Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 5 of 18

Strategic Planning For The Soul

By Chris Carosa on September 27, 2022

I’ve always enjoyed the adventure of strategic planning. I call it an “adventure” because it requires one to truly explore the meaning and philosophy of a corporate soul.

A corporate soul differs from a human soul in that the former comprises an entity of many individual souls. With so many human souls making up its psyche, it’s often entertaining to watch as these individuals confuse their personal souls with the corporation’s soul.

OK, I admit this is a form of voyeuristic cynicism, but look, people are egocentric. And the Continue Reading “Strategic Planning For The Soul”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Boy Scout, business, creed, goal, Lifetime Dream, personal, strategy

Do Self-Assessments Really Work?

By Chris Carosa on September 20, 2022

What’s the difference between the Lifetime Dream Process and any of the many other forms of self-assessment? While some of the more astute readers might have already deduced the answer by reading the preceding Commentaries, at some point it helps everyone to forgo subtlety and bluntly reveal why the Lifetime Dream Process is not like any other process you might have heard of or even tried. In the next two weeks, I’ll begin to conclude this series by comparing and contrasting the Lifetime Dream Process to several of these systems.

This week I’d like to focus on self-assessments. These often come in the form of a test but might also take on the nature of a conversation. In either case, compared to the Lifetime Dream Process, each fails to get deeply into the heart of the matter.

To understand why getting to the heart of the matter is important, you might want to read Continue Reading “Do Self-Assessments Really Work?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Boy Scouts, Carl Gustav, Continue, Cosmo Quiz, David J. Pittenger, Isabel Briggs Myers, Katherine Cook Briggs, Lifetime Dream Process, MBTI, Myers-Briggs, Myers-Briggs Test Indicator, Paul R. Matthews, pop-psychology, psychology, self-assessment, Start, Stop

How To Declare Independence And Start Pursuing Your Happiness

By Chris Carosa on September 6, 2022

Many folks think Thomas Jefferson “borrowed” the phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” from John Locke. The 17^th Century British philosopher and physician famously wrote, in the unsigned Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, that government exists to protect one’s life, liberty, and property. Sounds awfully similar to the words used by our Founding Father nearly ninety years later.

Significantly, Locke’s focus on personal “property” breaks from the sense of Thomas Hobbes. In his 1651 treatise Leviathan, Hobbes paints a sovereign-centric ideal. In this “social contract,” citizens cede personal freedoms to the ruler in exchange for protection. Without such protection, the contract is invalidated.

Bear in mind, Hobbes wrote this while in exile during the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. He rejected Aristotle’s premise that man is driven by Continue Reading “How To Declare Independence And Start Pursuing Your Happiness”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Aristotle, English Civil War, Eudaimonia, Founding Father, government, happiness, John Locke, Leviathan, liberty, life, Lifetime Dream, Parliamentarians, property, pursuit of happiness, Royalists, Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, social contract, State, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Jefferson

Why America’s Founding Secretly Influences You

By Chris Carosa on August 30, 2022

You don’t have to be an American to say you’re an American. That was the whole idea of the American Experiment – it was meant for all nations, not just those uppity Tea Partiers who frolicked in Boston Harbor a few centuries back. But this experiment didn’t start with the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence or even the United States Constitution. It began with a collection of oppressed runaways and an accidental metaphor that endures to this day.

After reading a perhaps too rosy account of the Plymouth Colony by the Pilgrims Edward Winslow and William Bradford, excitement grew in England to establish more companies to Continue Reading “Why America’s Founding Secretly Influences You”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Modell of Christian Charity, American Exceptionalism, American Experiment, American Ideal, American Revolution, Anne Hutchinson, Arbella, Ben Franklin, Boston Harbor, City Upon A Hill, community, Constitutional Convention, core value, creed, Declaration of Independence, Edward Winslow, England, Jesus, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, John Ford, John Winthrop, King Charles I, Lifetime Dream, Lifetime Dream Process, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Massachusetts Bay Company, Matthew 5:14, Mayflower Compact, Nathaniel Hawthorne, personal belief, Plymouth Colony, Puritan, Roger Williams, Ronald Reagan, Scarlett Letter, Sermon on the Mount, Tea Party, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, United States Constitution, unity, William Bradford

