Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Bob Woodward

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5 Quotes, Bob Woodward, Books, Fear, journalism, News, Rage, Veil, Washington Post, Watergate, wisdom

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I’ve been reading a lot of Bob Woodward’s works this year. I read both of his books on Trump, Fear and Rage. Now I am reading his book called Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987. These books were terrific. In honor of this writer, today’s 5 quotes are from him.

The central dilemma in journalism is that you don’t know what you don’t know.

Bob Woodward

When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.

Bob Woodward

Nixon’s grand mistake was his failure to understand that Americans are forgiving, and if he had admitted error early and apologized to the country, he would have escaped.

Bob Woodward

A reporter’s ability to keep the bond of confidentiality often enables him to learn the hidden or secret aspects of government.

Bob Woodward

I think journalism gets measured by the quality of information it presents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us.

Bob Woodward

Bob Woodward is most famous for his work as a journalist with the Washington Post on the Watergate scandal during the Nixon Presidency. For more information, check out his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woodward

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

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5 Quotes, Books, journalism, mimicry, Oscar Wilde, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

Oscar Wilde

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Oscar Wilde

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oscar Wilde

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

Oscar Wilde

By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.

Oscar Wilde

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Words

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Adventure, Books, heartache, ideas, Journals, Love, stories, Storytelling, Travels, Writing

Today’s wisdom is about writing. When we write, we bring what is in our head to the page. For some, this is a difficult process. It is difficult because our minds can be so jumbled at times. We have thoughts. But until we write those thoughts down, read through them, think about them, edit them, and then complete what we have written into an intelligible collection of words, sentences, and paragraphs, they remain in the same form they are in our minds. Writing clarifies our thinking. It solidifies our thoughts. It changes a wisp of thought to a concrete idea. 

This is why I love writing. I love capturing what is in my mind and bringing these thoughts and ideas into reality. It is really magical. When you read a book written by an author, you realize that this world you are exploring was in someone else’s head. That is magic. 

You, my reading audience, are also involved with this process each time you write a post for your blog and submit it to the WordPress servers. You tell your story. You expose yourself for others to see. You talk about what bothers you. You talk about what excites you. You tell your stories. 

Your words teach, inspire, and impact everyone that reads them. You allow your readers to see a little piece of you, expressed in your words. The stories of adventure, heartbreak, mystery, war, love, and every emotion we experience as human beings. Words do that. Words!

Write. Write every day. Journal. Capture your thoughts. Tell your stories. Your travels, your experiences, your recipes. They all bring a richness to our existence. Your words matter. Your words impact others. Your words tell your story.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Watch What You Let In

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Books, Movies, Negativity, News, Positivity, social media, Spiritual Saturday, spirituality, Video Games

I read an article a little while back and the article was about a spiritual leader who realized that the negativity in our lives is due to what we let in. He went on further to explain that negative books, movies, video games, music–anything that brought in any type of negativity would result in projecting that negativity in the world. 

Have you ever analyzed how you feel after you’ve watched an hour of the news? How about reading the news? How about watching news on YouTube? How about discussing a posted news article on Facebook? I’ll tell you how I felt. I felt like throwing my laptop through a window. 

Who wants to be bombarded by COVID, lives being ruined by riots, cities on fire, etc. Who wants to watch news reports of “non-violent” riots with buildings burning in the background?

I gave up the news months ago and already notice a huge difference in my stress levels. I’m just calmer. I still scan the news, but don’t watch it, don’t listen to it, and do not obsess over it. Yep, COVID is still around. Yep, the riots are still going on across the country. Yep, Biden and Trump are still at one another’s throats for the election. Not much has changed.

If you are stressed out or negative, take a look at what you are letting in.You may be impacted by what you read, watch, or listen to. Pay attention to how you treat other people. If you notice a change or realize people are being more negative toward you, this is the indicator. You see, the world reflects what is inside you. The more negativity you let in, the more negativity you broadcast. Conversely, the more positive you bring in, the more you broadcast positivity. 

