A few days ago, January 29th, both Thomas Paine and Oprah Winfrey shared a birthday. The contrast of these two people immediately struck me as funny. I’m willing to bet that most Americans don’t know who Thomas Paine was but everyone knows Oprah. Yet with the writing of Common Sense and The American Crisis among others, Thomas Paine was one of the main sparks, inspiration and motivation behind America’s freedom; in fact I think it could be argued that we might not be free without him. Oprah, in contrast, although influential due to the ubiquity and syndication of television, is just a talk show host who will not impart as influential an impact on humanity as Paine. But then I realized what a powerful combination these two would be and that you could greatly improve your life, particularly your goal setting and achievement, with a little Paine and Oprah Power (POP)!

Paine was a master of the mind. With his writing, Paine explored and explained the abstract ideals of freedom and the rights of man which were used as a basis for both the American and French Revolutions. These ideas literally changed the direction of these Countries and in turn influences all of humanity. Thomas Edison said of Paine’s great mind, “never have we had a sounder intelligence in this republic” and “Paine’s works are a crystallization of acute human reasoning”.

Oprah is the master of the emotions. Her fame and fortune is founded on the tabloid talk-show format where if there wasn’t a tear, it wasn’t a complete show. She starting working in TV news but, according to Wikipedia, her “emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena”. Now to be fair, today Oprah’s shows are not so completely drenched in emotion but it’s safe to say that she wears her emotions on her sleeve.

Many stories and movies have played off the idea of a small, street-smart guy teaming up with a big, strong, dumb guy and the first guy saying something like “with your brawn and my brains we can really go places”. Well the variation here is that with Paine’s mind and Oprah’s emotions you can really accomplish a lot.

We’re meant to think with our mind and emote with our emotions. However, most people “think” with their emotions. They state what they like or don’t like and make decisions based on how something “feels”. They substitute opinion for thought. Thinking involves reason and logic. If stopped by a TV reporter on the street and asked about the state of the economy, the emotion-based person will state how they feel and how they’re impacted by the economy but the thinking person would say that they don’t know anything about the economy (assuming they have not studied it) and that the reporter should ask an economist.

How to Reach Your Goals with Paine and Oprah Power (POP)

With this background I can now give you the steps to choosing and reaching your goals with POP, Paine and Oprah Power!

1. The fist step, and this a main point to POP, is to understand that the mind should come before the emotions. In other words thought comes first and the emotions follow. And more precisely the emotions are to support thought. Emotions are like the cheerleader that supports thought with enthusiasm! Paine conceives the idea and Oprah follows with the pom-poms (after all Oprah seems to be a good cheerleader for Barak Obama and his Presidential campaign.)

2. Use your mind (Paine power) to establish what goals you want to pursue. Most of us “think” we want to pursue the goals of getting rich or losing weight however these are typically emotion-based goals, actually they’re wishes, that appeal to our petty selves and are intended to make us feel better or more secure. Instead we should think through our goals and settle on some that will better suit our actual lives. Mostly likely the best goals to pursue are things like improving our self-discipline and dedication so we don’t slack off at work, bettering our patience and tolerance so we’re not stressing out over minor inconveniences or strengthening our goodwill and cheer so we can minimize our dour moods. So, to help pick more enlightened goals, ask yourself:

• What type of negative moods (i.e. annoyance, depression, impatience, anger, bitterness, etc.) do you often find yourself? Decide to make the expression of their antidote your goal; so cheerfulness overcomes depression, tolerance supersedes anger and patience supplants impatience.
• Do you have problems staying motivated, focused and dedicated at work? Choose make being more productive and dedicated a goal.
• Could you be contributing more goodwill, compassion or tolerance to your relationships?
• Are there any skill or talents that you should improve to make your self more productive?
• What projects should you get involved in that would be more about contributing to others than gaining for yourself?

3. Use your emotions (Oprah power) to “get behind” the thought-filled goals you decide to pursue. This is where the emotions shine. Build up an enthusiasm and excitement for these goals by imagining how your life will be improved when these goals are reached. Imagine the positive impact they’ll have on your family, friends and co-workers. See how your accomplishments will be an example for others to follow. Consider the impact that your more enlightened goals, particularly the productive work you do, will benefit society. Allow yourself to be excited about being “being a force of Nature” which, as George Bernard Shaw says is “the true joy in life“.

To Your Enlightened Goals,
Brendan

As a follow-up to my last article about the True Joy in Life, here are the top 10 signs that you may be a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world is not devoting itself to making you happy:

