O brother! Or to be seasonal, o bah humbug!
Poor Santa has recently come under attack for being too fat, as well as "promoting obesity, reckless air travel and a general unhealthy lifestyle" according to an Australian doctor who was only partly joking. Apparently, the busy man should park his sleigh at the end of each street, walk to the homes, and eschew cookies for carrots at each stop. So what if he works non-stop most of the year managing elf workers and then distributes gifts worldwide in a 24 hour period? Santa, who influences the behavior of children everywhere when it comes to whether they get toys, socks, or coal for Christmas should now be a model of healthy living too.
Even before Christmas, he should reconsider whether it is healthy for him or his helpers in the mall throughout the world to encourage close contact with small children who hug him, sneeze on him, and leave his beard full of snot...
So Santa is supposed to be an anorexic man in a bubble? And a role model for the world? Next, he'll be attacked for encouraging people to waste resources by wrapping gifts! If we see a wardrobe change to a green suit, we'll know he has yet another charge to fulfill!
Given some disclosures in 2009, mostly recently the private life of Tiger Woods - it is not surprising that even Santa comes under scrutiny. Sponsors have dropped Tiger and caused him to regroup in private, but bottom line, is a sports figure a moral compass for people? If people drink Gatorade or wear a Tag Heuer watch, are they more likely to cheat on their spouses? If they cling to an overweight, cookie-loving Santa, will they abandon yogurt and salads for eggnog and a roll of nut bread at every meal?
In our society, public figures are given a whole lot more influence in people's private life than they probably have. Having said that - and bringing it down to real estate agents - people expect those they deal with in their private lives to act with integrity. Rightly or wrongly, they may make judgments about your business ethics and personal integrity based on what they may have heard about your private life. (Oh, we could talk once about social media postings again!) If you are overweight, they may be biased though they wouldn't admit it.
Whether you're talking Tiger or Santa or any other public figure whose flaws make the 11:00 news, what a cardboard figure does should have limited impact on how you live your life, but how you actually do live it may impact your business! With 2010 just around the corner, it's time to assess your life and goals.
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