Throw Down the Gauntlet

To throw down the gauntlet means … to challenge. The term comes from the time of medieval knights when a knight would offer a challenge by throwing down his gauntlet (a metal glove which formed part of his suit of armor). The other knight accepted the challenge by picking up the gauntlet; to take up the gauntlet means to accept a challenge.

The Importance of Simplifying

Great management guru, Peter Drucker, was awarded over 25 honorary doctorates. He wrote 39 books that were translated in over 30 languages … which adds up to over 10,000 pages of his insights on business. One of my favorite quotes by him is: “Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.”

How Bad Do You Want It?

I love this video. Watch Video It is the perfect depiction of "Giving Your All." The question we all need to ask, and answer is, "How bad do we want success?" The runner in this video was willing to put it “ALL” out there to win. It’s another new year and people making “New Year’s Resolutions” are happening all around us. Last year for my first New Year’s article I pointed out - “25% of the people who take the time to write-up their New Year’s Resolution, only last one week, before going back to their old ways. That number jumps to 34% by the end of one month. The Statistic Brain Research Institute found that only 8% are successful in achieving their resolutions; now that is a depressing number.”

Did They Really Make Their Point?

It is amazing how some parents have tried to make a point … teach … correct … educate their children when they were growing up. These parents felt that just one phrase, said the right way, with the right voice inflection, at the right moment … could solve a problem or stop one from happening and at the same time, be a teaching moment. A friend of mine sent me examples of these “teaching moment phrases” that I thought were so good (humorous) I just had to share them with you. These parents taught their children about Religion, Logic, Compromise, Irony, Stamina, Weather, Circle of Life, Hypocrisy, Anticipation, Receiving, Wisdom, and Time Travel.

Baffled, Perplexed, Puzzled

TO ALL MY INTELLIGENT FRIENDS out there, I have an exercise below that I think will surely challenge your problem-solving capabilities. I didn’t figure it out. I was baffled, perplexed, puzzled, and totally stumped. With that being said, I wish you luck in trying to figure it out, and if you do, BIG KUDOS to you. Here is the exercise/question. See if you can figure out what these seven words all have in common!

Some Good Ideas at First Failed Miserably

John Joseph Merlin was a very successful maker of clocks and precision instruments. He also designed weighing machines and wheelchairs, improved musical instruments and even spent much of his time trying to develop a perpetual motion machine. This highly intelligent man was also a talented musician who enjoyed playing both the harpsichord and violin. With this background, you might find it surprising that he is remembered for the man who invented the “Roller-Skate.”