Happy Independence Day!

Tomorrow is America’s birthday!  Let’s not forget the principles this country was founded on.  Principles that have created such freedom and prosperity that we all enjoy today.  

And let’s not forget we must protect the ideas that got us here.  Limited government for example; we don’t want a government with a myriad of regulation, laws, and rules that makes it constrictive for us to do things freely.

Groups of people we elect are supposed to make the laws.  But with alarming speed, two trends in government have run amuck.

1) Presidents and Governors have issued so many “executive orders” that are not voted on by anyone.  That’s not president or governor – that’s king.  Our founding documents don’t say that one man can make laws by himself.

2) Agencies run by people who are appointed or hired make a tremendous quantity of rules and regulations.  Whether it be the environment, labor, transportation, commerce, you name it – unelected people are making regulations.  And the nature of any department is to grow their influence and expand their budgets and footprints in our lives.

We must notice what is going on, and speak up.

America wasn’t created by accident or by letting the human nature of benevolent leaders go unchecked.  In fact, it was the opposite.  The government must be checked by the people. 

Every age in America has had its challenges.  Our forefathers have largely done the right thing (eventually), and for that we are grateful.  Now it’s our turn to protect it for our posterity.

When to shake your snow globe – and when to stop

Pretend we have a snow globe in our minds.  

For some of us, we’re in such a habit of mediocrity and comfort, all the snow has long settled, and not a lot is happening.  That group needs to shake the snow globe.  Go to different places, meet new people, change your habits, and try new things.

For some of us, the snow never settles.  We’re chasing shiny objects, (some worthy of course), maxing out every day, and were exhausted and feeling like we can’t catch up.  We need to stop shaking the snow globe for a while.  Don’t start any new projects, take time off, catch up, and finish what we started.

What advice do you give yourself; which group are you in?  Tell me with the orange button!

A great day begins the night before.

Set yourself up for a great day tomorrow.

Go to bed early.

When the mind studies the mind.

When you study the human mind and how it works, you can understand why you think the way you do.

You can observe yourself thinking and make corrections.

If you learn about it, you can be your own therapist, avoid suffering, and optimize your own experience.

Get rid of junk mail

Stop your junk mail. 

Send your address and a request to be removed from all mailing lists to –

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008

(I hope this works!)

Time will tell

We can heavily influence the outcome of any situation.  

Yet you never know the consequences of bad fortune when it happens.  Wait. 

You never know all the consequences of good fortune either.  

Time will tell. 

Think, and keep doing your best each day.

What do you believe is possible for you?

You’re thinking about a challenge or a difficult task, and you think it’s not possible.

Do you get started and attempt it in earnest?

No.  We don’t try/do things we think are impossible for us, right?

What we believe about ourselves has a lot to do with what we attempt and accomplish. 

What do you believe is possible?

Take a chance, yet again.

Nothing good comes without a risk.

“Where there is a chance of gain, there is a chance of loss.

Whenever one courts great happiness, one also risks malaise.” – Walker Percy

If it didn’t work out, you have to learn from it and be smarter, but don’t stop taking chances.

You can get all "A's", and still flunk life

You can be right all the time, but how are you interacting with other people?

The positive residue of tragedy

If our lives were all easy and full of peaches and rainbows, we’d be pretty weak, and pretty vulnerable.

Tragedy helps us grow.  It makes us stronger psychologically and emotionally; and that strength is what is necessary to live an even better life.

Use it.