Monthly Archives: December 2011

January 1, 2012—SnyderTalk Editorial: Where Should I Go From Here?

This is an excerpt from What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? 

“Cheshire Puss, … would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where —” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“— so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

(From Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, pp. 79-80.)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a wonderful book, and it’s not just for kids.  I taught leadership and strategy at the University of Virginia and consulted with people in a wide variety of organizations for 25 years.  Based on my experience during one-quarter of a century dealing with thousands of people — both young and not so young, I reached the conclusion that Lewis Carroll’s epic heroine, Alice, is very much like most of the people with whom I came into contact.  Below are some general observations I made over the years:

  • Most people don’t have a very good idea where they’re going.
  • They don’t give their futures too much thought.  At least they don’t give the future enough attention to take action now.
  • They’re not overly concerned about their lack of direction.  Some of them give you a peculiar look if you suggest that not taking steps now to deal with anticipated future events is dangerous.  It’s as though they think that planning for the future is absurd.
  • They seem to believe that things will work out for them no matter what they do — or don’t do.

Doris Day made this line famous in a hit song from the 1956 movie The Man Who Knew Too Much: que sera sera.  It’s Spanish for “what will be will be.”  That’s a good description of the logic I saw most people using.  They think their actions don’t matter, but they do.

It reminds me of a Denise the Menace cartoon that I saw several years ago.  Dennis and his pal Joey were walking aimlessly through the woods one bright, sunny day.  Denise calmly looked down at Joey and said, “We may be lost, but we’re making good time.”  After I stopped laughing, I shook my head and thought, That’s right.  Most people are extremely busy, but they aren’t going in any particular direction and don’t seem to care.  They’re lost, but they’re making good time.

Not planning is planning to fail.  In the quote at the beginning of this chapter, that’s what the Cheshire Cat was telling Alice in a roundabout way.  If you don’t have a destination in mind, it doesn’t matter which way you go.  Sailors have another way of saying it.  If you don’t know where you’re heading, no wind is the right wind.

The Cheshire Cat was right about another thing too.  You’re sure to end up somewhere.  All you have to do is just keep walking.  Problem is that unless you take some time to figure out where you’re going and why, you’ll probably end up someplace where you don’t want to be.

To see other SnyderTalk editorials, click here.

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Thomas Jefferson

“For here we are not afraid to follow the truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”

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Jeremiah 37: 1-2

Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.  But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of Yahweh which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

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Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide.  It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided.  They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make.  As they say, forewarned is forearmed.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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Hosea 4: 6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

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Stand! is a gripping novel about the subterfuge surrounding the global warming debate.  It lays out the facts concerning climate change through an exciting story that pits a college professor and his research collaborator against corrupt university administrators and radical environmentalists.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life?  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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If You Voted for Obama in 2008 to Prove You’re Not a Racist, You Need to Vote for Someone Else in 2012 to Prove You’re Not an Idiot explains why voters in the United States need to elect someone besides Barack Obama to lead them.  Whoever is elected President of the United States in 2012 will have to contend with the monumental problems that Obama’s misguided policies have caused both at home and abroad.  One thing is certain, though.  It should not be Barack Obama.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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http://www.americanthinker.com/

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Yahweh to Jeremiah—Jeremiah 16: 21

“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.”

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If you haven’t been there already, you should take the opportunity to visit Natural Healthcare Store.  Each product selected for sale at Natural Healthcare Store undergoes rigorous research to make sure that it is the highest quality at an affordable price.

Natural Healthcare Store carries skin care, hair care, and oral care products.  Be sure to check out the Dead Sea products imported from Israel and support the Israeli economy with your purchases.  Natural Healthcare Store carries makeup, deodorant, and detoxification products.  It also carries supplements, weight loss products, and loose leaf tea.  Rounding out its product mix, Natural Healthcare Store carries natural household cleaning products.

Katie and I believe strongly in healthy living, and we use the products.  We’re proud to say that our daughter Melanie owns the store.

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http://www.commentarymagazine.com/

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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”

Exodus 3: 15