Take a look at what you are bringing in. My simple act of reducing my news consumption has made a huge difference in my life. 

Have a great Saturday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – A Great Book

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Authors, Books, Fiction, Grateful, History, philosophy, Reading, Thankful

Reading is one of my blessings. My reading began as a young boy who wanted to emulate his folks. My Mom and Dad are both avid readers and introduced my brother, sister, and I to a wide range of topics, ranging from herbology, physics, history, politics, spiritual readings, and a whole other bunch of stuff.

I remember reading the Lord of the Rings and visiting this huge place with a history, dragons, wars, dwarves, elves, and orcs. A story filled with high adventure. Reading took me to places created by an author in their mind. This still blows me away.

Reading books also teaches us. Reading books by philosophers, scientists, politicians, generals, playwrights, authors, and many others are the greatest teachers. Each book changes us. They introduce us to new ideas, ones we may have never considered. These new ideas expand our awareness and shape the way we think.

Reading fiction is also a terrific way to learn. We experience the story through the eyes of the hero or heroine. We feel their pain. We weep when they are hurt; we applaud when they succeed. We see ourselves in each person we read about and experience what those heros and heroines experience. We learn through them as they change; they rise, they fall, and they resolve the problems they face in sometimes very dramatic ways.

So today, I am thankful for reading a great book. They have made my life richer, taught me a great deal, and most importantly, help me orient my thinking in ways that serve me in unpredictable ways.

To every author I have read. Thank you.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Acquiring Knowledge

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acquiring knowledge, blind spots, Books, Courses, Freud, Gaps, honesty, training, Tutorials, wisdom

We gain wisdom through the “pain and suffering” associated with mistakes. We screw up. We learn. We avoid screwing up that way again.

Another way to gain wisdom is to learn about other people’s lives. You can learn this from books. You can learn this from talking with other people. We can learn from the mistakes of others, so we can avoid them too.

So what are some ways we can acquire knowledge? Take online courses. Read books, magazines, blogs, articles in the areas you are trying to learn. Find tutorials online to learn from. You can even search YouTube to find a video that may show you what “not” to do.

You build knowledge that you do not have. You find solutions to fill in the gaps of your weaknesses. Books, courses, tutorials, and other people are all great resources for this.

Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise. – Sigmund Freud

The way to gain wisdom is to start by self-assessment. It starts with being honest about what you know, and what you don’t know. Once you find out where your knowledge gaps are, you can get to work. Then you can use every resource available to you. Each person is different, however.

You may have weaknesses I do not have, and I may have weaknesses you do not have. This is why it is so important to talk with other people. If you’re trying to improve at work, ask your boss to give you some feedback. If you’re struggling at home with a relationship, ask your partner what you could do to make things better. Go to the people who can help you identify your blind spots.

I hope each of you has a terrific Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Grateful for Authors

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Authors, Books, Entertain, Experience, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Storytelling, Teach, Writing

This week I’m grateful for the many authors that have entertained me or taught me something.

So many authors I’ve read and so many have contributed to my way of thinking. It would be impossible to list all of them here, but I have learned a great deal from the authors I have read. Covey, Sowell, Tolstoy, Tolkien, Allen, Shapiro, Seneca, Aristotle, Einstein, Feynman, Hawking, and the list goes on and on.

I’ve probably read more Non-fiction than fiction, but fiction writers like K.M. Allan, Tolkien, Burroughs, Poe, Doyle, have also taught me a great deal. Fiction teaches, too. You just have to read a talented author and peer into their words to learn something about them. Good fiction is drawn from life experiences. So when I read an author from an unfamiliar part of the world or time period, you learn about what they experienced in their lives and what they are teaching.

So, today I am grateful for the many authors who have contributed to the world.

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Grateful for my Teachers

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Books, Colleagues, Friends, leaders, Life, mentors, Parents, Professors, Teachers

All of us have had teachers in one shape or form that contributed to who we are today. I’ve had some great ones. I had great teachers in grade school. I had terrific professors in my undergraduate and graduate studies. The best teachers I’ve had were my parents, my leaders in the military, and life itself.