1. You mostly talk about yourself self. Somehow every conversation you’re in becomes focused on you and the events of your life. Now of course you can talk about yourself but you should also make a point to express a sincere interest in others.
2. You litter. The self-centered arrogance of a clod who litters, even those who throw a small cigarette butt out their car window, is saying that the world is their trash can and that someone else will take care of it.
3. You don’t consider the impact of your actions on others or, if you do, you don’t care. These people are so into their world that they have no idea of their rudeness. Examples include people who talk loud on their cellphone in public, who put bags on the seat next them on the train or bus, who drive too aggressively without following the rules of the road and who talk loud in their office cubicle.
4. You see the world through “you-colored” glasses. You only relate to how any local, nation or world event effects you personally. If your town wants to raise money for more public space, you only focus only on what it will cost you rather than how it will benefit the community. You insist that the government help the “little guy” only so that the “little guy” isn’t so impoverished that he has to mug you when you go downtown.
5. You have an entitlement mentality and expect to reap without sowing. Without getting too political, this is the general mentality of the how-can-the-government-fix-this crowd. If you are somehow inconvenienced, your first thought is how you can sue and win money. This story about a bride who is suing her florist epitomizes this and Elana Glatt (nee Elbogan), David Glatt and Tobi Glatt seem to be feverish selfish little clods.
6. You don’t fulfill the responsibilities or commitments that you’ve made either consciously or unconsciously. You agreed to take a job to help a company or organization fulfill it’s purpose and it has either stated or implied time and duties and you slack off. You agreed to marry and have children with all the responsibilities implied in both and you don’t live up to them.
7. You only see extremes in every idea, person or organization. For example you believe either that republicans are totalitarian dictators who will destroy the US with their arrogance or that democrats are wimpy losers who will destroy the US with their impotence.
8. Your understanding and perspective of life are limited. You think that anything that causes discomfort is bad and therefore you’re entitled to complain, worry and bitch. With a broader perspective you would realize that what you thought was “bad” turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.
9. You think that people who are different from you are the problem with the world. You have established a “bad guy”, either a race, religion, political persuasion, people in power or who are rich. This holds true from the black man who thinks that the white man is holding him down to the groups like Al Qaeda who think that the United States is the cause of all the world’s problems. Osama Bin Laden is the epitome of the feverish selfish little clod.
10. You give only when you expect to get. Your immediate reaction when you are asked to give for some reason is how it will impact you. You look for either a direct benefit or an implied benefit such as an increased social status everyone knows that you gave and how much.

The antidote to this is to maturity, compassion, tolerance and wisdom. Children are allowed be be somewhat self-centered but we’re meant to grow up and realize that we need to be sensitive to our actions on others. Also we need to remember that all our desires are not meant to be fulfilled. Most of our desires are base and we’re here to rise and shine!

Cheers,
Brendan

My favorite radio talk show host and movie reviewer Michael Medved (here’s the show’s blog) had a short prerecorded review of the movie The Pink Panther staring Steve Martin on his show today. In it he said a phrase that really got me thinking. When describing the Parisian detective protagonist Inspector Clouseau, Medved said Clouseau, “combines supreme self-confidence with utter incompetence”. In case you don’t know, this description is accurate because Clouseau speaks like and truly believes he is the best detective in the world but in reality he can’t do anything right and if things work out it’s in spite of himself and usually the effort of another that he’s unaware of. I started to wonder in what areas of daily life do ordinary people posses “self-confidence” but exhibit incompetence. In other words we think we know what we’re doing but the reality says differently.

Coincidentally, on the same day Medved’s guest was Peter Schweizer, author of “Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy”. They were discussing areas of life where people profess one thing but do another. This conversation further fueled my thoughts on this topic.

Obviously the extreme juxtaposition between the confidence and incompetence of Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther makes for an entertaining movie but in what areas of your life are you exhibiting dichotomies, albeit much less extreme? Look over the following list as see if you recognize yourself:

1. You may be confident that you know how to raise your children but you’re actually incompetent since you don’t get involved with them in either their daily activities or personal development.
2. You’re confident that you have a strong relationship with your spouse but you’re incompetent since your spouse doesn’t feel the same way.
3. You portray a confidence that you know how to do your job but an incompetence since you’re not up to date on the latest advances in your field or you don’t go to the “next level” and further your understanding or abilities.
4. You’re confident that you’re providing good service to a customer but you’re incompetent in that you only really care about making the immediate sale, and taking your commission, whether or not it’s truly in the customer’s best interest.
5. You’re confident you know how to socialize and have a conversation but you’re incompetence is revealed as you mainly talk about yourself or you often whine, complain, bitch and moan about anything and everything.
6. You’re confident that you know how to handle your personal finances but you’re incompetence is exposed as every last penny you take in each month is spent and you have no funds saved for retirement.
7. You’re confident that you know who should be the President and what political party is right for this Country however you’re incompetent in that you can’t support your belief with reasoned analysis. In other words you don’t know why your party is the right one, as you’ve never really thought about it. Maybe it’s the party of your parents and friends.
8. You’re confident that you have your priorities straight however you’re incompetence shows as you find yourself spending most of your time on the least of your priorities (such as watching mindless TV).
9. You’re confident that you’re doing right by God because you believe you’re following the Golden Rule and trying to be thoughtful of others however your incompetence surfaces as you exhibit only self-centeredness when you wallow in pity, depression, confusion, bitterness, intolerance and anger.
10. You’re confident that you need the expensive house, new car and lavish vacation but incompetent as you don’t realize these are trifles particularly if they come at the expense of having to place your child with a stranger nine hours a day (assuming you’d rather not).
11. You have confidence that you’re doing the right thing by contributing to charity but your incompetence is divulged when your primary motivation is that you want it to be known publicly.
12. You are confident as you “believe” that Jesus is your personal savior but incompetent since you don’t know what that really means and you only “believe” it because you were brought up to do so. Perhaps familial or peer pressure cause you think you have to otherwise you won’t go to heaven or you’ll be “left behind” at the end of days.

If you recognize yourself in any of the above don’t fret or beat yourself up about it. We’re all learning. We’re all growing. As they say, the first step in improving yourself is to recognize the problem. In fact, if you recognize yourself in any of these, it’s best to take it light-heartedly. This juxtaposition between what you think you know and what you actually know, as revealed by what you do, is sort of humorous on a spiritual level. It’s like the suave, debonair executive who carries an arrogant, pretentious, superior attitude who slips on a banana peels and falls in mud on the way to an “important” business meeting. A little humility goes a long way toward spiritual growth.