I’ve been content free, so enjoy the laugh and do the usual copy and post on your social media of choice.
The trikini and marriage stuff is funny. Some of the Covid stuff makes too much sense.
Some of it just makes you think.
This is for the mush-heads who are tearing down statues or Colleges trying to teach a different story than what actually happened.
Teach the warts and the successes so that the next generation can decide for themselves.
Instead, they want to blame and disparage, for what? As always, it comes down to power and control. That’s another history lesson.
You can’t make yourself better by tearing others down.
Do I expect them to learn this in Portland, SF, Seattle, Chicago, NY and other like places? Of course not.
Worst of all, look at Washington DC and Afghanistan right now. How well is that going? They got their power and control, probably a lot of money also.
A lot of good that will do them when they die. The real book that should be there is the Bible. A history lesson is there also.
I wish the next generation luck. If they don’t learn the real lesson, there will be a new book about another country that was the greatest, for a while.
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.”
I swear this is true. I’ve found that everyone has a story. Some people call it skeletons, but when you hear about their lives, it weaves together who they really are. Pretty soon, you have to decide if they are worth it.
There are generally patterns to people and they repeat them, almost predictably. The more you find out, the less you want to do with them, except certain activities you can stand to do together.
There are some that overlook a lot of stuff because they wish to be with someone. That’s why people flock to celebtards for example.
I had to deal with a lot of famous people in my life. After spending only a little time with them, I couldn’t wait to get away.
Fortunately, there are a few people who truly who have a list of qualities that are better than their bad ones. I hope you can find a few.
The rest are people who are people. They show themselves to be who they are. You just learn about it over time. You have to decide if you will be putting up with or they need to be eliminated from your life to avoid being poisoned.
Then there is Mauerbauertraurigheit, or pulling away from groups that just need cleansing from your life.
Finally, examine yourself. You probably are that person to others. I guess try not to be, but don’t fake it, be yourself. If you don’t belong, don’t. If one of you is not normal and it’s not the other person, it’s you.
I’m busy researching something else to write about the Covid Jab ingredients and why they created the formula a certain way, so I’m somewhat apathetic about being clever today. Enjoy this one for now.
I will say this is how I feel about small talk though. Introverts will get that.
I have to talk to someone from my past soon. I hope to clear the BS out of the way and have an actual conversation, but it will depend on them. Otherwise, I’m shutting it down and giving them best wishes, also known as I’ll let you go now.
According to Ozan Varol, who worked at NASA on the Mars Rover:
For me, it all boils down to one question: Will this help?
Will it help to worry about who will win?
Will it help to refresh your favorite news site for the umpteenth time this hour?
Will it help to shake your fists at the Gods, wishing the universe dealt your candidate a better hand?
If the answer is no, let it go.
Worrying gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, focus on what’s yours to shape—the actions you can take to address prevailing problems—and ignore the rest.
In the end, you can’t control the hand the universe deals you.
But you can control how you choose to play it.
In summary, I guess worrying is a waste of time. Try not doing it. Life is going to happen whether you go along with it or not. At least play it to your advantage instead of letting it eat you from the inside.
Ah yes, choices. They separate the wheat from the chaff.
My Mom told me that life is about having to climb mountains, a figure of speech for problems. Once you climb the top, there will be the next one.
We know the right choice and many times don’t pick it. Actions have consequences, choose wisely.
They are bigger and currently badder than we want to be. Is is really this dystopian?
By far, my most popular posts are What’s it like to have a high IQ and this one, Euphemisms for Stupid. For a decade, this post was #1 worldwide in Google on how to call someone stupid.
More people have re-used content on this post around the world than some marketing campaigns by Facebook, and that is where a lot of it wound up it seemed (and I still have a happy life after I fired them).
To honor that post, I updated it today (there are almost a hundred creative ways to say someone fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down or that they couldn’t pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel) with this one:
Enjoy, and if you want to find out a way to say someone is stupid that you’ve never heard of, go get you some at the link above.
“You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
We all are smart at something (the converse is true about the other things). For that we grant ourselves superiority status that bleeds to other things that aren’t always our best subjects.
That led to the next saying. “Here, hold my beer”. We all know how that turns out.
It’s ok to say you don’t know about something. It ends some conversations based on competing knowledge, some of which could actually be true.
I look at the experts on what is happening in the world and wonder if some of these people have overstepped their boundaries…….Like this one:
Alina Chan, a biologist at the Silver lab at the Harvard School of Medicine
Chan is one of 18 scientists who finally admitted in the journal of Science last month that the Wuhan coronvirus likely originated in a Wuhan, China virology lab.
Chan says liberal scientists lied to the American public for months about their beliefs on the origination of the virus to not be associated with the President who was trying to save lives.
Kind of 2020-ish, but so far not that much has gone back to the way it was. I guess we have made a big change in how we will live our lives……for now.
The political rhetoric is about equality, but people are too different to be equal, at anything, even identical twins think differently. Equal opportunity to succeed is our best shot.
There is no magic bullet in life on Earth.
BTW, this is another censorship shot. I don’t think they like the real definition instead of theirs.
He lived through the ravages of Communism and wrote about it.
Why would anyone want that again?
