George Carlin 's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key!!

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you BECOME 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE IT to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE IT to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime and it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG :
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them."

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health : If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day

Adapt your Management Style

When -- if ever -- should you change your natural management style? After all, you've risen to your current career level based on what you do and how you do it. Making a fundamental change to that authentic leadership approach might appear contradictory, false or manipulative.

Still, experience teaches many leaders it's essential to shift style at certain times and in specific circumstances, as in the following examples.

Information Filtering

Alan Rudolph, director of global product delivery for IBM, is a firm believer in complete transparency with his team of technical professionals. "But at the same time, I want to shield them from noise that would create uncertainty or conflict in doing their jobs," he adds.

For example, during the annual planning process, there are a lot of what-if discussions to explore possible changes and new directions. Rudolph confines these early-stage discussions to managers who need to be involved. When decisions are finalized, transparency again becomes the norm, and staff members are engaged in any major change or new initiative right from the beginning.

After all, Rudolph says, "you as a leader can deal with the uncertainty -- that's your job, to explore and then make decisions." But when changes that can dramatically affect people's jobs are being discussed, often it's best to protect employees from worry and speculation until decisions have been made.

Improving Relationships with Staff

Not every manager is a natural at relating to diverse personalities. In fact, top performers are often elevated to management with little formal training on how to manage and motivate the people they'll now be leading. And sometimes a manager's natural style can be misinterpreted or create a negative response rather than a positive one.

Donna Moniot, an executive coach in Dallas, worked with an up-and-coming manager who needed to improve communication with his team members. His natural style -- numbers-driven and results-focused -- worked well up the management chain, but some subordinates disliked his direct, just-the-facts demeanor and felt he didn't care about them as people.

Moniot helped the manager better understand different personality styles and then devised an innovative visual cue of a color-coded piece of paper, correlated with their assessed personality style, that was taped to the top of each worker's computer monitor. This served as a reminder of each staff member's communication needs as the manager entered their workspace.

"Instead of starting a discussion by asking, ‘where's the numbers?' he learned to change his style and first ask a relationship question -- something as simple as ‘how are you doing?'-- to establish rapport with his staff members who were relationship-oriented," Moniot says. This simple change "meant that he could manage his team better by adapting to their thinking styles rather than forcing them to adapt to his," he adds.

As a result of identifying and then adapting his style as needed, this manager has progressed steadily up the ranks to an executive position. In all likelihood, his progress would have stalled had he used his natural tendencies in across-the-board staff communications.

Leading Significant Change

When a major change initiative is launched, managers need to gain genuine commitment from staff or the initiative will fail. But employees may be hesitant to be first off the block in changing long-standing behaviors. Thus, managers should demonstrate the new behaviors themselves as a signal it's OK to change.

"What is often forgotten or outright ignored by leaders is that they are also part of the change equation," says Diane Wieser, a Danville, California-based sales executive in the corporate learning and development industry. "Their adaptation is integral to the organization's ability to shift its direction. Staff members are going to look to their leaders to see if they are serious about the change or if it is just lip service."

There is a lot at risk. "People's careers are a high-stakes game, and change is scary, so they will only adapt their behavior if their leader goes first," says Wieser.

Thus, adapting one's natural management style should be a strategic, deliberate act to achieve a goal or improve team results. "The more senior you get, the more you need to understand how to manage and when your style needs to be adapted," Rudolph notes.

by Louise Kursmark
Monster Contributing Writer

FRIENDSHIP....

What is FRIENDSHIP anyway ? Is it a RELATIONSHIP ? a PLATONIC relationship between two individuals ?

a relationship that we have grown, closer than just more than the relationship we have with acquaintances, colleagues, neighbours or any body else we come to know or cross path with in
our life or circle.

Wondering... Have we re-define a FRIENDSHIP or FRIEND's meaning a bit loosely now ? or WE have lost the TRUE meaning of a so-called FRIENDSHIP or FRIEND.
If we have gotten lost so far, can we ever go back to the time when we called someone a FRIEND, just because that person entitled to be called THAT, A FRIEND.

Well, FRIENDS can fight or bitch around or wrestle about till the noses bleed, but surely not a BACK STABBER or a RAT.

Funny things, sometimes, you tend to let this get to you eventually, and beforelong you will become one yourself. It isa SAD situation when you don't know who to be trusted or who to be cared, to be loved, to watch over (in good ways) or to be accompanied to.

Now, you worry about your next moves, prepare for next counter-move, worry about ur back, worry about ur post. ONE worries too much to appreciate anything anymore, even a pure offerings of FRIENDSHIP.

Can we really sing the song by Tommy Page, A Shoulder To Cry On and it can still mean something in our heart or it's just another cute song ? just a reminder of Old Good Times.

I quote some lyrics and hopefully, someone out there still get the feeling and the meaning of FRIENDSHIP from it.

Start of Quote :

"...Everyon e needs a shoulder to cry on
Everyone needs a friend to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you won't
be alone 'cause I'll be there

I'll be your shoulder to cry on
I'll be there
I'll be your friend to rely on

When the whole world is gone, You won't
be alone 'cause I'll be there

You'll have my shoulder to cry on
I'll be there
I'll be the one to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you won't
be alone
'cause I'll be there

And when the whole world's gone
You'll always have my shoulder to cry on
..."

End of Quote.