Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello fellow entrepreneurs!

I`m new to this forum, but I thought I`d pass on a great article for you all on leadership using one of my favorite historical figures (Alexander the Great) as a prototype for a good leader!

A must read!
"Sacrifice Yourself"
http://www.smallbusinesstycoon.com/index.php?itemid=19

Neil Eskelin, the author of that article, was best known for his PR role at PTL - Jim and Tammy Bakker`s `Pass The Loot` club. Smarmy guy, but good article.

Y`know what`s interesting about these kinds of articles? They totally depend upon the reader`s ability to translate metaphors! And y`know what`s a growing problem in today`s society? The decreasing number of people who even know the word "metaphor."

Ayn Rand coined a term, "secondhanding." She also developed the theory and principles of an "empty concept." What it essentially means is that we use a term, word, or phrase as a placeholder in our mind without knowing what it actually means.

An example is a young person interacting with the term "check book." Through direct experience, they`ve heard (not used) the various words associated with money, banks, checks, ledgers, and balances. None of them are personal experiences, but they`ve heard the sounds people make with their mouths.

However, the young person has a direct and physical experience with a paper check. Someone has given them one, they handed it to a parent, and the parent says, "I`ll cash that for you." So the young person develops a picture in their mind that some kinds of paper can be called "checks." Give that paper to someone else and money shows up.

Not long afterwards, a friend of theirs says, "Hey, can I write you a check for this?" They "know" that if they get a check, hand it to the authorities, they`ll get money in exchange. So they agree.

Does this person know what a check is, or what`s a checkbook? No. They "think" they do, but they can`t answer any questions relative to the real actions and consequences associated with symbolic money. Their idea of a checkbook is an `empty concept.`

Many people make a great deal of money these days by floating around empty concepts. The market is based on people who hear someone else talk about something, then borrow those terms second-hand and believe they know what they`re doing.

One great way for this is to write a couple of paragraphs about a metaphor. Never translate that metaphor, but imply that "everyone knows" exactly what it means, what it replaces, and how it can be applied in actual everyday life.

People read it, have a vague "ping" of response where they almost-kinda-sorta but not quite get the image of a connection, and "feel" this is a very important "something."

Craig, I know it`s after 10pm on the East Coast, but I must ask:




On another tangent, Ayn Rand was once married to Nathaniel Branden, an expert on self-esteem. Guess he got that concept after the divorce.

Rand once had an affair with Branden, then totally removed him from her life, the Objectivist Institute, and did everything in her power to wipe him out when the affair went south. She never married him, but told Barbara Branden, his wife, that their affair was "logically obvious." :-)

I think she had issues, but that had little bearing on her capacity to think and reason. She was married only once, to Frank O`Conner.

Funny that we`re talking about Ayn Rand while this topic is posted in `Grab Bag`.

That`s because "Philosophy" has collapsed to "a waste of time" in most people`s mind these days.

Here`s an exercise:

Imagine you`ve just woken from your previous night`s going to sleep. You look around and, unbeknownst to you, you`re on an entirely different planet. What would be your very first, immediately necessary, and most practical questions?

1. Where the f**k am I, or words to that effect
2. How does this place work?

That`s philosophy. Anyone who thinks philosophy has no practical application just hasn`t got the definition of philosophy properly in their mind. Before anyone can survive in physical life, they must know at least a partial answer to the above questions.

Depending upon the accuracy of their answers, they`ll either survive or be wiped out, quicker or more slowly. The trick is to die at a convenient time, not be wiped out according to some other schedule. :-)

Craig: That`s not what I meant. I was making a joke about Ayn Rand and her being in the `Grab Bag` section. Get it? The old bag...

Anyway, philosophy is vitally important. One reason I love to argumentation so much - which is defined as reasoned debate, not yelling or whatever - is a class I took in college, Deductive Logic and Critical Thinking. I went on to take 4 other classes in Philosophy, and am reading Plato`s Republic and Disraeli right now.

Craig, have you ever heard of that great Greek philosopher who went to his dry cleaners all ticked off because they tore his pants?

You, know - Euripides?

I shall proceed to now shoot myself in the head.

Wait...not yet. Puns are indeed excellent forms of humor, perhaps the greatest of all! And then there`s "Bill and Ted`s Excellent Adventure," and it`s comprehensive biography of So Crates. :-)

I thought Euripides was Italian? At least from his accent....?