Posts Tagged ‘parenting’

It IS Fair! In Fact it’s Good;For Everyone!

Posted: July 14, 2014 in Economics, Freedom, Fun
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LaRonde - Flash PassI got involved in a conversation the other day when someone was talking about LaRonde; Montreal’s amusement park. The discussion ended up veering to the price of admission and what the park was doing to earn to earn a greater profit. At this point one of my coworkers started to say that it wasn’t right that you can get special passes to jump a head of the line and not have to wait.

The conversations started down the path of it not being fair, but knowing who he was talking to, he quickly changed it to him not liking this ‘legal’ line jumping to be done around other kids because they wouldn’t understand. He quickly came to realize why it was fair, if not right in this circumstance, but only after seeing what is not normally seen; which is part of what I want to share here.

As is usually the case when it comes to economic issues, the problems start at the same spot; not seeing the whole picture, but only looking at what is happening directly in front of our eyes. In this case, what is seen is one group of people getting preferential treatment that another does not have access too. It is allowing those with more money to be able to cut in line. The question is then asked (negatively) “What gives them the right? Why should they be allowed? They should have to wait like everyone else!”

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Winning – Losing – How We Play The Game.

Posted: July 13, 2012 in Leadership, Success
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You hear more and more these days that it’s not important whether we win or lose, but that it’s all about how we play the game. Many people in this camp will tell you that it’s bad to keep score because someone will feel bad and develop poor self esteem if they lose. One the other side, you see people talk about how important it is to win, and that nothing else matters. “Do whatever it takes” they say, and “failure is not an option.”

Are either of these correct, or can there possibly be truth in the middle? I believe  the middle ground is where we should be, and that it is important to realize this if we want success in our life, and in that of our whole society.

Not long ago one my good friends  told me something that should have shocked me more than it did. He said that his son was told in school that it is wrong to try to win, that it’s all about having fun and playing nice with others. They don’t keep score in their games. I was told the same thing by my nephew who goes to a completely different school.

This sounds good on the surface; we want to be having fun and we definitely should play nice. But think about what this really teaches our children; the future leaders in our society.
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