lots of greenbacks in other places. Just keep looking until you find them.

Laughing on a fall day.........

About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Indians had to leave. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Indian community. So the Pope made a deal. He would have a debate with a member of the Indian community. If the Indian won, the Indians could stay. If the Pope won, the Indians would leave. The Indians realized that they had no choice. So they picked a middle aged man named Santu to represent them. Santu asked for one addition to the debate. To make it more interesting, neither side would be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed.

The day of the great debate came. Santu and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers, Santu looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Santu pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Santu pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This man is too good. The Indians can stay."

An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what had happened.
The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to all religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin.

He had an answer for everything. What could I do?

Meanwhile, the Indian community had crowded around Santu. "What happened?" they asked. "Well" said Santu , "First he said to me that the Indians had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving.
Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Indians. I let him know that we were staying right here."

"Yes, yes,.. and then???" asked the crowd.

I don't know", said Santu , "He took out his lunch, and I took out mine!"

Hythiam.............

Hythiam says investigators observe significant reduction in methamphetamine cravings and use in study of component of it's PROMETA treatment program published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings Journal. Hythiam announced that the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal published in their October installment, an open-label study by Dr. Harold C. Urschel, III, M.D., M.M.A. of the pharmacological component of the PROMETA Treatment Program for methamphetamine dependence. The study found that this component of the PROMETA Treatment Program persistently reduced methamphetamine cravings and use.

Full Moon

The average American probably doesn't have a clue about how many days it takes for a full moon to come around in the night sky. Probably something about the lack of interest in the natural world in the age of the internet.

This morning, out for my morning jaunt in the dark, it was truly spectacular.

The air was clear. The air was dry. Mars twinkled overhead with the reddish tint it is known for.

The moon hung to the west. Like the days of old when I would come up over LaJolla Village Drive to head into 875 Prospect in LaJolla and go to work at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Heading into work when the world was asleep and sleepy LaJolla was slumbering, the moon hanging over the ocean and casting a beautiful MOON GLOW on the expansive Pacific. Calming. It was my friend. It was always special. I tried always to never take it for granted.

This morning in the moonlight were migrating birds. Hundreds if not thousands chirping as they moved south. The migration is here. One can set their watch by those migrating birds almost to the week. And by the moon, almost to the day.

I wear a EEE/EEEE.......................

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Nike on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.

The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.

"Nike is aware of the growing health issues facing Native Americans," said Sam McCracken, manager of Nike's Native American Business program. "We are stepping up our commitment ... to elevate the issue of Native American health and wellness."

Nike said it is the first time it has designed a shoe for a specific race or ethnicity. It said all profits from the sale of the shoe will be reinvested in health programs for tribal lands, where problems with obesity, diabetes and related conditions are near epidemic levels in some tribes.

Nike designers and researchers looked at the feet of more than 200 people from more than 70 tribes nationwide and found that in general, American Indians have a much wider and taller foot than the average shoe accommodates. The average shoe width of men and women measured was three width sizes larger than the standard Nike shoe.

Mike Gundy.......

This guy is a coach. He exemplifies everything that is right about college football today. If you haven't read the sports page recently I suggest you go to YouTube.com and type in his name and see what comes up. His tirade is beautiful.

Yes, it's just another media person trying to go from hicksville to the limelight.

The wrong way.