#FlyingTaxis #DriverlessVehicles #drones #drivers
If you are old enough to remember, there was a cartoon series in the 1960s called “The Jetsons,” a tale of what the future may look like.
“Cars” flew through space.
In Dubai, commuters in The United Arab Emirates may soon climb aboard automated, driverless taxis, soaring over busy streets and past the desert city’s gleaming skyscrapers at the push of a button, writes Russell Goldman in The New York Times.
The article was published in the Feb. 20, 2017, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
USA Today has also written about tests for driverless big-rig trucks.
The flying taxis will be capable of carrying a single rider and a small suitcase, Goldman writes. So, that probably means a group cannot pool resources for a taxi fare.
The taxi is an eight-rotor drone made by the Chinese firm Ehang, writes Goldman. It has flown test runs past the Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s iconic, sail-shaped skyscraper.
It can fly up to 31 miles, or about 30 minutes, on a single battery charge. Passengers can weigh up to 220 pounds, Goldman writes.
Let’s think about this for a minute. If you live in a populated area, with lots of traffic, you may someday be able to fly over that traffic, if this concept proves sustainable.
Air travel will be redefined. Would car travel become obsolete?
There is much else to ponder. What happens to the many folks who now drive for a living? Will ALL transportation become driverless?
When one is disabled, or too old to drive, will he or she own a driverless vehicle and not miss a transportation beat?
What about those who fly, sail and otherwise transport for a living?
Will all transportation be changed?
Perhaps those who make their living moving people and things about would be wise to find a Plan B to make money. The technology, therefore the trend, won’t be halted. The good news here is that if you fit that description, there’s time to plan. The technology won’t be commonplace tomorrow.
There are many good, Plan B options available. To check out one of the best, message me.
Technology alters life in good and bad ways. Competing rental car companies at Logan Airport in Boston decided to set up a common shuttle service to and from the terminals, stopping at each rental car base, instead of each company having its own drivers. The move saved money, and lessened traffic jams around the airport, but a lot of good drivers lost their jobs.
Now, imagine every airport doing the same thing, with driverless buses, cabs etc. Even Uber and Lyft are talking about driverless vehicles.
So what will flying taxis, driverless vehicles of all types, do for your life? That might depend on how you make your living now.
It might make sense to visualize that eventuality, and plan accordingly.
Peter
Author Archives: pbilodeau01
THE RIGHT OF IGNORANCE
#truth #facts #opinion
Here’s a test: have you ever talked with anyone who passionately asserted that something was correct, when it clearly was not?
Perhaps we all have. Washington Post columnist George F. Will quoted Tom Nichols, professor at the U.S. Naval War College and the Harvard Extension School as calling it “a storm of outraged ego.”
Will, whose column on the subject was published in the Jan. 29, 2017, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also quotes Nichols, who wrote an article in The Chronicle Review on the matter, as saying there is an increasing phenomenon among college students who “take correction as an insult.”
Nichols writes, as quoted in Will’s column, that the students have been taught to regard themselves as peers of their teachers.
“College, in an earlier time, was supposed to be an uncomfortable experience because growth is always a challenge,” Will quotes Nichols. It is supposed to replace youthful simplicities with adult complexities, Will writes.
Today, according to Will, “A” is the most commonly awarded grade, given 30 percent more frequently than in 1960.
“Unearned praise and hollow success build a fragile arrogance in students that can lead them to lash out at the first teacher or employer who dispels that illusion, a habit that carries over into resistance to believe anything inconvenient or challenging in adulthood,” Will quotes Nichols.
We all probably know people with whom discussions are akin to talking to walls. No matter the correct facts, they’ll believe what they believe.
Sometimes, people gain leadership positions while completely oblivious to the truth.
The moral here is that we should embrace truth, no matter what it reveals. We should form opinions based on truth, rather than some alternative to truth.
That isn’t to say that we can’t have faith. Faith, by definition, is believing something to be true that has not been proved so. Faith can lead one to the truth.