“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”
It’s always been difficult to be unpopular. We learn this lesson in school. No one wants to be an outcast.
With the dreaded social media and their censors against only certain people and certain words that they don’t agree with, the visibility of this subject has leapfrogged past logic, reason and congeniality. You say the wrong thing to the wrong person and your head gets bitten off.
First, you have to care if what people say about you bothers you. I don’t give a flying fig anymore because if they like me they do. If they don’t, what they say probably isn’t going to phase me.
The real hero’s and leaders are those who will stand up against the sheep and go the other way, or lead the sheep. Oh, you are going to piss some people off, but they were probably just there to try and get in your way.
The moral is don’t be a sheep. Fight (say to others, don’t hit them unless you are in Portland) for what you believe in and the hill you want to make your stand on.
Most of all, when you have made your decision, don’t let public opinion or popularity contests sway you. When you are right you are. If you are not sure, you probably aren’t.
Most people who get in your way are jealous or get their kicks by bringing others down instead of worrying about what they should be doing.
“You can pretend to be serious; you can’t pretend to be witty.” – Sacha Guitry
I can’t tell you how many arguments I’ve won in the shower, 3 hours after they took place. Sometimes, 3 days after the event took place, I think of the wittiest comeback possible, but the world moved on 2 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes ago.
I can however be the most serious person you will know and mean it. I also don’t have to pretend to be loyal, considerate and other traits that may be inborn or taught by my parents. That comes as naturally as breathing. If I’m not, the other person did something to cause me to treat them like they treat me.
Some however, like a relative I have that has both wit and a sharp tongue at their disposal. It is frustrating for people like me. I know I have something correct and salient and even when history proves it, the moment is over and I’m left frustrated by (lack of) words.
The only time I have a comeback is when I’ve already prepared for the onslaught. If it is spontaneous, then so is my conversation skills bonfire of destruction.
I’ve written out responses just to be able to be ready. It occasionally works, but only if the stars align.
Some wonder why Introverts are quiet. Besides the fact that we are mostly listening, we don’t want to die in a verbal dual where we stand no chance to those who start talking fast and first.
I’m learning to say stop before they get a roll going and I get flattened.
“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” – Walt Kelly
Only a few generations ago, the average lifespan was about 40 years. People died from diseases that make Covid seem like a scratch.
More people have more chances to do good or get ahead in their own way than any other time in history.
I ask myself, why is there so much unrest and hate? It shouldn’t be that way. Your time is short and passes quickly. Not everyone needs to go down as a revolutionary. That is so much wasted effort out of the day.
My saying for today is look for something good instead of bad. No matter what, it will make at least that moment better.
“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.” – Hawking
He has clearly taken the creation story (Genesis 1) and used the right words, “Our Image” in his attempt at playing God and creation.
I’ll give him that both computer viruses and some people are annoying and can ruin your day or data, but that doesn’t make it alive. JUST PULL THE PLUG and see how alive it is.
I disagree that a virus is not destructive. If it isn’t, why was it created? Let me guess, evil, destruction, theft of data, denial of service, disruption of service and not letting me sign on.
I’m going with me on this one. It may be one of the few times I was more on the side of being correct than he is.
He should have stuck to physics on this one.
There are no extraordinary men… just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with.
William Halsey
This man had to lead a range of military men in WWII ranging from high school drop outs to business men doing their patriotic duty. They fought for our freedom with little to no training for the horrors of war.
Leading is different than ordering people around.
“Facts are the enemy of truth.” – Miguel de Cervantes
This is very inconvenient for politicians. Sooner or later, history records what they do and it’s generally the same pattern. Over promise and under deliver. I guess those that seal their college records and presidential records are most vulnerable to facts. If all fails, use the FBI or CIA to obfuscate any issues.
Although a good percentage of politicians are lawyers, the rules change.
It also is an issue for those trying to get through life without working hard and overcoming. Taking the easy way out and basing your success on verbiage instead of action and results gives the same results. People will find you out if you aren’t real.
You are as free as you are honest (except for politicians who seem to have their own set of rules)
If you want to know the road ahead, ask someone who has been there.
Throughout my life, I’ve always asked people for what advice helped them the most, either good or bad. Sometimes, knowing what to avoid is just as, if not more helpful. I stumbled on this by accident when I realized that I didn’t know everything there was to know as an adolescent, even though I thought I did.
Not knowing the outcome is good if you don’t want to spoil a surprise. Knowing the right path in life to take is never a bad thing.
One thing I’ve learned is that most wise people have also learned that a lot of people don’t listen, so their knowledge remains with them because they are tired of offering to help, only to see it rebuffed or not taken. The same mistakes that experience already taught someone is then a lesson never learned or passed on.
It’s up to you. Ask what is the meaning of life, what helped the most, what is your biggest mistake, I have 2 paths in life to take but don’t know which to choose.
Our morally vacuous Congress and other leaders no longer seem to have our best interest in mind. It seems that keeping power is more important than the will of the people. Spending $4400 per person to give them maybe $1400 is not a great deal for those who have to pay for it.
Why are they wasting time on anything not devoted to helping us medically, economically and protectively? They want to consolidate power and ensure re-election. This is not new it seems. Every politician seems to succumb to this unless he has a greater calling, few do.
