Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Learning with the Written Word

Tags

Amazon KIndle, Christina DesMarais, Confucius, Freebooksy, Goodreads, Inc.com, Nook, Reading, Scribd

“You cannot open a book without learning something.” – Confucius

Image by Eli Digital Creative from Pixabay 

Do you have a reading habit? I read voraciously every day. I read to learn new things, explore different historical periods, and analyze why an author did this or that to get his or her point across. I can’t imagine a day without reading. I truly enjoy it.

According to Inc.com contributor, Christina DesMarais, “reading fiction can help you be more open-minded and creative” and help you live longer. How much should you read? Well, it is really about what you prioritize during your day. It is possible to read 12 books a year, without too much work (that’s one book a month). I like to make a game out of it. If you haven’t seen this yet, Goodreads.com has a free reading challenge you can participate in every year. Just create a free account and click on reading challenge. You can select the number of books you want to read this year and it will keep track of that for you as long as you keep your list updated. Luckily, the Amazon Kindle helps you by linking directly to your Goodreads account. Click Goodreads if you’d like to check this out.

I read predominantly online because it is easier on my eyes. I also use a few services to get access to books. I have a library card for anything I want to get my hands on that is not available on the Amazon Kindle. I also use Scribd (which costs about $8/month). To get access to a lot of free books by Indie authors, I use a service called Freebooksy. Click Scribd to check out their services. Click Freebooksy to check out this amazing service. Scribd has saved me a lot of money by offering books I would normally have to pay for individually, because many of the books that were offered a year or so ago make their way to Scribd as a means of building a following beyond the initial hype associated with a book’s initial launch. Freebooksy will deliver a list of titles you can download for free. Scribd has a huge repository of books, magazines, audible books, and comic books for your use as part of your membership. There is a limit to how many books you can download, but I have not breached my limit yet. I’m not too big into audible books yet, but in the future when my eyes degrade enough, audible books may be another option I used to satisfy me.

If you are one of those people that have not fully embraced digital content, because you like the feel of a book in your hands or enjoy the smell of a new book you pick up at a bookstore, no problem. I would utilize your local library for those needs. I would challenge you to adapt to the digital world. You have so much more access to many books you will not find at your local library or that are available in print without a lot of cost. Many Indie authors will offer a Kindle-version of their book for free and charge a pretty penny for a hardcover or paperback version of their book. This is because Amazon will print on demand the books people order from them. One word of caution: Please read a few books by an Indie author in digital form first. I’ve run across some really great talent in the Indie space, but have also run across some really bad ones too. It’s better to find out that a book is bad in digital form that was bad vs. spending your hard-earned money on an untested author.

There are some other great resources for books that are out of print, rare, or really old. Check out these services if you’d like to find some real gems. The links are:

The HathiTrust Organization

The Gutenberg Project

The Literature Network

Authorama

All of these sites offer e-books that are compatible with the Kindle, Nook (Barnes & Noble), and most e-reader apps you may be using from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The link I’m most familiar with is The Gutenberg Project. I’ve read quite a few books from this site and they were terrific.

Well, I hope this helps some of you who may have been looking for some resources to help you get started on your reading quest. I truly enjoy reading and learn something new every day. Sometimes, just getting that one new idea from a book can provide untold benefits that will help you with your business, your writing career, your blogging, or even learning a new skill. I can’t recommend starting a new reading habit enough.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Socialism: Learning from the Past

Tags

Cold Weather, Confucius, Redistributing Wealth, Socialism, Universal Income, wisdom

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”―Confucius

Today is a cold one. The United States Post Office is not delivering mail until Friday. I don’t remember the last time the USPS cancelled deliveries of mail. If you are in the Mid-West in the middle of what they are calling a polar vortex, stay inside, unless you just can’t avoid it.

Today’s wisdom is provided by Confucius. I find it fascinating that so many of today’s problems are a result of ignoring what so many have already discovered. Look at socialism, for example. If you look at the USSR, North Korea, Communist China, and Vietnam, it would be easy to see how broken a system of government socialism is, yet it appears our younger generations are seeking just that. Why are so many ignoring the experiences of socialism in the 20^th century?

Socialism and communism are attractive sells if you avoid the atrocities these systems caused. In the 20^th century, socialism has easily been responsible for over 1,000,000 deaths. Why would anyone want to bring that system back? I think many crave the beauty of utopia, where we are all equal, we all participate, we all contribute, and we all benefit equally. The main issue with this is the primary tenet of Socialism, which is equality of outcomes. How do you achieve an equality of outcomes? You enforce it.