But we must guard against treating truth as a matter of opinion. There’s nothing wrong with an opinion based on truth, but there is much wrong with truth based on opinion.
Do you know someone who seeks real education, is willing to be coached by others who clearly know more than they do and who is in search of something that might give them the financial prosperity they want? If you know such a person, have him or her message me.
Meanwhile, always search for the truth. It may present itself in ways you might not expect. When someone tells you something is true, verify it as best you can. Read about it from reliable publications. Don’t necessarily compare it to what you believe is true. Show yourself whether it is true, or not.
Shun arrogance. Allow yourself to learn. Alter your opinions if you must, but always base what you believe on what is true.
Truth may or may not set you free, but something other than the truth definitely will not.
Peter
SOCIAL EROSION: COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS DECLINING
#SocialInstitutions #churches #CommunityServiceClubs
Some may not remember a few decades ago, when labor unions were not only strong, but one of the many fibers that brought communities together.
During that time, more people attended church, community service clubs such as the Lions or Rotary were flourishing, two-parent families were the norm etc.
Bob Davis and Gary Fields discussed this social erosion in a Sept. 16, 2016, article in The Wall Street Journal.
In those decades past, the union hall was the place to be in many blue-collar towns.
Today, as union membership is declining along with job security of any sort, we see the reaction of those affected by this decline. They are looking for someone, or something, to save them, and take the country back to that time.
Technology advances will not allow it.
But the question is not who will save those disaffected by technological change and lack of job security. The question becomes who, or what, folks can turn to who have had their lives changed forever, if not for better.
Some community institutions are still around, and not all have seen membership decline.
Technology has also given us social media, but social media, though a fine creation, is no substitute for in-person interaction.
As life changes, one must look at not only what is GOOD about his life, he must be open to find ways to combat the life changes the modern world has wrought.
If you had a good job that’s gone away, and have either had to take a job that is less rewarding or have not been able to find a suitable job at all, the answer is to look for ways other than a traditional W-2 job to make money. Easier said than done? Perhaps not. Message me to find out more.
Getting back to basics, one must check his bad attitude at the door, and not reclaim it as he exits.
There is so much good in the world today, and so many reasons to be thankful, to have faith, enthusiasm and optimism.
If you think you can find those things by reconnecting with some of the older institutions in your community, by all means, go for it.
If you think you can find those things by hanging around different people – you can still have your friends, even if they don’t inspire you – by all means look for those different people. There’s no telling to what, or to whom, they could introduce you.
Looking for that one person who is going to change the world by bringing things back to the way they were is a futile exercise. However, looking for that one person who is going to change YOUR life, who will make YOUR life better, can not only be productive, but also can be very fulfilling.
In short, being optimistic, enthusiastic, open and happy can not only bring you joy, it very well could bring you success. Plus, it’s certainly better to be happy, even if you have to work at being happy, than being miserable.
Go for happy.
Peter
SIMPLICITY CAN BE DIFFICULT
#simplicity #multitask #organize
We all strive to have simple lives.
Yet, we do more each to complicate our lives than we probably need to.
Sure, your employer wants you to do as many things as possible. Your children make many demands on you. You feel the need to keep as many people in your lives happy as possible.
Joe Calloway discusses how to de-clutter your life in his book, “Keep It Simple: Unclutter Your Mind to Uncomplicate Your Life.”
The main point of the book is that those who focus their lives on what’s most important, spend the most time on the activities that will bring the most success, will have great lives.
We all know this intellectually, but still, we bring in clutter. We seem to find the hard way to do something, or we spend our time doing things we should delegate to others.
Calloway quotes the great folk singer and songwriter Pete Seeger as saying, “Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple.”
What can you do to simplify your life? First, examine what you spend your time on. Then, determine how important those tasks are. Once you’ve determined the important tasks, figure out ways to make those tasks take less time. Or, figure out that, though those tasks might be important, are YOU the one that needs to do them?
