PRETTY+GOOD

Pretty Good by Charles Osgood from the Osgood File, 1986
== There once was a pretty good student Who sat in a pretty good class And was taught by a pretty good teacher Who always let pretty good pass. He wasn’t terrific at reading, He wasn’t a whiz-bang at math, But for him, education was leading Straight down a pretty good path. He didn’t find school too exciting, But he wanted to do pretty well, And he did have some trouble with writing Since nobody taught him to spell. When doing arithmetic problems, Pretty good was regarded as fine. 5+5 needn’t always add up to be 10; A pretty good answer was 9. The pretty good class that he sat in Was part of a pretty good school, And the student was not an exception: On the contrary, he was the rule. The pretty good schoolthat he went to Was there in a pretty good town, And nobody there seemed to notice He could not tell a verb from a noun. The pretty good student in fact was Part of a pretty good mob. And the first time he knew what he lacked was When he looked for a pretty good job. It was then, when he sought a position, He discovered that life could be tough, And he soon had a sneaking suspicion Pretty good might not be good enough. The pretty good town in our story Was part of a pretty good state Which had pretty good aspirations And prayed for a pretty good fate. There once was a pretty good nation Pretty proud of the greatness it had, Which learned much too late, If you want to be great, Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad. ==

The Last Lecture Randy Pausch If you have a question, find an answer, do not wait for someone else—take control of your learning. Q-If in a position of strength, whether work or relationships, play fair—just because your are in the drivers seat doesn’t mean you have to run people over. (23) What are your dreams? You have to have your fundamentals down, otherwise the fancy stuff won’t work. Self-esteem is attained through hard work, trying something you cannot do but repeating the process until mastered. Head fakes (39) the one with the head to get you to move in that direction, the other is the one that teaches people and they don’t realize they are learning. It’s a hidden objective to get others to learn something you want them to, without them realizing it! Brick Walls (51) are there not to keep us out but to give a chance to demonstrate how bad one wants something. They are there to stop other people, not you. It may take perseverance and tenacity to get over it. Once you get over, it’s helpful to share technique. The Dutch Uncle—(68) –it’s a shame people consider you arrogant because it will limit you in accomplishments. Q- It’s not helpful if we spend every day dreading tomorrow (99). Time rules (108-109) (114) Feedback 1. Did your peers think you worked hard? Exactly how many hours did your peers think you devoted to a project? 2. How creative was the contribution? 3. Did your peers find it easy or hard to work with you? Were you a team player? Virtual reality rules (122) Q—Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier. Sitting together-(142) Q-watch what they do, not what they say. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity—Seneca Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted (148) Don’t forget thank you notes. Don’t forget thin mints---(158) Don’t forget to smell and play with crayons (164) How to apologize—(162) No job is beneath you—(168-69) (179) do you want to be Tigger or Eeyore, fun loving or sad-sack?
 * Time must be explicitly managed—avoid irrelevant details, the underside of banisters.
 * You can always change your plan, but only if you have one—to-do lists should be in manageable steps
 * Ask yourself, are you spending your time on the right things?
 * Develop a good filing system—
 * Rethink the telephone—
 * Telemarketers-hang up while you are talking
 * Delegate—
 * Take a time out—but inspect what you expect
 * 1) no shooting violence
 * 2) 2. no pornography.
 * 1) Meet people properly-can you pronounce their names.
 * 2) Find something in common
 * 3) What are optimal meeting conditions?
 * 4) Let everyone talk--don’t finish sentences or raise voices.
 * 5) Check egos at the door—
 * 6) Praise each other-something nice to say
 * 7) Phrase alternatives to questions—instead of “I think we should” try, “What would happen if…”
 * 1) What I did was wrong
 * 2) I feel badly that I hurt you
 * 3) How do I make this better?