montyrainey

Book Review: THE POWER OF A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

montyrainey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:40:20 +0000

Roger Fritz is a well-known very successful business consultant. He has worked with such notable companies as John Deere, Caterpillar, IBM, Sara Lee, Pizza Hut and State Farm. His credentials are impeccable. Given his stature in the business world, I’m certain many people suggested to Mr. Fritz that he should write a book. And so he did. The result is THE POWER OF A POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

First, to get the negatives out of the way. As I read this book, I felt as though Mr. Fritz never actually sat down at his computer and began writing, but rather that the entire work was dictated to his secretary and then someone else typed it into its current form. This diminutive (barely 100 pages) book is filled with bullet points with an absence of much in the way of descriptive text.

Now for the up side – the book is spot-on, laden with pearls of business wisdom. It occurred to me as I read the book, perhaps Mr. Fritz’ intention was not an in-depth tome detailing every aspect of business process, but rather a brief study on what has made him successful in business. That, dear reader, is the end result of what you will find here. A brief recap of what Fritz found to be a formula for success.

There are ten chapters here. About half of which deal directly with attitude, the other half dealing with other aspects of business such as problem solving and dealing with burnout and stress. Each chapter includes five to ten quotes that directly address the topic as well as a few simple worksheets or questionnaires to help develop the concept.

As you would imagine, this is a very quick and easy read – great for that next long business flight. I do wish the author had spent more time detailing and developing his concepts as I feel there is a tremendous amount of very valuable content here to learn from. This is certainly one I would recommend to anyone in a leadership or management position.

Attitude is Everything (ucfknight46.wordpress.com)
Attitude Part 1 (radh4u.wordpress.com)

Are You a Business Prepper?

montyrainey — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:53:12 +0000

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” ~ Alexander Graham Bell

Those who know me know I’m not a big TV watcher, but recently I have discovered a new favorite show. It’s called Preppers on the National Geographic Channel on Tuesday nights. The show is about people who are preparing for a catastrophic event that will lead to societal chaos. Each episode they chronicle 4 different “preppers” and who measures they are taking to prepare for what they believe might soon happen. The scenarios differ. Some are preparing for economic disaster, others for electromagnetic pulses (EMP’s) causing massive power outages, still others are preparing for natural disasters such as volcanoes or earthquakes. Regardless of what is driving them, these are people who are preparing for the worse and doing what they can to ensure the survival of their families.

The show really intrigues me as I tend to have a natural desire to prepare for the worse. I was thinking about this whole prepping idea from a business standpoint. I believe this is an area where many businesses fall short and virtually all can improve.

We know that economic conditions are cyclical, just as we know that every year gas prices rise in May and June then fall off sharply as the summer drags on. By the time elections roll around in November, outrageous gas prices are usually long forgotten. We know that in business, just as with anything else, there is always a calm before the storm.

So how does business prepare for the coming apocalypse that may be headed our way? Many sectors of the business world are facing that apocalypse now and have been for several years now. Some will survive, many will not. What can and should we learn from those businesses that have not only survived but even grown and prospered in the current economic climate?

The self storage business has undoubtedly suffered in recent years but certainly not to the extent of many other industries. At Uncle Bob’s, we’ve actually grown in the past year acquiring over 50 additional properties, an increase of well over 10% to our total holdings. How? How were we able to expand our business when so many others fell behind? We got leaner and meaner. We learned how to do more with less. We focused on the things that we could do during those trying times rather than on what we could not do such as expanding our internal training programs. We leveraged our buying power. We looked for undervalued opportunity and positioned ourselves to take advantage of those opportunities when they appeared. We even expanded our repertoire to include new opportunities such as business management services.

I believe what we’ve witnessed is a perfect blueprint for prepping for lean times. I think it would be awesome if Washington D.C would take a close look at what our company has done and emulate those steps.

But what if the worst is yet to come? Yes, the nightly news tells us the recovery is underway, but anyone with a lick of sense knows fuzzy math is used to show fewer unemployed. What if what we’ve seen over the past 3 years is just the beginning? What else can businesses do to prep for what the future holds?

I believe to weather the possible future storm we have to really focus on the local level. Stores and store managers must utilize this time to build their networks. By that I mean building relationships with apartment managers, home builders, and realtors. They have to increase their community involvement through networking with neighborhood associations, sporting associations and local schools and businesses. The referral aspect is always important for business success, but in lean times, even more so.

Just hanging an “OPEN” sign on the door doesn’t cut it any longer. Customers want to know that you support them before they will support you. Even multi-billion dollar corporations must drill down to the customer level to succeed in the possible coming storm, sort of like the now popular activist slogan, “Think globally, Act locally”.

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Monty Rainey is a District Manager working in the self storage industry since 1996 and currently overseeing 13 stores in the San Antonio, TX area. He is also a leadership coach and public speaker. For a free consultation, please contact Monty at 830-743-2139 or visit his website at http://www.montyrainey.com .

