Those Who Know Not Their History...
Matthew Q. Llewellyn, Founder
The American Libertarian Movement
ONLINE BLOG
Folks... I'm going to keep this fairly short today because honestly, the videos tell the story that you need to know.
In Burlington, NJ, an indoctrinator in the public school system is teaching children to sing praises to Obama... No... I'm not kidding. Your tax dollars are paying the government to teach your children to sing praises to Obama.
See the video here
Folks... those who know not history are doomed to repeat it.
Here's a video of muslim children being taught to praise and kill themselves for Allah.
And here's another video of a big lovable teddy bear who taught children to sing and chant praises to him... You probably know him as Hitler.
It's sad really... the damage this domestically elected terrorist has done to our country will never be fixed in any of our lifetimes. America as we once knew it, will never again be the same. However... for our children... for their future... it can be changed. The deciding factor as to which way that tide will turn is up to you.
I bid you good day.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Where Does Control Stop?
Where Does Control Stop?
Matthew Q. Llewellyn, Founder
The American Libertarian Movement
ONLINE BLOG
For just over 26 hours now a new law has been in effect. The FDA, having a new and sweeping authority enacted a ban on all flavored cigarettes. These cigarettes can not be produced or sold anywhere in the United States. This new power comes from the Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which was signed into power by President Barack Hussein Obama.
The tobacco control act, among other things, states a need to control the number of young smokers as this control will lead to a lower number of older smokers. Due to the rising cost of health care, our government believes it is their responsibility to reduce health care cost by controlling smoking. Looking out for your children as well, the bill, according to Obama, will stop evil tobacco companies from marketing cigarettes to your children. Obama stated, "constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting."
Really?
Where they live... This must mean all those commercials big tobacco puts out, right? Tell me, exactly how is big tobacco marketing its product towards children where they live? Advertising tobacco products on radio and television was made illegal over a decade ago. The only place a tobacco company could possibly have an advertisement in your home would be in magazines that are geared towards an adult nature. If this is the case then I believe we have a different question to ask. Rather than accuse big tobacco of marketing to children where they live through these magazines, perhaps we should inquire as to why parents are issuing their 13 year old the latest copy of juggs or hustler.
Where they learn... This should just go without question, but, I'll cover it anyway. When is the last time you walked into a school and found a tobacco advertisement. Has big tobacco started a movement and started placing their advertisements in school buses and classrooms? Could it be that they are advertising on billboards which are visible to children along the bus route? No... it couldn't, because big tobacco is also banned from advertising on bill boards. If we're going to talk facts, let's talk facts. The only thing you will find in schools, which is where children are indoctrinated... I'm sorry... "learn"... are anti-smoking posters handed out via our tax dollars through the CDC, FDA, etc and so on. Interestingly enough, it has been proven, time and time again, that children are more tempted to smoke by anti-smoking posters than they have been by every other type of previously legal advertising combined. In reality, it's the government that is marketing tobacco to children... not big tobacco.
Where they play... Has anyone, anywhere, ever, at anytime, seen a big tobacco rep walking around the playground handing out samples? Anyone? No one? Not one person at all? really? This is absolutely shocking to me folks. Obama says big tobacco is marketing to children where they live, learn and play, but as we can clearly see, that is absolutely impossible. As established, the only people tempting children to smoke, are our elected officials. Of course we can't really blame our government for causing children to smoke via these anti-smoking campaigns, after all, they are just looking out for the best interest of the children right?
Putting everything aside and assuming the best intentions of government; Is it possible for us to find out what their logic in all of this is? If only we had a quote taken directly from a government representative in a high position of power, informing us about their position.
OH CRAP! Here's one right here...
“These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers." - FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg
Folks... their intentions couldn't be more obvious. They are trying to protect children and young adults from using flavored tobacco products so they won't become regular smokers.
It all makes perfect and clear sense now. The government is banning products which are considered gateways to dangerous habits. I'm going to miss tobacco and alcohol but this is for the childr... What? They're not putting any bans on alcohol? How could that be possible?
Alcohol producers make their greatest profits from the sell of flavored, alcoholic beverages. In fact, there are thousands of avenues dedicated to this. Just watching my television for a half hour, and searching through the channels, I found an immense amount of commercials for alcohol and shows dedicated to alcohol. We have commercials showing you how fun it is to go to the bar, and how, after consuming their drink, you become popular with the opposite sex. We have the food network and other special channels who host entire specials teaching us how to mix drinks with common fruits, vegetables and other drinks found in the average kitchen. Children can't even play baseball or go to a professional sporting event without being exposed to alcohol. Whether it's dad bringing a case of beer to the sideline of a kids game or a family wading through the crowds around the beer stand at the stadium, children are regularly and consistently exposed to alcohol. We even teach children about the benefit of a daily glass of wine in school... a glass of wine which could easily become a bad habit. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), "Habits developed in the youth are very hard to break later in life."
I don't know about you folks, but it seems to me that the only company advertising their product to our youth where they live, learn and play are the alcohol manufacturers. But... there must be an obvious reasoning here. Tobacco is a gateway drug, which is why they are so determined to ban it, yet alcohol, obviously, is not a gateway drug.
"A recent study by Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, states that the earlier children use the gateway drugs tobacco or alcohol or marijuana, the more likely they are to move on to other drugs." - Drug Watch International
Wait! What?
I thought alcohol couldn't possibly be a gateway drug. I mean... what's going on here? Tobacco companies are being attacked and their products banned left and right because they are gateways to worse things in life, such as tobacco addiction or other drug use. Why is alcohol not receiving the same restrictions folks?
Alcohol is not only full of literally thousands of flavor possibilities, but it is readily available and unmonitored in virtually every single home in the United States. Every drinking adult with children has alcohol stored in their home, whether it be in the fridge or in a closet, it's there. Alcohol is advertised to children from every possible direction we can imagine. It's at baseball, basketball, football and hockey. It's on TV commercials, it has TV shows dedicated to it and it is glorified in every single magazine you can find on the shelves... magazines which by their very nature, are marketed for children and young adults, such as the latest pop culture or skating magazine. Every single possible place you can go or imagine, in every single place children live, learn and play, they are exposed to alcohol in overwhelming numbers. Interestingly enough... what will you not find advertised or in a position to expose itself to children in all these same places is what? ... Tobacco.