Darren Hardy, entrepreneur and former editor and publisher of Success magazine, once told of a conversation he had with Joel Osteen, the globally recognized minister. Hardy said Osteen figured out that the most important thing he should spend his time on is the 20-minute sermon he will give on Sunday.
Those 20 minutes will determine how successful he is. Therefore, according to Hardy, he spends most of his time on crafting what he is going to say, how he’s going to say it etc., and delegates most everything else to others.
For Osteen, it’s simple. Success is in the sermon.
So, what is success for you? Over the years, we’ve heard stories about how we must multitask. We must juggle many things at once to be successful. Now, we read that most successful people devote the lion’s share of their time to the one or two things that will make them successful.
Rather than organize, prioritize.
If you have activities and tasks that take time and energy away from the one or two activities you need to focus on for success, then eliminate and delegate.
An example might be cooking. We all know that, for most of us, if we want to eat, we must cook, or go broke eating out. Eating is certainly important, but rather than cooking once and eating once, how about cooking once and eating multiple meals over a week. Some meals are even better when the ingredients and flavors have melded for a few days after preparation.
Some of us would love to simplify our lives, but don’t know what we need to do to be successful. There are a number of ways out there to find success that you may not know about or might be afraid to check out. To hear about one of the best, message me. You’ll learn a very simple way to improve your financial life.
But to improve life in general, focus on the few things that are very important to you, i.e. family, faith and future. If your boss gives you many tasks, find ways to do them in minimal amounts of time. Spend some time doing things that will benefit your family, ensure your future and bolster whatever faith you have.
Simplicity may be difficult, but, if you think about it, it’s not complicated.
Peter
THE RIGHT THING? THE FOUR-WAY TEST
#RotaryInternational #4WayTest #FourWayTest #DoTheRightThing
Do you always do the right thing?
Well, no one is perfect, and the “right thing” might be debatable. What you consider the “right thing,” may not be what your friend or neighbor believes is the ”right thing.”
Rotary International uses a Four-Way Test of things its members think, do or say to determine what “the right thing” is.
• First, is it the truth?
• Second, is it fair to all concerned?
• Third, will it help build good will and better friendships?
• Fourth, is it beneficial to all concerned?
If you use that test, you probably will do the right thing most of the time.
On the first test, we find that “truth” is also a matter of debate. Facts are usually not debatable, but we apparently live in an age of “fake news” and “alternative facts” that create debate of truth.
Would you change your opinion of something, or someone, if facts changed?
Would you cling to your beliefs in the face of contrary facts, or are “facts” simply what you believe them to be?
The second test involves fairness. Again, fairness is often debatable in this era of whatever happens to you is essentially your fault.
Why should someone else help you out of your jam, when you got yourself into the jam in the first place?
Rotary prides itself in helping those in a jam, because not all jams are self-created. The pursuit of fairness is never ending, and we must decide what is fair to all concerned.
The third test involves building relationships. Relationships require work, and some relationships require more work than others. Whatever relationships you try to build, be they business or personal, build them with the other people in mind. If you think of others above self, you should be well on your way toward doing the right thing.
The fourth test involves benefits. We are taught that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, with winners and losers. This test aims to achieve win-win situations in every encounter. As John Maxwell and other leadership experts advocate, try to add value to someone else every day. If you do that, you’ll be well on your way toward doing the right thing.
So, perhaps you are looking for a vehicle that will enable you to do the right thing for others, while at the same time do the right thing for you.
There are many such vehicles out there. To learn about one of the best, message me.
In short, learn to find and embrace undisputed truth, rather than the alternative. Look to do things that are fair to you and others. Work at building solid relationships. And do things that will benefit not just you, but others, too.
The right thing, truth and fairness should not be debatable concepts. They should be obvious and absolute. It’s best not to let anyone try to tell or show you otherwise.
Peter
BETTER TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART THAN SOMEONE ELSE’S
#FollowYourHeart #dreams #MeaningfulLife
“Following our hearts may involve quieting other voices that may want us to follow THEIR dream.”
