Motivation

Goals and plans fail because we are either unable to do what must be done to succeed or we are unwilling to do what is necessary to cross the finish line.

“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.” – Donald Trump

Once upon a time there was a limitation on the speed at which a man could travel based upon his physiology and conditioning. He could run only as fast as his body permitted. At least that’s what he thought. He was surprised that he could run even faster when he felt the hot breath of a saber tooth tiger on his back. That was the first time the concept of motivation entered the equation of what is possible.

If there are limitations to what is possible in relationship with a horse, the speed of a land vehicle, the amount of weight an athlete can lift or pull, or the extent of communion with God, we have yet to find it. So far all limits are self-imposed because we are satisfied or believe nothing more is possible.

Satisfaction kills Motivation

If you are satisfied with your weight you have no reason to try to gain or lose. If you are satisfied with your income you will only do what is necessary to maintain it. If all you care about is “getting by” then all you will ever do is get by.

Most folks who complain that “I never got a break” are the same people who never tried to find even a tiny crack in the obstacle that prevents them from achieving more. They don’t try and they don’t succeed. Usually there isn’t even a specific goal in mind when they moan about the unfairness of life. They just didn’t wake up one morning richer, prettier, or famous.

People who “never get a break” are usually satisfied with their status quo. Sure, they’d like more, but are not motivated to achieve more. Well, some buy lottery tickets then grouse when they don’t become instant millionaires because “I never get a break.”

Somebody said that it can’t be done

There are three basic reactions to the statement.  “You can’t do that.”

1. “I don’t care.” – No motivation and no desire. That’s the end of the conversation.
2. “You’re probably right.” – That means it’s not worth the effort to try and your opinion in a good excuse not to try.
3. “Maybe so but I’m going to try anyway.” -  This is where what was impossible often becomes reality.

If you are not satisfied with your circumstances what are you doing to change them? A shameful percentage of the American public is not motivated to change their own circumstances by effort and ingenuity. Instead many organize into one pitiful body that chants, “I never got a break!”

The saber tooth tiger either motivated the human running from it or ate him. That basic human drive to save one’s self has been so watered down by the crutch of an enabling social system that men and women don’t even recognize the concept of motivation. It isn’t a saber tooth tiger eating them today, but a bloated government that kills that which makes a human able to do the impossible.

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done ~  by Edgar A. Guest.

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “couldn’t be done,” and you’ll do it.

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Simple.

There are already dozens of books about the subject but, honestly, don’t you still have questions?

Rapture and Revelation challenges readers to figure out why they believe what they do. I don’t tell anyone what to believe, but some folks may be very surprised that what they think is true is not.

The greatest challenge for me as the author is to communicate simply. My last two books left the editing process pretty much as they arrived. I have a feeling this time may be different.

There is no purpose to releasing the book if I don’t get the “simple” part right. While no one ever said that simple was easy, there are a few other pretty good quotes about simplicity. Hope you enjoy this selection.

Simplicity Quotes and Ponderables

“The Bigness of simplicity, ‘Either you get it or you don’t.’”  – unknown

“Less is more, and more is never enough.”  – unknown

“Nature is what we know – Yet have not art to say – So impotent our wisdom is To her simplicity” – Emily Dickinson

Not simple.

“Nothing is true, but that which is simple.” – Goethe

“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.” – Herbert Hoover

“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” – Winston Churchill

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Are you a little different?

For some this is good news; for others a source of concern. Enjoy these 7 quotes plus one I included just to make you smile.

Do you see yourself in any of these quotes?

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”     -   Henry David Thoreau

Someone asked me why I always take the hard road. I answered, “Why do you assume I see two roads?” – unknown

“The highest courage is to dare to appear to be what one is.” -  John Lancaster Spalding

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.  ~  Anais Nin

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. – Dr. Seuss

Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test. – Samuel Johnson

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are all in harmony.  Mahatma Ghandi

Plus one quote for no other reason than it delivers what it describes:

Working with Julie Andrews is like getting hit over the head with a valentine.  – Christopher Plummer

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“There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God.” [*]

Christianity begins where religion ends…with the resurrection. – Herbert Booth Smith

Easter Quotes

If Easter says anything to us today, it says this: You can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. You can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise! – Clarence W. Hall

Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song. – Pope John Paul II

On Easter Day the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer. – Douglas Horton

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time. – Martin Luther

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. – Clarence W. Hall

Jesus cannot forget us; we have been graven on the palms of his hands. – Lois Picillo

The tomb of Christ is famous because of what it DOES NOT CONTAIN. – Sam Morris

The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in. – Peter Marshall

No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown. – William Penn

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning. – Oswald Chambers [*]

Read today’s Amazing Grays Ministry message: Gethsemane and Calvary

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Critical Race Theorist - Barack Obama

Another component of Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the use of anecdotes (fictional stories) as evidence in legal or political cases. CRT insists that the fair and impartial application of law is wrong. Proponents of CRT believe that only laws like speed limits should be applied equally to all.

President Obama and those who support CRT do not equate telling intentional falsehoods with lying. No, it is simply the skillful application of Critical Race Theory. There is one caveat; whites are not allowed to use this method. (I didn’t make this up, folks. More HERE. )

The incidence of the Obama Administration applying Critical Race Theory to social and legal issues is ramping up as the President gets deeper into his term of office.

Critical Race Theory and the Obama Administration

Supreme Court criticism – odd that a Harvard Law graduate with Obama’s credentials would be ignorant of the proper role of the Supreme Court. This is troubling since Obama has already placed two justices on the Court. However, CRT supports the application of law based upon opinion and not fact. Obama is simply being consistent. His opinion should be the law.

Obama grants exception to law in support of religious freedom – Permits to kill eagles granted by Obama Administration- In an act of religious sensitivity to the beliefs of the Northern Arapaho, the Obama Administration has excepted from federal law the killing of two eagles for their feathers needed to perform religious ceremonies. Couldn’t they get them from a zoo?

Obama denies right to religious freedom – The big flack that got lost in the Sandra Fluke sideshow was the Obama Administration telling Catholic entities they may not follow their religious tenets by refusing to provide abortion and contraceptive services. Apparently Obama likes the race and social identity of the Northern Arapaho more than the Catholics and has decided between the two based upon Critical Race Theory.

Sandra Fluke – This now famous law school student lied during a press conference dressed up by Nancy Pelosi to look like Congressional testimony. Ms. Fluke shared her personal woes as well as those of some “friends.” It seems Ms. Fluke is a professional activist and finally admitted she had no personal testimony… just third-party stories offered as evidence. Ms. Fluke is a perfect example of the use of Critical Race Theory – tell a story and submit it as evidence. Anyone who objects is racist, sexist, or whatever-ist.

Obama relative in court again – Uncle Obama Gets License after drunk driving conviction – the most interesting part of this story is this statement from Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson that compares a rule of law with Critical Race Theory, the interpretive and relative application of law.

  “Our democracy is predicated on law,” Hodgson said. “When we start to interpret these laws differently and manipulate them the way we want them to work for certain people, we start to send a mixed message to people that the law doesn’t really matter. Its subject to interpretation. You don’t have to follow the law. They find ways to justify it. We need the laws to be very clear. We need ‘no’ to mean ‘no’ again.”

New Black Panthers – The Obama Department of Justice reviewed video evidence of 2008 voter intimidation by members of the New Black Panthers and decided it was okay. The latest call for the kidnapping and bounty placed on George Zimmerman (Trayvon Martin story) must also be fine. How odd that the DOJ is investigating the police and not the New Black Panthers when there is video evidence (again) of illegal behavior. Instead of the equal application of the law the President said, “If I had a son he would look just like Trayvon.”

Obamacare – Where do I begin? How about the thousand plus waivers to what would be the law of the land – simply “because”? Obamacare also allows for more services to “selected populations and location” than others based upon “just because.” Now that the Supreme Court is looking at the law Mr. Obama has declared the grievous error if this “unelected group” overturn his law to do whatever he wants.

Obama uses false “story” about his own mother – To garner support for Obamacare the President even lied about his own mother’s battle against cancer. Pardon me, it wasn’t a lie, it was CRT testimony – facts aren’t necessary if the story is good enough.

Obama uses false story to promote Jobs Bill – The President held up the plight of teacher, Robert Boraz, as an example of teachers unable to find a job. The only problem was the story was a fabrication. And another great example of the use of Critical Race Theory.