So what's with the all the laws attacking tobacco? I mean seriously... what's going on here?
Are you ready for the truth folks?
Here it comes...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Almost...
And here it is. This law is exactly what the bill which give it its power is all about... control. The government wants to control every single aspect of our lives and force more and more people to become dependent on them. Think about this for a minute... and I mean really think about this.
Tobacco is a user-effective drug, meaning, its effect are primarily directed towards the user. To date, there is not a single shred of credible evidence suggesting tobacco has any harm whatsoever to anyone but the actual user. This is why all the anti-smoking and second hand smoke people are required to say "may" instead of "does". In fact, there's not a single shred of credible evidence that smoking causes cancer, which is why the packs also say "may" not "does" or "will". Does it cause numerous health problems? You bet it does. High blood pressure, heart disease, emphysema, hardening of arteries, tooth decay... the list goes on. But these are not what they focus on... they focus on the big and scary one which is much, much harder to fix. Let's face it, if you tell someone they are having a heart attack, you are able to comfort them by explaining the steps that are going to be taken over the following few hours to save their life. However, if you tell someone, God forbid, that they have cancer, you'll be delivering a blow which may cause fear for years to come. The same goes with saying "you might", or "may".
Again I must ask... Why Tobacco? Is not alcohol much more dangerous? Let's touch on this very quickly.
According to the Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University, "About 90% of people in Western countries use alcohol at some time in their lives, and 40% experience temporary or permanent alcohol-related impairment in some area of life as a result of drinking." Furthermore, "Acute alcohol use is associated with suicide. Suicide completers have high rates of positive blood alcohol. Intoxicated people are more likely to attempt suicide using more lethal methods. Alcohol may be important in suicides among individuals with no previous psychiatric history."
Of course these are user-effective problems... the problem with alcohol, versus tobacco, is that alcohol is not only user-effective. According to Markham's Behavioral Health, in 2008, 87,000 innocent people were killed in the United States by drunk drivers. That's 29 times more people than killed by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.
Folks... why is our highly concerned government, who is only looking out for our best interests, going after tobacco and not alcohol? Easy. Tobacco has become the hated habit of our society, being despised not only by non-smokers, but by smokers and hardcore drug users, such as meth, who don't smoke cigarettes. But alcohol... well... everyone loves alcohol. And there you have your answer.
The government is slowly taking more and more control of our private lives. More and more, every day, every year, with every bill, they are moving further and further into our private lives, controlling every possible function we will let them get their hands on.
So my question for you is this articles name... What does control stop?
They choose to control tobacco today claiming rising healthcare cost and so on. But what about tomorrow? What if they decide the population itself is becoming too large. Will there be population control? The Chinese already have it... will we soon follow in suit? Will single parents and married alike, who can not afford children but keep popping them out, be forced to get fixed? What about breeding? Will that become forcibly selective? It's already occuring in many countries folks. The government cross checks people, uses a predetermined guideline and establishes who you can marry and who you can procreate with. Will our government soon declare, that in the best interest of our nation and health, that they will determine this for us as well? Where does it stop?
Folks... it doesn't stop... and... it doesn't just stop at control that is as obvious as this. It goes all the way to your financial affairs as well. The government continues to raise the taxes on tobacco higher and higher in an effort to control our private lives, thus forcing us to make the decisions that they can't force us to make any other way. Eventually, the cost due to taxes will be so incredibly high that no one will smoke. However, the programs that tobacco taxes funded will continue to open their doors every day but will need a new source of funding. When this happens, and it easily will folks, all of our taxes are going to go up. And it won't stop there. As they move from habit to habit, the cycle will just continue to repeat itself. As time goes on, more and more people will find themselves needing government assistance, thus making them dependent on government, thus giving the power hungry people in our government the control over your lives that they so desperately desire.
Where does it stop? Well... I guess we'll just have to find out. I bid you good day friends.
Matthew Q. Llewellyn, Founder
The American Libertarian Movement
ONLINE BLOG
For just over 26 hours now a new law has been in effect. The FDA, having a new and sweeping authority enacted a ban on all flavored cigarettes. These cigarettes can not be produced or sold anywhere in the United States. This new power comes from the Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which was signed into power by President Barack Hussein Obama.
The tobacco control act, among other things, states a need to control the number of young smokers as this control will lead to a lower number of older smokers. Due to the rising cost of health care, our government believes it is their responsibility to reduce health care cost by controlling smoking. Looking out for your children as well, the bill, according to Obama, will stop evil tobacco companies from marketing cigarettes to your children. Obama stated, "constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting."
Really?
Where they live... This must mean all those commercials big tobacco puts out, right? Tell me, exactly how is big tobacco marketing its product towards children where they live? Advertising tobacco products on radio and television was made illegal over a decade ago. The only place a tobacco company could possibly have an advertisement in your home would be in magazines that are geared towards an adult nature. If this is the case then I believe we have a different question to ask. Rather than accuse big tobacco of marketing to children where they live through these magazines, perhaps we should inquire as to why parents are issuing their 13 year old the latest copy of juggs or hustler.
Where they learn... This should just go without question, but, I'll cover it anyway. When is the last time you walked into a school and found a tobacco advertisement. Has big tobacco started a movement and started placing their advertisements in school buses and classrooms? Could it be that they are advertising on billboards which are visible to children along the bus route? No... it couldn't, because big tobacco is also banned from advertising on bill boards. If we're going to talk facts, let's talk facts. The only thing you will find in schools, which is where children are indoctrinated... I'm sorry... "learn"... are anti-smoking posters handed out via our tax dollars through the CDC, FDA, etc and so on. Interestingly enough, it has been proven, time and time again, that children are more tempted to smoke by anti-smoking posters than they have been by every other type of previously legal advertising combined. In reality, it's the government that is marketing tobacco to children... not big tobacco.
