Quick to Criticize, Slow to Praise

Business Reviews are an excellent tool that I utilize often, but one thing bothers me about reviews: Our culture is quick to criticize and slow to praise; this should be the other way around.

Take a minute to think about your experiences doing business during your day. I would daresay that the overall majority of your business dealing go forward positively and satisfactory, but how often do you praise the businesses and individuals beyond a quick thank you as you conclude the business dealing? My guess is that most of us do not go out of our way to praise. On the contrary, think back to the businesses dealings that did not go well, which is likely not very many overall. We are very likely to express our displeasure, often including going to a manager/supervisor or submitting a complaint/bad review on the web.

Now making issues with poor service or poor quality may be appropriate, but shouldn't we be just as likely to praise another for positive efforts? What kind of society do we live in that seems to value tearing people down? Was the issue you are complaining about really that bad? Is the person you are complaining about really trying to hurt you? Our actions affect others, not just the big things, but the little things too. Often we are too obsessed with making sure our needs are meant to perfection without regard for the other people "getting in the way."

The people in our lives certainly should be doing things the right way but we need to be quick to praise and slow to complain. Often complaints and negative feedback will frustrate people, causing further mistakes and issues. Positivity can do wonders for your health and the health and performance of those around us, try it, it is a great feeling!


John 8: 1-11

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

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The Credit Score

The other day I had an interesting conversation with a friend about the credit score and its importance. I believe the credit does have its uses but is often overused and its value overestimated. Te short story is: Your credit score tells a finance company/bank if you know how to get loans, and if you pay them back. If it is high, you are really good at getting loans.

To some this may seem like the exact purpose of credit scores, but there is so much more to your credit than just a score. For example, if customer A has a 800 credit score, makes 3000/month, and pays 2500/month a business would be remiss to give this client a loan. On the flipside, customer B lets say has a score of 580, but have perfect credit in the last three years, makes 3000/month, and only pays 700/month.

This scenario is actually more common than you think. Which client is a better loan? Granted client B is not going to get a good interest rate, nor a loan without solid collateral, but client B may not be such a bad loan as one might think. Before the credit crisis, particularly in mortgages, loans were being given purely on the basis of the credit score, thus causing landlords to owe more than they made each month. As long as they kept renters in their homes everything was good, but when renters started getting evicted, and they couldn't fill the homes, they got foreclosed on.

Maintaining your credit is not a bad thing, and a good credit score is a very good thing, but the moral of the story is: Don't get overly concerned about you credit score, simply pay your bills, every months, on time while being sure to keep your credit ratio (Amount you pay/Amount you make) to around 25% and with a mortgage aim for no more than 35%. Credit scores work, but it is not necessary to constantly think about it. Personally may goal is to have a perfect score of zero (AKA completely debt free)!

The Case for Camp — Why Kids Need It Now More Than Ever

I recently found this well-written article by Peg Smith, CEO for the American Camp Association. This is the message of Living Hope! Kids need camp,and it can, and will, change the lives of kids and teenagers who get this opportunity.

Enjoy!

---Begin Article---

Change is a part of life. It is often directly related to survival and can enrich one's life in ways unexpected. Childhood is in essence a time of profound change and development. It is exciting and disquieting at the same time. When it comes to our children, we need to be sure that change is made for the better.

We've been so concentrated on the brain, we forget about the rest of our bodies. This change in focus has lead to an obesity rate that is unacceptable. Our kids are not as healthy as the generation before.

Families used to live in a community. We've lost that, keeping kids inside and losing a sense of neighborhood.

Add to that the fact that our kids stand to inherit all the economic, social, and environmental challenges we've created, and the legacy we have left our children and youth begins to look bleak.

So, how do we prepare our children with the skills and more importantly, the competencies they will need to tackle changes in our world? We could start with a positive camp experience. A quality camp experience provides our children with the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — a meaningful, engaged, and participatory environment.

Camp promotes community. It creates this great space that shows kids how to live together and care for one another. There are norms and negotiation of boundaries; there are rules. Camp is a place where kids can "practice" growing up stretching their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive muscles outside the context of their immediate family. This is what childhood is supposed to provide.

Camp teaches critical thinking. We need to remember how important it is to be actively involved in the learning process, and camp affords that. We're going to need really strong problem solvers in the next century. We need the science, math, and biology, but without the ability to relate, connect, empathize, or inspire innovation, how will our kids be able to make a difference in the challenges now facing us?

The camp experience embraces the natural environment. While children have fewer and fewer opportunities to be outdoors, the camp experience advances the outdoor learning environment. As we become more concerned about saving the planet, we run out and make DVDs and videos about it. But the environment needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Kids need to catch tadpoles in the creek, wander among the trees, and feel the sun on their faces to understand the importance of those things. What happens to a generation that may grow up not seeing stars in the dark of the night?

Camp creates future leaders. The camp experience offers kids a close-up look at compassionate leadership through the camp director, counselors, resident nutritionist, and other camp personnel. And kids get loads of opportunities to practice being a leader themselves — song leader, lunch table leader, team captain, the list goes on and on.

Camp is an equal opportunity life changer. It addresses universal childhood needs not specific to a particular racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group. Nobody is left out. It's all about childhood development.

Camp has a lasting impact. One of the greatest gifts you can give a child is a sense of success and achievement. Camp teaches kids how to be active participants, ask questions, ask for help, and try new things. They leave understanding that it's okay to feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, because that's generally what happens when you're getting ready to learn something. The camp experience translates back in real-world experience — in an "I can" attitude.

We need to advocate for our young people. We should promote opportunities for kids — give them camp experiences that serve as an antidote for the world's challenges. We need to recognize this is not a series of frivolous activities. We often think if it looks like fun it must be unimportant, but "fun" is a young person's "work" — to learn, to grow, to be productive, creative, and happy. If they don't do that work, they won't turn into healthy adults.

Now more than ever, kids need camp.

---End of Article--- Go to original article/webpage

You can help give kids the opportunity to go to camp by going to the Donate/Help tab or going to www.livinghopenc.com

Revamping

Hey everyone! I know it as been awhile since I have posted anything, but that is getting ready to change! With Living Hope starting to take off I will be using my blog, now kylegrevengoed.com, to pass on updates, etc. frequently. However, I do not want this blog to end up as a marketing tool, so I will not be solely posting about Living Hope. I love sports and finance and I will be passing along my opinions and thoughts on these two subjects as well, and having worked in finance for over five years, I believe I am at a point where my opinion can bear a little wait! The majority of posts will be about Living Hope, finance, and sports but I might throw other bits in every now and then. The only thing I will not be posting about is politics. I have deleted any prior political opinions and kylegrevengoed.com is a politics-free blog! I am sorry if you wanted to get my opinions and endorsements, but it ain't gonna happen. I look forward to sharing much more in the future!