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FORUM Life 's free prizes Nigel Alston Motivational Moments "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimen sions. " - Oliver Wendell Holmes I have been thinking about free prizes lately - the rewards, accolades, honors, etc., that don't cost you any thing like the toy surprise promised by the "free prize inside" statement on a box of Cracker Jacks. You know it's in the box, yet, you don't know what it is, hence a pleas ant surprise. Imagine if your life was like a box of Cracker Jacks. Instead of a box filled with caramel coated popcorn and peanuts, your life is filled with daily experiences, planned and unplanned, good and not so good. Like that box of Cracker Jacks, though, your life has a "free prize inside" each day you live, an extra benefit. I have been writing down what 1 consider to be some of those extra benefits that don't cost me anything - in other words, my free prizes. The inspiration to do this came as a result of reading "What is the Free Prize?" post ed by Seth Godin on his Blog a t http://sethgodin.lypepad.com/ about the next BIG marketing idea. Godin has an interesting t way of looking at things and is great at selling ideas. He stretches your mind. My free prize is applying his marketing belief to my daily observations, intention ally looking for the unexpect ed benefits (free prizes) derived from daily living and life's journey. Godin is an entrepreneur, a souaht-after lecturer, a month ly-?>lumnist for Fast Compa ny, and an all-around business gadfly, according to a descrip tion promoting his latest book. "Free Prize Unside: The Next BIG Marketing Idea." He's the best-selling author of "Permis sion Marketing," "Unleashing the Ideavirus," "The Big Red Fez," "Survival Is Not Enough," and "Purple Cow." Godin's examples and illustrations of "free prizes" sparked my exercise in think ing about, realizing, appreciat ing and writing down my own list of free prizes. According to Godin, the "free prize" is the experience of service at the Ritz Carlton, when what you paid for was a good night's sleep; the look on the face of the valet when you drive up in a Hummer (I have had that experience recently too, the 'look" IS the free prize!); the way it smells inside a bakery; the line to get onto Space Mountain; and the way you can pack cigarettes against the side of the package before you smoke them. His book "Free Prize Inside," according to its description, is full of "practi cal advice on how to put Pur ple Cow thinking (visit his Web site and find out what this is) to work inside your organi zation (big or small, profit or non) to MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN." What if you could enjoy life more by recognizing and appreciating the free prizes packed inside each day? The free prize is an appre ciation for life and what peo ple remember about you when your time is up on this earth. That thought was prompted by attending a funeral recently and listening to a description of the life the deceased had lived. The free prize is what people discover about them selves as a result of personal development and growth and being as excited as they are about the discovery. It's the aha! The free prize is the hap piness others feel for you and express to you when you are being recognized. The free prize is engaging in an enjoyable and refreshing conversation with a friend for hours, after an impromptu meeting in a bookstore, when you went in for a cup of coffee and a few minutes to unwind after a busy week. It was unex pected yet thought-provoking. The free prize is a child telling you that you are her favorite author when you went to her school to talk to her first-grade class about writing. The free prize is not know ing what song you will hear next when you select shuffle a* your random mode to listen to music on your Ipod. The free prize is the excitement from the discussion and inter action withpne another during Bible study. The free prize is the look of surprise on the face of the person behind you at K&W and the appreciation exhibited when you pay for his or her meal, including the cashier. Godin knows something about marketing. A limited edition of his new book will be published in May 2004 in a collectible cereal box labeled "Free Prize Inside!" 