Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain,
and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
The greatest lesson in life is to know that
even fools are right sometimes.
Sir Winston Churchill
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt
The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.
Thucydides
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Good character
There is nothing permanent except change.”
“Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.”
About 2500 years ago there lived a man named Heraclitus in the city of Ephesus in Greece.
He lived a lonely life, created his own cryptic philosophy and wasn’t that fond of humanity. Still, he became a big influence on famous stoics like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.
And he had a few really good words of wisdom that I would like to share today.
1. Envy is a really good way to hurt yourself.
“Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.”
Happiness often seems to be fleeting. But people can hold onto envy and make it even stronger over the course of many years.
But how can you become less envious? Three of my favorite tips are:
Stop comparing yourself to others.
Comparing what you have to what others have is a good way to make yourself miserable. It feeds your ego when you buy a nicer car or get a better job than someone else. You feel great for a while. But this mindset and the focus on comparing always winds up in you noticing someone that has more than you. That someone has an even better job or car than you. And so you don’t feel so good anymore.
A more useful way to compare is to just compare yourself to yourself. Look at how you have grown and what you have achieved. Appreciate what you have done and what you have, how far you have come and what you are planning to do.
Think about what’s in it for you.
I have found this to be helpful in many cases when I have negative thoughts or when I’m behaving in a less than useful way. Basically, I ask myself: “What’s in it for me?” And each time I fall back into that negative headspace and behaviour I remind myself of this question and the answer.
This reinforces to me the pointlessness of what I’m thinking. And often I just think to myself: “Oh, I’m being stupid again. Time to focus on something useful/fun/positive instead.”
Asking yourself what is in it for you is a good way to find distance from your thoughts and behaviour and to motivate yourself to just drop the less useful thoughts whenever you can.
Think about what your envy is telling you.
What you think and feel about the world can often tell you quite a bit about yourself.
So thinking about what your envy tells you about yourself can help you to learn more about yourself, what you fear and how you may be fooling yourself. Think about what is reflected when you feel envious of someone else.
Is it a fear of rejection? Of not being good enough?
Or a fear that you will lose something/someone/some part of yourself you feel very attached to? If so, why are you feeling so attached?
Try to find a solution or help – from books, people, the internet etc. – for whatever fear or belief within you that you think is making you feel the envy. Ask yourself: “What can the envy reveal about me?”
2. Understanding can not be found in books.
“Much learning does not teach understanding.”
When you read a lot you may think that you understand things. But you never really understand anything until your experience it. Yes, knowledge can help you to avoid pitfalls and improve quicker. But it can’t relate how it feels to experience something. And it can’t relate how you experience something since we are all a bit different from each other.
So you have to take action and do things. And when you start doing things you might also discover that things are often a bit more messy in real life than in books where it may seem like you only have to follow a clean ten step method to get the results you want. But that’s part of the fun of living life rather than just thinking and reading about it.
3. Be like the child again.
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”
When you were a kid and were playing you were totally focused on what you were doing. You were curious rather than filled with fear. There were no worries about tomorrow or yesterday. You weren’t lost in endless looping thoughts. You were just in the moment.
You tried to learn to ride your first bike. You fell, scraped your knee, got up again. And again. And again. Until you could do it. Failure was just a temporary annoyance, not a reason to give up.
It is a bit funny and at the same time a bit sad how much of what one may strive for through personal development that is about being like a child again.
Because it’s about living in the moment. About not being bogged down by constant, often kinda pointless thoughts that just produce negative emotions within and outside of you. It’s about being open and curious and not getting trapped in your comfort zone or fear.
So I guess that personal growth may not be so much about adding new layers to yourself but to shed some those that you have gained over the last few decades.
All that positive stuff was there in the beginning. You may still reconnect with it from time to time. And you can learn to spend even more time in that wonderful headspace where you are present, positive, open, kind and curious. While still being a responsible adult.
And if you are looking for a good place to start with this, I would recommend to learn to spend more time in the present moment again
Monday, February 23, 2009
Dear M.R. President Obama. I just wanted to congratulate you !
