It’s becoming increasingly clear that this family punk’d the world. In fact, it looks as if the man who scripted the whole incident, less the involvement of the child, sold his story to Gawker.
What isn’t clear is why they tried to play it this way. OK, so you pulled a fast one with the world’s media? Awesome! Why not use the spotlight to look into the camera and say to Wolf Blitzer, “You just got punked!”
Sure, he’d be opening himself up to a big bill from the agencies who wasted taxpayer money playing pawn-like roles in his publicity stunt. But, if he got the last laugh on CNN and then told Wolf that he had a place where people could chip-in to cover his impending legal problems– all of this would have been funny, he would have collected a million dollars, and the Heene family would have pulled something off which would have made Ashton Kutcher blush.
In that moment Richard Heene’s held choice in his hands which would change his family forever. Would he tell the truth and become a legendary prankster? Or would he lie and become a legendary mook?
Richard Heene chose to try to keep the hoax a secret. Even after 6 year old Falcon Heene spilled the beans on live TV. And now the family looks horrible. And now the parents may get arrested. And now the fame they so eagerly wanted will be replaced by visits by the Child Protective Services.
The hoax had the potential to live out an example of Seth Godin’s blog post from the same day. Instead, we’re stuck with this sad story of 3 little kids who may now see their family encounter hard times.
I just wish Richard Heene had chosen the other option. Now that would have been captivating television. “Wolf, the truth is that you… and the whole world… just got punked!“
As a 20 year old I sat next to Kristen in pre-marital counseling wide-eyed. The pastor knew we were crazy for one another and he said, “Make sure that you limit the times you say “always” and “never.“
That’s why I chuckled when I read Seth Godin this morning.
“I’ll never buy from you again.”
“I’ll never vote for that candidate if my candidate loses.”
“I’ll never invest in that stock.”
Never seems like a really long time, doesn’t it? Practically forever.
Here’s the thing. People who say ‘never’ actually mean, “until my situation or the story changes materially.” Making bad decisions in the now to honor absolute statements in the past isn’t particularly sustainable. Consumers, short-sighted as they are sometimes, are able to realize this pretty quickly.
In fact, the only thing shorter than ‘never’ is ‘always.’
How true is that in your church? In your youth group?
Leaders lead people where they “never” wanted to go or “always” avoided. It’s not a popularity contest. Follow God above all else.
Recently, Seth Godin made this statement on his blog.
I think if you’re remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn’t have a resume at all.
The reason is simple. If you are really, really good at what you do [remarkable] the resume is just a formality. I’ve been on plenty of job hunts both from both perspectives and I know this to be true. When I’ve been looking for a job I have always translated “We have your resume and we’ll be reviewing it soon.” to mean “You aren’t our top choice, we’ll call you when the #1 person isn’t coming.” And when I’ve been looking to fill a position I have already talked to the best candidates before I start collecting resumes. Or worse, when I’ve started looking for resumes it means that I don’t know what I’m looking for exactly.
What is a resume, anyway? It’s a self-marketing tool. That’s all it is. You are casting a light on yourself to highlight what you are good at and hide what you aren’t good at.
Confession time. In both my ministry and my health insurance career I have been “lucky enough” to land on head hunters phone lists. What that means is that I have occasionally gotten calls from people whose job is to talk happy employees (me) out of their jobs to try a new business or ministry. [Trust me, I'm not going anywhere! 28 years left on the mortgage.] My response has always been the same two fold answer.
“Why would I leave a place I’m happy with for a place that had to hire a head hunter to get someone?”
“Why should I send you a resume when you’re calling me tells me “they” want me because you’re calling me out of the blue to try to talk me into leaving this job?”
In that instance, my resume isn’t important. When a headhunter calls you, you are already in the drivers seat for that job. That’s a scary place to be but it is the truth of the situation. When is your resume important?
When you are looking for an entry to mid-level job.
When you are trying to get a first job in a new location or field.
When you aren’t sure exactly what you want.
When you are forced by circumstances to cast a wide net. (laid off, fired, or living in Michigan)
When is your resume unimportant?
When you’re not looking but get a call asking for it.
When you’re a “known” entity in a job field or location.
When the aggressor in the job search is the employer.
If all three of those are true, you might as well send them a napkin with your phone number as you’re skipping the pre-screening phase and going right to the big interview.
What do you think? What are your job searching tips?
