Take 5 Minutes and Join the Campaign to End Apostrophe Abuse Today

Help! The apostrophe is in grave danger. Lately I’ve been receiving cards from the Smith’s, the Jone’s and the Wilson’s (the names have been changed to protect the possessively-challenged).  The words your nice have replaced “you’re nice” and Lisa’s Harley has been replaced with Lisas’ Harley.  This is an emergency of epic proportion’s.  (Come on, doesn’t that last word just feel wrong?)  If the apostrophe had a theme song right now it would probably be: “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. The future of inter-word punctuation is at stake. So for those of us who speak and write English, let’s review:

An apostrophe has at least 3 uses in English:

1)       To indicate possession (Possessive Apostrophes)

2)       To show omission of letters (Contraction Apostrophes)

3)       To indicate plurals of lowercase numbers and letters (Time/Measurement Apostrophes)

Let’s take a look at the first use: Using the apostrophe when writing the possessive form of nouns. 

If the noun doesn’t end in an s, add an apostrophe and an s.  Like this:

Tim’s boat is new.  Bill’s boat is old.   Lilly’s phone is in Tim’s boat (because she left it there when she went boating with Tim who she likes more because he has more money and a bigger boat).

If the word ends in s (more than one person or object has possession), you’ll only need to add an apostrophe:

The Jones’ shop. The Kerns’ home. The James’ school.

Did you know that many people add an apostrophe before the s in a plural word like flower’s. But doing so turns it into its single form.

Here’s a practical note for all you card senders out there:

You can add an s to your last name without putting an apostrophe before the s unless you have an object after your name.

So, if the card is from the Johnson’s, it’s wrong.  If it’s from the Johnsons, it’s right; unless it’s from the Johnson’s house. The Johnson’s house is notoriously bad about getting cards out.   The Johnsons are a bit better. There IS NO apostrophe within your name on the return address label. 

Speaking of the word it’s, the word it’s is short for it is or it has. Its is a possessive pronoun like his and means ‘belonging to it’ so no apostrophe is needed.  Never use an apostrophe in possessive pronouns (It’s not her’s, it’s hers).  Always add apostrophe s to the single form of a word, even if it ends in s.

Speaking of the word “you’re,” it’s a contraction for “you are.”  The apostrophe replaces the letter a which is missing.  That’s the second use of an apostrophe. Other examples are:

Can’t (short for cannot).  Didn’t (short for did not).  I’m (short for I am.  As in, “I am moving to the last point”).

The third use of an apostrophe involves times and measurements (and lowercase numbers and letters).

Here’s an example of the use of an apostrophe as it applies to time: Today’s weather.  Today’s isn’t short for today is.  It shows that weather belongs to today.

Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase. To form the plural of a lowercase letter, just add an apostrophe and an s after the letter.  Example: There are many a’s and b’s in the class. We’re seeing more people use quotes as well (“a”s and “b”s).  This is acceptable.

 Skip the apostrophe with years (the 1970s were a groovy time) unless you want to show possession again (the 1970’s kind of unrest).

And there’s no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols, though some teachers require it.

Final note: There are exceptions to almost every rule here.  An hour’s worth of study on this oft-abused little creature isn’t asking too much, is it?  Join the Campaign by letting your friend’s in on the news.  ”Friend’s”…did you catch it?

 

Dan Johnson is CEO of Next Leadership Association and CEO of Dan Johnson, Inc. He helps people and businesses transcend their limiting thoughts to achieve lasting, measurable change.

How Your Brain Works and Why It Matters So Much

by Dan Johnson

The primary area of change that occurs in all of us involves the brain, the expression of which we call the mind. Like the psychologist who studies human behavior and the processes of mind and body in an effort to understand his or her own personality, my interest in the mind stems from a desire for a theoretical, yet practical understanding of why I act the way I do, how I can change and how personal change translates into the ability to help others. That interest along with friendship with professionals who study the mind led to an awareness that effective communication must begin with understanding how people think the way they do.

 
When we communicate with people we are communicating with their brains. So success or failure to impact people’s lives depends on understanding how they think, the dominant thoughts they think about and how they can think differently. When we meet someone, we’re coming face to face with the billions of thoughts that have produced the individual before our eyes.

 
Weighing in at about 3 pounds, the brain has up to 50-100 billion neurons or nerve cells connecting in 40 quadrillion ways. It’s very flexible. Our wonderful brain takes billions of thoughts and events in our lives and weaves them into the neural net that is our identity. Each time we think about something synapses between neurons fire, creating a network.  Every time a thought occurs a neuron connection is made. It is estimated that a person thinks 60,000 thoughts per day.

 
The brain stores everything that makes us what we are spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. The good news is that while neuroscience taught that the brain was hard wired by childhood, we now know that it rewires throughout life. The challenge is that the brain works by pattern matching. New situations and experiences are judged by old ones. Everything we hear is filtered. It’s possible to be communicating to people whose paradigms do not allow them to be open to what we are saying.