So writes John Izzo in his little book, “5 Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die: The Key To Living a Happy and Meaningful Life.”
Izzo interviewed lots of people at various stages in their lives, to determine what their true meaning of life was.
Not only do people live differently, they die differently, Izzo learned.
“Some people end their lives with deep satisfaction and few regrets,” he writes. “Others die with bitterness or with sad resignation at the life they might have lived.”
In the book, he also urges people to give more than they take.
We all pursue life in different ways. Many of us have gotten advice from our parents to work hard, keep our noses clean and crave security.
Security, in the employment and financial world, is becoming more elusive. A job we thought might be there until we retire suddenly is not. Benefits we thought we would get throughout our work life might suddenly be taken away. Promises may be suddenly broken.
Circumstances will hit you, but they shouldn’t define you. And, a setback here or there should not keep you from pursuing YOUR dream. Remember that when you work for someone, you are helping him or her pursue HIS OR HER dream, which may or may not be in sync with pursuing yours.
If we want to, we can turn bad situations into good, and pursue our dreams. Have you ever been told to quit dreaming, that what you dream for yourself is not realistically achievable? Have you ever been told to stay with the tried and true, for security’s sake?
The tried and true may no longer exist, or may be temporary, or may soon go away. What then?
Be open to looking for other ways to achieve your dream. Be open to looking for other ways to help others achieve their dreams.
If you are, you may be able to deal with setbacks not only more easily, but with a smile.
What are those other ways to achieve your dream? There are many, but to learn about one of the best, message me. Learn how ordinary people with the courage to look for another way not only found it, but are thriving because of it.
Despite what others may tell you, dreaming is not only healthy, it’s encouraged.
It’s certainly OK to work for someone else while you pursue your dreams. If you do, live each day with purpose, and plan for the day that you can do what you want. For the courageous, that day will come sooner rather than later.
Izzo’s interviewees talked about taking risks. While we may have been told to avoid risks, those who take risks generally achieve their dreams sooner. Besides, in today’s climate, taking risks is often necessary to survive. Escaping one’s comfort zone may be the only alternative for many.
So, have courage. Take risks. Take a look at an idea you may be inclined to avoid. You could see a whole new world, and your dreams may be lived sooner rather than later.
Peter
MISERY QUOTIENT UP? NOT WHEN YOU CHECK IT OUT
#misery #poverty #optimism
If you believe that the world is a mess, with billions of people locked in inescapable cycles of war, famine and poverty, with more children than ever dying from hunger, disease and violence, to borrow from New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, think again.
Kristof writes that the number of people living in extreme poverty, defined as $1.90 per person per day, has fallen by 50 percent in two decades. The number of small children dying has fallen by about the same proportion, Kristof writes. His column on this subject was published Sept. 29, 2016, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Meanwhile, back in America, poverty is a thing of the past for 3.5 million Americans, writes Patricia Cohen, also of the New York Times. Her article was published a few days earlier in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cohen uses the example of Alex Caicedo, who went from working a series of odd jobs and watching his 1984 Chevy Nova cough its last breaths, to becoming an assistant manager at a pizzeria in Gaithersburg, Md., with an annual salary of $40,000.
His salary may not look like much, but it enabled Caicedo to move his wife and children out of his mother-in-law’s house and into their own place, Cohen writes.
What we see on the news makes us think that the whole world is in misery. But, as Kristof points out, the media may not be seeing all the good that is happening.
Certainly, there are places in the world where misery is in large supply. But these figures indicate that on a global scale, things seem to be getting better.
“It all came together at the same time,” Cohen quotes Diane Swonk, an independent business economist in Chicago. “Lots of employment and wage gains, particularly in the lowest-paying end of the jobs spectrum, combined with minimum-wage increases that started to hit some very large population areas,” Cohen quotes Swonk.
