Who Is Benefiting?

While the competitors are tightly engaged in the contest and busy attacking each other with careless revelations and self-defeating expositions, they seem to forget that their real enemies are at the sidelines intently watching and seriously analyzing every bit of carelessly released information for any hint of possible weakness or vulnerability that might be exploitable.

If the people of the competitors would only know who their enemies earnestly wish would loose in the contest and why, they might be able to see their nation's possible vulnerability that their enemies may be seeing.

When enemies prefer a particular competitor, cleverly and indirectly they tend to express some positive comments about him before the world. But what the people of the competitors should not forget is that their enemies are of course picking the one who is less stronger (or more weak) so that when the time of real fighting comes, they may have some possibility of defeating him.

Reagan's Worst Fear Was Realized

[...] His instinct was to veto the bill and the Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles urged him to follow that course. But he signed it into law. Reagan was disturbed by his decision, however, and continued to think long and hard about abortion. The bill, according to Lou Cannon in Governor Reagan, "permitted more legal abortions in California than occurred in any other state before the advent of Roe v. Wade." Reagan's worst fear was realized.

By 1980, Reagan had changed his mind and become a firm opponent of abortion. He insisted on a pro-life plank in the Republican platform for the first time. In 1983, he published a passionate pro-life essay, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation. It turned out that signing the abortion bill in 1967 was the only political mistake that Reagan ever admitted. [...]

Click here to read full text.

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It is not always late to do the right thing -- only that sometimes, the opportunity to wright the wrong is not always at all times.

There are times when the door can sometimes unintentionally get locked while you are outside the room but the keys are inside.

Where you strategically placed the duplicate key inside the room matters greatly in such a situation.

Are We Also Investing on the Betterment of the Poor?

White House Adviser Says Parts of U.S. in Recession
ABS-CBN News

Parts of the United States, struggling with high jobless rates, seem to be in recession, but the government's plan to support credit markets will help, President George W. Bush's top economic adviser said on Sunday.

"We are seeing what anyone would characterize as a recession in some parts of the country," Edward Lazear, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, told CNN.

Unemployment in some areas is running "much higher" than the 6.1 percent national level, he said.

Lazear said the administration "has taken the right steps" to thaw out credit markets and get loans flowing to businesses and consumers.

Although it will take a few months for a significant impact from the Treasury's $700 billion credit market rescue plan, the first signs of response are already apparent, Lazear said.

"Banks are now willing to lend to one another. That's a huge plus for the economy because the big problem has been that banks have been unwilling to trust one another," he said. As lending picks up, the flow of money through the economy will be "amplified immediately."

Certain benchmark credit spreads have shrunk over the past week as new liquidity measures by global central banks and governments have started to kick in.

Those spreads have been at unusually high levels, a reflection of risk aversion among banks.

"If you look at the numbers that we've seen this week ... it looks it is working. All the numbers have been going in the right direction."

Lazear said the U.S. budget deficit would grow because of the cost of the bailout plan, but declined to say how high.

"The deficit is important (but) the main focus is turning the economy around," he said.

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When the rich are significantly affected, the world begins to panic. But when the poor are dying, the world pretends to be as is.

Most of the world won't change until they themselves would experience for a considerable period of time a significant proportion of what the rest of the world are fully experiencing for a lifetime.

So much wealth can not just be concentrated in an already rich place and not cause a treasure overload that leads to a breakdown.

The day will come when economic geniuses will fully understand the cycle of all the water systems of the earth. Waste dry lands don't merely occur by themselves -- they were once upon a time green, forested, and naturally watered.

They Need Our Prayers And The Lord's Guidance

The Dominant Campaign Question
By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

What issue(s) dominated the presidential campaign two months ago—foreign policy, taxes, health care? That seems like ancient history now. The one question that everyone wants Barack Obama and John McCain to answer now is: What will you do to fix the economy? This question is certainly understandable, but breathtakingly preposterous and pathetic.

