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Tag Archives: Personal Development
Proverbial Beauty Available NOW on Amazon
My new book, Proverbial Beauty: Secrets for Success and Happiness from the Wisdom of the Ages, is spotlighted today on Celtic Lady’s Reviews and is now available on Amazon.com.
Take a look, and tell a friend.
The Art of Moving Forward
All around us is deception. Activity masquerades as action. Desire masquerades as direction. Preoccupation masquerades as love.
The Hebrew word yoda means knowledge. It also means intimacy.
Without knowledge, there can be no intimacy. Without closeness, there can be no knowledge. Without trust, there can be no closeness.
How will we survive the drone culture?
I haven’t read this entire excerpt, but the rise of the drone raises more questions than the obvious ones concerning basic morality and “rules of engagement.”
At the end of the movie classic “Patton,” the general responds to a reporter’s question about the “wonder weapons” of the coming era:
“Wonder weapons? By G-d, I don’t see the wonder in them. Killing without heroics? Nothing is glorified? Nothing is reaffirmed? No heroes, no cowards, no troops, no… generals. Only those who are left alive, and those who are left… dead. I’m glad I won’t live to see it.”
The message here is not the glorification of warfare. What Patton understood is that conflict brings out the true essence of a person. Cowards are revealed as cowards, providing the opportunity for reappraisal. Heroes are not merely revealed… they are created through their engagement on the field of combat. The heat of battle requires them to tap into unrealized potential.
This doesn’t require a battlefield of armies. It does require that we take up arms against our lesser selves and strive to conquer our baser impulses and inclinations. It demands that we grapple with the complex issues of good and evil and not take refuge in political slogans or groupthink.
In a culture of automation, we have a harder fight not to become automatons ourselves. We can comfortably join the army of drones, or we can meet the challenge, rise to the occasion, and emerge victorious as heroes.
What’s in a Name? Everything!
A name is not merely a label; it is an expression of the thing itself.
For instance, in Hebrew a donkey is a chamor. A variant form of the same word, chomer, means “mortar,” the cement used in laying bricks. And so the animal most characterized by its stubbornness is called by a name that also connotes “thickness.” The dog, known for its loyalty, is called a kelev, which can also be read as k’lev, which means “of the heart.” Names can provide insights into the nature of the world, if we know how to interpret them…
The meaning of a name can offer an insight into one’s intrinsic character. The name David means “beloved,” suggesting the capacity to form deep emotional bonds. The name Deborah means “bee,” suggesting an industrious nature as well as a personality that can both sting and sweeten. The name Abigail means, “source of joy,” suggesting a talent for providing happiness to others. Awareness of our innate, individual abilities can motivate us to develop potential that would otherwise remain dormant deep within us.
Reflect the reality you want
If you want to be happy, let happy people shape your mood.
If you want to be successful, let successful people show you the way.
If you want to be wise, walk in the ways of wisdom.
If you want to be appreciated, show appreciation.
If you want to be respected, act worthy of respect.
If you want to be loved, love others.
If you want to make a difference, learn right from wrong, and have the courage to do what’s right.
Send us your email, and we will send you the first four chapters of Proverbial Beauty – free!
Just Plain Ugly
Here’s another lovely headline:
Top 15 Celebrities who are Just Plain Ugly
And no, I’m not including the link.
Why would anyone write an article like this? Why would anyone read it?
Sadly, the answers are obvious. Someone wrote it because he knew people would read it. And people read it either out of pure voyeurism or, even worse, because they need to tear down others to feel good about themselves.
Maybe we should revisit some old cliches:
- Don’t judge a book by its cover
- Beauty is only skin deep
- All that glitters is not gold
Sure, they’re cliches. But remember: cliches become cliches because people recognize their truth enough to repeat them over and over and over.
When we make the effort to see the best in others, that makes our world brighter. With practice, recognizing what’s good in others can motivate us to be like them, which will make us feel better about ourselves.
After all, the grass isn’t really greener on the other side of the fence.
Courage
Doing what’s right instead of what’s popular;
doing what’s important instead of what’s convenient;
doing what’s necessary instead of what feels good;
doing what’s risky instead of what’s comfortable;
doing what’s challenging instead of what’s easy;
doing what’s best for everyone instead of what’s best for yourself;
doing what others will condemn instead of what others will applaud;
following the heart when the mind is misguided;
following the mind when the heart is seduced;
persevering when others tell you to turn back;
turning back when it’s clear you’ve taken the wrong path;
speaking out against evil;
keeping silent in the face of insult;
telling those you love how much they mean to you.
How to Stop a Fight
This has happened to you.
You’re standing in a crowded room. Someone pushes into you from behind. You feel a surge of irritation, even anger. Who is this careless oaf who can’t respect your personal space? You turn around to express your indignation, only to discover that the offending party is actually a good friend of yours who has bumped into you accidentally or, perhaps, even on purpose and is not smiling at you as you find yourself on the receiving end of a good-natured prank.
Your anger evaporates in an instant.
But why? The bump was no less of a bump on account of the person who bumped you. But the bump was never the issue at all. What was at issue was your ego, resenting the perpetrator who failed to show you respect.
It’s almost always ego that is the real perpetrator in any fight. Change one little detail and our irritation or anger vanishes. But when we feel our ego has been affronted, heaven help the offending party.
Conquer Laziness Now
Readers of a certain age may remember an old Goodyear tire commercial with the tag line, “You can pay me now, or pay me later.” The applications transcend auto repair, as Shaomin Li, professor of international business at Virginia’s Old Dominion University discovered on a business trip to Taiwan.
As he was being chauffeured from one venue to the next, Professor Li noticed that his host always backed into parking lot spaces, opting for often tricky and laborious maneuvering over the simpler method of pulling straight forward. Detecting a wider pattern of behavior, Professor Li conducted his own experiment. He discovered that 88% of Chinese drivers back in when they park, in contrast to 6% of American drivers.
“All of a sudden,” recounts Professor Li, “I said, gee — isn’t this delayed gratification?”
Yonason Goldson 