I’m not taking sides because I believe politicians to mostly be on one side, theirs. Vote themselves a raise. Buy stock in a company 2 weeks before you are about to approve their product.
I shake my head at how we let this group of elitists in. They crept in over the years and I doubt their intentions are good, rather mostly self-interest.
The money flows easily in Washington. Lobbyists, tech companies and their oligarchs (the richest) and who can forget the celebtards who pretty much take the morally wrong position whenever possible.
There, did I offend enough people? I said nothing about race, religion, gender, or belief. I am talking about greed and power.
“Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young person who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is their own.” – Sidney J. Harris
I don’t mind them going through this as a right of passage because I know I knew everything at one point. The only thing that is tough to take is someone who can look something up on a phone and thinks they know everything. That is not learning.
Learning involves a lot of failing and mistakes to hone a craft. We all learn best by learning what not to do before mastering any skill.
I make them put their phones away to prove their point and it takes all the bullets out of their guns.
“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
I guess I don’t have much to add after this last election. I’ll leave it to Will
I like people that are informed and right most of the time. Friedman was both. He was an economist. I take it for what it is. I suppose there are political overtones if you want to read into it, but I am trying to stay out of that pool so don’t.
There is a lot of things that can hold us hostage like addiction, debt, lying….you recognize them.
“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.” – Albert Einstein
Even I have a hard time comprehending everything that is going on. We haven’t been told the truth about everything that is going on (or the full truth) from the election, to the virus to the vaccine for the virus to what China knew…..and so forth.
I like to lean on those who are more learned than me or have more experience. They can usually provide guidance to figure out what is going on or at least how to survive.
Behind the mountains are more mountains – unknown, but supposedly an old Haitian saying
My mom told me you are either facing a problem/hurdle, in the middle of it or have just overcome it. If you overcame it, there is always another mountain.
She also told me that we were made to overcome obstacles. We get the most satisfaction from solving and defeating them.
Don’t shy away. From Thinkr:
Will-strengthening obstacles are often the most painful, but the lessons they teach also go the deepest if we allow them to instruct us. To strengthen the will, we must always expect more difficult times to lie ahead.
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – William Arthur Ward
We are in a season of change, from health issues to government changes around the world to how and where to work. It is up to each of us to adjust accordingly.
Adjust doesn’t mean changing any core values or forgetting lessons from experiences, it is applying them to the situation.
Set your sails and forget 2020 other than the lessons learned. Apply them to your future and move along, life will anyway, either with you or without you.
“We define ourselves far too often by our past failures. That’s not you. You are this person right now. You’re the person who has learned from those failures. Build confidence and momentum with each good decision you make from here on out and choose to be inspired.” – Joe Rogan
Sometimes failures are the steppingstone to success. Lessons have to be learned so that you know which path to take and why.
We have a choice. You can wallow in the past and something you didn’t succeed, or use the gift you have been given from your experiences to be the best you for today.
I post this to show that not all actors (he’s really a stand up comedian and podcaster) are not all celebtards.
“People ask me questions about present situations in life, and I say, “I don’t know, I’m just an actor. I don’t have any opinions. Actors are pretty stupid. My opinion is not worth anything. There’s no controversy for me, so don’t engage me in it, because I’m not going to participate,” said Hopkins.
Keep reading below for more on this subject. He nails it so I don’t have that much to add.
Walking away, it is the best way to preserve your sanity. It is also the best self-defense in a fight. When you know you don’t have to fight, and if you did you would still win, you already have.
“The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.” – Henry S. Haskins
Actually, this is a daily double because Mark Twain quoted the title. I can’t count the times in my life that I wish I hadn’t said what came out.
This will serve you well in negotiations. At the time to close the sale, any sales person will tell you the first person to talk loses. The sale could be a business plan, a product or yourself to a company or a promotion.
This is the most obvious thing possible for introverts. As others drone on in mindless small talk, they have already begun a new adventure in their minds. Yes, they nod and perhaps might give a monosyllabic answer to the conversation but it is likely they left a while ago.
It is a matter of politeness, not what the other person is doing by talking too much and too long. Note: it is not being mean, it is how minds work. It happens unintentionally. It is why one should take this saying to heart. Read the last sentence.
Of course introverts will talk endlessly on a deep subject or something of importance, when we find someone who cares. The difference is that when others are nodding or giving one word answers, the conversation is over because we can read body language better than most.
The biggest benefit of not always talking is you never have to take back something you said.
Others won’t avoid you if you read their signals and stop talking. I’ve seen it too many times at work, at school and in social outings.
This eventually includes everyone, not just the introverts.
The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
I posted a similar saying by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche who summerized it in a different but succinct way.
The net of it is don’t be lazy, don’t underestimate your goals or ability and for Pete’s sake, try harder. You’d be amazed at what you can achieve.
I read from the Navy Seals that no matter how exhausted you are, you still have about 60% more to give.
We all beat ourselves up. You can’t change what has happened. You can choose to learn from it or suffer from it. Those are two distinctly different roads to take in life.
“‘Wrong’ is one of those concepts that depends on witnesses.” – Scott Adams
It makes me wonder what is going on with the election. There clearly are witnesses, but there is enough uncertainty on both sides that it makes one question who did what and is it real?