1 can't wait to get my copy. 1 know there are more ideas packed inside that box that apply not only to marketing but life as well. What's the "free prize" inside your life today? Nigel Alston is a radio talk-show host, columnist and motivational speaker. Visit his Web site at www.motivational moments.com. Repeal mandatory minimum sentences Ron Walters Guest Columnist I am often asked what is the black agenda for the 2004 elec tions and what issues should we be asking the candidates to pay attention to. High on the list is the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences. I was watching a hearing of the House of Representatives sub committee on appropriations op the needs of the Supreme Court. It was chaired by Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf and featured Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. I was noting that there seemed to be a division of labor between the two justices. Thomas apparently was sent there to testi fy about the administrative and technological needs of the high court, while Kennedy explained staffing needs and other issues. Well, they were talking about their respective issues when Wolf asked Kennedy about his pursuit of eliminating mandatory mini mums. I was startled at the pas sion with which Kennedy plowed into the subject, stating that the United States now incarcerates people at eight times more than any industrial country in the world and that 55 percent of those in the federal system are there for petty drug offenses. Kennedy plowed on, saying that such sentences were "unfair, unjust and unwise..." and that the guidelines were put into place at a time when politicians were trying to outdo one another being "tough on crime." The goal was to give everybody the same sen tence since it was thought that no one actually sgrvejl the sentences meted oyt-b^the courts, so long sentences would be a deterrent. Kennedy also suggested that the sentencing has been too expensive. In California, they were spending $26,000 on inmates locked up for this purpose and spending just $6,000 on edu cation per child at the level of ele mentary education. Wolf struck back, saying that we are becoming a violent society and that he would be for possibly adjusting the sentences for nonvi olent offenders, but not for violent ones. For example, he talked about taking the money used to incarcerate offenders and putting it into drug rehabilitation pro grams and if people violated their drug rehabilitation program, then they would do time - or some other such formulation. Kennedy shot back with the thought that supervised release has been found to be 40 percent more effective and cheaper than having someone in full-time cus tody and that since the court sys tem has to spend more money to allocate resources for mandatory minimums. we are not doing a good job. Kennedy ended his pas sionate charge to the conservative lawmakers in front of him by praising the courage of justices who served lower level courts that were not following the minimum guidelines. Today, there is a group called Families Against Mandatory Min imum Sentences that has grown up to confront and repeal this per nicious law. The hip-hop mogul Russell Simons has been waging a campaign in New York City to bring heat and light to the opposi tion to this issue. But I have not seen the rest of our leadership out front on this issue that, more than any other, has contributed to lock ing up an entire generation of black youths who are targeted and punished at a greater rate than whites. These young people have become caught up in a nasty peri od of ideological fervor where white males had to prove that they in fact controlled society by fash ioning a set of laws in the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill. It has had a disastrous effect on our communi ty, even at a time when crime has been going down.- So, even though 6,000 of them will be coming out this year, most will not be eligible for public housing, stu dent loans and other public goods that will enable them to get a fresh start in society. President Bush adopted a pro gram created by Jesse Jackson that proposes to put churches in a relationship to those coming of prison to make their transition eas ier. But nothing would make it easier than to eliminate those pun ishment laws that make it tough for them to get a new start and easier for them to consider giving up and going back to the old ways. In fact. Bush ought to make it harder for them to get in. rather than easier to get out, but impossi ble to get on with their lives. The black leadership has said a lot about getting convicted felons to vote, but not much about getting them a life and we are giv ing the politicians a pass on this issue. For example, if you go to John Kerry's Web site, there is a list of issues, but nothing about the repeal of mandatory minimums - or any other criminal justice issue. Democrats have also played the game of being "tough on crime" to stay viable In the race for votes. But it is time to know where Kerry stands (we know where Bush stands) on this issue. Justice Clarence Thomas said not a mumbling word at the hear ing, but Kennedy and his col league Justice Steven Breyer are fighting hard. We should join them. Ron Walters is the Distin guished Leadership Scholar, director of the African American Leadership Institute in the Acade my of Leadership and pmfessor of gowrnment and politics at the University of Maryland-College Park. His latest book is "White Nationalism, Black Interests " ( Wayne State University Press). News Deadline is Monday at 5 pan. O Excellence O Access O Value SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS EVENING MBA PROGRAM wMicwioemrMionsm Fininciil Services ? 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