The Power of Words – Part 2

If you’ve spent any time around a computer, you understand the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” which basically means that if you input lousy data or content you can expect to get a lousy output. This concept of “garbage in, garbage out” surrounds us in life.

I used to work in a radio newsroom where one of the favorite sayings of the news director was, “You can’t turn chicken poop into chicken salad.” This is certainly a more colorful way of restating the “garbage” axiom, albeit much less appetizing.

However, we do try to convey the “input/output” rule to our kids about food with the message, “You are what you eat.” In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent millions of dollars developing and promoting its food pyramid supporting healthy nutrition. The main idea behind it being that healthier food intake produces healthier physical outputs or results.

Even during the early auditions for each season of “American Idol,” you can tell immediately the “performers” who shouldn’t be there.