This wasn’t really a blog, but insights I collected from the most recent book I read, I thought it worth sharing and if any of it sounds interesting, then I would suggest the book. 
Basic premise: Randy passing on wisdoms from his life lived in this last lecture he gave at Carnegie Mellon. It was truly his last lecture because he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The book is very disjointed simply because he is pulling life lessons out of his memory and putting them down for his readers, and ultimately his children, to consider. So here are some of the lessons:
P15-18 “When there’s an elephant in the room, introduce it.”
P33: Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.” If you want to be something or go somewhere, do the legwork to have something that would benefit what’s being done. People will be less resistant to you if you have something to contribute to the group.
P70: As the uncle, the two rules were 1)no whining and 2)Whatever we do together, don’t tell Mom. This made it seem intriguing, like an adventure.
P78: “If she doesn’t really love you, then it’s over. And if she does love you, then love will win out.” “If you love her, support her.” It doesn’t just give me encouragement about relationships, but reminds me of Gamaliel saying about Christianity, “If this is just some rebellion, then it will fail, but if it is from God, you better watch out.”
87: “Not everything needs to be fixed” Don’t get caught up in new things being associated with status; if the old things still do what they’re meant for, use them. Don’t worry about “how it looks.”
P123: Sometimes setting a bar would be doing people a disservice. When you don’t know where the bar should even be, it may be best not to set one and see how people rise to the challenge.
p145: “If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you.” If people frustrate you or make you angry, it may be because you haven’t given them enough time to show you their good side.
P148-49: Be the First Penguin – this is the one who jumps in the water first when you aren’t sure if there are sharks or not. Moral: Take the risks, you might fail the biggest, but these are also the people with the biggest successes because they were willing to be daring.
P165: “there is more than one way to measure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.” So many times companies (and people) are about profits, while some of the things that yield the greatest profits are not measurable by those standards. What a bit of customer service and kindness can gain while maybe losing a few bucks in the short term, could have exponential gain in the long term. I think Jesus said something about that; I think it’s funny how so many of the good things from the world mirror the concepts Jesus set forth for his followers.
P. 175: “When we’re connected to others, we become better people” He talks about how selfish we generally are as people/Americans. That along with the rights we so readily uphold, the flip side of the coin is our responsibilities—they go together. You get the rights because you choose to live responsibly in a community.
