As do most Americans who were alive then, I vividly remember the day JFK was assassinated. As a fledgling newsman and announcer at WTVR in Richmond, Virginia, it was rather a surreal experience. Virginia had voted for Nixon in 1960 over Kennedy, 53% to 47%. The management of the station initially refused to suspend commercials, but gave in when the entire on air staff threatened to walk out if they didn't follow the lead of all other broadcasting outlets.
At the time, of course, no one realized that an era of innocence and optimism was suddenly ending. Our TV station was a CBS affiliate, so Walter Cronkite was creating a note of calm in chaos as he soothed the nation with his mellifluous tones, while a somewhat hyper Dan Rather reported from Dallas, thus becoming a national figure for the first time.
Like most TV stations then, we went off the air following the 11pm news and a video of the Star Spangled Banner. No nonstop cable news, so we had to wait until the next morning to pick up what was happening.
We all knew something momentous had happened, but had no idea what was coming next. Some feared the Russians would attack, especially when it came out that Lee Harvey Oswald had spent time in Russia. In Richmond, I heard more than one supposedly patriotic citizen voice satisfaction at the turn of events.
There was a lot of attention focused on Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and celebrating of the elevation of the first Southerner in a long time to the White House. This was, after all, a time when
it was still illegal for a white person to marry a black person in Virginia, and where the concept of "massive resistance" to the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision continued after nine years. The antipathy to Kennedy expressed by many Virginians was due in no small measure to the fact that most black voters had favored him over Nixon in 1960.
Speaking by phone (rotary dial phones were all we had then, Bell Telephone, in fact, introduced the first push button phone just four days before the assassination.) to friends and family in Philadelphia, it did seem I was on an island of disconnect. They described how people were gathering in groups to mourn together and offer each other comfort. This was not happening in Virginia. My girlfriend and I comforted each other in isolation and silence once I got home. We were only 106 miles South of Washington, but might have been in another country altogether.
A few years later, I was working at WRVA Radio, also in Richmond, and filling in for Lou Dean, the all-night talk show host. For two straight nights, my guest was Mark Lane, author of Rush to Judgment, the first book to despute the Warren Commission's findings about the assassination. My opinion then is pretty much unchanged now. I felt that if any conspiracy was involved, someone would have come forward to tell their story. Today, with so many more media outlets available, and so much money to be made for stories like this one, it is inconceivable to me that the truth wouldn't have already come out.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, November 22, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, REALLY!
I suppose for many people, reaching a certain age, say 70, allows one to feel he or she has been a part of a large segment of history. This has to be much more so in our current world of rapid change, when I think we have gone through more social, technological, political and economic changes than in any other times.
On a number of occasions, my own life reminds me of two films describing this via characters who get to sample a huge swathe of important things and people around them. These are Woody Allen's 1963 mockumentary, Zelig, and Forrest Gump, with Tom Hanks playing the everyman who seems to be everywhere.
I was reminded of this when looking at the two political races the spotlight was most focused on in Tuesday's election. The gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia. These felt familiar to me, somewhat like local news.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, so New Jersey was my backyard, and all our family vacations were in Wildwood on the Southern Jersey shore. When I worked at KYW Newsradio, our Jersey bureau was the biggest radio news coverage for that state. As a state, New Jersey is somewhat unique in that it doesn't have any powerful TV stations of its own. It lies between the huge markets of Philadelphia and New York, which both make a fortune when political advertising dollars are spent in The Garden State.
I had a further connection in that, for about 8 months, I actually worked at WBUD Radio in Trenton, and learned how very small town New Jersey politics was. And how corrupt. I even became personal friends with the young mayor of Trenton, a very liberal hippy type who was trying to make big changes.
On to Virginia, where I was much more involved by virtue of several years as a top newsman at WRVA Radio, the top-rated station in the entire state at the time. We were located right across from the famed Capitol Building designed by Thomas Jefferson, and had our own studio in its basement. I was in charge of recording and editing for distribution throughout the state, the governor's news conferences, and was often the reporter who closed the session with a "Thank You, Mr. Governor."