MEET THE PREPPERS: Perhaps We Should All Be Following Their Lead? (twighlightslastgleaming.wordpress.com)
New reality show highlights preppers preparing for doomsday (theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com)
My Inner Doomsday Prepper (barefootinvt.wordpress.com)
Doomsday Preppers on National Geographic Channel – A REVIEW (suburbanprepper.wordpress.com)

I miss you, Dad

montyrainey — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:33:35 +0000

Dear Dad,

It’s been two years since God called you home and I miss you and think of you every day. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for giving me you as my father. He picked you to be in charge of shaping the foundation of my life. It was yet another display of His perfect wisdom, for I shudder to think of my life with a lesser man to mentor and guide me.

I believe the greatest thing we will ever possess on this earth are the virtues that make us who we are and through your shining display of character, honor, integrity, commitment and values you provided me with a rock solid foundation with which to build my life and be a positive force on those around me. I can never thank you enough for that. I pray that the virtues with which I now live my life are thanks enough.

I cherish those wonderful nights now when you visit me in my dreams. They’re always the same. In them I am always either a young boy or still a young man and you are always the strong man I remember, long before the disease destroyed your body. In them we are hunting together, or planting crops, or packing the bearings on a farm trailer, but always you are guiding me and teaching me.

Dad, I’m almost glad you left when you did and are not here to see what’s happening to our world. In just the two years since you left, things have gotten much worse. I’m afraid there were not enough men like you teaching younger men like me how to stand up for what’s right at all costs, how to put in a fair day’s work, how to be self-sufficient and never ask for a hand out. Mostly, how to be people of strong virtues.

I know you’re not worried about any of us kids, and there’s no need to be. You taught us well how to handle adversity and bounce back, how to survive any situation, and how to stand firm on the morals you taught us. We’ll be fine.

Please pass along my love and prayers to grandmother and granddad and all of the other loved ones who are there with you. When the Lord calls me home, we’ll spend eternity enjoying our new perfect bodies God has made for us. I’ll see you then, dad, but in the meantime, I hope to see you often in my dreams. I love you and miss you.

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Book Review: GOALS!

montyrainey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:03:06 +0000

Over his stellar career, Brian Tracy has authored over 50 books. This one, GOALS!, was first published in 2003. I’ve read probably half of Tracy’s books over the years and have long had this on my short list to read but for one reason or another, it never did seem to make it to the top of my reading list. What a colossal mistake that has been on my part. I won’t go so far as to say this has been my favorite Brian Tracy book, but it would certainly rate in the top five. As I read this book, a recurring thought that kept running through my mind was, “Man, I wish I had read this nine years ago!”

One of the reasons this book never made it to the top of my reading list is that a few years ago I purchased Tracy’s audio download, How To Set and Achieve Goals, which I have listened to many times over. I thought this book would be much of the same material, but there is so much more contained hear that you simply must read to benefit from.

Goal achievers know the first step in achieving goals is a line from the old Cool Hand Luke movie, “You’ve got to get your mind right!” That’s what Tracy does here. Much of the book focuses on how to prepare mentally and avoid the mental sabotage that makes so many goals in life but a distant fantasy. There is a great deal of powerful information here on making your mind work for you, not against you as is often the case. Once you’ve got your mind in the right place, the rest becomes much more achievable.

Each chapter is broken into bite sized pieces that really allows the reader a chance to contemplate, absorb and reflect on what you have just read. In fact, this book reads much slower than most books because you will (or at least I did) spend a great deal of time reflecting. Each chapter concludes with a brief point summary of putting to work for you the material just covered. Again, this creates another opportunity for the reader to contemplate an action plan without becoming too overwhelmed with information.

Often when setting goals, obstacles get in the way that we might not even consider as having anything to do with why we might have fallen short of a goal. Tracy leaves no stone unturned here and provides valuable insight on each of these roadblocks such as time management, measuring your progress and associating with the right people to help you become successful. Along the way, the book is filled with quotes and quips that you will surely want to highlight and use on your life journey.

Learn from my mistake. If you have this book on your radar but have kept putting it off to read something else, move this book immediately to the top of your reading list. You can thank me later.

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Book Review:Goals! By Brian Tracy (theheelshaveeyes.wordpress.com)
The Goals Achievement Expert, Brian Tracy, Brings Answers on Achieving Goals Faster and Easier To The Leading Working Moms Community (prweb.com)
Author Shares His Secrets to Increase Your Market Value (prweb.com)
Eating The Frog 1: Goal-setting (unfinishedperson2.com)

Choose Wisely

montyrainey — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:08:42 +0000

“Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the natural laws. Your choices determine the consequences. No person ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of their choices.” ~ Alfred A. Montapert

One of the great freedoms we enjoy as Americans is, we get to make our own choices. When you think about it, there are really very few things that we don’t get to make decisions on. The few things in life we don’t get to decide for ourselves usually involve the government making that decision for us; how much we pay in taxes, social insecurity, etc., but even then we can always choose not to work and have taxable income. The thing that gets a lot of people off on the wrong track is that with freedom comes responsibility.

If we are free to make our own choices in life, and if having that freedom means we are responsible for those choices, it becomes imperative that we make wise decisions. No one is perfect and sooner or later we all make a bad decision, but what I want to talk about are the different types of bad decisions. I believe there are two types. The first type of bad decision is when we make a choice that we truly believe to be a wise choice at the time such as investing in Enron, accidentally downloading a computer virus or voting for what turns out to be the wrong candidate. These are usually “one off” bad choices that we learn from in life.

