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Why Good Salesmen are Not the Enemy
Ever since seeing people selling things at my door and my parent’s getting telemarketing calls on the land line ,and believe it or not, taking a sales class in college, I’ve had a sour taste in my mouth for sales, and although I don’t think I want it to be my job -because I love marketing- I think I now see the value in it, especially in business. Last night’s Praxis Wednesday was all about sales and we were joined by Jack Sayler he talked about the art and science behind the sales industry. We were encouraged to think about solutions ourselves before going to managers, this helps you be…
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Arguments Aren’t What You Think They Are
My latest Praxis lesson talked about the actual prerequisites required to develop an argument and what an argument actually is. An argument is the idea that backs up a claim which is a determined side of an issue, you need both an issue and a claim to have an arugment. I can sometimes be argumentative, and for a while I was led to believe that this was mostly bad. This isn’t true at all, in fact -one could argue- you are making a claim if you aren’t stating an explanation, question, command, phrase, or pronouncement; and if you are making a claim you should therefore have an argument to back…
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Consider the Unlikely, Sometimes.
Hypotheticals in philosophy are part of the reason I’ve been frustrated by philosophy in the past. My latest Praxis lesson was how to navigate hypotheticals, and appreciated that the article acknowledged that some hypotheticals are not helpful and do not need to be analyzed. Others, though, provide an opportunity for us as people to think about where our convictions and beliefs lie. Good hypotheticals are qualified by two very different functions. Either they devise practical contingency or the help to achieve intellectual clarity. The first helps us consider different options while the other clears up different points of view and what they might mean – in a nutshell. So now…
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So I Guess I’m a Philosopher?
Based on my latest Praxis lesson, I’ve been thinking about what philosophy is and what it means to study it. Based on the definitions I heard from others in the lesson, I came up with my own definition: The considering and thinking of all the possibilities and reasons for what happens in the world. It’s an imperfect, and incomplete definition, but I’m starting my first philosophy “class” this month so I’m giving myself breathing room on this. I plan to come up with something new at the class -er- month’s end. A different but equal definition of philosophy is a love of knowledge and learning. I believe I qualify for this but…
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Music in Church
In the church, there tends to be two kinds of music, traditional and contemporary. Both have their merits but each type tends to have its own audience within the church, but there are many exceptions. Including me, as I like both. It’s an ongoing balance because of how important music is to worship services in the church as a whole. Traditional tends to refer more to hymns and organ/piano-based music. It can be a slower paced, more stoic style of worship. It’s often simpler I guess you could say. The vast majority were written long ago. Contemporary refers to the songs written far more recently. Usually, these songs utilize full…
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Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandpa, and Grandma’s We Go
Back in the 1990s, I lived in Grand Marais, Minnesota, a small town on the north shore of Lake Superior. But since our family moved to New Brighton during the summer of 2000, we’ve gotten numerous chances to visit the north shore where my grandparents have lived since the 1980s. I still love visiting my grandparents and the city of Grand Marais. I get to see family, familiar places, and amazing spaces. Yes, small towns are remote but each time our family finds new trails and adventures to take, we’ve even driven up to Canada for fun a couple of times. It’s consistently wonderful to see the beautiful nature on…
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Doncha Know About the Minnesota State Fair?
Yeah I’m a Minnes”Oh”tan, and I’ve got a bit of the accent to match. It’s a heck of a deal, I’ve also lived up north before. There is a tradition that most of us from this great state acknowledge, the Minnesota State Fair. The “12 days of fun”, or “Great Minnesota get together” if you prefer. I grew up going nearly every year. I thought I’d go this year as I will probably be moving away soon. So here’s what my home state’s fair is about. Every Minnesotan who goes has their list of favorite things from food, to exhibit, to shows, and shops. So here we go: I love…
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A Legend and Me – Praxis Wednesday Response
During last night’s Praxis Wednesday all of us participants got the privilege of listening to and talking with Christopher Lochhead. He’s the author of Niche Down, among other titles. We got the chance to hear about some of his favorite points from the book, as well as what he was thinking it could do for our group. He talked about different legends he had met in his lifetime, and how he went about naming his famous podcast. He knew he wanted to include the word legends, and a friend thought of adding losers, Christopher was sold on the concept, and legends and losers was born. He made an interesting point…
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Here’s What I’m Listening To
I grew up listening to the Christian radio station on the radio and kid’s music, namely Veggie Tales, and Disney. As I’ve grown up my music taste has really only expanded, and I’ve come to like all lot of different genres. Though there is one artist that I’ve heard all my life that I consistently come back to, Steven Curtis Chapman. He’s unique in that he’s been in the business 1980s, but he continues to write original songs, and that some of his songs are worship, and others are more just encouraging, but almost all of them are gospel focused. He has written songs that I have found to encourage…
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It’s Virtually Here
A couple of weeks ago I tried a virtual reality (VR) system for the first time. My friend has a state of the art home system and they let me try it. I couldn’t believe how real it felt even, though it didn’t actually look completely real. VR has a lot of potentially interesting implications in the real world. After I took off the equipment my friends and I discussed the implications VR could have on the world. If businesses used this kind of tech, people wouldn’t necessarily have to come to work, they’d be able to just visit the virtual office that everyone else was connected to. This is…