Where they play... Has anyone, anywhere, ever, at anytime, seen a big tobacco rep walking around the playground handing out samples? Anyone? No one? Not one person at all? really? This is absolutely shocking to me folks. Obama says big tobacco is marketing to children where they live, learn and play, but as we can clearly see, that is absolutely impossible. As established, the only people tempting children to smoke, are our elected officials. Of course we can't really blame our government for causing children to smoke via these anti-smoking campaigns, after all, they are just looking out for the best interest of the children right?
Putting everything aside and assuming the best intentions of government; Is it possible for us to find out what their logic in all of this is? If only we had a quote taken directly from a government representative in a high position of power, informing us about their position.
OH CRAP! Here's one right here...
“These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers." - FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg
Folks... their intentions couldn't be more obvious. They are trying to protect children and young adults from using flavored tobacco products so they won't become regular smokers.
It all makes perfect and clear sense now. The government is banning products which are considered gateways to dangerous habits. I'm going to miss tobacco and alcohol but this is for the childr... What? They're not putting any bans on alcohol? How could that be possible?
Alcohol producers make their greatest profits from the sell of flavored, alcoholic beverages. In fact, there are thousands of avenues dedicated to this. Just watching my television for a half hour, and searching through the channels, I found an immense amount of commercials for alcohol and shows dedicated to alcohol. We have commercials showing you how fun it is to go to the bar, and how, after consuming their drink, you become popular with the opposite sex. We have the food network and other special channels who host entire specials teaching us how to mix drinks with common fruits, vegetables and other drinks found in the average kitchen. Children can't even play baseball or go to a professional sporting event without being exposed to alcohol. Whether it's dad bringing a case of beer to the sideline of a kids game or a family wading through the crowds around the beer stand at the stadium, children are regularly and consistently exposed to alcohol. We even teach children about the benefit of a daily glass of wine in school... a glass of wine which could easily become a bad habit. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), "Habits developed in the youth are very hard to break later in life."
I don't know about you folks, but it seems to me that the only company advertising their product to our youth where they live, learn and play are the alcohol manufacturers. But... there must be an obvious reasoning here. Tobacco is a gateway drug, which is why they are so determined to ban it, yet alcohol, obviously, is not a gateway drug.
"A recent study by Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, states that the earlier children use the gateway drugs tobacco or alcohol or marijuana, the more likely they are to move on to other drugs." - Drug Watch International
Wait! What?
I thought alcohol couldn't possibly be a gateway drug. I mean... what's going on here? Tobacco companies are being attacked and their products banned left and right because they are gateways to worse things in life, such as tobacco addiction or other drug use. Why is alcohol not receiving the same restrictions folks?
Alcohol is not only full of literally thousands of flavor possibilities, but it is readily available and unmonitored in virtually every single home in the United States. Every drinking adult with children has alcohol stored in their home, whether it be in the fridge or in a closet, it's there. Alcohol is advertised to children from every possible direction we can imagine. It's at baseball, basketball, football and hockey. It's on TV commercials, it has TV shows dedicated to it and it is glorified in every single magazine you can find on the shelves... magazines which by their very nature, are marketed for children and young adults, such as the latest pop culture or skating magazine. Every single possible place you can go or imagine, in every single place children live, learn and play, they are exposed to alcohol in overwhelming numbers. Interestingly enough... what will you not find advertised or in a position to expose itself to children in all these same places is what? ... Tobacco.
So what's with the all the laws attacking tobacco? I mean seriously... what's going on here?
Are you ready for the truth folks?
Here it comes...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Almost...
And here it is. This law is exactly what the bill which give it its power is all about... control. The government wants to control every single aspect of our lives and force more and more people to become dependent on them. Think about this for a minute... and I mean really think about this.
Tobacco is a user-effective drug, meaning, its effect are primarily directed towards the user. To date, there is not a single shred of credible evidence suggesting tobacco has any harm whatsoever to anyone but the actual user. This is why all the anti-smoking and second hand smoke people are required to say "may" instead of "does". In fact, there's not a single shred of credible evidence that smoking causes cancer, which is why the packs also say "may" not "does" or "will". Does it cause numerous health problems? You bet it does. High blood pressure, heart disease, emphysema, hardening of arteries, tooth decay... the list goes on. But these are not what they focus on... they focus on the big and scary one which is much, much harder to fix. Let's face it, if you tell someone they are having a heart attack, you are able to comfort them by explaining the steps that are going to be taken over the following few hours to save their life. However, if you tell someone, God forbid, that they have cancer, you'll be delivering a blow which may cause fear for years to come. The same goes with saying "you might", or "may".
Again I must ask... Why Tobacco? Is not alcohol much more dangerous? Let's touch on this very quickly.
According to the Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University, "About 90% of people in Western countries use alcohol at some time in their lives, and 40% experience temporary or permanent alcohol-related impairment in some area of life as a result of drinking." Furthermore, "Acute alcohol use is associated with suicide. Suicide completers have high rates of positive blood alcohol. Intoxicated people are more likely to attempt suicide using more lethal methods. Alcohol may be important in suicides among individuals with no previous psychiatric history."
Of course these are user-effective problems... the problem with alcohol, versus tobacco, is that alcohol is not only user-effective. According to Markham's Behavioral Health, in 2008, 87,000 innocent people were killed in the United States by drunk drivers. That's 29 times more people than killed by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.
Folks... why is our highly concerned government, who is only looking out for our best interests, going after tobacco and not alcohol? Easy. Tobacco has become the hated habit of our society, being despised not only by non-smokers, but by smokers and hardcore drug users, such as meth, who don't smoke cigarettes. But alcohol... well... everyone loves alcohol. And there you have your answer.
The government is slowly taking more and more control of our private lives. More and more, every day, every year, with every bill, they are moving further and further into our private lives, controlling every possible function we will let them get their hands on.
So my question for you is this articles name... What does control stop?
