Quote That Perfectly Illustrates My Point vis-a-vis Leaders

Found this quote on one of them Facebooks:

“Leaders are not born or made. They are self made.”  Stephen Covey

Right.  I don’t even know where to begin with this — do I start with the “born” part or the “made” part?

First of all, what are we talking about here when we say “Leaders”?  If they are people in positions of leadership, then someone besides themselves has obviously given them that position, in which case they are quite literally made.  Unless one thinks that promotions and positions are wholly earned…which is just deeply, deeply funny given the state of our world.

But you and I both know that Stephen Covey is really talking about the intangible qualities of leadership, i.e., the ability to lead.  Putting aside the fact that “leading” is either illusion or manipulation (think about it — the following must come from somewhere, and that somewhere is either them or the leader), the idea that these types of leaders arise from something other than nature or nurture is patently absurd.  Pretty much the only thing that’s self-made about leaders is the work they put in, and even that is pretty much wholly dependent on things like personality, location, status, race, gender, etc. If you think about it, leaders are nothing but born or made.

If you want to change the world for the better through hard work and dedication, that’s fine.  Just know that there’s a reason why you’re able to do that, and that reason is not “because you’re awesome.”  Show some gratitude, please.

UPDATE:  After extensive research/Googling, we have learned that Stephen Covey is a motivational speaker/author, and writes books on making oneself into a great leader.  I bring this up to point out, in true postmodern fashion, that he might have a vested monetary interest in people believing that “Leaders are not born or made, but self-made.”

List of Core Not-a-leader Beliefs

Here are SOME of the core concepts that you might need to accept for this blog to make any sense at all.  (And can also serve as convenient reasons to dismiss what it says, if you decide that you don’t believe them.)

1. Free Will — the idea that humans can choose to do anything they want to, provided that they are a) physically able to do it, and b) able to conceive of it in their little monkey-like minds.
2. Vanity — The idea that things, concepts, and feelings in this universe can never satisfy us.  They are ultimately meaningless, so it’s bad to chase after them like you’re auditioning for a reality TV show.  Yeah, it’s this belief that’s going to get me in trouble, on account of it painting all success and ambition with the same brush of futility.  All you would-be “leaders” can feel free to dismiss me now.
3. Interconnectedness — The idea that everything we say, do, and even think affects everyone around us in ways we don’t always know or understand, so we should strive to not be such jackwagons.
4. Individuality — The idea that even though we are all connected in mysterious ways, we can never truly know what other people are thinking.  Not only that, but putting people in easy-to-manage “groups” with “labels” is harmful and deceitful.  Things should only be judged by how they affect individuals.
5. Thinking for Five Seconds — The idea that any issue can be illuminated by being willing to honestly consider the other side of it, if only for five seconds.
6. Equality of All People — The idea that nobody is better than anyone else.  Period.  Whether you view things through a scientific or religious lens, it’s a fact.  Jack.
7. Leadership is an Illusion — The idea that leaders are just regular people who have been awarded positions of power.  Followers define leaders — Always have, always will.

Sorry to burst y’all’s bubbles.  There are probably other core concepts, too, but I’m sure those will be chased out into the open in due time.  Happy Saturday!

Scott Walker vs. Teachers vs. Money

420 Milwaukee Public School teachers called in sick today to protest the proposed state budget of Governor (and former good Tosa boy) Scott Walker.  No, they’re not trying to legalize marijuana — they’re trying to prevent the broke-ass state of Wisconsin from cutting their power and benefits.  As things stand now, it appears that the rights of teachers’ unions to collectively bargain might become a thing of the past.  Who knew that was even possible?   However, with all the misinformation floating around out there, it’s difficult to determine what the controversial bill actually says, or if it even exists in the first place.

The good Tosa boys here at Notaleader aren’t going to clear anything up, but they are going to use this opportunity to point out some cool stuff and have a little fun with a vastly overblown and highly-charged political situation.  I mean, when one side believes this:

 

Clearly a well thought-out position

And the other side is looking a little too happy to be busting a union/hurting public school teachers, you know you’re in the land of Politics.  So, what do I think?  Well, since:

As a Wisconsin taxpayer, I like to think of the public schools as a giant black hole

 

 

"Why does the hole have to be black?"

 

…that I get absolutely nothing out of other than the shaky assurance that many of the children around me are receiving an education, which benefits me in that it keeps many of them from a life of crime; and,

As a Christian, I know that many of the teachings in these public schools are designed to marginalize me in their minds, and keep them from taking me seriously.  This makes me a little hesitant to support them in any way whatsoever; and,

The whole situation begs the question, “exactly what percentage of Wisconsinites have to lose their jobs before the union will think a paycut is appropriate;” and,

The teachers are protesting by calling in sick (among other things), which is an odd way to show the taxpayers your dedication to educating our precious (and in my case, purely theoretical) children; and,

A common justification for this behavior can be summed up in this one Facebook comment I found, but which has been subsequently deleted, forcing me to sum it up:

“We’re trying to teach THE CHILDREN to stand up for themselves and be united for a cause.  That’s more important than teaching them actual stuff…”

You’d think I’d be pro-Scott Walker, wouldn’t you?

Except that I know and love many Public School teachers, and I don’t care about my money being thrown down a

 

ahem.

 

…Hole with gravity so powerful it sucks all the light around it, rendering it a color that shall remain unnamed.

SOOOOO, I’m just going to pack up my stuff and take my mind out of this state.  Hey, it worked for the state Democrats, right?   Except I’m not going to Illinois, I’m going to bed.

