"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it."
--- Bill Cosby
There are those in our midst who think that life is a big joke and that you should eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. Then, there are those who believe that in order to contemplate a troubling issue, process information, and come up with solutions, they must see the lighter or humorous side of everything.
There is a middle ground that successful people take and that allows those people to instill joy into their day. These folks have a sense of humor that they carry with them to use at the proper time for the proper situation.
"Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end."
--- Sid Caesar
While being the court jester may win the popularity contest for the day, it won't help the reputation of a leader trying to get his or her team to work with due diligence. No, the sense of humor here is the kind that rescues employees from embarrassing mistakes, calms customers during a confrontation, and relieves the pressure of that nagging ulcer that began ten years ago.
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is."
--- Francis Bacon
The leader with a sense of humor is pleasing to work with and is the kind of person that sees the obstacles for what they are and still finds some nugget of joy in overcoming them. On the other hand, the leader without a sense of humor is found to be lacking in compassion and ages quickly.
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it."
--- E. B. White
It is difficult to force yourself to have a sense of humor in the midst of trials, but beginning the day with the mindset that the problems, challenges, and obstacles are all external and that sometimes, to make the best of it, you have to make light of it. Not that the task at hand isn't important. The fact that it is so important is a good reason to take a step back and "let loose" for a moment.
"A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles."
--- Mignon McLaughlin
If you find that you may be missing your funny bone, it might be that you need a break from work. If that is not possible at this time, try watching some of the comedy classics late at night like the Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy. It is good medicine for the L.O.F.D. (Lack-of-Funny Disease).
Those shows really work. If nothing else, it will help you to relax and probably relax enough to get your sense of humor back. In fact, according to a recent Reader's Digest article (so it has to be true!) some of those shows have been proven extremely powerful in bringing relief and even curing certain ailments such as depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even some cancers. If you can't find humor in everyday activities of your business, try watching some funnies this month. Allow yourself some Andy Griffith or Steve Martin. You'll be glad you did.
"Humor is perhaps a sense of intellectual perspective: an awareness that some things are really important, others not; and that the two kinds are most oddly jumbled in everyday affairs."
--- Christopher Morley
Snapshot of the Sign Industry 3rd Quarter 2008
By Johnny Duncan
For SignIndustry.com’s annual ‘pulse taking’ of the state of the sign industry, we peeked and probed into various facets of the industry to get an idea of the state of our trade before going into 2009.
Read the article...
Wrapping Tropicana Field
By Jennifer LeClaire
Read a first hand example of how vinyl wraps are playing a key role in both aesthetics, communications and advertising in stadiums across the country.
Read the article...
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At a dry cleaners:
"We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand"
Seen in a Vienna hotel:
"In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the hotel porter"
Found on a street corner in New York City:
"RED ZONE: No Parking, No Standing, No Stopping, No Kidding!"
We know those funny signs are out there. Take a moment and send them in to us and we'll share them with the world. Send all hysterical observations to: info@signindustry.com.
