Two Random Thoughts

1. Do we have to reward plain ole thinking with accolades? What do I mean by this? Now-a-days, I keep seeing platitudes rewarded with accolades. My personal pet peeve is the “clear is kind,” “we only fail when we stop trying,” or “it’s darkest before the dawn” vague but softly spoken (and frequently spoken) obviousity (I made that word up) … c’mon people. Dig deeper. Maybe I’m just getting old and crotchety but I am seeing these “motivational quotes” more like Deep Thoughts With Jack Handy. You know, with eagles soaring around Half Dome and overdubbed with bad muzak and a whispery narrator…very 1970s. If you’re laughing at them, cool. If you’re preaching them as if they were delivered from heaven by angels to a living deity…maybe you need to put your trust in a deity. Maybe also, you’re using them as “gospel” because you aren’t familiar with the truly motivating.

2. If you want to appear intelligent, learn the rules of grammar. When you use incorrect tenses, poorly constructed sentences, and misplaced punctuation, you look ignorant. I don’t mean to play the grammar police…actually, I do. You claim you’ve got a college degree. You speak in front of groups of hundreds or maybe thousands of people at events. You call yourself a master of your craft but then you go to write a simple, yet professional email sent to a large group of peers and say, “Join Daniel and I for a discussion…” Join I? Would you say that? Join I for a discussion. No. You would say, “Join ME for a discussion. Therefore, your email should say, “Join Daniel and me for a discussion of widgets.”