A teacher arranged her young students into a circle. She then went around the circle and asked each one a question.
“Robert, what sound does a cow make?”
Robert replied, “It goes ‘moo.’”
“Albert, what sound does a cat make?”
Albert said, “It goes ‘meow.’”
“Oscar, what sound does a lamb make?”
Oscar said, “It goes ‘baaa.’”
“Noel, what sound does a mouse make?”
Noel paused, and said, “Uhh … it goes … ‘click…click!’”
This is the age of technology
There was a time when mouse used to be a rodent and windows were fixtures inside your home. Today you have mouse, wireless mouse, mouse that operates with radio frequency, track pads is replacing the mice. Disruptive technology is here to stay. There was a time when it took a long time before a new product is accepted in the market place. Today the market eagerly awaits the launching of the next big thing in technology
I was giving a seminar then and people began to smile, some were giggling and a lot more of them began laughing. I asked, “What’s going on?” One brave soul responded and said, “Francis, you said we need to read books and we need to listen to tapes. But nobody listens to tapes anymore.” “Oh boy, “ I told myself, caught in a time warp. How could I have missed that?
After giving a talk, one lady approached me and said, “Francis I love your talk. Have you recorded it in a cassette?” “Cassette?” I half smiled but that’s exactly what happened to me. The only difference is that I said, “Tape.”
This makes me think. What has happened to the products of the past? The hits? The wonders? The breakthrough technology that made the world marveled? Products like:
The video recorder? (Circa 1983) The one with the flashing 12:00? Never figured out what that function was for anyway.
Brick (circa 1990) – I remember my first cell phone was a phone named ANTEL. Compare the size of that today to the newer ones my first cell phone was as small as my Coleman Water Jug. You charge the battery for 8 hours and you get to use it for only 2.
Cloning (same time) – The biggest worry at that time was not virus but cloning in an Analog platform not digital.
Let’s go back – way back. Remember phones had party-lines and you fight them all the time?
What about Caller ID (circa 1995) – Staring at a number that came in and you shock the callers by knowing it was them.
And for those who first saw the light in a hospital after 1990, a quick fad then was called the DAT. DAT stands for Digital Audio Tape. Sony Corporation introduced this in the mid-1980’s. This replaced the old cassettes that really lasted many years.
And the CD’s came into the picture and is now losing ground to Ipods and MP3 Players. A couple of years back I remember entering the last 2 days of Tower Record’s existence in America and everything in there was sold for just $2 and less. Today online music purchasing gains momentum everyday.
My son plays the drums for a popular band. He says that their first hit became a hit without a CD. It was placed on line and people here and even in places as far as Belgium and Germany listened to it.
Products of the past. I wonder why as I think about them the same products bring back memories of events tied to the same.
And what about future products?
I read about scientists and researchers developing the next generation paper battery. A supercharged battery that can be bent, rolled, twisted and cut to size like a piece of paper. It looks like the next great thing; a breakthrough technology which becomes today’s hit would in a short span of time quickly turn into tomorrow’s museum piece.
May I make a suggestion? Don’t be too much of a hurry in having to HAVE that new toy. You spend a great deal for it and then a few months later that “new” thing will be left with just the “thing” when the novelty of newness is gone. Just because you are using an old cell phone does not mean you’re second-class and old. It may mean you are frugal and practical that’s all.
Somebody says: “The world is getting complicated. Somebody just gave me a battery operated paperweight.” And you’re probably asking, “Paperweight? What’s that?”
Don’t let technology complicate your life. Live it simply but live it to the full. With or even without the latest technology.
What does it take to turn a person into a Judas? What motivates someone to betray deep-seated loyalties? Unresolved anger and resentment, for one thing. Consider the story of Earl Pitts, FBI agent turned Soviet spy.
According to Evan Thomas in Newsweek, Pitts was raised on a farm in Missouri and was recognized as a Future Farmer of America. His parents said they disciplined him firmly but fairly. He was a captain in the army who regarded himself as a patriot. Even today he is described by his wife as a “good man.”
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Mirror Mirror on the Wall is a story adapted by Louis Lapides from Still More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks, Wayne Rice, and it carries a potent lesson we all must learn. Listen to this.