Socialism destroys production. Say you have a productive worker. This worker comes to the job everyday giving everything they have. Over time this worker realizes that other workers don’t put in the same effort they do but still get the same pay. Then it happens. The productive worker falls in line and lowers his production to meet the bare minimum, along with his colleagues. When you live in a system that does not reward innovation, productivity, and efficiency, you destroy these things.

You hear all this talk by many in politics today. Let’s tax the rich. Let’s take their money. They earned it unfairly, they stole it from the poor, they cheated the system. No one should have that much money, they should give it to others. Charity is one thing. No one has a problem giving their money to charitable causes. Taking the money of a productive person and giving it to someone else without their consent is theft. Does this improve society? Does it motivate someone who is not making any money to make more? No. It perpetuates poverty.

Redistributing wealth does nothing but keep people poor. Imagine a universal income, another platitude of politicians today. What do you think a person would do if you paid them say $1000 dollars a month for doing nothing? They would do what you are paying them to do—nothing. It really is that simple. Are we improving outcomes? Are we lifting people out of poverty? No.

Over taxing the rich will also result in rich people leaving the country. Why should they stay when they can keep their money living somewhere else? Then guess what happens? Those tax revenues are pushed down into the lower tax brackets and now you have people being taxed at exorbitant rates that cannot afford them.

The same thing occurs when you overtax companies. They will move their enterprises overseas, taking advantage of lower tax rates and cheaper labor. Along with these strategies, they will push the taxes down to the consumer. Companies must be profitable in order to attract investors. When the government passes legislation that increases taxes or affects their profit margins, these companies push these increases down to the consumer. You and I pay more money for a product because of these taxes and regulations. These regulations and taxes don’t hurt the company–they hurt us.

Let’s keep in mind the quote from above. We have gained wisdom surrounding socialism. We have seen it fail. We have seen the results of these systems repeatedly—stagnated economies, human atrocities, and the elimination of freedom. Let’s not go down that road again.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday

Tags

Achievement, Adjusting Actions, Altering Actions, Altering Plans, Confucius, Goals, Review

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” – Confucius

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/confucius_140548?src=t_wisdom

When we strike out to achieve something, the territory is unknown—we have never done this thing before. If we had, it really wouldn’t be something to pursue—we’ve mastered it already. Pursuing goals will result in mistakes, missed milestones, and frustration. It’s ok.

When we first map out a route to a goal, we are guessing. We have read what others have done; we follow some of the steps they have taken. As we walk this path we find out that what these others have done doesn’t work for us. Do we give up? Never.

As Confucius suggests, we measure where we are, we look at the finish line, and we adjust our sails. We reformulate a new plan to help us achieve the same end-state. This could result in altering our diet, altering our writing plan, or even learn a new skill that will contribute to our goal’s achievement. Whatever we do doesn’t give up the goal it merely changes the route we will take to get there.

The changes you’ll make will relate to what you do each day. The action steps you are taking each day to edge toward your goal. These action steps, although small, will build toward your goal.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your goal is set and you are making progress. Once a week you review your progress against all your goals and discover that you will not meet your deadline by the time you set it. Uh oh! If you’re writing a section of your book a day (typically around 500 words or so), you can adjust this by writing two sections (around 1000 words a day). At the end of the next week, you’ll be writing 7,000 words instead of 3,500. This small adjustment should make a dramatic improvement to your writing plan’s productivity.

Maybe it’s a planning issue. You set out a daily schedule and for some reason fall off your schedule consistently. Print out your daily routine and look at what happens when. Perhaps it is an energy issue? We all have those parts of the day that we are most productive. Maybe you could adjust your writing to the afternoon or evening? Try it out. You have nothing to lose.

For me, my prime time for exercise is when I get up. I know that if I don’t go to the gym as soon as I wake up I will miss that workout. This was my adjustment to achieving my goal of being in shape and trimming some weight. Does this make sense?

Whenever you are pursuing a goal, take some time to review your progress. I typically do this on Sundays (my do-nothing day) to check in with myself and see where I am making progress and where I am falling behind. As I plan the next week, I adjust my schedule. I think about what is working and what is not working—then I make a new plan and review my results again the next week.

I hope all of you are achieving what you want to in life. If not, take some of the advice that Confucius offers. Good luck on your journey to success!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Confucius, Consistency, Daily Rituals, Exercising, Learning, Reading, Writing

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” Confucius
Read more at Brainy Quote

Consistency is critical to our success. Doing little things each day will contribute more to your success than doing a whole lot in one day. I call these things my daily rituals and they work, at least for me.

