I was struck by something mentioned by John Bytheway in a talk where he mentioned builders and wreckers. I searched for this on the Internet and found this...
Wreckers or BuildersI watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,
As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”
He gave me a laugh and said, “No indeed!
Just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do.”
And I tho’t to myself as I went my way,
Which of these two roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds by a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?
— Carmelo Benvenga
I think this sums up my feelings about the unrest at our universities in South Africa, and in other unrest in the year 2016 - and before - and after. People can so easily wreck the good that others have worked hard to build.
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In my experience among university graduates, there are many who have university degrees, but it sometimes seems as though they have not become as educated as the university degree indicates they should be.
I was also impressed by the be-do-have continuum mentioned by Robert Kiyosaki in Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant - I am concerned that the focus I often see is on having, not becoming.
Do a Google search for 'Cash flow quadrant', you can find the PDF of the book, and search for be-do-have, then you will find it in Chapter 8 'How do I get rich?', subheading 'It is easy to do what rich people do'. He explains the difference between having wealth, doing things the wealthy do, and being wealthy. I like that. If we do not change our thinking - changing ourselves inside - we will not easily achieve the goals that we wish to achieve. We might have something, but it will not be easily retained of we do not think right.
In my experience among university graduates, there are many who have university degrees, but it sometimes seems as though they have not become as educated as the university degree indicates they should be.
I was also impressed by the be-do-have continuum mentioned by Robert Kiyosaki in Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant - I am concerned that the focus I often see is on having, not becoming.
Do a Google search for 'Cash flow quadrant', you can find the PDF of the book, and search for be-do-have, then you will find it in Chapter 8 'How do I get rich?', subheading 'It is easy to do what rich people do'. He explains the difference between having wealth, doing things the wealthy do, and being wealthy. I like that. If we do not change our thinking - changing ourselves inside - we will not easily achieve the goals that we wish to achieve. We might have something, but it will not be easily retained of we do not think right.
Just like the proverb about having a fish, or being able to catch fish for self, family and others.
You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.Providing in the Lord's Way, a book from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on helping the Saints to become educated, not just have a degree.
The online dictionary in a Google search 'define degree' gives:
"degree
dɪˈɡriː/
noun
1.
the amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present.
"a degree of caution is probably wise"
synonyms: level, stage, point, rung, standard, grade, gradation, mark; More
2.
a unit of measurement of angles, one ninetieth of a right angle or the angle subtended by one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle.
"set at an angle of 45 degrees""
Similarly, 'define graduate'
graduatenounˈɡradʒʊət,-djʊət/1.a person who has successfully completed a course of study or training, especially a person who has been awarded an undergraduate or first academic degree.synonyms: degree holder, person with a degree; Moreverbˈɡradʒʊeɪt,-djʊeɪt/1.successfully complete an academic degree, course of training, or (North American) high school."he graduated from Glasgow University in 1990"synonyms: qualify, pass one's exams, pass, be certified, be licensed; More2.arrange in a series or according to a scale."a graduated tax"synonyms: arrange in a series, arrange in order, order, group, classify, class, categorize, rank, grade, range"a proposal to graduate income tax"
Our country - our world - needs people who are genuinely what their certificates indicate they have achieved, rather than simply having a certificate that says they have a degree.
Similarly, let us put our focus, our efforts, our energies into becoming and helping others to become builders in our families, communities, workplaces, nation and everywhere, not just having titles or labels, and certainly not being wreckers!
Similarly, let us put our focus, our efforts, our energies into becoming and helping others to become builders in our families, communities, workplaces, nation and everywhere, not just having titles or labels, and certainly not being wreckers!
