My approach to life is to plan carefully, then relentlessly focus on execution. I don’t mean to sound stuffy, but to me impulsiveness is a sign of irresponsible behavior.
That’s why those who know me best would lay 100-to-1 odds that I would never make a spur-of-the-moment decision to hop on a train and head for New York on New Year’s Eve. And they would have lost their shirts on that bet this year.
Creativity is a trait we all admire. Original thoughts and ideas are valued highly in the marketplace. But most people believe that creativity is an inborn trait and is beyond their reach. They’re right about the former, but wrong about the latter.
It goes without saying that some people are more naturally creative than others, but the same can be said of any human trait. A person with a high IQ might breeze through school with a “B” average, but a person with an average IQ can become an “A” student if he’s willing to invest enough time and effort in his studies.
“Touching all the bases” is an appropriate metaphor that may well have its roots in the tragic tale of Fred Merkle’s “bonehead” play nearly a century ago. At the time, Merkle was only nineteen years old and in his second major league season with the New York Giants.
Merkle’s infamous mental lapse took place on September 23, 1908, in the last half of the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs. With the score tied and two outs, the Giants had runners on first (Merkle) and third (Moose McCormick), when Al Bridwell singled to centerfield.
In a radio interview some years ago, the host started out by asking me, “In order of importance, what would you say are the three most essential rules when it comes to making money?” Without hesitation, I blurted out: “Rule No. 1: Stay alive. Rule No. 2: Stay healthy. Rule No. 3: Stop losing money.” The phones rang off the hook for a full hour.
I believe that the reason those words jumped out of my mouth, without my even taking a few seconds to ponder the question, was because of my belief that most people tend to ignore or skim over the basics. By “basics,” I am referring to things that are often so obvious that people simply don’t bother to give them much thought. Which is unfortunate, because the basics are the building blocks of success.
Recovered memory syndrome (RMS) is a phenomenon whereby a questioner “helps” someone remember events that may be fictional by asking leading questions. The reason such questioning works — in bogus molestation cases, for example — is because the mind is very susceptible to suggestion.
But RMS is just one aspect of a much broader problem — the consequences that tend to flow from any kind of false perception of reality, no matter what the cause. False perceptions brought about by RMS are the result of what we commonly refer to as “brainwashing” or “the power of suggestion.”
I happened to be going through some old files the other day, and came across an old article about blockbuster bestsellers. The reason I saved the article was that it included a list of “Mario Puzo’s Godfatherly Rules for Writing a Bestselling Novel.”
Puzo, who passed away in 1999, wrote a number of bestselling novels, including The Godfather, Fools Die, and The Last Don. But what I really liked about Puzo was his legendary tongue-in-cheek interviews. One of my favorite Puzo comments was when he warned aspiring scriptwriters that the only way to get a fair deal in Hollywood is to go into the studio with a mask and gun.
As I said in Part I of this article, the reality therapist does not believe it is necessary, or even helpful, to hash over the deep-rooted causes of one’s problems. Instead, he believes that fulfillment of an individual’s needs in the present, regardless of what traumas he may have suffered in the past, is all that matters. In other words, through the power of free will we have the capacity to modify our behavior.
I thought about this some years ago after watching about a half-hour of a Larry King Live show and a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday that immediately followed. From a reality-therapy perspective, I found the dichotomy between the two celebrities featured on these shows to be fascinating.
For most of my life, I was a strong believer in conventional psychology, which is based on the teachings of Sigmund Freud. Conventional psychology focuses on finding the psychological roots of an individual’s problems.
The idea is that once a person’s past traumas are brought to the surface and dissected, he is able to change his attitude toward life. It made perfect sense to me. I did not believe in the concept of “behavioral modification,” which is in stark conflict with conventional psychology. Behavioral modification seemed to imply synthetic change, which is why I associated it with the rah-rah slogan “Just fake it till you make it.”
I recently received a nasty e-mail from someone who implied he had read my book Action! Nothing Happens Until Something Moves. He lashed out at me with a vengeance and resorted to some pretty nasty name-calling.
What was he so ticked off about? Would you believe it was because, in the first chapter of the book, I briefly discuss my belief that there is an infinite source of power in the universe that no one fully understands? When I say no one, that includes the most cerebral scientists on the planet. The most remarkable discovery that resulted from the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope is that not only is all matter in the universe moving away from all other matter at lightning speeds, those speeds are actually accelerating.
Life is filled with paradoxes.
Example: You spend decades learning the rules of the game. Then, just about the time you’ve managed to accumulate some meaningful wisdom, the game ends.
An interviewer once asked Dr. Phil if it bothered him that so many critics accused him of oversimplification. He responded that it didn’t bother him at all. He even volunteered that one fellow had recently accused him of saying things that were really nothing more than common sense — to which Dr. Phil responded, “Golly, that’s great. Do you mind if I use it as a testimonial?”
It was a very clever way of turning a negative into a positive. And the nice thing about it was that it was true. The greatest teachers have a knack for demystifying complex issues by applying common sense to them. But just what is common sense?
Prominently displayed in the main hallway of my son’s school is a large sign that lists “Life’s Rational Rules of the World.” There are twelve altogether, and the first rule on the list reads: “The world is not always fair.”
From the first time I saw that sign, I was impressed with the school. What a great truism to emphasize to children, because, throughout their lives, they will continually be confronted by injustice.
There’s no question that some fans felt cheated when they found out that major league baseball players have been using performance-enhancing substances for years. It appears, however, that they are in the minority and that most fans don’t really care all that much about steroid usage.
At the very least, they’re willing to forgive and forget. I think my teenage son’s attitude is typical: “I don’t care if players use steroids. I just like seeing home runs.”
How do you commit a Geragos? To answer this question, we first need to define what a Geragos is.
A Geragos is a humanoid who:
- Possesses a piece of paper (technically referred to as a “law degree”) that gives him the right to participate in a monopoly known as the “practice of law.”
- Passionately believes in the timeless maxim: First and foremost, feed the ego.
- Has never met a television camera he didn’t adore.
- Is cursed with a mouth that can outrun logic and rational thought.
- Is shameless. (For example, willing to represent a client even after repeatedly proclaiming him to be guilty on national television.)
With Thanksgiving coming up soon, I find myself thinking about Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. If you’re a sports fan, the chances are good that you’ve probably seen footage of that historic speech.
The words that most of us remember are when Gehrig said, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” What an amazing statement from a person who knew that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This insidious terminal illness is now commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
Larry Kudlow Obama’s Lowball Vision: Tax Success and Growth 
Michelle Malkin Jim Moran, Racist Pig 
Judge Andrew Napolitano What Is a Just War? 
Thomas Sowell Getting Nowhere, Very Fast Robert Ringer interviews top political, economic, and social leaders on today's most vital and controversial issues.
Featured Interview:
Angela McGlowan
Audio file loading...
More Interviews