Naturally, America’s attention is focused on the economic crisis. It is clear that something—actually, a lot of things—have gone terribly wrong. Our financial system is in tatters, the housing market continues to deteriorate, and even once-mighty GM appears terminal. We worry about our banks being safe, our jobs being secure, and our retirement plans surviving the ongoing economic earthquake. We are uncertain, scared and/or stunned. More than anything else, American voters want the candidates to reassure them that everything will be okay and that a President Obama or President McCain will restore normalcy.

As natural and understandable as everyone’s concern is, the glib question posed by journalists and pollsters—“What would you do to fix the economy?”—is preposterous. Do you really think that the presidential toolbox contains instruments to determine the “right” price for each of the millions of houses; the “right” interest rate for each of the millions of mortgages; the ability to unwind trillions of dollars of leverage in the financial system; the wisdom to manage banks, insurance companies, pension funds, etc.—and to attempt such undertakings without causing painful economic disruptions? Forget the Constitution here (the political class already has). Even if you give the president unlimited powers, he and his team—no matter how bright they are and how hard they try—cannot possibly “fix” our enormous and complex economic mess.

It is pathetic to see Americans holding out blind hope that a mere president has some sort of magic wand that can make these problems go away so that we can live happily every after. The very question—“What can you do to fix the economy?”—is shockingly ignorant. It presumes that the President of the United States either has supernatural powers (see “President, Savior, or Santa Claus”) or that he has or should have the political power to construct a “great society” with a vibrant economy through central planning. Such a question is more appropriate for a communist country than for a free (formerly free?) society.

Neither candidate is speaking economic truth. There is no clear explanation of how government policies caused this mess. Neither candidate understands that if markets are allowed to adjust prices to reflect actual values, then the economy will return to solid footing faster than if government continues to nationalize businesses, inflate credit, and engage in the hubris of central planning.

Instead, economic nonsense emanates from both camps. [...]

Click here to read full text.

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In their respective times they will serve the purposes of the Lord. So that one of them will be able to completely carry out the tasks the Lord had assigned to him, the other one will rule first so that things will be set in place because just like kings David & Solomon, they have different tasks assigned to each of them. David was not allowed to build the Lord's temple because he was a warrior, the defender of their nation. Solomon in his time was not allowed to fight because he was the builder of the Lord's temple.

It shall be in like manner also with these servants. They are both geared up for their respective assignments. In their respective times, the Lord will will stir and guide their hearts so that they will be able to accomplish their tasks.

This recent global financial crisis is just like the fog in a season which causes pilgrims to slow down and be cautious in their journey. When this financial crisis is over, there is a bigger task that lies ahead -- and one servant's strength fits that burden. When that season is fulfilled, the other servant will then follow to serve.

(You may be interested to read also this old blog entry of mine.)

Talking Points on Political Responsibility and Elections

By Fr. Frank Pavone
www.priestsforlife.org

Participation

The first thing we are saying to our people, therefore, about elections is that to participate in them is an aspect of our Christian vocation in the world. Neither politics, nor any party, platform, or candidate is our salvation. Yet an aspect of our response to the only savior, Jesus Christ, is in fact to be politically active and to shape our political choices according to his teachings. The Church does not write the laws, but the Church gives witness to the God to whose truth those laws must conform. The Church does not set up the voting booths, but the Church forms disciples in the conviction that when they enter those voting booths, they do not cease to be Christians.

Evaluation of the Issues

That point leads to a second key element of our teaching on elections, namely, that we have a responsibility to know what the moral duties of government are, so that we can evaluate whether political parties and candidates can meet those duties.

The Church has always taught that it is the dignity of the human person—and the protection and promotion of that dignity— that is the chief responsibility of government and the standard by which it is to be evaluated. That basic principle gives rise to a wide variety of issues that the Church articulates in many of her documents, including the series of “Faithful Citizenship” documents issued every four years by the United States Catholic bishops.

