Violence on the Roads: A Lack of Humanity

 

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario for another week learning the success lessons of Elvis Presley in bettering YOUR life. Today, we’ll be talking about the importance of soul. And the way we do it will be a nice way to usher in October, month of Halloween (in fact, I love Halloween SOOO much all the posts in October will have some Halloween link, so if you’re like me and crave jack-o’-lanterns and things that go bump in the night, this is your month).

I’ve had a BBC couple weeks, with last weeks post of Dr Russell Dohner and his spirit and now this week’s post − check out this BBC video. It’s only 3 minutes, but it is a little disturbing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19734975

In it, Ginger Strand talks about her book Killer on the Road, an explanation of why the U.S.’s interstate highways are the lairs of so many killers. She feels the main reason stems from the interstate’s soullessness. To paraphrase her, she says people use the highways to get places but can’t connect with them like they can with more local roads, like Route 66 − there’s no human connection making them the perfect place to commit inhumane acts… murder.

This rang my Elvis bell. When people talk about Elvis’s singing style, they often regard him as soulful. Soul is equated with humanity and so we are able to connect with him. And, contrary to the interstate, his style is associated with peace, happiness, joy - the opposite of violence.

So, what does this mean for you? We need to aim for soul in this world of large corporations and dissociation from whom we listen to in music and deal with in business. More and more, people and society as a whole are going the way of the interstate, they accomplish a purpose but lack humanity. And the less human people feel about you and whatever your job or purpose is, the less likely they’ll use human values with you. The more mechanical, computerized, synthetic, soulless life becomes, the more mechanical, computerized, synthetic, soulless people become. And man, as a human with a soul, that’s bad news. Given the violence brought about on the interstate because of it, soullessness could bring violence into your life, and I think most of us would agree we don’t need that.

 

On the contrary, following Elvis’s approach, the traditional approach, the Route 66 approach will stimulate those feelings of peace, friendship and humanity that are being lost. Talking to your customers, attempting to honestly care about their problems, listening, doing a favour for someone you barely know all go under humanity. The more human you are, the more you get the peace humanity brings. “What you dish out you get back,” says the Universe and doing the opposite, being inhuman, will only bring more inhumanity. And when you’re going through a tough time, you need all the humanity you can get.

There’s another benefit: being human gives you an edge on all the big corporations, the big musicians, the big politicians. They all use technology to run their lives for them. They rarely see their customers, or stores, let alone meet them. When you take the time to get to know those who support you, as Elvis did, people feel they know you, you become their friend and they want to support you (watch Elvis in That’s the Way It Is during “Love Me Tender”; he jumps off the stage and starts kissing people and shaking their hands. You can’t get much more human than that − and people loved him for it).  

This world is starving of humanity. It sucks because, guess what? We’re all human. And we need humanity more than ever. When you provide it, it gives you an edge. And we all want on edge on the competition, especially when they’re 1, 000, 000% our size.

I hope this improves you day and week and I look forward to seeing you again next week for the continuation of our Halloween series!

 

Elvis’s Lessons:

Ginger Strand wrote a book called Killer on the Road about the violence on the U.S.’s interstate highways. She blames it on the soullessness of the roads. Elvis, on the other hand, had soul and coincidentally created the opposite of violence − peace. By aiming to create soul and humanity in your work by getting to know people you gain an edge corporations can’t match. They're too big to get to know all those customers, but you're not. And an edge can be the difference between success and fading away. Keep it in mind.

 

P.S. Remember to leave a comment − I’d be glad to hear from ya.

P.P.S. If you’d like to see Elvis showing humanity, here he is in a Youtube video singing “Love Me Tender” from his 1970 documentary That’s the Way It Is. Worth a watch.

P.P.P.S. If this post interests you, so might these other FREE Graceland Ontario posts ;

• What Can You Learn from an 87 Year Old Doctor and a Dead Rock Star?
• Elvis, Sir Isaac Brock and the Success Constant (Or The 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812 Special)
• Cool Down! 
• Failing is Not a Reason to Give Up 
• High Expectations

The Only Guarantee

Hey guys,

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario where, once again, we'll be exploring the success principles demonstrated by Elvis Presley and see how they can be used in your life. Today, we'll be talking about the effects of acting and the effects of not... something I call The Only Guarantee.

I’ve got a question for you: Why do people do exceptional acts? Because it’s monumentous and it boosts their feeling of self-worth. Now, I’ve got another question for you: Why do people not do exceptional acts? Because it’s monumentous and they’re scared it will decrease their feelings of self-worth.

Do you notice the difference between the two questions? The first one, the one about doing monumentous things, talks about action: doing the act makes you feel awesome. The second question talks about an imagined possibility; they’re scared (read: they think) failure will lower their feelings of self-worth.

We’ve talked about Elvis making a fool of himself in the past: he couldn’t finish his first tour in Las Vegas in ’56 because he was going over so badly with the audience. Then, in later life, he put on a lot of weight. Some people would have been so embarrassed about their physical condition they would never want another picture taken.

But not Elvis. You see, he realized that this perceived fear of failing and lowering of self-worth is not a guarantee. He lived through it and we’ve seen the results years after his death. Failing in Las Vegas was not the end of his career. Not only did he continue doing well in the 50’s, later on he became one of Vegas’s great symbols. And people still buy the tracks and posters and memorabilia from his ‘fat’ period. He might have looked upon it as a low period, but to us he’s still Elvis, putting out those tracks the same as usual.

There’s no guarantee that failing will ruin you. You can only take it as you will, as a crippling loss or a lesson to be learnt.

On the other hand, doing something momentous produces guaranteed results. I mean, once you’ve done something incredible , no one can change that. They can show their jealousy through criticism and slanted reviews but the act remains the same. The act is certain, it is a guarantee, and that guarantee not only boosts your feelings of self-worth but others’s feelings of admiration for you.

Now, using some commonsense, the guaranteed result will help you, the perceived loss will not. The guaranteed result is certain and unchangeable, the perceived loss is flawed and easily changed. The guaranteed result shows others you’re awesome, the perceived loss is only seen at its worst by you.

As Elvis is remembered for his great successes, the acts he accomplished, and not the perceived (and often overlooked) downfalls, we too can learn. We can learn that doing, or at least aiming, to do great things will take you much farther than any perceived loss. We can learn that most people only care about those who attempt at success, even if they don’t achieve it, rather than those who never try out of fear. But, most importantly, we can learn that when we have a dream and it is our choice to go for something momentous or ditch it out of perceived fear, we can go for the momentous act and attempt victory over our dreams.

Elvis’s Lessons:

The act of doing something momentous is the only guarantee; it will increase your feelings of self-worth and the respect others hold for you. The perceived threat of failure brings no guarantee; it can help you learn or destroy your soul. Ultimately, as Elvis showed, going for something monumentous is the only way to achieve a dream and, at the very least, attempt success − it’s the only way to live a fulfilling life where both you and others believe in yourself.

P.S. If you're interesting in seeing Elvis singing some momentous soul music, here he is with "Trying to Get to You" from the 1977 CBS TV special, Elvis in Concert.

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment either below this post or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com to discuss any of my work. I'd love to hear from you!