They choose to control tobacco today claiming rising healthcare cost and so on. But what about tomorrow? What if they decide the population itself is becoming too large. Will there be population control? The Chinese already have it... will we soon follow in suit? Will single parents and married alike, who can not afford children but keep popping them out, be forced to get fixed? What about breeding? Will that become forcibly selective? It's already occuring in many countries folks. The government cross checks people, uses a predetermined guideline and establishes who you can marry and who you can procreate with. Will our government soon declare, that in the best interest of our nation and health, that they will determine this for us as well? Where does it stop?
Folks... it doesn't stop... and... it doesn't just stop at control that is as obvious as this. It goes all the way to your financial affairs as well. The government continues to raise the taxes on tobacco higher and higher in an effort to control our private lives, thus forcing us to make the decisions that they can't force us to make any other way. Eventually, the cost due to taxes will be so incredibly high that no one will smoke. However, the programs that tobacco taxes funded will continue to open their doors every day but will need a new source of funding. When this happens, and it easily will folks, all of our taxes are going to go up. And it won't stop there. As they move from habit to habit, the cycle will just continue to repeat itself. As time goes on, more and more people will find themselves needing government assistance, thus making them dependent on government, thus giving the power hungry people in our government the control over your lives that they so desperately desire.
Where does it stop? Well... I guess we'll just have to find out. I bid you good day friends.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Success: Part II
Success: Part II
By Matthew Q. Llewellyn, Founder
The American Libertarian Movement
ONLINE BLOG
Howdy there folks... I guess I didn't get it out of my system. Well, that's not true. I talked to a woman today who told me her incredible and inspiring storing. After hearing her story I decided I wanted to touch on this topic a little more before moving onto another one. So, without further delay, let's begin.
Oh wait... you folks probably want me to share this incredibly inspirational story don't you? Well... I'm not going to. I just don't feel I could give it justice. However, in the future, when the forum is available and correct, I fully plan to let this woman tell you her story. It will bring you to tears and remind you, as it did me, that there is hope for America, and, the world.
Let's talk about the human spirit.
What do we know about the human being itself? Physically, we are incredibly powerful, complicated and resilient. We can survive immense amounts of damage from every direction, up to and including great amounts of severe trauma. However, a very small, seemingly meaningless antigen can kill us. Amazing isn't it?
Now... the human spirit. Incredibly powerful, complicated and resilient. It can take blow after blow after blow and continue to push forward. However, it can also be exposed to the smallest of impacts and be forever stopped in its tracks. Very similar... our body and spirit. Let's examine the spirit further.
What do we mean when we say the "human spirit"? Simple question, much more complicated answer... not impossible... but complicated. A quick search of Wikipedia reveals the human spirit as being "... a property of intelligence that drives it to adapt the environment to the organism. This drive is relatively unique to humans and is progressive in that the drive allows intelligence to grow."
What does it include? Well, it's pretty much the victory factor. Every ability to succeed comes from your spirit. Your drive, ambition, ego, adaptivity, willpower, perseverance, or, the sheer volition to overcome obstacles. All of these things come from your spirit. (Notice I didn't include anything about failure...)
Let's look at a few scenarios and their possible outcomes.
Scenario A
A 35 year old male construction worker falls off of a roof. He ends up paralyzed from the waist down and forever confined to a wheelchair.
Outcome 1
The construction worker is thankful to be alive, but believes his life is, for all intents and purposes, over. He no longer produces or thrives. He simply exist as a disabled individual who pulls a check from the government for the rest of his days. After all, construction is all he's ever known.
Scenario B
A 19 year old female is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Outcome 1
She's dead... she may be alive... but she's dead. It's terminal. There's nothing she can do. Seeing as there is no point in continuing with her tasks, she gives up and waits for her time to come. Eventually, she dies, having accomplished nothing.
Sadly, these are common outcomes. Anyone who has been in the medical field for any amount of time has seen this occur over and over. People are given a hard blow and they give up. They allow their spirit to become clouded with failure and hopelessness. It even happens with small things.
Scenario C
A 27 year old man reaches what he considers a very trying position. He has a job, a career actually, but the salary doesn't provide a very good living. He's done great things in his life, but, the job he does, just doesn't make the ends meet. His bills get very behind and he becomes overwhelmed and soon finds himself having thoughts of giving up and settling for his current situation.
Outcome 1
He lets the fear of the unknown overcome his ability to see down the road. He spends the rest of his days accepting whatever job will take him and settles for whatever comes his way. He never again tries to become more than what he is. His decision to settle for less than what he wants in life haunts him to the end of his days.
Relatively, this is a very small thing. But, let's be honest, when it comes to finances, people become overwhelmed. Although finances are only one small part of life, they impact our entire lives in almost every aspect and direction. Sure, it's not cancer, it's not being paralyzed, but it's something many people allow to control their next steps in life. They are constantly playing the catch-up game and after playing it for so long, they just give up. They don't realize that if they continue to push forward, they will eventually be past it once and for all. It may suck getting there... but... doing nothing will be much worse.
Scenario A
Outcome 2
The now wheelchair confined construction worker sees that what he has always known, the only thing he knows, can no longer provide the type of life he wants. He begins to search and find ways to overcome the obstacle. He begins to see his wheelchair not as a handicap, but a tool he will use to make a better future for himself. He goes to college, becomes a computer engineer, and low and behold, about 5 years later, (5 very short years in retrospect) he drives his new top of the line electric wheelchair onto his new $100,000.00 boat for a weekend away from the office.
Scenario B
Outcome 2
The young girl realizes her days are numbered and suddenly, all at once, the overcoming realization hits her square in the face... all the dreams, all the ambitions and all the goals she wanted to accomplish have now become very limited. Being driven by this, she buckles down, determined to succeed in every single aspect of life that she applies herself to. She only lives another 6 years, but, those 6 years were the best of her life. She became a Paramedic and saved thousands of lives. She gave hope to the hopeless, because she knew what hopeless was. She took vacations whenever she could and saw every sight she could afford. She climbed mountains, she jumped out of a plane... and... she found herself married with a beautiful little girl. A beautiful little girl, who, being inspired by the greatest pain a small child could ever experience, grew up to become an oncologist and dedicate her life to giving hope to the hopeless.