Maybe the history books will one day discover what happened.
That having been said, it is a matter of moral importance as to what you do. It is said that how you act when no one is looking that defines who you really are.
I agree that looks fade away. You have to peel back the layers and find the jewel inside.
There are many beautiful women who are kind and loving, but many also that just trade on their looks. Too many have paid price of the Siren’s Song.
Time is fair to everyone. Sooner or later we all get old and all that is left is what is inside.
“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things — the people on the edge see them first.”
I love being out on the edge. I love to think deeply and talk to deep thinkers. I’ve seen trends exactly by doing this. It can serve you well to take yourself out of the center of your life and watch what is going on from the bleachers. You can see the whole game that is called life a lot clearer.
Of course Introverts have an advantage here because of observation skills.
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
Desire is a passion. I’ve noticed over time that to start and continue any task, vocation or avocation requires passion to do it. This is different from trying a fad.
Find someone who is competent and passionate about something and you’ll have loyalty and a better chance of success.
I know some introverts. They have a lot to say and are very deep people. The problem is that the others talk over them a lot of the time. I watch the introverts just shut down at that point and a great story or deep conversation stops.
If you know someone like this, give them a chance. You might be surprised to find a loyal and interesting friend.
If you stick to the convenient, you’ll never find the unexpected. – Ozan Varol
He writes well and is an incredibly interesting person and his book How to think like a rocket scientist is a good read.
Here is where he drops the hammer:
It’s only through the inconvenient and the unfashionable that you’ll find diverse inputs that will expand your thinking and spur your imagination.
“The incompetent with nothing to do can still make a mess of it.” – Lawrence J. Peter
I know this is not all that witty but bear with me. The reason it is there other than it is true is that in all of my posts, I have one entitled Euphamisms for Stupid, which has been in the top 5 for Google since 2006 worldwide. It is pages and pages of these. Go get one and use it at a meeting today:
Like a pair of children’s scissors, bright and colorful, but not too sharp
Million dollar body and a 2 dollar engine.
Mind is in neutral, body is in gear
Mind like a rubber bear trap.
Needing a few screws tightened
Not firing with all spark plugs
Not the brightest light in the harbor
Not the brightest light on the Christmas tree
Not the sharpest hook in the tackle box.
Not the sharpest pencil in the box
Off his rocker
On/off switch is broken in the off position
One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl
One neuron short of a synapse
One taco short of a combination plate
One turbine short of an airplane
One-celled organisms out score him in IQ tests
Prime candidate for natural deselection
Proof that evolution CAN go in reverse
Requires directions to lay sod
Room temperature IQ
Running about a quart low
Running on empty
Sets the lowest possible goals, and consistently fails to achieve them.
Sharp as a bowling ball.
She is so dumb, she couldn’t tell which way an elevator was going if she
had two guesses.
I wish I had written something of extreme intelligence that changed the course of history, but it looks like laughing at ways to say someone ain’t that bright is what it is for now.
Note: to the SJW, this post as with most of mine is made in jest. Try to have fun and not ruin the day for others.
Thinking clearly about the future lets you live wisely in the present. – Unknown.
Part of the discussion when I heard this was to not live in the past. Be guided by your past to avoid mistakes or achieve success, but that is different for everyone.
The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. – Mignon McLaughlin
People familiar with addiction will recognize this. Sometimes you just have to make it to the next goal in front of you because the whole view of what is going on in life can be overwhelming at times.
You can make this little accomplishment and then the next. You build on these small steps and you’ve made it through whatever you’re going through, even if it is the election
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
“Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that’s courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward.” – Piers Anthony
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This says it better than I can. Everyone is afraid at some point. Learn to use fear as a fuel to fight against it and you can learn to overcome it.
Facing your fears means just that. If you run away, you will be afraid from then on until you deal with it.
I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Reagan once said the nine most dangerous words in the English language are I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.
Groucho Marx said suppose I was from Congress, and suppose I was an idiot, but that would be redundant.
I think you get the drift and incompetence is what protects us against the government right now.
“In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.”
I suppose that being an economist is like being a weather forecaster. You are more likely to be wrong about your guess, but people still tune in the next day in case you might be right.
“Discretion is not the better part of biography.” – Lytton Strachey
For me, this goes well with, “you are lucky if you are over 50 because you did all of your stupid stuff before the Internet”. Amen to that.
I’ve written about how meetings are a waste of time and how to avoid them. This just confirms that it’s true if you know Sowell.
I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm. – Calvin Coolidge
I heard another version that went never miss a good opportunity to shut up.
I liked how Coolidge spoke after he thought. That way, he didn’t have to say that much and got right to the point. Others knew he wasn’t going to waste their time with BS so when he talked, they listened.
Still, most of you, cut the crap and the small talk. It’s a waste of time and is annoying.
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford
It’s true, you can really only promise to do something once and get fully believed, unless you do what you promised.
The bane of Introverts is small talk and inevitably, during small talk comes promises or boasting of things one will absolutely do. I’m more surprised when they actually do what is promised than by the cheap words now.
Yes, you are being judged by what you do, and probably fairly. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. Better yet, keep your mouth shut unless you’ve already delivered on the promise.
