guarantee sales for your online business: ‘What so proudly we hailed…’ Our clear and present...

guarantee sales for your online business: ‘What so proudly we hailed…’ Our clear and present...: by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s program note. My mother used to sing a little ditty — complete with rollicking delivery — called “School day...

guarantee sales for your online business: ‘You are the one…’ An Open Letter to the Honorable...

guarantee sales for your online business: ‘You are the one…’ An Open Letter to the Honorable...: by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s Program Note: It is time for me to again address the President of the Great Republic, as I do from time to t...

guarantee sales for your online business: When champions fail… what they do that you do not....

guarantee sales for your online business: When champions fail… what they do that you do not....: by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s program note. A lady I know well, a lady accustomed not just to victory but to constant victory, was last m...

‘What so proudly we hailed…’ Our clear and present danger… and what we must do at once to improve civics education.

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author’s program note. My mother used to sing a little ditty — complete with rollicking delivery — called “School days.” It went something like this

“School days, school days Dear old Golden Rule days. Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic Taught to the tune of the hick’ry stick.”

I never knew much about this tune beyond the lyrics. Its interest for me was in the way my young mother sang it to me and my siblings, always upbeat and cheerful, an American lass belting out an American tune.

It was written in 1907 by Will Cobb and Gus Edwards. Lots of people other than my mother liked this song… and like Byron G. Harlan (who made it a great hit) recorded it. It provides just the right note for this article. Go now to any search engine and find the rendition you like best. Sing it now. Its effervescence will will help cheer you in advance of my more sombre message. “The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

In 1907 when Byron Harlan was singing of his school days the golden promise of the Great Republic was like a celestial magnet pulling expectant multitudes from everywhere on this planet to… America! Not merely a land, a territory, a mere place… but a dream made flesh by people like — them! It was a place to be not a serf, a servant, a subject… but yourself, your own person. And the world came in waves to find themselves… and breathe free for the first time in their lives.

Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) set the exact mood in her famous poem (1883) chiselled on the Statue of Liberty, appropriately the first thing every emigrant saw and which set the uplifting, liberating mood.

Because these people were so various in their histories, the need to Americanize them was acute and highly desired by the emigrants themselves. They embraced this cause as their own, and proudly so. And so American civics came to America’s schools and helped deliver one proud American after another, citizens who proved their devotion to the Great Republic and its soaring ideals on all the battlefields of our planet.

But all this, having culminated in my parents’ World War II generation, then began to recede as my rebellious Baby Boomer generation grew into turbulent adolescence. We brooked no discipline… and showed it in ways various, often affronting, and contentious. And so, bit by bit, the flood tide of Americanization waned and left us… divided, selfish, no longer united or cohesive, or resolved upon common goals… still a republic, but no longer as great as we had been.

And it is this malaise, this palsy on the body politic, this diminishing of our great cause that confronts us now on every front… and which I address here, now, to caution you that great institutions fail and fall when necessary and fundamental repairs, restorations, and reconstructions are neglected and put off to another day.

Thus it is now time, and well past, that civics education and instruction be restored as part of the curriculum, the curriculum that explains and advances the cause of the Great Republic. This curriculum must include, but never be limited to, such grave and important matters as the necessity for a Great Republic as the instrument of God’s Will; the history of the implementation of this idea; the people great and small who have contributed to this idea — as well as the people who have opposed it, why, and to what extent they may at first have succeeded… only to falter before the majesty of this cogent idea and of the Great Republic which embodies it….

As part of this curriculum, there must be full and sustained attention to the governance of the Great Republic, what has been tried and found true; what has been tried and found wanting and even dangerous. In this particular, we must focus on both men and their measures.

And above all we must focus on the essential concept of the citizen, for I must remind you, the Great Republic is founded upon, built and protected by its citizens — that is people like you and me who have been born into or otherwise admitted to its rights and obligations. These citizens must understand that, know their duties and be clear on what is expected of them for the success and furtherance of the Great Republic.

