Whatever you are looking at, that's where you will go

Posted on July 31, 2013 by mattgorman

Yes_NoNoNoIn a recent conversation with a friend of mine about the viability of an admittedly audacious business dream, a disparity emerged on the optimism – pessimism spectrum.  It lead me to reflect on my musings about the influence our attitudes and views on future events have on real outcomes.
On February 25, 2003, an episode of the popular sitcom Frasier aired in the U.S. entitled Fraternal Schwinns.

Pressured to participate in, rather than just contribute to, an AIDS fundraising bike ride, Frasier (played by Kelsey Grammer) and his brother Niles (played by David Hyde Pierce reveal that they never learned to ride a bicycle. Niles’ wife Daphne (played by Jane Leeves) offers to teach them both in the park.
Frasier is afflicted with constantly riding straight into a sycamore tree and the dialogue goes something like this.

Frazier: “It’s that damn sycamore; it’s got a magnetic hold on me.”
Daphne: “That’s because you keep focusing on it. Whatever you do, put it out of your mind. The more you think about it the worse it gets”

Stinson Beach 1-11

Source: http://weliketobike.com/2011/06/17/roller-coaster-ride/


The take-away reveals that what we focus on is what we will likely achieve. Let me use another bicycling example – not a surprise to those who know me.  If you ever watched a pro bicycle race in the high mountains, it is almost beyond comprehension how well the twisty descents are handled at high (be it momentarily reduced) speeds.  A couple years ago I attended a training camp that focused on climbing and descending skills. While climbing requires muscle and respiratory training, successful descending requires a skill I call fast-forward looking.  Navigating downhill around an almost U-turn on a switchback is accomplished by focusing your eye on the line you want the bike to travel through the turn and where it is you want the bike to go – not on a fixed point directly in front of you.  The reason for this is because if you focus on a fixed point in front of you, you will be on that spot within fractions of a second without any thought given to what lies ahead. At the speeds obtained going downhill (gravity effects pros and amateurs alike) there is no time to plan where to go next and panic ensues. On the other hand, if you focus on the path ahead where you want to go rather than a fixed point you will more safely and successfully navigate your way to your overall destination. Applied in business, once we commit to a course of action, we risk failure by focusing too much on why or how we might fail. We should instead stay focused on where it is we are trying to go – the road ahead. This only furthers to case for focusing on the positive. Things will go wrong – just don’t focus on what you fear might or could go wrong.
Are you playing to win or playing not to lose? Any successful athlete knows which mindset works best. Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” If you focus attention on what you want to avoid you will inevitably hit it.  Don’t run your business as if your trying to avoid failure. Identify the path you wish to follow and as they say in cycling, Hold your line!
I wish a wonderful day to all!
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Special Thank You to Miko & Jon at http://weliketobike.com/ for allowing me to use images from their blog website.
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False Sense of (sunscreen) Security

Posted on June 19, 2013 by mattgorman

If you are one of the thousands – dare I say millions – of people who enjoy spending countless hour on the beach in the summer and you have migrated completely to the spray canisters to apply your sunscreen, PLEASE STOP!!
I continually observe the same thing over and over again. Users of the spray-on sunscreen use the product without regard to wind speed or direction. I have too often watched people  spray on the sunscreen and almost ever drop that came out gets taken away by the wind and none of it ever lands on the skin.  Even worse and more frightening is when used on very small children and then off to play in the sand they are sent with no measurable protection against sunburn.
So when folks get sunburn I suspect many will rail against the sunscreen manufactures and some might even try the class action lawsuit approach.  Let us try a different tact. Let’s take responsibility and become attuned and observant to what is really happening around us. Let’s try some situational awareness on for size.  Trust me, one size can fit all.
On the economic front, using these sprays without regard to whether the product is actually arriving on the skin is literally money being blown away by the wind. Which shamefully may be be the intent of the manufacturers. In that case, yes, let’s string ’em up!
When using sunscreen, please, use the lotion most of the time. You know it’s being applied by skin to skin contact. For the sprays, I do use them but more for the hard to reach places like my back or on my feet if they are full of sand. And I always make sure I am positioned such that the area to which I am applying the product is a few inches downwind of the can.
Stay sun-safe folks. Summer and the beach equals fun. Sunburn, not!
Thanks for reading. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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Brains, Hands and Hearts