Let me start by saying that I think that you will do great things for this country and the people of are great nation.
I come from a very well educated family.In westchester NY
I unfortunately dropped out of school. so i am not the best at spelling or grammar. but i will do my best.
I think giving bail out’s for failing banks that have mismanaged their money by making bad investments
Is a very bad idea.
If their loss of revenue is because of loans on homes and businesses that have been foreclosed on then the money should be set in a program that would help people to pay there mortgages and loan payments
This could be done by using bail out money to pay there mortgages and loans. the home owner would then pay the bail out fund back at a% interest this would assure that at least some of the bail out money would go to the people that actually need it .
Here is another way to make sure that bail out money is going to the right places.
When applying for a loan be it business or private the loan could be applied for at the bank.
This would then be turned in to the fund department that would then over see the content of the loan. the bail out fund would then back the loan. The borrower could then repay the loan to the fund.
Example
If the borrower was to borrow lets say $200.000 then the loan would be for lets say $210.000 from the bank.
They would then send the loan over to the bail out fund for approval if approved the fund would then pay the bank $210.000 the bank would then loan $200.000 to the borrower this gives the bank a $10.000 guarantee.
The lend-e would then repay the loan to the fund at $220.000.
This would stimulate lending with out waste. It would all so give the fund a surplus over time. The banks could regain stability for investing and lending.
This would also stimulate the economy by creating small business that would in return lower unemployment. And further stimulate the economy.
A percentage of the tax money that is generated from the investments that the banks would make would go toward the fund and government stability
This would also put a set amount of interest on what a borrower barrows.
With a set amount of debt the borrower can then manage there debt more efficiently
This would not regulate the interest rates that a bank would make on other lending investments but would help to assist them in secured lending through the bail out fund that would be replenished by this program and in return creating a perpetual fund that would grow over time and would relieve the strain of an ever growing government debt.
In time the fund would no longer be on the backs of the tax payer but would be a self sustaining entity.
Should the fund be forced to foreclose on a loan such property could then be resold at government auction to reclaim the remainder of the loan. But with out attaching all the fees, charges and expenses that banks acquire. Thus reducing the risk of loss on the initial investment by the fund.
People with existing faulty loans could also apply much in the same way. Giving the banks relief and yet saving people from loosing there homes and businesses.
It is sad to say but it seams that just giving billions to banks and hoping that they will do the right thing is very risky!
Now for this plan or for any other plan to work there must be very close monitoring over everything from the fund itself to what it is being used for and who is prospering from it.
Now How to enact such a plan would be to set a comity lets call it the {bail out fund comity } the comity would be responsible for the fund and held accountable for every penny, for who will receive funds and who is denied and why.
Banks that want to participate in the fund program would half to apply and be approved.
Banks would have to show good faith in cooperation with the bail out fund program.
This is just an idea. and i have a lot more ideas that i think could solve a lot of problems
Soon to come how to solve the medical problems and keep almost every one happy.
How to stimulate an economy
Solve the Nataniel debt
Foreign affairs
I think president Obama is on the right track but he has a hard road ahead!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Credit Card Market
Shopping around for a credit card can save you money on interest and fees. You’ll want to find one with features that match your needs. This
information can help you
How will you use your credit card?
What are the APRs?
How long is the grace period?
How is the finance charge calculated?
What are the fees?
What are the cash advance features?
How much is the credit limit?
What kind of card is it?
Does the card offer incentives and other features?
How do I find information about credit cards?
What are your liability limits?
What can you do about billing errors?
What if the item you purchase is damaged?
TheCreditCardMarket
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thought
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Happiness
Every living being has the same basic wish – to be happy and to avoid suffering. Even newborn babies, animals, and insects have this wish. It has been our main wish since beginningless time and it is with us all the time, even during our sleep. We spend our whole life working hard to fulfil this wish.
Since this world evolved, human beings have spent much time and energy improving external conditions in their search for happiness and a solution to their many problems. What has been the result?
