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Cramming for College — and Life as a Robot

August 16, 2011 in No More Mondays, Personal Development with 22 Comments

This morning I was reading in the new issue of Fast Company.  An article on Cramming For College describes the current process of students in Beijing preparing for the gaokao, the national college-entrance exams, “which are seen as the gateway to success in life.”

Students cram for the answers required by the exam’s authors.   ”The gaokao rewards a special type of student: very strong memory; very strong logical and analytical ability; little imagination; little desire to question authority,” says Jiang Xueqin, a Yale-educated school administrator in Beijing.

I cringed as I read about a typical week for a high school student:  “He rises before dawn to be at school by 7:30 a.m., six days a week. After school lets out at 5 p.m.– he studies at least five hours more.”  Read more »

Solve this and I’ll give you a book

August 15, 2011 in No More Mondays, Workplace Humor with 541 Comments

(Give me a great solution and I’ll give you a free book)*

Note – we received over 450 responses to this and the winners have been selected – 08-22-11

Sometimes we are confronted with what looks like an impossible situation.  You hate your job but think that you’re lucky to have any job with today’s unemployment.  You have no money but the bank say’s they’ll foreclose unless you get a payment in by Friday.  Your car won’t start but you have to get to that job interview.

When we see our options as limited, our world can start to close in around us.

Look for the multiple options in any situation. Don’t assume too quickly that there are only two or even three possibilities.  In Chapter Six of No More Dreaded Mondays I offer some alternate solutions in a situation where you despise your boss.  You could:  Read more »

What would Dave and Dan do?

August 12, 2011 in No More Mondays, Personal Development with 4 Comments

Many of you know that Dave Ramsey and I both started our businesses out of the nurturing environment of a supportive church here in Nashville.  In the spring of 1990, the members of Christ Church in Nashville experienced an outpouring of creativity that has impacted millions of people over the last 20 years.

Using notes from my Sunday school class “Career Compass 101,” Joanne and I began coaching church members and others in the community who were questioning their calling and the work they were doing.  That volunteer work eventually launched 48 Days to the Work You Love.

Here’s my comment for the cover of the brand new book chronicling that special time – “I remember well these
 years described in Let the River Run.  I was healing from a major business disaster and bathed in the compassionate, nurturing environment that Pastor Dan describes.  Let the River Run will inspire you and give you the confidence to release your own richest talents.” – Dan Miller  Read more »

Get a life Larry Crowne

August 1, 2011 in Finding Passion, No More Mondays with 11 Comments

Last night Joanne and I went to see the Tom Hanks movie Larry Crowne.  I never have high expectations when I go to movies, seeing them as simply a diversion and time alone with Joanne.  In the movie Larry Crowne is a 20-yr Navy veteran who is working at a big discount store.  Then despite his great performance and seniority, the company has decided that his lack of a college education is reason for no further advancement – and they fire him.

And here’s where the story takes a very predictable and disillusioning path.  A neighbor also tells Larry he needs to get an “education” to better secure his future.  And so Larry buys into the American myth:  Go to school, be assured of job security, get steady and guaranteed paychecks, medical benefits, take early retirement and have government support for life.  Read more »

Just Fishin'

July 26, 2011 in No More Mondays, Personal Development with 14 Comments

While on the treadmill this morning I watched a CMT video with Trace Adkins singing Just Fishin’.  It shows Trace walking down to the lake with his own little girl, Trinity. And while she thinks they’re just fishing, as a Dad Trace knows there’s a whole lot more going on. It’s a tender and poignant message for all of us Dads – and Moms. Cleaning up the yard, raising tomatoes, going to the zoo or attending to the latest boo-boo, are not just mechanical details. Rather, they are the basis for creating life-long relationships, instilling values, and teaching life lessons that should only come from a parent.

Years pass quickly.  My own three children are grown and have children of their own.   Seeing them live lives that are meaningful, purposeful and fulfilling makes me think back to what seems like yesterday when we were playing, tinkering, and fishin’.   And seeing what is happening in their lives makes my own work along the way seem insignificant.  Read more »

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