Ecological Human Services Management

Gary has a really quick self-check. Easy Peasy. Just give yourself a thumbs up or perhaps not on each statement. The only catch is the standard: every time, with everyone, no exceptions, no excuses.

Are you into being creative or perhaps an inventor? It's actually pretty simple. Just think a thought that no one else has thought. For the skinny on that little trick, listen to this episode of Audio Tidbits.

You may think I have a run of the mill public speaking tip for you, not particularly different than a hundred others. But this tip is from Blackie, a guide dog extraordinaire. You didn't know that guide dogs gave public speaking tips? That would be silly talk. Regular guide dogs may not, but Blackie was far from regular. He was a good friend of Denny, who was himself a professor. I think you may as well listen to pass your own judgment about the unexpected brilliance of extraordinary guide dogs.

Do you like to gossip, or are you content to be a passive consumer? "Neither," you say? Well, OK; but I don't think I easily believe you. I suspect if you ask a hundred random people if they believe that you neither gossip nor consume gossip, they would just laugh at the silly question. At any rate, Gary has some thoughts on the topic. As with most good gossip, it's short and vague enough to make sure you aren't sure one way or the other.

There is a secret the most successful people are slow to admit to. They trust their hunches. But you worry that your hunches may be wrong? Sure, they may be, but so may be your best, considered judgment. The point is that hunches are more often right than wrong. Ignore them at your own risk. Gary shares some thoughts about intuition and hunches on this episode of Audio Tidbits.

Amateurs think it's fine to get angry and blow off without much thought or planning. They just wind up and let it spew. What they don't realize is that to get angry with style is way more complicated. Actually, it's seldom worth the time and bother. In this episode of Audio Tidbits, Gary explains why.

What we do with our day is not totally a choice for most of us, but there is a part in there most days for us to be in control. How we choose to use that gift is our call. Sure, it's up to you, but I do have a small suggestion.

Imagine yourself back when, back before. Not yet an adult but past being a child. You hang around with your friends; and each of you had an idea for yourself about what success would be.   Here's the question. Since you all started from a similar place and time, why does success very from a lot to not so much within your friend group? Where are you in that range and why? Let's think about that in this episode of Audio Tidbits.

Gus and Gary have provided two perspectives for us in this episode of Audio Tidbits. Gus warns us to ask twelve questions before initiating any change; and Gary helps understand that emotions are not just there or not there. Rather there is an emotional sweet spot where we balance not enough with too much. I think you will definitely find some food for thought here, and get a musical treat from Kevin as a bonus.

Are you interested in ramping up your success? Do you like trains? Do you have a few minutes to think about getting better and better at getting better and better? Are you ready to say "YES" to success? Sure, It's "YES" to all of that. Do It! Come for a ride on the Success Train.

Gary and Gus join up to bring us two short takes on sticky problems and banity, and are crashed by an unexpected podcaster who shares her take on privacy, especially for young children.

Rate your stress from 1 (low) to 10 (high). Press play on the episode. Ask your imagination to bring up the scene. Who is there? Where is there? What is happening? Keep your attention on the scene until the end. Now, rate your stress again.

In the last episode, we took a swing back when silly was fun. Well, silly is still fun, even if we have gotten too old for that nonsense.

Do you remember back when silly was fun? There were knock-knock jokes and then all those one-liners for the young and even those not so old got a chuckle now and then.

• All men are created equal, • They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, Among these are • Life, • Liberty, • The pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, • Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Welcome to a new way to meditate. When you think about meditation, what comes to mind? If you ponder traditional meditation, nothing comes to mind. That's the idea. Suspend reality and turn into your inner self. If traditional meditation works for you, may the inner peace consume you as you find your center. But when traditional meditation does not work, a new way to meditate is here for you. The experience you are undertaking lasts about forty minutes and does not require suspension of reality. Use the first segment to focus and listen. If your attention drifts, there is a dancing blue elephant there for your enjoyment. Find her and let yourself smile as you focus on her and the music. As the music shifts, go with it. Nothing needs suspension. Stay with the music. It takes you on a changing journey to wherever you go. At any time, the dancing blue elephant is there for you, tempting back your attention on her and the music. If convenient, listen with earbuds or however you like to send the music directly

Of course you have to get on your pony and ride, but don't be too quick -- or too slow for that matter. In this episode, I offer three keys to effective leadership. I think you will find them very useful perspectives as you lead others.

There is usually at least a tiny grain of truth hidden somewhere behind even the most absurd belief. For example, if you lend a book to someone, you might as well kiss it good-bye. You won't get it back without asking for it back, and maybe not even then. If you're a library, you'll probably get it back; but for anyone else, lending books is about the same as giving them away. What is the belief? People don't return borrowed books when they borrow them from other people. There is a grain of truth here. Some people aren't good about returning borrowed books and perhaps that's most people, depending on who you lend your books to. Is this true on average? I don't know and doubt that you know either. Even so, I believe it. How about you? Do people return books other people lend to them? Now suppose that I ask you to lend me a book. If you think people don't return borrowed books, you might give the book to me, not expecting it to be returned. However, if you think people are good and usually return borrowed b

The home turf of the Great Mouse has apparently been discovered by our intrepid hunters. On her home turf, the Great Mouse is not on her own. There she has allies and friendly forces. Our intrepid hunters are in for a battle. Will they prevail? Will they finally best the Great Mouse? Which side will prevail? Let's listen. Do recall that we earlier learned that the Great Mouse may only be a figment of the imaginations of our intrepid hunters. Is this the time we will finally learn the truth? I turn it over to your imagination and judgment.

• Have you noticed that some people have an unusual ability to get others to do what they want them to do? • Have you noticed that things consistently turn out better for some people than for others? • Have you noticed that some people seldom end up with the short end of the stick while others frequently come up short? • Have you noticed that some people regularly follow through with whatever they undertake while others often falter or end up just quitting? • Have you noticed that, for some people, their influence bubble expands over time, while for other people, their influence bubble stays small or may even contract over time? Although you have likely already answered, "Yes," to all five questions, let's set some qualifications or conditions to make sure we are making an apples to apples comparison. Instead of thinking about everyone compared to everyone, let's limit ourselves to what we can call childhood reference groups. Think about you and your childhood reference group as I reframe the five questi