Overall, 2.9 million more jobs were created from 2014 to 2015, helping millions cross over into the ranks of regular wage earners, Cohen writes.
Meanwhile, on a global scale, as recently as 1981, 44 percent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty, Kristof writes. Now, that share is believed to be 10 percent, and falling. “This is the best story in the world today,” Kristof quotes Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank.
Still, you might not believe that the world isn’t going to Hades in a hand basket.
And, you might not believe these numbers, because you are not seeing that kind of progress in your life.
Perhaps you think you should just cocoon yourself and get away from it all.
Well, perhaps you should look at what is good in your life, change what you need to change and start seeing the progress others perhaps less fortunate than you are seeing. If you are looking for a vehicle to help you with that change, message me.
Otherwise, these facts would indicate that the country and the world have seen a breakthrough. We all should be optimistic that things will continue to get better, not worse. We all should believe that we can make our own difference in not only our lives, but in the lives of others.
You’ll be much happier if you lose the attitude of misery, and carry on with an attitude of progress and optimism.
Peter
DOING THE RIGHT THING
#DoTheRighThing #employers #employees
“Catch someone doing the right thing.”
“Do the right thing, even if no one is watching.”
These two quotes seem contradictory. However, they have much meaning together.
When one does the right thing, it’s sometimes for the display factor. They know they are being watched, evaluated etc., and they do what they’re supposed to do.
If you are a boss, you are more likely to look for people doing the WRONG things, and disciplining them for it. After all, you EXPECT people to do the right things, since that’s what they are getting paid for.
But what if, as a boss, you looked for people doing the right things? Would you think that your staff would be more motivated or excited to witness acknowledgement of what’s right, instead of punishment for what’s wrong?
Now, let’s say you are the employee. Your boss has stepped away from your area. Are you tempted to do the wrong thing, i.e. slack off, take a break etc.? If you are a good person, you keep doing your job, even if your boss isn’t watching. It matters not to you what your coworkers are doing. You just keep doing your job.
Now, as a boss, what if you surprised your employees by doing something nice for them? How would that make them feel? How would that make you feel?
Doing the right thing, no matter what, is always right. When you are in a job, you want to find the things about it that motivate you, other than the money. Finding non-monetary motivators is a key to happiness at work.
Of course, some jobs make finding non-monetary motivators more difficult than others. It’s tough to find such motivators when you clean toilets, haul trash etc. Still, your role in the organization may be vital, and you have to take encouragement from that.
On the other hand, if you are truly miserable at work, or you and your boss are constantly at loggerheads, you might need to find a path to success outside of that environment.
There are many ways out there to spend some part-time hours outside of work so that you can say goodbye to that miserable job. Message me to learn about one of the best vehicles out there to do that.
Sometimes, doing the right thing involves leaving a situation in which you are encouraged to do the WRONG thing. There are some unscrupulous employers out there who might put you in that position. In that case, getting out is doing the right thing.
As humans, we find ourselves doing the wrong things occasionally, even if we are, by and large, good people. In that case, apologize, correct your mistakes and proceed to do the right things.
It doesn’t matter who is watching. Find the right things to do, and do them vigorously and constantly. At the same time, look for others who are doing the right thing, acknowledge them and emulate them.
You will feel good. You’ll make others feel good.
Peter
HAPPY NEW YEAR! LET OPTIMISM RING AND REIGN
#HappyNewYear #2017 #BeOptimistic
Happy New Year!
Americans are hoping for a better 2017 than 2016, according to an article by Emily Swanson and Verena Dobnik, written for the Associated Press..
“Americans weren’t thrilled with (2016). Only 18 percent said things for the country got better, 33 percent said things got worse and 47 percent said it was unchanged from 2015,”reads the article, published in the Dec. 27, 2016, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But 55 percent believe things will be better for them in the new year. That’s a 12 percent improvement from last year’s poll, according to the article.
“You’ve got to be optimistic and I’m going to try,” the article quotes Elizabeth Flynn, 62, an elementary schoolteacher from Peabody, Mass.