I myself was approached on several occasions about running for political office, starting with something local in Richmond. I never was interested. For several months, filling in for an injured colleague at WRVA, I wrote speeches for U.S. Senator Harry Byrd Jr., and was very friendly with the up-and-coming political star, J. Sargeant Reynolds. Sarge was just starting out when I got to know him, eventually becoming Lt. Governor when I had already moved on to New York. He was often touted as the next JFK. He was part of the illustrious Reynolds family--his branch was the aluminum one, though he was also related to the tobacco family. Like the Kennedys, the Reynolds family had more than its share of tragedy, and Sarge died at 35 of an inoperable brain tumor.
So it is no wonder that I feel somehow connected when I watch all the political reporting from Virginia and New Jersey. But the truth is, like the world itself, politics are vastly different today and a lot less personal than they were forty-some years ago, and not nearly as much fun. But I was there, so following it all is something like comfort food to me.
Jerry
If you haven't been there yet, please visit my prosperity blog:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
On a number of occasions, my own life reminds me of two films describing this via characters who get to sample a huge swathe of important things and people around them. These are Woody Allen's 1963 mockumentary, Zelig, and Forrest Gump, with Tom Hanks playing the everyman who seems to be everywhere.
I was reminded of this when looking at the two political races the spotlight was most focused on in Tuesday's election. The gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia. These felt familiar to me, somewhat like local news.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, so New Jersey was my backyard, and all our family vacations were in Wildwood on the Southern Jersey shore. When I worked at KYW Newsradio, our Jersey bureau was the biggest radio news coverage for that state. As a state, New Jersey is somewhat unique in that it doesn't have any powerful TV stations of its own. It lies between the huge markets of Philadelphia and New York, which both make a fortune when political advertising dollars are spent in The Garden State.
I had a further connection in that, for about 8 months, I actually worked at WBUD Radio in Trenton, and learned how very small town New Jersey politics was. And how corrupt. I even became personal friends with the young mayor of Trenton, a very liberal hippy type who was trying to make big changes.
On to Virginia, where I was much more involved by virtue of several years as a top newsman at WRVA Radio, the top-rated station in the entire state at the time. We were located right across from the famed Capitol Building designed by Thomas Jefferson, and had our own studio in its basement. I was in charge of recording and editing for distribution throughout the state, the governor's news conferences, and was often the reporter who closed the session with a "Thank You, Mr. Governor."
I myself was approached on several occasions about running for political office, starting with something local in Richmond. I never was interested. For several months, filling in for an injured colleague at WRVA, I wrote speeches for U.S. Senator Harry Byrd Jr., and was very friendly with the up-and-coming political star, J. Sargeant Reynolds. Sarge was just starting out when I got to know him, eventually becoming Lt. Governor when I had already moved on to New York. He was often touted as the next JFK. He was part of the illustrious Reynolds family--his branch was the aluminum one, though he was also related to the tobacco family. Like the Kennedys, the Reynolds family had more than its share of tragedy, and Sarge died at 35 of an inoperable brain tumor.
So it is no wonder that I feel somehow connected when I watch all the political reporting from Virginia and New Jersey. But the truth is, like the world itself, politics are vastly different today and a lot less personal than they were forty-some years ago, and not nearly as much fun. But I was there, so following it all is something like comfort food to me.
Jerry
If you haven't been there yet, please visit my prosperity blog:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, October 11, 2013
FURRY SADNESS
My closest friend, Rupa, just lost her closest companion, Eric. He had participated in many of our long distance visits via Skype and FaceTime, as reflected in this screen shot I took of one of our video calls, when Rupa was speaking from her Vermont garden with Eric roaming about.
It takes a pet lover, I believe, to truly empathise with the devastating loss such a passing can bring. It reminds us of our own similar losses. Because of their much shorter life spans, all those with cats and dogs will experience this loss, perhaps several times.
Eric reminded me of my own black and white cat, Quincy, and how hard his death hit me when the vet called with the news. He had some kind of rare blood disease and was even given two separate transfusions from other cats in an effort to save him. I needed to be alone with my thoughts and memories, and I remember my girlfriend at the time was very upset that I didn't immediately turn to her for comfort.
Something was true for me then that I've never admitted or talked about in the twenty-some years since I lost Quincy. This is simply the fact that his death affected me more deeply than that of my mother. I felt sort of guilty feeling this, but my mother had been mentally gone for several years when she died, so that I had already mourned her by the time her body followed. Quincy, on the other hand, was with me every day, a bundle of unconditional love, great fun, and the mystery that any cat brings into any human's life.
