"Educational laziness is the mother of poverty and sloth."-Douglas Wilson
Man that hit home! My results in life prior to making a decision to give myself a Thomas Jefferson education, were the direct result of my laziness when it came to learning. How much one grows when the decision is made to ingest valuable information both spiritually and financially. Why would one struggle through life learning lessons, ( or not grasping them at all) the hard way when the guidance of others who've already walked that path is available to all? It's an absurd and egotistical notion to assume you can do it better yourself, yet that's where I found myself prior to making a decision to change. How much better a place this world would be if everyone took the above quote to heart and lived it!
We are all basically brought into this world with the same beginnings. Naked, broke, extremely upset that our comfortable environment was changed, and not having any grasp on the language to communicate that frustration. Then someone swats us on the bum and we do the only thing we know how...scream! What separates us from each other is our ability and our drive to learn. How proud young parents are when little Johnny or Suzie is potty trained or walks at a young age? They have quickly learned the vital behaviors necessary to succeed, and this in turn makes their parents proud! It's truly a sign of more good things to come.
Then there are those who choose the distractions over the learning. They trade good for great and their results reflect it. They make excuses for wearing that warm wet diaper when they could have the freedom of being potty trained. That's where I found myself, all comfortable in a soiled environment when the liberty of having choices only required a little more effort. It simply took a decision to apply a little more effort and humbling myself into admitting there are important things you can learn from others. Others who have demonstrated the level of success I desired and were willing to share the information to get there. I simply had to honestly ask myself the old Dr. Phil question; "How's that working for you?"
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friends!
The Eight Principles of True Friendship
From the book Resolved-Orrin Woodward
!) True friends form around a shared insight, interest, or taste, enjoying the common bond uniting them.
2) True friends accept one another, loving each other despite our human imperfections.
3) True friends approve of one another, protecting each others' weaknesses, while enhancing each others' strengths.
4) True friends listen with empathy, learning the hopes, dreams, fears, and struggles for each other.
5) True friends appreciate one another, encouraging serving, and believing in one another's gifts and talents.
6) True friends celebrate one another's success, being proud of each other's accomplishments without a hint of envy.
7) True friends are trustworthy, maintaining all confidences shared with unimpeachable honor and self respect, knowing that gossip separates the best of friends.
8) True friends are loyal, respecting and defending one another's character, reputation, and motives, as far as truth allows, while addressing any issues or concerns between them promptly and privately, ensuring misunderstandings never fester.
I cannot add a word to that! Enjoy!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
From the book Resolved-Orrin Woodward
!) True friends form around a shared insight, interest, or taste, enjoying the common bond uniting them.
2) True friends accept one another, loving each other despite our human imperfections.
3) True friends approve of one another, protecting each others' weaknesses, while enhancing each others' strengths.
4) True friends listen with empathy, learning the hopes, dreams, fears, and struggles for each other.
5) True friends appreciate one another, encouraging serving, and believing in one another's gifts and talents.
6) True friends celebrate one another's success, being proud of each other's accomplishments without a hint of envy.
7) True friends are trustworthy, maintaining all confidences shared with unimpeachable honor and self respect, knowing that gossip separates the best of friends.
8) True friends are loyal, respecting and defending one another's character, reputation, and motives, as far as truth allows, while addressing any issues or concerns between them promptly and privately, ensuring misunderstandings never fester.
I cannot add a word to that! Enjoy!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Sunday, November 27, 2011
The Lesson Revealed!
Reflecting back I find it interesting that the teachers I dreaded in school were the ones that had the most impact on my life. It's an unusual concept, but those who challenged us the most or provided the greatest amount of adversity caused us to grow. I guess it's human nature to always take the "easy way out" but then without a struggle, there is no victory! While the nice teachers provided a comfortable environment and were loved by all, life demands we step outside our comfort zone in order to achieve anything deemed exceptional. Some how those detentions don't seem as harsh now, and writing things on the blackboard over and over actually served a purpose.
Blackboard:an archaic device used in your parent's youth to convey a message through the written word...It would be considered today akin to physically writing out texting. Always accompanied by a piece of chalk and an erasure.
