Go Ask Ben

An amazing man whom I respect wrote this post: "I’m NOT a doctor or a scientist.  But I have an opinion. As a Christian, I believe God Almighty created our immune system to protect us.  But it can’t do it’s job unless it’s exposed to viruses like #covid19.  I think in the near future, they’ll discover that masks were NOT helpful (except at a higher risk).  That it would have been better to get exposed, get over it, get exposed, get over it, for 5-7 times and then you’ll have immunity Here is my response: I understand the logic, your faith position and agree with most of it.  Not everyone has a good immune system at all times. If we could somehow quantify the level of each person's immunity, we could face COVID and live differently.  There is a fine line between faith and presumption. We live by faith and not by sight. We also don't put God (or ourselves) to a foolish test. We protect ourselves to the best ability and trust God for his help.  There is always two sides, two

Life is both a series of choices and opportunities. This is why it is so hard to answer the question, "where do you see yourself in five years?" The question itself is flawed. A better question is, "what goals have you set for yourself that you want in the next five years?" Some will ask, "how can I set five year goals?" The easy answer is, what do you want that will take more time to achieve? One of Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues was Resolution. "Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve." - Ben Franklin Goal setting is as much planning as it is having the character to "perform without fail what you resolve." Persuing goals, both big and small, was Ben Franklin's legacy and it took him a lifetime to achieve them.  We should know where we want to be in 1, 5, and 10 years because we have set meaningful goals. If you don't, then you'll never know where you're going.

When a person wants to make a big change for the better, there will be a few things present. First, a resolve to make a defined and total change. Second, a plan to accomplish the goal. Third, a lack of character**. Yes, I said it. We often don't have the most important thing to make a real change. Ben Franklin observed this problem when he wrote, " What you seem to be, be really. ” - Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1744 In other words, the very thing you want to become, be doing those things when no one else is looking. For this is the basis of character and character becomes the foundation for personal achievement.  People who want to lose weight need to work on their character as much as their habits. People who want to want to save for retirement have to work on their character as much as their spending.  In the end, we can be whatever we want to be if we will develop the strength of character. My challenge is, "What you seem to be, be really.” **Webster's dictionary defi

I work in an hospital environment that includes 500 different people with various degrees of computer competency. This makes work very complex at times and challenging.  As I grow in my position, now nearly twenty years in technology, I find that people hear a lot of information during the day and their amazing brains somehow organize, shuffle, and prioritize it. How well do we organize, prioritize and share information in the workplace? Apparently not very well. We have conversations with people about technology and they appear to hear in the moment. After something goes wrong, we sometimes hear, "IT never told me." Has this ever happened to you?  I've learned that teaching is not telling   from Ben Franklin who said,  "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." What kinds of teaching are best designed to help people learn and remember? Practice (taking time to learn by failing and trying again) Ritual (this means do

 W e are told not to "dwell on our problems" when sharing our issues with friends and family. This is bad advice because most will continue to think on their problems anyway. Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues included Tranquility and Industry. Ben described tranquility as "Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.” For Industry, he said "Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.” Dwelling on your problems is both an attack on your tranquility and industry. It has a simple cure. Get the problems out of your head and in a trusted system (like a notebook) where you can write your cares, concerns and thoughts. I have a "Problems To Solve" list that includes just about everything I am facing. I write to get issues off my mind and leave them there. They also make great for future "goals" since they represent a change I want to make. The power of a "Problems to solve" lis

I'm really tired of talking about Covid-19. The arguments, the politics, the threats, and the unknown feels like a weight around the neck. The way I frame the pandemic is also how I make choices in the future. I think the best question we can ask ourselves is " what have we learned as a society from the pandemic ." Here's my short list: 1) We need to be cleaner Cleaning hands and homes Cleaning and preparing foods Treating sickness with isolation 2) We need to change faster Businesses, Education, Homes need to be adaptable and willing to change Hospitals and clinics need to stop treating Emergency Preparedness as a "nice to have" department 3) We need to be prepared Hospitals and Labs need to be better funded and prepared for pandemics Homes need to think defensively: reduce risks, change behaviors, live differently 4) We need to think globally We didn't get into this mess because of China. They might have started the fire but blaming other countries doe

How do we deal with COVID-19, protect ourselves, kids in school and the elderly? Go Ask Ben. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure .” ― Benjamin Franklin Hand washing, sanitizers, shields, masks, distancing and cleaning are the ounce of prevention. Regardless of where you stand on the science or politics in Covid-19, you still have to choose an approach to personally respond to it. If Ben is right, we will always "pay" by the ounce or the pound.