The QLog

What's Your Excuse?

As a manager and coach, I've heard a lot of excuses of why people couldn't, shouldn't, or wouldn't do something important for their company, family, or self. Most of them are untrue when examined objectively.

What is your excuse? Too old? Too young? Not enough money? Not attractive enough?

It is time to leave excuses behind. 

Next time you generate some excuses, I challenge you to consider Joseph Merrick or James O'Neal. They probably could have fell back on excuses, but they both chose to strive forward. Life is not always easy and these men each struggled with physical, emotional, psychological, and sociological difficulties that few can imagine.

Who are they? You might know Mr. Merrick as 'The Elephant Man' and perhaps you have seen the 1980 biopic loosely based on his life experience. James O'Neal has a very similar genetic disease: neurofibromatosis. Although he is deformed, he has decided to go beyond excuses and work extremely hard in a very public job for the past seven years. I think his persistence at being an excellent human being is paying dividends finally.

His customers say that he is amazing and I agree. Watch the full story here: http://www.komonews.com/news/19339104.html?video=pop&t=a

As of 2008, James O'Neal lives near Redmond, WA and his efforts at being a constructive member of society even with his deformity has resulted in an effort by others to change his life. I would like to give Safeway a big kudos for pledging the first $10,000 for his reconstructive surgery project (perhaps someone should call Microsoft as I'm sure many of their local employees have met James).

Also, I'd like to recognize Katie Knopf who setup the initial website for the cause in March. I also understand that an updated site with donation information will be up very shortly, if not already.

My last question is this: what's your excuse to not donate and help James O'Neal?

Sa'di Speaks

It is very human to complain, even for the wisest. Yet, all things are relative and we should embrace the attitude of gratitude and be thankful (at minimum) for another grand day on planet Earth as well as our time, talents, and treasures. 

Today I’d like to share a short prose translation from one of the great works of world literature, the Gulistan (1259 C.E.) This volume is one of is one of two magnum opuses from the pen of the great Persian poet Sa'di and I heard it myself via an old Sufi who spoke English on the day I visited the beautiful tomb of Sa'di in Shiraz, Iran during the summer of 2004. Note: the Persians still hold poets in very high regard! Gulistan means The Rose Garden as the work is a collection of wonderful poems and stories about human nature, each beautiful alone, much like the individual flower within such a garden.

Here is one petal of wisdom from Sa'di for you to consider:

I never lamented about the vicissitudes of time or complained of the turns of fortune except on the occasion when I was barefooted and unable to procure slippers. But when I entered the great mosque of Kufah with a sore heart and beheld a man without feet I offered thanks to the bounty of God, consoled myself for my want of shoes and recited:

'A roast fowl is to the sight of a satiated man
Less valuable than a blade of fresh grass on the table
And to him who has no means nor power
A burnt turnip is a roasted fowl.'

Enlightenment 102

A well-known warrior approached a famous monastery and demanded to see the head monk. He asked this monk teach him everything that he knew about heaven and hell. The wise monk looked the warrior over and then mocked: "You are too stupid to understand the subtle differences. An arrogant, ugly, small-minded man like you is unfit to be my student nor worth of my time.” After a few more minutes of such abuse, anger conquered the warrior, and he screamed "I will show you death then!" and unsheathed his sword, raising it high. The monk paused, smiled, and calmly said "That is hell." The warrior pushed his sword back into its scabbard as he realized that a great truth had just been revealed to him, and he became peaceful. Afterward, the monk smiled again and said, "That is heaven."

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I hope you enjoyed the above Zen Parable. Regardless of your personal theology (or lack of one), it is clear that choices dictate the outcomes of life. Choose wisely.

The Wedding Tale

On September 30, 2006, my one and only sister, Christine Quinn, married Jeremy Hooper. It was both beautiful ceremony and elegant celebration (I am truly sorry that most of you missed it).

One of my gifts to the newlyweds was a fairy tale I wrote in their honor and read to them during a toast at their reception. At the request of several family members, I have posted the full text below. Although the story is an original creation, it does pay homage to the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and the hundreds of folktales I’ve read from African, Native American, and Asian traditions. I have always agreed with J. R. R. Tolkien argument that “the association of children and fairy stories is an accident of our domestic history” and they are designed for adults as well. I hope you enjoy the tale and the message.

The Wedding Tale

Long ago, there lived a great king with three beautiful daughters who was the patron of an old, grand alchemist. As the alchemist was nearing the end of his long life, he decided to teach the secrets of his craft to one final student.

After seven years, the alchemist was very proud of his apprentice. He was fluent in the five ancient languages, and had quickly learned the all the modern philosophies, sciences, and arts. Likewise, the apprentice greatly admired his master, who was both so kind and so wise.

Yet, he had not been taught about the philosopher’s stone, that secret object which alchemists far and wide treasure as it supposedly can transform baser metals into gold. His master indeed had one, in a beautiful glass case, but anytime he inquired about it, he always received the same stern rebuke: “Stones have no power. The true magic lies within the combination and symphony of the hearts.” The alchemist often spoke in riddles, as members of his guild often do, and the apprentice was puzzled by this cryptic teaching, wishing at night he understood the message that was veiled. 

One morning, the alchemist appeared before dawn and said: “Within the month, your apprenticeship shall end. I have but one last lesson for you; however, you must get married first. The king has offered the hand of any of his daughters, but you must choose wisely. I will help you. ” 

That evening, the alchemist told his apprentice that the king’s oldest daughter was waiting for him in his room and he should go make her his bride. However, when he got to the doorway, he discovered the door was open about three inches, but that great rock, the philosopher’s stone, was blocking him from entering the room. After several hours of trying to remove the stone, which was heavier than any weight he had ever encountered, the alchemist re-appeared and said “Stones have no power. The true magic lies within the combination and symphony of the hearts. She is not to be your wife.” The princess was sent back to her father. 

The next evening, the alchemist told his apprentice that the king’s second oldest daughter was in his room waiting for him. Yet, once again, he found the door ajar, blocked by the philosopher’s stone, but it would not yield to his attempts to lift or even move it slightly. Then, after some time, he felt his master’s hand on his shoulder. The alchemist shook his head sadly and whispered again “Stones have no power. The true magic lies within the combination and symphony of the hearts.”

A week passed, and once again, the alchemist said that the king’s youngest daughter was in his chamber and he should go make her his bride. The philosopher’s stone was before the door again, and the apprentice tried with all his strength and might to move it, but it would not budge. The youngest princess heard the apprentice groan and struggle with the stone. She then thought to herself “The man who is to be my husband needs assistance with his burden, shall I not help him?”  She then did something very princesses very rarely do: she knelt down on the other side of the door. The princess then placed her hands on top of his, and together they were able to slowly roll the stone to the side and the entrance was free.

They were married the next day and his former master gave him the philosopher’s stone as a wedding gift, as he had finally learned its secret.

And, finally, I need to end this tale, and like all such stories, I want you to know, that they lived happily ever after.