The second type of bad decision is when we make a choice to knowingly do the wrong thing. This can be anything from cheating on your spouse to deciding not to go to work. This type of bad decision usually comes in clusters because they perpetuate more bad decisions. Now you have to lie to someone about where you were. This compound effect can quickly spin things out of control resulting in unintended consequences.

In these two examples the unintended consequences would be that you could either lose your marriage or lose your job. Both would be devastating consequences to suffer, but I believe there is an even bigger loss – integrity. Integrity has no grey area. You either have it or you don’t. Once you lose your integrity, getting it back is like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.

Of all the elements of personal character, integrity is most valuable. Integrity defines who we truly are as a person. I love the quote, “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” In today’s technological society there is often an electronic record of what you do when no one is watching. Enter “unintended consequences”.

The truth is, we all make bad decisions from time to time. Type 1 bad decisions are how we learn and grow and can be considered mistakes as much as they are bad decisions. It is the type 2 bad decisions that we have control over. By simply doing the right thing, we will avoid making this type of bad decision and thereby avoid the unintended consequences that go with it.

Enter self-discipline. Self-discipline is the single most quality for success in any endeavor. Self-discipline means that you have the ability within yourself, based on your strength of character and willpower, to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

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Unintended Consequences (livingrevolutiontobiasshea.wordpress.com)
Create Well, Create Wisely (waverider1.wordpress.com)

Book Review: THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE WALL OF SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE

montyrainey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:43:23 +0000

I believe Daniel Dreisbach, assistant professor in the Department of Justice, Law and Society at American University, is perhaps the single most underrated American historian today. Though this book, THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE WALL OF SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE is far from Dreisbach’s best work, it still deserves “must read” status for every American. Of course, in this book, we can expect strict separationists to ridicule Dreisbach’s conclusions because, Dreisbach, as always, presents the facts and the facts just don’t seem to mesh up or matter much to strict separationists.
For Dreisbach’s best work, check out “Real Threat and Mere Shadow” though it is somewhat difficult to find as Amazon has misspelled Dreisbach’s name. Search Amazon under the name Daniel DrIEsbach for that one.

Whatever name he is listed under, Dreisbach never fails to put forth superb work. This book is no exception. Dreisbach has written several pieces on Jefferson’s “Wall” metaphor, and this book appears as the apex of that work. As with his other work, the findings are based solely on the facts as you will not find editorialism in any of his works. He simply presents the facts and allows them to speak for themselves.

Here, Jefferson’s wall of separation metaphor is examined thoroughly, first with the rendering of the Jefferson letter to the Danbury Baptists, as well as what exactly Jefferson was intending to address in his letter. The DB letter writers primary concern revolved around the Congregationalists Church, which was the “established” church of Massachusetts. Having an established church not only limited the power of the Baptists, but hobbled it. They were not even allowed to officiate their own children’s weddings!

In the midst of his findings, Dreisbach also makes a strong presentation of the founder’s original intent of state’s rights. Of course, the Fourteenth Amendment totally obliterated any semblance of state’s rights, but that’s another topic for another day. My point here is, Jefferson, and virtually everyone else agreed, it was perfectly legal for state’s to “establish” a church. That being the case, it must surely be legal for a local school board to allow for school prayer, wouldn’t one think? Again, I digress, another topic for another day.

After clearly defining that the First Amendment applies to CONGRESS ONLY, Dreisbach then moves on to present prior derivate uses of the wall metaphor and the context in which they were used. James Burgh is identified as the likely source of Jefferson’s use of the metaphor. As the author points out, “Burgh brought to his writings a dissenter’s zeal for religious tolerance and a distrust of ESTABLISHED churches.” Further bolstering of the fact that the First Amendment forbids ESTABLISHMENT OF, not separation from.

The book concludes with how the metaphor has been contorted to have agenda driven meaning. I must also add this astute question posed on page 106, “Is it appropriate, as a matter of constitutional interpretation and law, for a metaphor from a presidential message to supplement or supplant constitutional text?” Of course, separationists will argue, yes, but to display that absurdity, ask them this – Jefferson also wrote that homosexual deviants should be castrated – should that become a matter of constitutional interpretation and law as well? Watch the separationist’s back peddle!

This is another extraordinary work from Dreisbach, critical to all Americans for the true delineation of a widely misused metaphor; it’s agenda driven evolution, and it’s misuse in our law and erosion of a basic right as defined in the Bill of Rights.

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Separation of Church and State (elishasvision.wordpress.com)
What did the “Establishment of religion” mean in 1776 (trutherator.wordpress.com)
The Original Wall of Separation (americanclarion.com)

Attitude is Everything

montyrainey — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:16:47 +0000

“I’m not saying that a Positive Attitude can make you successful. I’m saying a Positive Attitude will make you successful” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Negativity is all around us. An unfortunate fact of life is, we rarely hear praise from happy customers. On the other hand, unhappy customers can be quick to let you hear about it. Turn on the radio or the evening news and you get blasted with negative news. It’s as though everywhere you turn, people are complaining about something or someone. The danger is – it’s very easy to be influenced by negativity and start your very own personal complaint department.