The Secret to Getting Anything You Want

By Chris Carosa on August 16, 2022

History’s Greatest Quest

“TELL ME, O MUSE, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them…”

(BOOK I, The Odyssey, Homer ca 800 BC)

Before embarking on the journey you are about to take, some self-doubt is normal and healthy. But it shouldn’t hold you back. The very nature of self-discovery resides in your blood.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll reveal how and why this is so. I’ll explain to you why your Continue Reading “The Secret to Getting Anything You Want”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Aeneid, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Ancient Greece, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Franklin, Christopher Columbus, David Bowman, Delphi, discovery, Friedrich Nietzche, Homer, Know Thyself, Kryptonite, Lifetime Dream, Man on the Moon, Odyssey, Phaedrus, Philebus, Plato, Poor Richard's Almanack, Richard Strauss, Socrates, Superman, Temple of Apollo, Trojan War, Virgil, voyage

How To Be Successful: The Explosive Truth

By Chris Carosa on August 9, 2022

(continued from “Why The Harvard MBA Should Be FIREd”)

Remember those paint-by-numbers kits we got as kids for too many birthdays? They had the allure of any typical get-rich-quick scheme. Each package featured the finished painting on its cover. It looked like a masterpiece. You just knew the Louvre had a space just for it, probably right next to the Mona Lisa. And – here’s the kicker – in just a few short hours you will have created an exact copy, suitable for hanging on your mother’s refrigerator!

Oh, joy, rapture! I got artistic talent!

And it was so easy, wasn’t it? Each kit came with clearly numbered paints, each number corresponding to a numbered shape on the heavy cardboard canvas supplied. It was as simple as 1, 2, 3… Picasso!

Picasso?!

You dreamed Monet and you got Picasso. And that was being generous. As you painted, you saw nothing but a series of random splotches of color. You might see an image, but Continue Reading “How To Be Successful: The Explosive Truth”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 401k, Aesop, atomic bomb, atomic reaction, Bernie Madoff, bond, cheat, chemical reaction, chemistry, Cliff Notes, dynamite, Einstein, electron, energy, Lifetime Dream Process, madness of crowds, Mass, neutron, paint by numbers, Picasso, proton, scam, Speed of light, success, The Tortoise and The Hare

Why You Should Tell Bad Jokes

By Chris Carosa on August 2, 2022

Let me clue you in on this from the very beginning: this is another business metaphor. I’m telling you up front this time so you can begin to think about the connections from the moment you start reading it.

I was strolling through the National Comedy Center in Jamestown the other day, taking in with delight the many funny people who have entertained so many for so many years, when a thought struck me. Why do good comedians tell bad jokes?

When a comic sits down to write gags, it becomes an exercise of no-holds-barred brainstorming. This is by necessity. You don’t know what’s really funny while you’re creating it, so you don’t want to restrict yourself in any way.

James Mendrinos, in his book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Comedy Writing, writes: “You have to force yourself to stain the pages, even if you think the jokes aren’t your best work. I’m not saying that bad jokes are better than no jokes. I am saying that if Continue Reading “Why You Should Tell Bad Jokes”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Great Speaking Tips, Great Writing Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged ad lib, Animal Crackers, business, comedy, David Letterman, George S. Kaufman, Groucho Marx, James Mendrinos, Jason Zinoman, John Vorhaus, Johnny Carson, joke, Judy Carter, Marx Brothers, Morrie Ryskind, National Comedy Center, Robert S. Bader, Rule of Three, Speaking, success, The Cocoanuts, writing, Yale

Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?

