Editor’s note: Time for another funny (to me) song. This one is Bruno Mars’ satirical take on the endless number of songs about unrequited love. He claims he’d take a grenade, put his hand on a blade and do anything for this woman but in the end (note: this is favorite lyric):

Editor’s note: This note is from my friend and teacher, Michael Levin’s blog. It’s not topical, as most are but I found it irresistible since its message is incredibly compelling to me. Like most people, I spend most of my day judging and thinking, if not having angry conversations. What a nice reminder from Michael to fight the feeling. And since a down syndrome man is among his teachers, as my little sister was for me it hits home with me all the more.

Editor’s note: Like “Fast Food Nation,” I found this work to be like any other that looks for a sole source of a complex problem. That is, blaming sub-prime lending on the pawnshop and fringe lending industry is rather like blaming obesity on McDonald’s. Way over the top for me. But like “Fast Food Nation,” we need to be reminded of societal problems in an interesting way. Rivlin most certainly accomplishes that with this very readable book. Our foundation has invested heavily in eradicating payday lending in Ohio by providing an alternative via www.employeeloansolutions.com so we believe in Rivlin’s point. Our current investment is helping pilot an employer-based alternative to store-front lenders (which Ohio voters thought we had outlawed by state-wide referendum a few years ago) by offering safe, affordable and responsible loans to this same audience that comprises (by Rivlin’s estimates) a $100 billion industry in the USA.

The malapropism used in the headline is courtesy of my brother, Terry, who uses hundreds of such phrases to keep himself entertained and throw his siblings and friends off their boring centers. Thanks, Terry.

Editor’s note: This article is not only important because it represents good research, but also because it gets to (what we’ve learned) is the heart of the matter. The disconnect between private enterprise and social enterprise is the lack of acceptance that a few years of losses inevitably precedes any real success or sustainability. It is anathema to me that business people don’t apply the same rules to social innovation that we do to our own businesses. That is, that to gain one must lose…for a while.

Editor’s note: As so many of the Brothers songs, the words to this song moved me to making it the last quote in my book, Empty Abundance. See favorite lyrics to read the “almost” final words from the book.

Editor’s note: Part of the research for my own book is to buy any book that promises to discuss life’s “meaning.” Learning other perspectives and avoiding repetition is my goal. The first chapter alone, where Lamott asks and provides her answers to life’s eternal question make the book worth reading. The book’s overall premise is that our lives are the quilt stitched together from our experiences, including such catastrophes as her designer curtains being ripped to shreds by her dog, then stitched back together by her friend. Humor and depth is a hard combination to achieve and this woman has it. It is a short and easy (if not, light) read and I recommend to all searchers.

My involvement in the foundation’s for-profit businesses is now “from a distance.” And I’m amazed by what that distance lends for perspective I can use to help my partners and the people they manage. The quality of my input seems better.

Editor’s note:  Thanks to Vistage Chair Artie Isaac for pointing me toward the concept of “polarities.” I’ve spent a life stumped trying to “solve” them and research proves I’m on the wrong track. Dr. Johnson gets a little abstract for me but the fundamental points made are real eye-openers for me. He connects things that have confused me eternally in a manner I can mostly understand. He also reassures me that in business, just as in life the right thing to do is also the most successful for all involved.

Editor’s Note:  Another gift from my lovely daughter, this song is easy to listen to and also makes a good point.  It’s especially poignant for she and I who are often “lost in our minds.”