 
The really good news is that we are not slaves to our neural networks. Every time we interrupt the thought process that produces a chemical response in the body, those nerve cells that are connected to each other start to break up and lose their long-term relationship. That’s called CHANGE. People resist change, but awareness is the first step in moving people in a new direction. When we interrupt the thought processes that subconsciously govern our lives, and observe the effects they have, we are no longer on autopilot.

 
Yet the people we relate to each day have a long history of thinking before we showed up. Knowing how the brain works, is it any surprise that a 30-minute lecture, lesson, rally or training session rarely brings about a long-term change in the listener’s behavior?

 
Lasting change like that requires follow through. An oral presentation is a good place to start because it introduces new ideas into a person’s consciousness. Having a system in place to help people experience change on a day-to-day basis is where real effectiveness kicks in.

 
Dan Johnson is CEO of Next Leadership Association and CEO of Dan Johnson, Inc. He helps people and businesses transcend their limiting thoughts to achieve lasting, measurable change.

Here’s a Second Version of Did You Know?

Scroll down for the first version.  Some of the material is the same, some new.  Again I ask, are you adapting to the changes in the world, suspending  judgment long enough to understand just how significant this techtonic cultural shift really is?  There’s the temptation to run out the clock.  But who would want to give up the chance to shape the future.  

Follow-Throughs

1) How sharp is your web page?

2) How usable, easy to navigate?

3) How well do you communicate with people in their teens, 20’s, 30’s?  

4) Really?

 

Did You Know?

Did You Know? is a 5-minute video that highlights the fact that those living today are experiencing the largest population increases, the most exponential increase of knowledge and the fastest rates of change in the history of the world. Are you adapting, innovating, learning … running out the clock? Scroll down and take a look.

Did You Know?

New Study Shows Regular Church Attenders More Likely to Condone Torture

By Dan Johnson

According to a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life the more often people go to church, the more likely they are to support torture. The poll finds that of more than half of Americans who attend church services at least once a week, 54 percent say the use of torture is often or sometimes justified. Only 42 percent of people who seldom or never go to church agree … Evangelical Protestants are the religious group most likely to agree; while people unaffiliated with any religious group are least likely to support torture.

The torture policy of the former administration was difficult for many thoughtful people of faith to bear. The fact that notable “Christian” leaders were stone silent on the issue and the fact that to be evangelical increasingly means to be Republican is a deal breaker for many emerging faith leaders. When religion and politics mix religion always loses. Apparently so do human rights.
One observation and two questions:

 
1) One can be a churchgoer without being a Christ follower.

2) Is it possible to reconcile the teachings of Jesus Christ with torture?

3) Who would  want to?

 

Dan Johnson is lead teacher at his church, CEO of Next Leadership Association and CEO of Dan Johnson, Inc.  He helps people and businesses transcend their limiting thoughts to achieve lasting, measurable change.

Inspiring and Mentoring a Generation of Spiritual Entrepreneurs

http://www.nextleader.org

From Intellectual Voyeurism into Activism

by Dan Johnson

One of the key differences between people of achievement and everybody else is how often and how fast a need is turned into an accomplishment. The “ability” to see great needs and opportunities and remain on the sidelines is really a form of intellectual and spiritual voyeurism; watching, feeling, experiencing the world internally without doing something tangible to help someone, to change the situation.

Voyeurism, in its strictest sense, is sociopathic. Freud called it Schaulust, (the pleasure of looking). Today therapists treat disorders like this with various medications. There’s another kind of voyeurism that affects those of us who are overexposed to all kinds of information on the news, the internet, magazines, radio, etc. The other kind of voyeurism is not socially marginalized because its scope is broader. This kind of voyeurism is of the intellectual sort and it involves the ability to process situations that are not right without actually doing something about it. It’s like walking around with a small rock in your shoe and not taking time to get it out. On a grander scale it might involve the ability to absorb or, God forbid, receive pleasure in the misfortune of others. The ability to put up with things has a term in the business world; it’s called mediocrity. The ability to be saddened by human need without taking some small step to alleviate it, is another matter; it’s called apathy. If it were a Nike campaign it would be: Just Think About It.

In 2006 Blake Mycoskie traveled to Argentina and noticed the kids had no shoes to protect their feet. Many children suffered unnecessary ailments like Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot. Wanting to help, he created a company that would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. It’s called, One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes. TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009. How many people traveled to Argentina before 2006? Blake brought back shoes.

You don’t have to go to Argentina to see how systems can improve or how products can be enhanced. The antidote to apathy is empathy. Have you heard this line, “The people in third world countries may be poor, but they are happier than we are.” That must be true. My kids are so sad when they get a new ipod or a pair of shoes. It’s unbelievable. They would be much happier if they got more sticks this Christmas. You get the point. Be careful about being inoculated against success by believing half-truths designed to justify inaction.

