EMC278 So What? It affects me?
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the
      California Governor's Office of Emergency Services  

EMC278  So What? It Affects me?          For Release 2/26/01

After reading such bulletins as 276 and 277 on "Quakes in Mind" we
might rightfully ask "So what does this have to do with me AND
my interest in emergency communications?"

Or, a thought might be like this: "yea, I know that thoughts I
hold in my mind can affect me, but so what?"

In reply, perhaps this by Charles Swindoll: "The longer I live,
the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to
me, is more important than facts. It is more important that the
past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than
failures, than successes, than what other people think or
say-or-do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or
skill. It will make or break a company... a church...a home. The
remarkable thing is that we have a choice each day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our
past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a
certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we
can do is play on one string we have, and that is our
attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and
90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge
of Attitudes." (Author Charles Swindoll; where published unknown;
found on the side of a refrigerator in the home of a person who
did not recall its source.)

Yeah, yeah, so WHAT!? How can I apply this to MY work as an
EMCOMM unit leader trying to get my unit involved and used?

One of the things I learned over the years is the mental
curiosity of people about non-ordinary aspects of life, such as
the "mind", "attitudes", "thoughts" and "images". After studying
a subject, reading a fascinating book or taking an interesting
course, I often will weave something from it into a conversation
and discover interesting results. 

One time it was a breakfast at which I'd met an official of a
local government because I wanted to talk to him off "his turf"
in "neutral territory" and see if I could open a dialogue with
him on how we might be of service (a subject to which he had been
closed up until then.) Asking the person about "attitude" in
view of the Swindoll perspective, might prove stimulating!

Why breakfast?  Lunch is done fairly common, but not many line
officials get invited to breakfast "just to chat". And, that
"just to chat" is vital. Don't discuss "business" or what "I can
do for you". Stick to mind stimulating ideas, topics that might
interest in an unusual way. Of course you may start with areas
you know he has interest in (like the local football team), but
moving into new areas of something you came across recently can
open ways of inter-personal communication that you otherwise will
never know existed.

I still invite people to lunch, and that serves a good purpose as
you might expect. But, breakfast? Yes, that is far more important
than most people realize. Why? First, it telegraphs that you are
interested in him and his viewpoints; also, that it is important.
It also gives you the opportunity to learn more about him (or her)
in a completely different setting than over lunch or at the office.

In the next series we'll consider a topic I didn't know existed in
reality until I was 41, when it came as a distinct shock. It then
provided an unusual way to "open doors" with people of all points
of view -- even those who don't want to consider any but their own!

 Cary Mangum, W6WWW        E-mail: cary.mangum@macnexus.org
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EOM