So the lesson here is don't judge the method, it has a purpose. While it may not reveal itself so years down the road, it has a specific intent. Don't shy away from anything that makes you step outside your comfort zone, that struggle is designed to help you grow as a person. There is no victory without first a struggle. We can learn something from everyone we meet. Some are positive lessons, some expose the negative, but each is designed to learn from. And make an effort to thank those who challenged you, they are a part of who you've become!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Blackboard:an archaic device used in your parent's youth to convey a message through the written word...It would be considered today akin to physically writing out texting. Always accompanied by a piece of chalk and an erasure.
So the lesson here is don't judge the method, it has a purpose. While it may not reveal itself so years down the road, it has a specific intent. Don't shy away from anything that makes you step outside your comfort zone, that struggle is designed to help you grow as a person. There is no victory without first a struggle. We can learn something from everyone we meet. Some are positive lessons, some expose the negative, but each is designed to learn from. And make an effort to thank those who challenged you, they are a part of who you've become!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Teach Your Children Well!
As I am graced with age, so to comes wisdom and understanding. These gifts are generally kept from the young as if a reward for time spent. To compensate it seems God gives the youth strength; and the duty of a young man is to use that strength to discipline themselves into obedience. Part of that discipline is also productivity; using God's gifts to the best of your ability to survive in the highest manner possible to glorify the Lord.
"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent becomes rich. He who gathers in the summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame."-Proverbs 10:4-5
I find it interesting those who slack rely upon excuses and blame to rationalize their lack of productivity. Some of those excuses and some of the blaming can seem pretty darn reasonable, but the results are still the same. Goals and responsibilities were not met. A sure cure is to allow the lazy and those who place blame at the feet of others to eat their own cooking. Wallow in the fruits of their lack of labor, if you will. Subsidizing bad behavior has a great deal to do with the results our country is experiencing today.
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."-Proverbs 13:4
It's imperative we teach responsibility to our children. Orrin Woodward has always told me, "you can discipline yourself or allow others to do it for you." Wouldn't it be easier to send prepared, disciplined children out into this unforgiving world? Are their rooms clean? Are they given responsibilities and do they handle them in a timely manner? Are they fluent in the teachings of the Bible and understanding that God is where the glory all goes? If not they are leaving the house and entering a hostile environment unarmed. As Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young told us in song....Teach your children well!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent becomes rich. He who gathers in the summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame."-Proverbs 10:4-5
I find it interesting those who slack rely upon excuses and blame to rationalize their lack of productivity. Some of those excuses and some of the blaming can seem pretty darn reasonable, but the results are still the same. Goals and responsibilities were not met. A sure cure is to allow the lazy and those who place blame at the feet of others to eat their own cooking. Wallow in the fruits of their lack of labor, if you will. Subsidizing bad behavior has a great deal to do with the results our country is experiencing today.
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."-Proverbs 13:4
It's imperative we teach responsibility to our children. Orrin Woodward has always told me, "you can discipline yourself or allow others to do it for you." Wouldn't it be easier to send prepared, disciplined children out into this unforgiving world? Are their rooms clean? Are they given responsibilities and do they handle them in a timely manner? Are they fluent in the teachings of the Bible and understanding that God is where the glory all goes? If not they are leaving the house and entering a hostile environment unarmed. As Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young told us in song....Teach your children well!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Friday, November 25, 2011
Be Diverse!
"The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than everybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th,and the 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General."-Kurt Vonnegut
A liberal's dream...What does this look like? No sporting events or any type of competition would exist, they would be pointless. The diversity the liberal sect embraces so vehemently is erased. The could be no innovation, no entrepreneurial spirit or adventures. I daresay to achieve this utopia would require the human race to be dumbed down, lowering the bar on all if you will. Here is the ultimate goal of all those who wish to "level the playing field." All those dear souls who seek open borders and one world government find Mr. Vonnegut's quote a description of a heavenly society. Yet in the next sentence they will profess the need to celebrate our diversity. I think it's fair to say they are confused about what their utopia actually looks like. It's a common malady, suffering from short term vision, as opposed to long term reality.
