In This Episode: What if you have a business idea, but you’re not sure if you want to take the risk to pursue it: should you quit your day job? Well, there’s an alternative to quitting your job, and it’s something a lot of people with Uncommon Sense are doing instead: they’re getting their employers to back their innovative ideas.
Work
054: Pre-Silicon Valley
In This Episode: A news story going around on social media sounds too amazing to be true. So I’m going to dig into the idea that the smartphone was invented in 1953. The back story is even more impressive: it nicely demonstrates that you don’t need a college education to have Uncommon Sense.
Betraying the Public’s Trust
True Can Never Put All of the Details in a story that might be interesting, or might even add to the commentary, but I can comment here! But first, let’s start with the story, from True’s 27 October issue:
048: A Competitive Advantage
In This Episode: We’ve been hearing about “diversity” in the workplace for years now, but many companies are doing something so radically different on the diversity front, it’s very surprising for a lot of people. Yet what it really comes down to is Uncommon Sense.
The Usual Culprit
Monday was just the beginning of a crazy week (see the previous entry, Come to Me, for that story). Things went decidedly downhill Wednesday, when I was called out before dawn to a wildfire.
047: Standing in Line
In This Episode: How does a man use his years of experience working for IBM as they introduced computers to business, leverage that experience to invent a worldwide phenomenon that you have used many, many times? He uses Uncommon Sense.
046: ‘An Ethic of Compassion’
In This Episode: It’s a conundrum in the business world, but this idea really is about living in general. And that is, how can businesses encourage their employees to be more productive, healthier, and provide better customer service? University researchers applied some Uncommon Sense to this age-old question, and came to some surprising conclusions.
040: Undaunted
In This Episode: Can anything be done to stem the decline in bookstores from Amazon’s relentless domination? Yes: Uncommon Sense is already reversing the trend, and in a surprising way.
039: Failure is Not Optional
In This Episode: Humans don’t like to fail. Sure, sometimes failure has catastrophic results, so surgeons work hard to ensure their operations are successful. But when we don’t allow ourselves, or our children, or our employees to fail, they can’t reach their full potential. Here’s why you should actually embrace failure.
037: You Were Never Created to Fit In
In This Episode: Uncommon Sense can be found in very unusual places. In this story, a janitor at one of the plants at a multinational corporation had the cojones to call the CEO with an idea. And the CEO was smart enough to listen.
035: To Boldly Go
In This Episode: To Boldly Go? No, this isn’t about Star Trek, but rather something even better: real life. This is the story of a 9-year-old with Uncommon Sense who was inspired to reach for the stars — and years later inspired a bunch of other kids growing up behind him.
025: Finding Your Purpose and Mission
In This Episode: Some know their life’s purpose and mission. Others don’t know how to apply them to their lives. Here’s how to get clarity on both, even if you’re retired.
021: Uncommon Sense at Work
In This Episode: Uncommon Sense isn’t just for your day-to-day life. The story of a guy who not only runs his life with Uncommon Sense (even if he doesn’t call it that), he does it on the job, too. “Tiny little things” that bring huge financial results.
019: How to be Happier
In This Episode: A ‘secret’ to Uncommon Sense used to be passed down from generation to generation… but has started to die out, which explains a lot. Learn it to reduce stress and fear, and increase satisfaction and happiness.
013: How ADD Made TRUE Possible
In This Episode: Is ADD/ADHD a curse? No: when properly managed, it provides “superpowers” that are an absolute gift! It actually helped me in my job at NASA, and then in going solo as an entrepreneur.
The Taylor Swift Cop Video:
Call Me a Contrarian
OK: Call Me a Contrarian. Sure the lip-synching cop was entertaining! The song is fun, and who can’t like the earnest and drop-dead gorgeous (and cute!) Taylor Swift?
Writers Write
In a discussion group I frequent, one of the members posed a link, and wondered:
“Not sure if the writers here see the need for this….”
Planning for the Rest of Your Life
A friend who is a career military man is retiring soon. He’s still pretty young, so he asked for some advice on what to do next; he sees that I’m pretty successful, and he wants to be successful too, in the next phase of his life.
Don’t Have a Cow, Man
Readers wanted to see the photos that go with this story, about the prisoner-altered State Police car-door decal in Vermont. It ran in True’s 12 February 2012 issue:
Weird News Video #12 — In Hot Water
Episode #12: “In Hot Water”, from True’s 24 August 2008 issue.