Sadly, all this is now in our little days neglected, cast down, derided, forgotten, to the detriment of the present and the certain ruination of the future. We stand at a critical moment in the affairs of the Great Republic, the people — the responsible citizens — are restive… but uninformed about what must be done, how to achieve the desired results, and, most of all their particular role.

No where is this more true than in the schools of the Great Republic, almost all of which have neglected their role — what must citizens know and do to fulfill their essential role and responsibilities?

One point illustrates the entire problem and what must be done.

Too many young Americans of voting age, like too many older Americans, do not understand the importance of the suffrage, the single most important aspect of citizenry. The guarantee of this right was hard won by the blood and strenuous efforts of committed, audacious men and women who placed the life and prosperity of the Great Republic above their own. They acted… they suffered… they died, so that we might vote.

And how have we treated this sublime gift?

We have been casual about it, unthinking, ill prepared, forgetful, dismissive of its significance. And the results are clear and dismaying: citizens who do not participate in the electorate and who do not vote threaten the very structure, the very future of the Great Republic.

And so schools must deal with every aspect of the suffrage, from the origination of the very concept, through the struggles many and various which either retarded or advanced the ultimate end, its glorious achievement, and what they must do now and forever to sustain and enhance this vital aspect of our affairs.

Merely saying “vote today” will never be enough, for an imperative injunction without understanding is unacceptable and will never do.

“What so proudly we hailed…”

Once upon a time in this Great Republic, when we had the problems of assimilating the unending waves of emigrants, we had such a program in place… and it worked, building and solidifying the Great Republic, making each of us proud. We now have a problem, and it is the genius of our people to do what is necessary to solve such problems — once they are informed about it and understand their role in its solution.

Each of us who are citizens must do what we can to advance this essential matter by

* contacting superintendents of schools and asking what they are doing;

* asking all teachers for situation and progress reports;

* doing the same with all elected officials;

* informing the president and asking for what the current administration is doing, and so on.

But above all, two musical pieces will help us frame the debate and the action which must occur.

First, “Hail to the Chief”, a tune which every American knows for it precedes the impending arrival of a sitting President. But here’s the twist: the president is only “chief” during his administration. In reality it is the citizen — people like you and me — who are chief… for our responsibilities never end and are essential to the realization of every goal. In the republic, the citizen is king.

Finally, we must understand the vital importance of schools in the solution of this problem; indeed, there can be no solution without their full and complete cooperation.

And so we return to where we began, a rousing tune by Cobb and Edwards composed and sung when we were proud to be Americans, understanding of our role and work as citizens, eager to do it… feeling certain we were doing God’s work… And so we were… and so we must do again.

Note: Dr. Lant has established The Lant Prize for Civics for high school students.

*** We invite you to submit your comments to this article.

‘You are the one…’ An Open Letter to the Honorable Barrack Obama, President of the United States… the subject: the need for immediate, thorough, empowering action against computer hackers.

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author’s Program Note: It is time for me to again address the President of the Great Republic, as I do from time to time as the pressing significance of a given subject makes such contact necessary, proper, and my duty. Today I address the growing problem of computer hacking… and again I call upon an eminent artist for assistance. Today that is Cole Porter (1891-1964), a genius for music, lyrics and style, an American original, the man who breathed sophistication and a cosmopolitan attitude into all of us… and so changed the world.

In 1932 he wrote a tune that became the signature song for every yearning lover on this planet… “Night and Day”… featuring four words that justified every action, every deed of derring-do, an avalanche of execrable but heart felt poesy and above all constant ingenuity and substantive action. These four words, of course, are “you are the one…” the words a man or woman in love keeps in mind at all times and which justify everything they may do in pursuit of bliss.

Now I am addressing these words to you, sir, because you are the one, the right and necessary person to take the leadership role in what is now a daily, indeed hourly event on the most important method of communication ever invented… the Internet.