Now... given folks... these are just scenarios I put together... but... they're not untrue by any means. In my short life I have been blessed with meeting and sometimes becoming friends with these amazing people. They are dealt some of the worst hands life can possibly hand someone, yet they become some of the most successful people our little world has ever seen. They are the people, who truly, are the definition of the human spirit. They are the people who don't give up, regardless of what mountain is in front of them. The only thing they wonder is whether or not they will need more rope to get to the top. They never see the mountains as failures, or obstacles which can not be overcome, they see every single one of them as victories which are only a few steps away.
Now we come back to Scenario C, outcome 2.
The young man takes in a deep breath and holds a thought of "let's do it" in his head. He pushes forward every week, not sure how he's going to make it to the next, but, he never takes his eyes off the goal. As each setback comes against him, he finds a new way to get around it. He spends each day reminding himself of what is to come. When he sees life has thrown a curve ball at him, he still takes a chance and goes for the hit. He knows he might miss, but, he also knows he might hit a home run. He's not sure where the road will ultimately take him, but he knows, without any doubt, that this is not the road to failure, but the road to victory. It's by no means an easy road, but it's a road worth traveling, for the rewards at the end of the road are immeasurable. Because he continues to try, he continues to succeed. Sure, times get hard and sometimes cause him to worry, but, he keeps his spirit strong and continually finds new ways to climb the mountains. Always finding himself to be a stronger person, a person more capable today than he was yesterday. I know... because that young man is me.
In life, we have no control over what hands we are given. However, we can change them. Sometimes we trade in our cards and get better ones, likewise, sometimes the new cards don't help us at all. But, we must not let this stop us. While becoming an addict in gambling is definitely not the best idea, becoming an addict in life is one that we must allow our spirit to continue to inspire. When we trade in a couple cards and receive bad ones, we just have to suck it up, deal with our losses and continue to play until we get the hands we want. However, unlike poker, when playing the game of life, we can cheat. In poker, you will never know what cards are coming next. In life, you can. If you apply yourself, gain an education and continually dedicate yourself to gaining that which is needed to achieve your goal, then indeed, while some wild cards will come your way, you will be the determining factor of what cards, for the most part, are coming next. Or... you can do nothing, and hope that you gain something.
As Newton said, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Likewise, for every inaction... there is no action. If you choose success, success you will find. If you choose nothing, nothing you will find. The choice, is 100%... yours.
Tomorrow is Monday... Make this week a better week than last week, and each week thereafter the same. I bid you a good day.
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COPYRIGHT © 2009. Matthew Q. Llewellyn. All Rights Reserved. Protected by all applicable laws.
By Matthew Q. Llewellyn, Founder
The American Libertarian Movement
ONLINE BLOG
Howdy there folks... I guess I didn't get it out of my system. Well, that's not true. I talked to a woman today who told me her incredible and inspiring storing. After hearing her story I decided I wanted to touch on this topic a little more before moving onto another one. So, without further delay, let's begin.
Oh wait... you folks probably want me to share this incredibly inspirational story don't you? Well... I'm not going to. I just don't feel I could give it justice. However, in the future, when the forum is available and correct, I fully plan to let this woman tell you her story. It will bring you to tears and remind you, as it did me, that there is hope for America, and, the world.
Let's talk about the human spirit.
What do we know about the human being itself? Physically, we are incredibly powerful, complicated and resilient. We can survive immense amounts of damage from every direction, up to and including great amounts of severe trauma. However, a very small, seemingly meaningless antigen can kill us. Amazing isn't it?
Now... the human spirit. Incredibly powerful, complicated and resilient. It can take blow after blow after blow and continue to push forward. However, it can also be exposed to the smallest of impacts and be forever stopped in its tracks. Very similar... our body and spirit. Let's examine the spirit further.
What do we mean when we say the "human spirit"? Simple question, much more complicated answer... not impossible... but complicated. A quick search of Wikipedia reveals the human spirit as being "... a property of intelligence that drives it to adapt the environment to the organism. This drive is relatively unique to humans and is progressive in that the drive allows intelligence to grow."
What does it include? Well, it's pretty much the victory factor. Every ability to succeed comes from your spirit. Your drive, ambition, ego, adaptivity, willpower, perseverance, or, the sheer volition to overcome obstacles. All of these things come from your spirit. (Notice I didn't include anything about failure...)
Let's look at a few scenarios and their possible outcomes.
Scenario A
A 35 year old male construction worker falls off of a roof. He ends up paralyzed from the waist down and forever confined to a wheelchair.
Outcome 1
The construction worker is thankful to be alive, but believes his life is, for all intents and purposes, over. He no longer produces or thrives. He simply exist as a disabled individual who pulls a check from the government for the rest of his days. After all, construction is all he's ever known.
Scenario B
A 19 year old female is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Outcome 1
She's dead... she may be alive... but she's dead. It's terminal. There's nothing she can do. Seeing as there is no point in continuing with her tasks, she gives up and waits for her time to come. Eventually, she dies, having accomplished nothing.
Sadly, these are common outcomes. Anyone who has been in the medical field for any amount of time has seen this occur over and over. People are given a hard blow and they give up. They allow their spirit to become clouded with failure and hopelessness. It even happens with small things.
Scenario C
A 27 year old man reaches what he considers a very trying position. He has a job, a career actually, but the salary doesn't provide a very good living. He's done great things in his life, but, the job he does, just doesn't make the ends meet. His bills get very behind and he becomes overwhelmed and soon finds himself having thoughts of giving up and settling for his current situation.
Outcome 1
He lets the fear of the unknown overcome his ability to see down the road. He spends the rest of his days accepting whatever job will take him and settles for whatever comes his way. He never again tries to become more than what he is. His decision to settle for less than what he wants in life haunts him to the end of his days.