In all of my presentations now I include a mechanism to implement the teaching. I often spend as much time thinking about HOW to apply what I’m teaching (specifics including what the teaching is supposed to look like in real life) than I do about WHAT content is being used; 80% of a presentation should be application. I create a plan and a web site with follow-through ideas. Why? Because we’re always being bombarded (Twittered!) with information and much of it is meaningless. We know more than any generation in history. Will we do more?

 
ACTION ITEMS

 
1. What bothers you most about the world? About work? About your relationships? About something?
2. DO SOMETHING, ONE THING, ANYTHING. Thinking more about it will continue to create neuron patterns of watching and not doing. DO SOMETHING. ANYTHING.
3. What cool things are you doing to stop watching and start doing?

 

Dan Johnson speaks to organizations and corporations on making change that matters.
Inspiring a generation of Spiritual Entrepreneurs

 

http://www.danjohnsoninc.com
http://www.kingdomofstrangers.com

Smoking, Leadership and Generational “Curses”

By Dan Johnson

A bible verse I was taught as a child and a medical study I read a few years ago intersect in this progressive revelation of spiritual/medical understanding. The Old Testament verse said that God, “Maintains love to thousands, and forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”1

The verse seemed arbitrary and unfair. What kind of God would punish a kid for something his/her grandparents did?

Now to the study. According to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) 2, a child whose grandmother smoked while pregnant may have double the risk of developing childhood asthma as a child whose grandmother did not smoke.

The study suggests that tobacco’s harmful effects on the lungs can be passed down through generations, from grandmother to grandchild, even when the child’s mother appears unaffected. “This is the first study to show that if a woman smokes while she is pregnant, both her children and grandchildren may be more likely to have asthma as a result,” said the study’s senior author, Frank D. Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine. “We suspect that when a pregnant woman smokes, the tobacco might affect her fetus’s DNA in the mitochondria, and if it is a girl, her future reproductive cells as well,” Gilliland says. “We speculate that the damage that occurs affects the child’s immune system and increases her susceptibility to asthma, which is then passed down to her children.”

Amazing!  Scientific proof that genetic “sins” are passed to the third generation.

Ancient writers who spoke of the generational effects of behavior could have had no idea of the existence of DNA or the possibility that the lifestyle choices of one person could harm those yet to be born. Which leads to the question: If future illnesses can be passed along by our grandparents (thanks for nothing!) what about future health? And to take it a step further, are our positive thoughts (via synaptic patterns) and attitudes passed along as an anonymous bequest to our grandchildren? Can leadership be passed along through DNA? If you haven’t given much thought to the idea of leaving a legacy, it may already be happening. Carrots anyone?

A note to smokers: “Health-wise, once you quit smoking, the benefits starting kicking in 20 minutes or less. Blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. The risk of heart disease is reduced by a third. Within 48 hours, there is no carbon monoxide or nicotine in the body. The lungs have already started clearing out mucus and other smoking damage and taste and smell senses are improved. By the time a year has gone by, blood circulation has improved, lung function has increased by 10% and breathing problems are vastly better. In addition, at one year the risk of heart attack is half that of a smoker. At ten years, the risk of lung cancer has fallen to half that of a smoker and at fifteen years the risk of heart attack is the same as a non-smoker.”3

[1]  The Old Testament, Exodus 34:7

[2]  Yu-Fen Li, Bryan Langholz, Muhammad T. Salam, and Frank D. Gilliland, “Maternal and Grandmaternal

Smoking Patterns Are Associated With Early Childhood Asthma,” Chest. Vol. 127, No. 4, April 2005, Pp. 1232- 1240.

[3] Traci Pederson, Pagewise

 

Dan Johnson speaks to organizations and corporations on making change that matters.

Inspiring a generation of Spiritual Entrepreneurs

http://www.danjohnsoninc.com

Opting for Sticks and Stones…New Research on the Power of Words

By Dan Johnson

A recent study by Martin Teicher, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at McLean Hospital, found that parents who verbally abuse their kids cause lasting damage to the brain pathways that regulate emotions and process language. Here’s hard proof that the way we talk to kids influences their emotional life and their ability to articulate that life. I’ve seen the brain scans that go with this research and the “clogged” pathways are clearly visible. Now we can see the stunning effect of ridicule, humiliation, and shame on brain connectivity and function.
An ancient proverb is now supported by PET scans and scientific certainty. We can believe and embrace the fact that, “The power of life & death is in the tongue … and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Let’s face it, children bear the brunt of an adult’s dissatisfaction with themselves. Reality check. The house may be on fire. Stop, drop and roll. Stay down until you come to grips with your attitude … which becomes their attitude …
Encouragement builds confidence. And sometimes everything we’re thinking and experiencing (rain, pain, no gain) “justifies” a negative assessment of life. The reality is that our confessions have an impact in the physical matter of the brain. Might they also have an emotional, psychological and spiritual impact in our homes, among our friends and our community of associates?
Words create impressions, images and expectations. They build psychological connections. They influence how we think. Since what we think determines how we feel and what we do, there’s a powerful connection between the words we use to frame our lives and the results we get?
Would you rather spend or invest?

