StoryCorps sits down with several people affected by the terror attacks through the loss of loved ones. Retired NYC firefighter John Vigiano Sr. remembers his two sons, a police detective and a firefighter, who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.

(See video link for RSS: John and Joe)

Many of us are remembering. Others are looking to forget. Regardless, don’t allow the busy-ness of the day, pile of your work load, or the insignificance of petty arguments and annoyances get in the way of…

remembering those you love. Above all, don’t let it get in the way of you telling them so!

Who are you remembering and honoring today!

Today we celebrate! Freddie Mercury of Queen

Access = Access Less

While the internet, social networking, RSS feeds, Android, Apple and other social technologies allow us as individuals and companies to gain access to information that we lacked access to previously; that same technology has locked us into our own interest, essentially taking away our awareness to different streams, feeds and… Different Ideas!

A while back I wrote about the Importance of Different Ideas! The understanding that while we enjoy connecting and getting information from others this same silo of specialized information keeps us from exploring things outside of our own frequently traveled feeds and interest. It is this act of “personalization” that keeps us from the pursuit of other interest.

The danger in over-personalization

I recently attended ASTD International Conference in Orlando, FL. While I was there I had the opportunity to interview Marcus Buckingham, Author of the book Strengths Finder and the upcoming title Stand Out. Be on the look out for a post regarding this interview. During this interview it reminded me of the faults in over personalization of information and internet streams.

A recent TED talk from Eli Pariser, author of “The Filter Bubble,” speaks of the dangers of only staying within the boundaries of our interest, the pain that these filters create, and the importance of not becoming a “Web of 1″

Enjoy!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ofWFx525s&feature=player_embedded#at=445

Politics and Religion…

at work are probably the two most difficult topics to discuss as work. Well that and sports teams! But with the news over the last week and a half over Osama Bin laden’s death and the mixed, but overly consistent reactions to it has me thinking.

I will not express these thoughts because my own thoughts around this issue are not the point of this post. The point of this post is that when we head to and come home from work, whatever we talk about in the realm of personal opinion or business affects the interactions we have with those around us. Our colleagues, co-workers, friends… and this is especially true for our kids.

Consistency

If we are to be consistent in how we interact then we need to be consistent in our actions as well. Example: If you tell your employees that you expect everyone to be on time for meetings but you yourself are consistently late to the ones you set up then what does that show your employees?

If you tell everyone that your family comes first but you work more then 60 hours a week (60 hr work week + 49 hrs for sleep + 14 hour commute + 45hr for everything else = 168 hrs in a week) your family is not shown as coming first.

The Question:

If we say that murder is wrong but then make exceptions to the rule dependant on the equation… what does that say to our kids?

The following video is from Kids React To The Darndest Things of the Day.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkKNPEU8oc&feature=player_embedded#at=18

In this video are a few different reactions to the announcement from President Barack Obama that Osama Bin Laden is dead. They are true and insightful. Often what we display as our beliefs are what some who don’t know any better will also adopt as their beliefs. If we do not help give context then what good is the growth of those around us.

Maybe instead of being so quick to spread our opinions we should open the dialogue to understand peoples ideas!

Being “quick to judge” is not a “good judgement call”!