Lack of discipline is the only thing that prevents you from being the best version of yourself.
~ read on the interwebs
Indeed…I will meditate on this for a while
Some people find fault like there is a reward for it.
~ Zig Zigler
"Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o'clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you've never been.
Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride."
- Anthony Bourdain
Ooooooo, spicy!
The problem with society today is that no one drinks from the skulls of their enemies anymore.
~ read on the internet
I concur
If there is something I could do or something I could say that would make you be happy just being with me, I'd do it.
I'd do it in a nanosecond, but I ain't got no control over any of that.
~ Ted Lasso, in Ted Lasso
A Man’s Poem
When I was young, I thought I’d live forever.
When I was young, I thought fun was the thing.
When I was young, I cared little for what others thought.
When I was young, I knew not what regret felt like.
When I became a dad, I thought I might not live long enough.
When I became a dad, I thought fun was for the kids.
When I became a dad, I cared deeply what the kids thought.
When I became a dad, I understood what regret was.
When I was old, I realized I’d not live long enough.
When I was old, I thought fun was the thing, again.
When I was old, I cared little for what others thought, again.
When I was old, I deeply understood what regret felt like.
Now that I’m old, I yearn to be young again!
~ Dan Mills
Applies to personal goals AND with relationships...
If you really wanted it, you would make time for it.
~ Bret O.
One of the saddest things…
‘I have led a toothless life’, he thought.
‘A toothless life.
I have never bitten into anything.
I was waiting.
I was reserving myself for later on - and I have just noticed that my teeth have gone.’
~ Jean-Paul Sartre
Gossip and the Three Sieves - Socrates
In Ancient Greece, Socrates had a great reputation for wisdom.
One day, someone came to find the great philosopher and said to him:
"Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
"A moment," replied Socrates. "Before you tell me, I would like to test it with the three sieves.”
"The three sieves?”
"Yes," continued Socrates. "Before you speak about others, it's important to take the time to filter what you mean. I call it the test of the three sieves.
The first sieve is TRUTH. Have you checked if what you're going to tell me is true?”
"No, I just heard it.”
"Very well! So, you don't know if it's true. Let's move on to the second sieve, that of KINDNESS. Is what you want to tell me about my friend something good?”
"Oh, no! On the contrary.”
"So," questioned Socrates, "you want to tell me something negative about him, and you're not even sure it's true? Perhaps you can still pass the test of the third sieve, that of UTILITY. Is it useful for me to know what you're going to tell me about this friend?”
"No, not really.”
"Therefore," concluded Socrates, "what you were going to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor useful. Why, then, did you want to tell me this?"
"Gossip is a bad thing. Initially, it may seem enjoyable and fun, but ultimately, it fills our hearts with bitterness and poisons us."
I remind myself of this often
Fitness isn't about being better than someone else. It's about being better than you used to be.
~ Mackenzie Smith
Me, too...
I want it to be the way it was between us…
~ Daenerys Targaryen to Jon Snow, in Game of Thrones
This guy was a prescient genius
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
~ George Orwell, 1984
My favorite joke of all time
A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband is not in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.
She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.
"What's the matter, dear”, she whispers as she steps into the room, "Why are you down here at this time of night?"
The husband looks up from his coffee, "It's the 20th Anniversary of the day we met".
She can't believe he has remembered and starts to tear up.
The husband continues, "Do you remember 20 years ago when we started dating, I was 18 and you were only 16," he says solemnly.
Once again, the wife is touched to tears.
"Yes, I do”, she replies.
The husband pauses...The words were not coming easily.
"Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?"
"Yes, I remember”, said the wife, lowering herself into the chair beside him.
The husband continued. "Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter or I will send you to prison for 20 years’”?
"I remember that, too”, she replied softly.
He wiped another tear from his cheek and said “Today, I would have been a free man…"
Tom is the G.O.A.T.
To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined and willing to work for it.
~ Tom Brady
Indeed
The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
~ Charles Bukowski
Yes
The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it –
Basically because you feel good when you are near or with them.
~ Charles Bukowski
People are indeed strange
People are strange: they are constantly angered by trivial things,
But on a major matter like totally wasting their lives, they hardly seem to notice.
~ Charles Bukowski
My experience generally confirms this
Sayre's Law
People often argue the most about things that matter the least.
Rasor to ponder
Hanlon's Razor
Don't attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity.
If your little brother colors on your homework, it's probably not because he hates you.
It's more likely he didn't know how important your homework was.
He was speaking in the context of relationships, but works in life generally
Do not punish behavior that you wish to see repeated.
~ Jordan Peterson
She knew
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
~ Judy Garland
Good point
A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something that he can understand.
~ Bertrand Russell
Good Advice from the Oracle of Omaha
You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you.
Frue power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint.
If words control you, that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.
