February 13, 2026
I had one constant piece of advice for my kids when they were growing up. I said it so often I’m sure they tuned them out after a while, but I knew their brains were absorbing them subconsciously so Dad was not deterred. I will share it here.
“Make good choices.”
This idea encompasses a process in which you take a moment (or a lot of time) analyzing a decision and then arriving at a good choice. You don’t just shoot from the hip, you’re not casual about it. Of course, I’m not talking about which salad to order at lunch although you want a good choice there as well! More in the way of decisions that have an impact on your life.
For example, I think whom you marry and the career you choose carries in those two decisions 95% of kind of life you’ll have. The other 5% being luck, serendipity (the best laid plans of mice and men, oft go awry).
Another example: Deciding to go hit the streets in protest where you engage in the harassment of law enforcement officers. That is not a good choice. You’re not in a good place. Maybe you should be at work, earning some money to buttress your old age. You can protest at the ballot box.
Moving to a bad place, going into college debt to major in Family Issues, going into business with a flake, buying a car you can’t handle. Bad decisions are just everywhere.
Think through and make good choices.
So, where do good choices come from? First, long experience, obviously. You learn, often in a hard and painful way, what are good and bad choices. As an example, I’ve learned that you can’t win with a person who chronically makes bad decisions. Some people seem incapable of making a good choice, ever. Give them a choice…gong! Give them another one…Honking horn. Try again…Buzzer.
Thus, if you engage in a meaningful way with them, you’re not going to come away happy. Your choice, to get involved, compounds their poor choices. You’re probably ahead of me here…if you have no choice, if you’re kind of stuck with the person, then you need to minimize your exposures or fallout.
Thus, experience helps insulate you by improving your choice skill set. You just make better decisions more often.
Now it is obvious that experience takes time. That is the essence of experience. I don’t think it’s a lot of solace to know that your abilities here will be better in 40 years. This is especially true among younger generations.
With this background, let us examine some recent examples of bad choices as an educational effort…
The Olympians who chose to denigrate their country with anti-Trump/Ice comments.
This is just absurd. You could finish this for me. You put on the uniform, you go as an American athlete and you’re an ambassador for the country. And the first duty is to focus on your sport and not be waylaid by things having nothing to do with swishing down a mountain. You should be sent home.
There are, I’m sure, a dozen people who would gladly take your place without the rhetoric. These athletes did, after all, swear this oath:
“In the name of all the competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion, and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams.”
Put another way…there is no “I” in “Team.”
Anyone associated with the despicable Obama/Ape video.
When I saw that, I confess I was sick to my stomach. I was utterly shocked at the content, and then, doubly shocked as to the origin. This is as good an example as I can think of why when Trump’s term is over, we’ll thank him for all the dirty work he had to do to clean up excess, and then we’ll be thoroughly done with him.
It was disgusting.
Anyone at the Washington Post who expressed the belief that because Bezos is rich, the paper should continue to lose money to keep journalists in their seats.
This is the Connie Chung theory of media…profits should not be a factor.
The fact is that if you put out a product, and people aren’t buying it, and it’s losing money, the owner isn’t obligated to fund your job. The Post had the earned reputation of a Left-lean, and that’s not selling now, and the owner is entitled to make a profit, and maybe constant bias isn’t really journalism?
Remember…these are the same people writing about the economy and instructing us as to what the government should be doing about that.
The National Football League
Because it is my suspicion that they’re going to damage the brand. Because they are over-reaching in search of new fans. When your half-time show gets ten times more coverage than the game itself, you’re perhaps not where you should be.
Here’s another. A free safety roars into a wide receiver leaping to make the catch, and he puts him into a 720 spin and the receiver crashes to earth, unconscious. The free safety steps over the body and engages in one of those dances with his colleagues, celebrating the hit. On the back of his helmet, it says, “Choose Love.” Which is one of seven approved messages the NFL allows them to use, so they can express themselves. I guess after the hit.
Mark Ruffalo
For believing that because he can play fanciful imaginary characters in a movie, people then want to hear his take on politics. How do you make that intellectual leap? Answer: Strong doses of ego. There’s a bunch more people we can add here but I’m not going to mention Billie Eilish.
Finally, Finland’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team
For stepping onto the ice against the US Women’s Team.
Now that was a really bad choice.
It was also a bad choice for the Canadian Women’s Team.
Enjoy US Women’s Hockey…you’ll be watching one of the all-time great teams playing.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