Posted on March 7, 2013 by mattgorman

On a family television program many years ago, one of the characters (a man in the middle age range) was giving advice to a young boy. While pointing to this head then his hands, he said, “If you train these two things, you will never go wrong in life.” I took such advice as sage. I figured that with a learned mind and skilled hands success was a sure thing. Not going to college following high school, I spent four years in the trades in my late teens and early twenties. I learned a great deal about home construction and the proper use of hand and power tools. I also acquired a keen eye of detail and a sense of right and wrong in its mechanical manifestation (i.e. keep rain out of the house!). Following this – and about the same time many of my peers were graduating – I returned to college to earn a degree in engineering. Certainly, I was now well on my way to life of success.
Upon graduation, I spent the next several years as a management consultant and never practiced engineering professionally – other than a few complex equations here and there. Feeling I was still light on some executive level business acumen and hungry for yet even more knowledge, I self-funded my way through an intensely powerful and life transforming Executive MBA program. Between the gifts of my hands and my mind, I could not imagine anything standing in the way of me achieving untold success. How naive I was. No matter what corner of the professional world in which I chose to operate, I wasn’t going to get very far without skills in relationships. To be sure, I am very personable and I warm up to most people with relative ease. Moreover, I have an innate ability to sense looming breakdowns in relationships I observe whether as a participant or bystander. I learned a great deal about the soft-skills of leadership and I do place great value on relationships.
I mentioned skills of the brain and of the hands; both of which I feel I have in spades. Developing deep and trusting relationships – even in business – is a skill of the heart. Knowledge and manual dexterity will get you places but earning trust for your credibility, authenticity, and integrity is a skill that truly sets apart those with enviable success. A person who is both a genius and an alchemist but lacks this third skill – relationships I believe, is destined for struggle.
Relationship building is not a single step process to be marginalized. It requires a devotion to a process and authenticity of self towards others.  In others words, it requires the same dedication to mastery as does craftsmanship and knowledge. I am committed to my own growth in developing business relationships at this level.
In closing I want to extend a warm thanks to my friend and fellow business school alum, Bogie Rosypal, for his contribution to the insight for this blog. It was during a conversation with Bogie that this idea of relationship as a third skill emerged such that I could articulate my thoughts with the result being this post.
As always, comments are welcome.
Have a Great Day!
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Permission To Accept Love

