When President Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley’s top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was asked to come with a question for the president.

But as Steve Jobs of Apple spoke, Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: What would it take to make iPhones in the United States?

Why can’t that work come home? Obama asked.

Jobs’ reply was unambiguous.

“Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he said, according to another dinner guest.

The president’s question touched upon a central conviction at Apple. It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their U.S. counterparts that “Made in the USA” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.

The Solution is Simple

Our forefathers had tariffs on imports into this country. Why? TO PROTECT AMERICAN JOBS!!  In the 1950′s and 60′s our country was a manufacturing country. The term “Made in Japan” signified inferior quality. However, now many of our products come from China. Many imported products are cheap to buy, but they are also inferior. I get really tired of paying for a product which breaks within a few days of using it. Case in point: I have bought several calculators for just a few bucks only to have find out they don’t work after a few days. Oh, sure, I can take them back, but that gets very annoying after the second or third time. My time is worth something. The bottom line is that many of these cheaper products are actually more expensive when you consider the time and gas it takes to return them.

I don’t agree with Donald Trump on some things, but this is where I agree with him wholeheartedly.  Put a 25 percent tariff on anything not made in this country and you would have all those jobs which have gone south and overseas back in a heart beat. We would once again be a manufacturing country. We could also pay off our debt in no time. We could even be a prosperous nation once again.

To be sure, the Chinese and Mexicans wouldn’t like it, but who cares what they think. It isn’t their country that is going down the tubes. They are laughing at us all the way to the bank.

This is our future at stake. It is also the future of our children. We have not only sold ourselves down the river financially, but them as well.

I sort of chuckle when I see someone carrying around a huge organizer or personal planner. It tells me they are probably trying to do too much. They have too much on their plate. Most people commit themselves to more activity than they should. Sometimes it can’t be helped. Employers are always cutting staff and making the remaining people do the work of two or three. I’m not sure if it is lunacy or greed on the part of the employers. Perhaps a little of both. They may call that “increasing efficiency”, but it really isn’t.  I found that out through years of experience. When I hire a work crew, I always make sure I hire enough people to do the job.  Hiring too few, wears the workers out more quickly and efficiency drops drastically in a short period of time.

When I was growing up, most of the people I knew, carried a pocket notebook and pencil. That was all they needed to keep track of their To Do list. They also had a routine. They went to work, but also left themselves time to relax, spend time with their families, and even engage in a hobby.  They didn’t lug around ten pound organizers and notebooks just to keep track of what they needed to do over the next few days.

The reason they could do this was because they knew where their values and priorities were. Family was just as important to them as their jobs, if not more so. There will always be people who put job and company ahead of family, but that mindset seems to be an epidemic these days. That is one reason the divorce rate is 50 %- unlike a few decades ago.

Take some time and take a good hard look at that schedule/ planner. Are all those tasks really necessary? Strike out some of those business activities which you don’t really need to do and spend that time with your family or enjoying a quiet moment with yourself.

Yes, I work. No I am not retired. I just know from my own personal experience that a lot of things I thought were so important to do, really weren’t when I looked back on them a week or two later.

It doesn’t matter how your day has gone.  Always go home with your head held high.

Plucked, pounded, mistreated, overworked but still with dignity.
Attitude is everything.

NO MATTER HOW BAD LIFE IS TREATING YOU, REMEMBER TO STAND TALL AND HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH

(Source: From an Email)

Here is a good clean religous joke for you:

Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement and when his plane arrived there was a limousine there to transport him to his home.  As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver.

“You know,” he said, “I am 87 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?”

The driver said, “No problem. Have at it.”

Billy gets into the driver’s seat and they head off down the highway.  A short distance away sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap.

The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone.

The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limousine. He got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure. The young trooper walked up to the driver’s door and when the glass was rolled down, He was surprised to see who was driving.

He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor.

He told the supervisor, “I know we are supposed to enforce the law….but I also know that important people are given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a very important person.”

The supervisor asked, “Is it the Governor?”

The young trooper said, “No, he”s more important than that.”

The supervisor said, “Oh, so it’s the President.”

The young trooper said, “No, he”s even more important than that.”

The supervisor finally asked, “Well then, who is it?”

The young trooper said, “I think it’s Jesus, because he’s got Billy Graham for a chauffeur!”

For those of you who have not yet discovered blogging as a hobby, you might just want to give it a try. Here are eight good reasons you might want to start one:

1. Keep in touch with family and friends. By posting a blog post, you can keep friends and family updated on what is going on without having to write separate emails to each person.