Applying these principles to the situation of our current culture, the Church asserts that the attacks on the right to life itself constitute the most urgent moral issue. Life itself, after all, is the most fundamental right and the condition for all the others.

Among the many documents in which this theme is articulated by the bishops is the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (2001 Revision, A Campaign in Support of Life), which begins with a section on the “consistent ethic of life.” The bishops write,

Among important issues involving the dignity of human life with which the Church is concerned, abortion necessarily plays a central role. Abortion, the direct killing of an innocent human being, is always gravely immoral (The Gospel of Life, no. 57); its victims are the most vulnerable and defenseless members of the human family. It is imperative that those who are called to serve the least among us give urgent attention and priority to this issue of justice. This focus and the Church’s commitment to a consistent ethic of life complement one another. A consistent ethic of life, which explains the Church’s teaching at the level of moral principle—far from diminishing concern for abortion and euthanasia or equating all issues touching on the dignity of human life—recognizes instead the distinctive character of each issue while giving each its proper place within a coherent moral vision.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin played the key role in articulating this “consistent ethic” in our day. He too pointed out that there is a hierarchy among the issues: “The fundamental human right is to life—from the moment of conception until death. It is the source of all other rights, including the right to health care” (Foster McGaw Triennial Conference, Loyola University of Chicago, May 8, 1985).

Evaluation of the Parties and Candidates

The parish priest likewise informs his congregation of the need to evaluate the political parties, platforms and candidates in the light of the teaching of the Church. This does not mean that there is a “Catholic position” on every issue or detail of public policy. It does mean, however, that a voter should be able to distinguish when a particular position of a party, platform or candidate does in fact contradict the moral law or when it either contributes to or takes away from the common good. In Living the Gospel of Life, the bishops stated, “ [W]e urge our fellow citizens to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest” (34). [...]

Click here to read full text.

Five Non-Negotiable Issues
[From the Catholic Answers “Voter’s Guide”]

1. Abortion

The Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is “never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it.” Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.

The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his life. Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child’s, who should not suffer death for others’ sins.

2. Euthanasia

Often disguised by the name “mercy killing,” euthanasia also is a form of homicide. No person has a right to take his own life, and no one has the right to take the life of any innocent person.

In euthanasia, the ill or elderly are killed, by action or omission, out of a misplaced sense of compassion, but true compassion cannot include intentionally doing something intrinsically evil to another person.

3. Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Human embryos are human beings. “Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo.”

Recent scientific advances show that often medical treatments that researchers hope to develop from experimentation on embryonic stem cells can be developed by using adult stem cells instead. Adult stem cells can be obtained without doing harm to the adults from whom they come. Thus there is no valid medical argument in favor of using embryonic stem cells. And even if there were benefits to be had from such experiments, they would not justify destroying innocent embryonic humans.

4. Human Cloning

“Attempts . . . for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through ‘twin fission,’ cloning, or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union.”

Human cloning also involves abortion because the “rejected” or “unsuccessful” embryonic clones are destroyed, yet each clone is a human being.

5. Homosexual “Marriage”

True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other union as “marriage” undermines true marriage, and legal recognition of homosexual unions actually does homosexual persons a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.

“When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.”

Click here to read full text.

Influence: The True Measure of Leadership

By John C. Maxwell
Excerpt from Leadership 101

If you don’t have influence, you will never be able to lead others. So how do you find and measure influence? Here’s a story to answer that question.

In late summer of 1997, people were jolted by two events that occurred less than a week apart: the deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. On the surface, the two women could not have been more different. One was a tall, young, glamorous princess from England who circulated in the highest society. The other, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was a small, elderly Catholic num born in Albania, who served the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India.