Posted on February 13, 2013 by mattgorman

On this Valentine’s Day, I request your indulgence as I break away for a moment from the normalcy of the theme of my blog articles.  Today, I wish to discuss a topic that rarely (i.e. very nearly never) comes up when our heads are engrossed in our work life.  The topic is ‘love’. This is not about integrating love in a discussion around work. My intent is to provide something to ponder if you are one of the multitudes who, especially this time of year, find themselves reflecting about their life’s course where intimate relationships are involved.
I will mention up front that this is a little autobiographical – which for me is reaching beyond my comfort zone. I am going completely off the ranch today. Saddle up!
On this Valentine’s Day, I am immersed in reflection of all the indescribably fantastic romantic relationships I have had in my life.  The experiences I have shared with my ex-girlfriends have been nothing short of magical. And still, I have inevitably wound up making my way to the exits.  This Valentine’s Day I find myself compelled to analyze this. That I am analyzing an emotional phenomenon is something that surely surprises no one who knows me well.
To begin, I want to share a story of love felt, stifled and then lost. For nearly a quarter of a century, I have resisted temptation to allow one very painful experience to be incorporated into the narrative I tell myself about my existence.  I have done this because I did not want the memory of one individual to ever serve, or be seen as serving, me as a crutch. I am convinced now that by suppressing what was truly the first feeling of love in my life, I have put myself, and those with whom I have been involved, through horrific emotional pain.  If you are among them (I am referring to no more than about a handful) please know that my love for you was real then and even today my affection is strong.  I am truly sorry for my role in the pain we experienced together.
In the spring of 1988, I was looking forward to my fast approaching 21st birthday. My parents agreed to throw a party at our house and I thought that was really cool.  I began calling friends to invite them. I called one of my dear friends Tonia and before I could share the news of the party, she interrupted to say she had something important to tell me. I went to her house and learned the news that would change my life forever. She had just been diagnosed with leukemia and the prognosis, while not immediately dire at first, was certainly not good.
Tonia and I met a few years earlier at the house of a mutual friend. I remember that night like it was last week. We nearly watched the sunrise together we talked for so long. Our relationship evolved into a very special friendship. I loved hanging out with her either alone or with our other friends.  We never actually dated. I never wanted to ruin the friendship we did share and I lacked the courage to move our relationship towards anything more no matter how strong my feelings. I believe that then, as still today to some measure, I lacked trust in my feelings. During our friendship, Tonia dated a couple of guys here and there. In a weird way, rather than be jealous, I felt happy for her. If I did not have the courage to tell her how I felt, then at least someone could make her happy. Despite my determination to keep my feelings suppressed, I know now and have known for some time, that I was in love with her. I know at that post-adolescence age, ‘in love’ can often be a mask for a myriad of sensitivities. I am convinced even to day that I was in love because the feelings I had then for her are as sharp in my mind today as any experience from my youth.
So let’s return to the crushing diagnosis. Well, within fourteen months, her battle was lost. I visited Tonia often (at home and in the hospital) during in those fourteen months. During my one of my last visits in the hospital, while she was unconscious, I finally manned up and told her how I felt about her. I could only hope that she heard me, and that she took leave of this world aware of my love for her.  Within days, she was gone. I have no idea if she felt the same way about me and to speculate one way or the other is only to invite undue torture upon myself.
Her death completely crippled me emotionally. The pain I suffered from this has left such a mark on me that to this day it impacts my ability to allow myself to fully “fall” in love. If there is even the iota of a chance of feeling that degree of pain from loss, I seem to have taken the position of forgoing the joys that love offers. I have loved since and for many I still hold in my heart a great deal of love. I am a loving person. The difference is in the degree of full surrender.
Here is where the nerdy analysis emerges. I had concluded that falling in love is something for someone else. Please forgive the cliché and the near reference to the lyrics of The Monkees “I’m A Believer”. I realize now that this paradigm has only served to structure the narrative I tell myself about my rightfulness in receiving love from another person. For 24 years, I have not been willing to accept the love of another simply because I either did not recognize it. If I recognized it, I was afraid of it. If I was not afraid of it, I did not trust it. If I trusted it, well, then I simply questioned my deserving of it.  The strange thing is that I was loved greatly as a child so the question of deserving is a mystery. Being adopted may play a role. I am not a psychologist and can’t opine – especially since I am the obviously the most non-objective person here.
So today, nearly a quarter century later, I feel that I must give myself permission to allow the story of Tonia into my life’s story.  I can only hope that by doing so, I can also learn to grant myself permission to recognize, trust, and accept love from another person, and more importantly, from myself.
If you have someone in your life who means a great deal to you – tell them so. Do not wait.  If you are without a significant other this Valentine’s Day and that is not your preference, first smile and love yourself. If this is difficult, do not beat yourself up. Accept the difficulty and start from there.  Second, ask yourself, what narrative do you hold as true that might be holding you back from receiving love of another person?
I wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
Thanks for reading, have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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To Start A New Tradition Try "Goofy Pageantry"

Posted on January 29, 2013 by mattgorman

220px-Robert_burns

Robert Burns
Photo Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper


I was recently invited as a guest to A Robert Burns Supper with the St. Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia.  One of my best friends from my childhood is a long-time member of The St. Andrew’s Society along with his father who has held officer posts in the past.  I have attended many formal banquets in my life but few, if any, have ever compared to the structure of which I witnessed at the Robert Burns Supper.
The evening was filled with energy and networking.  Throughout dinner there where several brief remarks made by a few prominent individuals in the society. Looking at the agenda, I counted no less than 13 such moments throughout the evening when someone would get up and share a few words. For the most part such words were solemn; sometimes they were intently delivered with humor (including light innuendo) and sometimes there was interactivity with everyone in attendance.  I, as the outsider, was left presuming that the messages and the craft of delivery were steeped in a rich tradition that predates the Independence of the United States from British rule.
During the evening there was one part where a gentlemen took to the podium to offer The Toast to the Lassies (queue up the the playful innuendo).   At the conclusion of this toast, a woman took to the podium to deliver The Reply to the Laddies. With so much laughter and ceremony surrounding the evening up to this point, it was quite apt for this woman to poke playful fun at the antics surrounding the evening by referring to the night as being filled with “goofy pageantry”.
I realized right then and there that it is indeed the fun we purposefully design into our lives that fuels tradition and not just solemnity alone.  If you wish for sustainability in the design of tradition, keeping elements caged that will incite laughter is indeed ill-advised.  Go ahead make ’em laugh a little.  That will provide enduring inspiration to carry the torch far in to the future.
As always, comments are welcome.
Thanks for reading. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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Keep Your Circle Of Inspiration Small

