Sensible Advice

Churchill Diplomacy Masterclass

/ John Bartels / 1 Comment
Sir Winston Churchill

Lady Churchill and Sir Winston Churchill were at a function. The hostess noticed that a visiting diplomat, at the function, had secretly pocketed some silverware. It may have been a salt cellar. She was at a loss what to do and quietly asked Lady Churchill for advice. Lady Churchill said she would ask Winston.

This is what Churchill did.

He found a piece of similar silverware and put it in his own pocket. Then, when he got the chance, he went up to the diplomat and quietly showed him the piece of silverware in his pocket and whispered “somebody has seen us taking the silverware so we’ll both have to put them back”.

A Wise Owl
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The diplomat then quietly put back the salt cellar.

This really showed that Sir Winston Churchill was a master diplomat.

Churchill and COVID19

Source: I think in a book about Lady Churchill.

Verbal abuse incoming? A tip from a USAF female combat fighter pilot

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I don’t know which jet fighter Sn. McSally flew.

You are in an important discussion. You are about to demolish your opponent’s argument, Your opponent knows it and starts to abuse you verbally instead of dealing with the issue. Lots of verbal flack is coming your way.

You can be sure of one thing: You have found the weak and vulnerable spot in your opponent’s argument. You are at the jugular.

This was very well summed up by Senator Martha McSally, a former USAF combat fighter pilot and squadron commander, who said:

“We fighter pilots have a saying: You know when you are over the target when you are getting flack”.

There we have it!

Take care next time you are in verbal combat.

Source: CNN 27 May 2020 and here.

Intellectual Honesty

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“Intellectual honesty consists in stating the precise conditions under which one will give up one’s belief. …”

Imre Lakatos

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Take Away One.

In an argument when your opponent is adamant that they are right ask them: What evidence would convince you to change your mind?

Take Away Two.

Ask yourself the same question before you yourself pontificate about some topic!

What has a gadfly to do with this?

A Lesson from Michaelangelo

/ John Bartels / 1 Comment

Michelangelo apparently said that in every block of marble there was a beautiful statue and all that he did was to remove the marble covering the statue. Easy!

A lesson? Yes. In every bad situation, good is waiting to come out’ What should we do? Work hard to get rid of what is bad so the good can grow and flourish. The good is there even in worrying times.

One day Michaelangelo started chipping away at a beautiful block of marble.

Here is what he found inside the marble! No further comment except wow!

SONY DSC Attribution: Michelangelo/CCO

The Lesson of the Oak and the Bamboo

/ John Bartels / 1 Comment

What survives a powerful gale? The oak or the bamboo?

And why?

And what is the take away?

Check below the picture!

The oak goes down because it is rigid and unbending.

The bamboo survives because it is flexible and bends.

The take away

Learn to be flexible in times of adversity, like during a pandemic.

Keep safe.

Lessons from Shakespeare – Don’t talk too much!

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Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act

Hamlet Act 1:3 59-60

What does this teach us today?:

Don’t shout immediately out to everybody everything you think about everything,

Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

This applies to blogging as well! And Tweeting!

Often at an important meeting, it is wise to let others speak first and then to say what you think.

Don’t act too quickly on what you think. Think things through. You may need to calm down.

In the days before Email, if you wrote a letter in anger 😣, it was wise to put it in the draw of your desk for the night. The next day, when you had calmed down and read it, you might have decided not to send it.

The danger today is that it is so easy to bang off an angry Email immediately. Don’t do this. Calm down.

Don’t forget Gmail has a way of stopping a Gmail going out after you click “send”. But, you must stop it quickly. Find out how to do it. It is easy. 😊

Post prompted by Lord Polonius’ advice to his son Laertes. Hamlet I:iii, 59-60. William Shakespeare.

House hunting in a new neighborhood

/ John Bartels / 1 Comment

Are you looking to buy a new home in a new neighborhood?

Are you driving around looking at the homes?

Good.

Do that. It will give you a general idea of the area.

But don’t only do that!

Take a slow walk around the neighborhood as well.

By walking around you get to see much more detail. The detail you probably would miss if you just drove around.

I hope you find the home you are looking for!

A beautiful home in the United States.

 

 

Always have a Plan

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Years ago I read about some advice that the Royal Air Force in England gave to RAF pilots in 1939, in case they had to bale out and landed in enemy territory.

The advice was very simple.

Always have a plan.

No matter how small – always have a plan.

This simple plan could be just to move from hiding behind one tree to hiding behind another tree.

Why is this advice so good?

This old saying comes to mind.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Always have a plan” was rock solid advice in 1939.

It is still rock-solid advice today – in any situation.

Always have a plan.

richard-loader-qsEJGX4VqYU-unsplash (1)

Photo by Richard Loader on Unsplash Thank you.

Saving energy in hills and mountains

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Do not lose height when walking in the hills or mountains.

My late uncle spent a considerable amount of time in the mountains of Yugoslavia during WWII.

Once during the 1950s he and I were walking up large granite hill in the Matopo Hills near Bulawayo in the then Southern Rhodesia.

His advice: When you climb a hill, if possible, take a line that does not go down and then up. This way you will not lose the height you have gained and save energy.