How many more examples are there of the President’s true agenda? The items listed above are the ones that popped into my head without doing any additional research. If you like the rule of law applied equally… you better figure out how to send Mr. Obama back to Chicago in 2013.

Obama and the Constitution – In His Own Words

As a promoter of Critical Race Theory the rule of law is, to the President, either relative or immaterial. His oath to support the Constitution is equally problematic.

“Maybe I am too steeped in the myth of the founding to reject it  [The Constitution] entirely. … The answer I settle on–which is by no means original to me–requires a shift in metaphors, one that sees our democracy not as a house to be built, but as a conversation to be had.” – Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope

Not only does Obama believe the founding of the nation was built on a myth, but he goes on to argue that the Founders intended to use the Constitution to reject any absolute truth of religion or ideology. In other words, everything is in play – just as Critical Race Theory suggests.

Barack Obama says he is a Christian but does not believe in absolutes. He believes the Bible is a good place to “begin a conversation.” Critical Race Theory is one where justice is arbitrary and based upon the relationships between the parties.

BREAKING NEWS, April 3, 2012

Department of Homeland Security to Grant illegal aliens “Unlawful Presence Waivers.”  Amnesty has arrived courtesy of the Obama Administration. As has become Obama’s practice, the other two branches of government are ignored and laws are enforced  (or not) as he sees fit.

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Read   A Simple Review of Critical Race Theory – Is the Obama – Bell video really a bombshell?

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Silence is Golden. Duct tape...

Here are a few of the best and a link to many others. Take a break and enjoy these QUOTES to PONDER.

If you have one of your own, please share it!

Paraprosdokians – fun with words and concepts

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
2. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
3. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
4. I didn’t say it was your fault; I said I was blaming you.
5. I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.
6. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
7. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
8. War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
9. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
10. Shut your mouth when you’re talking to me.
11. Silence is golden, duct tape is silver.
12. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.

Bonus Round:

“She looks as though she’s been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say ‘when’.” —P. G. Wodehouse

“If I could just say a few words… I’d be a better public speaker.” —Homer Simpson

“I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night.” —Bill Hicks

“On his feet he wore…blisters.” —Aristotle

More Paraprosdokians

Saving the best for last:

This is actually the explanation of the word from Wikipedia that is, in itself, a paraprosdokian.

The origin of the word paraprosdokian is a late 20th century neologism that’s been used since the 1st century AD.

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Age is a matter of mind over matter

The Fiery and Controversial Ms. Fuldheim

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”  ~Satchel Paige

Have you been considering plastic surgery?

When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day.  ~Marty Bucella

Ahh, those pesky kids

“Youth is a disease from which we all recover.”  ~Dorothy Fulheim

In praise and appreciation of the old

“Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”  ~Quoted by Francis Bacon, Apothegm

Aging – journey from the sublime to the ridiculous

“When I was young I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my fifties I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the same things I did then and I’m labeled senile.” ~ George Burns

“I don’t get no respect”

“There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I am old, there is no respect for age – I missed it coming and going.” ~ J.B. Priestley

Did you expect a quote from Rodney Dangerfield. My apologies to those under 45 who have no idea who Rodney Dangerfield was.

Hope you enjoyed the sentiments and the big type!

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Jeopardy Answers:

Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige (1906-1982) – Pitcher and American League legend in his own lifetime. Began his rookie year at age 42 and was the first Negro League player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Marty Bucella's Storefront

Marty Bucella- New York cartoonist and illustrator. Follow link in Marty’s name to his Cartoon Store!

Dorothy Fulheim (1893-1989) – first female news-anchor, journalist, and commentator. Her reputation matched her fiery red hair. If you have the time read the Wikipedia entry linked to her name. Ms. Fuldheim was quite the gal and was not above throwing an author’s book at him on air!

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) - an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. How did folks manage to do so much way back when?

George Burns (Nathan Birnbaum) (1896-1996) – Are you kidding? If you don’t know who George Burns was you’re too young to read this piece! “Good night, Gracie.”

J.B. Priestley (1894-1984) -  an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. By the age of 30 he had established a reputation as a humorous writer and critic.