Posted on January 14, 2013 by mattgorman

This week Lance Armstrong is reportedly going to offer an admission to the use of performance enhancing methods during his cycling career. In affect, he will be admitting that he lied to and misled many people and organizations.  As an avid cyclist and one of the last holdouts believing in his innocence, I am often engaged in conversation with others about this.  The opinions I hear really run the gamut – anything from “heck, everyone was doing it” to “he was inexcusably hostile and defamatory towards those who sought to tell the truth” to “huh? what? is he still in the news?”  Most folks I talk to fall in with the second sentiment.  Me, I guess I do too.  It is true that cycling is riddled with these problems (Actually, all sports are – more on that below). I feel that his belligerent attitude over the course of such a long time and the underhanded deeds done to quiet others constitute the more egregious transgressions.
Contrast this with someone like Tiger Woods. We can debate his level of forgivability. Nonetheless, his quickness to show remorse rather than be obstinate helped put him on a path to both inner and outer recovery.  Though his game might not yet be where it once was, his statue on theater stage of golf seems to be as strong as ever.  Perhaps too, we as a society weigh differently when someone cheats in their private life (which is not our business) from when they cheat in their public life (which we do see as our business).  I have my own hypothesis on why this is so. Lest I digress too much, I will pencil that in for a possible future post.
Getting back to Lance Armstong, only a few fortnights earlier, trending commentary suggested that we might never see the day when Lance Armstrong would admit to cheating in part because of the liabilities that would be exposed and also because it is seemingly out of character for him.  Perhaps there is now the realization that an admission is the lesser of two evil paths for him.  The burden on his psyche and legacy vs. the stuff that will hit the fan once he comes clean.  He can choose to be known forever in history as a cheater and a bully or begin to repair the damage now in hopes that the stain is eventually removed – or at least lessened.  Given the longevity of these misdeeds and cover-ups, a long time will be required before he might hope to emerge anew.  On the legal side of his troubles, the statute of limitations has expired on doing time for false claims made in 2005.  On the financial side, well, this is going to get expensive, as it should.
I feel bad on a number of levels.  For the fans who believed in him as well as for the sport and those ensnared in its darker side.  I love cycling and I enjoy following the sport.  It is unfortunate that it has always been pushed so hard that without performance enhancing agents / techniques it is almost impossible to compete at the pro elite level.
I also wonder why cycling is at such a high profile in this area.  Performance enhancing activities exist throughout all major sports.  I also contend that “cheating” at some level occurs anywhere there is fame and fortune at stake – from Wall Street to Main Street and everywhere in between. Human ego can be a wicked thing.  Then there is society as a whole.  We want to bear witness to astonishing results.  In sports, it fills the seats with fans which bring revenue to the business of sport and inspiration to the fans of sport.
The sad realization in my view is that we look far too often far outside ourselves for inspiration from people we don’t even know.  Yes, many great leaders have inspired mass movements for the betterment of society.  But that doesn’t mean all great inspiration comes for such individuals.  We should look inward at ourselves and also at those who mean the most to us for deep lasting inspiration.  That kind of inspiration is always authentic and never cheats.
As always, I welcome thoughts and feedback.
Thanks for reading and have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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Meaningful Sacrifice

Posted on December 20, 2012 by mattgorman

With Christmas only days away, I wish to share what I feel is a very warm sentiment in the spirit of giving.  Recently, I had the privilege to be audience to a magnificent presentation delivered by a true star of public speaking, Patricia Fripp (www.fripp.com).  At the conclusion of her presentation she shared a story about giving and sacrifice. With Ms. Fripp’s gracious permission I share this story with you.
To set the stage, Ms. Fripp is presumably discussing with a client what many would find rather interesting, corporate citizenship.  The task before them was to develop a way to talk about corporate citizenship in a manner that would truly engage the audience. In helping this gentleman, Ms. Fripp asks him to share how he might teach corporate citizenship to his children.  Below is my paraphrasing of an awe-inspiring response.

It was the day after Christmas and I sat my children down and explained to them how fortunate they were. “You have generous parents and even more generous grandparents.” I told them.  Perhaps you would like to take one of your gift certificates or presents and we will give them to the children who have lost their homes.
One of his sons asked,  “How much shall I give?  If I gave away all of my savings, pocket money and presents, it would not be enough to make a difference. So, how much should I give?”
To this the man said, “You never give it all. You just give enough that it hurts a little.”