Cary Dennis, writing about the loss of a cat, said this in Salon:
It is awful but after its weight lifts there comes a new kind of life. The new kind of life that comes is perforated, aerated, wrung out and less rigid, more patient, more devout. Strangely so but true.
As was true for Eric, what sometimes makes the loss of a cat more difficult is that we have to make the final decision as to when to let it go, and direct the vet to take that final action. That the decision is always tempered with love and compassion, and to end or avoid extreme suffering, doesn't take away the pain of that responsibility.
Though those who haven't been personally impacted by the loss of a wonderful furry companion cannot fully understand this, it is sometimes more difficult and a greater source of grief than even the loss of a human loved one. In the case of beloved cats, no matter how independent and sometimes ornery they can be, we have created much of their world for them and they have repaid us with unconditional love and the taste of adventure having a direct link with the jungle and our own primordial past provides.
More than most people in our lives, cats are endlessly interesting and entertaining, and so the gap they leave behind is often larger. I have lost four of the fantastic creatures--Quincy, Hobbes, Brandy and Lucifer. This means I can really "get" Rupa's loss, but also relive some of my own magical memories. And I am often reminded of what Morrie Schwartz was quoted as saying in Tuesdays With Morrie, as he himself was dying:
"we live on in the hearts of everyone we have touched and nurtured while we were on earth."
Jerry
It takes a pet lover, I believe, to truly empathise with the devastating loss such a passing can bring. It reminds us of our own similar losses. Because of their much shorter life spans, all those with cats and dogs will experience this loss, perhaps several times.
Eric reminded me of my own black and white cat, Quincy, and how hard his death hit me when the vet called with the news. He had some kind of rare blood disease and was even given two separate transfusions from other cats in an effort to save him. I needed to be alone with my thoughts and memories, and I remember my girlfriend at the time was very upset that I didn't immediately turn to her for comfort.
Something was true for me then that I've never admitted or talked about in the twenty-some years since I lost Quincy. This is simply the fact that his death affected me more deeply than that of my mother. I felt sort of guilty feeling this, but my mother had been mentally gone for several years when she died, so that I had already mourned her by the time her body followed. Quincy, on the other hand, was with me every day, a bundle of unconditional love, great fun, and the mystery that any cat brings into any human's life.
Cary Dennis, writing about the loss of a cat, said this in Salon:
It is awful but after its weight lifts there comes a new kind of life. The new kind of life that comes is perforated, aerated, wrung out and less rigid, more patient, more devout. Strangely so but true.
As was true for Eric, what sometimes makes the loss of a cat more difficult is that we have to make the final decision as to when to let it go, and direct the vet to take that final action. That the decision is always tempered with love and compassion, and to end or avoid extreme suffering, doesn't take away the pain of that responsibility.
Though those who haven't been personally impacted by the loss of a wonderful furry companion cannot fully understand this, it is sometimes more difficult and a greater source of grief than even the loss of a human loved one. In the case of beloved cats, no matter how independent and sometimes ornery they can be, we have created much of their world for them and they have repaid us with unconditional love and the taste of adventure having a direct link with the jungle and our own primordial past provides.
More than most people in our lives, cats are endlessly interesting and entertaining, and so the gap they leave behind is often larger. I have lost four of the fantastic creatures--Quincy, Hobbes, Brandy and Lucifer. This means I can really "get" Rupa's loss, but also relive some of my own magical memories. And I am often reminded of what Morrie Schwartz was quoted as saying in Tuesdays With Morrie, as he himself was dying:
"we live on in the hearts of everyone we have touched and nurtured while we were on earth."
Jerry
Monday, September 30, 2013
THE DIRTIEST SIX LETTER WORD
"retire"
That's it, and many thinking people have stopped using it since I first railed against its use and the whole concept of retirement back in the 1970s. This was originally based on much research that showed retirement was deadlier than most diseases--that people who retired into a so-called life of leisure, often died within a few years, having lost their passion for life.
As a writer, I am lucky to have a profession that has a long history of non-retirees.
When I meet someone new here in Panama, I am often asked if I retired here. A fair question as I have passed the stereotypical retirement age. But like most people in the creative arts, whether it be music, writing, theatre, painting, etc., the word "retire" is not in my lexicon. I am writing more and involved in more projects now than at any time in the past forty years. As a result of all this, my income is entering an impressive upward spiral, and projections are it will increase at least tenfold by the end of 2014.