There is an old saying, “You become what you think about most of the time”. If that’s true, and I believe it is, if you spend your time giving thought to all the negative things in life, you stop looking for solutions and just start looking for someone who will agree with you. That’s a lose – lose proposal all around.

Only losers think about problems all the time. Winners think about solutions. Solution oriented people are constantly looking for ways to resolve the obstacles that stand in their way. Everyone faces obstacles. Your attitude toward what to do about those obstacles will make all the difference.

You would hear a loser say something like, “I was born poor so I’ll never be rich.” There are a lot of millionaires (and even a few billionaires) today that were born into poverty. They didn’t complain – they found solutions.

Or you might hear a loser say, “I don’t have much education so there’s no way for me to get ahead.” Benjamin Franklin didn’t finish grammar school and he seemed to do okay. Losers would be quick to say, “But things were different back in those days. In today’s world you’ve got have a great education!” Of course a great education is a big help, but there are a lot of successful people even in today’s world that have found solutions to that problem as well.

You might also hear a loser say something like, “I don’t have time to accomplish that!” But they have the same numbers of minutes in a day that Thomas Edison or Mother Teresa had in theirs. They found solutions by setting priorities.

Your success, no matter what difficulty in life you may be dealing with, begins and ends with attitude, either negative or positive. When you develop a positive attitude about all the obstacles life throws at you, you begin to find solutions and those obstacles end up being much smaller than you ever would have thought when you were carrying around that old negative attitude.

The truth is that you have the ability to solve any problem or to overcome any obstacle on the path to reaching whatever goal you may have if you desire that goal with enough intensity and have the right positive attitude. You have within you, right now, all the intelligence and ability you will ever need to overcome any obstacle that could possibly hold you back.

Think about the biggest obstacle you face in life right now. Do you have the positive attitude it takes to begin finding a solution to that obstacle? Attitude is a choice. It’s your choice. Choose wisely.

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Your Attitude is a Decision (my.psychologytoday.com)
Attitude Part 1 (radh4u.wordpress.com)
Attitude is Everything (ucfknight46.wordpress.com)
HAPPINESS: Stop complaining and focus on the solution (happinessnest.wordpress.com)
Change Attitude – Change The World Around You (thecoach2yourlifechange.wordpress.com)

Mum Bett – A Celebration of Black History

montyrainey — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:09:11 +0000

Each year when Black History Month rolls around, I think about what a shame it is that so few Americans know the story of Mum Bett. Hers is a story that should be celebrated and should most certainly be taught in our schools. Here is a re-post of a piece I wrote about Mum Bett 9 years ago for The Junto Society I thought you might like to read. I hope you enjoy it.

Mumm Bett
by

Monty Rainey

“Anytime , anytime while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that one minute, I would have taken it – just to stand one minute, I would have taken it just to stand one minute on God’s earth a free woman – I would.”

*Author’s note* The Junto Society founder of the month is reserved for the men and women who shaped the foundation of America. Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Statesmen, Revolutionary War figures and the like. Mum Bett may have had nothing to do with the founding of America, but she would set the course in motion that would eventually end slavery in the United States. Such being the case, in honor of Black History month, the Junto Society is proud to proclaim Mum Bett, the Junto Society February 2003 Founder of the Month.

In 1781, a black slave woman named Mum Bett, having heard a good deal of talk about the “rights of man,” walked out of her master’s house in western Massachusetts, to find a lawyer to represent her. She wanted to sue for her right to live free. After finding a lawyer, she was asked what had put such an extraordinary idea into her head. After being satisfied with her answer, the lawyer agreed to take the case. What ensued is now a reminder of the fact that slavery existed, even in the cradle of abolitionism, and it is a testament to the inspiration which can be derived from revolutionary ideas. Even more fascinating, is that a single slave woman would endeavor to challenge her right for freedom without the support of the masses.

Though Mum Bett would hardly be considered a founder of the United States, the argument can certainly be made that she founded the civil rights movement, which has certainly played an integral part in our nation’s history. Historians have tended to overlook the historical contributions by this woman, who would later change her name to Elizabeth Freeman.

INTRODUCTION

Prior to the American Revolution, slavery extended throughout the colonies. Though primarily in the south, even in New England, slavery existed on a limited basis. There were household slaves in Boston who mostly served such positions as coach drivers, cooks and house maids.

It is well documented that slaves in Massachusetts enjoyed a much kinder existence than their southern counterparts. Mostly, the northern slaves were treated with almost parental kindness. They were incorporated into the family, however, just as some parents are strict disciplinarians, some masters and mistresses dealt punishment with a heavy hand. Such appears to have been the case with Mum Bett.

EARLY LIFE

As there is a lack of definitive records on the life of Mum Bett, much is left to assumption and educated guesses. Such is the case of the matter of the birth of Mum Bett. The exact year and place of birth are not known, but it is widely held that Mum Bett was born in or around the Massachusetts colony, somewhere between the years 1742 and 1748. It is known that Mum Bett was born to African parents and was owned by a Dutchman named Pieter Hogeboom. Bett, as she was known as a child, and her sister Lizzie, grew up as slave children in Claverack, New York, some 20 miles south of Albany.