My parents taught me how to treat family, how to be a man, and how to treat a woman. My teachers gave me insights into the topics I was studying that you could not get from a book. They demonstrated how the book knowledge could be applied to the “real world”.

My military leaders taught me what service was about. They taught me how to take care of my equipment, learn my job, and lead others. They also taught me things that couldn’t be measured—things like honor, discipline, keeping your word, and being honest, even when things get screwed up.

One group I didn’t mention are the group of teachers I have not met. These are the authors of all the books I’ve read to date. Teachers like Covey, Allen, Guise, Twain, Einstein, Hawking, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Tolstoy, Tolkien, and so many others.

All of us have had great teachers in our lives. Life is the final one. Life tends to blindside us. We learn from the cuts and bruises life dishes out. We learn things like being thrifty, planning, always striving for something better, but the most important lesson of all—we learn to treat other people with decency and respect.

I love learning. I love learning from the greats. Whether it is a book, a quote, a video, or in-person advice, our teachers have helped us achieve what we are achieving today. Today, I am grateful for every one of my teachers. I would not be where I am today without them.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Grateful for Mini-Habits

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Books, Change the rules, doing something is better than doing nothing, Life Changing, mini-habits, Stephen Guise

Featured Image Credit: Mini Habits Book Cover (Stephen Guise)

Welcome to another Thankful Thursday. Today, I wanted to express my gratitude for the concept of Mini-Habits, introduced by Stephen Guise, a few years ago. It is such a novel idea, and it took me by surprise. You see, I had a hell of a time getting done what I wanted to get done. I just couldn’t get anything started or accomplished. Then came this book, Mini Habits.

After reading about his one-pushup a day beginning, I knew this was the right thing for me. The freedom to do some minimal thing that would allow me to check something off of my daily to-do list was shocking. I began to see the wisdom in this as I looked at my own inability to do anything I wanted to do.

So, I gave it a shot. And you know, it worked. I don’t recommend this book to everyone. I only recommend it to people who are stuck, or who know what they want to do, but just can’t seem to get started. This is all I needed. Just a little momentum.

So, today I am grateful for Mini Habits and the changes it has brought to my life. If you are stuck like I was, here’s a link to Stephen’s book: Mini Habits. It’ll set you back about $6 dollars US for the Kindle version. Trust me. It is worth every penny.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Grateful for Reading

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Adventures, Books, Expanding Your Mind, ideas, Learning, Libraries, Places, Reading, Romance

A study at the Pew Research Center posits that 27% of America did not read a single book in the last year. That’s a pretty astounding number when you take into account the amount of free books online, online resources provided by local libraries, and available for free at your local library. Enough of my lecturing.

I’m grateful for reading and my ability to read. I love books. I love learning. I love nonfiction and history more than I do fiction, but I still love a great fiction story, particularly science fiction. I love reading stories of exploring other planets, space battles, laser gun fights, you name it.

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No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. Mary Wortley Montagu.

When I read a book, I’m taken away. I experience the history, the adventure, the drama. It is hard to describe the feeling you get when a great book carries you away. You lose track of time.

So, thank you, to every author that has taken me to a new place. Thanks to the historians that taught me something about a civilization, a war, that told me how we looked at our world 100 years ago, 300 years ago, 500 years ago.

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If you don’t read, give it a whirl. Find a topic or type of story you like. Do you like being scared? Pick up a thriller. Do you like to read about love? Find a romance novel. Do you like history and a good story? Pick up a historical fiction book. There are so many choices and so many books available. You don’t need any money. Go to your local library. Heck, reach out to your grandparents. If they are still alive, I bet they have a lot of books to lend you.

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If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write. Stephen King

In closing, I love to read and grateful for the ability to read. It teaches me; it engages me; it opens my mind to other ideas, times, and places. Pick up a book and read it. You will be different when you’re done.

Until next time…

Dave