Only 12 days into the New Year, many well-intentionedresolutions lie shattered on the ground like broken Grecian Urns.In this fast-paced world, new resolutions and sincere intentionsfall victim to the dynamism of modern life. Lessons learned havealso been plentiful.
The night of the Iowa caucuses abounded in lessons if eyes wereopen to see them. At 7:30 p.m. I saw attorney Bruce Harris, thefirst openly gay Republican mayor of color in the United States,sworn into office before an enthusiastic standing-room-only groupof Chatham citizens.
Randolph Township resident the Rev. Shawn Garvey, singing pastorof Stanley Congregational Church in Chatham, delivered the openingprayer, calling for individuals and communities as well as churchesto be open and affirming.
Lesson learned. Contrary to negative stereotypes, the GOP is aparty of diverse ideas and peoples, young, old, all classes, ages,sexual preferences, and religious affiliations.
Down-to-earth Republican National Committee Chairman ReincePriebus, a Hispanic of Greek Orthodox faith, believes “the GOP isstrengthened and not weakened by clashes of ideas and personalitiesin this fluid primary season.”
Back home I watched the caucus returns on Fox News beforecrashing at 1:45 a.m. Forty-five minutes later votes were finallytallied from the last two precincts. Smooth, savvy former Gov. MittRomney won by just eight votes.
With only five paid staffers on the ground, steady, reliableRomney successfully staved off attacks by Texas Congressman RonPaul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Former Speaker ofthe House Newt Gingrich crashed but lived to fight another day.Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the big spender in the race, burned. Threeweeks before, no one had expected Romney to win.
Lesson learned: Perseverance pays.
Long a believer in the importance of meeting voters one-on-oneas opposed to non-stop TV ads and robot calls, I reveled in thesuccess of Rick Santorum’s grassroots campaign run on ashoestring.
Pressing the flesh counts. Appearance also matters. Romney looksmore presidential than his opponents.
Lesson learned: Retail politics still works.
Organization also still matters.
Different states have different rules about how to participatein the GOP primary process. In Virginia 10,000 signatures, somefrom each county, need to be collected by registered Virginiaresidents. Only Paul and Romney had the ground troops enabling themto qualify. Flavor-of-the-week candidates flunked and then criedfoul about the rules to which they had agreed.
It still pays to know how to subtract.
In a high-tech age where individuals and candidates need to knowhow to use social media and electronic voting machines, caucusvoters in Iowa handwrote their presidential choice on a manuallycounted piece of paper.
Fox News anchors used techniques learned in second grade tocalculate razor-thin differences in vote tallies. With electronictallies of no use with the rapidly changing results, renowned KarlRove projected Romney the winner after analyzing the outstandingcounties on a chalkboard.
In these fluid times we need to have abundant game plans to meetchallenges like the meteoric rise of populist Santorum, a coalminer’s grandson. When three young adult helpers changed planswithin 30 minutes, I quickly ran through three different workplans.
Lastly we learn once more that the show goes on. The GOP willchoose a candidate by summer’s end. With a little luck and goodtiming the United States will elect a new president inNovember.
Related
Now put your heart out but hold the tone resonance. 
to remember to provide for us. 
Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani drives past Jazz forward Paul Millsap at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan. 25, 2012. (JIM URQUHART/Reuters)
San Diego, CA (OPENPRESS) January 20, 2012 – Today the music industry mourns the loss of legendary R&B singer Etta James, whose adaptable style, powerhouse voice, and fiery hit “At Last” made her one of the most recognizable blues performers of all time. Her talent has been recognized in several different ways, with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and six Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. As with many soul singers, a voice that powerful demands a commanding stage presence as well. For singers on the shy side, however, sometimes all it takes is some extra performing experience to break out of that habit. TakeLessons (takelessons.com), the nation’s fastest growing music lessons provider, took the opportunity to share a list of great ways to get performance experience, in order to build up one’s on-stage confidence. The following is an excerpt from the TakeLessons blog post: “- Open mic nights. Great for getting used to singing with a live band, and for getting seen. Many bands started as a result of people meeting each other at open mic nights. – Peruse Craigslist for bands looking for lead or backup singers. (Being a backup singer is a great place to start if you have no prior live band experience. You’ll learn a lot even as a backup singer.) – Start or join an a cappella group. – Student recitals. If you are taking lessons with a voice coach or at a music school, there are probably performance opportunities through there. They may not be the rock-star performance situations you ultimately envision yourself in, but they’re valuable stage time nonetheless. – Start a duo. Team up with a pianist, develop a repertoire, and start playing in restaurants and bars. – Start a band. Easiest if you are a teen or twenty-something, before your peers have real jobs, kids, and mortgages. – Hire a band. For those with deep pockets: if you’re willing to pay for a professional band’s rehearsal time, even a novice could start a rock trio and play standard covers in bars. – Try out for a role in a musical theater production. – Join a choir. There are lots of community choirs – some are open to all ages and levels, others require auditions. – Prepare yourself to sub in a party band. Even if you don’t win an audition to be a party band’s new lead singer, they may find themselves in a tight spot one day if their lead singer gets sick. If you prepare a standard party repertoire, you’ll be ready to step in if and when a last-minute opportunity arises.” By sharing the list with blog readers, TakeLessons hopes to continue engaging current students and help with any musical goals they may have. Readers are invited to share their thoughts by commenting on the TakeLessons blog, where they can also read audition tips, and comments are also welcomed on Facebook (facebook.com/takelessons).Original Source: TakeLessons Shares Tips for On-Stage Confidence
Majyd Aziz, President, MHG Group of Companies, Sea Trade Group of Companies, Chairman SME Bank LtdMohsin Khan is Daily Times