Lizzie was slight, and accounts indicate she may have even been mildly retarded. She is referred to in the writings of Miss Catherine Maria Sedgwick, youngest daughter of Theodore and Pamela Sedgwick, as “a sickly timid creature, over whom Bett watched as a lioness over her cubs.” Bett, to the contrary, is recorded as being of “brawny stature.”

The year is not known, but at some point, Bett and Lizzie were acquired by Col. John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, who had married Mr. Hogeboom’s youngest daughter, Hannah. John Ashley was the son of one of the original proprietors permitted by the General Court of Massachusetts to organize settlements along the Housatonic River. The slave children may have come to live with the Ashley’s in 1758, when Hannah Ashley’s father died.

John Ashley was an important figure in Sheffield, the largest settlement in Western Massachusetts, which would later become Berkshire County. In 1761, Col. Ashley was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas, a post he voluntarily resigned some twenty years later when Bett’s case came before that court. John Ashley was an honorable man and known to have been the ‘gentlest, most benign of men.’ Hannah Ashley, on the other hand, was a shrew. Miss Sedgwick wrote, “He was the kindest of masters, to his slaves; she, the most despotic of mistresses.”

It appears a particularly violent display of Hannah Ashley’s temper set events into motion that would eventually lead to Mum Betts historic lawsuit for freedom. Henry Dwight Sedgwick, one of Theodore Sedgwick’s (Mum Bett’s lawyer) ten children, recalled the episode:

Slavery in New York and New England was so masked that but a slight difference could be perceived in the condition of slaves and hired servants…The younger slaves not only ate and drank, but played with the children. They thus became familiar companions with each other. The black women were cooks and nurses, and as such assisted by their mistresses… In this state of familiar intercourse, instances of cruelty were uncommon, and… caused a degree of indignation not much less than if committed upon a freeman.

Under this condition of society, while Mum Bett resided in the family of Col. Ashley, she received a severe wound in a generous attempt to shield her sister. Her mistress in a fit of passion [had] resorted to a degree and mode of violence very uncommon in this country: she struck at the weak and timid [Lizzie] with a heated kitchen shovel: mum Bett interposed her arm, and received the blow; and bore the honorable scar it left to the day of her death.

SHEFFIELD DECLARATION

Historians dispute the chronology of events, but about the same time as the violent outburst by Hannah Ashley, Mum Bett had began paying particularly close attention to meetings which were being held in the Ashley home. Colonel Ashley had been appointed chairman of a committee that was assigned to “take into consideration the grievances which Americans in general and inhabitants of this Province in particular labor under.”

In January of 1773, in the home of Col. Ashley, a meeting of that committee was most likely the turning point in the life of Mum Bett. The committee’s clerk was Theodore Sedgwick, a twenty six year old Great Barrington lawyer who was practicing in the town of Sheffield. The meeting lasted several hours, during which time, Mum Bett served refreshments and obviously, listened in to the conversation at hand.

The final results of that meeting in the Ashley home became known as the Sheffield Declaration. While giving due respect to the crown, it contained a resolution that read; “Resolved that Mankind in a State of Nature are equal, free and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed Enjoyment of their lives, their Liberty and Property.” Mum Bett had never read the writing of John Locke or of any other, for she could not read or write, but she could listen and undoubtedly listened quite intently as this document was discussed and drafted.

Seven years later, in 1780, Mum Bett would add to her repertoire of words when she would hear the reading of the Massachusetts Constitution and the First Article of the Declaration of Rights of the new Constitution. It reads “all men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and inalienable rights…” Thus making the Sheffield Declaration and the Declaration of Independence the laws of the state and county in which Mum Bett lived and worked. It is commonly thought that at about this time, Hannah Ashley launched her assault on Mum Bett and Lizzie.

Many historians believe Mum Bett left the Ashley home and filed her lawsuit immediately after the attack, but the memoirs of Miss Sedgwick would indicate that is not correct. She recalled the words of Mum Bett, “Madam never again laid a hand on Lizzie. I had a bad arm all winter, but Madam had the worst of it. I never covered the wound, and when people said to me, before Madam – ‘Why Betty! What ails your arm?’ I only answered – ‘ask madam.”

SUEING FOR FREEDOM

Though the exact details will never be known, it is certain there were a combination of events which led to the slave woman taking unheard of measures to procure her freedom. Her simpleton sister had been assaulted by a shrew of mistress. Mum Bett herself had been widowed by the American War for Independence, but had a young daughter by her late husband. She had witnessed the debate and drafting of the Sheffield Declaration and had just recently chanced to be present for a public reading at the Sheffield Meeting House of the newly adopted Declaration of Independence.

When Mum Bett sought the counsel of Theodore Sedgwick, the young Sheffield lawyer’s response came in the form of a question. What had put such notions in Mum Bett’s head? The illiterate slave woman explained that she wished to question the legality of her slave status under the laws of the state of Massachusetts. She went on to explain that the Bill of Rights said that all were born free and equal and that, as she was not a dumb critter, she was certainly one of the nation, especially when her own husband had given his life to help free that nation. Sedgwick, the lawyer and future Senator, ask how she had come to know of such things, Mum Bett replied, “By keepin’ still and minding things.”

