A Toughness Primer…Digital Seduction…”I Share, therefore I am”…Econ Recon: The Devil Hiding in the Details

“Technology is so much fun but we can drown in our technology.

The fog of information can drive out knowledge.”

Daniel Boorstin

Author of  “The Discovers” and  “The Creators”

Former Librarian of Congress

A Toughness Primer

Thoughts without the requisite emotive force to create action are like a car without an engine. It’s not going anywhere. Without the energy and toughness that our emotions provide there simply is no motivation to drive us forward. Check out these 15 Things that Emotionally Strong People Don’t Do.

Digital Seduction

Making and using complex tools is a uniquely human trait, but it can come with a price. Victor Davis Hanson in National Review looks at the recent tools (i.e. digital technology) we’ve created and suggests that not only have these not solved all the old problems, but they may be creating new ones (see next entry below for additional evidence of this). His one page article on Technology and Wisdom is required reading for anyone suffering from unmitigated optimism regarding the power that a smart phone or tablet may represent. Are you using these tools, or are you being misled by them? The world is still bigger than we are.

“I Share, Therefore I  Am”

We are offered so many avenues to connect through the various vehicles of social media that some find it hard to imagine anyone being lonely. One writer, however has a unique and disturbing take on how our attempts to be connected result in self editing that makes the sharing less real and our loneliness even more pronounced. Is more actually less? This 4 minute video, “The Innovation of Loneliness” is sobering, provocative and has disturbing implications for family, friendships and company culture. Share it with your online communities.

 Econ Recon: The Devil Hiding in the Details

It is said that both God and the devil are in the details. Is the latter lurking in the details of the proposed Federal Tax overhaul? As usual, Vistage Staff economist and ITR Economics principal Alan Beaulieu has done the homework for us and, like the true professional he is, has changed his mind when the facts change and revised his earlier favorable opinion of this legislation to one of warning after giving it another read.

Many of the readers of this newsletter are high bracket tax payers. Read these five succinct paragraphs and decide if a phone call to your accountant and Congressman are warranted.