In Yoke

My work as a technology company sales engineer, consultant, and manager has been greatly improved, augmented and complemented by our alliance and association with the folks at Clearview, the group of former Arthur Andersen, EDS, ACS,  and Accenture consultants who have built the Waco Internet Technology Gateway in Waco. This is the datacenter where we now maintain our offices in Downtown Waco. One thing I appreciate so much and have made part of my work day, and sales discipline—is taking painstaking time to prepare—especially for prospect presentations. The guys who have spent their careers as consultants know that this is very much a Best Practice. Now, when we are seeking to make a presentation to a client, or prospect, or even to have a discovery meeting to work on building a relationship, my work mate Josh and I make sure we rehearse that meeting, carefully scripting the message, carefully wording the ideas, the thought processes behind our solution or project plans. What ...

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.  -Brother Lawrence The mind has a tremendous natural capacity to dwell on things, and in repeating the mantram we are channeling this capacity to train the mind. It is the same capacity, only we are giving it a different focus. There is a story in the Hasidic tradition of Judaism in which a man asks his zaddik or spiritual teacher, "Do you mean we should remember the Lord even in the give-and-take of business?" "Yes, of course," the rabbi replies. "If we can remember business matters in the hour of prayer, shouldn't we be able to remember God in the transactions of our business?" ~Easwaran That's fair. I incessantly pray for God to bless our business.  It remains for me to pr...

Loss of discrimination is the greatest source of danger. -Sanskrit proverb The greatest source of danger to a human being is loss of discrimination, and this is the main malady in our modern civilization, where we have lost our capacity to differentiate between what is necessary and useful, and what is unnecessary and harmful. How often do we stop and ask, "What is really important? What matters most to me?" If every one of us starts asking this simple question, it will transform our daily lives and even the world in which we live. After all, we need clean air and water more than we need microwave ovens. Doing work that is meaningful and of service to others is more important than owning luxury cars.We need loving human relationships more than we need home entertainment systems. Many modern conveniences make life more pleasant and can save time. We needn't live without them, but when we begin to think such things are not merely useful but prized possessions, we may gradua...