March 04, 2025
On The Upside with Marley
The Paradox Of Taking Credit For Achievements
You can do anything you want in life… if you don’t need your name engraved on it!
That sounds backward in a world built on followers, titles, likes and clicks and personal brands. We’re taught to build resumes, protect our ideas, and make sure everyone knows what we did. But there’s a strange kind of power in letting that go. Bare with me….
When you stop chasing credit, you stop hesitating. You speak up because the idea matters, not because you’ll be quoted. You help because the work needs doing, not because someone’s watching. You collaborate without keeping score.
Ego is heavy. It slows you down. It makes you territorial. It makes you anxious about being overlooked. But when you don’t need applause, you move differently. You become bold. Generous. Unstoppable.
Think about the people who quietly hold things together, the mentor who never asks for praise, the colleague who fixes problems before anyone notices, the friend who shows up every single time. They may not trend online, but they shape lives. The teacher behind the brilliant guitarist. Their impact is real, lasting, and often immeasurable.
And here’s the twist… When you don’t demand credit, people trust you more. They want to work with you. They feel safe around you. Influence grows naturally because it isn’t forced.
Detaching from recognition doesn’t mean shrinking yourself. It means anchoring yourself. Your satisfaction comes from the doing, not the applause. No one can take that from you. You’re free to try, to fail, to build again, because your worth isn’t tied to who claps.
When the mission matters more than your name on it, doors open. Collaboration flows. Opportunities multiply.
Do Your Thing, Without The Appalause
This week in History
- March 4, 1861: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as U.S. president, just weeks before the Civil War begins.
- March 5, 1770: The Boston Massacre takes place in Massachusetts, escalating tensions before the American Revolution.
- March 6, 1912: Oreo cookies are first introduced by the National Biscuit Company .
- March 7, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.
- March 8, 1911: International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide.
- March 9, 1959: Barbie debuts at the American International Toy Fair.
- March 10, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call.
Dogs Are Amazing… Did You Know?
Dogs have a remarkable ability to read human emotions, often acting as “empaths” by detecting stress through scent and mirroring their owner’s emotions, such as “catching” their yawns. Furthermore, dogs possess a keen sense of time based on routines and scents, and they can learn up to 250 words and gestures.
A Dog Goes To The Butcher Shop
A dog walks into a butcher shop with a little bag around his neck and a note in his mouth. The butcher reads it: “3 pork chops, 6 sausages. Money in the bag.” He takes the cash, fills the order, and hands it back to the dog. Curious, the butcher follows him.
The dog goes to a traffic light, presses the button with his nose, waits, and crosses safely. He heads to a bus stop, checks the timetable, ignores a few buses, then raises his paw for the number 23. He gets on. The butcher gets on too.
After twelve stops, the dog presses the bell, gets off, waits at a crosswalk, and crosses when the cars stop. He walks up to a house, rings the doorbell, and barks.
A man opens the door and shouts, “You idiot! You dumb dog! Get in here!”
The butcher rushes up. “Sir, I’m the butcher. I followed him all the way home. This is the smartest dog I’ve ever seen! Why are you calling him dumb?”
The man sighs. “Because every single time… he forgets his keys.”
First Signs Of Spring In Ontario
Editors Quote Book
“You can’t base your life’s decisions on potential future regrets.”
—Arlene Dickinson
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I have been reading Brian’s paper since its inception over twenty years ago. Brian seems to have a sense of right, of common sense and great values. His compilations of philosophy, humour and brain teasers makes the delivery of the Perkolator one of the best pieces of email that I receive every week. My wife and I always sit back and do the quiz together. With permission, I have copied many of Brian’s articles into my National Newsletters which reach thousands of members across Canada. Brian, thank you. May you live safely and happily for many more years to come
I really enjoy receiving the Orillia edition in my inbox each month. ?
Hi Sharon, We take great pleasure in sending you a new edition every week, and then we have the pleasure of having you approve of it.
BG.
What a way to start 2025 Brian! The jokes were hilarious, the quiz was challenging, and the music video an exquisite compiliation of conductor expertise. You can be sure I’ll be coming back to this week’s edition all month long!
Thank you, Lynn; your comments will spur us to provide you and all our readers with content to start each week with a similar response. By the way, did you know that you can read two years of back issues. Go to the home page, scroll down to Perkolator archives and read all our back issues. BG
Every week, whenever I see this in my email, it brings me joy to see the jokes and the frequent inspiration, so I thank the Perkolator for perking up my inbox. Now I have something to look forward to every 7 days.
Every now and then, when a particular written word moves me, I take a snapshot of it and tuck it away in my ‘Lessons Learned’ file. This edition of ‘BG’s Positively Speaking’ titled “I Can Hear You” is one of them. Thanks for your continuing words of wisdom. Always much appreciated!
Who said…”It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit?” President Harry Truman.
My grandmother had a similar saying: .”More haste, more waste”.
I hadn’t seen a copy of the Perkolotar for sometime. I was thrilled to find one at the Orillia Bakery. I immediately signed up for the online delivery. I enjoy this little paper so much. I’m very glad I am able to get it.
Love this online version. Find it much easier to read than the printed copy. Great job!
I am so happy to receive the Perkolator in my in box.
Plus I laughed out loud after reading the Irish jokes. Will certainly share with my family when they get home today. Again thanks and keep up the good work.
M. Robertson
I´m so happy I can get The Perkolator to my email! I started read it when our son moved to Canada 1993 when he married a canadian girl. After that he have collected it and sent me in the mail a few times every year. It has been hard to find the last year. Yes, I live in Sweden! Thank yoy!!!