So, in a nutshell, I shall today present for your immediate consideration and action a problem of global significance… a problem already causing often baffling difficulties to governments, businesses, non-profit organizations and simple citizens. That is the problem of computer hacking and unauthorized access to and unauthorized use of private documentation, often of the most sensitive and important kind.

This problem has never existed before… no precedents exist for solving it… and no one, not even the most gifted Internet authorities, can be certain which means for curtailing this menace, this clear and present danger to so many good people, may work to solve the problem, or not.

But because it is essential to approach this draining, frustrating, demanding problem in the right state of mind, you, like every other reader, should search for Cole Porter’s masterpiece in any search engine. It will do at least two things: remind you that this is a problem that is with us “night and day”, and it will put a song in your heart, the better for a productive, cheerful day and useful deliberation on the problem overall and my point of view on what is happening… and what must be done to turn the tide… and solve a problem which should never have been allowed to grow to its current unsatisfactory, worrying, expensive, dismaying, infuriating and dangerous level.

We shall not solve this problem in one day with one document… but in one day with one document we can and must begin… and here we shall do so.

Hacking cases proliferate.

Hacking is not an occasional, ephemeral, casual problem; it is not limited to one industry, one country, or one kind of information. As even the most cursory glance at all newspapers will attest, we are seeing daily hacking events. Here is just one, one which must serve for the unlimited number of such events taking place on a continuing basis.

Item: On January 20, 2012, The Boston Globe, the most important newspaper in one of the two most important technology development areas of the Great Republic, reported that the online activist group Anonymous took responsibility the day before for a series of network attacks on government and entertainment industry websites. As a result, service disruptions were reported by the Justice Department, Universal Music Group, and BMI, which collects copyright royalties for composers. In addition the US Copyright Office and the Recording Industry Association of America were attacked.

It is important to note the apparent reason for these attacks, since they illustrate a key aspect of this problem: electronic vigilantes taking the law into their hands, deciding what is appropriate and necessary for any perceived outrage to their affiliations and interests. In this case the digital assault was launched in retaliation for the indictments of seven individuals and two Hong Kong companies accused of distributing illicit content worth more than $500 million. In other words, the alleged guilty parties launched the hacking to hurt the reputable authorities who had hurt them… and Anonymous activists cheered the culprits on, an alarming and frequent situation in these matters where those with privileged and private records are automatically fingered as the villains by hackers who are as close to Anarchists as history can find.

First steps.

The first thing the Great Republic must do to begin the counteroffensive against hackers who have, until now, lead the attacks is to create a department of government under the Justice Department with a name that makes crystal clear what this office is in business to do: The Anti Computer Hacking Division. This agency must be launched in a White House Rose Garden ceremony which will at once indicate the importance of the endeavor and enable you, sir, to announce the formation of the Presidential Task Force Against Computer Hacking.

This ceremony will feature the members of this Commission, senior officials from Congress and the computer and Internet industry, as well as representatives from particularly affected groups such as the federal government itself, the military, banks, universities. etc. It must be the bluest blue-ribbon panel ever picked, and deservedly so given the importance of the subject. The Chairperson of the panel must have national and global recognition and clout, someone like Bill Gates immediately comes to mind. The appointment of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (himself once a hacker of note) would be clever and appropriate, for he will be a power in the industry for life.

Everything you ever wanted to know about hacking.

With the development of this structure, the overall objective must be made clear to all: viz, that EVERYTHING related to hacking and its promptest eradication must be gathered under one umbrella. Of course this will affront offices already involved in the matter, territorial to a person. But that is where you come in, sir, for yours is the job of visualizing this crucial enterprise and using the “bully-pulpit” of your office to sell it to all. But your job does not end with selling all this to those in the Great Republic, no indeed; for this is a global problem and must be solved globally.

Urbi et orbi.

When the Pope offers an encyclical, he speaks to the people of Rome (“urbi”) and the people of the world (“orbi”), and so it must be now, for every poor hamlet on earth has computers and hackers with animus against authority. Their governments must take their place in the war against hacking… assisting in the identification, detention, trial and imprisonment of hackers. And if such governments do not assist this necessary cause? Well, then, that is what economic and other sanctions are for, and most deservedly here.