Like Col. Ashley, Theodore Sedgwick was an honorable man. He was thirty-four years old and had seen action in the Revolutionary War. In 1780, he had been elected to the first General Court held under the new state constitution. Though he and Col. Ashley were friends, he readily accepted the pleas and logic of Mum Bett and told her he would take the case. He set about inaugurating her suit against one Colonel John Ashley, wealthy landowner, merchant, and slaveholder by filing at least two writs of replevin(1) stating that the Ashley’s were illegally detaining Mum Bett and her sister Lizzie. Sometime prior to the case going to court, another Ashley slave by the name of Brom joined in the suit and his name was added to the writ. Another writ of replevin is known to have been sent to John Ashley Jr., who may have been Brom’s owner. There is virtually no other recorded information pertaining to Brom, other than he was named co-plaintiff in the case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley. He is described simply as “a Negro man of Sheffield” and a “Labourer.”

The case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley was heard in August of 1781 before the County Court of Pleas in Great Barrington. Theodore Sedgwick was joined in plaintiff’s counsel by Tapping Reeve, the distinguished lawyer from Litchfield, Connecticut, who later founded the Litchfield Law School. Both men were intrigued by the conspicuous logic of slavery at a time when the young nation had so recently declared its freedom. Both men also went on to champion the case of abolition. The Ashley’s were represented by David Noble, who later became a judge, and John Canfield, a respected lawyer from Sharon, Connecticut.

Noble and Canfield argued that the Negroes were his legal servants for life, but plaintiff’s counsel countered that “no antecedent law had established slavery, and that the laws which seemed to suppose it were the offspring of error in the legislators and that such laws, even if they had existed, were annulled by the new Constitution.” The plaintiff’s won the decision of the Court, thereby winning their freedom. The jury of “Jonathan Holcomb Foreman and His Fellows” found that the plaintiff’s had been illegally detained in servitude by the Ashley’s and assessed damages of thirty shillings against the defendants. The jury also ordered Ashley to pay all court costs, amounting to five pounds, fourteen shillings and four pence. Mum Bett was awarded compensation from the time she was believed to be twenty one years of age. Colonel Ashley filed an appeal, but later withdrew it.

The case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley was the first practical construction in Massachusetts of the declaration which has served for the black race, a constitutional abstraction, declaring a state constitutional provision as inconsistent with the institution of slavery, and upon this decision was eventually based the freedom of the few remaining slaves in Massachusetts. It is unknown what effect, if any, the case had on the friendship between Ashley and Sedgwick.

Following the case, Mum Bett declined an offer by Colonel Ashley to return to the Ashley home and work for wages. She chose instead to move into the Sedgwick home, where she worked several years as a nurse and housekeeper. She took upon the surname “Freeman” and Mum Bett, the former slave, became officially, Elizabeth Freeman. She was still employed with the Sedgwick’s in 1785 when they relocated to the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

SHAYS REBELLION

Immediately following the Revolutionary War, many envisioned a life free from government obligations. There was a vast bit of resistance to the notion that the young nation had incurred a great deal of debt in the pursuit of its freedom. When the state government of Massachusetts levied taxes upon its citizens, disorder prevailed, particularly throughout the western counties of the state. A man named Daniel Shays led an uprising that would later be dignified as ‘Shays Rebellion.’ A few skirmishes ensued and even a few encounters which would be called battles, but overall, it was mostly a bloodless conflict.

At the onset of the Shays Rebellion, Theodore Sedgwick was a member of the state legislature and was away from his Stockbridge home, tending his duties in Boston. By now, Mum Bett had more or less become the matriarch of the Sedgwick home.

A band of marauding insurgents invaded the Sedgwick home in the winter of 1787. Knowing of this possibility beforehand, Mum Bett had secretly hidden the family’s jewels, silver and other valuables in her own trunk. When after trampling through the house in search of valuables, the men happened upon her locked chest and demanded the key. She lifted her hands and laughed in scorn.

“Ah! Sam Cooper,” she said, “you and your fellows are no better than I thought you. You call me a wench nigger and you not above rummaging my chest. You will have to break it open to do it!” The remarks shamed the men into leaving the Sedgwick home without further investigation, thus saving the Sedgwick family heirlooms.

CONCLUSION

Mum Bett eventually left the Sedgwick home and bout her own little house where she lived out her life with her daughter. She continued working, however, as a nurse and midwife and was apparently in high demand. Two years before her death, at the Stockbridge Lyceum, her old friend Theodore Sedgwick urged the complete abolition of slavery in America and Mum Bett as a ‘practical refutation of the imagined superiority of our race to hers.’

With her mark, Elizabeth Mum Bett Freeman signed her last will and testament on October 18, 1829. It alone indicates that she did have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A great grandchild unborn at the time would be, W.E.B. Dubois, one of the founders of the NAACP.