The only source of information for most people now is a machine that is designed to partially inform people, misinform people, spread conspiracy theories, and lies faster than facts.”- Tristan Harris
The alternate view by Mark Manson is this:
Social media algorithms do not manipulate and push users into believing awful things. People already believe the awful things and social media simply spreads them more easily. Critics like Harris imply that tech companies are sitting in Silicon Valley scheming for ways to extract more ad dollars from people’s anxiety and misinformation.
Either way, it points out that there isn’t that much good to it the way it exists. At best it is a time waster for most. At worst it is the above.
I say think for yourself and stop believing the group think on Twitter, Fakebook, Instagram and the other time suck platforms.
They could be a a useful tool for sharing pertinent information, but it just isn’t that way. There is so much out there that spending more than 5 minuted a day on this probably isn’t helping your life.
I’ll leave you with this thought.
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. – Mark Twain
I wasn’t sure if this should have been a sarcasm post instead of a saying. Why? Everyone, especially sports stars, rioters, news makers and celebrities seem to think that they are owed something. They are like the rest of us, the world owes you nothing.
You are what you make of yourself and the sum of your choices that got you where you are. That means the responsibility for life is yours to either buck up or suffer for not pulling your share. The responsibility is yours and no one else’s. Except for some circumstances that are random or uncommon, ou can take either the credit or blame for where you are in life.
My advice is to do good, stop blaming anyone else and make good choices.
“The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” – James Baldwin
Someone said find your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life. This is not true. Sooner or later we become victims of routine or more likely other people will make your job a pain.
This is the ugly side. At some point even Michael Jordan had to retire, but he still can’t go to a restaurant without people bothering him.
Enjoy what you have and be glad you get to do it.
If you can’t convince them, confuse them. – Harry S. Truman
Big words seldom accompany good deeds. – Charlotte Whitton
I put two quotes today because they represent the BS that comes from most politicians, from either party.
In reality, most of them are lawyers so they are smart enough to pass both law school and the Bar. That means they know they are full of it and know that they are saying exactly nothing most of the time.
As with most things, actions speak louder than words. Some politicians just talk. A few of them actually make and keep promises. That should help you judge who to support, regardless of your position on right or left, D or R.
As always, use your mind and make good decisions. Don’t listen to others or the MSM/News/Social Media to tell you what to believe or how to act.
“No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself.” – Thomas Mann
Once you take your guard down and truly admit who you are, you get to see the person that is you. It’s doubtful that you’ll ever show this person to others except on a deathbed, but once you see yourself as you view and judge others.
We think we are invincible and nearly immortal when we are young, but the scars of life take it’s toll as do the decisions we make or avoid and we aren’t who we think we are.
As we age, inside we still see ourselves as the younger version until things start breaking down, but Zoom meetings will show you that age is taking it’s toll. Maybe that is why some hide their looks with makeup.
The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. – Edward Gibbon
I’ve heard a version of this that goes, “The harder I work and prepare, the luckier I am”.
Sure every pig finds an acorn once in a while, but nothing beats being prepared for most outcomes, situations and other events. Yes, the more you do something, the more experience you have to call upon to guide you. The only gotcha is human emotion and interaction. That is never predictable in the outcome.
Fortunately, you can at least anticipate that this is going to happen and how you will react.
There you go. It was 3 sayings in one for today, enjoy.
There is still no cure for the common birthday.
I’m cursed with sharing a birthday with Madonna. If you’ve read any of my recent posts my loathing for celebrities is evident.
Elvis died on my birthday. While the world was sorry for the loss, it saves me from the blight of the above.
Everyone shares a birthday with a lot of people. I wonder who has the best share??
“Don’t do what you want. Do what you don’t want. Do what you’re trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.” – Chuck Palahniuk, Author of “Fight Club”
The more difficult the struggle, the greater satisfaction from the accomplishment. That saying is from both my Mother and me.
No one gives a rats ass about a participation trophy. We want to win. To win you have to struggle, train, learn and fight for what you want. Look at what athletes do to attain victory. There is only one winner and second place is first loser.
There is only one CEO, but that person sacrificed along the way in time, travel and lack of attention to their family.
Dedication, training and commitment to any goal is necessary to achieve and succeed.
Overcoming what you are afraid of is and equal victory. The sense of satisfaction we get from beating our demons is as great for some as is winning a competition or succeeding in life. We were made to overcome obstacles in life and learn from that struggle.
Don’t give up or give in. Relish the sweet sense of victory or vanquishing what held you back.
Even if one tree falls down it wouldn’t affect the entire forest. Chen Shui-bian
Yes, the one we know is “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it does it make a sound?”, but in a way the above one is more correct.
Of course it makes a sound, but unless it is a forest of one, it doesn’t affect the forest. The reason is that life goes on. We are all trees in the forest of life, but we are born, live and then die. Most are forgotten, but that is the way of life. What is it’s meaning and what is your contribution to society, family or….?
Here’s a quick test to see what you’ve done. Write your own obituary. You’ll see what you’ve contributed and what you have done.
Which brings me to my favorite Mensa joke. What is the meaning of life, give 3 examples. Those who understand it will get it.