Take action now.

As I have rightly and often pointed out, the repute and standing of the Great Republic have rarely been lower in the world than now. Whole generations now look upon us and our endeavors as the problem, not the solution. Launching assertive war against hackers and clearing the world’s e-lanes, as we once did for the world’s sea-lanes, cannot but help change such deleterious perceptions.

And so it falls to you, Mr. President, to begin this endeavor, long overdue, a credit to yourself, your Administration and a relief to our citizens and every law abiding regime on Earth. So much to be gained, at such a trifling cost. Do this, Mr. President, do this now… and reap the grateful thanks of all but hackers, selfish, disrupters, arrogant, malevolent, malcontents all who should never have had this weapon, much less so long.

Do this, Mr. President, because it is the right thing to do, and because you are the one who can do it.

*** We invite readers to comment on this article below.

When champions fail… what they do that you do not.

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author’s program note. A lady I know well, a lady accustomed not just to victory but to constant victory, was last month handed her lunch in her company’s sales contest. She lost by the thinnest of margins… just 1 widget. But it didn’t matter; for her opponent a win was a win; knocking off the queen was sweet indeed.

Thus my friend woke up this morning no longer champ, but “former” champ… and I decided to pen these thoughts because I’ve been where the lady is today… and I have a pretty good idea about how she feels. I’ve also got some thoughts I hope helpful for regaining the crown…

I suspect she already knows them and has already begun regrouping, for that’s what champs down on their luck do. But you probably don’t…

To get you in the mood for victory, I have selected Marvin Gaye’s 1976 hit “I want you.” This is precisely what you must say to and about success. You’ll find it in any search engine. Go now. And when you’ve got it, dance it. For there’s nothing like dancing to clear your mind, put oxygen in the blood… and rouse yourself for your next great challenge — taking back the crown you’ve (temporarily) lost.

Congratulate the winner.

Ever watched the loser of our quadrennial elections for president get up and calm his rabid followers, to deliver for the world a gracious speech of concession, capitulation, and class? Of course you have… it’s as American a tradition as apple pie and selling missiles to tyrants. We like to think that people who have been at each others’ throats just hours ago mean to bring good fellowship and reconciliation to the nation. We expect these high expectations to be met… by losing presidential candidates and by… you. Do so at once. The quicker you make connection and say your piece, the faster you’ll move up and out of this most unhappy zone. Remember, if you can’t rise to actual sincerity, fake it. Either way, just do it.

What went wrong?

Champs either 1) win for a reason or series of reasons; or 2) lose for a reason or a series of reasons. The key is being clear on these reasons and either 1) maximizing their impact, or 2) limiting it.

You must know what you did that worked and arrange to do more of it.

For instance, say that you were making only ten prospect calls a day. This clearly wasn’t enough; that objective needs to be increased, to 10 CONNECTS per day, not just dials. This would increase your competitive position at once, after just 1 or 2 days. Do the same with everything you did before… increasing what you do and thereby increase your likelihood of winning.

Note: it is easy when you are a constant champ to take winning as an inevitable state of affairs. But no true champ ever takes winning as anything other than a state of constant preparation, focus and humility. The last is perhaps the most difficult factor… and the most essential.

What didn’t work.

Equally, you must decide what you did that didn’t work… and radically root it out of your brain and daily schedule.

Were you so confident of victory that you began to cut corners? For instance, instead of emailing to your safe lists every single day (the necessary standard for champs) perhaps you emailed them only 4 or 5 times in a week. Or, maybe you didn’t do your blogging daily as you should; again getting by, instead of getting ahead. If so, you need to re-read the story of the tortoise and the hare. There’s a lesson there just for you.

