Signal v. Noise: My Singular Focus as a Local Elected Official
I'm focused on what matters to the community. Everything else is noise.
Signal = Valuable Information.
Noise = Anything that detracts from the effect of the signal.
My dad, who died at age 68 in 2006, was the most even-keeled person I’ve ever met. He epitomized the phrase “slow to anger.” Seemingly, no matter how many times people screwed over him—he was a mechanic—he always forgave and forgot.
I remember being 15 years of age and saying, “I love my Dad, but that’s one trait I won’t take with me into adulthood.” Or, did I?
When my Dad died in 2006, I was proud and impressed at how people spoke of him. They knew him as the person I saw him as: High character, a man of integrity, disciplined, strong, caring, a devout Christian who lived a life of honor but who eschewed acclaim.
Years later, my mother would say, “Your Dad could take a lot, but the one thing he did have was a long memory. If you wronged him, he never forgot it.”
I spent much of my childhood working alongside my Dad; I never saw this in him.
I can only imagine the tough veneer he must have developed after having grown up in the Deep South in the 1940s. He always said, “You have to go along to get along.” I found this odd given that my Dad was anything but a pushover.
What I realize now is that he wasn’t concealing his true feelings; he was simply unbothered by what bothered others. His single-mindedness of focus was unerring: He would do nothing to get in the way of his three kids becoming successful.
My Dad rubbed off on me
I’ve said many times of late that “My Dad is rubbing off on me” and “I’ve become my Dad,” mainly in relation to politics. Not a week goes by that someone doesn't email, call or text me with “Man, I cannot believe what they call you on Twitter; how can you not say anything back?” I used to say, “Dude, I don’t care.” But that’s not really true.
I truly don’t care, but, most importantly, it doesn’t matter.
To make the point more effectively, I’ll share my comments from a recent conversation, word for word.
“Listen, I have never, ever, ever cared what people say, think, or feel about me. Yes, I realize that could be a weakness for a politician, but I’m not playing that game. I didn’t run for office to be who anyone—ANYONE—wants me to be. I ran to support kids, families, and businesses. That is all. Everything else is for other people to worry about. The standard any one individual chooses to judge me by is insignificant; what I care about is being the person (a) God desires for me to be, and (b) that my family sees me as. That alignment is all that matters.”
If anyone wants/needs/expects someone else, that’s not my concern. I have bigger fish to fry than worrying about what folks on Twitter say/think/feel about me. Like my Dad, I have more important concerns. Let someone else fight those meaningless battles. Until 2025 at least :D
(This male lion is staring past the would-be-thief jackal trying to sneak in for a meal; he’s focused on serious threats, which could be just over the horizon.)
What I’m Reading
As of March 5, I’ve read 13 books in 2022. I’m aiming for 100 books read this year. It’s doable. (I read 200 books in 2001.)
Completed…
Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder Hardcover
I highly recommend this book for anyone with daughters. The author shares how young girls and women can better manage the constant pressures they are under to be perfect, calling on her own experiences and those of the women she’s interviewed.
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, by Melinda Gates
This book surprised me. The message, the tone, and the validity of what she shared, all backed by research, helped cement some of my long-held beliefs about raising successful daughters who strive to make the world a better place.
Currently: The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business, by Rita Gunther McGrath (Author), Alex Gourlay (Foreword)