What’s incredible is that their impact was remarkably similar. In a 1996 poll published by the London Daily Mail, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa were voted in first and second places as the world’s two most caring people. That’s something that doesn’t happen unless you have a lot of influence. How did someone like Diana come to be regarded in the same way as Mother Teresa? The answer is that she demonstrated the power of influence.

Diana Captured the World’s Imagination

In 1981, Diana became the most talked-about person on the globe when she married Prince Charles of England. Nearly one billion people watched Diana’s wedding ceremony televised from St. Paul’s Cathedral. And since that day, it seemed people never could get enough news about her. People were intrigued with Diana, a commoner who had once been a kindergarten teacher. At first she seemed painfully shy and totally overwhelmed by all the attention she and her new husband were receiving. Early in their marriage, some reports stated that Diana wasn’t very happy performing the duties expected of her as a royal princess. However, in time she adjusted to her new role. As she started traveling and representing the royal family around the world at various functions, she quickly made it her goal to serve others and raise funds for numerous charitable causes. And during the process, she built many important relationships – with politicians, organizers of humanitarian causes, entertainers and heads of state.

Diana started rallying people to causes such as medical research for AIDS, care for people with leprosy, and a ban on land mines. She was quite influential in bringing that last issue to the attention of the world’s leaders. On a visit to the United States just months before her death, she met with members of the Clinton administration to convince them to support the Oslo conference banning the devices. And a few weeks later, they made changes in their position. Patrick Fuller of the British Red Cross said, “The attention she drew to the issue influenced Clinton. She put the issue on the world agenda, there’s no doubt about that.”

The Emergence of a Leader

In the beginning, Diana’s title had merely given her a platform to address others, but she soon became a person of influence in her own right. In 1996 when she was divorced from Prince Charles, she lost her title, but that loss didn’t at all diminish her impact on others. Instead, her influence continued to increase while that of her former husband and in-laws declined – despite their royal titles and position.

Ironically, even in death Diana continued to influence others. When her funeral was broadcast on television and BBC Radio, it was translated into forty-four languages. NBC estimated that the total audience numbered as many as 2.5 billion people – more than twice the number of people who watched her wedding.

Princess Diana has been characterized in many ways. But one word that I’ve never heard used to describe her is leader. Yet that’s what she was. Ultimately, she made things happen because she was an influencer, and leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.

Five Myths About Leadership

There are plenty of misconception and myths that people embrace about leaders and leadership. Here are five common ones:

1. The Management Myth

A widespread misunderstanding is that leading and managing are one and the same. Up until a few years ago, books that claimed to be on leadership were often really about management. The main difference between the two is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and process. The best way to test whether a person can lead rather than just manage is to ask him to create positive change. Managers can maintain direction, but they can’t change it. To move people in a new direction, you need influence.

2. The Entrepreneur Myth

Frequently, people assume that all salespeople and entrepreneurs are leaders. But that’s not always the case. You may remember the Ronco commercials that appeared on television years ago. They sold items such as the Veg-O-Matic, Pocket Fisherman, and Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler. Those products were the brainchildren of an entrepreneur named Ron Popeil. Called the salesman of the century, he has also appeared in numerous infomercials for products such as spray-on relief for baldness and food dehydrating devices.

Popeil is certainly enterprising, innovative, and successful, especially if you measure him by the $300 million in sales his products have earned. But that doesn’t make him a leader. People may be buying what he has to sell, but they’re not following him. At best, he is able to persuade people for a moment, but he holds no long-term influence with them.

3. The Knowledge Myth

Sir Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power.” Most people, believing power is the essence of leadership, naturally assume that those who posses knowledge and intelligence are leaders. But that isn’t automatically true. You can visit any major university and meet brilliant research scientists and philosophers whose ability to think is so high that it’s off the charts, but whose ability to lead is so low that it doesn’t even register on the charts. IQ doesn’t necessarily equate to leadership.