However, as a sort of objective bystander, I can say that retiring in Panama is a great and affordable adventure. I have a few retired friends who love the lifestyle, the bargain/booming economy, and the tropical climate.
I do have to pay for my prescription drugs, though they are cheaper here--the same for doctor visits. No Medicare coverage or Affordable Care Act here (tho I can fly back to U.S. for any major medical needs under Medicare) and Sara Lee and Stouffer's prepared foods are much higher priced. But the average quality restaurant meal is well under $10, and produce and local meats are cheaper than fast food in the U.S.
Panama can be a great place to live, if you enjoy the things that are very reasonably priced here. But it is not as well-organized as the U.S., or as fast-paced. Anyone who moves or retires here without checking it out with a personal scouting expedition first is a fool. I came for a visit last October for ten days, but was planning to move here in February. I knew, however, that I could easily pack up my two carry on bags and two checked bags and move somewhere else if I didn't like it. I wasn't relocating a family or a whole house full of possessions. And I wasn't planning to retire anytime ever.
This is a great place to not retire to. Even though you can't get a job if you are not a resident or citizen. If you can earn a living through some creative activity you can market online or through agents outside of Panama--or simply if you are lucky enough to have passive income coming in that will let you live comfortably (about $2000 to $3000 per month will do nicely, tho it can be done for half that with a bit of belt tightening), life can be a relaxing tropical dream.
And the biggest selling point is not bargain prices, or a happy-go-lucky culture. The best thing going for you coming to a foreign land with a new langauge to learn is that much research has shown that your brain will stay more youthful and grow more creative when challenged by learning and speaking a new language and being forced to even modestly change your lifestyle in a new environment.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
That's it, and many thinking people have stopped using it since I first railed against its use and the whole concept of retirement back in the 1970s. This was originally based on much research that showed retirement was deadlier than most diseases--that people who retired into a so-called life of leisure, often died within a few years, having lost their passion for life.
As a writer, I am lucky to have a profession that has a long history of non-retirees.
When I meet someone new here in Panama, I am often asked if I retired here. A fair question as I have passed the stereotypical retirement age. But like most people in the creative arts, whether it be music, writing, theatre, painting, etc., the word "retire" is not in my lexicon. I am writing more and involved in more projects now than at any time in the past forty years. As a result of all this, my income is entering an impressive upward spiral, and projections are it will increase at least tenfold by the end of 2014.
However, as a sort of objective bystander, I can say that retiring in Panama is a great and affordable adventure. I have a few retired friends who love the lifestyle, the bargain/booming economy, and the tropical climate.
I do have to pay for my prescription drugs, though they are cheaper here--the same for doctor visits. No Medicare coverage or Affordable Care Act here (tho I can fly back to U.S. for any major medical needs under Medicare) and Sara Lee and Stouffer's prepared foods are much higher priced. But the average quality restaurant meal is well under $10, and produce and local meats are cheaper than fast food in the U.S.
Panama can be a great place to live, if you enjoy the things that are very reasonably priced here. But it is not as well-organized as the U.S., or as fast-paced. Anyone who moves or retires here without checking it out with a personal scouting expedition first is a fool. I came for a visit last October for ten days, but was planning to move here in February. I knew, however, that I could easily pack up my two carry on bags and two checked bags and move somewhere else if I didn't like it. I wasn't relocating a family or a whole house full of possessions. And I wasn't planning to retire anytime ever.
This is a great place to not retire to. Even though you can't get a job if you are not a resident or citizen. If you can earn a living through some creative activity you can market online or through agents outside of Panama--or simply if you are lucky enough to have passive income coming in that will let you live comfortably (about $2000 to $3000 per month will do nicely, tho it can be done for half that with a bit of belt tightening), life can be a relaxing tropical dream.
And the biggest selling point is not bargain prices, or a happy-go-lucky culture. The best thing going for you coming to a foreign land with a new langauge to learn is that much research has shown that your brain will stay more youthful and grow more creative when challenged by learning and speaking a new language and being forced to even modestly change your lifestyle in a new environment.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
A PONDERING POINT
So now I have to deal with the fact that it's been almost a month since my last post on this blog. The reason for this is simple. For the past month, I have been sharply focused on launching the newly digitalized audio edition of the original 1987 Moneylove Tape album produced by and for Nightingale-Conant.
