Humble Brags and Gladrags

I've been doing it for over a decade. Each day on the social web, I post a quip, quote, birthday, or historic event. It's not meant to change the world; it's just something fun. You can read it then move on with your day.

For instance, September 24th was the 267th day of 2022. The post was about Muppets' founder Jim Henson who was born on that date. The full content read; Day 267 - “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending; keep believing, keep pretending.” Jim Henson (Sept 24/36 - May 16/90).  

Your poor old granddad had to sweat to buy you.

The idea of social networks was to connect and share. I don't know about you but I've grown tired of people trying to portray that their lives are an endless pool party, hot spot vacation, and joyride of awesomeness. The thinly veiled humble brag really needs to go. 

I know we probably wouldn't find a book or movie about some random dude who is born, goes to school, gets a job, works for forty years, has two weeks off every year to go camping, retires, and dies, all that interesting so I get it. But can't we strike a balance somehow? We want to consume interesting content, but we can do better than trying to out do each other, can't we? 

I suggest you just throw them all away.

The Kardashians, Real Housewives, and Paris Hilton share a trait - they are all famous for being famous. The term was coined for someone who attains celebrity status for no clearly identifiable reason as opposed to having actual talent or skill. 

One of the first famous for being famous was Zsa Zsa Gabor. She was an actress for a few years, married nine times, and a celebrity for over six decades. 

All I thought I had to do was smile.

The sad reality is thousands think they can rise to stardom and riches by aiming to become a YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok star. The sadder - some succeed.

My hope is rekindled, however, when I see a post about someone overcoming adversity or helping others. It's nice to see the humanness and selflessness we are all capable of possessing. So maybe one of my daily posts will make you smile or think or pause, and perhaps something you post will make someone feel better. 

It's worth a try, don't ya think?

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It’s a Dirty Job and We All Have to Do It

It was a plain beige room with uncomfortable chairs. My grade school guidance counselor sat behind his desk looking through piles of paper to find my file. He looked up, cleared his throat, and launched into a diatribe I remember to this day.

His point was that I was not to close any doors or hold myself back. I was 13! All I wanted to do was play hockey. I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career and this guy was laying all this heavy stuff on me. I didn’t get it then, but got it many times over the decades after that chat.

Follow Your Passion?

I’ve done a lot of reflecting lately – about work, passion, relationships, careers, and life. The conversations with friends and colleagues have been rich with these topics and my guidance counselor was right – we shouldn’t limit ourselves or close doors.

But there’s one critical element missing. And that is to understand what limits mean. I have spent decades on this planet thinking they mean reach, stretch, and go for more. Mike Rowe – host of Dirty Jobs – lends a wider perspective that we need to heed in his TEDTalk from a few years ago.

The first part may be tough to watch but keep watching. Mike makes some outstanding points about work, life, following our passion, and most of all, respecting each other.


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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

TED | Mike Rowe

Political Lessons

The U.S. political chatter is heating up this week with the Republican Party taking the first swipe with their convention in Tampa and the topic of leadership returns to the forefront. Imagine if your direct report talked like those at the podium about generic promises to change vague issues with dynamic language that hold very little meaning.

Now think about your career or your business and imagine what it would be like to stand on your own record and your own ideas. If they work, take the credit. If they don’t, own the blame. That happens never in politics so let’s look at the real world for lessons.

Back to Reality

It’s easy to point to politicians and poke holes in their theories and fuzzy memories but how often does it happen in our everyday lives? Do you own it when you mess up? Do you avoid blaming others to take the focus away from you? Do you show compassion to those who make mistakes and collaborate with them for solutions?

How can we better work together and show leadership in solving issues, building companies, growing people and improving our world without blaming others for all the problems and taking credit for all the victories?

It's up to us to show our leadership through our actions.

Kneale Mann

chesspieces

Social Networking Explained in Two Minutes

Seth Godin is recognized as one of the brightest business minds on earth. His daily blog posts are read by hundreds of thousands people and he consults large business clients. He is a celebrated author and speaks in front of hundreds of thousands people all over the world each year.

In order to help business grow, we must be able to show actual growth or it’s just a bunch of scores and counters and unusable data. Godin demystifies business, relationships and the web in 90 seconds.

If you haven’t seen this video, watch. 
If you have seen it, watch it again.



Kneale Mann