No one is exactly sure when or why the “heart” shape we see so often, especially this time of year, came to represent love. But one of the earliest depictions is found in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. The famed painter Giotto painted a series of frescoes in the chapel; one shows a female…
In The Corporate Coach by James B. Miller, a book on my shelf that is left over from a long-abandoned career in sales management, James Miller discusses the role of “the twitch in your elbow” while interviewing job applicants. Gut instinct, we might say. And a big part of that, he says, is the commitment the applicant shows toward other activities. If he’s a scratch golfer, he didn’t get there just with 18 holes on Saturday. Maybe he’ll cut out of work early some days. If he’s out on his boat every weekend, who’s to say he won’t miss a few Monday mornings?
Commitment is a character trait not everyone has. It is to be admired.
I have to admit, I am not a big fan of walkouts. And I appear to be in the minority. Everyone seems to be staging walkouts these days. Generally, as I understand it, a walkout involves people abandoning their proper, useful activity such as school or work and spending their time instead telling people how righteous their cause is — as though school and work are not righteous causes themselves.
I’m not doubting the sincerity of the people involved, nor am I necessarily casting aspersions on their respective causes. I’m just saying, it’s very convenient to pat yourself on the back for taking a day off.