“Next year will be better than this year, because people will have more jobs and they’ll have more money to spend,” the article quotes Bourema Tamboura, who lives in Harlem (New York City) and drives for a car service.
Optimism is contagious. Unfortunately, so is pessimism.
So let’s ask the question: Would you RATHER be optimistic than pessimistic?
Optimists are more likely to innovate. They are more likely to take action to solve their, and perhaps others’, problems.
Optimists press on, believing that things will get better eventually.
Pessimists tend to dwell on the wrongs, or perceived wrongs, that have been done to them.
They tend to cast blame on others, and other things, for their predicament.
They tend to sit still, or decline, because they believe things will get so worse that there is no use in trying to get better.
So, one can sit home, wallow, and blame. Or, he can go out, find solutions and make his life better, indeed, if it needs to get better. For some optimists, life is always good but it never hurts to believe it will get even better.
Most of life is governed by our thoughts. Certainly, uncontrollable circumstances can hit any, or all, of us. But circumstances should never govern us. Instead, they should prompt us to act, to take more control of our lives.
If you are looking for something to come into your lives that could not just improve it, but change it for the better, there are many such vehicles out there. To check out one of the best, message me.
Remember, good luck generally comes to those who look for it. You may live your life forever playing, and never winning, the lottery. But if you are open to looking, someone may come into your life with something that you may, or may not, have known you were looking for.
So, have a great 2017. Give it your best. Worry less about what will happen, and look more for what you can do to help others.
Stay optimistic. Your life will be so much better.
Peter
SHEPHERDS ARE THE REAL HEROES
#shepherds #GoodShepherd #ServantLeaders
In the Christmas story, the angels heralded the birth of Jesus first to shepherds.
Why shepherds, rather than more important people of the time?
Kyle Wingfield, columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tackled this matter in his Christmas Day column of 2016.
As Wingfield puts it, shepherding was among the dirty jobs of the era, done by men of the humblest and lowliest stations in life.
But it’s so appropriate that shepherds were the first to know. Moses and David were shepherds before they became biblical heroes, Wingfield writes.
And, more importantly, the double symbolism in the story is that Jesus called himself “the Good Shepherd.” He came from humble beginnings, and circulated among, and died for, the humblest among us. As Wingfield put it, he was the ultimate example of a sacrificial leader. The ultimate shepherd.
Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the story offers an example for all of us. Real leaders first are servants. They jump into the dirtiest of tasks if they need to. They don’t ask of others what they would not do themselves.
Most of us would strive to be servant leaders. Servant leaders look not at what’s in it for themselves, but they look first at what they can do to help others succeed.
If they do that, then success usually finds them.
Perhaps you think that your current position does not allow you to be a servant leader. Instead, your position makes you be more like, well, just a servant.
But one can be a leader, while being a servant. He or she can set the example for those around them. He or she can show others how to be a good person, or, as it were, a good shepherd. Remember, as Wingfield writes, that shepherding was a pretty lowly job back in the day.
Then, there are those who seek to do more with their lives. They want to step up from what they are doing now, and be a shepherd in a new way – one that could have even more impact on others’ lives. Perhaps they want to help others succeed in a way that they, or those whom they help, would have never dreamed of.
If that describes you, there are many ways out there for you to step out, and step up, that you might not have thought about. To learn about one of the best ways to do that, message me.
Meanwhile, by extending a helping hand in your life as it is now, you will be on your way to becoming a good shepherd.
“We don’t like to think of ourselves as sheep,” Wingfield writes. “It’s something of a slur among those who reject (the elites). But we are all in need of shepherds. Good ones. The kind who set aside pride and self-interest to put others first,” Wingfield writes.
In short, be a good shepherd in your own way. Never forget that serving is leading. Never condemn your station in life. Instead, work to improve it if you must. Don’t let the naysayers and fear mongers bring you down.
For in this season, and all others, there is so much joy to be shared.
Peter