A candidate possibly self destroying...

A candidate possibly self destroying...

(Click on the title of the post to read the entire post.)

[We, as humans, "hope" or "wish" that we could have the power to change all things.  But, alas, we don't even make a dent, as we flail about, but get no result, which in this case is a "nobody notices" it anyway.  I would love to have the power to cause the ultimate change I see the need for.  Despite the "no results", I still feel compelled to at least get my thoughts organized and in place.  So, the reader of this piece, if you so choose to read it, is merely a pawn in this process - unless, of course, as I would hope, you pass it on and it becomes "viral"... and isn't that a real fantasy of the primitive mind?...]

Marshall Goldsmith, a high level, very experienced coach, has written a book entitled What Got You Here, Won't Get You There." 

A perfect illustration of this is what is happening in politics today.  Though favoring no party nor candidate, without prejudice, and hopefully with some useful insight, I risk sounding biased (I am not), I will risk writing this.  Hopefully, it will be considered as gentle, thoughtful (though not necessarily "right') thinking and discussion. 

I write this because I just think that there is a great lesson to learn from this. 

The remarkable "marketing" of Donald J. Trump is a testament to his capabilities to get the nomination of his party, though he has set himself back a fair amount to a poor position in the polls..

His current skills in real estate, being a manager, being a marketeer, and even being a public personality are quite excellent (if seen without bias and prejudice).  Those are, what Goldsmith says, what got him here.

He has, to this point, produced a miracle, in a sense, of getting through the nomination process as a complete novice in the political arena. 

He has "nailed" down, pretty well, many of the hot buttons for many people and risen up the ladder of success despite the lack of diplomacy and certain key communication skills - and despite doing many things that were harmful to his candidacy.

So, he is now "here", stuck in a position that will not get him "there" (unless there is a new star in the East).  [Perhaps he should hire Goldsmith?!]

He needs to now learn what it is that will create the ability to navigate to "there", changing from his current path of continuing that which got him "here", but which will destroy him (or already has) in his bid for being President. 

He needs to be "a learner" and an exerciser of wisdom, as do many in this life. 

And wisdom always says that success is achieved by paying attention to and being aware of what is happening AND then acting upon the feedback, learning what is needed, and then CORRECTING COURSE (!!!!) - and fast! 

A person will not be a success if he does not do that.  A person will self destroy if he continues on the same, oblivious path, stuck in his old ways of being, impervious to the facts.  He will just end up being a character in a Shakespearean tragedy, keeping in place a tragic flaw. 

Although this is relatively simple, and the difficulties might be underestimated as well as misestimating what works in politics, it seems to me that, to be a winner, in his quest and in life, he should:

Take the feedback about his extreme rhetoric and about his focus on "getting even" (or defending himself) and stop doing that.  He must also change his "irresponsible, uncontrolled" rhetoric. Otherwise, he will not win nor will he be a good representative of this country.

He can still do the political tactic of tearing down the other candidate, who herself has made history plus lots of mistakes on the way.

But he cannot afford to continue saying, paraphrased here, "I can do it on my own, because of the people whose movement I am the messenger of."  He needs to align with those who can help him to campaign and govern (and get the laws through by having a Senate and a House which will support conservative causes and/or which he can persuade, perhaps with a lot of help from Mike Pence).  [He has succeeded as a lone wolf before, but he cannot win in a new position that requires otherwise.]

Although many politicians "know" that "tearing down the opponent is more important than ...", I think Trump must not make the Romney mistake of not adequately providing clear and persuasive arguments for why they themselves are capable of being a very good President and how they will benefit the most people.  Right now he is rated relatively low on ability, as the Democrats have artfully torn his credibility of ability to shreds - despite the proven fact that he is quite capable - yet he does not set it up such that their perceptions about his abilities are corrected!

He must "beef up" and make specific his policies so that the door is closed to misinterpretation and false representation. 

He must focus on and stick to a very well-designed campaign that is cool-headed and wisely strategic.

Now is the test of whether he can step up to being a true winner, a feedback/correcting champion, as a person, whether he becomes President or does not. 

We have, here before us, an opportunity to observe in action what makes a person a true winner or a saboteur of one's own life. 

What are you doing with your life? 



_____________________

Who will win? 

Who knows?  (But the probabilities are high that it will be a she...) 

But it won't matter much as no President can act without being restrained and inhibited by the "checks and balances" and various "powers" out there.  It will be more of the same, with a move toward being a more compassionate, helping country, but limited in largese by financial restrictions. 

One path will be smooth.  The other could be "unsmooth", with some downside risk (offending other countries, perhaps), but also possibly one of greater gain, because of the determination and non-controlled passionate advocate of change "for the people"...

And so we go on, learning very little, it seems, in a super complex political scenario. 

But "the people" are determining much of what will happen as a number of things are already cast in stone and cannot be reversed ever, as many social movements are clearly continuing, along with the problems of debt, huge social security and Medicare unfunded liabilities.  And we'll still be the best country on earth to live in, in many ways (though not in "being the happiest").  

I am sympathetic with some of the key points of both sides, the social issues and the financial competency issues.  Who is so high and God-like that he can determine what is "right", when they are strictly personally held beliefs that conflict with the "other side", where "our side" is right and the others are "demons" and/or stupid or wrong - though there are a few people who are able to be rational about all of this and to be kind to all people and not hot headed nor oppositional.

May the world continue improving, in starts and fits, and may we know a future far greater than ever before, where people are more objective, think with a cool head, hold good and better values, and seek greater peace and cooperation.