2. Use it to relax after a hard day’s work. Using a blog to express your feelings, helps relieve tension.  It also gives you something to focus on in a creative sort of way which is not only a great stress reliever, but also gives you a sense of accomplishment.

3. Express your thoughts and opinions to others. Do you feel strongly about something? Tell others. Express yourself and your ideas and opinions. It’s your blog; write about whatever it is which you enjoy discussing with others.

4. Help people going through similar experiences as yourself. Blogging is a great way to help others with problems by telling them of your own experiences with the same or similar problems.

Connect with people with similar interests as yourself. By meeting and conversing with others online through their comments and feedback,  you can develop a sense of community with other people who have similar interests. And by having your own blog or website, you have more control over the subject matter than if you are visiting and posting comments on someone else’s blog, website, or forum.

5. Inspire others. Tell inspirational stories-either your own or those of other people you know. I recently set up a website and gallery for my second cousin who is in his seventies. He is an artist and shows his artwork on his website , but he also has a lot of personal stories from his years of living and being a pastor which are inspiring to others. Another benefit of using your blog to help others is when you get an email or comment from someone who tells you that your article has helped them. Those warm fuzzy feelings you get can be quite exciting.

6. Make money. (it can be done).  Although it is hard to make money on the web these days, since everyone seems to be trying to do it, it is still possible to make money on the web selling your own items or those of other companies through affiliate programs. Don’t count on getting rich, however, unless you are willing to develop the skills of an Internet marketing guru.

7. Use it as a creative outlet for your energies. Maintaining a blog or website is an excellent outlet for developing your creativity. You don’t have to be an expert writer. Blogging is a medium which allows everyday people to publish their own thoughts and writing without having to worry about convincing publishers to publish their work. Blogging is simply communicating your ideas to others. If you can carry on a conversation, you can blog. Just think of it as writing to a group of friends.

8. Learn to organize your thoughts. Writing helps you to understand a problem or develop your understanding of a subject. Writing about a topic helps you formulate your ideas and understanding of it. Writing also helps you learn to express yourself better.

Over the past few decades, our society has become a frenetically driven culture. People are always in a hurry, even when they don’t need to be. It comes not only from conditioning ourselves to run at a mad pace, it also comes form trying to do too much. A lot of what we think needs to be done really doesn’t need to be done. It’s called the “tyanny of the urgent”. It seems urgent to get done, but in reality, it is really not important. Remember the 80/20 rule?

For Businesses:

80 % of your profits comes from 20 % of your customers.

This can also apply to our personal lives and tasks:

80 % of our really important accomplishments comes from 20 % of our tasks.

Collectors and Hoarders

There is a television show called Hoarders. It tells of people who have a compulsion to excessively collect things. Most of them cannot even get through their houses due to the junk they have collected. Many people do the same things with daily tasks. They collect things for their “To Do” lists which they really do not need to do. The next time you make such as list, go over it and ask yourself, “Is this chore really necessary?”

If it is a low priority, hold off on doing it for a few days and then review it. Chances are, you will be able to scratch it off your list with very little, if any, emotional pain. You will probably feel relieved to not have to do it. That translates to more time for you to do important things or to have a little more relaxation time.

The key is to be tough minded enough to eliminate it when you know deep down in your gut, the task is really not important.

Do you pride yourself on being a multitasker? Well, don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back just yet. Actually multitasking has been shown to be a very inefficient way to work. You will actually get less work done than if you focus on one task at a time. One of the reasons is that everytime you change tasks, it takes a few minutes for your mind to adjust to the new task. It also creates a lot more stress in your life. I recently read a good book on the subject called,  The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done. It’s a good book and one I would highly recommend.

You will find you can get a lot more work done more quickly if you clear your desk of everything except the material for the job you are currently working on.  Excess clutter on and around your workspace is distracting whether you realize it or not. It is also tedious to work around the clutter. If you are working on several projects concurrently over a period of time, put all the other material to the side in a place where it is out or the way and hopefully out of sight. If you think you are a great “multitasker”, I have news for you. Studies have shown that multitasking is one of the most inefficient ways of working there is. It is not something to be proud of, in spite of what your might think or have heard.

One of the biggest waste of time in many people’s lives is running errands inefficiently.  They need something, so they jump in the car and head for the nearest store.  After returning home, they remember something they have forgotten, so in a few minutes, off they go on another errand.  Wasted gas….wasted time.  A lot of time can be saved by organizing your day and errands before starting out. It only takes a few minutes, but can save hours and dollars in gas in the long run.