Pick one thing you’d like to improve–say reading. Instead of trying to read a whole day, just read one chapter or a few pages. Do this every day and you’ll be reading more books in a year than you did previously. It’s all about consistent effort.

The same applies to exercise, learning, or writing. Just do a little each day for a pre-set time period and you’ll be better for it. Consistency is key.

Here’s what I’m up to…

Physical:

My goal is to get my body fat down to 15% by year’s end.

My last weigh-in was this morning: 224 lbs.

Bodyfat 33%

Currently following the Labrada 12-week lean body trainer. I just finished week 1 today, 11 weeks to go.

Mental:

My goal is to finish 12 online courses by year’s end. I am at 6 so far. I finished the Udemy Non-fiction writing course last week. Still working on Public Policy and Learning How to Learn.

I also want to read 36 books this year. I’m at 23 so far.

Writing my blog post every day except Sunday and work through my non-fiction project daily (knocking off little bite-size pieces as I go). Right now I’m researching, analyzing my reader and audience, and putting together topics that I’ll organize later.

Spiritual:

My goal here is to finish my discourse by year’s end, read my Bible daily, Meditate/Pray twice a day, and keep a dream and gratitude journal. All of this is on track so far.

I am participating in a workshop in Canada, another workshop here in Michigan in September, and already served on a panel and gave a talk at our spiritual center in February.

Social:

My goals are to build my readership to 500 by year’s end. I’m currently at 386! If you know anyone that would benefit from my blog, please send them my way!

Attended a Sound of Soul meetup, held by the local Eckankar group. Great fun and a nice dinner afterward!

My niece visited this week and we had some great fun. We went out to eat, saw a movie, and talked on our back porch. It was good to see her (she’s on her way back home to AZ as of an hour ago).

Well, that’s my week folks! I hope you have a terrific week!

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Hari Krishna, Harold Klemp, Muhammad, Rumi

“If you fill your consciousness with the positive aspects of Divine Spirit, there is no vacuum where the negative may enter.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Our mind is so focused on scanning our environment for danger that it is much easier for us to think negatively. Focusing on positive things is much more difficult and takes some discipline, particularly if you are trying to adjust your thoughts this way. One way that will work for you is using whomever you use as a focal point for your religious worldview. Whether you use Christ, Hari Krishna, Rumi, Confucius, Muhammad, or the Buddha, the effect will be the same.

I don’t know of anyone who can think negatively while keeping their mind on Christ or any other spiritually elevated individual in history. By keeping your attention on one of these spiritual giants (One that has special meaning to you), negative thoughts will leave you while you practice this exercise.

Once you begin the practice of focusing on the positive, your outlook will change. Things that may have bothered you in the past will no longer trouble you. You’ll feel a calmness begin to take over your being. You will relax.

Thanks for reading!

See you tomorrow…

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Confucius, mini-habits, self-improvement

Today’s Quote

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

The wisdom of Confucius continues to bless us to this day. This quote means so many things to me when I read it. It means that we are not in a race but in a marathon. It means we can continuously improve or degrade, the choice is ours. This quote also suggests that we can make small, little steps and achieve anything.

I read a book a year or so ago called Mini Habits by Steven Guise. The book discusses the challenges related to creating good, productive, habits. The book suggests that it is much easier if we create ridiculously small changes to our daily lives instead of trying to invoke a big change. These small changes are the “mini habits” that allow us to create bigger habits later by building upon the small ones.

Example Mini Habits

Exercise: 1 pushup a day

Diet: -1 sodas per day

Meditation: 1 minute per day

Writing: 1 sentence per day

Executing Your Mini Habit

Let’s say we want to pick up a reading habit. Something truly intentional, not just reading random stuff on the web, but an actual book. We look at our day, and figure out we can start our new reading habit before we go to bed. So, in and around the rest of our evening ritual we decide to read 1 page of a book 30 minutes before we turn out the lights.

Is there any doubt you could read 1 page of a book per night? The key to setting up a mini habit and making it work for you is to pick something that is so small that even if you were sick you could still do it. In other words, there is no excuse for failing to do the mini habit you’ve set for yourself.

Steven Guise also suggests only dealing with one habit at a time. This is purposeful so that you will truly remain focused on the one habit you want to create. I’ve run across several “life-changing” books like this. I highly recommend this book. The $6.00 cost for the Kindle version allows you instant access and it is a really easy read. It will be worth your while—promise.

Well, that’s it for today folks!

See you tomorrow…