Miley Cyrus has been named the “worst influence on teens” this year.

Really?

Miley Cyrus?

So, she smoked some salvia, I’m not condoning it, but I’m sure there are worse things.  Salvia is an halucinogenic plant from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico and his been used by “diviners” and “witch doctors” for years.

Those Zapotecs were craaaaaaaaaazeeeeeeeee!

Ok, Miley, that’s not a good idea, and it’s not a good influence.  Her friends in a video keep telling her to take a bigger hit; they’re not a good influence either.

Miley doesn’t claim to be a role model, but she is, and she does have some responsibilities.

She says…“My job isn’t to tell your kids how to act or how not to act because I’m still figuring that out for myself,” in the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

So, maybe Miley’s not the best influence, but surely there are worse.

How about Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”?

“…let’s go all the way tonight, no regrets, only love…”

Now that’s great advice pumped into your teenage daughter’s ears via IPOD!

Or Lady GagGag’s “Bad Romance”…”…I want your ugly, I want your disease, I want your everything as long as it’s free…”

No thanks.

Then of course, there’s Cee Lo Green’s “F You”!

What?  Was it recorded at an Ohio State v. Michigan game?

And there’s Ke$ha’s lyric…”…Got that glitter on my eyes stockings ripped all up the side looking sick and sexy-fied.  So let’s go-oh-oh, let’s go! “  We all know where.

But, at least she’s “got Jesus on her neck a lace”!

And we can’t leave out Rihanna’s “Say My Name”…”…good weed, good wine…not everybody knows how to work my body, knows how to make me want it…let’s explore your talent…I wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me…”  It get’s worse. 

Petula Clark should really be pissed by now!

And so should we.

Miley doesn’t look so bad anymore, now does she?

NBC has merged with Universal…

They are dumping this…

For this…

All that ‘artistic talent’ and that’s all they can come UP with?

I’ve always heard the adage “too much of a good thing”…well, Pink is good, but I  never thought there could be too much pink…

…I was wrong.

…really has a crappy job.  And sometimes I feel like him!

I don’t read many self help books.

I know what you’re thinking.

“Why would he?  “Someone as together as he is, why would he need it?

Ok, maybe that’s not what you’re thinking.

But, I don’t, and I rarely like them because they usually hit the nail on the head and piss me off are just too general.

But recently, I was handed a book by one of my favorite people and one of the top three bosses I’ve ever had.

She simply said, “You have to read this!”

Well, she is the boss.

So, like a good boy, I did.

And I actually think it has some merit.

It’s called Juggling Elephants and it’s by Jones Loflin and Todd Musig.

It’s the new “go to” book for corporate America, and J and T are getting very, very rich.

Yes, I’m jealous, and yes, I wish I’d thought of it.

But, the book in it’s 131 pages tells the story of a man, Mark, whose life was just too complicated.  One day at the Circus with his wife and daughter, he met a ring master who noticed he was distracted, ignoring his family, and not enjoying the show.

The Ring Master tells Mark that life is like a circus.

You have three rings.

There is the work ring, the relationship ring, and the self ring.

It’s a great analogy of life in general.  It’s geared to folks who are managers, but the concept can apply to anyone.

Life can be a circus, and it can be smelly!

Mark’s story tells how he realized that just like the Ring Master, he couldn’t be in all three rings at once.  He had to know where the action was at the moment, who was coming into and going out of his rings, and which ring was most important…right then.

I very rarely buy into things like this, and as a “worker bee” and not a manager, I know that what I let into some of my rings isn’t always my choice. And as my own Ring Master, I can control my reactions.

The concept, well…it applies to everyone. 

SAHMs have three rings.  The kids, the home, the friends (relationships).

Teens have three rings.  School, Home, Friends.

Retired people have three rings!

It’s univeral.

The book is a quick read, and full of insight, it has at least one ‘nugget’ for everyone.

Unlike that gawdawful Who Moved My Cheese book, it makes sense.

Frankly, I like my cheese just where it is.

I mean it, leave my damn cheese alone!

The book actually made me think about the ‘acts’ in my life that might need work. 

I guess that’s what self help books are supposed to do.

I have ’some’ contol over the work ring, and can use the concept to priortize when I let acts into the ring in a better way.

My relationships are…what’s the word…complicated, and may need work.

And the self ring, well, even though I’m disciplined about many things, there are some acts that might need an overhaul.

Check it out, I mean after all, no one wants to be the guy with the giant shovel all the time, but it may be an act you need to do once in a while.