This was the bestselling six cassette album that became a bestseller. Over it's more than twenty year distribution life, many people contacted me to let me know the profound impact it had on their prosperity. So getting the rights back and turning it into mp3 audio files I could share online was a big deal.
Coinciding with this was the arrival in my life, through a couple of close friends, of some highly respected Internet marketing gurus. So I decided to see, once and for all, if I could get someone to take over the marketing of my Moneylove material, including the book, two cassette albums, and the more than forty monthly audios I have produced so far for The Moneylove Club. I am still working on that one, with about four major organizations in the mix.
A careful analysis by myself and some others has indicated that there is no other prosperity teaching material coming even close to mine--and that much of what is out there is taken, often directly, from my original Moneylove book and the Nightingale-Conant album. So I have had a strong incentive to reach out and let people know that not only is the original audio program now available again, but that I have been producing cutting edge new material for my new audio series, as well as my blog at http://MoneyloveBlog.com I also recently got back worldwide rights to the book.
I've been a bit in overwhelm, doing lots of Skype calls with collaborators, often overseas--as well as going over the first copy I have let other professionals produce for marketing my stuff--and then fulfilling audio orders when customers have reacted by quickly responding to the marketing emails. It's been a whirlwind, definitely more work than I wanted to take on, but exciting, fun, and extremely satisfying to know that today's marketplace still appreciates what I have to offer.
In addition to all this, I am formulating some prosperity coaching group video sessions, and considering approaches from several Moneylove fans who want to translate and take my work to Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. My plate is full for sure, but I imagine that not all of these projects will fully evolve, or I will just have to seriously consider hiring my first staff ever. And I really don't want to deal with that now, especially living in Panama.
And all that doesn't even take into account the fact that I spent at least three evenings a week in July and August rehearsing a play I appeared in, and then performing it for three nights in Panama--and am working on doing some stand-up comedy performances in the near future. This is one reason I tend to laugh when someone new I meet here asks if I am retired.
But all of that has meant I haven't had much time to focus on other activities, and therefore not much to write about on this, my non-prosperity blog. I would love your feedback as to whether you are enjoying this site, think I should keep it going, or couldn't care less. If you would, let me know at my personal email address at: JerryGillies@att.net
Jerry
This was the bestselling six cassette album that became a bestseller. Over it's more than twenty year distribution life, many people contacted me to let me know the profound impact it had on their prosperity. So getting the rights back and turning it into mp3 audio files I could share online was a big deal.
Coinciding with this was the arrival in my life, through a couple of close friends, of some highly respected Internet marketing gurus. So I decided to see, once and for all, if I could get someone to take over the marketing of my Moneylove material, including the book, two cassette albums, and the more than forty monthly audios I have produced so far for The Moneylove Club. I am still working on that one, with about four major organizations in the mix.
A careful analysis by myself and some others has indicated that there is no other prosperity teaching material coming even close to mine--and that much of what is out there is taken, often directly, from my original Moneylove book and the Nightingale-Conant album. So I have had a strong incentive to reach out and let people know that not only is the original audio program now available again, but that I have been producing cutting edge new material for my new audio series, as well as my blog at http://MoneyloveBlog.com I also recently got back worldwide rights to the book.
I've been a bit in overwhelm, doing lots of Skype calls with collaborators, often overseas--as well as going over the first copy I have let other professionals produce for marketing my stuff--and then fulfilling audio orders when customers have reacted by quickly responding to the marketing emails. It's been a whirlwind, definitely more work than I wanted to take on, but exciting, fun, and extremely satisfying to know that today's marketplace still appreciates what I have to offer.
In addition to all this, I am formulating some prosperity coaching group video sessions, and considering approaches from several Moneylove fans who want to translate and take my work to Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. My plate is full for sure, but I imagine that not all of these projects will fully evolve, or I will just have to seriously consider hiring my first staff ever. And I really don't want to deal with that now, especially living in Panama.
And all that doesn't even take into account the fact that I spent at least three evenings a week in July and August rehearsing a play I appeared in, and then performing it for three nights in Panama--and am working on doing some stand-up comedy performances in the near future. This is one reason I tend to laugh when someone new I meet here asks if I am retired.