A scientific researcher assembled ten unsuspecting volunteers for a psychological study called the Scar Experiment. The participants were separated into ten different cubicles equipped without mirrors. The purpose of the study was to observe how people would respond to a stranger with a marred physical appearance, such as a facial scar.
Using Hollywood makeup tricks, the scientist put bloody and gruesome scars on each volunteer’s left cheek, and displayed the new “scar” to each participant using a small handheld mirror. After glancing at their marred image, the mirror was taken away.
The researcher’s final step was to inform each volunteer that some finishing powder needed to be placed on his/her scar to prevent it from smearing. In reality, the researcher used a tissue to wipe off the scar. But the volunteers still believed they had the awful scars on their faces.
Each individual was sent out into the waiting rooms of different medical offices with instructions to notice how strangers responded to their appearance. After the appointed time, the ten volunteers returned to the scientific researcher and all shared the same report. In their encounters they noticed that strangers were ruder to them, less kind and stared at their scar. Regardless of the removal of the false scars, their unhealthy perspective on themselves affected how they thought others saw them.
In contrast, the scars and pain we carry inside us are hardly ever obvious to everyone on the outside. We make them visible by our actions towards others. If we see ourselves as unlovable, worthless and defective, we will often respond towards individuals in an unloving, insecure and discouraging manner. Meaningful and trusting relationships become very difficult to form.
It is surprising to learn a positive self image does not come from how we look on the outside, but on how we feel on the inside. In order to have a lasting, healthy view of self, we must base our worth upon God’s unconditional love and value of us.
King David sings, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it!” (Psalm 139:14) (NLT). Through a personal relationship with our Creator, we can find healing of those inner scars and deep wounds that hinder us from enjoying fulfilling relationships. There is no need to worry about what other people think of us when we know God has already placed His highest worth on our lives.
Do you have scars in your life?
I am sure you have as I have and not only that.
Life can be cruel. Adversities come. Friends you love and trusted betray you, business partners you work with for so many years cheat you but those scars can be laid down at the feet of Christ.
I have news for you. You and I have scarred Christ too with the many sins we’ve committed. Yet He forgives us. Receive His forgiveness so we may learn to forgive others and most importantly learn to forgive ourselves.
Elmer Lehman says: “We have been forgiven by God much more than we have ever been accused by others.” But my favorite author Max Lucado says it even more clearly: God doesn’t just forgive, he forgets. He erases the board. He destroys the evidence. He burns the microfilm. He clears the computer.
Mirror Mirror on the wall? Never forget this lesson.
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Charles Sheldon says:”Good resolutions are like babies crying in church. They should be carried out immediately.”
Rather than doing New Year’s resolutions, do “Daily Resolves” instead. It’s the daily DISCIPLINE of doing what you resolve to do every day for the rest of the year; and the rest of your life that counts.
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With respect you entered your work place with respect you depart when you resign. Do not burn bridges. Don’t bad mouth your company or your previous bosses even if they deserve it. They may be your customers in the future. In business, yesterday’s enemy is very often tomorrow’s friend.”
My first boss would still buy me a cup of coffee every time we meet. It’s a wonderful experience.
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There is this cute little book entitled Life’s Little Instruction Book and it is a good one. Sold many copies. But what intrigued me was a guy named Charles Sherwood Dane who came out with an article entitled: Life’s Little Destruction Book.”. And I want to share this with you.[1] But I will add some comments and revise it a little to fit our local context.
In essence, what the article is saying that these are the things you can do in order to destroy your life: Continue reading »
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John Maxwell says “Most people overvalue talking and undervalue listening, even those in people-related jobs such as sales. But the truth is effective communication is not persuasion. It’s listening … listen twice as much as you speak.” Too many people love the sound of their own voice with no one interested at all. God has given us two ears and one mouth so we could listen more and speak less.
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What is your philosophy in life?
This does not mean that you have to be a philosopher but you and I live with our own philosophies and our philosophy in life will determine for us our destiny for success or failure.
Oliver Goldsmith says: “There is nothing so absurd or ridiculous that has not at some time been said by some philosopher.”
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From an anonymous author comes this great story.
Carl was a quiet man. He didn’t talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
