I just finished a book which admonished managers to "be themselves." Well who else were they going to be? I can only be myself. It's too late to change, and I'm not sure I could find anyone willing to swap selves. You know that there is only one per person, and IF it were possible to be someone else, they'd have to be willing to give up their selves and trade. If they don't trade, they'd be selfless which has often been thought to be a good thing, but it really isn't. If you're selfless, who are you?

The reason ADD was invented is so that you could stop being anybody for whole chunks of time. As soon as you have to be somebody, you can always say that your ADD just kicked in and, whoever you are, you're not paying attention anymore. You'll be back at 2:30. This gives you time to recuperate from being yourself which is a full-time job and very tiring.

This book also advised that, in whatever you do, you give 110 percent. I couldn't figure out how you do that, unless you're an athlete because athletes are always giving 110 percent of themselves. Either that or they're giving 90 percent and taking an extra 10 percent from someone else. Look for someone who seems to be a little less this week. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. That percent has to be somewhere. Where? Now we've got two problems: giving more points than we have and being ourselves.

And President Bush wants no one left behind. So now we have a trainload of stragglers we have to bring with us. We've got enough trouble carrying 110 percent of us, and now we have to drag the meanderers and vagrants with us. Pretty soon, the world will tilt.

I find it amazing that, in addition to being themselves 24/7, there are those who have started blogs, Web diaries telling everyone else how they think, if at all. Blogs are often like family Christmas letters, and we know that what's in those isn't the whole truth. Therefore, I guess it is possible to be yourself and then some. There's the real you, and there's the Christmas bloggie yew. And it follows, that you can give 110 percent. There's the 100 percent of you and there's the 10 percent of the blog-you.

Problem solved. You can be you; you can be a wishful you; and there can be more of you than there was. Odd that we're not accomplishing more.