Would you rather be part of a narrative or a story?

Would you rather dialogue or talk?

Words convey the sterility of a laboratory or the warmth of a fire, the complexity of our mental struggles or the simplicity of living wisely. We build confidence in our children (and in ourselves) by injecting positively charged thoughts into our air space. The weather of our lives changes with our conversation. The weather of theirs changes too. 

Try this experiment the next time you exchange casual conversation at your favorite coffee shop, restaurant or with folks at work. Instead of saying something like: “How’s it going?,”substitute, “Are you ok?”
Sometimes empathetic open-ended questions can lead to real communication.

If you want that.

 

Dan Johnson speaks to organizations and corporations on making change that matters.

Inspiring a generation of Spiritual Entrepreneurs

http://www.danjohnsoninc.com

Christianity Inc. is Dead (And I Am Glad for Your Sakes)

By Dan Johnson

Newsweek reports that Americans increasingly consider themselves non-religious and that the United States is fast becoming a post-Christian country. According to a recent American Religious Identification Survey, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent, and the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent. Hold onto that.

Over the years, I’ve probably spoken at several dozen funerals (they’re called Memorial Services or Celebrations of Life, but either way, someone died and I don’t like it one bit).  Almost every time I read from the book of John in the New Testament.  In John chapter 11 you’ll find the shortest verse in the bible (look it up) and you’ll also find what I believe to be the most important question in the bible (11:26).  You’ll also find a really unusual phrase that can only be explained in a manifestation of power that is clearly intended to foster belief in the disciples.

Jesus has a sick friend.  Jesus is told about it.  Jesus delays.  The friend dies.  Then Jesus says, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad…for your sakes.”  Hold onto that too.

I have been a Christian for 40 years (making a decision at age 5).  In those years growing up in a “Christian” nation I have seen the religious camps of my youth blended with a particular political party, I have witnessed “Christians” on television playing fast and loose with doctrine,  evangelists carrying on like circus performers (“God-is-in-the house…Who is in-the-house?”) and have witnessed scandals where religious leaders were brought low and donations to charities of all Christian brands went along for the ride.   Christianity was called the Way in the early days and for intelligent people the complaint is that today it is merely in the way.

Is it any wonder that with the hijacking of the Christian brand so many are disillusioned?  Is it a surprise that a religion many perceive as chauvinistic and narrowly focused only on a handful of issues (homosexuality and abortion) is not robust enough to capture the (post)modern mind?  Perception may not be truth here, but the perception of those looking at faith from the outside is something committed Christians would do well to study and understand very very well.
Sometimes our critics hold the key to our growth and survival. 

Jesus was not glad that Lazarus died.  In fact, seeing the death process work its way out in a good friend, who would face the disease process all over again some years after this grand life-affirming event, brought Jesus to tears; sobs even.  But knowing that death was, for a moment, going to be slapped senseless by life and knowing that a miracle was going to solidify faith in his friends/followers caused Jesus to be “glad for your sake.”

Atheists and scoffers of all sorts and sizes have pronounced the death of Christianity from day one.  And each pronouncement has vanished in the winds of time.  Faith remains.  The institution of Christianity, its present forms and incarnations, are not guaranteed.  Banks can take cathedrals and sanctuaries and religious fads and fancies can take center stage.  But the Spirit of God moves like wind.  And as we mourn the death of the traditions we hold dear, as our opinions and reputation wither in the heat of negative public opinion, the works of God appear somewhere else; the Kingdom continues to make inroads as it morphs and gains in quiet ways a deeper, more profound foothold on a world it will someday overtake.

When cultural tides turn, we are forced to reexamine our faith and identify what is biblical, what is spiritually alive and what is clutter, what is real and what is fake, what flows from a grateful and humble heart and that which is rooted in ego, pride and self-promotion; what is political and what is love-inspired.  The bible is clear on this:  The church will prevail, the Kingdom will come.  Our kingdoms, however, are on shaky ground.  And I am glad for our sakes.

Dan Johnson is CEO of Next Leadership Association and CEO of Dan Johnson, Inc. He helps people and businesses transcend their limiting thoughts to achieve lasting, measurable change.

http://www.danjohnsoninc.com

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Meacham, Jon, The End of Christian America, Newsweek, April 13, 2009