Catherine Sedgwick recalls as she visited Mum Bett in the final days of her life, as she lay stricken with illness, “I felt as awed as if I had entered the presence of Washington. Even protracted suffering and mortal sickness… could not break down her spirit.” Elizabeth Freeman died on December 28, 1829. Her tombstone stands in the Stockbridge Cemetery in the innermost circle of what is known as the “Sedgwick Pie,” next to her friend, Catherine Sedgwick. Her tombstone reads:

ELIZABETH FREEMAN
Known by the name of Mum-Bett
Died Dec. 28th, 1829
Her supposed age was 85 years.

This epitaph, written by Charles Sedgwick, reads; “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior nor equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of a domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper, and the tenderest friend. Good Mother, farewell.”

(1) A writ of replevin is a form of action taken for the recovery of property.

Bibliography

Sedgwick Society, Slavery in New England – Catherine Marie Sedgwick, http://www.salemstate.edu/imc/sedgwick/slavery.html
Mumbet & Shay’s Rebellion, http://mumbet.com/html/shay.html
In Sneakers and Jeans – Elf Lefferts, http://www.americanprofile.com/issues/20020217/20020217ne_1863.asp
The Story of Mumbet of Ashley Falls and Stockbridge, Massachusetts; from Sheffield, Frontier Town by Lillian E. Preiss
Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman: Unsung Heroine of the Bill of Rights by Adib Rashad
The American Experience, Forbes Publishing, The Slave Who Sued for Freedom – Jon Swan, Originally published in American Heritage 1990.
Mumbet: Folklore and Fact by Arthur Zilversmit – article in Berkshire History, Spring 1971, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Books on Mum Bett

Mumbet : The Life and Times of Elizabeth…
Mumbet : The Life and Times of Elizabeth Freeman : The True Story of a Slave Who Won Her Freedom
(Avisson Young Adult Series) by Mary Wilds
Booklist review – www.ala.org/booklist
“In 1781, a black slave, MumBet (aka Elizabeth Freeman), heard the Declaration of Independence read at a town meeting in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The next day she went to a local attorney and asked him to file a lawsuit demanding her freedom. Two years later, MumBet won her lawsuit and became a free woman. Her trial helped set the legal precedents that ended slavery in New England. This brief biography gives the basics of MumBet’s life and describes the troubled times in which she lived. There are tantalizing glimpses of a remarkable woman of action–a woman who dared to defy her cruel mistress and was scarred for life with a red-hot shovel as a result; a woman who foiled looters during Shay’s Rebellion; a woman who made a new life for herself. Young adults will remember MumBet and her passionate outburst: “Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been offered to me and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it, just to stand one minute on God’s earth a free woman, I would.” Bibliography with primary and secondary sources; end notes. Jean Franklin Copyright© 1999, American Library Association. All rights reserved”
This book was published in June 1999 and can be purchased by clicking above on title above for amazon.com or below for barnes and noble.com:
MUMBET : THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ELIZABETH FREEMAN : THE TRUE STORY OF A SLAVE WHO WON HER FREEDOM

Second Daughter : The Story of a Slave… by Mildred Pitts Walter
Booklist review – www.ala.org/booklist
“The history is dramatic: in 1781 a slave woman, Mum Bett, took her owner to court and won her freedom under the Massachusetts Constitution. Her story is told in the voice of her fictional younger sister, Aissa, who describes the events leading up to that historic trial–what it was like to be a slave, to be sold away from home, to work for someone who saw you only as property, to hide your true self. The plot meanders, and the characterization is thin: through Aissa’s eyes, people are pretty much saints or villains, though the author does show that Bett holds on to a strong sense of her inner worth. What readers will respond to are the facts of Bett’s life and the bitter truth of the young slave’s commentary. For the powerful leaders who are fighting the Revolutionary War and hammering out the Constitution, the sisters are invisible. As the action builds to the climax of the trial, Aissa raises the elemental question: if the great new Constitution says that all men are created equal, does “men” include black men and all women?” Hazel Rochman Copyright© 1996, American Library Association. All rights reserved
This book was published in 1996 and can be purchased by clicking above on the title for above amazon.com or below for barnes and noble.com:
SECOND DAUGHTER; THE STORY OF A SLAVE GIRL

Mumbet : The Story of Elizabeth Freeman by Harold W. Felton
this book is currently out of print but may be ordered online and purchased as a USED BOOK through amazon.com network of used book sellers by clicking on the title

Out of Print books you may order through amazon.com network of used book sellers by clicking here:
The Black presence in the era of the American Revolution, 1770-1800 by Sidney Kaplan (pages 216 -217)
America’s Story by David King and Margaret Branson, Story 7, “Mumbet” Book 3. ã (1984) Sundance Publishing.

