Friendship and Politics - Can They Mix?

Making new friends can be a tricky process. When we first meet someone new, we often get the advice to stick to very safe small talk conversations. We are told that we should never discuss controversial topics such as religion or politics with people we have just met. Either of these two topics can result in a bitter argument if both people are passionate about their differing points of view. You can easily destroy all chances at a friendship if you discuss controversial topics too soon.

Is it always true that we should never bring up the topic of politics with someone we have just met? Is it possible to develop a good friendship or romance with a person if you hate their political beliefs? What if you are attracted to someone, but you hate their politics? Should you limit your friendships and relationships to people who share your political views?

Today in many countries, politics has become very intense, and differing political views can spark an intense argument.

In spite of this, the advice to avoid all discussion of politics with people that you don't know very well is not always necessary.

For example, you might find yourself at a political convention surrounded by thousands of people you don't know, yet you would have a good chance of having great political discussions with anyone of them. It's very possible that most of the people you meet at such an event will love having political conversations with you.

There's another time you might want to bring up politics right away, even when you don't know how the other person will react. You might be one of those people who takes politics so seriously that you don't want to get to know a person slowly and only later find out that their political beliefs don't match your own.

In such a case, you might prefer to have your political discussions right away so that you decide whether or not you want to invest more time in this person.

Most of us are not that extremely passionate about our politics, yet politics still has the potential to break up relationships, especially in the early stages.

That's why we are usually advised to stay away from discussing politics until we know a person better.

Many people who have very strong political opinions also dislike any people who have a differing point of view. They are not willing to be tolerant of people with other political views. This makes it very difficult to make bonds of friendship or love if the other person has different political beliefs.

Still, some people have managed to create successful friendships and marriages even though both people have differing political views. How do they manage this? It's more likely that people with differing political viewpoints can make a successful friendship if neither of them are very passionate about politics.

Before you decide to bring up the topic of politics with a person you don't know well, ask yourself how you will react if it turns out that their point of view is the opposite of your own. Then ask yourself whether you think it's worth the risk.

In some cases, people with very different political opinions manage to stay good friends or even have happy marriages because they actually enjoy having passionate arguments about politics. They have enough respect for each other that they can overlook their differences. In other cases, friends with different points of view simply decide to avoid any political discussions altogether.

What To Do About Recycling At Home

When we look at the havoc wreaked by humanity on the planet's natural ecology, it can be hard to fathom how to help rectify this situation. At the most basic level the answer is simple. We can as individuals, families and communities recycle and reuse our waste at home. By beginning the recycling process in small incremental steps in our homes and communities we can make an impact eventually at a national level - and who knows - later at a total concerted global level.

I don't think there is anyone among us who do not want a bright sustainable future for our children and grandchildren. So what better way to invest in our progeny's future than by working on building a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable environment for them to live in? What better way of educating our young than by leading by example.

The green movement has become very political around the globe in the past twenty years, much to the chagrin of many voters. But no matter what your political convictions, it is a small investment of time and money to begin recycling around the home. At its heart it is merely the effort of buying some recycling bins for home and obtaining some basic information from your local recycling station on what type of materials they accept for recycling. What is so terribly difficult about that?

Inside, the main rooms to situate your recycling bins for home would be the kitchen, home office, garage and the bathrooms. The kitchen will most likely generate the most recyclable waste in the form of plastics, glass, cans and cardboard - all the packaging associated with food preparation. Your home office can generate a lot of paper waste associated with your particular business. In the increasingly digital world you might like to consider storing your documentation electronically with suitable password protection, thereby cutting down your paper consumption.

Bathrooms usually produce paper and plastic waste from personal care products and though waste produced here is likely less than the rest of the house, its accumulation is still significant. The garage can host a variety of chemical waste from engine oils, old paints, toxic cleaning products and pesticides. Please investigate how to safely get rid of this waste from your local authority.

Recycling around the home doesn't end inside the house. Instead of throwing away your lawn clippings at your local landfill, why not keep a composting bin for fertilizing your garden. You can also throw a significant amount of the food waste from your kitchen into your composting bin for the continued health of your garden. If you do not have a significant garden around your home then look around your community, there very well maybe a neighborhood gardener very nearby who would welcome your compost contribution. Also, there are local authorities and commercial concerns who will take away your green waste for a small price to be reused for their own projects.

