I might hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil, but I sure smell it!

Do we as humans ignore smells or just get used to them so that we don't smell them anymore? When I walk into our house, I can still smell the dogs. We try hard to keep that to a minimum, but without removing the dogs I know this will not go away completely. It is the same with funk. After a workout, I smell. I know that I smell. However, I am also confident that my smell is worse for those around me. Whenever you drive through certain towns, you can smell hog farms, paper mills, or chocolate. Yes, there is nothing better than the smell of chocolate on a cool fall day in Hershey, PA! I wonder if the people who live in these towns still smell these aromas like I do?

Have you ever sat beside a person on an airplane, bus, church bench, or waiting room that just smelled bad? I mean, eyes watering, I need a drink of water because I can taste the funk bad. Don't you want to say, "excuse me, but I can barely breath because you smell so bad. Can you smell yourself?" There is a scene from the movie Trading Places where Lewis' fiance is sitting in the Philly police station waiting. The man beside her smells so bad that see discretely sprays him with perfume.(Very Funny!)

I think with today's technology, they should make clothing change colors based on your body odor. As your odor gets worse, the color turns red. That way, even if you can no longer smell it, everyone else will be spared the air pollution.

Leadership or a shipless leader

Leadership. It is something to be respected and admired. Leadership is a wonderful quality in a person. Notice that I did not say "people in leadership roles", as there can be a difference. I have met some wonderful natural leaders. These people have a magnetic personality, big picture thinking and vision, as well as the humbleness to still understand and connect with the people they are serving. Leaders after all, are leaders to serve, whether a sports team, a corporate manager, a parent, pastor, or political official. These people are in their role to advance the group they are over.

So, if that the the function of a leader, why are there those in leadership roles that put self-promotion and self-preservation above advancement of the group? I guess some people may feel threatened if someone else has the ability to lead as well. I understand that no one wants to be passed by a co-worker or subordinate. However, in a perfect world, if this happens it would be an opportunity for self-reflection as to what you need to work on to move forward. A great example of this is the presidential primary process currently underway. The mindset seems to be, if you can't move yourself ahead, focus on bringing those around you down in order to make yourself look better.

I don't know about you, but this is not the type of leader that I could get behind and feel confident that they are simply not just out for themselves. As said by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia,“How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.”