As a speaking coach, the ostensible intent for Ms. Fripp sharing this story was to illustrate the power of a simple story brilliantly told.  My intent on the other hand, given the Christmas Season, is to share what I feel is a terrific lesson on making sacrifice feel meaningful.  Moreover, I might go so far as to suggest that such a practice be instilled in families this holiday season.  Moreover, I truly feel that such an exercise is just as applicable for adults as well as children.
If you are left asking what does this have to do with ‘corporate citizenship’, my declaration is that if children are taught the essence of giving, they will grow to become better citizens everywhere – in the community, the corporate environment, and the world.
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.  I welcome you to learn more about Patricia Fripp at www.fripp.com. (I can only aspire to one day tell a story as eloquently as she does.)
As always, I welcome your thoughts, questions and any general feedback.
Thank you for reading.  Have a Great Day, A Joyous Christmas and Holiday and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
Matt G.

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We All Want A Scapegoat

Posted on December 10, 2012 by mattgorman

Change is indeed the only constant. Interpreting that can easily lead to many outcomes. Perhaps it means that change is always afoot. Or, it could mean that no-thing every really changes. Alternative, it means many other things too. I’d like to focus on the ‘no-thing ever changes’ idea.
In a recent SUCCESS Magazine article Chelsea Greenwood interviewed author John C. Maxwell about his latest book, The 15 Laws of Growth. In the article, Mr. Maxwell reflects on a passage from a book he read in the seventh grade by James Allen named As a Man Thinketh published in 1902:

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”

As a consultant impassioned for the discipline of change management, I am acutely conscious of many initiatives where change is purported as overarching goal. Sadly, systems, circumstances, and worse still, other people, are the target of these initiatives. Here, failure is certain. Why then, do we still skip over the single most important step in real change management – change of self?
When we set out to change entities external to ourselves and not including ourselves, we establish two things. First are the boundaries of our comfort zone. By releasing ourselves from the change process, we are guarded from learning things about ourselves that are difficult to accept. Moreover, we avoid facing new ideas and beliefs that challenge what we have come to hold as truths. Welcoming both of these confrontations are necessary for personal growth. Without them growth will not occur. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!
The second thing we establish by excluding ourselves is immunity from blame. If the externalities we sought to change do not change, the “fault” can plausibly – or at least ostensibly – be placed elsewhere. If we stand firm and rigid, the thought goes, it is much easier to defend ourselves. We need that scapegoat.
What I want to leave you with is this: when we do first seek change in self first, our eyes become much more open to many things, not the least of which are the following two. First, greater possibilites emerge by the shear notion that we become more accepting of challenging thoughts. Second, and more importantly in my view, the personal growth inherent in purposeful self-change provides us each with greater self-confidence to not allow blame or shame to overcome us when we have missteps along the path to growth.
If infants gave up walking after a few stumbles, we would all be crawling around on all fours. They see the change they want (to be upright like those around them) and with determination, they become the change they want in the would.
As always, thoughts and feedback are always welcome.
Thanks for reading, have Great Day!
Matt G.

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We Should Experience That On Which We Opine

