Destiny

Some advice to dream chasers, goal setters and anyone that is ambitious to make an achievement in life. Don't count on anyone but yourself to keep the eye on the prize. You are the sole person to control your destiny and when you factor in others helping you it can give you a false sense of security. Only you know how important that prize is to you. You can still seek out assistance, but do not let if affect your tenacity on your quest for the prize.

Facebook vs Google+

The two social media platforms appeal to different audiences. Some of us use both of them for the different type of experience you get on them.

Facebook has good FB pages that business setup for you to interact with and learn about them. Google+ also has pages for business to setup. Both platforms offer good content.

Now for the personal accounts on Facebook. It's a mixed bag. I like it for basic communication, sharing moments with family and friends. I plug my blog posts on it. Facebook can be drama book at times. I still use it because most of my connections on it have not embraced Google+ yet.

Google+ personal accounts offer a different interaction from Facebook. The interaction on Google+ is awesome. I meet people from all over the world and you can do the same on FB but it seems easier on G+. It's a diffent feeling on G+ for me. All those bogus reports of G+ being a ghost town that I read are full of crap because I must be a ghost communicating with other ghosts then.

Sharing content to specific groups of people I find easier on G+ using their circle feature to group people in specific circles to post too and monitor feeds. The FB lists to group your friends in specific lists to post too and monitor feeds is Ok.

I did not forget about Twitter. You cannot compare Twitter to FB and G+ because it's use is so different. Twitter is in a class all by itself. 

Proposals for solutions the three options way

Present your solutions with the three options approach. When you are on a budget and faced with a problem that needs to be addressed you need to look at various options to address the problem. 

1) Look at the short term cheap fix solution if it will meet your needs until a long term solution is implemented in the future. 

2) When you are uncertain when a long term fix will be implemented you need to look for a solution that has the capability of going the distance without all those bells and whistles. 

3) The long term solution with all the bells and whistles that will address all your needs into the future. 

It's all in how you present the options to management. You need to upfront commit to your first pick and hard sell it. Management will have a chance to see the three options and decide to just fork out the money to address a permanent fix or select one of the two cheaper solutions to buy time to get that permanent solution in the budget.

The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States under attack

All Americans that love America will recite "The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States" without question.

"I  pledge allegiance to the Flag

of the United States of America,
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one nation
under God,
indivisible,
with liberty
and justice
for all."

Read this story from @FOXNews. New Jersey school sued over 'under God' in pledge: 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/22/humanist-group-sues-nj-school-district-over-under-god-in-pledge-allegiance/

We have a national humanist group suing a New Jersey school district. A family believes the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is discriminatory for atheist children. My response to these nut cases is move to Russia or North Korea  and you will not have to worry about reciting "under God". The Pledge of Allegiance is not promoting any religion so it should not offend anyone. If your an atheist request your child to be excused from reciting "The Pledge of Allegiance". 

Taking one for the team

Project Management requires thick skin and controlling your emotions. You are in the spotlight all the time. How you react to a situations defines you in front of everyone.

Once upon a time years ago I was verbally assassinated and yelled at by an IT Director at a monthly Project Management Office Stoplight meeting. I was going to explain a major change in a project that postponed a phase of an implementation to a later stage in the project. Earlier in the the day before the status meeting the Senior IT Director called me and my core team to meet with him. He asked me to defer implementing a phase of the project requiring me to rework the project plan. We all agreed that this would not delay the overall completion of the project but allow focus on other areas of the project that would deliver a better solution.

The Stoplight meeting was held in a conference room and if you could not attended in person a bridge line was setup to call into. The Senior IT Director called into the bridge line and the IT Director attended the meeting in person. Once I started to explain the change in the project the IT Director just unloaded on me not giving me a chance to explain why the project is changing to deliver a better solution. She turned red with anger raising her voice at me with the attendees in the room in shock. The Senior IT Director in a calm voice asked the IT Director many times to let me speak. I just sat down and could not get a word in and just looked at her as she insulted me. She then stormed out of the room slamming the door. The Senior IT Director asked me to leave the meeting and go back to my office so he could call me. I was not shaken up but disappointed that a person that I knew for a long time would behave so unprofessional in a meeting. I received the call from the Senior IT Director and he told me "thank you for taking it for the team". I will speak with her he said. Sadly that IT Director was terminated a week later.

The project was delivered on-time and a big success.

The Flaming Email

I had an experience of a flaming email years ago from a contractor Mr. PMP type. He was an arrogant you know what. That contractor sent out an email to a distribution after hours to slam me on something. I was out of the office already having dinner. I had a smartphone and was composing a response and before I could send my response out I received an email from a team member responding to that flaming email defending my position on the issue. She slammed Mr. PMP with facts that put the arrogant Mr. PMP in his place. She made it easy for me, all I had to do was thank her and concur with her email and case is closed. By the way Mr. PMP did not respond back. Silence is golden. When you gain respect from your team and have a reputation people will defend you and stand by you. It's a priceless good feeling that you are making an impact on your team.

Mr. PMP never spoke to me again and avoided me. What a cry baby he can only dish it out, but when he is proven wrong he won't admit it. We don't need Project Managers that behave this way to discredit the profession by acting arrogant and unprofessional. Mr. PMP was an older gentleman that should have known better on how to exercise people skills. 

Casual marijuana use safe?

Why am I not surprised by a new study on marijuana use. I have seen the affects of marijuana on classmates when I was growing up not good. All they wanted to do was get stoned and go surfing.

The use of marijuana will result in brain abnormalities and that's not good. How do you develop your  brain? 

The states that have legalized marijuana to tax it are going to eventually realize that it's not worth the revenue it brings to the state when they realize the effects on the state. Just give it time they will regret it.

Marijuana for medicinal use is another story and best left up to your doctor to decide if it will help you.

See this article for more information and you be the judge.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/04/15/casual-marijuana-use-linked-with-brain-abnormalities-study-finds/

A quote to live by if you're a real leader