All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height. Casey Stengel
There’s not much I can say to this other than it’s genius, or a better Yogi Berra-ism than Yogi could have said.
The next time I want to stop the talking or confuse others, I’m using this one.
I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.
Many have heard this as if at first you don’t succeed try, try again. While this is true, it assumes that you can just force success.
As we know, Einstein could see things through his thinking that few could fathom. This was finesse rather than force. Nevertheless, this does show that he never gave up and continued despite setbacks.
That is the lesson, don’t give up just because you didn’t get it right the first time. Will you come up with the Theory of Relativity? It’s doubtful, but you just might find meaning in your life.
The surest way to corrupt a youth is to tell them to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
Nietzsche hated “the Herd”. He was often writing against the ideas and ways of the masses in favor of the free thinker who has risen above them. This statement is a clear example of this worldview.
Who are the herd? They are social media telling you what to think, say, speak and what your values should be. They are the MSM, celebtards and sports stars who want to force their values on you because of an outdated construct that equates fame with power.
Think for yourself and don’t be afraid to say it. Don’t be a dumb ass though and say it when you are surrounded by Antifa or the rioters. There is no reasoning with them right now and even agreeing with them can get you an ass whooping.
Don’t take your views from the media. Almost no entity is more biased at this point. Don’t succumb to pressure from social media. That is just the new high school for the in crowd. Be your own person instead and think for yourself.
Nietzsche is not wrong about the herd. You’ll never respect yourself if you think like the herd just to be one of them. It isn’t worth it.
It is a smart person who avoids trouble, but chooses wisely when and where to take a stand for his values.
What does not kill me, makes me stronger.
For Nietzsche, psychological growth is one of the most important things there is. Experiences do not have to be pleasurable to be good for us. Often it is suffering which gives meaning to our lives. By gaining experiences, good or bad, we grow as people, so long as we survive them, of course.
This quote is usually said as a quip, rather than to understand it’s true meaning. Navy Seals fully understand this and what it takes to not give up even when you want to and it is the easy path to take.
File this under the school of hard knocks, of which I have a Ph.D.
All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.
John Wooden
Wooden was perhaps the greatest college basketball coach ever. I think the fans at Duke, UNC and Kentucky may argue, but would still accept his legacy.
My mother told me something similar. Life is about overcoming problems. She said it is a series of hurdles that you have to overcome and there will always be another one.
One will always be on one of 3 sides of a situation. You will be approaching it, enduring it or having just overcome it. How you deal with it defines you.
With respect to Wooden, it does make life easier when you don’t go too overboard on any of the peaks and valleys. They all pass and there will always be another one.
You will never win if you never begin.
Helen Rowland
Wayne Gretzky said you miss 100% of the shots you never take.
Sometimes things hold us back from trying. It could be fear of failure, embarrassment, procrastination or just timidness.
Learn from the lessons in life. It’s OK to try and fail, because that is the start to the road to success.
Start now and don’t regret never having done whatever it is.
Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does – William James
No matter what you do, someone is watching. Your kids learn by imitating you. Your co-workers watch you to see if you carry your load.
The military in the trenches of warfare want someone next to them they can trust, with their lives. It could come down to that in an instant.
Whether you are spiritual or secular is noticed also. The way they treat you will be your judge of how they perceive your actions.
So, actions speak louder than words. Others notice. Some may not care, but with the internet, nothing you do is ever forgotten. The politicians in this years election are going to have to deal with it. Some have decades of experience, some have a few years. They will all be judged by what they have done and who they have done it for.
Also, don’t be a dick on social media. It will haunt you forever.
Act right, do the right thing because it makes a difference.
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” – Joe Ancis
Some say there are skeleton’s in everyone’s closet. The way I say it is that everyone has a story.
When you meet someone, it’s like a job interview. They put on the best version of themselves. It’s kind of like a first date. They show you the best version of themselves and how good they are.
Once you know them, the warts begin to show. We let our guard down and you begin to see the real person.
Unless you go through this process and learn, you play a video in your head of who you think the other person is. It’s rarely right because you don’t know them or what they’ve been through, or what they are capable of doing (to you). That is why they seem normal. My rule is that most are not. Everyone has a story.
It’s why I usually don’t talk much about myself and just try to be the real me. The sooner you show who you really are, the quicker you can weed out the fakes you run into.
“The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides.”
A more common version of this is he who hesitates, hesitates.
No one knows the outcome of any decision. We only have a few scientific theorems that are somewhat certain, for now. They could be proven incorrect (Einstein’s Theory of Relativity) if we use scientific methods.
The same can be said for our everyday lives. We usually think we are right, but we don’t know how it will turn out. Many times our decisions help or harm others in ways we never intended them to.
Nevertheless, most of the time, making a decision is better than not making one, or procrastinating. I’m in favor of getting the best intel you can to make a good decision, but in the heat of the battle you have to make one.
This is why some are better leaders than others. They have the right instincts or have been through enough to have history and experience on their side to make a better decision.
There have been good young leaders, it’s just that most don’t have the wisdom of a life lived to not know when to shut up.
We’ll never have perfect clearness because we can’t see the future. If we did, life wouldn’t be worth living.
If you count all your assets you always show a profit.
Wilson Mizner
Some people use the version of this that the glass is half full. Some are optimists, some are pessimists.
