Questioning Work, Change, Success, and the World

 

“Folks are usually about as happy

as they make their minds up to be.”

-- Abraham Lincoln

What is the shortest way to become successful in life?

Choose to be truly happy always and in all things. This is true success, everything else is simply goals attained.

How do you define success in your own word?

Happiness!

What do you think of the phrase "You will own nothing and you will be happy"?

If you can be truly happy with nothing, you have found wealth the greater part of humanity has missed. 

How are those of you who are always happy?

Still happy!

Where does true success come from?

True happiness. True happiness is the sustainable measure of success. Everything else is simply “goals” attained. If you haven’t found true happiness before you attain your goals, how will you know you’re truly happy afterward? 

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

-- Albert Camus

Which pet would be more loyal, a dog or a cat?

Dogs. Cat’s are wat too independent. Dogs pay attention to you. Cats pay attention when it suits them.

Does practicing gratitude and thanking each day of our life allow us to be better?

Absolutely! Selfless gratitude and thanks are what good people do. Each morning I thank God for the “gift” of another day in paradise and another chance to excel in this life. Why do I do this? Because the alternative simply sucks.

Better for us to strive for happiness always and in everything we do than to wallow in self-pity and blame the world for our situation. If we continue to place blame, we have lost already. If we pick ourselves up, rise above our problems, we become more than we were. We become survivors, ready to move forward and take back control of our lives.

How do I choose a name when I have too many good options?

Choose the one that makes you smile.

What's the downside of working with what you like?

Sometimes making a job out of what you like doing, well, it becomes a job. I love cooking, but if I had to do it for a living I’d learn not to love it. When I was in military intelligence, on the other hand, I had a hard time wanting to go home. It literally destroyed my marriage. You really have to want you like to be your every waking moment, up to the point of losing something precious.

How come some people just flat out refuse to compromise (If they don’t get exactly what they want, exactly when and how they want it etc. they just walk away/refuse to bend)?

Are they paying for the right? If I’m paying, I really don’t have to compromise. I’m paying good money for the right to get what I pay for.

"There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. The man who is wrong still retains some respect for truth, if only by accepting the responsibility of choice. But the man in the middle is the knave who blanks out the truth in order to pretend that no choice or values exist, who is willing to sit out the course of any battle, willing to cash in on the blood of the innocent or to crawl on his belly to the guilty, who dispenses justice by condemning both the robber and the robbed to jail, who solves conflicts by ordering the thinker and the fool to meet each other halfway. In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. In that transfusion of blood which drains the good to feed the evil, the compromise is the transmitting rubber tube."

-- Ayn Rand

Since meeting your partner, what are the good and bad things that have come with it?

Friendship and loyalty.

What were you doing when you realize your entire life was a lie?

My entire life, or just my marriage? My life has been golden except for that little 25-year unpleasantness. But, even in this, the lie was hers, I was just the dumbass that bought into it. The lie had to do with the marriage vows, not with the reality of life. If life were a lie, I’d still have everything I gave up to get out of the marriage, but I don’t, because life was real.

Can depriving oneself of certain stimuli be a way of creating change?

Indeed! If I’m deprived of bourbon and a good cigar, it will create change.

You get a new job but it has a catch, you will be paid in anything but money. What are you choosing?

Gold or silver.

What doesn’t define you? What do you scratch off the list of things that people use to define themselves?

Monetary wealth. It isn’t who I am. My personal moral “code of ethics” defines who I am. I have enough trouble striving to be constantly moral to worry about how any wealth defines me.

“Strong people define themselves; weak people allow others to define them.”

-- Ken Poirot

What if you had to replace the 'closer' in the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? What word would you use?

Nearer.

What do you do to receive more happiness?

Wake up the next morning. Every day on this side of the dirt is a good day, and that makes me very happy.

Which is more important at a job, self-image or work?

Work isn’t always about you. As a matter of fact, it is almost never about you. A job is all about doing the work. people who worry more about their image usually end up having their job being done by people who have a better handle on priorities.

What motivates you? And do you stay motivated every day?

Life. Every morning I wake up, I am motivated. The alternative simply sucks.

The world is cruel and violent. Why do some people think otherwise?

The world isn’t cruel and violent, the people who live on it are. The world simply accepts our annoying infestation, until we eventually go away.

Reader comment:  Some people look down a lot and see a lot of rocks, roads, sidewalks, and sometimes money.

Some people look up a lot and see clouds and birds and rainbows.

Some people look outward and see cars and trees and buildings and other people. It all depends on where you look for what you see.

My reply:  Very true. I see the people. 

“For the first time in my life I began to realize that it is not evil and brutality, but nearly always weakness, that is to blame for the worst things that happen in this world.”

-- Stefan Zweig

What would you like to reprogram your understanding of?

The human construct of time.

Which is more important at a job, self-image or work?

Work isn’t always about you. As a matter of fact, it is almost never about you. A job is all about doing the work. people who worry more about their image usually end up having their job being done by people who have a better handle on priorities.

If the guy gives the girl his hoodie, then what does the girl give the guy?

Her thanks.

What screams "I am a wealthy person"?

A $3,000,000 handmade electric car, they make only six of per year, that goes 0 to 220 mph in 12 seconds. Not only why would you want it, but who would want it? A ridiculously wealthy person, of course.

What is opinion?

Personal thoughts on a particular subject.

“People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn't stop you from having your own opinion.”

-- Anne Frank

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