So you see if you take these very small steps and buy a few recycling bins for home - the trickle down effect may very well impact on national and international levels. A sustainable future is indeed a desirable future.

Commenting on the Future of Geo Politics Are You? Check Six Before You Post Your Predictions

Yes, I am a Futurist, and I belong to the World Futurist Society [WFS] but I've found over the years that I don't have much in common with many of the other futurists because I am not a left-leaning utopian dreaming socialist. In fact, I quit college to run my company. Therefore, I did not get indoctrinated by academia toward such lines of thinking. One thing that bothers me about futurists, whether members of the WFS, or self-proclaimed independents - is that they write books, essays, and articles predicting the future - most all of which later turn out to be incorrect.

Interestingly enough, all of these false predictors which call themselves futurists go to seminars put on by other futurists who also make false predictions so they can all learn how to think like futurists. Isn't that the funniest thing you've ever heard? On one hand they say it's important to think outside the box, otherwise how on earth could you recognize an up-and-coming Black Swan event, but then on the same token they wish to try to teach you how to think. Indeed, that reminds me a lot of the indoctrination of academia. The only difference is most of these folks are grown-ups and they are out of school now.

Do this for me, go to a library book sale and buy 4-5 years worth of old magazine. Magazines such as The Economist, Foreign Affairs, The Futurist, Forbes, Foreign Policy, Business Week, Wired, Fortune, etc and sit down and re-read some of those popular stories of the time. In hindsight you know what happened now, and ask yourself, were those folks correct? Remember it was only 5-years ago or so, and you have to ask yourself how did they get it so wrong?

By the way, I have done this "old magazine library book sale trick" before on numerous occasions, and I often pick up magazines in many different industries and sectors going back two or three decades. You don't have to page through the articles for very long to realize and remind you of the history that you have lived through, and realize that all of these so-called know what alls, futurists, policymakers, consultants, and gurus didn't know what they were talking about then, and they still don't know what they're talking about now.

Indeed, when I look at my own batting average for making predictions, I sometimes impress myself, and yes I'm better than many of these other guys, and gals now too. Of course, now after making a number of mistakes and looking at all the mistakes in predicting what others have made, I'm a little more cautious and careful when predicting the future, and I take many more things into consideration because the future isn't linear, no matter what the political researchers purporting all of their empirical data would have you believe.

If you are going to predict the future of geopolitics, I hope you will consider what I've said here today, as it has come at personal sacrifice to observe all this, and 10s of thousands of hours of research. Please think on it.

How to Be Diplomatic in a Political Atmosphere

You've heard it said that some people see the glass as half empty while others see it as half full. What it comes down to is a matter of perception. But where does the perception piece come from?

Perception comes from how you view the world. What I mean by that is we each have perceptions about how the world works based on our own individual experiences, social background, economic level, and through these filters we see the world in a different way. It has such an impact that we could all hear the same speech, read the same book and each of us would take away something different from it based on our own view of the world.

I have even had discussions with friends where it sounded like we were disagreeing but when I looked back at it, we actually agreed on the same principles but each of us thought our different aspect of the conversation was more important than the other person's viewpoint. What an interesting but needless reason to get upset!

So how do you have a challenging conversation with someone when you are in disagreement? Think of each person wrapped in a force field. The force field represents their viewpoint. In order to penetrate that force field you have to find a common ground or subject that you both agree on. You do this all the time when you first meet someone; it could be a sport, family, where you grew up, or hobbies. This is why a lot of initial discussions are over a meal, everyone has to eat. As you talk the two separate viewpoints begin to overlap. The more you find in common, the larger the overlap becomes. What about political discussions?

There is a reason that people tend to avoid politics, religion, and sex in conversations, they can be very heated discussions because they get to the core of your value system. Sometimes we spend so much time and energy trying to convince someone of our own viewpoint that we completely miss giving the other person the benefit of expressing the reason for their viewpoint. We make having to be right more important than giving respect to another's viewpoint.

When there is a difference of opinion, it is easier for the other person to consider your point of view if you can demonstrate that you heard their point of view. Stephen Covey, author of the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." The following lists the benefits of his advice.