Important point: the factors discussed above are the two easiest components of the thorough review you must make, the review that puts winning closer to your grasp… and lessons the probabilities of future failure. Approach these factors as if you had never been a champ before… as if winning were your objective, your destiny, and you were determined to identify each factor that would help deliver victory. In other words, start from square one… never assume… never give it a “lick and a promise”… you need to reinvent your game to win it again.

Adding potential new success factors.

Okay, you’ve considered what you did that was successful and vowed to do more of that. And, you have reviewed the failure factors with stern determination to expunge them from your play book and daily success agenda. Now you need to brainstorm new things you can do which, if successful, make your time in the wilderness short and your restoration inevitable.

For instance, say that you were trying to run your business without calling a single prospect ever. In such a situation the “something new” you’d need to adopt would be calling so many prospects each and every day…. and not just calling them either, but connecting with them.

Equally, say you hadn’t been using landing pages, blogs, safe lists, traffic exchanges, etc. Now’s the time to add them…. one at a time. The objective is to improve your game, not spread yourself too thin. Focus is key…not overwhelming yourself, making yourself tired.

Now improve your offer.

Business champions all know that making a superior offer, an offer that excites, motivates, enthuses is the key to business success. To become a champion you need such an offer… to stay a champion you need such an offer… and to regain your throne you need such an offer… only better.

Thus brainstorm improvements you can make in your offer that will cause prospects to jump through hoops to get it. The offer is your key to becoming champion again.

Set your objectives.

At my company, Worldprofit, Inc., each month we crown a sales champ, then one grand champ for the year. To win these titles you need a daily, weekly and monthly objective.. Remember this is a champ’s objective… and must be appreciably better than the one you lost by. Here’s a hint. Structure your game so that you achieve at least 10% of your monthly objective in the first two days of the month. That’ll show the folks you mean business, and makes you a cheerful competitor.

Get started.

Every loser has never been a champ, but every champ has been a loser. And, properly handled, losing can be a very good thing. Because losing forces you to review your methods; study your methods, and improve your methods…

… because from such study and analysis come all future championships… won by you, because you accept nothing less from yourself — and never will.

guarantee sales for your online business: ‘Without the help and support of the woman I love....

guarantee sales for your online business: ‘Without the help and support of the woman I love....: by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s program note. In 1936 the world was transfixed by a story so big, so engrossing, so incredible that only the...

‘Without the help and support of the woman I love.” Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson, love and scandal.

