The Twenty Dollar Challenge
"The Twenty Dollar Challenge"
- Pity Party Free -
Today, did you listen to any national news? Today, have you listened to or read the commentary presented by any of our national media celebrities? After spending some of your valuable time absorbing the information presented to you by these national institutions, are you optimistic about your immediate future or the future of your children or grandchildren? Listening to the news this morning it is easy to ask yourself, "Why should I be optimistic about anything?"
Most media institutions obtain celebrity through controversy in their pursuit for higher ratings. From a business model perspective, higher ratings lead to higher advertising rates, greater subscription revenues and greater exposure to more of the public. An old newspaper saying goes like this, "If it bleeds, it reads". There is nothing wrong, immoral or illegal with media outlets focusing on the problems our country and world are facing in order to seek the highest profits they can. However, on an individual and personal level, if you only feed your garden of life with bad news and antagonistic attitudes, you will probably grow a lot of pessimism. Pessimism grows best in an environment where it is routinely fed a consistent diet of negative crap.
From the experiences I have had in life, I conclude that most people who see life pessimistically do so because they feel that they lack the ability to change their situation. When a person sees the problems our country is facing, it is easy for that person to get caught in a trap of believing that the only thing they can do is hide. We are living in the country that still provides for each of our citizens the greatest opportunity of personal choice and the freedom to experience the power and influence that comes with exercising personal responsibility. Pessimism finds it difficult to live in an environment where an active mind and body are working toward self-improvement. The pessimism in a person's garden of life is poisoned when the garden is fed the truth and watered with the continual effort of self-will.
In my book "PROGRESS IN AMERICA, Redefining The American Dream" (page 234), I tell the story of my upbringing when my dad encouraged me to look at life around me and find the faults and failures in my world. Dad would patiently listen to my observations and complaints, and then require one thing from me, that I offer a resolution to the problem. Dad had a very clear explanation about his attitude toward those who complained about things without offering a resolution or solution. Dad would say, " In our household we will not have any Pity Parties". To this day, my dad who recently celebrated his 80th birthday refuses to allow a Pity Party in his home. How many of you know someone or are someone who regularly holds a Pity Party in your home? Can you imagine the difference it would make if our entire country refused to contribute to a pity party?
I believe that there are those in political leadership and power who want you to feel that you have no control over your life. Modern American Progressives wish for you to believe that they can better make decisions for you than you can for yourself. Modern American Progressives ask you to put your faith in them based on what they promise you they will do in the future without holding them accountable for their past actions or the lessons that history should have taught us. Modern American Progressives want complete control of you’re your life through the political power that comes with enlarging the size and scope of our governmental bodies and agencies.
What can you do for yourself? With respect to issues that have an influence on your individual family, you can make an immediate change. Mom, Dad, Husband, Wife, Son, Daughter, Student, Single Mom, young and old, declare yourself Pity Party Free! If you find yourself complaining, then require of yourself that you offer a resolution to the issue about which you are complaining. Will you do as my dad has done and say to your family, "No Pity Party in this household." The most important ingredient, one that is absolutely necessary to not attend a Pity Party, is your mind. When you offer a resolution, it MUST be based on what you personally will do, not on what someone else should do.
Regarding our country and many of the issues we are facing because of bad decisions and at times lack of making decisions by our elected officials. Do you feel helpless? Next week I will give you the details of the Twenty Dollar Challenge. Each of you who take the Twenty Dollar Challenge will make an impact toward influencing our country to become more the way you want it to be.
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NEXT: "Taking the Twenty Dollar Challenge"
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