They'll gather in our parks and quote foolishness like this to each other in an attempt of promoting the facade they are "learned". Reality dictates ignorance as they look down their noses at we they find less astute in the ramblings of their liberal dream. These fantasies are enacted to compensate for the liberals lack of ability to compete on the field of ideas. If you can't play the game effectively, you change the rules in your favor! Everyone is equal, now those who are unable, can muster a feeling of self respect without any effort. Erase competition, the playing field is level and all is fair, but extremely boring and I daresay less intelligent.No effort is required, no feelings are hurt when failure strikes. No lessons are learned and no one seeks to improve. It's less than the effort of an amoeba.
Everyone dreams of better things, that's how they come to fruition. What the liberal sect fails to understand is your supposed to dream for better, not worse. Humanity seeks to improve itself, that requires competition and innovation not a society of suckled couch potatoes who all wear the same shoe size. God made us different for a reason, celebrate your independent thought and individual accomplishments. Don't try to dumb us down to less than a one celled carbon copy of one another. If another individual didn't show us there is something more to be had by their own outstanding achievement, what would we have to look forward to?
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
A liberal's dream...What does this look like? No sporting events or any type of competition would exist, they would be pointless. The diversity the liberal sect embraces so vehemently is erased. The could be no innovation, no entrepreneurial spirit or adventures. I daresay to achieve this utopia would require the human race to be dumbed down, lowering the bar on all if you will. Here is the ultimate goal of all those who wish to "level the playing field." All those dear souls who seek open borders and one world government find Mr. Vonnegut's quote a description of a heavenly society. Yet in the next sentence they will profess the need to celebrate our diversity. I think it's fair to say they are confused about what their utopia actually looks like. It's a common malady, suffering from short term vision, as opposed to long term reality.
They'll gather in our parks and quote foolishness like this to each other in an attempt of promoting the facade they are "learned". Reality dictates ignorance as they look down their noses at we they find less astute in the ramblings of their liberal dream. These fantasies are enacted to compensate for the liberals lack of ability to compete on the field of ideas. If you can't play the game effectively, you change the rules in your favor! Everyone is equal, now those who are unable, can muster a feeling of self respect without any effort. Erase competition, the playing field is level and all is fair, but extremely boring and I daresay less intelligent.No effort is required, no feelings are hurt when failure strikes. No lessons are learned and no one seeks to improve. It's less than the effort of an amoeba.
Everyone dreams of better things, that's how they come to fruition. What the liberal sect fails to understand is your supposed to dream for better, not worse. Humanity seeks to improve itself, that requires competition and innovation not a society of suckled couch potatoes who all wear the same shoe size. God made us different for a reason, celebrate your independent thought and individual accomplishments. Don't try to dumb us down to less than a one celled carbon copy of one another. If another individual didn't show us there is something more to be had by their own outstanding achievement, what would we have to look forward to?
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Don't Be The Turkey!
What better time to focus on attitude than the season of Thanksgiving? After all, giving thanks is simply a grateful thought process for events you've deemed as blessings in your life. It's a day when the negative is replaced with positive thoughts. I'm willing to bet if everyday was treated in the spirit of Thanksgiving everyone's life would improve. Imagine, if you will, a nation of truly grateful people, who assert the positive over the negative. People would have no reason to sit in a park and protest! I'm reminded of a passage from Orrin Woodward's outstanding new book, "Resolved."
"The person's thinking is more important than the actual event, since the event happens only once, but how he thinks about it happens over and over again in his heart and mind and is shared over and over again with himself and others"
Then Orrin lowers the boom....
"Ironically then, failure in life isn't from outside events, but the stories a person tells himself."
Is it not important to guard what we tell ourselves and put a frame of thanksgiving and a positive outlook on every event? Wouldn't it be best to look for the lesson in an event rather than marinate in the temporary outcome? I'm grateful for each and every event, good and bad, that helped me achieve where I am today, and where I am today is just a stepping stone to where I'll be tomorrow!