4. The Pioneer Myth

Another misconception is that anyone who is out in front of the crown is a leader. But being first isn’t always the same as leading. For example, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Since his historic ascent in 1953, many people have “followed” him in achieving that feat. But that doesn’t make Hillary a leader. He wasn’t even the leader on that particular expedition. John Hunt was. And when Hillary traveled to the South Pole in 1958 as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antartic Expedition, he was accompanying another leader, Sir Vivian Fuchs.

To be a leader, a person has to not only be out front, but also have people intentionally coming behind him, following his lead, and acting on his vision.

5. The Position Myth

The greatest misunderstanding about leadership is that people think it is based on position, but it’s not. Stanley Huffy affirmed, “It’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position.”

Look at what happened several years ago at Cordiant, the advertising agency formerly known as Saatchi & Saatchi. In 1994, institutional investors at Saatchi & Saatchi forced the board of directors to dismiss Maurice Saatchi, the company’s CEO. What was the result? Several executives followed him out. So did many of the company’s largest accounts, including British Airways and Mars, the candy maker. Saatchi’s influence was so great that his departure caused the company’s stock to fall immediately from $8 to $4 per share. Saatchi lost his title and position, but he continued to be the leader.

Who’s The Real Leader?

I personally learned the significance of influence when I accepted my first job out of college at a small church in rural Indiana. I went in with all the right credentials. I was hired as the senior pastor, which meant that I possessed the position and title of leader in that organization. I had the proper college degree. I had even been ordained. In addition, I had been trained by my father who was an excellent pastor and a very high-profile leader in the denomination. It made for a good-looking résumé – but it didn’t make me a leader. At my first board meeting, I quickly found out who was the real leader of that church. By the time I took my next position three years later, I had learned the importance of influence. I recognized that hard work was required to gain influence in any organization and to earn the right to become a leader.

Leadership Without Leverage

I admire and respect the leadership of my good friend Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington., Illinois, the largest church in North America. Bill says he believes that the church is the most leadership-intensive enterprise in society. A lot of businesspeople I know are surprised when they hear that statement, but I think Bill is right. What is the basis of his belief? Positional leadership doesn’t work in volunteer organizations. It a leader doesn’t have leverage – or influence – then he is ineffective. In other organizations, the person who has position has incredible leverage. In the military, leaders can use rank and, if all else fails, throw people to the brig. In business, bosses have tremendous leverage in the form of salary, benefits, and perks. Most followers are pretty cooperative when their livelihood is at stake.

But in voluntary organizations, such as churches, the only thing that works is leadership in its purest form. Leaders have only their influence to aid them. And as Harry A. Overstreet observed, “The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate.” Followers in voluntary organizations cannot be forced to get on board. If the leader has no influence with them, then they won’t follow. If you are a businessperson and you really want to find out whether your people are capable of leading, send them out to volunteer their time in the community. If they can get people to follow them while they’re serving at the Red Cross, a United Way shelter, or their local church, then you know that they really do have influence – and leadership ability.

Here is my favorite leadership proverb: “He who thinks he leads, but has not followers, is only taking a walk.” If you can’t influence others, they won’t follow you. And if they won’t follow you, you’re not a leader. No matter what anybody else tells you, remember that leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.

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While influence may be the true measure of leadership, Christ-like “servanthood” is the heart of a godly leader and this is where his good influence comes from. When searching for influence to follow, listen to the heart.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. (Proverbs 21:2)

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

There is no leader who will not make some mistakes in his leadership. That is why he needs the Lord to lead him.

A man's heart plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

There are many plans in a man's heart, but the Lord's counsel will prevail. (Proverbs 19:21)

A nation sometimes is tested when its people are made to choose between leaders with virtually equal potentials – both positive and negative potentials. Leaders with their preconceived ideas are one thing; future events unknown to them are another thing.