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Truth and Perspective

Matters of truth in 2012 are usually defined by one’s personal perspective. This is silly on it’s face. If something is TRUE it must, by simple definition, be always true.

Enjoy this little bouquet of quotes about truth and perspective followed by the Jeopardy Answer section.

Interpreting Truth Quotes

“All things are subject to interpretation [and] whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” – Frederick Nietzsche

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” – Winston Churchill

“It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.” – Thomas Paine

“In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” ~ C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis talks about worldview. If you missed this piece on why people see different “truths”, read  “What color is the green grass?”

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Jeopardy Answers:

Frederick Nietzsche (1844-1900)- Nietzsche began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. Remember ‘philology’? If not, click the link and visit the Jeopardy answer section.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874-1965 ) – Two term Prime Minister of Britain. First honorary citizen of the United States. A Nobel Prize winner in Literature. The biggest news of all – he was closely related to Lady Diana Spencer… otherwise known as Princess Di. Did you know that Kate Middleton who married Prince William is also from the Churchill family?

Thomas Paine ( 1737-1809) – an English American author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  He has been called “a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination.”

George Orwell  (1903-1950) – a chronicler of  English Culture. He is best known for the dystopian** novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945), which together have sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th-century author.

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) -  Known by friends as “Jack”, Lewis was an Irish novelist, poet, medievalist, literary critic, and Christian apologist. He is known for both his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia and his nonfiction, such as Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were really good buddies. Lewis is one of my personal favorites.

** Dystopian – the opposite of utopian. The creation of a nightmare world.

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Just for fun!

35 Most Ridiculous Oxymorons

1. Government Worker
2. Legally drunk
3. Exact estimate
4. Act naturally
5. Found missing
6. Resident alien
7. Genuine imitation
8. Airline Food
9. Good grief
10. Government organization
11. Sanitary landfill
12. Alone together
13. Small crowd
14. Business ethics
15. Soft rock
16. Butt Head
17. Military Intelligence
18. Sweet sorrow
19. Rural Metro (ambulance service)
20. “Now, then …”
21. Passive aggression
22. Clearly misunderstood
23. Peace force
24. Extinct Life
25. Plastic glasses
26. Terribly pleased
27. Computer security
28. Political science
29. Tight slacks
30. Definite maybe
31. Pretty ugly
32. Rap music
33. Working vacation
34. Religious tolerance
35. Microsoft Works

And one more…. Civil disobedience.

My gratitude to Poddy’s for the list.  Have a blessed day and make time to laugh.

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“Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple.” –   John C. Maxwell

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“There are two basic schools of philosophy; one whose end product is a statement of philosophy and one whose end product is truth.” – Lynn Baber

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“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. ” ~Albert Einstein

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“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”  – Frederick Nietzsche

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“The author who benefits you is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been struggling for utterance in you.”  -  Oswald Chambers

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Jeopardy Answers:

John Calvin Maxwell – Mr. Maxwell is 65 this year. He is a Christian pastor and author with a passion for leadership, success, and relationship topics. Methinks we have much in common.

Lynn Baber – Really? Follow the link for the Cliff Notes version.

Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) – Mathematics and Physics genius. A non-observant Jew who attended Catholic school, Albert fled to the US when Hitler came to power. His first marriage produced a daughter who disappeared from the record in 1903 and two sons. After a divorce, Albert Einstein married Elsa Einstein, a first cousin on one side and second cousin on the other.  Albert was instrumental in the development of nuclear fission (weapons), then tried unsuccessfully to put the genie back in the lamp.

Frederick Nietzsche (1844-1900) – At 24 he was appointed to the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel, the youngest man ever to hold the post. F.N. was a German poet, composer, and classical philologist*. The guy was smart but completely off track. Much of his philosophy dealt with the death of God. Little wonder he died from a mental breakdown. Rumor has it that he died when he saw a cart horse being whipped in the street and died trying to protect the horse. If true, I shall remember Frederick fondly.

Oswald Chambers (1874 – 1917) – Preacher and founder of British Bible College.One of the most widely read and beloved Christian writers. His works are possible because his wife, Biddy, could take shorthand at a rate of 250 words per minute. Her notes of his lectures and classes were published, for which I am grateful.

Philology – the study of written records or texts to determine both meaning and authenticity.

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