A Bridge Too Far

by David

I don’t get to the movies much so I haven’t got a lot of memories of too many of them. But back in 1977 I went to see a war picture called “A bridge too far“. I don’t remember why I want because I don’t really like war pics.

It had a lot of great actors in it though. Guys like Michael Caine, James Caan, and the famous actor of the Bond movies 007 Sean Connery. This was a true story which took place in 1944 in the middle of the second world war. It is known in history as “operation Market Garden”.

The Allies wanted to finish the war early and so poured everything into this operation. It didn’t go well. Not well at all.

The German forces were stronger than anticipated and in the end it was declared an “Allied operational failure”. Now we know it was the worst in history with over 17,000 casualties. One of the bridges they were trying to capture was just too darn far.

Kind a bit-off-more-than-we-can-chew type of thing.

Ever have one of those? I have, and it used to stress me out to the nines. It can do a lot of damage to your mindset that’s for sure.

Lucky I took this a long time ago and now I get an automatic buffering effect whenever a bad turn happens. It’s still not a cake-walk but it allows me to stay on track. A lot better than the alternative.

More power to you.

A Bridge Too Far

Questions/Answers – Think and Grow Rich

by David

Is Think And Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill Enough To Build A Strong Belief In Yourself?

I’ve written about Napoleon Hill before. But recently I was in an online forum and I’m always amazed at the attention and interest the work of Napoleon Hill still get’s so many decades after his death.

In the post I was reading the person who started the thread was asking people to explain in our own words what we thought Hills most famous book was all about. Elsewhere on the same thread the poster came back and commented that he thought it was about faith and total belief.

Here’s how I responded:

You are absolutely right on about the total belief thing. But here’s the rub. Any belief no matter what it is about can only be established through one of these two ways:

1. Argument – a story, a discussion, a great book read over and over such as Think and Grow Rich (you get the idea) 2. Hard evidence – If you put your finger over a flame you will from then on be able to totally believe anyone who says that fire burns.

Now, I’m sure that you would agree hard evidence trumps mere argument any day.

How To Build A Strong Belief In You

by David

As a critic of personal development as it is done today I’ve come to notice that there is one universal direction that vendors in this industry all move in. They all want to change the way their clients see themselves. In other words, what they think of themselves. Their belief level.

I don’t have a problem with that.

To accomplish this change in thinking the Personal Development (PD) gurus try to give people a boost in the belief department. For a short time it almost always works. But then, just as the client has left the very positive and supportive atmosphere of the counseling room or seminar, it happens.

It starts to fall apart.

I won’t guess at the numbers but I’ll bet the recidivism rate is high. As easily as the self-belief was suggested into existence it’s wings of gossamer break like those of a bird hitting a window. Pumped up for now they go back to their lives. But the hardness of existence is far more real than the fuzzy echoing of affirmations (“you can do it”) they are encouraged to embrace.

L.B.D.

by David

Learn by doing

It’s an idea that was introduced and promoted by the American educator/philosopher John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952).

He was no slouch in the field of education. He was also a bit of a radical. He saw that education (which is from the Latin “educare” – to bring up, rear, educate) was not so much a thing that should necessarily be used to prepare us for a future life but “a process of living” in the present.

Bury your dead ducks

by David

This morning I took my wife to work with her bike in the trunk of the car. It’s a clear cool day with no wind. On a day like this she loves to ride home on her bicycle. It’s great exercise and she relaxes in the calmness of the experience. The duck and chicken farm she works part time at is only 7 minutes away by car so she can make it home by bike in less than fifteen.

When we got there I unloaded her bike and put it up by the door to the work area that is called the egg room. That’s where she collects the fresh duck eggs from a conveyor belt that slides through the nesting area inside the barn. After she does that she has to go into the barn itself and check for any ducks that may have collapsed and died overnight.