Posts by Robert Ringer
Making Every Day Thanksgiving
Here it is, Thanksgiving again. I love Thanksgiving because it brings back a lot of great childhood memories — turkey, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, five or six desserts, the Packers and Lions doing battle on our black-and-white television set, snow flurries, the long weekend and, best of all, family. Most everyone loves the festive atmosphere of Thanksgiving. The spirit of…
Read MoreBeware the Negativism Virus
Though you yourself may possess a positive outlook on life, it’s still a good idea to avoid negative people, particularly those who are critical of your aspirations or goals. Even if you try to ignore negativism in your midst, spoken words (not to mention facial expressions) are recorded by your subconscious mind. Just as positive…
Read MoreThe Power of Self-interest
The reason I have never bought a lottery ticket is that I don’t want to soil my belief system with fantasies of striking it rich through pure luck. Lotteries are perhaps the ultimate free-lunch delusion, which is why they are a favored method of taxation by governments throughout the world. Sooner or later, anyone who…
Read MoreThe Futility of the Debate
One of the most time-wasting and exhausting exercises I can think of is being sucked into a debate — especially if the debater has tapioca between his ears. An argumentative person is not only unpleasant to be around, he also can consume large chunks of your time — time that could otherwise be used in…
Read MoreDealing with Human Nature
It’s often been said that business would be easy if you didn’t have to deal with people. How true. But, realistically speaking, you can’t expect to achieve your goals without interacting with, and receiving the help and cooperation of, other people. If you start a business, you need to deal with employees, suppliers, customers, regulatory…
Read MoreConcentricity
We are living through a period of human history when morality has become a passé topic. For that very reason, vigilance and self-discipline are in order, because morality is perhaps the most important element in leading a successful life. In that vein, the first step is to define your moral standards, because they serve as…
Read MoreBeware the Victimization Trap
As every straight-thinking adult knows, a faulty belief system — i.e., a belief system based on false premises — leads to bad consequences. Perhaps the best example of this is a person who is caught up in the Victimization Trap. It’s a trap that mentally paralyzes the afflicted person, because he comes to believe the…
Read MoreAre You Too Old to Pursue Your Dream?
When it comes to having the courage to make a major change in one’s life, my memory takes me back many years ago to a chance meeting in Palm Springs, California, where a friend and I happened to stop in at a hotel lounge one evening. Without fanfare, the act for the lounge was introduced…
Read MoreSorry, But You Are Not Immortal
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.”…
Read MoreHow Important is Attitude?
Billionaire J. Paul Getty was once asked to write a magazine article about how he became so rich, to which he responded, “Some people find oil. Others don’t.” Talk about playing into the hands of randomness advocates. I acknowledge that there’s a lot of luck involved in the way life turns out. But luck isn’t…
Read MoreEscaping the State of Waking Dreams
Reality is an issue that people tend to get very emotional about. The problem is that reality is nothing more than truth, and as Baltasar Gracian, the insightful and pragmatic 17th century Jesuit priest, cautioned, “Truth is abhorred by the masses.” Instead, they try to make true that which they love — a self-delusive practice…
Read MoreWinning and Happiness
Your cerebral computer, commonly referred to as the brain, contains a biological chip I like to think of as your Weight and Balance Happiness Scale. This remarkable scale automatically weighs every known alternative available to you at any given time and chooses the one it believes will result in the greatest amount of happiness for…
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