The Corrigan Encore

I haven’t

November 14, 2023 John Corrigan

The country music singer Jelly Roll won the award for new CMA Artist of the year thsi year. Jelly Roll sings the song Need a Favor. Need a Favor is a catchy song and I really like listening to it. It was playing on the radio when I told my wife that I like the song but didn’t really understand the lyrics. My wife let me know that I didn’t understand the lyrics because I hadn’t dealt with addiction. Now when I hear and see the lyrics I understand them and the song has moved from catchy to meaningful.

Addiction is tough on the people addicted and the families of those who are addicted. Addictions can and are beaten however they are not often beaten alone. If you or a loved one struggle with addiction in the United States reach out to someone at 1-800-662-4357. There is no shame in getting help for addiction or any health problem.

I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So, who the hell am I, who the hell am I
To expect a Savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?
But God, I need a favor
I know Amazing Grace, but I ain’t been livin’ them words
Swear I spend most Sundays, drunk off my ass, than I have in church
Hard cover King James only been savin’ dust on the nightstand
And I don’t know what to say by the time I fold my hands
I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So, who the hell am I, who the hell am I
To expect a Savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?
But God, I need a favor
Amen, amen
Yeah, I owe you more than one and beggars can’t be choosers
But I’ll pay for all I’ve done, just please don’t let me lose her
I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So, who the hell am I, who the hell am I
To expect a Savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?
But God, I need a favor
Amen, amen
Amen, amen
Hangin’ in there, just barely
Throwin’ up prayers, like Hail Mary’s
If You’re still there, Lord, spare me
Oh my God, oh my God, Hail Mary
Hangin’ in there, just barely
Throwin’ up prayers, like Hail Mary’s
If You’re still there, Lord, spare me
Oh my God, oh my God, Hail Mary
I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So tell me, who the hell am I to expect a Savior
When I only talk to God if I need a favor?
God, I need a favor
Amen
God, I need a favor, woah
Amen
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Austin Nivarel / Jason De Ford / Joe Ragosta / Rob Ragosta
Need a Favor lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Always

November 9, 2023 John Corrigan

When the world was introduced to Covid 19 in 2019 I like almost all citizens of the world watched the news and heard all about how the virus was spreading and I thought growing. After a deeper dive I learned that the virus or any virus for that matter did not grow. The fact that the virus does not grow classifies the virus as a dead thing. There are 7 criteria to determine if something is alive and not growing was one of the two test’s the virus did not pass, the other test was the ability to maintain homeostasis.

maintain homeostasis
have different levels of organization
reproduce
grow
use energy
respond to stimuli
adapt to their environment

Notice that thrive is not among the 7 criteria. During our live we will all in one way or another satisfy the 7 criteria. One thing we may or may not do is thrive. To thrive is to work towards and realize goals with ones growth.

Their are lots of elements involved when you want to thrive but one important one is intrinsic in you being alive and that is growing. Until you die you will grow, how you grow will be determined by your circumstances and attitude. Often we cannot control our circumstances but we can always control our attitude.

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking
Zig Ziglar

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.
Wade Boggs

Lets all work today to develop an attitude that will make us thrive.

Sound track of your life

November 7, 2023 John Corrigan

People talk about music that has impacted and resonated with them over the years. I am huge fan of a lot of music I have listened to and music I am still listening to however, today I thought about music and sound that has played throughout my life in the background (I think I am in this mood because I was placed on hold earlier).

I grew up in the city and did my share of shopping with my mom and grandma as such I have heard my fair share of muzak. After graduating and starting my career I worked in retail so I was treated to even more muzak. For those who do not know muzak is, an American brand of background music. There is a company that will set up your store or restaurant with a whole system and software solution.

Later in life I have taken jobs in manufacturing and replaced muzak with the hum of industrial machinery. When my wife and I vacation we love to take hikes in nature and I have to say that the background sounds of birds singing and nature in general seem to be some of the most therapeutic soundscapes I have ever experienced.

Exposure to natural sounds have helped people reduce anxiety, lower stress and improve ones over all mental health. Try to make it a point today to connect with the natural world. Even if it is just a walk on a trail in a park.

You know when

November 2, 2023 John Corrigan

I am a pretty big sports fan. I grew up in Cleveland Ohio so I am a fan of all the local professional sport teams that are based in Cleveland. One of the teams is a professional football team named the Cleveland Browns. Right now the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns has not played a full game in the last three games due to an injury to his shoulder.

American football is a sport that seems to have injury to players as part of its DNA so an injury is not scandalous or controversial, the extra layer to this story is that, someone leaked to the press that doctors cleared the quarterback to play the day after the shoulder injury. Now fans and everyone are weighing in on the quarterback and most of the comments are not positive.

Peer pressure can force us to do dumb things and when it comes to your own well being it is important to listen to (what is often the most quiet voice) you. You should know how you feel and if you need to recover go ahead and recover. If you are sick and need to stay home and get some rest go ahead and do that. It is very important to listen to your body and mind and when needed to take breaks.

Take care of yourself because no one else will.

When you / I put it that way

October 31, 2023 John Corrigan

Do you work in an office, factory, warehouse or home? Were you on time for work yesterday or today or everyday of the work month for the past month? Do you live in the United States? If you have answered no then yes, then you are part of the nearly 30 % of Americans that are late for work. Being late for work cost money, is inconsiderate to our colleagues and just not a best practice for work. Most that arrive late for work are not doing this intentionally and would love to employ a strategy to arrive on time.