Instead of their wishes being fulfilled, human suffering has continued to increase while the experience of happiness and peace is decreasing. This clearly shows that we need to find a true method for gaining pure happiness and freedom from misery.
When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations we tend to regard the situation itself as the problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the inside of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; indeed we may even come to regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems we must learn to control our mind.
Self
"Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ralph Nader
How you can help
Help us confront corporate power in 2008.
Tell your friends and family about Ralph Nader's 2008 Presidential campaign
Ralph Nader
Dear Friend:
The two major political parties have nominated corporate Presidential candidates.
Where does that leave us in this momentous election year?
Corporate control as usual.
We have two choices – throw in the towel.
Or fight back.
If we choose to fight back, here’s a good option:
Join with a person whose life is one of dedicated service to the public interest.
To help him organize a political campaign in every state against corporate control over our lives.
Luckily, that person – Ralph Nader – is running such a campaign.
But he will need active and informed citizens in every Congressional district in the country
He needs volunteers.
He needs funds.
He needs dedication.
That’s why I’ve signed on at Nader’s campaign web site at www.votenader.org.
Check it out.
And spread the word.
In 2008, it’s either sit back and watch the drift.
Or get off the couch and fight back.
Hope you will join me.
Thank you.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
G Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
The G, surprisingly, doesn't stand for "goon," "ghoul" or "gestapo." It stands for "George." However, G. Gordon Liddy's second middle name is "Battle," which has to count for something.
There are two ways you can look at Liddy: He might be a curious study in grand megalomania coupled with apparently only mediocre ability. Or he could be a nefarious power-mongering secret agent whose life is filled with intrigue, secrets which could shake the nation and tales of high adventure. We'll let you guess which version of the story Liddy himself prefers.
After two years in Korea, Liddy got his law degree and went to work for J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI. Liddy arrived during the glory days of Hoover's reign, while the agency was tracking down gangsters left and right, but before it started assassinating civil rights leaders.
According to Liddy's own accounts (which vary considerably from day to day), his jobs at the FBI included monitoring possible candidates for internment at secret concentration camps, tracking down America's Most Wanted and raiding the home of recreational drug guru Timothy Leary in a fruitless search for something that would stand up in court (in light of the drug laws at the time).
In 1962, Liddy left the FBI for a short-lived career as a lawyer, first in private practice and later as a prosecutor in New York State. He continued his weird lifelong fixation with Leary, raiding his home in the area in an attempt to nail him on drug charges. Liddy's prosecution eventually led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the existing drug laws of the day as unconstitutional (prompting Congress to write a whole new set of even more Draconian laws).
As a minor politico in New York, Liddy naturally caught the attention of Richard M. Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign, which was looking for unpaid help, as all campaigns do. As a reward for a job well done, Liddy was brought into the Nixon administration, as a lawyer in the Treasury Department.
In 1971, Liddy was promoted to the White House Staff, and that's when the trouble began. After (in his own mind) creating the Drug Enforcement Agency, he moved on to bigger and better things — a job with the White House "Special Investigations Group."
Organized by Egil "Bud" Krogh, the man who brought Liddy on board, the group was informally known as "the Plumbers," because their job was to stop leaks from the executive branch. The prima facie justification for this was "national security," but the Plumbers quickly expanded their role into political security as well.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Ted Nugent
The NRA stands with all freedom-loving Americans. Indeed, our focus is on the 2nd Amendment, but the NRA members realize that the other freedoms contained in our sacred US Constitution and Bill of Rights are also worthy of our watchful eye and protection. Just like the NRA will not support gun-control, we also won't support freedom-control. - Ted Nugent
Monday, July 7, 2008
If you want the best airfare.
don't be in a hurry.
fined your self a good travel agent. join a travel club. look for coupons or discounts. At one time you could buy out people who would cancel at the last minute.
They cant get a refund so they will sell there ticket cheep.
I don't no if you can still do that with all the new security since 9/11
check e-bay.
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