Relatively, this is a very small thing. But, let's be honest, when it comes to finances, people become overwhelmed. Although finances are only one small part of life, they impact our entire lives in almost every aspect and direction. Sure, it's not cancer, it's not being paralyzed, but it's something many people allow to control their next steps in life. They are constantly playing the catch-up game and after playing it for so long, they just give up. They don't realize that if they continue to push forward, they will eventually be past it once and for all. It may suck getting there... but... doing nothing will be much worse.
Scenario A
Outcome 2
The now wheelchair confined construction worker sees that what he has always known, the only thing he knows, can no longer provide the type of life he wants. He begins to search and find ways to overcome the obstacle. He begins to see his wheelchair not as a handicap, but a tool he will use to make a better future for himself. He goes to college, becomes a computer engineer, and low and behold, about 5 years later, (5 very short years in retrospect) he drives his new top of the line electric wheelchair onto his new $100,000.00 boat for a weekend away from the office.
Scenario B
Outcome 2
The young girl realizes her days are numbered and suddenly, all at once, the overcoming realization hits her square in the face... all the dreams, all the ambitions and all the goals she wanted to accomplish have now become very limited. Being driven by this, she buckles down, determined to succeed in every single aspect of life that she applies herself to. She only lives another 6 years, but, those 6 years were the best of her life. She became a Paramedic and saved thousands of lives. She gave hope to the hopeless, because she knew what hopeless was. She took vacations whenever she could and saw every sight she could afford. She climbed mountains, she jumped out of a plane... and... she found herself married with a beautiful little girl. A beautiful little girl, who, being inspired by the greatest pain a small child could ever experience, grew up to become an oncologist and dedicate her life to giving hope to the hopeless.
Now... given folks... these are just scenarios I put together... but... they're not untrue by any means. In my short life I have been blessed with meeting and sometimes becoming friends with these amazing people. They are dealt some of the worst hands life can possibly hand someone, yet they become some of the most successful people our little world has ever seen. They are the people, who truly, are the definition of the human spirit. They are the people who don't give up, regardless of what mountain is in front of them. The only thing they wonder is whether or not they will need more rope to get to the top. They never see the mountains as failures, or obstacles which can not be overcome, they see every single one of them as victories which are only a few steps away.
Now we come back to Scenario C, outcome 2.
The young man takes in a deep breath and holds a thought of "let's do it" in his head. He pushes forward every week, not sure how he's going to make it to the next, but, he never takes his eyes off the goal. As each setback comes against him, he finds a new way to get around it. He spends each day reminding himself of what is to come. When he sees life has thrown a curve ball at him, he still takes a chance and goes for the hit. He knows he might miss, but, he also knows he might hit a home run. He's not sure where the road will ultimately take him, but he knows, without any doubt, that this is not the road to failure, but the road to victory. It's by no means an easy road, but it's a road worth traveling, for the rewards at the end of the road are immeasurable. Because he continues to try, he continues to succeed. Sure, times get hard and sometimes cause him to worry, but, he keeps his spirit strong and continually finds new ways to climb the mountains. Always finding himself to be a stronger person, a person more capable today than he was yesterday. I know... because that young man is me.
In life, we have no control over what hands we are given. However, we can change them. Sometimes we trade in our cards and get better ones, likewise, sometimes the new cards don't help us at all. But, we must not let this stop us. While becoming an addict in gambling is definitely not the best idea, becoming an addict in life is one that we must allow our spirit to continue to inspire. When we trade in a couple cards and receive bad ones, we just have to suck it up, deal with our losses and continue to play until we get the hands we want. However, unlike poker, when playing the game of life, we can cheat. In poker, you will never know what cards are coming next. In life, you can. If you apply yourself, gain an education and continually dedicate yourself to gaining that which is needed to achieve your goal, then indeed, while some wild cards will come your way, you will be the determining factor of what cards, for the most part, are coming next. Or... you can do nothing, and hope that you gain something.
As Newton said, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Likewise, for every inaction... there is no action. If you choose success, success you will find. If you choose nothing, nothing you will find. The choice, is 100%... yours.
Tomorrow is Monday... Make this week a better week than last week, and each week thereafter the same. I bid you a good day.
If you enjoy Matthew Q. Llewellyn, be sure to share with your friends. Feel free to forward emails to your friends or send them links to the ONLINE BLOG or The American Libertarian Movement page. If you think they might enjoy receiving our emails, suggest they send an email to http://us.mc434.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=MatthewQLlewellyn@yahoo.com and request to be added to the distribution list.
COPYRIGHT © 2009. Matthew Q. Llewellyn. All Rights Reserved. Protected by all applicable laws.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Success: The Forgotten Goal
Success: The Forgotten Goal
By Matthew Q. Llewellyn
Hey there folks... Matthew Q. here... that's right... you guessed it. Something has completely set me off and after having a highly trained team of medical professionals bring my blood pressure down from stroke level, I'm ready to abuse the poor keys on this laptop and subject you to yet another thought from... Inside the mind of Matt.
Let's talk about success. Actually... let's talk about failure first. I think that's a good place to begin. Kind of the whole chicken and egg deal though don't you think? Anyway...
What is failure? Is it an ending? Perhaps a beginning? What do you think?... No ... I'll wait ... go ahead and think about it.
.
.
.
.
.
Enough time? Well you're wrong... unless you answered "both", in which case, you're right. Failure is a two part option, being either an ending or a beginning... but never both of them at the same time. I'll explain...
Failure can do one of two things, it can teach you how not to do something, or, it can teach you that something is not possible. The choice is yours. And it is this choice that decides if you will be a failure, or a success.
You might wonder what got me all upset about this whole success/failure thing. To cure your curiosity, it was minimum wage. A classmate and I, who are friends with very differing political views, in that I'm right and he's wrong, spend our breaks debating various topics. The topic of the past few debates is obvious.