The king's heart in the Lord’s hand is like the watercourses. He turns it wherever He desires. (Proverbs 21:1)

You Can Seize Only What You Can See

By John C. Maxwell

Excerpt from Leadership 101

One of the great dreamers of the twentieth century was Walt Disney. Any person who could create the first sound cartoon, first all-color cartoon, and first animated feature-length motion picture is definitely someone with vision. But Disney’s greatest masterpieces of vision were Disneyland and Walt Disney World. And the spark for that vision came from an unexpected place.

Back when Walt’s two daughters were young, he took them to an amusement park in the Los Angeles area on Saturday mornings. His girls loved it, and he did too. An amusement park is a kid’s paradise, with wonderful atmosphere.

Walt was especially captivated by the carousel. As he approached it, he saw a blur of bright images racing around to the tune of energetic calliope music. But when he got closer and the carousel stopped, he could see that his eye had been fooled. He observed shabby horses with cracked and chipped paint. And he noticed that only the horses on the outside row moved up and down. The others stood lifeless, bolted to the floor.

The cartoonist’s disappointment inspired him with a grand vision. In his mind’s eye he could see an amusement park where the illusion didn’t evaporate, where children and adults could enjoy a carnival atmosphere without the seedy side that accompanies some circuses or traveling carnivals. His dream became Disneyland. As Larry Taylor stated in Be an Orange, Walt’s vision could be summarized as, “No chipped paint. All the horses jump.”

Look Before You Lead

Vision is everything for a leader. It is utterly indispensable. Why? Because vision leads the leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within, and draws him forward. It is also the fire lighter for the others who follow that leader. Show me a leader without a vision, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t going anywhere. At best, he is traveling in circles.

To get a handle on vision and how it comes to be a part of a good leader’s life, understand these things:

Vision Starts Within

When I’m teaching at conferences, someone will occasionally ask me to give him a vision for his organization. But I can’t do it. You can’t buy, beg, or borrow vision. It has to come from the inside. For Disney, vision was never a problem. Because of his creativity and desire for excellence, he always saw what could be.

If you lack vision, look inside yourself. Draw on your natural gifts and desires. Look to your calling if you have one. And if you still don’t sense a vision of your own, then consider hooking up with a leader whose vision resonates with you. Become his partner. That’s what Walt Disney’s brother, Roy, did. He was a good businessman and leader who could make things happen, but Walt provided the vision. Together, they made an incredible team.

Vision Draws On Your History

Vision isn’t some mystical quality that comes out of a vacuum, as some people seem to believe. It grows from a leader’s past and the history of the people around him. That was the case for Disney. But it’s true for all leaders. Talk to any leader, and you’re likely to discover key events in his past that were instrumental in the creation of his vision.

Vision Meets Others’ Needs

True vision is far-reaching. It goes beyond what one individual can accomplish. And if it has real value, it does more than just include others; it adds value to them. If you have vision that doesn’t serve others, it’s probably too small.

Vision Helps You Gather Resources

One of the most valuable benefits of vision is that it acts like a magnet – attracting, challenging, and uniting people. It also rallies finances and other resources. The greater the vision, the more winners it has the potential to attract. The more challenging the vision, the harder the participants fight to achieve it. Edwin Land, the founder of the Polaroid, advised, “The first thing you do is teach the person to feel that vision is very important and nearly impossible. That draws out the drive in winners.”

Focus On Listening

Where does vision come from? To find the vision that is indispensable to leadership, you have to become a good listener. You must listen to several voices.

The Inner Voice

As we have already said, vision starts within. Do you know your life’s mission?
What stirs your heart? What do you dream about? If what you’re pursuing doesn’t come from a desire within – from the very depths of who you are and what you believe – you will not be able to accomplish it.

The Unhappy Voice

Where does inspiration for great ideas come from? From noticing what doesn’t work. Discontent with the status quo is a great catalyst for vision. Are you on complacent cruise control? Or do you find yourself itching to change your world? No great leader in history has fought to prevent change.

