Showing posts with label Intent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Intent. Show all posts

May 25, 2018

Left Handshake Is Right

So I heard about someone misinterpreting something I did for the worse.

Occasionally, when someone tries to shake my hand, instead of shaking with my right hand, I will take their hand in my left. 

I'll do this for various reasons such as arthritic pain or from dirt (like ink or cleaning ) from some prior work I was doing. 

But always when I extend my hand it is with warmth and friendship. 

However, I learned that one person took this handshake as a serious personal affront. 

They thought that I was "disrespecting" them intentionally.

So I learned that even the most everyday, mundane gestures like a handshake, but done differently, can be taken out of context and misinterpreted. 

Why do we judge others for the bad?

Maybe because we don't trust, don't want to ask, don't want to know, or have had bad experiences in life that jade us. 

But sometimes a handshake is just a handshake whether with the right or left hand. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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April 4, 2018

Anus Protectus

So I learned this new phrase today:
"Anus Protectus"

It's what it sounds like.

It when you communicate (or do) something in order to "cover your a*s."

Sometimes we communicate as an FYI.

Other times as a FYSA.

And then there is the CYA. 

All of these are what we call "Purposeful communications."

The only real difference is their purposes. 

When you open your mouth or your email make sure you know your:

- Why (intent)
- Who (audience)
- How (persuasion techniques)

These are the secret sauce of good communication. 

More blogs to come on this important topic. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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January 29, 2017

Why People End Up On The Sh*t List

This was a funny sign...the old "sh*t list!"

When people do cr*p to you and they do it maliciously and with intent, and as repeat offenders enjoying their evil ways hurting others. 

Invariably, they can end up on the sh*t list. 

However, I've never actually seen such a list until this. 

You have your:

- Offender
- Violation
- Was it a friend, stranger, lover, family, other?
- When did it occur?
- Severity level

It even has a line for your "plan of attack"--whether you confront, ignore, stew, avenge, talk sh*t, or other. 

And finally whether the terrible offender is still on or off the list. 

While not every offense is a mortal blow and we need to have compassion for people and try to love everyone...sometimes, people can behave so badly and don't stop no matter how much you try and beg and offer to help them that they just force themselves onto the bad boys/girls list. 

We don't want to have ill feelings to anyone--we are all G-d's creatures--but what do you do when people go so far astray or have problems so big that they hurt others so bad and so often.

Surely, we need to have understanding and compassion first for people and try to do everything to help them and bring peace to the world, but when your dealing with the true worst of what people have to offer and they lack basic human self-control and decency, perhaps that's why victims revert as a last resort to their sh*t list. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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August 9, 2016

With Creation, The Intelligence Of Even A Worm



Some of you may think at first glance, oh how lame.

Did Andy just take a video of a worm?

But there is something more amazing here than initially meets the eye.

Look carefully at what this simple little worm is doing.

It is inching forward with its sprawling body over the dirt, and it is dragging with it...a feather!

Watch how it moves its body and then see at the top, the sudden pull of the feather behind it--and again and again. 

Clearly, this is not an accident, but this worm wants this feather.

Who would think that a worm has the brains to identify, claim, and take with it, a feather. 

There are probably a lot bigger brains out there that can't even do half that much.  ;-)

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)
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October 14, 2014

Not Exactly A Genie

Okay, we all like a genie in a bottle (with G-d's help) to grant us our wishes for the good. 

A colleague told me that if he had a genie in a bottle, his first wish would be to have infinite wishes; his second wish would be for all his wishes to come true; and his third wish would be that all the wishes would be free of ambiguity such that the intent would be fully clear--nice!

But this here is no genie...this is an umbrella in a bottle. 

Twist the top (handle) and pull it from the bottle (case) and whoola, an umbrella. 

Cute design, but when I tried to open the umbrella, it felt functionally, like a piece of garbage (IMHO). 

Oh genie, how about an umbrella that actually works and who cares if it's in a bottle or not. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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