He explained how he believes every worker should receive a fair wage for an honest days work... and I agree. It's the amount we have an issue with. He believes you should not be allowed to pay any worker less than $10.00 per hour. I believe you should be able to pay them whatever you feel they are worth to you, as an employer, whether that's $25.00 or $5.00 per hour is up to you. Logic dictates that they more valuable and difficult to replace they are, the more you will pay to keep them.
What makes me right and him wrong? Good question with a good answer.
I believe in individual responsibility... he does not.
We brought up the topic of janitors within a company. Let's be honest. If I am an employer, why should I have to pay you $10.00 per hour? I can train a monkey to scrub a toilet, sweep a floor and take out the trash and pay him with bananas. Being a janitor is an unskilled/uneducated labor position. Does this mean you have no skills or education? Of course not. You might be the most intelligent man in the world. However, you are not applying for the position of most intelligent man in the world, you are applying for the position of unskilled/uneducated janitor.
Why do I consider it unskilled/uneducated? Because it is. You don't need any type of education to push a broom or clean a toilet. And as far as skill is concerned, a skill, generally, is a trade. It is a specialized amount of applicable knowledge and talent within your desired field. Emptying the trash is not a talent.
Want to learn a little about my history? Tough, I'm going to tell you anyway. I was a Janitor folks... I was an 18 year old 8th grade drop out and the only job I could obtain was Janitor. It wasn't a horrible job, it just paid horribly and was very physically hard work at times. I spent a lot of time sweating and a lot of time doing a lot of things I didn't want to do. But it was honest work, and it was what I was capable of doing. Without sounding boastful, I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent, self educated individual... but without the credentials to prove it, in the work world, I was worth nothing. I was of no value to them. Just as quickly as they had hired me, they could had have dozens and dozens of unskilled and uneducated workers lined up around the block.
So... if you know me, you know where I am today. I'm not by any means rich, in fact, I don't make that much money at all. But, I have been very successful in my career, I've achieved in a few years what takes most people 20 and 30 years to achieve. However, I'm still in school to this day. Why? Because with as much as I've done and achieved, I want to achieve bigger and better things. I'm not happy settling where I'm at. I'm the kind of person who is constantly looking for the next set of stairs or ladder. I am constantly seeking a new way to improve my current condition. The only way to improve your condition is to take action to change it. Remember... the only action produced by complacency is death.
What set me apart from other drop outs? Ambition. I wanted to be more than what I was. I wanted to excel to my greatest potential. I wanted to make a mark on the world, to make a difference. And of course, I wanted more money. Let's face it... we all want more money.
Of course lazy people want these things as well. They want more money. They want more out of life. They want bigger homes, better cars and bigger TVs. However, they don't want to work for those things. They want, but they have no ambition to get them there. They are lazy. All they see in front of them is challenge, pain, heartache and headache. I assure you, going to school nearly 40 hours per week and working 48 hours per week is no easy task. I know, I do it. Looking at that road in front of me I know what I see. Month after month becoming years of little sleep. Months after month becoming years of spending as much time at work as I do between school and study groups. I see financial hardships. I see myself watching every penny I spend. I see myself not having health insurance (which, I have opted to not have since I don't get sick so I have a larger check). I see myself not taking vacations, not going to the lake, not going on trips, concerts, etc and so on. I see myself spending my entire life between work and school. And of course, when I do take some time for myself, I will spend my time learning as much as I possibly can about the current political happenings and as I am able, sharing my thoughts with as many people as possible.
I tell you... the road in front, which I can clearly see, sucks. But, I love it. Why? Because I choose to ignore the negative and find the positive. I choose to find the irony of situations and laugh at hardships. And... most importantly... I see the end of the road. I know there will come a time when all of this is behind me and I never have to think about it again. There will be a point where I never again have to say "If I had ____ I could have jumped after that career opportunity", because I will have it. Truly... there is no such thing as luck, only opportunity met by preparation.
What's my point here? My point is this. No one just automatically deserves to take home a certain hourly pay. If you want to make more, you have to do what is required to make more. It's hard, but, nothing good in life ever comes easy. For every great reward there is first a great challenge. If the challenge was not great, the reward would not be great.
The Founding Fathers taught us, that while every American has the right to life, liberty and happiness, it is up to each of them to reach out and grab it on their own. It's not any ones responsibility to make sure you make it except your own. Sure, you might have some help along the way, possibly from family, friends, tuition, etc... but... you have to reach out and get it. You have to put in the time... you have to put in the effort. You have to make a choice to apply the time and effort required to overcome the obstacles in front of you, no matter what they are, and end up at the desired goal. It's all about choice. And just as it is your choice to achieve success, it is your choice to achieve failure. The only way you fail is if you choose to fail. Which brings our ending, back to the beginning of this little rant of mine.
If, when you fail, you learn how to not do something, then you have not failed, but rather, have learned. But, when you fail, if you chose to allow it to become an object which you can not overcome, then you are not only a failure, but you deserve the failure life which you have chosen. You don't deserve to be taken care of by hard working, achieving, successful citizens, you deserve to have us light a fire under your butt so you'll get off the couch, quit playing x-box, get an education and make something of yourself.
Henry Ford said "Whether you believe you can or can't, you're right."
Believe you can succeed and success you will become. Believe you can do nothing, likewise you shall become it. Choose to succeed then you have earned it. Choose to be nothing then you deserve it.
I bid you farewell and good day my friends.
COPYRIGHT © 2009. Matthew Q. Llewellyn. All Rights Reserved.
By Matthew Q. Llewellyn
Hey there folks... Matthew Q. here... that's right... you guessed it. Something has completely set me off and after having a highly trained team of medical professionals bring my blood pressure down from stroke level, I'm ready to abuse the poor keys on this laptop and subject you to yet another thought from... Inside the mind of Matt.
Let's talk about success. Actually... let's talk about failure first. I think that's a good place to begin. Kind of the whole chicken and egg deal though don't you think? Anyway...
What is failure? Is it an ending? Perhaps a beginning? What do you think?... No ... I'll wait ... go ahead and think about it.
.
.
.
.
.
