Philosophy graphic

My Philosophy

Kindness and patience are on the top of my list.

I believe we can all make the world a better place by making the time to be pleasant and kind. Everyone knows just how great you can feel when someone pauses and makes you a part of their day. It’s a simple (although not always easy) gift that we can give each other.

I will listen to you.

And then I will listen again. I often find that crucial information, whether in giving/taking directions, or interviewing a client, occurs at the end of a conversation—typically following the words, “Oh, by the way…”

There’s a great instance of “Oh, by the way” in my blog entry of May 7, 2007.

I believe that we can make a connection with every person we meet.

I have the privilege of teaching computer skills to the unemployed in my evenings, Monday through Thursday. One of the sadest and the most wonderful experiences I have had is seeing my students respond beautifully to my concern and my questions during class. Most of my students are either unemployed or belong to what I call the invisible working class. These are people who are rarely if ever spoken to with kindness or respect during their working day. Many of my students think I’m very unusual because I listen carefully to them and I wait patiently for them to speak. (It sometimes takes a few minutes to think of an answer, if you’ve never been asked for your opinion before.)

Technology is like a good shovel—it’s meant to dig deeper faster—but it’s not a replacement for a good gardener.

The only constant with technology is expense and change. The newest technology is always the most expensive and that technology will be obsolete in three years or less.

Does this mean we should never buy new computers or software? No. I advocate buying software and hardware updates when you are using them. The latest and greatest, usually saves time. In print, web or publishing production, saving time means saving money.