Michael Podolinsky CSP Honoured with Spirit of Service Award

We serve to serve… and sometimes (not always) get thanked.

Many of us today are too busy to ‘help others out’. We are up to our eyeballs in work, responsibilities and stress. It’s not that we don’t care, we just don’t seem to have the time. I’m not different. Yet for the past 30 years, I’ve tried to give back to my profession I love so much. I carved out time for events and to mentor new speakers, supported our local speaking organization by paying my dues 5 years in advance and like many others, showed up at every meeting I could make. Sometimes these activities get you a ‘thank you.’ Read more »

Where Does ‘Success’  Take Us?

Most of us work hard to be successful and where does this ‘success’ take us? What is the end result of all our hard labour?

I heard Dave Chappelle, a comedian who WALKED AWAY from a $50,000,000 USD contract say, ‘Success takes us where character cannot sustain us.’ Wow. Is he right? Does everyone climb a ladder to some level of achievement until they finally cannot cope morally or emotionally with where they arrived?

We know in the Peter Principle, people rise to their own level of incompetence. That is, they keep getting promoted for doing a good job until they finally achieve a position they cannot handle well and then get ‘stuck’ there.

BUT, do we rise in life to a level we can no longer ethically handle? In essence, working hard to eventually commit moral suicide? My take is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

YES: If the success we seek is all OF this world. That is, the pursuit of money, fame, riches, power and the like, eventually it will consume us. Living in and for what this world has to offer will eventually lead us to make choices of low moral value. Learning what the world teaches us will get us more of what the world offers us.

NO: If the success we seek is for eternal glory and to be of greater service to God and humankind, this pursuit carries with it a morality implicit in the action. The joy of sharing and giving go hand in hand with the accumulation of wealth, not just an afterthought once the ‘wealth’ arrives.

This brings us to the real question for this week. Are you pursuing success defined as riches and a large bank account?

OR

Do you seek success defined as a life focused on love, relationships, achievements for the good of humanity and a lifetime invested in learning, growing and sharing?

As the second one builds strong character and the first is devoid of character, I conclude that what Dave Chappelle said is probably correct for most people, but not for all.

What are YOU building your life around and what is YOUR main focus?

Got comments or questions about success? Just leave your comments to the blog post.

Story of 4 Generations and YOUR life

My grandpa Anton was a brusk man with little finesse. He migrated to the USA by himself at age 16 so he had no adult role model from mid teens until he died at age 87.

My father was the oldest of 3 sons. Grandpa Anton never had any toys growing up so he never believed in toys for his sons. My grandma Katy, however, one day bought my dad a small toy for 10 cents but with strict instructions, ‘Hide it before papa come home.’ One day he forgot and grandpa Anton found it.

‘Vats dis?’ he asked. My dad said, ‘It’s my toy.’ Grandpa Anton’s response was, ‘Foolishness!’ and threw it into the wood stove so at least it would add to the heat in their cold Minnesota home.

My dad, Tony, bought my sister and I a lot of toys but never spoiled us. He was a hugger and full of fun. He improved SO MUCH from his father in one generation. What dad did NOT do was spend one-on-one time with us. He was also gone most of every week as a travelling salesman. The real and intimate time I spent with my father before he passed away at age 88 was as an adult when I took HIM on trips and had him move in with ME.

Myself, I work hard to spend quality and quantity time with my kids and my wife every day. We spend one-on-one time together and family time together. My wife and I do not spoil the kids but strive to give them all the love and discipline they need. Yet, I know I have my weaknesses. What really scares me is what I do not know about myself. What things am I saying and doing that will forever get my children to wish, ‘If only papa had…’ For I, too, want to make quantum leaps in improvement like my father did from his father.

My son carries the burden of improving over me to his son, and so on.

Learning Lesson: Rather than waste time complaining about what your parents did or did not do or what your boss and organisation does or does not do, look at what they did or do right and be grateful.

Next, think of all the things you can do differently with your family, your work team, your department. You cannot fix anything in the past. You cannot always fix your parents, bosses or company. You CAN and SHOULD fix communications, systems, processes and invest your time where it makes the most sense. These things you can control. What a wonderful use of the time you have been given in life.

Each generation has an obligation not to repeat the mistakes of the previous generation. Each generation has an obligation to do the best they can with what they have been given.