We can choose to spiral up or spiral down, and attitude determines that direction. The key word in that last statement is "choose," as any free individual endowed by our Creator we have options. Today we celebrate the option of thanks. Why not everyday? Happy Thanksgiving!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
"The person's thinking is more important than the actual event, since the event happens only once, but how he thinks about it happens over and over again in his heart and mind and is shared over and over again with himself and others"
Then Orrin lowers the boom....
"Ironically then, failure in life isn't from outside events, but the stories a person tells himself."
Is it not important to guard what we tell ourselves and put a frame of thanksgiving and a positive outlook on every event? Wouldn't it be best to look for the lesson in an event rather than marinate in the temporary outcome? I'm grateful for each and every event, good and bad, that helped me achieve where I am today, and where I am today is just a stepping stone to where I'll be tomorrow!
We can choose to spiral up or spiral down, and attitude determines that direction. The key word in that last statement is "choose," as any free individual endowed by our Creator we have options. Today we celebrate the option of thanks. Why not everyday? Happy Thanksgiving!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Reflect On What You Enjoy!
Tis the day before we all assemble and count our blessings. What a great time to reflect on exactly what we are going to be thankful for! Why limit yourself to just one day? I'm certain the good Lord loves to hear daily what we appreciate about our existence.
It's terribly easy to reflect on all the negative. How simple it is to fall into the victim mode and wallow in self pity. Just yesterday I was wondering how anyone might complain about our standard of living when we could have been born elsewhere, like Afghanistan or Zimbabwe. We live in the most prosperous land in the world and enjoy an abundance of opportunity. We have clean running water and sewage disposal unlike the favela, (shanty towns in Brazil), but somehow those conveniences escape our thanks. How much of your busy day would be consumed in toting water for daily use if that faucet and the accompanying drain wasn't an option?
We are taught to read and write, comprehend math, speak proper English, and understand history. Each and everyone of us are given this as a birth rite, but in other lands that's not a given. A select few squander this opportunity, and have the audacity to complain when their results don't match their dreams. I'm wondering how many children in Uganda would value what is taken for granted in this great nation?
We are lucky enough to live in a free society, where you can foster an idea and bring it to fruition and if the public deems it worthy, prosper from it. How lucky are we to not have been born into a nation where the tyranny stifles such innovation. We enjoy freedoms like no other nation. Are we thankful enough for the blessings bestowed upon us? There are citizens through out the world that'd jump at the opportunity we sometimes take for granted, and often don't guard closely enough. Tomorrow is the day to rectify that, it just doesn't seem like quite enough.
Let's start everyday counting our blessings. There can't possibly be a downside to being grateful! Reflect on what you enjoy, and why you enjoy it! Then here's the key.....Help others see where they are also blessed. Pay Thanksgiving forward, everyday!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
It's terribly easy to reflect on all the negative. How simple it is to fall into the victim mode and wallow in self pity. Just yesterday I was wondering how anyone might complain about our standard of living when we could have been born elsewhere, like Afghanistan or Zimbabwe. We live in the most prosperous land in the world and enjoy an abundance of opportunity. We have clean running water and sewage disposal unlike the favela, (shanty towns in Brazil), but somehow those conveniences escape our thanks. How much of your busy day would be consumed in toting water for daily use if that faucet and the accompanying drain wasn't an option?
We are taught to read and write, comprehend math, speak proper English, and understand history. Each and everyone of us are given this as a birth rite, but in other lands that's not a given. A select few squander this opportunity, and have the audacity to complain when their results don't match their dreams. I'm wondering how many children in Uganda would value what is taken for granted in this great nation?
We are lucky enough to live in a free society, where you can foster an idea and bring it to fruition and if the public deems it worthy, prosper from it. How lucky are we to not have been born into a nation where the tyranny stifles such innovation. We enjoy freedoms like no other nation. Are we thankful enough for the blessings bestowed upon us? There are citizens through out the world that'd jump at the opportunity we sometimes take for granted, and often don't guard closely enough. Tomorrow is the day to rectify that, it just doesn't seem like quite enough.
Let's start everyday counting our blessings. There can't possibly be a downside to being grateful! Reflect on what you enjoy, and why you enjoy it! Then here's the key.....Help others see where they are also blessed. Pay Thanksgiving forward, everyday!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
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