~ Warren Buffett
If you know, you know…
Sometimes all I need is the air I breathe…
…and to love you.
~ seen on a piece of wall art on a shop in Pella, Iowa.
The Greatest Song Ever Written (according to Paul McCartney)
I may not
always love you,
but as long as there are
stars above you,
you'll never
need to doubt it.
I'll make you so
sure about it.
God only knows
what I'd be without you.
~ Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, God Only Knows, sung by The Beach Boys
Best (and saddest) Breakup Song and Lyrics EVER
You could be my silver spring
Blue-green colors flashin'
I would be your only dream
Your shinin' autumn ocean crashin'
And don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don't wanna know
So, I begin not to love you
Turn around, see me running
I say, "I loved you years ago"
Tell myself you never loved me, no
And don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don't wanna know, oh, no
And can you tell me, was it worth it?
Baby, I don't wanna know
Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
~ Silver Spring, written by Stevie Nicks, about Lindsey Buckingham, of Fleetwood Mac
Point taken
We don't do TV commercials, because our target audience isn't sitting around watching TV.
~ Ferruccio Lamborghini
If you know, you know.
I wasn't going to go home because I lifted.
~ Nolan Seigel (age 19), attempting to qualify for one of the last three spots at the 2024 Indianapolis 500 on his maiden try.
“I wasn’t going to go home because I lifted"
Primed as the last to go out, leaving Rahal without a chance to defend, Siegel ran an opening lap of 229.288mph. Pushing for every ounce of speed, he fully committed into Turn 1 on his second lap and glanced the wall on the exit of the corner, sending him into a spin before hitting the Turn 2 barriers.
“I was going to go home because I went flat and did everything I could do,” Siegel said. “I wasn’t going to go home because I lifted.”
The valiant effort portrayed encapsulated everything desired in a racing driver. And it was noticed by many of Siegel’s peers, including Rahal.
Not sure I get it, but there it is…
You can never be unfaithful to your one true love…
~ Norm, to Sam, in the final scene of the final episode of Cheers
Golden (silence is...)
If you’re too tired to speak, sit next to me, because I too, am fluent in silence.
~ Keanu Reeves
Warren Buffett's Most Important Decision in Life
Marry the Right Person
Buffett calls it the most important decision in life.
Your partner will be there through the ups & downs.
Find someone who:
- Challenges you
- Supports your dreams
- Brings joy to your days
The right partner is priceless.
Can confirm...
It is written -
One who's heart is not content
will never know happiness.
~ Chinese proverb, as mentioned in China Sky (1945)
It works!
Here's what I do when I'm feeling down:
I get very quiet and very still...
And I say to myself:
"Everyone in the world is as miserable and empty as I am.
They're just better at pretending."
Try it sometime, it may bring your some peace.
~ Mom, in the The Edge of Seventeen
Typical
When NASA first started sending astronauts to space, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent years and millions of dollars to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300 degrees Celsius.
And what did the Russian do?
The Russians used a pencil.
Yep
Letter to the Person Who Carved
His Initials into the Oldest Living
Longleaf Pine in North America
Tell me what it's like to live withoutcuriosity, without awe. To sailon clear water, rolling your eyesat the kelp reefs swayingbeneath you, ignoring the flickerof mermaid scales in the mist,looking at the world and feelingonly boredom. To standon the precipice of some wild valley,the eagles circling, a herd of cariboubooming below, and to yawnwith indifference. To discoversomething primordial and holy.To have the smell of the earthwelcome you to everywhere.To take it all in, and then,to reach for your knife.
~ Matthew Olzmann
Well...
My wife likes to make love in the back seat of the car...
...but I'm getting tired of driving her around.
~ Rodney Dangerfield
Never argue with someone at a lower level of political awareness than you
Levels of Awareness in politics
Level 1 - They believe what their preferred news say and do not sample other sources. Not aware of counter arguments. Not aware their news is mostly narrative.
Level 2 - Sample news from multiple sources but believe only their own sources are accurate. Think the other side is all narrative, but familiar with all sides of issues.
Level 3 - Aware that ALL news is fake, at least in the sense of missing context and spin. Also known as Gell-Mann Amnesia. But still believe the experts in various fields are usually correct.
Level 4 - Understand that NONE of our experts are reliable. Some might be right, not none can be trusted without verification. The distortion of money makes no expert credible.
Level 5 - They see the gears of the machine. The Republic no longer looks like whatever the Founders intended. The control of powerful billionaires and intelligence professionals is now obvious.
Level 6 - You are dead because you know too much. Also known as Epstein Level.
From Scott Adams
I think I'll take his advice tonight!
Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been.Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two.
Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways.Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride.
~ Anthony Bourdain
Wait, what?
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Simple, indeed
There are really just five simple lessons to life:
Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful, and pay it forward.
~ Bruce Halle, Founder of Discount Tire
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