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author’s program note. In 1936 the world was transfixed by a story so big, so engrossing, so incredible that only the Second Coming could have topped it. It was the story of Edward VIII, King of England, Emperor of India… and a twice- married American lady from Baltimore, Maryland — Mrs. Simpson. It was billed as history’s greatest love affair… but, as this article unfolds… you may very well draw a very different conclusion.
But let’s start by playing the tune I’ve selected to accompany this article…. “Exactly Like You”. Go to any search engine to find this number. It was written in 1930 by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. I swear by the rendition by Louis Armstrong. You won’t be able to get it out of your head; kind of like the king’s catastrophic obsession with his Wallis… for of all the women in the world who wanted him, he had to have her, the very worst choice imaginable.. to the consternation and disgust of the empire on which the sun never set.
The most important boy in the world.
When your great grandmother is Queen Victoria, ruler of half the world; when your grandfather is King Edward VII, called the Uncle of Europe, because his relations ruled over virtually everything; when your father is King George V and your mother is Queen Mary… your birth, life, and every single breath you take is an event… important, eagerly awaited, commented upon, chronicled. In short, it is life in the grandest fish bowl on Earth; for in return for unimaginable wealth, celestial status, and the adoration and veneration of untold millions… you give up any semblance of a personal life… any semblance of privacy. You belong not to yourself… but to your subjects, the people of England and of all the Dominions beyond the seas…
This was Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, born in 1894, called David by his family and Your Royal Highness by everyone else. The world envied him… but his life was anything but enviable… his parents saw to that.
George (1865–1936) & Mary (1867-1953).
The argument for monarchy goes like this: in a turbulent, uncertain, unpredictable and therefore alarming world, a sovereign is eternal, stable, stalwart, an institution you can trust to be here tomorrow, because it was here yesterday and the day before that. A sovereign rises above the trivia of today, able to take the long view, high above the fray and the little concerns of little men. Having everything, wanting nothing, monarchs can be trusted with the concerns of the nation they exist to improve, to serve, to uplift and inspire.
This is all very well…. but where do you find such larger than life paragons? Certainly not in the lives of George and Mary, people frightened by their unceasing responsibilities and the constant burden of having to appear just so to a world which evaluated, and minutely too, every move they made, every action, every decision.
Most assuredly neither George nor Mary were such people… and therefore like so many people fearful of making a mistake (and being roundly criticized) they embraced rigid severity… and so sought to cover up their many inadequacies as people by a unceasingly stern and unapproachable demeanor. It looked good on ceremonial occasions… for then they were regal indeed… but life lived this way was tormenting to all concerned… especially for the two young princes Edward and Albert, future Edward VIII and George VI.
They were boys who needed love, tender care, affection… but were ignored by their colder than ice mother for whom a peck on the cheek was excessive… and constantly admonished by their father, a man who became king only because his elder brother died young thereby bequeathing the empire and his expected wife, Mary of Teck, to his younger brother Georgie, a man who rose far above his abilities, a man who knew nothing about human relations and thought that communication was nothing more than the business of barking orders and having them instantly complied with.
In such a world how could the little princes of Windsor emerge as anything other than flawed, wanting… and rebellious.
Prince of change.
All children go through a rebellious stage where “no!” is their favorite word. Do you want this? No! Do you want that? No! How about something else? No, again! But in the fullness of time even the most argumentative three year old comes out of this phase and starts growing up. But David of Windsor never did. Whatever was tried, true, traditional, standard… he wanted nothing to do with, wanted to change it, not slowly and unobtrusively but now in the most jarring and thoughtless of ways. He wanted what he wanted, when he wanted it… and as Prince of Wales from 1910… he was in a position to get it, especially as he came to understand how much the world loved and admired him.
Wobbly monarchy, high-flying adored prince.
World War I saw the demise of the great imperial dynasties of Europe, the Habsburgs of Austria, the Hohenzollerns of Germany, the Romanovs of Russia… all swept away. The only major dynasty left was in England, and it was headed by the uninspiring, unimaginative, fretful George V who was majesty in nothing but name. The dynasty needed youth… glamor… connection to the restive peoples of the empire. And for this role there was only one man available… David, now Prince of Wales… a man who shed glamor and allure on the Roaring Twenties. His world tours (from 1919) made him a world celebrity… and lonely.
He tried women, he tried booze, he tried drugs… but because he could have everything, nothing made him happy. Nothing that is except the thrills and freedoms of the Great Republic, particularly its greatest city, New York. Only there were there sufficient dissipations and indiscretions. Besides, just stepping foot in America enraged both his parents, and that made these trips delicious.
Then he met Wallis Warfield Simpson, a woman with a sordid past and two living husbands… a past that could outrage every convention and agitate the world he was destined to rule… a world that bored and annoyed him. Wallis offered him what he truly craved: submission for that was her secret… she gave the man everyone kow-towed to the gift of abasement…. the power to get the man to whom all knelt to kneel to her….
She, of course, despised him, but using him as he wanted her to use him would make her a world figure, maybe even Queen-Empress. She was ill-advised on this point, and so overplayed her cards. Instead of a boyish sovereign over whom she could rule, she got after his abdication in 1936 a semblance of a man whom she systematically and publicly humiliated for the rest of his life. He cried… he sobbed… he adored. It was the perfect relationship, exactly what he wanted. And, after all, isn’t that what love is for?
For as Louis Armstrong sings,
“I know why I’ve waited Know why I’ve been blue I’ve been waiting each day For someone exactly like you… You make me feel so grand I wanna give this world to you…”
… and he almost did.
Honi soit qui mal y pense.