10 Things I Know For Sure Right Now

This post took 10 days to figure out from the time I got the idea for it. The idea came to me, of all times, when I was watching the poor people of Houston Texas, trying to make the best of a bag of shit that had been handed to them by Nature.
Specifically, some cameraman was traveling along a road into Houston and was photographing a continuous line of pickup trucks with boats attached to them. These were people coming to do what they could to help, and there were literally thousands of them. It made me cry, it was so fucking beautiful.
But more importantly it got me thinking seriously about what is important in this life and what is just bullshit. I thought a lot and figured out one thing every day, and made a note of it.
So here goes.
1. Life is actually quite simple. There are a lot of people out there who have created very complex views on life. Some of them write books about it. Others lecture on it. And I believe that fucks up a lot of other people, who maybe did believe that life is simple and then, after being shown all this so called complexity, started thinking they were wrong and got confused.
2. Politics is the worst career path anyone could choose. A lot of people get into politics with the idea that they are going to do some good, but as they move through it, they find that the political system is, by its very design, corrupt and geared more towards sustaining itself and doing the bidding of the wealthy and corporate entities than helping ordinary people. You can see this with astounding clarity in the US at the moment.
3. There is nothing more important than family. I have seen that first hand lately in the way our family pulled together with the deaths of my brother-in-law and friend Bob, and my daughter-in-law’s mother Jeanne.
4. Learning to trust your gut instinct is the best way forward. My wife and I did that almost a year ago now by deciding to get out of Toronto and move to a smaller city. Admittedly I was trusting my wife’s gut more than my own, but a life lesson is a life lesson. In business, it’s the same. You have to always think carefully before deciding to get into bed with a client or a partner or a supplier.
5. People are not all stupid. But many of them are gullible. People are generally good, kind and generous. But there are a lot of people who have, through force of circumstance, become marginalized and it’s made them bitter and desperate and willing to follow anyone who is promising them a better life. Again, astounding clarity in the US.
6. Life is what you make it. In a free society, which is the one we still sort of have here in Canada, it’s possible to achieve anything you set out to achieve providing you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. The minute you start to feel that you are entitled to anything you did not actually work to earn, you are in trouble.
7. Everything you see, hear or read is propaganda. We live in a world of buy and sell. Everybody’s selling and everybody wants to get paid for what they are selling. And that’s fair. But as a potential buyer you owe it to yourself to really think hard about what’s being sold and why it’s being sold to you. Because sometimes the sellers want more than your money.
8. Climate change is real. And it is something that the whole world needs to pull together on. This is one of those things we can honestly say we all have in common. Because the earth does not recognize borders or authority or any other man-made boundaries. Solving this challenge may very well be the thing that makes us realize we are nothing but a single species called humanoids. And wouldn’t that be just fucking peachy?
9. The media makes everything larger than life. It’s very important for people who really want to understand what’s going on in the world to do what they can to find objective sources of news and information. I’m lucky in that I have a sister who knows how to find this stuff a clues me in on it. These sources are out there and they are extremely valuable for anyone who wants to maintain an objective world view and and not have to deal with all the fear mongering that is the style of most media these days.
And last but not least:
10.  The very best business to be in these days is the helping business. Being in the helping business is, of course, more about attitudes than it is about any specific occupation. Be generous with your advice and counsel. Don’t always make it about dollars, because a lot of times it’s not about that. Get known as someone who is willing to help, and you will find that is the best door opener ever.

Jim Murray is a marketer, communication strategist, writer, art director and blogger. His partner, Charlene Norman is a business systems and operational analyst. Their collaboration is called Bullet Proof Consulting, headquartered in St Catharines, Ontario. Bullet Proof is designed to help companies change their thinking for the better, to become more productive, efficient, better branded and successful in today’s highly competitive business world. You can get a very clear impression of how we think by reading our business blogs at: www.bulletproofconsulting.ca/blog

All content and images Copyright 2017 Onwords & Upwords Inc. All rights reserved.

""