Photo by Andrey Grushnikov on Pexels.com

Self talk is the way we talk to ourselves another word for self talk is inner voice. Everyone does it and when we learn to use it correctly the sky’s the limit. What time do you need to be at work to be on time? How did you answer that question? Did you say something like, I must arrive to work at 7 am? What if you changed the response from at to before? I must arrive at work before 7 am.? There is a comedian who does a funny sketch about people being late for things. He mentions how being on time is easy because you just have to be early. You have hours and hours to be early but you only have minutes to be on time. A quite talk with oneself can change when and how we arrive for work or any of our appointments’. So take some time and have the talk with yourself today and be kind to yourself.

What everyone deserves

October 30, 2023 John Corrigan

Terra Lopez, an artist created an exhibit that called “This is What it feels like”. The exhibit is a recording of male presenting people reading scripts that are catcalls, the catcalls go from annoying to aggressive and the people that leave the exhibit all seem pretty moved however, cat calling does not seem to be stopping and people who identify as female are very likely to be catcalled. One in ten girls are catcalled before the age of 11 in the United States.

Toxic masculinity within the United States has created a country in which it is very dangerous for a person to identify as a female. Misogyny, homophobia and violence are now mainstream acceptable and promoted. In 2022 senator Marsha Blackburn asked supreme court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to define a woman. This question was much more than a dog whistle and dripped with hate for people that Marsha Blackburn does not understand.

Photo by Mike Gonzu00e1lez on Pexels.com

Change should start from the top down. The top is eaten up with hateful people like Marsha Blackburn and the senator influences our children and promotes toxic masculinity. If we want change we need to respect all life even the lives of those that we do not understand.

How much

October 25, 2023 John Corrigan

Food we all eat it every day. Usually everyone uses money to buy that food. Because money is used to buy that food the news reports on how valuable or money is every day. We can see this value and make decisions like, should I invest more save more or get a part time job.

Corp yield is how much grain or food can be produced per a certain area of land. Farmers and food producers use this number to determine how much land they need to buy or lease however, buying and leasing land is not the only facet involved in increasing or decreasing crop yield. Crop yields is influenced by the health of the eco system that the crops are grown in and the ecosystem is all connected.

Instead of the value of the dollar the news should let the watchers know what the health of the eco system is. The stock market is a poor indicator for the health of a society. The United States is one of the richest nations on earth but, the United States has more poverty than any other developed country in the world. In the 1930’s the United States faced the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was an ecological disaster that was brought on by poor farming techniques and bad priorities. It seems that lessons have been learned since the Dust Bowl but only lessons for the agriculture community not the country or the world as a whole. Currently (since 1980), the United States has experienced 372 weather and climate disasters that have caused about 2.6 trillion dollars.

If our species is to survive we must shift our priorities away from financial wellness and financial health and focus on wellness and health. Our planet is sick and so are our bodies. Instead of a stock market ticker we should see a daily report of green house gas emissions, Crop Yield, and Recycling rates.

There are things we can do own our own, however as a group we have to demand action from our leadership. The Paris climate accord was a good start but is far short from where we need to be. Election season is starting soon do not vote for a cnidate that has bad priorities the economy should not be a focus the planet and people should at the end of the day we cannot eat money. We may be the first species that destroys itself because it was economical and we made a profit.

On the half hour

October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 John Corrigan

Sitting is the new smoking. What did that just say? Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, body fat and cardiac disease, have all been linked to prolonged periods of sitting. I know it is wild but a study has come out with some pretty gnarly results we can experience if we sit for a long time.

This is pretty bad news when you consider that, 6 out of 10 employees sit for about nine hours a weekday as part of their job. That’s tough isn’t it? You have to work to earn money to live but the work that you are doing is literally killing you. Do not fear though the same study that informed us of the danger associated with sitting gave us a Prescription for sitting. Get up every half hour and move for five minutes. That’s it, do it now set a reminder on your phone for every half hour. Your future self will thank you and think of all the Apple watch and fit bit awards you will earn!

I have always felt like motion is important and when I think of motion I always think of two things one is Newtons law

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Isaac Newton

and I think about the song that Muddy Waters sings. A rolling stone gathers no moss

So lets all get together today and get in motion even if it is just for five minutes every half hour!

Altogether

October 23, 2023 John Corrigan

Wedding receptions, anniversaries, reunions a club after some drinks are all places you are likely to find people dancing. Dancing is pretty interesting because other than the line dancing style songs there is really no wrong or right way to dance. There are just a bunch of partners or single folks out on the dance floor moving their bodies to the music. If you are dancing with a partner you get really close and do a lot of touching and avoid touching the other couples. If you are dancing alone you move without touching anyone to the music and maybe another person dancing alone will dance with you and maybe not.

As far as interactions are concerned dancing is kind of like life. There is music that drives all of us to move and we have to move together but not to close together and we all have to kind of agree on where and when we move.

You may not end the day with dancing and you may not dance at all today but listen for todays “music” and try to move with the rhythm of the world you live in.

Its a difference maker

October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 John Corrigan

There are losers, average, winning and championship caliber people and teams within every sport and business venture in the world. Most athlete’s and companies have access to the same resources (I say most because there are those people and companies that have won the lottery in life and been gifted with wealth and talent). What is it then that separates all the sport and business players in the world? Attitude!

A loosing attitude is cultivated when, people and organizations are hesitant to do what is asked of them and sometimes do not do what is asked of them by the sport or the customer.

An average attitude is cultivated when the people do only what is asked of them and no more.

A winning attitude is cultivated when people and the company do what is asked and are driven to do better.

A championship attitude is cultivated when the people or company do what is asked are driven to do better and encourage other people and companies to do better.

So in conclusion if you want to be a champion or have a championship company, help yourself and others at being the very best!