The Successful Voice

Nobody can accomplish great things alone. To fulfill a big vision, you need a good team. But you also need good advice from someone who is ahead of you in the leadership journey. If you want to lead others to greatness, find a mentor. Do you have an adviser who can help you sharpen your vision?

The Higher Voice

Although it’s true that your vision must come from within, you shouldn’t let it be confined by you limited capabilities. A truly valuable vision must have God in it. Only He knows your full capabilities. Have you looked beyond yourself, even beyond your own lifetime, as you’ve sought your vision? If not, you may be missing your true potential and life’s best for you.

To improve your vision, do the following:

Measure yourself. If you have previously thought about the vision for your life and articulated it, measure how well you are carrying it out. Talk to several key people, such as your spouse, a close friend, and key employees, asking them to state what they think your vision is. If they can articulate it, then you are probably living it.

Do a gut check. If you haven’t done a lot of work on vision, spend the next several weeks or months thinking about it. Consider what really impacts you at a gut level. What makes you cry? What makes you dream? What gives you energy?

Also think about what you’d like to see change in the world around you. What do you see that isn’t – but could be? Once your ideas start to become clearer, write them down and talk to a mentor about them.

From 1923 to 1955, Robert Woodruff served as president of Coca-Cola. During that time, he wanted Coca-Cola to be available to every American serviceman around the world for five cents, no matter what it cost the company. What a bold goal! But it was nothing compared to the bigger picture he could see in his mind’s eye. In his lifetime, he wanted every person in the world to have tasted Coca-Cola.

When you look deep into your heart and soul for a vision, what do you see?

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There are as much visions as there are visionaries. Focus your vision on what are appropriately topmost in priority. Until you focus and correctly perceive the foreground, you will not be able to completely comprehend the depth of the full vision when the time comes to focus on the background.

Finally Doing It Right At The 11th Hour?

"Winston Churchill had it right about us. He said the Americans always do the right thing, but unfortunately it’s only after they’ve exhausted all other possibilities. And we’ve been exhausting some fairly bad possibilities for a long time. I think maybe we’re finally ready to get it right."

- James Woolsey

Links:

Real Video Stream
Real Audio Stream
MP3 Download

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The later part of this documentary that deals with solutions is the substantial part of the film.

Is it the 11th hour, or is it already almost an hour passed the 12th hour?

Sometimes difficulties cause us to change our thinking and shift our paradigms.

Finding a Christian Perspective on the Economic Crisis

By Albert Mohler
Crosswalk.com

"Christians should look at the economy as a test of our values. The Bible values honest labor and dedicated workers, and so should we. The Bible warns against dishonest business practices, and we must be watchful. False valuations are, in effect, lies. Dishonest accounting practices are just sophisticated forms of lying. Insider information is a form of theft."

The headlines tell the story as recent days have seen the American economy and its financial system buffeted by seismic failures and the virtual disappearance of major investment banks. The debate raging in Washington these days concerns the form and extent of government intervention that will be required in order to restore stability to the financial markets.

Comparisons to the Great Depression are inevitable, but today's crisis bears little resemblance to the total economic collapse of the late 1920s. Capitalism is not in crisis and the fundamentals of the American economy remain strong. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, the nation faced a genuine crisis and economic collapse. For the most part, the banks were closed and the nation was out of business.

Nothing like that is happening now, but the financial system is clearly in need of reform and realism. The fundamentals of the economy remain intact. These include American innovation, a dedicated labor force, strong consumer demand, vast natural resources, and unlimited intellectual capital.

More than anything else, this crisis has to do with what happens when the markets come to term with excessive valuations. Put bluntly, wildly inflated valuations led to risky financial adventures and worse. The sub-prime mortgage collapse came as more realistic real estate valuations forced market corrections. The vast global financial system has accepted the inflated valuations as real and traded in the risky mortgages as if the game would go on forever. This was a fool's errand.

