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| Perception of U S Marine Corp |
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| Pride |
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| Traveling Corp. |
Just when in life, you reach a point where you really don't care what people think, it becomes crystal clear how important perception really plays a part.This point was made more clear this past week. The example came from the strangest of places with the strangest of projects. Sometimes it is almost better to fail than to be seen in the light of being a "copy cat". There are some who are pulling their hair our by now because of that string of words "better to fail than to be seen". But, of course, they are the very people who miss so much because common sense is not so common for their world. That doesn't make them ignorant or stupid, but the perception can put the focus in a different light.
Example 1
There are some interesting people on Twitter. Some, I even follow. A couple of those scholars sound almost human. Then, I am reminded of an old neighbor who was listed in the "Who's Who" of American Anthropology and was professor in the Anthropology Department of a major University, yet he would come home at night and cut his front lawn by a push-real mower with a taped on flashlight to light his way in the dark of night. The perception was rather odd to many of his neighbors. The reality of it all was that his brain was working overtime and later on in the semester his published papers would rock the world of Anthropology from those flashlight cuttings. The perception was not the reality and looking back today, I was literally watching thought being generated,then store itself in his grey matter until he released it onto paper.
There is this one account that gives me indulgence because he reminds me of the former neighbor. His perception of me is that I'm odd, I would believe, but as is human nature, that is my perception of how he views me. He is moving up the ladder of academia at another major university. He's blended teaching, family life, writing scholarly articles that are published with being trapped in a world that he thinks he has control over from an academic standpoint to the reality that he too, has reached that point in life with waining connect to being young and energized with ambition and hopes for the future. My hope is that I live long enough to have him report that he cut his lawn with a flash light taped to the handle of his lawn mower. That's my perception.
Example 2
Never would I draw to conclusion or formed the perception that when Dallas developed, planned and built the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge that the city of Irving would try to copy that with a major bridge building project. People went nuts when Dallas built a $130 million plus cable-stayed bridge over the Trinity River, but really now, Irving building one to identify the City of Irving is a bit much. Hello! You have the Famous Mustangs of Los Colinas, don't you see. You created Los Colinas. You have Lake Carolyn. You have the canals.You have the gondola boats. You now have your convention center. You have the Orange Line, the Monorail. You have The Four Seasons at TPC Cottonwood. Carpenter Ranch has been good for Irving.
The perception is that this blog does not favor Irving. This blog has reported several times in the past that Irving is high on my list of places dear to my heart. Across the Carpenter Freeway from Irving's Convention Center at Los Colinas, is the world headquarters of Exxon Mobil Oil, that is nestled fairly deep in the woods of their corporate estate and compound.The reality is that this blog will always be grateful to Exxon Mobil Oil for what they have done in the past, personally.
So, when things seem one way, looking the other way in the opposite direction will usually reset you humanity compass so that you can make adjustments that will align you more to a perception that is in refined focus. Of course, that is only a perception.