By Chris Carosa on July 19, 2022

July 20^th is National Hot Dog Day. It’s a perfect time to consider this intriguing question asked by Paul Freedman in his book The Restaurants That Changed America while describing the impact of the fast-food industry on Howard Johnson’s: “Why did the hamburger triumph as opposed to the hot dog?”

He points out, “Frankfurters are also easy to eat in the car and historically they were the food item most closely identified with the United States in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century… it’s clear from the lack of mammoth national hot-dog chains that even now there is something about the frank that doesn’t lend itself to the industry.”

Why are hamburgers and not hot dogs the more popular/sustainable fast food business model? This is all the more interesting because hot dogs arrived on the scene well before hamburgers.

Search newspaper archives from the mid-nineteenth century and you’ll see plenty of Continue Reading “Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1904 World's Fair, apple pie, Barry Popik, baseball, Bruce Kraig, Burger King, Charles Menches, Chevrolet, Chicago, Chicago World's Fair, Coney Island, Dan O'Connell, David Edgerton, David Shulman, fast food, football, Frank Menches, frankfurter, Gerald Cohen, hamburg, Hamburger, Harry Truman, hot dog, Howard Johnson's, In-N-Out, James McLamore, Madison Square Park, McDonald's, Menches Brothers, Nathan's Famous, National Hamburger Week, New York City, Pamela Vaccaro, Paul Freedman, Shackburger, Shake Shack, St. Louis, White Castle, wiener, World' Largest Hamburger

Are You Grilling Or Are You Barbecuing?

By Chris Carosa on July 5, 2022

Ages ago an errant stroke of lightning struck a dry woodland. The ensuing fire consumed not only the trees, but several animals too slow to escape. A curious caveman meandered into the still smoldering forest. He stopped. What was that he smelled? It smelled… “delicious” would have been the word he would have used if he could speak English.

He looked all around for the source of that compelling aroma. Amidst the pockets of remaining flames, he found it. It looked ugly, a blackened char. Yet, it was unmistakable. The sumptuous scent came from what looked like what used to be an animal.

Salivating, he grabbed it and took a big deep bite.

Then promptly spit it out. “Yeech!” How could something that smelled so good taste so bad.

But the bite revealed the hidden treasure. Beneath the charred surface the caveman saw Continue Reading “Are You Grilling Or Are You Barbecuing?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Bar-B-Q, Bar-B-Que, barbacoa, barbecue, barbeque, BBQ, Edward Ward, erie county fair, fire, Fourth of July, France, Frank Menches, George Washington, grill, Independence Day, July, July 4, July 4th, National Grilling Month, Robert F. Moss, Society of Cincinnati, Spain, The Culinary Institute of America

Are We Losing Our Independence?

By Chris Carosa on June 28, 2022

A very good and kind friend of mine from New York City once came to visit. As we were sitting casually in the sun overlooking my front yard, he turns to me and says, “Chris, that open space is a terrible waste of good space. You should pave it for more parking, maybe put up a shed or two. You’ll get more use out of it.”

I tried to explain the fine nuance of local zoning laws, the joys of smelling freshly cut grass, and the pleasant soft coolness an expansive lawn offers, especially on hot summer days.

He would have none of these arguments. He saw only the sterile utility of the land, not the Continue Reading “Are We Losing Our Independence?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1607, 1620, 2020/21 budget, 94-c, America, Andrew Cuomo, Article 10, Caledonia, Colony of Virginia, community, Constitution, Covid, Declaration of Independence, Emergency Executive Powers, Founding Fathers, freedom, Gordon Stanton, government, home rule, independence, Jamestown, New York State, New York State Constitution, ORES, Pilgrims, Rush, Shining City on a hill, Thanksgiving

Strategic Planning For The Soul

Do Self-Assessments Really Work?

Why America’s Founding Secretly Influences You

The Secret to Getting Anything You Want

History’s Greatest Quest

How To Be Successful: The Explosive Truth

Why You Should Tell Bad Jokes

Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?

Are You Grilling Or Are You Barbecuing?

Are We Losing Our Independence?

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History’s Greatest Quest

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