There were other causes of the current distress in the markets and other forces at work within the economy at large. The slide of the dollar and the rising price of oil both played a part, as did more fundamental shifts having to do with a globalized economy and the continuing shift toward a knowledge-based economy in a technological age.

Is this all about greed? Yes and no. In the movie "Wall Street," the character Gordon Gekko famously declares that "greed is good." But is the economy really driven by greed?

This question requires a return to what we might call "Economics 101." No one has explained basic economics as well as Adam Smith did in his 1776 classic, The Wealth of Nations. As the great Scottish thinker explained, an economy is based upon the transfer of goods and services from one individual to another. Each partner in the transaction must believe that this transfer is in his or her own best interest or the transfer is not voluntary. Both parties seek to gain something from the transfer. Since no one person can meet all of his or her own needs alone, a vast economic system quickly takes shape. Individuals trade goods and services through the exchange of currency or another agreed-upon form of value. [...]

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"Wall Street Lays an Egg"

"Wall Street Lays an Egg," a headline in Variety announced in October 1929. In that understated sentence the show-business newspaper was saying that the New York stock market had collapsed. Beginning on October 24--remembered as Black Thursday--and culminating in an even blacker Tuesday, October 29, the value of securities dropped more than 26 billion dollars. Before the end of November 1929 the nationwide loss exceeded 100 billion dollars. Over the next few years the nation, and the rest of the world, slowly sank into the Great Depression

The crash of 1929 was never far from the minds of those who had experienced it. Although governmental safeguards had been erected, there was always the fear that a crash could happen again. On Monday, Oct. 19, 1987, it did. The 1987 stock market collapse, a fall of 508 points in the Dow Jones industrial average, cut the value of securities by more than half a trillion dollars. The total decline for October 1987 was 769 points. Although the point and dollar drops were far larger than those of 1929, the loss in terms of percentage of the market was smaller.

A few days after the crash of 1987, the journalist James J. Kilpatrick told his readers: "Those of us who know nothing about the stock market will never understand it. That puts us right in the same class with economists and brokers who know all about the stock market." He was not exaggerating. The stock market--or, more broadly, the securities industry--is far more complex than the markets for products and services. The stock market has been called the paper economy because it deals in money, certificates of ownership, and certificates of debt. The business of the market is the buying and selling of both types of certificates, normally called stocks and bonds. What complicates the market are all the devices that have been introduced into what was originally a simple business transaction.

Securities are traded in two kinds of markets: primary and secondary. When a corporation decides to issue stock to the public, it is undertaking a primary distribution. This first sale of stock is in the primary market, and the money received goes to the company.

If everyone who bought stock simply kept it and waited to collect dividends, there would be no secondary market. The main reason for buying stock, however, is speculation--the hope that the value of the stock will increase so it can be sold at a profit. A secondary market--by far the larger of the two markets--comes into existence because a share of stock, once it has been sold by a corporation, takes on a life of its own. It becomes a piece of property in itself. Like a work of art or a hoard of gold, a share of stock is regarded as something with a potential for increased value.

Owners of stocks (and bonds, as well) are continually in the business of trying to better their fortunes by selling and buying stock in the secondary market. A stock increases or decreases in value for a variety of reasons: the general business climate, the type of industry represented by the stock, the success of the issuing company, and more. Those who trade in the secondary market are basically speculators--they are betting that the stock they buy will increase in value and that the stock they sell will decline or level off. Shortly after the crash of 1987, the economic journalist William R. Neikirk stated: "It is not too strong to call our financial markets casinos." When stocks are traded in the secondary market, none of the money goes to the company that originally issued it. It goes to the seller, minus a commission for the broker.

When a market crashes, the fall occurs in the values of stocks traded in the secondary market. The values of company assets remain the same. In a secondary market a stock value may react to many factors that are completely unconnected to the company that issued the stock. The company itself may be perfectly healthy even as its stock decreases in worth.

(From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia)