Podcasts about presuming

Presuming there's a designated hitter this year, it will be difficult to figure out who's going to play first baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. Even if there isn't a DH, it'll still be tough to figure out. Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vaish [/vIEsh/] Sarathy [/sAH rUH thEE/], Ph.D. is a Functional Nutrition Practitioner and Science Educator, and the founder of Functional Nutrition for Kids - a Functional Nutrition Practice for children, and Plum Pudding Chemistry - a science and math education practice for kids of all abilities. Her TEDx talk "Who decides how smart you are" talks about the value of Assuming Intelligence and has been called mind-blowing and perspective-shifting by practitioners and parents. Vaish believes that Sound Nutrition, an Equal Education, and a Rested Mind are the birthright of every child, and no functional practice is possible without truly Assuming Competence. Her perspective is shaped by her son, Sid, a non-speaking 14-year-old poet with Down Syndrome and Autism, who has a sharp mind and a quick wit. Connect with Vaish on IG: www.instagram.com/drvaishsarathy or FB: www.facebook.com/functionalnutritionforkids ***************************************** To purchase my book “Welcome to My Life – A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism” click HERE or visit Amazon.com! You can easily stay connected to the Living the Sky Life podcast and me in various ways.  Please visit my website www.lauriehellmann.com for all the links. I'd love to hear what you think, so if listening on the Apple platform, please leave a written review and rating of the podcast!  If you are interested in being a guest on an episode of Living the Sky Life, please contact me!

Presuming all goes to plan, Rogue Squadron will complete principal photography and start post-production in 2022! Today, we'll take a deeper look at the status of Star Wars movies and what's ahead this year. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.*** 

The Pittsburgh Penguins have yet to be fully healthy at any point this season and still have multiple players dealing with injuries. When this team is fully healthy though, it'll force some hard decisions as far as the lineup is concerned. Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris finally got his new computer!

Don Frericks is the host on today's episode of the Extraordinary Leaders Series on the Talent Magnet Leadership Podcast. Don's guest is Richard Davis, CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that fulfills the wishes of critically ill children between 2 ½ and 18 years. He has been in the corporate world for over 30 years and has experience in the banking sector. In this exciting conversation, Richard and Don share thoughts and insight on Richard's career path and the makings of great leaders. A good leader inspires and informs the way an organization runs. He or she thinks about succession and the skills and traits that would be necessary for the future of their organization. [5:00] Richard talks about Make-A-Wish with Don. It is a global organization that grants the wishes of children who are critically ill. Richard explains, using an anecdote about one of the children Make-A-Wish has helped, that the organization provides hope and gives the children something to look forward to. It not only gives them memories to hold on to, but their families and friends as well. [6:50] Richard talks about his childhood and what life was like growing up with his parents. [11:22] Be open to whatever promotion is out there. “I kept taking lateral positions that were available to me,” Richard shares with Don. “I did it because I wanted to learn...If you build a foundation, you can go so high, but if later in life you want to go higher in the building you'll regret you didn't build a larger, wider foundation,” he adds. Set a direction instead of a goal because goals limit what's possible. Decide what direction you're going in and be open to all possibilities. [15:59] When you set goals you get there fast, but if you're open to simply going that direction you're able to see the various options available. Getting to where you want to go quickly as a leader isn't the goal, neither is getting there the goal. It's about going in that direction. [18:10] Being a leader is like being a conductor. Conductors don't have to play all the instruments, but they know how to get the most beautiful music out of the ones who do. [19:50] Presuming too much about an employee's aspirations is a big mistake leaders make. Not everyone within an organization wants to move up in position. Some of them are happy with where they are and just wish to be acknowledged for the work that they do. Learn to ask people how they love what they do instead of presuming that they hate where they are. [23:07] Organizations cannot read minds and so it is up to you as an individual to figure out and decide what you want to do next. Find a way to let it be known that you're eager to do something else one day but don't be pushy. Don't try to jump ahead of everyone else. This is all part of managing your own career. [25:50] Leaders decide where to spend their energy. [28:02] Good leaders have intellectual skill and the ability to be thoughtful. They also have EQ, which is the ability to get people within their surroundings to listen. Good leaders are engaged in their environments. [29:24] We learn to know, we learn to teach, and we learn with the intent to act. Learning to act is part of curiosity which leaders should have. “I don't want to be able to tell people I know it ...I actually want to inform the way I live my life because [of it]. That all kind of comes back to... being curious enough to therefore intend to impact the world you're around,” Richard says. [31:19] When you're given permission, you have the inclination to lead. Many people have leadership traits, they just need to have them be brought out. In that same vein, not everyone can be a leader. [36:07] Richard gives advice on how a person can grow their leadership and accelerate their development as an authentic leader. [36:45] Resources Don Frericks | LinkedIn  Richard Davis  Make-A-Wish Foundation

We're lucky that we chose a profession where confidence beats knowledge. Before I dive deeper into that, we first have to look at what confidence is. According to disctionary.com, Confidence is the belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities. Confidence is what's center stage when you say, “I can do this.” Confidence is what's driving you when you say, “I can figure this out.” Confidence is the ladder you climb when you say, “I can succeed.” Without confidence, your goals, your intentions, your ambitions might as well be called dreams. Because that's all they'll ever be if you don't believe in yourself and your abilities. I fully believe that without confidence, you cannot succeed as a design business owner. I'm not talking about being a designer. Many designers lack confidence in themselves. I know and have worked with designers who fall into that category. I'm talking about running your own design business. Being a freelancer if that's what you want to call yourself. But I digress. Confidence. If you want to succeed in this business, you need confidence. But what about knowledge? Don't you need knowledge to succeed? That's a trick question. The definition of knowledge, according to dictionary.com, is an acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation. Acquaintance. What an interesting word to use. Most of the time, when you think of acquaintances, you think of people you know of but don't necessarily know. I consider Betty, the cashier at the grocery store I go to, as an acquaintance. She knows me by name, and we exchange pleasantries whenever I'm in her checkout line. If we run into each other in town, we'll smile at each other and say hi, but that's the extent of our interaction. We're acquaintances. Merriam-Webster defines knowledge as The fact or condition of being aware of something. Being aware of something? According to this dictionary meaning, that's all that's required to have knowledge. So, according to two reputable sources on the meaning of all things. Knowledge doesn't mean intimately knowing something. It just means being acquainted or aware of something. When you think of the definition in that way, you realize that you don't actually need to know something to succeed. What you need is confidence in your ability to seek knowledge. And that's why confidence beats knowledge. Now don't get me wrong. There are plenty of times when knowledge trumps confidence. If I'm about to have surgery, yes, I want a confident surgeon, but I hope their knowledge of the procedure they're about to perform supersedes that confidence. If I'm about to take a trip, I'm less interested in how confident the pilot is and more concerned that they know how to fly a plane. But when it comes to design or to run a design business, confidence beats knowledge. You probably don't remember, but there was a time in your life when you were very young when you didn't know how to walk. You crawled around on all fours. Or maybe you were one of those butt dragging babies. Regardless, one day, after spending your entire life so far on the ground, you got up and walked. At one time, you didn't know how to ride a bike. Then one day, you did. You didn't know how to swim. Then one day, you did. This applies to hundreds, or should I say thousands of accomplishments in your life. You didn't know how to do something until you did. I remember when my kids were young. Any time they would get frustrated and say, “I can't do it,” I would calmly correct them by saying, “It's not that you can't do it. You just don't know how to do it yet.” And once they learned, I would remind them how they felt before their accomplishment. But what does Confidence beets Knowledge mean? It means that you don't need to know how to do something before taking on the task of doing it. You just need to be confident that you'll figure it out. I admit I didn't always feel this way. Back in 2006, I was approached by our local library to design a new website. They had heard good things about me from several people and had decided I was the one they wanted to work with. This was going to be a huge project. In fact, I was a bit intimidated when I found out their budget for the website was $50,000. That was more than I made in a year back then. The library wanted their new website to be connected to their catalogue of books. They wanted visitors to the website to tell what books they carry, if they were available for loan or already checked out. And if the latter, when they would be back. They also wanted members to be able to reserve books for pickup and put holds on books. All the typical things you expect of a library's website today. But in 2006, not many libraries had integrated catalogues on their website. I knew enough about websites to know that it was way beyond my capabilities. At that time, I was hand-coding websites in HTML and CSS. However, this website would require a database and therefore PHP and MySQL. The problem was, I didn't know PHP or MySQL. And even though I tried to learn it in a hurry, I just couldn't wrap my brain around the concept. Where HTML and CSS were so easy for me. PHP left me stumped. No matter how many books I read or courses I took, I just couldn't grasp it. Maybe it was the pressure I was under to learn it quickly to start on the website. I don't know. But in the end, I gave up. Now you may be thinking, you gave it a good shot, Mark, but at least you could hire someone to do the coding for you. Well… I kick myself to this day for not thinking of that. No, that's not right. I did think of it. I just didn't have the confidence back then to follow through. I didn't know what to do. I realized I didn't have the skills required for the project, but I didn't know how to find someone to help me. I knew what I needed to do but not the confidence to follow through. Upwork's former halves Elance and oDesk were around back then, but I wasn't aware of them or any other online platform I could turn to. So, backed into a corner, I did the only thing I thought I could do. I contacted the library and told them I couldn't take on the project. I turned down a $50,000 job. Several months later, their new website was up and running, I talked to my contact at the library, and he told me who they had hired to do the job. I was taken aback. I knew the person they hired. And I also believed their knowledge of web design wasn't much more than mine. So how did they pull it off? I ran into them shortly after that and asked them. You guessed it, they created the design look for the site but had hired someone to do the actual coding. It cost them $12,000 to hire a developer to complete the site for them. Presuming they were being paid the same $50,000 I had been offered, that meant they made $38,000 just for designing the look of the website. And I lost out on that money because of my lack of confidence. That lesson taught me a lot. 1) I was an idiot for not thinking of hiring someone myself. But most importantly 2) I lacked confidence from the moment I was presented with the website project. I figured I didn't have the knowledge and, therefore, couldn't handle the job. If I wanted to succeed in this business, I would need to rectify that. I would need to be more confident in what I could get done. Since that fateful day, I have never turned down a job for lack of knowledge. When a client asks me if I can do something that I'm unsure of or flat out don't know how to do. I answer them with confidence that I can get the job done. And then I figure out either how to do it or who to hire to do it for me. Confidence beats knowledge. Be your own guinea pig. It's great to be able to hire a contractor when you need one. We're lucky that there are so many options with good talented people available to us. But nothing beats learning how to do something yourself. You know that old saying, give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime. Providing he likes fish, that is. But the same concept applies to us as designers. I love hiring contractors to help me. But given the opportunity, I would much prefer to learn the skill and do the job myself. There are ways you can do just that while working on client jobs. Not sure how to do something the client is asking for? Chances are there's a blog article or YouTube video that will walk you through it. But sometimes, it's a good idea to be your own guinea pig. If you've been following Resourceful Designer for a while, you know that I design websites in WordPress. Specifically using the Divi Builder from Elegant Themes. However, I just told you how I was hand-coding websites for clients. I remember in the early 2010s, fellow web designers telling me I should try WordPress. But I had a strong aversion to WordPress. To me, the fact that WordPress used predesigned themes was an afront to designers. There was no way I would build a website for a client using someone else's design. But in 2013, I was getting into podcasting and was told that I needed a WordPress website to generate the RSS feed for the show. Very reluctantly, I installed WordPress and bought a theme called Evolution from Elegant Themes. This was before they came out with Divi. In fact, the friend who was helping me get started in podcasting had an affiliate link to Elegant Themes. Hence, as a way to repay him for his kindness, I bought a lifetime deal through his link, even though I only needed one theme and had no plans on building any WordPress websites beyond my own. That decision to buy the lifetime deal may have changed the course of my life—more on that in a moment. So I built my WordPress website and had to admit that there was a lot more flexibility in it than I originally believed. The theme did restrain me somewhat, but at least I could control how each part of it looked, even if I had no control over the layout itself. That was in June of 2013. December of that same year, Elegant Themes released Divi. And it changed my view of WordPress. Since I had a lifetime deal with Elegant Themes, it cost me nothing to test Divi out. I installed it on a dummy site I didn't care about and really liked how it worked. Divi was a game-changer. Here was a theme that gave me full control over how each element of a website looked and how each element was placed out on the screen. I could make a website look like how I wanted it to look. Not like how some theme designer wanted it to look. The next time I had a client website project to work on, I used my newfound confidence in my ability to make WordPress work for me and switched to WordPress and Divi. And I haven't looked back. If I hadn't used myself as a guinea pig and tested out WordPress on my own website and then Divi on a dummy site, I probably never would have made the switch to what I do today. Since then, there have been many times when I used myself as a guinea pig to test things and build my confidence. Be it new software or new features in existing software. Offering services I had previously never offered. Taking on projects I had never done before. Working on stuff for myself gave me the confidence to then use those skills on client work. Even today. I recently started building a website for a personal project I'm doing. And even though I've been a devoted Divi fan since day one, I decided to build my new website using Elementor. Why? Because I know the day will come when a client will ask me to take over a website built using Elementor. So why not get my feet wet on a project of my own choosing. So When the time comes, I'll have a better understanding of what I'm working with. So all of this to say, without confidence, I don't believe you can get very far as a design business owner. It's nice to have the knowledge, but confidence in yourself and what you do with that knowledge will propel you. Look at any successful freelancer you know, and you'll see that they exude confidence. That's the secret to their success. Confidence always beats Knowledge. Or at least, almost always. Tip of the week Let me ask you a question, is an email a contract? Last month, a Mississippi court took up an interesting case looking at what it takes to make a contract by email. Spoiler Alert: Not Much. As you know, a contract is just another word to describe an agreement. So when you exchange emails with someone and come to terms on a deal you both agree on, you ARE making a contract. In the Mississippi court case, the two parties had done just that... agreed on terms for the sale of some equipment in a series of emails. Now here's the tricky part. One of the parties, Jordan, had proposed the initial offer from his computer's email, which included his name and contact details in the signature. The other party, Parish, then countered the offer. But when responding to the counteroffer, Jordan used his iPhone to seal the deal with a “Let's do it.” reply.  The trouble is that the message had no signature from his iPhone other than “Send from iPhone.” Jordan later sold the goods to another buyer at a higher price. Parish sued for breach of contract, but Jordan claimed that there was no valid signature to his email and, therefore, the exchange was not enforceable as an agreement. The trial court agreed, and an appeals court affirmed. But the Mississippi Supreme Court found the state's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) permitted contracts to be formed by electronic means such as emails. Then, the Court stated that the determination of whether an email was electronically signed according to the UETA was a question of fact that turned on a party's intent to adopt or accept the writing and is, therefore, a question for the finder of facts. So, because there exists a genuine factual question about Jordan's intent, the Court reversed and remanded for further proceedings. Anyway. That's a lot of legal talks. But the takeaway is. Emails can be the basis for an enforceable contract. So be careful in wording your messages. Even something as simple as “sounds good” could be deemed sufficient to bind you. If you consider your emails merely preliminary to a formal, written contract on paper, SAY SO. Add something to the signature of your emails, such as “this email message is preliminary and shall not constitute a binding agreement, which may only be made in a formal, written memorandum executed by all parties.” Adding a simple line like this can save you a lot of trouble should a client ever try to hold you accountable for something mentioned in an email. It makes you think.

In a polarized America, inflexible statements of dogma are becoming normalized and opinions have become rights. This will not be such a post, but instead merely a reflection on the joy and value that can be when a woman or man chooses to live out their faith at work. In my faith background (belief in God and his Son Jesus) we have a varied history of faith expression largely based on the “tribe” that you were groomed in.   For some it is a charismatic expression in the public view, for others, it is a somber expression in private.   Most religions have a sect of fundamental purists, those who feel it their duty to protect the “brand” at all costs.  Many also have a sect of passive attenders, those who are content checking the box of “showing up” to the various disciplines, gatherings, and perceived duties of their religion. Religion is by definition “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”  Those holding to a “belief in and work of” also feel a sense of responsibility to both living out the teaching of their belief while also teaching others. Jesus himself said in one of his final statements, “Go and make apprentices of all nations... and teach them…” How do we live out our faith in the workplace when any faith can so easily divide and drive a wedge between relationships?   How do we live out our faith in the workplace so that it facilitates human flourishing instead of human animosity? Wouldn't it be better if we were either agnostic or atheistic towards faith at work just so we could get the job done, and then as in the words of Fleetwood Mac, “you can go your own way?” Part of the value of faith is the vision of peace, it is a primary goal within many faith traditions.   Talking with business owners throughout our tenure as a business, peace is of the most common desires among their angst minds.  When asked, “what do you want?”, many business owners respond simply with a version of the work “peace”.   Three elements will help us live out our faith at work.   First, legislating faith into anything weakens the very faith you are trying to impose. Prayer in schools is a most likely example for how legislating something while bringing the appearance of embrace, can actually do more to harm the thing than to bring the intended outcome. I am happy to announce that in any country, under the rule of any government, and within any economy, that prayer in schools is alive and well. While you may not want to fall on your knees and bring attention to your ritual, it is quite plausible that in the middle of class, walking down a corridor, or eating lunch in the lunch area, you can quietly and thoughtfully seek God in prayer.   You can do the same at work.   Some say, “I want to work for a Christian (or Buddhist, or Muslim, etc.) employer.”  Maybe instead we should think to work towards a mission that you believe in and within a skill set that you have been gifted towards, and be a light based on the faith that you hold regardless of the faith your employer holds. I've seen plenty of non-faith-driven leaders pushing towards a powerful mission, and plenty of faith-driven leaders that are a bear to work for. Stop waiting for someone to give you legal permission to pray, to be kind, to be salt and light, to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, or to replace worry with faith and hope. The second element is to know that the heart and principles of your faith should integrate with your day to day decision-making even if all of your rituals or formal disciplines cannot. I'm an employer who employs a small team of like-minded people.  Currently, all of our team members share a general faith conviction.  And still, it would not be well received if one of our team members spent their entire workday in formal faith study and meditation in place of the work that must be done towards our mission to liberate business owners from chaos.. We have a work mission to push towards and we need our team members working specifically towards that mission.  Of course, I strongly encourage studying and meditating within the personal disciplines of your personal and spiritual growth. I also strongly encourage living out moment by moment, the truths that each person gathers as they forage through their personal time of study and meditation; hunger for right things, laugh and cry with your workmates, show mercy, make peace, keep your promises, show love to those who frustrate you and make you mad.  There is no law or boundary for these helpful things.   Your business is not only a viable place to live out your faith, it is a perfect place to live out your faith.   Business is an area laced with pressure, timelines, and the squeeze of deadlines.  Business is an area where expectations are set and often not realized which requires grace, truth, kindness, forgiveness, and second chances. When many say “live out your faith at work” what they mean is “I must push, persuade and compel you to believe the same thing I do.” When I meet someone who is genuinely kind, thoughtful, intentional, and looks out for my well-being and prosperity...they don't need to push an agenda. Thirdly, above all, love. Having already quoted a hippy band from the 60's I am at risk of sounding like a flower child in the parking lot of Woodstock sitting in a VW bus pondering the value of peace vs. war. I assure you that my hippy status would be seriously revoked based on both my experience and my lack to understand the lifestyle of the '60s.  A question that would be helpful to ask that I have heard from a variety of sources is simple, “What would love have me do in this situation?” Even reading or listening to this post, how would love require you to respond? Let's assume that the early apostle Paul, a former terrorist to early Jesus apprentices and an early century religious expert, was correct in his definition of love, eventually writing that, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” What if we lived that out at work?   Must we legislate love? Must we demand that we have the right to wear a Christian lapel pin or pray in the lobby? In our faith tradition, it is common to label certain nations as “open” or “closed” to teaching or training on the shocking news Jesus came announcing. Presuming that the foundation of your faith is love, then it's not true...all countries are declared “open” assuming you have a relationship in that culture.  I've been to hostile areas globally where communism or capitalism have been subject to corruption.  Not one has been opposed to kindness, diplomacy, or a conversation. There is no boundary to your faith... not even work.  What is required though?  Relationship.

In a polarized America, inflexible statements of dogma are becoming normalized and opinions have become rights. This will not be such a post, but instead merely a reflection on the joy and value that can be when a woman or man chooses to live out their faith at work. In my faith background (belief in God and his Son Jesus) we have a varied history of faith expression largely based on the “tribe” that you were groomed in.   For some it is a charismatic expression in the public view, for others, it is a somber expression in private.   Most religions have a sect of fundamental purists, those who feel it their duty to protect the “brand” at all costs.  Many also have a sect of passive attenders, those who are content checking the box of “showing up” to the various disciplines, gatherings, and perceived duties of their religion. Religion is by definition “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”  Those holding to a “belief in and work of” also feel a sense of responsibility to both living out the teaching of their belief while also teaching others. Jesus himself said in one of his final statements, “Go and make apprentices of all nations... and teach them…” How do we live out our faith in the workplace when any faith can so easily divide and drive a wedge between relationships?   How do we live out our faith in the workplace so that it facilitates human flourishing instead of human animosity? Wouldn't it be better if we were either agnostic or atheistic towards faith at work just so we could get the job done, and then as in the words of Fleetwood Mac, “you can go your own way?” Part of the value of faith is the vision of peace, it is a primary goal within many faith traditions.   Talking with business owners throughout our tenure as a business, peace is of the most common desires among their angst minds.  When asked, “what do you want?”, many business owners respond simply with a version of the work “peace”.   Three elements will help us live out our faith at work.   First, legislating faith into anything weakens the very faith you are trying to impose. Prayer in schools is a most likely example for how legislating something while bringing the appearance of embrace, can actually do more to harm the thing than to bring the intended outcome. I am happy to announce that in any country, under the rule of any government, and within any economy, that prayer in schools is alive and well. While you may not want to fall on your knees and bring attention to your ritual, it is quite plausible that in the middle of class, walking down a corridor, or eating lunch in the lunch area, you can quietly and thoughtfully seek God in prayer.   You can do the same at work.   Some say, “I want to work for a Christian (or Buddhist, or Muslim, etc.) employer.”  Maybe instead we should think to work towards a mission that you believe in and within a skill set that you have been gifted towards, and be a light based on the faith that you hold regardless of the faith your employer holds. I've seen plenty of non-faith-driven leaders pushing towards a powerful mission, and plenty of faith-driven leaders that are a bear to work for. Stop waiting for someone to give you legal permission to pray, to be kind, to be salt and light, to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, or to replace worry with faith and hope. The second element is to know that the heart and principles of your faith should integrate with your day to day decision-making even if all of your rituals or formal disciplines cannot. I'm an employer who employs a small team of like-minded people.  Currently, all of our team members share a general faith conviction.  And still, it would not be well received if one of our team members spent their entire workday in formal faith study and meditation in place of the work that must be done towards our mission to liberate business owners from chaos.. We have a work mission to push towards and we need our team members working specifically towards that mission.  Of course, I strongly encourage studying and meditating within the personal disciplines of your personal and spiritual growth. I also strongly encourage living out moment by moment, the truths that each person gathers as they forage through their personal time of study and meditation; hunger for right things, laugh and cry with your workmates, show mercy, make peace, keep your promises, show love to those who frustrate you and make you mad.  There is no law or boundary for these helpful things.   Your business is not only a viable place to live out your faith, it is a perfect place to live out your faith.   Business is an area laced with pressure, timelines, and the squeeze of deadlines.  Business is an area where expectations are set and often not realized which requires grace, truth, kindness, forgiveness, and second chances. When many say “live out your faith at work” what they mean is “I must push, persuade and compel you to believe the same thing I do.” When I meet someone who is genuinely kind, thoughtful, intentional, and looks out for my well-being and prosperity...they don't need to push an agenda. Thirdly, above all, love. Having already quoted a hippy band from the 60's I am at risk of sounding like a flower child in the parking lot of Woodstock sitting in a VW bus pondering the value of peace vs. war. I assure you that my hippy status would be seriously revoked based on both my experience and my lack to understand the lifestyle of the '60s.  A question that would be helpful to ask that I have heard from a variety of sources is simple, “What would love have me do in this situation?” Even reading or listening to this post, how would love require you to respond? Let's assume that the early apostle Paul, a former terrorist to early Jesus apprentices and an early century religious expert, was correct in his definition of love, eventually writing that, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” What if we lived that out at work?   Must we legislate love? Must we demand that we have the right to wear a Christian lapel pin or pray in the lobby? In our faith tradition, it is common to label certain nations as “open” or “closed” to teaching or training on the shocking news Jesus came announcing. Presuming that the foundation of your faith is love, then it's not true...all countries are declared “open” assuming you have a relationship in that culture.  I've been to hostile areas globally where communism or capitalism have been subject to corruption.  Not one has been opposed to kindness, diplomacy, or a conversation. There is no boundary to your faith... not even work.  What is required though?  Relationship.

Romans 2:1-5

A presumptuous attitude toward God leads to resisting the Spirit, but humility before God leads us into God's presence.

Not presuming on God's holiness | 2 Samuel 6:1-8 | Dominic Steele | Daily Bible Time | 29 July 2021When you read something in the Bible that seems strange to us. It's an opporunity to think more deeply. It's an opportunity to ask yourself, 'Why am I and my thinking out of step with God?' And then as you do that to reflect, 'Well it can't be God that's wrong and needs to change, so it must be me.' 'I need to think harder and dig deeper.'The execution of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:1-8 is one of those moments, which initally seems strange to us. Lets have a go today at digging deeper into this moment.2 Samuel 6:1-8 David again assembled all the fit young men in Israel: thirty thousand. 2 He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark bears the Name, the name of the Lord of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab's house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart 4 and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab's house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums,[d] and cymbals.6 When they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. 8 David was angry because of the Lord's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today. 9 David feared the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10 So he was not willing to bring the ark of the Lord to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.

A new MP3 sermon from Christ Church Presbyterian is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Presuming on the Riches of God's Kindness Subtitle: The Gospel of God Speaker: Dr. Jon D. Payne Broadcaster: Christ Church Presbyterian Event: Sunday Service Date: 6/27/2021 Bible: Romans 2:1-5 Length: 50 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Christ Church Presbyterian is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Presuming on the Riches of God's Kindness Subtitle: The Gospel of God Speaker: Dr. Jon D. Payne Broadcaster: Christ Church Presbyterian Event: Sunday Service Date: 6/27/2021 Bible: Romans 2:1-5 Length: 50 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Christ Church Presbyterian is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Presuming on the Riches of God's Kindness Subtitle: The Gospel of God Speaker: Dr. Jon D. Payne Broadcaster: Christ Church Presbyterian Event: Sunday Service Date: 6/27/2021 Bible: Romans 2:1-5 Length: 50 min.

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Play On Podcasts Series Pericles. Synopsis: Bereft of his bride, Pericles surrenders her body to the sea and makes for Tarsus to ride out the storm. There, he gives over care of his newborn daughter, Marina, to Cleon and Dionyza, who vow to care for her as their own. Meanwhile, Thaisa's coffin washes ashore at Ephesus, where it is retrieved by a group of physicians led by Cerimon. Together, they open the casket and discover that Thaisa is alive. Presuming her husband is drowned upon the sea, she takes a vow of chastity at Diana's temple. Marina, now grown, is the envy of all of Tarsus, much to the chagrin of the vengeful Dionyza.  The Cast: KEITH DAVID as Pericles KATHLEEN CHALFANT as Gower JOHANNA DAY as Lychorida, Diana, and The Bawd JOHN KEATING as Helicanus and  Philemon JENNIE GREENBERRY as Marina and Antiochus's Daughter AMY WASCHKE as Dionyza and Thaisa JEFF KING as Antiochus, Simonides and Pandar BARZIN AKHAVAN as Cerimon and Thaliard TOMMY SCHRIDER as Lysimachus and Leonine BENJAMIN BONENFANT as Bolt, Messenger, Fisherman, Knight, Pirate, Sailor, Servant and Lord ORLANDO PABOTOY as Cleon, Messenger, Fisherman, Knight, Pirate, Sailor, Servant and Lord CHRISTIANA CLARK as Messenger, Fisherman, Knight, Pirate, Sailor, Ship's Master, Servant and Lord Play On Podcasts Series Pericles is produced by Next Chapter Podcasts and is made possible by the generous support of The Hitz Foundation. New episodes go live every Friday. Please subscribe, rate & review on your app of choice. Visit ncpodcasts.com/playonpodcast for bonus content including interviews, images and bios of the full cast & creative team.  Visit playonshakespeare.org for more about Play On Shakespeare.

Do you include the Lord's will in your planning? Listen as Pastor Steve talks about how important this is from James 1:13-17.

On today's podcast we're talking to Dawn Robinson coach and author of “Ditch your stress from the inside out!” We are talking about how we presume our lives away, how we are all searching for something and making stories up in our heads!!

Happy Monday.  I would love to take a pause for a moment and check in with all of you, how are you doing?  Take a second and take a deep breath in with the question “how am I?” and exhale with “I am present”, let’s do that again. Breathe in “how am I” and exhale “I am present”.  Yes, you are. Today I am so grateful you are here with me because we have a fantastic guest who is bringing it to the podcast as we discuss “The Presumption of Grace” and how to stop unwittingly contributing to the “bad” or as I call it “non-working” behavior of others. My guest is passionate about this topic and I was thrilled he wanted to bring it to all of you.     Scott Woodhill, is the founder and President of Woodhill Solutions, a company dedicated to “upgrading” workforces through services including training and coaching. The mission of all services is to improve levels of self-awareness, empathy, and communication in people so that they are happier in their personal lives and therefore more engaged and productive in their work lives. He is passionate about the “Presumption of Grace” topic and is bringing so much wisdom to the mic today that I know you will enjoy.   Want to expand your contribution in your life? LIFt registration has opened up again, let’s take the lead together! www.kellyjmobeck.com/LIFt   To connect with Scott Woodhill please visit him at: Website: www.woodhillsolutions.net   As heard on the episode check out the Woodhill Solutions March Promotion (please note Scott has generously offered to extend his March promotion through 4/15/21 for you. Let him know you heard him on the podcast.   Check it out here:  https://woodhillsolutions.net/ees%2B-survey      Here are the highlights from this episode: {4:18} What drives Scott to do the work he does {6:00} What is the presumption of grace? {10:04} How to apply the presumption of grace to a work environment. {13:05} Presuming grace as a mindset {15:46} the importance of breathwork {17:49} Where in society the presumption of grace is important {23:03} How we don't have to agree but we can be curious {23:50} What Scott would tell his younger self To connect with Coach Kelly and for more resources please visit www.kellyjmobeck.com  follow on Instagram @coach_kellymobeck. You can also email us at Kelly@KellyJMobeck.com  let us know any questions you in life you have, and what you would love to hear more about, we are happy to help and will take these on in future episodes

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop TODAY'S HEADLINES: Centrist Democrats in the Senate have convinced Joe Biden to limit how many people will qualify for direct $1,400 payments in his pandemic relief bill. But progressive members of Congress are still pushing for expanded eligibility. Meanwhile, a new study shows how hard the nonprofit sector has been hit by the economic fallout of the pandemic. For smaller arts organizations in particular, the news is very bad. And lastly, a hate crimes bill has been introduced in the Wyoming legislature. It’s one of three or four states that still don’t have such a law on the books. THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW: Here’s what’s new with the incredible shrinking pandemic relief bill. President Biden has agreed to narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400 stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats, the Washington Post reports. Biden and Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling to keep their caucus united since they cannot lose a single Democrat in the fifty-fifty Senate with Republicans united against the legislation. The Post reports that under the changes agreed to by Biden and Senate Democratic leadership, individuals earning $75,000 per year and couples earning $150,000 would still receive the full $1,400-per-person benefit. However, the benefit would disappear for individuals earning more than $80,000 annually and couples earning more than $160,000. That means singles making between $80,000 and $100,000 and couples earning between $160,000 and $200,000 would be newly excluded from a partial benefit under the revised structure Biden agreed to. About twelve million fewer adults and five million fewer kids would get the stimulus payments under the new Biden-Senate compromise. Centrist Senate Democrats had initially pushed for even more aggressive restrictions on the stimulus payments, according to the Post. Senior Democratic officials had at one point considered dropping the full benefit for those making more than $50,000 per year, a change they ultimately abandoned after a backlash led by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden of Oregon and Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Presuming the Senate passes the package later this week, it would still have to go back to the House for final approval. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said QUOTE I don’t understand the political or economic wisdom in allowing Trump to give more people relief checks than a Democratic administration ENDQUOTE. AOC, you are not alone there. Many Nonprofits Face Closure Here are some more stark numbers for you. More than one-third of US nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the pandemic, the Associated Press reports. That figure comes from a study released yesterday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. The study’s findings underscore the perils for nonprofits and charities whose financial needs have escalated over the past year, well in excess of the donations that most have received. The researchers analyzed how roughly three hundred thousand nonprofits would fare under twenty scenarios of varying severity, the AP reports. The worst-case scenario led to the closings of thirty eight percent of the nonprofits. Even the scenarios seen as more realistic resulted in closures well into double digit percentages. Among the most vulnerable nonprofits, the study said, are those involved in arts and entertainment, which depend on ticket sales for most of their revenue, cannot significantly their reduce expenses and don’t typically hold much cash. Other studies have concluded that smaller arts and culture groups, in particular, are at serious risk. Californians for the Arts, for example, surveyed arts and culture nonprofits in the state and found that about sixty four percent had shrunk their workforces. And a report last week from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that employment in New York City’s arts, entertainment and recreation sector tumbled sixty six percent during 2020. The AP says that while arts and entertainment groups may be at particular risk, nonprofits from all sectors are in danger. According to the study, the District of Columbia was expected to lose the most nonprofits per capita, followed by Vermont and North Dakota. We’re gonna need a bigger relief bill to save this sector of the economy. Wyoming Tackles Hate Crimes Progress moves slowly but it is still moving. Wyoming lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill aimed at combating hate crimes in the state, CBS News reports. It is one of three remaining states with no laws against bias-motivated crimes on its books. The move comes after a push by advocates in the state where gay college student Matthew Shepard was killed in 1998. More than two decades later, Wyoming remains without a hate crimes law even though the 2009 federal anti-hate crime law bears Shepard's name. Though Wyoming's tagline is The Equality State, named so for being the first to grant women the right to vote, the state is known to many outsiders for Shepard's brutal murder. Shepard's mother Judy Shepard told CBS News that while she was traveling several years ago wearing a Wyoming shirt, she was asked, Isn't that where that gay kid was murdered? Pressure has been increasing on lawmakers in Wyoming and the two other states that remain without hate crime legislation – South Carolina and Arkansas, where bills have been introduced. Some advocates also include Indiana on the list of states without hate crime laws, calling a law passed in that state in 2019 problematically broad. Some similar laws in other states mandate enhanced sentences for those convicted of a crime motivated by bias. Wyoming's proposed legislation, however, would not mandate enhanced sentences. CBS reports that the bill will likely be assigned to the legislature's judiciary committee, where a hearing is expected in the coming weeks, said Democratic Representative Cathy Connolly, a co-sponsor of the bill. While questions remain to be hashed out – including over the scope of incidents that law enforcement should be required to report – Connolly said the introduction of the bill is a big deal. Especially for marginalized people in The Equality State. AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES: In his first public remarks since a sexual harassment scandal enveloped his administration, Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that he was embarrassed by his actions and apologized, but said that he would not resign, the New York Times reports. He also said he has learned, adding QUOTE I will be the better for this experience ENDQUOTE. Well then, congratulations are in order! The far-right party Alternative für Deutschland will be spied on by Germany’s intelligence agency under suspicion of posing a threat to democracy, the Guardian reports. It is currently the largest opposition party in parliament. The state intel agency is now able by law to monitor the phones of AfD members and spy on its activities as a suspected extreme rightwing organisation. Suspected? Surely it’s confirmed by now. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI sent a joint intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies late Tuesday warning that some domestic groups have discussed plans to take control of the US Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4 – today – according to NBC News. Also yesterday, the Capitol Police said it has uncovered a possible plot to breach the Capitol by a militia group. The House canceled its session today out of caution. Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory have set this as the date they believe Donald Trump will return to office. Good luck with that, jabronis. Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least thirty-four protesters yesterday in several cities, according to the AP. That is highest daily death toll since the February 1st takeover. Videos from yesterday also showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew. Solidarity with the people of Myanmar. That’s all for the AM Quickie. Join us this afternoon on the Majority Report. MAR 4, 2021 - AM QUICKIE HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner WRITER - Corey Pein PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

In our 41st episode of The Resilient Entrepreneur Podcast, Kevin asks the question of if we are reading too much into scenarios and predicting the outcome. Are bottle-necking growth for our businesses by presuming to know how these scenarios will turn out?

Just prior to the change in administrations, the State Department appointed a new chief data officer. Presuming the Biden State Department wants to use data to inform its decisions, the CDO position should be in high demand. Joining the Federal Drive now is that new chief data officer Dr. Matthew Graviss.

Welcome back friends! This podcast is the first in a five part series, in partnership with the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) and is looking at five guiding principles of inclusive education (the 5 P's). This month's focus is on presuming competence and I am talking to two incredible individuals. Mabel Thackeray is a Licensed Psychotherapist and a National Certified School Counsellor in Forks, Washington. Mabel is part of a leadership team making efforts in their district to shift to more inclusive practices. We talk to her about what presuming competence means to her from a leadership perspective and what her schools are already doing to address diversity in their students, staff and families. My second guest is Joanne Picard, a self advocate and second year political science student at the University of Alberta. Joanne talks to us about her lived experience of inclusion, and challenges notions of presuming competence to include an individual's potential.  This episode is connected to the Five Moore Minutes Video: "Presuming Competence," and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq8sQTEhG8 This 5MM Podcast is made with support from AWSP and a grant from OSPI, which provided the Inclusionary Grant, allowing us to bring continued inclusionary practices professional learning to all educators.

With low interest rates and easy credit, many businesses have been piling on debt at a record pace. Any time you borrow money, however, you are presuming that you’ll have the ability to repay that debt. Your cash flow and collateral may be strong, giving you confidence in borrowing money. But what’s often overlooked is [...]

Jessica invites Peace of Heart Community Co-Founder Amy Groshell and Special Needs Educator and Founder of ACCEPTS, Inc., Morgan Tyner on the show to discuss "Presuming Competence." How do we see our children and teach others to see our children with intelligence and brilliance, even when their body and behaviors tell you a different story?

When we have high expectations for our children with autism it makes a huge difference. Believing in our kids will help them believe in themselves! The post Presuming Competence in Your Children with Autism first appeared on RDIconnect.

When we have high expectations for our children with autism it makes a huge difference. Believing in our kids will help them believe in themselves! The post Presuming Competence in Your Children with Autism first appeared on RDIconnect.

13/9/20 Pride in Presuming on God // An Antidote to Fear and Pride // St Philips // Matthew 7:13-23 by Church Hill Anglican

13/9/20 Pride in Presuming on God // An Antidote to Fear and Pride // Garrison // Matthew 7:13-23 by Church Hill Anglican

Ido Kedar is an autistic-self advocate and the author of a two books. He is a non-speaking autistic person who uses a voice-output typing device to communicate. Listen to my interview with Ido as we discuss:- His experience with OT, speech, and ABA before he had a way to communicate when no one was presuming his competence- How learning to communicate changed everything, and why learning to spell and type isn’t a simple as it sounds- Why Ido doesn’t like labels like “high functioning” and “low functioning”- What sensory and executive functioning supports Ido found helpful in his journey, and what outdated strategies he wishes therapists would leave behind- Ido’s advice to therapists who write goals to suppress stimming- Ido’s concrete challenge to our listeners who want to better understand the perspective of our non-speaking clientsSHOW NOTES:(view links at learnplaythrive.com/podcast)Follow Ido on FacebookIdo in Autismland WebsiteIdo’s NovelsUNC Study on Adaptive Life Skills and adult outcomes.Autism Experience ChallengeFree masterclass from Learn Play Thrive: Autism-Specific Strategies that Transform OT PracticeJoin in the conversation about this episode on Facebook - Learn Play & Thrive: Autism Resources for ProfessionalsFULL TRANSCRIPT

In any organisation we are going to have our A, B and C players.  Hopefully no D players but if you do, then commiserations.  The Pareto Principle tells us that 20% of our team will produce 80% of the results.  Quite straightforward.  Why don't we just fire the 80% and keeping adding to the 20%.  Well mathematically it doesn't work and also practically it is problematic.  If you have very deep pockets and you can hire the best, then go for it. The rest of us are just hellbent on making payroll.  We do our best to hire well, but after the probation period has ended, certain things become apparent. As Warren Buffet famously observed, once the tide goes out you can see who was skinny dipping.  In a properly functioning labour market, the poorer performers, could be terminated and replaced.  This is where Japan makes the whole premise more interesting. Covid-19 has crushed the hospitality and tourism industries, so there are a lot of people available on the market for that type of work.  Some other industries have had to let people go, so the unemployment rate has crept up slightly.  It is still not a market overflowing with talent ready to make a move or looking for a job.  People tend to stay where they are and particularly so at the moment.  Japan does not like volatility and people's native conservatism comes to the fore to resist all change.  The upshot is that hiring people has become more difficult and is likely to stay that way, as the demographic decline kicks in. As leaders, we know that there is no point spending a lot of time trying to turn C players into A players.  All the research says put your energy into the A players, because they have so much more potential and capability to perform.  By definition there are fewer of these people in the team, so technically we should be able to use our available time to work more with them.  What do we actually do though?  Our emotions drive us to invest in the C players, trying to turn them into Bs.  We hired them, didn't we.  Basically, we have discovered they won't become As, in the vast majority of cases, but B levels seem achievable. We get irritated by the Cs poor performance.  We want to be that rising tide leader who can lift all boats.  However, are we deluding ourselves?  Are we unable to admit we screwed up the hiring process?  Is Covid-19 the opportunity to circumvent the bias in the Japanese legal system in favour of workers?  Is this a good time to cut people loose, who are C level and lower?  It is astonishing for Westerners, raised in the harsh Darwinian climate of foreign capitalist organisations, that being incompetent doesn't qualify as a reason to get fired in Japan. Is this the time to fire them and blame it on Covid-19?  It will release some cashflow every month with them gone and reduce the amount of management time that they suck up.  The issue becomes what happens after Covid-19 declines and things get back to something resembling normalcy?  If we think ahead and we have to consider replacing these staff in the future, there will be costs to that.  The current people may not be producing much. Their replacements will also be getting paid about the same amount and for the first period of employment, won't be producing much either.  It varies from firm to firm, but we can expect from 12 to 18 months of very little as the new folk in sales, for example, learn the business and start to create clients.  Other vocations may be quicker to skill up, but there is still that gap in performance that equals what the previous incumbents were doing.  There is also the groupism of Japan, which doesn't welcome tossing people overboard like jetsam.  “But for the grace of God, there go I” is the dominant fear within the ranks of the survivors. Getting people is hard, getting good people is expensive.  Trying to keep your lower performers may not be possible, if bankruptcy is looming. In that event, many of the team are going to be tossed out regardless, just to reduce fixed costs.  Assuming that is not the case and you think you can hang on until the coast is clear, then keeping everyone together may be the better solution.  Maybe you have to adjust some salaries down or increase the at risk component of the salespeople's packages to make it work.  Unlike your competitors who sacked their people, you will have a highly experienced, trained, knowledgeable and full strength team to lead into battle in the marketplace.  Your competitors will be down on numbers. They will also face a long period of adjustment, to recruit, train and equip these newcomers to go into battle against you.  Their survivor's engagement levels will be low and their cynicism high.  Your team, on the other hand,  will be fired up and appreciative.  So, if you can afford to keep the team in place, this will be a powerful launching pad for you in the post Covid-19 universe.  Presuming any of us actually ever get to those sunny uplands.

Judgment: Presuming Kindess (Romans 2:4-5) by Church in the Square (Sermon Audio)

Exciting news! Jay Harrington announces the release of his third book, The Productivity Pivot. Listen in as Tom interviews Jay to share the inspiration, the process and the intended outcomes for the release of this book for lawyers looking to build a successful practice and achieve career satisfaction. Tom asked Jay: Why this book, and why now? If it's true that "too many lawyers are unhappy," how does this book aim to change that? What is at the root of happiness for attorneys, as addressed in this book? How can attorneys put an actual and actionable plan into execution, so the same issues and obstacles don't persist year after year? What is behind Charlie Munger's process to sell oneself one hour each day, and how can attorneys embrace such a commitment? Presuming this approach is adopted, how do attorneys maximize that one hour, and what do they spend it on? What is the 60-minute daily sprint?

So far, we have dealt with making the cold call to get a meeting, building trust, getting permission to ask questions, using a four step structure to get information about what the client needs.  Now we deal with how to present our solution. In the face to face world, after asking all of these questions and deciding we can actually help this client, we would go back to the office and put together our proposal, outlining our solution for them and the price.  Given how hard people are to catch these days, if we were well organised and smart, we will have already locked down the date and time for our next call, during this meeting. In the next meeting, we can share our screen with the client.  The client may want the proposal before hand.  Do not do that.  When they get it, what do they do?  They go straight to the last page, idly skipping over all the bits where you have laboriously explained the value of your solution.  They are now solely focused on price to the exclusion of the value you will bring to their business.  No, no, no.  We don't want that, so resist sending it until after your online meeting.  In a face to face meeting, we would be nuts to hand over the proposal document at the start, because they will go straight to the last page. In person or online, we need to walk them through the document, so that we keep control of the navigation, the pace and the build of our argument, as to why they need our help. If we were sitting in front of them, we would swivel the document around, so that we are holding it on the table facing them, so that they can easily read it.  We take our expensive pen and we point to the bits where we want them to look, when we want them to look at them.  This is vitally important, because we are doing a number of critical steps at this moment.  If we are online, then we are showing our page and we have the onscreen pointer to show where they should be looking, as we control the page advancement. We take them through the context.  We check for understanding around whether we have fully grasped their situation and their needs.  If we have this wrong, then we need a new proposal and we need to know that, before we proceed any further.  Presuming we have understood them correctly, we now move on to explaining our solution.  Before we do that, we give them our capability statement, summarising that we have the capacity to meet their needs. This lets the buyer know that we have understood what they want and that we have the means and the capacity to meet their requirements.  If that wasn't the case, well we wouldn't be holding this meeting in the first place. So at this point before we go into the detail of the solution, we need to make it explicit that we are confident in our ability to help them. They told us where the gap was between where they are now and where they need to be and what is holding them back from bridging that gap by themselves. We explain in detail how we can bridge that gap for them. When we do this, we start with the details of the solution – the data, the facts, etc.  But clients don't buy facts. They buy the application of the benefits of our solution.  So before we get to that part of the explanation, we start going through the detail of the benefits and how these align with their needs.  In particular, we connect back that question about what is in it for them personally.  We might say, “you mentioned that the team will feel good if the outcome is achieved.  With this solution, they will be able to hit their targets more quickly and easily. They will really appreciate that you helped them to do that”.  We then go into the full detail on how the benefit will work inside their company when applied.  This explanation of the applied nature of the broad benefit is what they want to hear about.  This is very, very important, because a benefit by itself, can seem rather abstract.  We need to anchor it to the concrete actions to be taken and the specific outcomes to be achieved inside their workplace, so that they can mentally visualise the results.  Having piled on the concrete benefits to their business, we now scroll down the screen to the pricing attached to enjoying these benefits. Which, by the way, is always referred to as the “investment” and never as the “price”, when we are talking with buyers.  Because we have been controlling the flow of information, by the time they get to this page, they are fully aware of the value we will bring. The cost is now in context for them, rather than being a set of isolated figures on a page, cast off from the value we bring. Now it is the time to go for the trial close.  We want to flush out resistance, hesitations, further questions and objections at this point.  It is always amazing that even after carefully walking buyers through this process, they sometimes ask questions that tell you, they haven't properly grasped what you have been telling them. You could say to yourself, “boy, this buyer is really dumb”. However, you are better to question your own ability to clearly articulate the proposal to the client and whether it is you who is “dumb”?. In the next instalment, we deal with objections and how to close the sale, while we have the client online with us.

What does it really look like to presume upon God’s mercy? Did Jesus become a sinner on the cross? Is it wrong to want to see God demonstrate justice?

The Cold Calling On Zoom Salesperson - Part Two   In Part One we looked at how to get a meeting when you are cold calling and cannot meet the buyer face to face.  When working the phones, cold calling salespeople have a very low conversion rate of turning dials into actual meetings.  The same barrier stays in place because we still need to use the phone to speak to the buyer, to make a virtual meeting appointment.  If we can design a good enough hook, to get the initial phone contact interested on the phone, then they will take a risk and transfer us or connect us with the buyer.  This is the hook value versus the personal risk equation in Japan.  That equation usually ensures salespeople almost never get put through to the buyer.  The person answering the phone concludes the risk/reward computation is not worth the effort.    If lightening strikes and you do manage to get the buyer name and contact details, or are transferred through to them, then what do you do?  We repeat the whole hook delivery approach directly with the buyer again.  Having successfully arranged the online meeting, we come on line and meet them for the first time.  This can be a a hostile environment.    In the meeting room we have their full and undivided attention, but online is a different matter baby.  American research shows that 88% of salespeople believed that buyers were multitasking during their sales presentation and not paying full attention.  Also 62% of buyers didn't even turn their cameras on and in fact, 82% of salespeople didn't have the guts to ask the buyers to turn on the camera.   This is our first impression opportunity with the buyer, so we want that camera on.  We should definitely ask them to come on camera.  Just say, “Thank you for joining me today, please come on camera and allow me to introduce myself”.  Being Japan, we may get a certain percentage of buyers who will push back on that and say, “I prefer the camera off”.  That is not a good sign.  We have few choices but to soldier on and do our best, but I would take that as a very negative buying signal right there.   Presuming they do cooperate and come on camera or are already on camera, what are they discovering about us?  Were we punctual, trustworthy, on time and online before they joined?  Do we look professional, dressed in our business battle gear?  Do we have the camera situated at eye height, rather than zooming up our own nose? Are we talking to the camera lens rather than looking down at their image on screen?    Are we speaking fluently with no hesitations like um and ahs, being concise and clear in our communication.  Do we sit up straight, away from the back of the chair, projecting confidence and credibility through our body language?  Do we have an additional light source in front of us, which overcomes the other lights in the room and lights our face separately, so that we appear very crisp on screen?  Have we wrestled our background into submission and eliminated anything that is a distraction or destroying our credibility, like giving the buyer a peek into a very messy room.   There are some basic rules in selling in person and online and building rapport is a good place to begin the sales process. We repeat the hook and explain why we are meeting.  We then segue into something like this, “So much has changed, so quickly and February feeling like a million years ago to me. By the way, how have you found working from home rather than the office?”.  We do this because we have been doing all the talking so far and now we want to encourage them to start talking to us.  After listening to them, we express some empathy with what has been their experience.  Now we come to a vital component of the sales call.  We seek their permission to ask questions.    In our case, we would say this, “We started the company in 1912 and have been in Japan for 57 years now and have been active across all major industries here.  We have worked with XYZ in your industry. What they really liked was the fact that we could produce increases in revenues above 20% in a three month period.  Maybe we could do the same for you?  I am not sure, but in order for me to understand if that is possible or not, would you mind if I asked a few questions?”.    Here we have started with a broad statement about who we are, why we are differentiated from our competitors and what we do for clients.  We then provide concrete evidence of where we have been successful with their competitors. We do not say we can “definitely” help them, as Americans are taught to do in sales.  We specifically say “maybe”.  We do this to sound less pushy. Also, in truth, until we ask them some questions, we actually have no idea if we can help them or not.    Finally, we seek their permission to ask a “few” questions.  This implies it won't be too many questions or take up a lot of their valuable time.  Ironically, if there is some interest there, then it could become quite a lot of questions and take quite a lot of time. When there is interest though, the buyer won't mind.  Now if we find there is not a match, we don't try and slam the square peg into the round hole.  We just politely terminate the conversation and go and find an actual buyer.   In Part Three we will continue with the next stage of the online sales cold call.    

Harvard neuroscientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle of the Mona Lisa's changing smile. Presuming nothing, Livingstone reasoned that the famous portrait's flickering smile is caused by the way we see.

WHERE IS GOD? MAKING SENSE OF FAITH DURING A PANDEMIC   DOES GOD CONSPIRE WITH EVIL? What about God’s wrath, judgment, angels of death, etc.?   During times of crisis ALL of humanity is faced with “God” questions. Where is God in this pandemic? Did God cause the novel coronavirus? Is God being passive-aggressive to allow it to happen? If God is loving WHY doesn’t He intervene? Is the pandemic an act of God’s judgment? Is there anything humans/believers can do? Can we expect special protection during these times? Will prayer motivate God? What does God feel towards human suffering?  All of these questions often hang with no more resolution, stopping at the question marks. During this amazing series we will look at philosophical and theological ideas that help us make sense of God, returning us to wholehearted intimacy with God, ourselves and those around us. Join us as we explore the peace of God in times of crisis. ____________________ ARE GOD’S PROMISES RELIABLE? 2 CORINTHIANS 1:20 KJV For all the PROMISES of God in CHRIST [are] YEA, and in him AMEN, unto the glory of God by us. PSALM 33:18-20 KJV Behold, the eye of the LORD [is] upon them… that hope in his MERCY; 19 … to keep them alive in FAMINE. 20 …he [is] our HELP and our SHIELD. EXODUS 23:25 NKJV And I will take SICKNESS AWAY from the MIDST of you. PSALM 91:10-11, 14-16 NKJV NO EVIL shall befall you, nor shall any PLAGUE come NEAR YOUR DWELLING; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. ... 15 I [will be] with him in TROUBLE; I will DELIVER HIM and honor him. 16 With LONG LIFE I will satisfy him, and show him My SALVATION." ____________________ WHERE IS GOD? MAKING SENSE OF FAITH DURING A PANDEMIC   BUT WHAT ABOUT… ?????????? ____________________ FAITH ALWAYS STOPS AT THE ??????? ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD - DIFFICULT TEXTS: DEUTERONOMY 29:20 NKJV THE LORD would not spare the idolater; for then the ANGER of the LORD and His JEALOUSY would BURN against that man, and EVERY CURSE that is written in this book would settle on him, and THE LORD would BLOT OUT HIS NAME from under heaven. PSALM 78:49 NKJV [God said about the Exodus] He cast on them the FIERCENESS of His ANGER, WRATH, INDIGNATION… ROMANS 9:22-23 NKJV [What] if God, wanting to show [His] WRATH and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of WRATH PREPARED FOR DESTRUCTION, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the VESSELS of MERCY, which He had prepared beforehand for glory… REVELATION 16:1 NKJV Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and POUR OUT the BOWLS OF THE WRATH OF GOD on the earth.” PSALM 5:5-6 NLT Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you HATE ALL WHO DO EVIL. 6 … THE LORD DETESTS murderers and deceivers. MATTHEW 10:14-15 NKJV [Jesus said] 14 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be MORE TOLERABLE for the land of SODOM AND GOMORRAH in the day of JUDGMENT than for that city! ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD - DIFFICULT TEXTS: God’s Anger, Wrath and Indignation Jealousy Hate Judgment of God ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD - DIFFICULT TEXTS: Noah’s Flood Sodom and Gomorrah Ananias and Sapphira Paul Cursing a Sorcerer with Blindness Angels of Destruction Annihilation by Conquest Final Judgments and Wrath of Revelation Hell ____________________ MISTAKES WE MAKE WITH BIBLE DIFFICULTIES  Assuming that the unexplained is not explainable Presuming the Bible guilty until proven innocent Confusing our fallible interpretations with God’s infallible revelation Failing to understand the context of the passage Basing doctrine/teaching on an obscure passage Forgetting the Bible is a human book with human characteristics Neglecting that the Bible uses different literary devices (figures of speech) ____________________ DOES GOD… RAGE HATE JEALOUSY LIKE HUMANS ?????????? ____________________ DOES GOD… CREATE DO CONSPIRE WITH EVIL ?????????? ____________________ WHAT DOES EVIL LOOK LIKE? ANYTHING THAT LACKS PURE GOODNESS! Plagues (Viruses) Physical Weakness Infertility Accidents Death Financial Need Famines Oppressive Labor Hating Work/Labor Sexual Assault Harassment No Justice Fear For Safety Hard Heartedness Seared Conscience Mental Disorders Anxiety Disorders Depression Fear & Confusion Faulty Cognition Addictions Divorce Broken Families Child Abductions Kidnappings Perpetration Shame & Guilt Embarrassment Humiliation Regrets Hiding & Inferiority Isolation Rejection Victimization Exploitation Oppression Cynicism “Life Is Hard” Etc. ____________________ GOD IS ALL GOOD 1 JOHN 4:8 NKJV He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS ALL PURE PSALM 99:9 NKJV Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our GOD [IS] HOLY. ____________________ WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT GOD WILL DEFINE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT YOU! ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD – HOW?  BEGIN WITH WHAT “IT” IS NOT! BECOME CURIOUS IN EXPLORATION! ____________________ HOW TO INTERPRET GOD – WEEK 1 COMPARE WITH JESUS OVERLAY REDEMPTION AGAINST EVIL REMEMBER PERMISSIVE VERBS INTEGRATE CREATION’S PROCESS LAWS ACTIVATE AUTHORITY THROUGH REDEMPTION ____________________ JUSTICE DOES NOT CONSPIRE WITH EVIL God’s justice is not a spin for God to conspire with evil. THE ISSUE IS HOW JUSTICE OR EVIL ACTUALLY HAPPENS! ____________________ - GOD’S EMOTIONS - DOES GOD… RAGE HATE JEALOUSY LIKE HUMANS ?????????? ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD – BELIEVERS ROMANS 5:8-9 NKJV But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be SAVED FROM WRATH through Him. 1 THESSALONIANS 1:10; 5:9 NKJV … [even] Jesus who DELIVERS US FROM THE WRATH to come…. 5:9 For GOD DID NOT APPOINT US TO WRATH, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ… EPHESIANS 2:2-5 NKJV … the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of WRATH, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ____________________ - GOD’S EMOTIONS -  GOD’S RAGE HATE JEALUOSY IS ALWAYS ABOUT JUSTICE, NOT RETALIATION! ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD – GOD’S JUSTICE  PASSIVE JUDGMENT ACTIVE JUDGMENT LEGAL SEPARATION (A MULTIDIMENSIONAL UNIVERSE) COMMISSIONED ENFORCEMENT ____________________ INTERPRETING GOD – GOD’S PATTERN  GOD WARNS IN ADVANCE (MERCY) GOD GIVES GRACE TO AVOID IMPENDING SUFFERING ALL WHO REPENT/CHANGE GIVEN A WAY TO ESCAPE SOMEONE IS ALMOST ALWAYS “SAVED” OUT OF SUFFERING JUDGMENTS MAKE PUBLIC AWARENESS ____________________ MATTHEW 16:19 NCV [Jesus said] I will give you the KEYS of the kingdom of heaven; the things YOU DON’T ALLOW on earth will be the things that God does not allow, and the things YOU ALLOW on earth will be the things that God allows. ____________________ GOD’S PROMISES PSALM 33:18-20 KJV Behold, the eye of the LORD [is] upon them… that hope in his MERCY; 19 … to keep them alive in FAMINE. 20 …he [is] our HELP and our SHIELD. EXODUS 23:25 NKJV And I will take SICKNESS AWAY from the MIDST of you. PSALM 91:10-11, 14-16 NKJV NO EVIL shall befall you, nor shall any PLAGUE come NEAR YOUR DWELLING; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. ... 15 I [will be] with him in TROUBLE; I will DELIVER HIM and honor him. 16 With LONG LIFE I will satisfy him, and show him My SALVATION." ____________________ ACTIVATE GOD’S PROMISES 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13 NKJV And since we have the same SPIRIT OF FAITH, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," WE ALSO BELIEVE AND THEREFORE SPEAK… JAMES 2:18, 26 NKJV … show me your faith without your works (activations), and I will show you my FAITH by MY WORKS (ACTIVATIONS)… 26 …FAITH without WORKS (ACTIVATIONS) is DEAD also.   _________________________________________________________________ DECLARATIONS FACING PRESSURE I am of God and have overcome him (satan). For greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4) FACING PRESSURE I am far from oppression and fear does not come near me. (Isaiah 54:14) FACING PRESSURE No weapon formed against me will prosper, for my righteousness is of the Lord. But whatever I do will prosper for I’m like a tree that’s planted by the rivers of water (Isaiah 54;17; Psalm 1:3) PEACE The peace of God which passes all understanding keeps my heart and my mind through Christ Jesus. And things which are good, and pure, and perfect, and lovely, and of good report, I think on these things. (Philippians 4:7-8) REACH POTENTIAL The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. (Psalm 138:8) GAINING WISDOM I am a new creation in Christ, I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Therefore I have the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God is formed within me. (II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; I Corinthians 2:16) FREEDOM/GUILT And I, having received the gift of righteousness do reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)  FREEDOM DARK I am delivered from the power of darkness and I am translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. (Colossians 1:13) REDEEMED KIDS Great is the peace of my children for they are taught of the Lord. (Isaiah 54:13)  PROTECTION No evil will befall me neither shall any plague come near my dwelling. For the Lord has given His angels charge over me and they keep me in all my ways, and in my pathway is life and there is no death. (Psalm 91:10-11; Proverbs 12:28) SECURE DECISIONS I do follow the good shepherd and I know His voice and the voice of a stranger I will not follow. (John 10:4-5) SECURE DECISIONS The Lord enlarges my steps and establishes my thoughts. Therefore I will make healthy Holy Spirit-led decisions. (Psalm 18:36; Proverbs 16:3)  RESTORATION The Lord redeems my life from destruction and crowns me with tender mercies. The Lord satisfies my mouth with good things. My steps are ordered by the Lord. Even if I were to fall down, He upholds me with his hand. (Ps 103:4; Ps 37:23-24) SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY The Lord makes my way prosperous and gives me good success. Jesus has redeemed me from the curse of sin and given me the grace (power in human weakness) to have unlimited available resources. (Joshua 1:8; Gal 3:13; 2 Cor 8:7) GOD’S FAVOR The Lord has given me favor with God and man. I execute authority over my calling and future. The free favors of God are profusely abounding in my life. I am at the right place at the right time with the right people. People of power are stirred and predisposed to give me special advantages and preferential treatment. I reek with, and am crowned with, the abundance of God’s free favors over my life. Incredible things happen to me every day that other people don’t have happen in a lifetime. (Pr 3:4; Luke 4:19; Pr 8:5) DECLARATIONS DOWNLOAD Copy this url and paste in your favorite browser to download https://app.box.com/v/declare

Okay, federal contractors. Listen up. Presuming you can keep your company live until the other end of the tunnel we're in, can you actually prosper? For some advice on navigating the next few months, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turn to the CEO of innovation advisors BMNT, Peter Newell.

As we preach a Gospel of love and hope, we need to also be aware that there is wrath being stored up for the non-believer. So how are we to give an answer for the hope that's within us while also lovingly explaining the necessity of repentance. In this episode we continue our examination of the Puritan writer, Thomas Watson's, The Doctrine of Repentance. The following impediments are addressed: 1) Men do not apprehend that they need repentance. 2) People conceive it is an easy thing to repent. 3) Presuming thoughts of God's mercy. 4) A supine sluggish temper. (Laziness) 5) The tickling pleasure of sin. 6) An opinion that repentance will take away our joy. 7) Another obstacle to repentance is despondency of mind. (depression) 8) Hope of impunity. (God's patience toward sin is sin as His permanent disposition.) 9) Fear of reproach. (from friends) 10) An immoderate love of the world.

If you're hurting for some more Smash Fiction content, we have a blast from the past for you! Cast your mind to Phoenix, Arizona, back to the halcyon days of 2018, where Miles, Sharon, and Matias hosted a Surprise Party panel! Listen as three unwitting volunteers find themselves drawing characters from sources like Ben 10, Akira, Warhammer 40,000, Gravity Falls, and a surprising number of actual living people, and then send their parties on an epic quest for real, physical prizes! It's fun for the whole family! Presuming, of course, your family is a bunch of nerds.

Presuming that maintaining your independence in your later years is a worthwhile objective, then maybe it’s time to meet your future self.

In this week's episode, Scott and Karl discuss an essay by Plutarch, “How a Man May Become Aware of His Progress in Virtue.” As an eminent biographer and moralist, Plutarch is best known for his Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans arranged in tandem to illuminate their common vices and virtues. To Karl’s initial dismay, Plutarch’s essay is less about the metaphysical elements of virtue and more of a self-evaluation for the reader. Presuming you already want to be a good person, what are the signs you’re doing alright? How do you know your vices and follies are in abatement and that your virtues are in ascendancy? If you know all about virtue and you still don’t get any better, do you really know all about virtue? Plutarch is in opposition of the Stoics— he believes you can get better, even if it's hard to see progress. It just takes practice and habituation. Tune in to this week’s episode to find out what virtue looks like according to Plutarch and how to take real action towards becoming a more virtuous person.

Have you ever received one of those messages from a friend from high school, who clearly just wants to sell you something? Or had someone try to jump 6 or 7 rungs on the intimacy ladder, just to do business? Let’s talk about when the attempt to create an add actually becomes a detract.   Why is that important for business?  “Happy birthday, Eliot, now give me your money!” Although it’s not an exact quote, these kinds of emails happen. And they actually end up devaluing the sender. Like a celery is purported to have negative calories, this is a negative calorie birthday greeting, where they actually take away from your estimation of them.  Social media especially makes it easy to simulate a relationship without actually forming one. Instead of forcing closeness, it might be more effective to create the start of closeness by being honest about the lack of closeness. But creating the veneer of a friendship where none exists borders on a violation, like someone crawling through a window you left ajar and joining you in your living room.   The only place you can begin to grow a community is from exactly the place where you are right now. As is described in Tribal Leadership https://www.triballeadership.net/: people can only hear you one layer above or below where you are. You have to meet people where they are at and grow from there. Presuming you are on a level that you are not is when the add becomes a detract.  What story do you want to tell? So, that's our story... now, we want to hear yours! Pull up a chair and join the conversation in our Facebook Group: bit.ly/shmsgroup OR...  Shoot us an email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Connect with @SHMSpodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shmspodcast  Text the word STORY to 345345 to get access to bonus content and weekly episode delivery. Want to support us? Love this podcast? Please tell your friends, post about us, or take a moment to review us & subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast!

Series Why Holiness is Beautiful Originally aired 03/31/2019

This week, Rachel and Chris discuss the recent article in the ASHA Leader, “The Pitfalls of Presumption” by Katie O’Neil and Rebecca McCarthy. They agree with some ideas in the article, including the importance a well-planned assessment and implementation. They talk about why the phrase “presuming competence” can be confusing, and why they both prefer the phrase “presume potential.” Chris and Rachel go on to share some of their concerns about this article being misused by some clinicians to defend their role as "gatekeeper." If not read carefully, the article seems to advocate a process where clinicians decide who is, and who is not, allowed to receive training on a robust language system. Chris and Rachel go on to discuss why they presume their clients have the potential for robust language systems until proven otherwise, and why they think others should too.   Following this, we share Rachel’s interviews from ASHA with Bill Binko, Cindy Halloran from LAMP Words for Life, Heidi LoStracco of Speak for Yourself, Sarah Wilds of PRC-Saltillo, and Brian Whitmer of Cough Drop!   First, Bill Binko talks about Lesson Pix, a resource for creating custom learning materials for classrooms and therapy. He also talks about AT makers, an organization that seeks to introduce the “maker” community to the assistive technology community (e.g. partnering school robotics teams with people with AT needs).   Second, Cindy Halloran talks about the new version of LAMP Words for Life with improved support for users with visual impairment.   Third, Heidi LoStracco stops by to talk about Speak for Yourself. Rachel and Heidi discuss some of the new updates, how they have tried to make learning the software easier, and a new 30-day trial of the software launching soon.   Fourth, Sara Wilds of PRC-Saltillo discusses ExploreAAC.com, a new site that provides an introductory tutorial on AAC for parents, teachers, new clinicians, and anyone else interested in AAC. Areas covered in the tutorial include the meaning of “AAC,” differences between communication and language, and information about PRC & Saltillo devices and services.   Fifth, Brian Whitmer stops by and chats about this year’s Cough Drop shirt giveaway, why they think the shirts are a way to start conversations about AAC, and how the Cough Drop team come up with the shirt’s theme every year.   Finally, we share Mai Ling Chan’s brief interview with Summer Loehr, winner of the Xceptional Podcast Network contest at ASHA!   We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes- it helps others to find us!   Links   “The Pitfalls of Presumptions” by Katie O’Neil and Rebecca McCarthy, ASHA Leader (December 2018)  https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/full/10.1044/leader.FMP.23122018.10   LessonPix: www.lessonpix.com   ATMakers: www.facebook.com/groups/ATMakers   LAMP Words for Life: www.aacapps.com   Explore AAC: www.ExploreAAC.com   Cough Drop T-Shirts: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/coughdrop/