Episodes
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
IF - Part 14
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
Derren Brown, the Brittish mentalist recently did a documentary for Netflix where he used peer pressure in a real-life situation to convince a half-dozen people to push someone off a building to their death. That’s how much our good nature can become at risk when we identify with crowd. When we are too plugged into others, we run the risk of losing ourselves to them. When we are elevated above others, we run the risk of forgetting their struggles and challenges. "Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch," My mother-in-law migrated to this country from Cuba after the Castro invasion during which her family’s cigar factor was seized by the Castro regime. Titi, as we call her is a typical Cuban-American. She wanted desperately to come here and did so ultimately becoming a citizen of the U.S.. Now, she is virulently OPPOSED to more Cubans or any other migrants coming in. That is actually a common phenomenon of “I want in,” followed by “Hooray, I’m in,” >and finally “Now, you stay out!” and it’s a perfect example of losing the common touch. Put in simple words we must fly high and stay grounded at the same time which is difficult but doable.
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
IF - Part 13
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
You really don’t know how strong you are until life tests you. And when everything around you goes to hell you find yourself just wanting to chuck it all and run away. But you can’t. You have responsibilities, people who count on you, and so you press on — you simply endure. One of my favorite books of all time is Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. In one chapter the cowboys are moving thousands of cattle up the trail when they are beset by locusts so thick they blot out the sun. One frightened young man gallops up to the leader of the drive and cries, “Captain, whatever can we do?” “Live through it,” replied the captain. That’s life. Sometimes we just have to hold on and live through it.
Tuesday Nov 27, 2018
IF - Part 12
Tuesday Nov 27, 2018
Tuesday Nov 27, 2018
Most people never attempt something because of the horror stories they’ve heard from other people.
“Careful man, women will break your heart.”
“I was in business once, I lost everything!”
“My uncle tried that line of work — no money it.”
Most people are risk averse and that aversion is reinforced by other people who have taken risks, failed, and then whined about it to anyone and everyone as a means of never getting up and trying again.
Risk and reward are the conjoined twin sisters of success.
Great reward always involves great risk and when we fail — as we all do, whining and complaining simultaneously excuses our poor performance AND removes us from the responsibility of trying again.
The secret to success is try...fail... try...fail... try...fail...try...succeed.
Whining about our failures only attaches us to them indefinitely.
Monday Nov 26, 2018
IF - Part 11
Monday Nov 26, 2018
Monday Nov 26, 2018
A divorce. The death of a loved one. Business failure. The loss of a dream. Becoming disability. All of these things can bring a person to their knees and leave them emotionally shell shocked. When everything is gone, it’s hard to know where to begin and yet the answer is simply to get started. It is only when we succumb to our failures that they become concretized. As long as we are digging out we will ultimately find sunlight again and a new life that is sometime even brighter than before the tragedy.
Sunday Nov 25, 2018
IF - Part 10
Sunday Nov 25, 2018
Sunday Nov 25, 2018
Personally, I don’t think I could be a politician.
I’d probably say something like, “I believe that with the right combination of financial management and sensible tax cuts we can balance the budget.”
Invariably, one side of the media would report my words as, “Bowen encourages responsible financial management” while another might say “Bowen wants to raise your taxes!.”
All of this is done to “set a trap for fools.”
Bad news sells and when someone takes what we say and twists it into bad news for their own purposes, well, it hurts!
Let’s remember that there will always be haters, people who want to put a negative spin on what you do simply to excuse their own lack of accomplishment.
Maturity is learning to disregard the haters.
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
IF - Part 9
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
I think it was Zig Ziglar who said, "You don't know enough to be a pessimist."
Zig meant that something that goes terribly wrong today can actually be the very thing that brings about something fantastic tomorrow.
When we triumph over something or we experience a disaster, our ego tells us that the triumph is the BEST THING POSSIBLE and that a disaster is the WORST THING EVER.
Yet, in time not only do we realize benefits from our disasters but we also often experience problems and irritations from our triumphs. Consider the people who struggle so hard to become famous but then can't leave their homes without being mobbed!
There's an old saying, "nothing is ever as good or as bad as it appears."
If that's true, and if you don't know enough to be a pessimist, why not just relax and watch the twin imposters of disaster and triumph pass through your life with ease?
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
IF - Part 8
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Remember the movie that opens with Winnie the Pooh sitting around struggling to think?
While rubbing his temple and squinting his eyes, Pooh says,
“Think…think….think…think - think…..think.”
It’s such a great visual for what most of us do when we have a problem.
We STRUGGLE to come up with a solution but there seems to be nothing.
Until… we go do something else.
In our frustration, we give up on the problem and walk away
and then BANG the perfect answer —the one we worked so hard to bring to mind just floats in like a butterfly and rests gently on top of our head.
When we make thoughts our aim, we miss the very elusive, beautiful, and powerful ideas that come when we are otherwise engaged.
This is why it’s SO important to shut down once or twice a day and meditate, to take vacations where we don’t work, and to take a day once each week where we just relax and chill.
Stop being Winnie the Pooh — think, but don’t make thoughts your aim.
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
IF - Part 7
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
IF - Part 6
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
IF - Part 5
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
Thursday Nov 15, 2018
People use the word “hate” far too often.