Ahh, sleep.  That’s where I’m a Viking!  No, not a Minnesota Viking…

It’s good to be back.

 

 

 

 

My Inner Packer Child is Smiling

For the first 20 or so years of my life, the Packers alternated between terrible and mediocre.  Growing up in Wisconsin, I never dreamed that the Packers could ever reach the Super Bowl.  I just didn’t think it was something that could ever happen.  So it still tickles the Ezra Johnson-loving kid inside me when the Packers win a championship like they did exactly one Sunday ago.

I’m old enough to remember their last title (1997) and how fleeting the greatness and good feelings turned out to be.  We all loved those guys after they won that game — heroes like Brett Favre, Reggie White, Eugene Robinson, Mark Chmura, Antonio Freeman, Leroy Butler, Desmond Howard, and others.  In the aftermath of that wonderful victory, the following terrible things happened (and these are just the ones I remember):

• The Packers met President Bill Clinton at the White House, but Andre “Bad Moon” Rison and Desmond “Super Bowl MVP” Howard weren’t invited by Packer GM Ron Wolf because they had already left as free agents.  Also, backup punky QB Jim McMahon wore a Chicago Bears jersey during the event, an act he deemed high-larious.
• “The greatest defensive player ever” Reggie White’s church burned down in Tennessee (which may have actually happened before the Super Bowl), and Reggie-loving Packer fans raised $750,000 to rebuild it.  It remains unbuilt to this day.  After a few years, Reggie got a bit prickly on the subject, and wouldn’t even entertain it in interviews.  He also tried an ill-advised comeback with the Carolina Panthers after retirement (something that would become a pattern with some of these guys).  Also, he embraced a highly law-based form of Christianity (and if it’s law-based, is it really Christianity?) later in life that caused him to think that everyone was going to hell.  Also, he died.
• Speaking of the dead: Wayne Simmons, whose hit on the 49ers’ Adam Walker signaled to the world that the Packers were a real championship contender, also died young.
• Eugene Robinson, multiple winner of the NFL’s “good citizen, and guy, of the year” award, was busted with some prostitutes the week before Super Bowl 33, which he played in as a member of the evil Atlanta Falcons.
• Mark Chmura publicly clamored on and on about how Bill Clinton should be impeached, then was found guilty of sitting in a hot tub with hot suburban teenage girls. At least he was acquitted on the rape charges.
• Desmond Howard became a TERRIBLE college football analyst for ESPN, after spending time in Oaktown as a TERRIBLE wide receiver.  The best thing you can say about the guy post-Super-Bowl is that Phil Simms wants to punch him, which almost always means you’ve done something right.
• And all-around Wisconsin hero and sports saviour Brett Favre?  The guy who overcame so much to make the Packers great again?  The guy who could have been elected Premier of Wisconsin if he wished it?  If I tell you what he ended up doing, and what a disgrace he became, you would never believe it.

SO, since it’s all about to come crashing down* in a heap of NFL labor trouble, injuries, free agent defections, shocking player arrests, and Ted Thompson’s indifference…

I’m going to let the 10-year-old kid inside me enjoy this a little bit.  What a year — the Packers overcome all those injuries and win a thrilling Super Bowl behind the best young(ish) quarterback in the game, and zombie Favre gets his ultimate comeuppance.    It truly doesn’t get any better in sports than this.

Now, if they can use this off-season to find somebody besides Greg Jennings who can reliably catch…

*I am confident some crazy story is going to happen to this team very soon, something unexpected and awful and earth-shattering.  I have no idea what it could be, which is implicit in the meaning of “unexpected.”  And the bar is pretty high for shocking revelations involving NFL players these days.  Anything short of owning and operating a meth lab/brothel would be just par for the course, right?

Fake Promo For TLC — This Made Me Laugh

Some of these sound like real TLC shows.

I would totally watch Nine Fat Kids One Dessert.

Demotivationals: Week of 1/22/11

Polite Request: Stop Using Tragedy For Politcal Ends

Could we please not use tragic violence that happens to use firearms as an excuse to push for partisan legislation?  Pretty please?

I understand the temptation here, I really do.  It’s just that there’s no proper way to frame your debate so that it’s not dreadful and exploitative.  That’s really what the gun-control side is doing here, right?  Exploiting a tragedy to open up a debate on how many of our constitutional freedoms we’re prepared to give up for a little piece of mind?  Sounds exactly like what happened in the wake of 9/11, actually, only back then the opposite people were trading our freedom for security.  So you can see why I’m a little cynical about this.

It takes a special person to look at a tragedy and use it for political gain.  Even if you think that gun control will save lives, you have no right to use this horrible event to accomplish that.  The problem is that people are way too invested in things that don’t matter.  I know, I know.  You’re about to tell me that all this REALLY DOES MATTER, and that it must be accomplished or PEOPLE WILL DIE.  POSSIBLY LITTLE CHILDREN, EVEN.

So what we’re really talking about here is “ends-justifies-the-means”-ism.  When does the political end justify the horrible means?  If people could actually think for five seconds and see both sides of a debate once in a while, this wouldn’t be an issue.  Everyone would be able to view political debate in its proper place.  But it’s always gotta be us vs. them, doesn’t it?  Luke Skywalker needs a Darth Vader, or he’ll be out of a job.

I’m not sure that analogy really worked, but thought it was worth it, if only for the Weird Al reference.

Got ears?