For instance, suppose you think of something you need in the morning, but it is not necessary to get it now. You also have an appointment in the afternoon.  Just wait until the afternoon and either leave earlier or do the other errand after your appointment. It’s not rocket science to figure this out. It just takes some discipline and a realization that many errands are not urgent. Here are some more tips:

• Organize your trips for more efficient use of your time.
• Be realistic about the time required for each task or errand and allow yourself that much time when you start.
• Ask yourself, “How urgent is this errand at this time?”

You will save time, money, and your nerves by doing a little planning before running errands.

Many people these days check their email numerous times each day.  It is easy to let it become a habit which controls minutes of your life every single day.  Here is a question you might think about.  Before the invention of email, what did you do?  Did you miss it? Of course not. It wasn’t there to miss. Here are some points to keep in mind:

• You don’t have to read all of it. Throw away the junk.
• You don’t have to answer all of it. Be selective in what you reply to.
• You don’t have to check it several times each day, unless there is an important one you are expecting.

With smart phones, it’s even harder to keep the green email monster off our backs. It’s sooo easy to check.  Just remember that it also consumes time.

A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.
-Thomas Michael Cornielius McGinnis

Legitimate discussions can be productive, arguments almost never are.  Arguments come about because of our need to be right or our need to “win”.  By arguing, we almost never sway our opponent to our way of thinking.  The urge to be right or to win at it  comes from our ego, not our intellect.  It is this emotional element which is the usual cause of arguments.

Once you realize you don’t have to convince everyone of your viewpoint, you will encounter less arguments in life.  What if you find your “discussion” with someone is turning into an argument?  Just shut up. It’s that simple.  It takes two to argue.  I have never seen one person having an argument with themselves except a schizophrenic.  What if the other person wants to carry on the argument after you clam up?  Just walk away.  It’s about the only thing you can do.

At my age, I have found that a person has to pick the battles they choose to fight.  Many battles in life are not worth wasting the time it takes to fight and win them.  We are only given a limited amount of time on this earth and for you older people, I think you will agree with me when I say that time is precious.  We have to use wisdom to determine the best use of our time each day.  Prioritizing is an absolute necessity.  Take some time some Saturday afternoon, and try to view your life as if you are at the end of it.  When you look back on what you have accomplished, what will you feel?  Will you feel like you have accomplished at least some things which were worthwhile?  Or will you feel most of your life has been wasted chasing things you thought were so important at the time, but now seem like meaningless or useless activities?   Try to imagine you are at the end of your life and look back and see what you wish you would have accomplished.  Then make a plan to head in that direction and keep at it.  In the coming weeks, take time to do some re-evaluation of how you are doing.  If need be, change you priorities, but keep in mind, the end of your life is slipping up on you closer each day.  Don’t get to the end and have a lot of regrets you could have avoided.   This is what I mean by choosing your battles.  Some battles just aren’t worth fighting for.   The really bad thing about it is that fighting them takes time away from battles you really do need to be fighting to make a difference in your life and in the lives of others.

A wise old owl lived  in an oak,
the more he saw, the less he spoke,
the less he spoke, the more he heard,
Why can’t we be like that old bird?

English Nursery Rhyme

We learn a lot more by listening than by speaking.  Listening will help us understand problems, people, and situations better than if we are talking.  Listening will expose us to new ideas. By listening, we are also telling the other person that we value their ideas and opinions, even if we do not agree with them.  You will grow much more as a person by listening more and talking less.

My Uncle Ernest was an old white haired, retired electrician.  He was one of the most practical Christians I ever knew too.  None of this old “namby pamby”, “pie in the sky in the great by and by” type of Christianity either.  He knew life was a hard road and didn’t pretend otherwise.  Yet he also knew the joy of being a Christian and always had a positive outlook on life.  And he laughed a lot. (He could tell some good fish stories too.)  Many Christians today don’t have a realistic outlook or approach to life.  They slug away day after day struggling and trying to make ends meet.   Somewhere in the back of their minds, they really believe that one day, things will be easier.  If they can just get a better job.  If they can just get caught up on the bills…  Someday life will be easier.  They just have to find some kind of secret that will make it all fall in place.  Perhaps you’ve been thinking the same thing. I know I have in the past.  I hate to pop your bubble, but it just ain’t so. Christ told us that in this world we would have tribulation (read “trouble”).  There won’t be any “some day” in this life.  Life is full of bumps from beginning to end.  Sound pessimistic? Yes, but it’s not.  Warren Wiersbe wrote a book once called, “Bumps Are What You Climb On”. Life is full of bumps and potholes, and the sooner you learn what they are for, the sooner your life will become better. Read the rest of this entry »