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Black History Month… (maylana.wordpress.com)
Happy Black History Month (timetoexplore.wordpress.com)

Are You an Increasing Asset or A Depreciating Asset?

montyrainey — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:20:40 +0000

“To achieve something you’ve never achieved before, you must become someone that you’ve never been before.” ~ Les Brown

Advances in technology and countless other areas have changed the way we live. You can pick any one category and just follow the timeline and the advances made are amazing. For example, think of the advances in television. When I was growing up, we had an antenna on a pole that, on clear days, provided us with three, count ‘em three, TV stations to choose from. In actuality, one of them was always too fuzzy to watch so really there were only two to choose from. Our TV weighed about a ton and a half and when you turned it on, you could go outside and mow the yard while it was warming up. Then, beginning in the 70’s, things started to change. With cable, the American home could now choose from more than twenty programs. Right after that came the advent of beta video tapes and if you could afford it, you could watch your favorite movies over and over. Soon every home had to have a new VCR and we began building our video libraries.

In the 1980’s, while stationed in South Carolina, I lived in the country with no cable availability, so I bought my first satellite dish. It was almost big enough to double as a car port. The thing was huge and I could now pick up satellite signals from outer space and watch unlimited amounts of programming. This whole time the cable companies were becoming more and more competitive. This was also about the time big-screen projection TV’s were introduced, but you needed three men and a strong boy to move them.

In the 90’s we began replacing those old unreliable video tapes with DVD’s. Yes, time to start over rebuilding our movie collection. Satellite dishes became very small – in fact – small enough to bolt onto your roof. Projection big-screens were replaced with more streamlined (but still very heavy) TV’s.

After the turn of the century, the technology just exploded. Blu-ray discs are now replacing DVD’s. Once again I’m faced with buying “To Kill a Mockingbird” on a new format. Those enormous big screens have been replaced with crystal clear flat screens that you can carry with one hand. Or, you may even opt to watch your favorite programming on the 2” screen on your iphone. No more bothersome trips to the video stores, just stream a movie instantly through your gaming console. The choices are limitless.

So what’s my point to all this? The point is this, your current level of knowledge and skill is becoming obsolete faster today than ever before. Even an industry as seemingly stoic and static as self storage is affected by rapidly changing technology and market conditions. It was with great difficulty that I was able to convince someone to hire a single manager back in the 90’s. At that time, virtually everyone that ran self storage was a retired military couple – let’s call them Fred and Ethyl. Fred and Ethyl weren’t really managers, they were caretakers. They sat in their apartment watching Judge Wapner until someone came in to rent a space. Fred spent an hour or so each day making sure the place was clean – sort of.

As the industry progressed and companies actually began competing for market share, it was soon obvious that Fred and Ethyl just weren’t going to cut it. Salaries began to slowly increase to attract people with specific skill-sets. Sales and customer service became necessary for survival. PC’s replaced ledger cards. Hi-tech surveillance systems were installed. Properties were expanded or altered to include climate controlled storage. Today, spaces can be reserved and paid for online. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But one thing’s for certain – things will change, and when things change, we have to change.

I’ve said many times, “There are no traffic jams when you go the extra mile”, and that applies directly to staying on top of your field. When you start to aggressively upgrade your knowledge, it is almost as if you are running a race and everyone else is walking. You very soon move ahead of the pack and into the lead position. Meanwhile, most of your competitors are simply strolling along, doing just what they need to keep their jobs or stay in business. The idea of committing to excellence has never occurred to them.

We can’t know what the future holds, therefore we can’t fully prepare for it. We can however, get far ahead of the game by asking the question, “What additional knowledge, skills and information will I need to lead my field in the months and years ahead?”

Project yourself forward three to five years and imagine you are one of the very best in the industry. What would need to have happened between now and then? What would you have needed to have learned, done or accomplished to reach that point? One of my favorite quotes from the late Charlie “Tremendous” Jones is, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

With rapidly advancing technology, and advances in virtually every industry in the world, you are either keeping up or falling behind. The choice is yours, whether you will be an appreciating or a depreciating asset to yourself, your family and your company? The clock is ticking. Whom do you need to network with; what books do you need to read, what skills do you need to develop so that in five yours you aren’t part of the pack?

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Book Review: THE LITTLE RED BOOK OF WISDOM

montyrainey — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:46:19 +0000

This is a revised edition of an earlier 2007 printing of THE LITTLE RED BOOK OF WISDOM, by Mark DeMoss. I would have to classify this book as “Christ-centered guidance for your business and professional life.” There’s not really a structure or “gameplan for life” with step by step instructions to follow. This is more of a book of life lessons being passed on by the author, he does so quite eloquently.

With 20 years of founding and leading The DeMoss Group, an Atlanta-based PR firm, coupled with a strong parental foundation and a history of mentorship, the author lays out principles he had followed that have greatly contributed to his success.

Each chapter is its own mini-lesson for success. The lessons cover a wide variety of topics such as getting out of your comfort zone, creating a winning corporate culture, and reading a chapter of the Book of Proverbs each day.

DeMoss uses his own business life and Christian upbringing for examples throughout the book. I know this brief description can’t possibly do this book justice. This is a very enjoyable and easy read that everyone would benefit highly from.

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The Value of Wisdom (trainingoeportfolio.wordpress.com)
Seeking Wisdom: Heeding Reproof (atruediscipleofchrist.wordpress.com)
“Proverbs” a Book to Live By” (pjsprayerline.blogspot.com)
Seeking Wisdom: Being Realistic in Adversity (atruediscipleofchrist.wordpress.com)

montyrainey

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