How you look at life (and your life) can certainly change your perspective and your attitude.
It’s your choice to be happy or miserable. Some are happiest when miserable, but I can’t change that.
When you are happy and count your blessings, others will feed off of that and you could change a life. Just remember who gave you your blessings.
“The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.”
Marcus Aurelius
Celebrities pretend to be someone else. They are trained liars. Sports stars are the best of the best at playing kids games. Politicians for the most part live to be re-elected and like celebtards, are trained liars (many are lawyers who are masters at not telling the truth). The MSM are the worst. They are news readers that have a bias one way or the other. None of them really know about what they are telling us to do. It is almost always do as I say, not as I do.
Why the hell would we listen to these people’s opinions? For the idiots who trust social media, it’s because they live a false life on social media. Kids (I include millennial’s to teenagers here) haven’t had enough hard knocks in life. Sometimes it is the parents fault for trying to not have them go through what made them learn about life. That’s why everyone got participation trophies and time out.
Older people who buy into what others are saying instead of finding out and deciding for themselves have no excuse. Life causes us to learn whether we want to or not. It’s called making mistakes and learning from it. They just didn’t learn from it.
The net is don’t change your values because you went with the crowd. That didn’t work in high school and it won’t work now. Learn to think for yourself and do what you know is the right thing to do.
Seek out those who know what they are talking about, not those described in paragraph one above
“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”
William Penn
The peer pressure (or social media pressure) to go with the crowd is burdensome at best, overwhelming at worst. Standing out from the popular opinion and risk being ostracized for doing what is right is too much for some.
This seems tougher for the youth who are trying to fit in, or those who are not self-assure in who they are.
Stop seeking adoration if it causes you to drift from your moral compass. You may drop from the popular crowd, but why would you want to be a part of a group that seeks to do wrong?
If today’s youth (and a good percentage of adults) would think about this, we might not have riots in big cities, we might get along better, we might give each other more space instead of condemning them or cutting them off in traffic.
In your heart, you know right from wrong. Try doing it for a change.
Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like getting told how and what to think by people who aren’t qualified to do so. Athletes are paid well to entertain us and distract us from the drudgery of life.
Celebrities pretend to be other people on screen or on stage. They are paid liars basically.
Politicians, well I guess everyone has their own opinion, but most hold them in low regard. When I say low, most who are polled have them below used car salesmen.
All of the above get fame, adoration and a lot of money for what they do. I don’t fault them for making the most of their work, only how much influence they think we care about
Social Media? It has become the cesspool of the bad side of people. Sort of an internet road rage.
With that being said, my advice to all of them is to never miss any opportunity to shut up.
With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.
Yes, I know you have to plan for the future, but you don’t know what path it will take. Plan for multiple scenarios if you want.
I heard this saying in different words: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, I live for today (Kimi Raikonnen).
Life goes by fast. Stop suffering for things you did in the past. There is nothing you can do to change what happened.
Stop worrying yourself about what might or might not happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. You have the past as a guide to know how to deal with it.
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.
A person must know their limits. Those who know more than you will quickly know when you have gone past the line of your knowledge (abilities, capabilities, etc.)
It’s no shame to say I don’t know, especially if it gives you the opportunity to learn or grow. It’s only those afraid to say they don’t know or act like they do that miss the chance to expand their life.
Swallow your pride and seek others help.
Also, don’t say here, hold my beer and do something stupid.
Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent. We love because we love.
-Honore de Balzac
There is someone for everyone. I once read (so it might be somewhat true) that there are 15,000 Mr. or Mrs. Right’s for each person. The problem is that they are spread around the world so they might not be next door.
The other saying is that goes with this is that Love is blind. You love because we were created to love and to be together.
With all the nonsense going on in the world right now, it would be a whole lot better if we concentrated on loving someone instead of causing mayhem because they think they hate someone.
Love is a decision. The romance usually wears off in 12-18 months. After that, it is a cause, not an emotion. Looks wear off with age. The real beauty is inside a person.
Let that sink in.
I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man. – D.L. Moody
Yes, we are many times our biggest problem. The constant decisions of right vs. wrong and living with the consequences.
We all have a moral compass, it’s just that some choose to ignore it. Unfortunately, the more you do something, the more you become numb to it. There are few regrets for doing the right thing. There are always regrets for doing wrong, either now or down the road.
Even if you escape it in the temporal world (while you are living), there are consequences in the Eternal world (your soul).
Moody was a biblical scholar and he refers to all of the above. He is worth reading up on as he was a wise person, but still fought with himself and his struggle on Earth.
Real knowledge is to know the extent on one’s ignorance. – Confucius
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. – Jean Paul
How many have said I wish I knew then what I know now? Well, you would have lived life differently and not have learned what you know now.
The known unknowns and the unknown unknowns are the mysteries of life to learn. Don’t be blinded by arrogance to think that you know everything. Always try to learn something, anything no matter how little and you will never be disappointed.
Also, appreciate what you have for today. You don’t know what tomorrow brings, or how many tomorrow’s you have. It’s easy to be dissatisfied when you are selfish or self-centered. Try looking at things from anothers point of view, especially their view of you and see if your thinking is clear.
“Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.” – Franklin
I think this was referring to materialism People always want more, even when they get what they want.
King Midas wanted everything he touched to be gold, but he couldn’t eat and lost his child who was turned to gold.
I read that 4 out of 5 NFL players go bankrupt after being multimillionaires. Most lottery winners declare bankruptcy. Steve Jobs, Rockefeller’s, the Rothschild’s, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes and all of the most wealthy died stinking rich but wanting more.
You can’t serve 2 masters. It’s a quote in the Bible. You will serve one or the other, God or money. It also says that where your treasure is, so shall your heart be.
For some, it is not wealth, rather they seek fame or some hobby or a person. None of that will make you rich.
I’ve already said above where to look for answers that will give you your only source of happiness. It isn’t in material things, rather spiritual. There is nothing wrong with having material wealth, just don’t worship it.
Good luck
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine!” — The Count of Monte Cristo
This is one of my favorite books. I’ll be honest that I don’t remember this line, but when I came across it I found it to be the story of everyone’s life.
How you face adversity should be with the same intensity that you face success. The emotion will be different, but the effort should be equal.
Your hopes will be dashed on the rocks more than once. Learning how to handle that without being destroyed gets you through the next dashing.
Conversely, when you succeed, how you handle it should be as if you have done it before. There should be internal satisfaction with no need to put down the opponent, other than the hurdle you overcame.
“A man’s ledger does not tell what he is, or what he is worth. Count what is in man, not what is on him, if you would know what he is worth — whether rich or poor.” –Henry Ward Beecher
Steve Jobs died with 9 billion dollars. It does him no good now. He built a dynamic company that employees thousands and touches millions. He also refused to acknowledge his daughter when she was growing up. Which is more important?
Many of us want to show off what we have or what we look like on the outside. Look no further than the cesspools that are Facebook and Instagram. No matter how good the lives look there, what do they look like on the inside? Actually, most people reveal how terrible they really are on Twitter, but that is not a dress up platform like the others.
What is in you?
“Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes.”
Mickey Mouse
I’m going to leave any sense of my usual pontificating based on wisdom here. They of course couldn’t say it on TV, but the old locker room joke is that guys can count to 21, do the math.
I haven’t looked at his picture recently, but I don’t think Mickey had 5 fingers on his hand either.
People only see what they are prepared to see. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m not going to get political here because I think people should make up their own minds. Most already have. The problem with the MSM and Social Media is that you can confirm you bias, no matter what it is by going to what sources you feel comfortable to read. That is your filter.
What I do think is that the actual smart people will have an open mind to both sides of any situation and look at the facts and ask questions. We should challenge what is out there every time there is a “major issue” to see what the real answers are.
It takes time and you will have to have an open mind, but coming to the right conclusion instead of viewing a situation through the filter of what someone else says is the way to truth.
This is not easy. What is easy is to fall back to your usual sources and just believe and regurgitate what is being said.
Take off the filter and evaluate like a detective. Come to the right conclusion based on facts, not feelings or especially on what someone else said.
“The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ”
George Will
Yes, you are never wrong when you do this. Covid/China/Wuhan/whatever virus deaths were off by millions. You can’t really trust a weather forecast until the time you need it to be right. You can’t lose. Predict the worst with a probability and then you can’t really be wrong, just a little off.
I’m an optimist, but I want things to be correct, based on facts and history whenever possible. Forecasts can be based on these 2 things to get an accurate measurement, when you want it to be. I guess that’s the big gotcha for these 2.
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. – Nido Quebein
You can’t change the past, regardless of how it treated you. You have to learn from it and move on. You also have to realize that it happened to make you the person you are. You will never be someone else so stop trying to be like them. Being yourself and accepting who you are is a gift. Many refuse that gift.
Social media is who people want you to think they are and want you to be. It’s becoming mind poisoning for many. Enjoy and be happy for others, but don’t let it define you.
This comes to today’s saying. Whatever happened happened. It’s time to take what you’ve learned and make the most of what’s ahead of you. You don’t know how long you may have to get done what you need to get done. Try to enjoy it along the way. You never know what lesson today brings to help you the rest of your life.
This is the only description I know of the amount of life you have ahead of you, but it is not for us to know. If we knew the ending, we might not live our life the way it should be lived.
We know what we are, but know not what we may be. – Shakespeare
Another version of this goes – You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. That was either Gretzky or Jordan.
Some don’t try for fear of failure, some don’t try because they lack courage. Both lose because there is a reward for winning and a reward for learning if you fail. I heard Michael Jordan say that he took over 30 shots to win games and missed, but it didn’t stop him the next time. He said when asked if he was worried he might miss and he answered that why would worry about something that hasn’t happened yet?
Don’t let your inhibitions keep you from excelling. You never know what is inside you until you try. Many times I haven’t felt well for an activity that I needed to be well conditioned for, yet wound up killing it because all I needed was a warmup.
Go after it today, then go after it tomorrow. Keep going after it until you can go. The reward is not a trophy, it is the sense of accomplishment that will help you try again the next time.
Finally, let it be the judge of who you are, not social media. That is turning into a cesspool of being a time suck and dragging you down because you think something is different than it is. Don’t be a sheeple.
Delusions of Adequacy 