Enough time? Well you're wrong... unless you answered "both", in which case, you're right. Failure is a two part option, being either an ending or a beginning... but never both of them at the same time. I'll explain...
Failure can do one of two things, it can teach you how not to do something, or, it can teach you that something is not possible. The choice is yours. And it is this choice that decides if you will be a failure, or a success.
You might wonder what got me all upset about this whole success/failure thing. To cure your curiosity, it was minimum wage. A classmate and I, who are friends with very differing political views, in that I'm right and he's wrong, spend our breaks debating various topics. The topic of the past few debates is obvious.
He explained how he believes every worker should receive a fair wage for an honest days work... and I agree. It's the amount we have an issue with. He believes you should not be allowed to pay any worker less than $10.00 per hour. I believe you should be able to pay them whatever you feel they are worth to you, as an employer, whether that's $25.00 or $5.00 per hour is up to you. Logic dictates that they more valuable and difficult to replace they are, the more you will pay to keep them.
What makes me right and him wrong? Good question with a good answer.
I believe in individual responsibility... he does not.
We brought up the topic of janitors within a company. Let's be honest. If I am an employer, why should I have to pay you $10.00 per hour? I can train a monkey to scrub a toilet, sweep a floor and take out the trash and pay him with bananas. Being a janitor is an unskilled/uneducated labor position. Does this mean you have no skills or education? Of course not. You might be the most intelligent man in the world. However, you are not applying for the position of most intelligent man in the world, you are applying for the position of unskilled/uneducated janitor.
Why do I consider it unskilled/uneducated? Because it is. You don't need any type of education to push a broom or clean a toilet. And as far as skill is concerned, a skill, generally, is a trade. It is a specialized amount of applicable knowledge and talent within your desired field. Emptying the trash is not a talent.
Want to learn a little about my history? Tough, I'm going to tell you anyway. I was a Janitor folks... I was an 18 year old 8th grade drop out and the only job I could obtain was Janitor. It wasn't a horrible job, it just paid horribly and was very physically hard work at times. I spent a lot of time sweating and a lot of time doing a lot of things I didn't want to do. But it was honest work, and it was what I was capable of doing. Without sounding boastful, I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent, self educated individual... but without the credentials to prove it, in the work world, I was worth nothing. I was of no value to them. Just as quickly as they had hired me, they could had have dozens and dozens of unskilled and uneducated workers lined up around the block.
So... if you know me, you know where I am today. I'm not by any means rich, in fact, I don't make that much money at all. But, I have been very successful in my career, I've achieved in a few years what takes most people 20 and 30 years to achieve. However, I'm still in school to this day. Why? Because with as much as I've done and achieved, I want to achieve bigger and better things. I'm not happy settling where I'm at. I'm the kind of person who is constantly looking for the next set of stairs or ladder. I am constantly seeking a new way to improve my current condition. The only way to improve your condition is to take action to change it. Remember... the only action produced by complacency is death.
What set me apart from other drop outs? Ambition. I wanted to be more than what I was. I wanted to excel to my greatest potential. I wanted to make a mark on the world, to make a difference. And of course, I wanted more money. Let's face it... we all want more money.
Of course lazy people want these things as well. They want more money. They want more out of life. They want bigger homes, better cars and bigger TVs. However, they don't want to work for those things. They want, but they have no ambition to get them there. They are lazy. All they see in front of them is challenge, pain, heartache and headache. I assure you, going to school nearly 40 hours per week and working 48 hours per week is no easy task. I know, I do it. Looking at that road in front of me I know what I see. Month after month becoming years of little sleep. Months after month becoming years of spending as much time at work as I do between school and study groups. I see financial hardships. I see myself watching every penny I spend. I see myself not having health insurance (which, I have opted to not have since I don't get sick so I have a larger check). I see myself not taking vacations, not going to the lake, not going on trips, concerts, etc and so on. I see myself spending my entire life between work and school. And of course, when I do take some time for myself, I will spend my time learning as much as I possibly can about the current political happenings and as I am able, sharing my thoughts with as many people as possible.
I tell you... the road in front, which I can clearly see, sucks. But, I love it. Why? Because I choose to ignore the negative and find the positive. I choose to find the irony of situations and laugh at hardships. And... most importantly... I see the end of the road. I know there will come a time when all of this is behind me and I never have to think about it again. There will be a point where I never again have to say "If I had ____ I could have jumped after that career opportunity", because I will have it. Truly... there is no such thing as luck, only opportunity met by preparation.
What's my point here? My point is this. No one just automatically deserves to take home a certain hourly pay. If you want to make more, you have to do what is required to make more. It's hard, but, nothing good in life ever comes easy. For every great reward there is first a great challenge. If the challenge was not great, the reward would not be great.
The Founding Fathers taught us, that while every American has the right to life, liberty and happiness, it is up to each of them to reach out and grab it on their own. It's not any ones responsibility to make sure you make it except your own. Sure, you might have some help along the way, possibly from family, friends, tuition, etc... but... you have to reach out and get it. You have to put in the time... you have to put in the effort. You have to make a choice to apply the time and effort required to overcome the obstacles in front of you, no matter what they are, and end up at the desired goal. It's all about choice. And just as it is your choice to achieve success, it is your choice to achieve failure. The only way you fail is if you choose to fail. Which brings our ending, back to the beginning of this little rant of mine.
If, when you fail, you learn how to not do something, then you have not failed, but rather, have learned. But, when you fail, if you chose to allow it to become an object which you can not overcome, then you are not only a failure, but you deserve the failure life which you have chosen. You don't deserve to be taken care of by hard working, achieving, successful citizens, you deserve to have us light a fire under your butt so you'll get off the couch, quit playing x-box, get an education and make something of yourself.
Henry Ford said "Whether you believe you can or can't, you're right."
Believe you can succeed and success you will become. Believe you can do nothing, likewise you shall become it. Choose to succeed then you have earned it. Choose to be nothing then you deserve it.
I bid you farewell and good day my friends.
COPYRIGHT © 2009. Matthew Q. Llewellyn. All Rights Reserved.
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