Ray’s Daily
March 11, 2021
“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.”
William Plomer
Ray’s Daily first published on March 11,2009
A week or so ago a friend lent me a copy of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell suggesting I read it since some things I do were covered in the book. I did so fully expecting that he had exaggerated my role since I really don’t do anything all that special. I am glad I read the book for it opened my eyes to just how important some of the little things we do really are in the long run.
The author reported on the role connectors play in our world. Connectors are often the people you never hear about but who by taking an interest in what is going around them and then connecting others make a major difference in outcomes.
When I thought about what he said I realized that connecting is something I do. I am fortunate to have met many people over the years I have been in Indianapolis, folks with a wide variety of interests, skills and resources. I often meet people who would benefit by connecting with like minded others who they haven’t met but often end up doing amazing things together after they do meet. My favorite connectors are those who don’t look for credit, they only care that they were the catalyst that resulted in others taking action.
I got more excited as I realized that almost everyone I know is a latent connector. They have a wide range of friends and acquaintances. In order to be a successful connector I would suggest we all need to really listen to people when they tell us their interests, concerns and needs. We also need to mentally store what we learn about people we meet, what do they do, what are their passions, what skills do they have and the like for it is these people who are the supply side of the connection process. Often both parties are suppliers each bringing a lot to the table and when they do the synergism results in one and one equaling three.
I really appreciate my friend lending me his book for now I understand the great possibilities each of us has to lay the foundation for some really good results by sharpening and then using our connector skills. So the next time someone shares a dream, tells you about a need, or knows of an opportunity, stop and think about who you know that they might meet and then explore what they might be able to do for each other.
~~~
“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”
Albert Einstein
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An accountant spends a week at his new office, with the accountant he is replacing. On the last day, the departing accountant tells him that he left two envelopes in the desk drawer, and that envelope No. 1 should be opened if he ever encounters any sort of crisis on the job and envelope No. 2 should be opened if a further crisis occurs.
Three months down the road there is a major drama: all the accounts are wrong (the usual stuff) and the accountant feels very threatened by it all. He remembers the parting words of his predecessor, and opens the first envelope. The message inside says: “Blame me!” He does this and gets off the hook.
Three months later, he encounters his next crisis and opens the second envelope.
The message inside says: “Write two envelopes.”
~~~
“My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That’s almost $7.00 in dog money.”
Joe Weinstein
~~~
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn’t run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the truck, the car, playing golf – always something more important to me.
Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, “When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.”
The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
Moral of this story: Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is the husband.
~~~
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.
Malcolm Forbes
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A young man called his mother and announced excitedly that he had just met the woman of his dreams. Now what should he do?
His mother had an idea: “Why don’t you send her flowers, and on the card invite her to your place for a home- cooked meal?”
He thought this was a great strategy and arranged a date for a week later. His mother called the day after the big date to see how things had gone.
“The evening was a disaster,” he moaned.
“Why, didn’t she come over?” asked his mother.
“Oh, she came over, but she refused to cook…”
~~~
“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.”
John Bright
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When I managed a chemical plant, I instituted a rule that there would be no playing games on our computers. So I wouldn’t be a hypocrite, I had an information technologist get rid of the games on my laptop. Therefore I was surprised to find my grandson playing solitaire on it one weekend. I asked if he had loaded the game…
“No,” he answered, “it was already there. It was just hidden – taken off the main menu.”
On Monday I chided our information technologist for not getting rid of the game. “But,” he explained, “I thought I just had to keep it away from *you* – not from a nine-year-old!”
~~~
If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
~~~
Every morning during our coffee break, my co-workers and I listened to the culinary disasters of a newlywed colleague. We then tried to share some helpful hints and recipes.
One day, she asked us for step-by-step instructions on cooking sweet potatoes, which was one of her husband’s favorites. “I’ve finally been able to make them sweet,” she said, “but how do you make them orange?”
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“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
Plato
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In Miami, the jurors in a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the tobacco industry were ordered by the judge to not see the new movie “The Insider”, because it might influence their verdict. He also ordered them not to see “The House on Haunted Hill”.
The prosecutor was surprised to hear this instruction and he said “I understand why you’ve instructed the jurors to not see ‘The Insider, but why should they avoid the second movie, your honor?”.
Being quick and to the point, the judge firmly stated, “Because it stinks!”
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If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
William Penn
~~~
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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