1. Sometimes the other person just needs to be heard and acknowledged before he or she is willing to consider a different opinion to yield on a position.
2. It is easier for someone to listen to and consider your views when that person knows you are listening and considering his or her views.
3. When you are able to listen well enough to repeat another's opinion or position, it helps the individual spot the flaws in their reasoning.
4. When you listen for understanding, you are conveying an unspoken message that the other person is a worthy human being. It is a sign of respect.

Here comes the challenging part. The next time you're in a heated discussion where you disagree with another's position, do you blow this person off, convince the person of your viewpoint, or discover what makes the person think that way?

If You Are Honest and Productive No Matter What, I Am Glad You Are Going My Way

We all face trials in life, but character is shown when we do what is good for us or genuinely attempt to do what is good for us no matter what may seem to come that is bad in a near term way. Doing what is productive no matter what is no exception or difference. In fact, it is all the key to power. This article is just another exposition of my personal philosophy. Indeed, we can take the political way out or the business way out the way I look at it, no other two choices exist. I always take the business way out, and that is what this article is about.

Instead of how can I "worm" out of this problem in a "slick," sneaky political way, it is how can I genuinely and actively solve this problem, and do better next time a situation comes up, and how can I have the maximum character power in my life no matter what in a business like way. Sure, my character is tempted like anyone else, but the difference is, no matter what, I believe in the "hard way that works and everyone knows it" instead of the "easy way that might not work." Sure, in a way that sounds dubious, but I will completely and fully explain my point of view in this article. In a poem by a woman poet that explains the realities and honest truths of life, she explains that "the only way out is through."

Well, that is the reality of most situations, is it not? It does come down to the political character versus the business character, no other two basic choices exist in life and existence for any conscious and sentient being. The business character knows this and lives by this, no matter what. The political character lives by this when it serves them. A former California Attorney General and politician once said, "character is doing what is right when no one is looking." I will go even further, character is doing what is genuinely right no matter what or what inconvenience it may cause. Because the ultimate inconvenience really is the consequences that come from genuinely avoiding the right thing that will genuinely get the right result.

Sure, I can "squirm" out of writing and living realistically, but, I do not, because reality is there no matter what is done.

Indeed, to my way of thinking and action, the only way out is through. No matter what and sometimes without "lubricant" or "let up," as my Dad used to say sometimes when he was having a hard time fixing the family car. Honesty may be the best policy, but because we have a conscious choice in the matter, we have a choice between two approaches, good and bad, political like and business like, this or that, whatever it may be. But do not get me wrong, it is the choice between two approaches and two approaches only that ultimately say yes or no to us all. That is my point, that is my message.

Always Be Polite

I don't say this just because I'm a Canadian (although I am and people think we're "nice"). I'm also a Canadian entrepreneur who lived in San Francisco and did business all over the U.S. as well. Marketing means that you probably have opinions and are doing thing differently.

What does polite mean?
The Oxford dictionary (on-line) says that polite is an adjective that means either courteous and well-mannered or cultured and refined as in polite society.

It has also been used to suggest that we keep our opinions to ourselves or be quiet about something as the British have been known to be.

What can we as entrepreneurs do?
We could say nothing at all but we are small business owners who usually offer and do what we think. That means that we probably speak our opinions out loud to everyone whether they're listening or not.

We could do a number of things.

1. When you own a business, you never know when you meet someone whom they know or what they believe. You could be in line getting groceries or training 20 people on how to write a newsletter or even networking and speaking with someone one on one. Whether you are a small business owner who is marketing on purpose or someone out and about meeting people, keep your controversial opinions to yourself.

2. You might find out what else a person does by asking different questions. Don't ask the same ones all the time like what is your business, what do you do, or a simple one like who are you. Ask these questions to learn more about the person themself and who they know.

3. Listen more and talk less. That means that you learn about them and their business. It's said that we each have two ears and one mouth for a reason. We should really listen to what the other person is saying then reply to what they said because we care.

4. Have an opinion but say it quietly and "nicely" like we Canadians. It's quite alright to speak of an idea that we have that is different from the "norm". Saying it politely offends no one. If they take it personally then you haven't been the cause of that.

5. Say nothing. You could just be quiet. I know that's not the usual thing for entrepreneurs but sometimes it's best for everybody concerned.

Listen then speak and by all means have ideas in your head and tell them to others. Don't let this article stop what you say just how you say it.