Your reputation precedes you.
Which one? I have several.
The Power of Pretense
“If we want people to behave in a certain manner, we must set the stage and give them a cue. This is true also when it is ourselves we want to induce. There is no telling how deeply a mind may be affected by the deliberate staging of gestures, acts and symbols.
Pretense is often an indispensable step in the attainment of genuineness. It is a form into which genuine inclinations flow and solidify.”
~ Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind
Here are three quick lessons we can take from Hoffer’s quote:
Continue readingEight Ugly Truths About Human Nature
People see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, and pride themselves on their objectivity.
We should never hesitate to ask for help, as many will agree to provide it. But we must never count on it to arrive, as few will actually do so.
Our highest moral values are those we feel we’re being judged on at any given moment.
Continue readingBe Careful What You Wish For
Be careful what you wish for, especially if you’re wishing out loud and your wife is nearby.Blair Warren
Impaired Vision
My family just returned from a weekend road-trip to Dallas.
I was hungry when we left the house. My wife got hungry about half way there. And my kids started complaining while we were still an hour or so away.
The decision was now unanimous. We decided we’d stop and grab a bite in Waxahachie, a town just outside of Dallas.
Bad decision.
Continue readingThe Ability to Do Without is Indispensable
The ability to do without is indispensable.Blair Warren
Will Time Really Tell?
I can’t think of a time in my life when more turmoil has been going on. Selling a house, building a house, health scares, my son is about to become a teenager, my daughter is about to drive, ad nauseum. Yet in spite of all of this, life is good. Very good. Or is it?
I was recently discussing this turmoil with an older friend who said something that stopped me in my tracks. He consoled me for having to go through such a difficult time and then said that, in looking back, he’d had similar periods in his life and they were always the worst times for him.
Until he described my circumstances as “difficult” I hadn’t even looked at them that way. But what really stunned me was his evaluation that these situations were the “worst times of his life.” This got me thinking…
Continue readingThe Way and the What
I don’t care much about what people are.
Gay/straight. White/black. Conservative/liberal. Religious/agnostic. Christian/Muslim. Young/Old. Rich/Poor. Smart/dumb. Etc.
I have friends in each of these categories and then some. Heck, I’m in a few of these categories myself.
Again, I don’t care much about what people are.
Continue reading