The Apprentice

Okay, Doug & I have to admit that we like watching The Apprentice, the brain child of Donald Trump. We don't necessarily like him, but we like the entertainment of the show.

For those of you who have never watched the show, he brings on about a dozen or so contestants who compete for a job as his apprentice in one of his companies. We've watched it every season. The most exciting thing about the whole show are the tasks that everyone has to do. It's all about marketing and sales. You have to be really smart to put all the talents together on a team and produce results better than the other team. For us, it brings out those marketing creative juices. It was kind of like what we did for The Charleston. You brainstorm things and go out and make them happen, hoping that in the end it would pay off.

This season was a Celebrity Apprentice, where they all tried to collect money for their charity of choice. The "Apprentice" who finally won it in the end was a fabulous player, Piers Morgan. However, his strategy is just not what we liked. He was an in your face, take no prisoner kind of guy. He got the job done and did it smashingly, but everyone still seemed to feel dirty when they were done. On the other hand, Trace Adkins, the other finalist who competed in the final with Piers, was a true gentleman to the end. He was just as good at playing the game, however his rolodex just didn't contain deep pockets. In fact, he was so genteel that you thought he was an idiot at first until he opened his mouth and his ideas were quite brilliant. His style made you feel like you had done your best, you had done something great, and you were very uplifted and full on integrity.

This show, although for entertainment, is really a story about reality. In our lives, we all have jobs to do. Some are fun and some are not. Some of our teachers and employers are the worst examples of human beings you could possibly imagine (dishonest, deceitful, arrogant,and could care less about you only about the money), but the pay is really good. Some of our teachers and employers are full of integrity, fun to work with, accomplish a ton, teach you new things, challenge you to be your best, and reward you as much as they can with their praise, recommendations, and sometimes monetarily. However, you would probably walk through fire for these guys and leave the former to their own demise.

Doug & I have worked for both of these kinds. We found that there are things to learn from each of these styles. Patience, long-suffering, life skills, compromise and on and on. As we mature, we become the sum of all the experiences we've had...good and bad. Hopefully, we practice the good and avoid the bad.