Questioning Success, Ethics, and the "Road to Hell"

 

"Perdition awaits at the end of a road constructed entirely from good intentions, the devil emerges from the details and hell abides in the small print."

-- Iain Banks

"Success in one's life is not an accident. it is the result of the right decision at the right time." What can you say about the saying? Did you enjoy the saying? Are you related to the saying?

Those who read me would be disappointed if I backpedaled, and I won’t. Life is all about making the right choices and decisions. You don’t necessarily have to make it at the right time, but when you make it you must make the best one you can.

Some people bemoan the fact that their life is crap, and they go about blaming everyone but themselves. Yet, their circumstances rest firmly on decisions they made or chose not to make. What our lives are is all about what we have made them, or chose to allow other people to make of them, but, either way, it is our choice to be remain where we are or to move forward.

How do you say 'I understand' in a formal way?

Yes, sir (or ma’am), understood.

Why do mediums keep asking for validation from the people or room they are reading? Why would they not just convey what the spirit in front of them is saying without looking to show proof?

Make you wonder, doesn’t it? Majoring in psychology and doing almost 23 years with military intelligence, this “probing of the path” always made me think twice. I agree with you, though. Just tell me what they have to say. I’ll stroke your ego when you’re done if you’ve earned it.

“There are people who need our stories. These individuals are just hidden from our view. We need to put ourselves out there because maybe our stories will validate theirs.”

-- Janine Myung Ja

Why is "reason" more dependable than feelings when making moral judgments?

Your “feeling” should be anchored in your personal code of moral ethics. There is nothing more dependable than this, especially if it what makes you who you are. However, be careful using your ethics to judge anyone, lest you be judged. Being wrong is so much worse than being silent. We never seem to get the entire story to work with.

How old were you when you made a career change that was significantly different from the one you previously had? What change did you make?

43. I went from military intelligence into being a corporate liaison for a privately owned institutional review board. I went from making war to assisting in pharmaceutical company oversight of patients participating in drug studies. In a way, it was the same, though. I went from protecting my country from socialist and communist incursion to protecting people and vulnerable groups from bad pharmaceutical studies.

Expound the quotation by Lionel Crocker, “The inexperienced speaker often fails because he does not have planted firmly in his mind an outline of what he wants to say.”?

Lack of preparation. Practice, practice, practice, and then, when you think you have it, practice again. Know your subject. Know your audience. Know that you are in control. And, if you’re the President of a country, know where you are. It is, after all, your speech, and your audience isn’t stupid.

“Students of public speaking continually ask, "How can I overcome self-consciousness and the fear that paralyzes me before an audience?"

Did you ever notice in looking from a train window that some horses feed near the track and never even pause to look up at the thundering cars, while just ahead at the next railroad crossing a farmer's wife will be nervously trying to quiet her scared horse as the train goes by? How would you cure a horse that is afraid of cars—graze him in a back-woods lot where he would never see steam-engines or automobiles, or drive or pasture him where he would frequently see the machines? 

Apply horse-sense to ridding yourself of self-consciousness and fear: face an audience as frequently as you can, and you will soon stop shying. You can never attain freedom from stage-fright by reading a treatise. A book may give you excellent suggestions on how best to conduct yourself in the water, but sooner or later you must get wet, perhaps even strangle and be "half scared to death." There are a great many "wetless" bathing suits worn at the seashore, but no one ever learns to swim in them. To plunge is the only way.”

-- Dale Breckenridge Carnegie

What do you say about "success must be purposeful"?

Success, by definition, achieves the purpose of success. You have succeeded at, or in, something. Even if success makes you or someone else happy, it has served an unintended purpose of providing happiness or fulfillment.

What does it mean when someone tells you that "I don't trust you in the areas I am good at and in the area I am weak at?"

If they don’t even trust you in the area they’re weak at, they’re saying you really suck. Perhaps you should back off and get some training or, at least, learn to admit to folks that you’re not qualified.

How does this saying apply today, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"?

Pay attention to American politics. And, by pay attention, I mean watch more than one slanted "news" station so you get all sides of their so-called “news” from the so-called “journalists” spreading propaganda to fulfill an agenda. In particular, one might follow the border crisis to see where “good intentions” are taking us.

"I had been told I was on the road to hell, but I had no idea it was just a mile down the road with a dome on it." 

-- Abraham Lincoln

What is your reaction to this quotation, "One earnest worker can do more by personal suggestion to prevent accidents than a carload of safety"?

I would think most of that “carload of safety” comes from the suggestions of “earnest workers” familiar with their work environment and accidents that have gone before.

In your own opinion, is it enough to consider that you already have a good life if you already attain your goals in life? Why and why not?

Yes. I’m approaching 70 years of age. I’ve had two careers fulfilled with the earned respect of my managers and peers. I have two retirement checks, no debt, friends, and family. Retirement pay is enough that I don’t want for much. I’m tired and very happy to be able to relax and enjoy the goodness in my life.

Can you impress me with something I don't already know?

Probably not, unless you have a Top Secret clearance and a need to know.

“Never let your circumstances drive you into spending your energy trying to impress people who you believe would judge you for every single thing that you do. Moreover, why should you waste your energy and time on people who are not willing to let you be your true self?”

-- Edmond Mbiaka

How important is the credibility of the process (science, scholarship, or journalism) to overcoming resistance to conclusions (preexisting basis)?

So, in other words, the conclusion is going to reflect the credibility of the process. Unless you can support the conclusion, arrived at with a process that lacks credibility, it deserves resistance. Lately, we find most journalists seem to have a credibility problem because they insinuate their own flawed opinions into their work instead of researching the facts.

Have you told yourself how awesome you are today?

Almost every day, when the League of the Perpetually Offended try to bait me or piss me off, and I show tremendous restraint by ignoring them.

Have you ever woken up and looked at something and then suddenly been inspired with an idea of how to do an artwork a particular way?

When I was brushing my teeth, I accidentally ran the bristles of the toothbrush against my top teeth and spattered the mirror. It occurred to me how to paint my star systems. Ended up sending several canvases to a radio observatory in the Netherlands for their 50th anniversary.

“Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.”

-- Neil Gaiman

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com