Posted on November 10, 2012 by mattgorman

This post is fully attributed to Paul Schiefer. Paul is a friend of a friend of a friend on Facebook and this found its way circuitous way to me.  Being one of those who really jumped in the fray on Facebook election night, I found reading this to be a very grounding experience. It is highly non-political and serves only to help us establish a sense of perspective – something many of us (I include myself) might have relinquished in the days leading to and following the election – if even temporarily.
I do not know Paul Schiefer so at this time the only way I can give credit is to provide his name.  Mr. Schiefer, if this finds its way to you and  you wish your on-line identity be known for any reason such as to drive traffic to any blog or website, please comment to this and I will quickly promote it.  Thank you!
For democracy to work, we need to learn the facts through real experience. Listening to the barrage of opinionated pundits on either side does nothing but turn politics into a reality show with winner, losers, and hurt feelings. We are rapidly moving to a world where we find the facts or news we want to justify our opinion rather than developing opinions through objective facts and listening to many points of view. Government policy may be boring, but without knowledge we can only succumb to the brainwashing of people who are paid to tell us what to think or at best become influenced by our friends, faiths, and identities. Your president will likely never have a beer with you – so forget if you like him or not. What we need are leaders that have the knowledge, work ethic, and intelligence to manage the hardest job in the world. Their religion, race, gender, wealth, and orientation have nothing to do with that.
But above and beyond all – we need to strive to learn objectively and through experience. Policies and government is very complicated, you can’t explain them in a few talking points or a political speech. If you are curious about healthcare, talk to some doctors and nurses and ask them if it is working ok today and what they think of reform. If you want to know what is causing poverty, go work in a shelter or be a big brother/little sister to someone from a low income neighbourhood and determine for yourself if they are lazy or something else may be contributing. Think you don’t need gov’t? Spend some time in India or Mexico and see what a corrupt laissez faire gov’t feels like. Go to China and see what a one party rule feels like too. Are you worried about European-style socialism? Go to Sweden or Germany and experience a public sector that takes care of people effectively and then talk to all the small businesses in those countries that are flourishing through this recession and out competing many of ours. Then go to Spain and see that it isn’t all the same. Do you think high speed trains are a terrible idea? Try one out while you are in Germany and decide if you want to go back to spending all that extra time in airports or in traffic. Are you uncertain if a new business can succeed in the US with all this regulation today? Go to silicon valley and ask some entrepreneurs who are making millions through hard work and innovation. Wonder why we are all getting fat? Go check out our food system – see what people are eating and learn how agriculture is subsided and how your tax dollars are paying for the ingredients to make cheaper cheeseburgers. Are you confused if the globe is actually getting warming? Go talk to some scientists who have spent their whole lives studying it or head to Greenland and ask the locals how much the ice has changed. Do you think Wall Street is the problem? Go ask some bankers how bad the economy was and then go talk to some mortgage brokers and ask if it was really honest what happened there? Do you think there is no consequence to excess debt and government entitlements? Go to Greece and see what happens when a country spend more than it can earn. Are you sure immigrants are hurting our country? Learn about all the immigrants that start businesses, see who the brightest PhD’s are today, or even spend a day picking strawberries and see what you think. Research your own family tree and figure out when your family immigrated here themselves. Do you wonder why the middle east hates us? Read some history books and learn what the west has done to that region in pursuit of cheap oil and ask yourself what would you do if the same thing was done to you and your family. None of these issues needs to be partisan at all – they are humanly created and can be humanly solved.
I hope the lesson in this election, is that we become responsible for our own education. We turn off the endless partisan chatter, stop with the doomsday predictions in both directions, and quit making politics so personal. It’s not about winners and loser but about making our country and ourselves great. Let’s start by being personally responsible for our own lives – it’s way too easy to blame Obama or the Republicans for everything we aren’t happy with rather than take some ownership to fix what we can. Once we do that, let’s get educated. Then we can move to a place where we can debate informed decisions like rational adults, because this current trend of emotional hatred over our different opinions – most based on very little knowledge and experience – will never solve any of our real problems and will forever compromise the great American experiment. Plus I am sick of hearing it on my FB feed!
After living in Europe for 3 years, I have had the rare opportunity to watch my country from afar. What I have learned from the experience is that while we have amazing innovation, culture, music, and people in the US, we also have some of the most dysfunctional and overly emotional politics. And we certainly don’t have an exclusive hold on the right ideas – there are many great people, cultures, political systems, and businesses that are distinctly not American. We are not entitled to anything because we were born in the USA. And furthermore, the world is also getting ready to kick our ass at our own capitalistic game because they feel they deserve the same lifestyle we enjoy and are working their hardest to make it happen. All we seem to want to do about it is either fight, deny, or complain our way to a solution. We can do much better than that as a country. We can be the leaders for the future with a strong economy and a strong social fabric, but only if we gain some maturity in how we decide our joint future together and put in some hard work along the way. I look forward to coming home soon and I hope, for everyones sake, that we enter into a post partisan phase quickly and not let this divisive election further hamper our ability to express our greatest potential.
Thank you again Paul Schiefer and thank you all for reading.
Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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Did Florida Matter In The End?

Posted on November 7, 2012 by mattgorman

Yesterday, I posted a short piece about the Electoral College and it’s apparent disenfranchising of the votes of many.  It appears we have a text book case this year with Florida.  The totals reported on politico.com as of 7:45 AM EST is 303 electoral votes for President Obama and 206 for Mitt Romney. That is a total of 509. The remaining 29 belong to Florida.  Since Mitt Romney was more than 29 below 270, it was all over without Florida. With the electoral process, Florida was a complete non-issue. How would you feel if your vote was utterly irrelevant to the outcome?
Is the Electoral College appropriate anymore?
Comments are always welcome. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

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