But all of that has meant I haven't had much time to focus on other activities, and therefore not much to write about on this, my non-prosperity blog. I would love your feedback as to whether you are enjoying this site, think I should keep it going, or couldn't care less. If you would, let me know at my personal email address at: JerryGillies@att.net
Jerry
Thursday, August 15, 2013
MY FIRST TRUE LOVE
I haven't made a habit of sharing other blogs on this one, but I am compelled to do so today as I think this post, by one of my favorite blog writers, Seth Godin, is profound on a subject that concerns all of us avid book readers and authors.
The End of Books
After reading Seth's post, I started reflecting on the nostalgia that emerges when I think about books, realizing that these were my first true love as a young child. My mother taught me to read at the age of three, which led to my exasperating many early teachers.
My two most exhilarating early experiences were going to Leary's Bookstore just off Market Street on 9th (riding the 11th Street trolley, which stopped on my corner), and walking to my closest public library, four blocks from my South Philly home on Broad Street.
Leary's lasted 119 years from 1850 to 1969, and I was struck by a sentence in this article from Philadelphia's own Saturday Evening Post, "If you love books themselves, you may have chosen the wrong century to live in." Leary's Book Store
One amazing thing I remember vividly about Leary's was that it was wedged in between two sections of the giant Gimbel Brother's Department Store. The story was that the owners of Leary's refused to sell and Gimbel's had to build around it. I remember buying used hardcover copies of the Tom Swift, Hardy Boys, and Oz books for 35 cents each. Every trip to Leary's was a joy that makes me a bit sad for today's generation missing out on that kind of adventure.
At the library, a milestone for me was reaching the age of twelve, for that meant I could have an adult library card and take out twelve books at a time. I carried a large shopping bag to accomplish this and walked on air the four blocks back home in anticipation of spreading the books out on the living room carpet and deciding which one to begin reading first. That milestone was more important by far to me than hitting sixteen and getting my driver's license.
Books were not only my first true love, but are the main reason I am so grateful that I was born in the last century instead of this one. This despite the fact that I do love my Kindle and all the access the Internet provides to new reading formats like blogs.
Jerry
Do check out my other blog inspired by my most popular book:
The Moneylove Blog
The End of Books
After reading Seth's post, I started reflecting on the nostalgia that emerges when I think about books, realizing that these were my first true love as a young child. My mother taught me to read at the age of three, which led to my exasperating many early teachers.
My two most exhilarating early experiences were going to Leary's Bookstore just off Market Street on 9th (riding the 11th Street trolley, which stopped on my corner), and walking to my closest public library, four blocks from my South Philly home on Broad Street.
Leary's lasted 119 years from 1850 to 1969, and I was struck by a sentence in this article from Philadelphia's own Saturday Evening Post, "If you love books themselves, you may have chosen the wrong century to live in." Leary's Book Store
One amazing thing I remember vividly about Leary's was that it was wedged in between two sections of the giant Gimbel Brother's Department Store. The story was that the owners of Leary's refused to sell and Gimbel's had to build around it. I remember buying used hardcover copies of the Tom Swift, Hardy Boys, and Oz books for 35 cents each. Every trip to Leary's was a joy that makes me a bit sad for today's generation missing out on that kind of adventure.
At the library, a milestone for me was reaching the age of twelve, for that meant I could have an adult library card and take out twelve books at a time. I carried a large shopping bag to accomplish this and walked on air the four blocks back home in anticipation of spreading the books out on the living room carpet and deciding which one to begin reading first. That milestone was more important by far to me than hitting sixteen and getting my driver's license.
Books were not only my first true love, but are the main reason I am so grateful that I was born in the last century instead of this one. This despite the fact that I do love my Kindle and all the access the Internet provides to new reading formats like blogs.
Jerry
Do check out my other blog inspired by my most popular book:
The Moneylove Blog
Saturday, August 10, 2013
SURVIVAL OF THE FUNNEST
I recently posted a comment on Facebook and this new term just popped out, as often happens. What I said was:
I do seem to have run into a bad batch of contacts recently who don't follow my minimum standard of saying what they're going to do and then doing it. These disappointing folks are in the U.S. and Panama and a few other countries. But as I reflect on the meaning of it all, I have come to the realization that this is good news as it leaves me open to new people and new adventures. If all those rotten apples did follow through with their promises, I would hardly have room to breath--so it's really a form of natural selection. In my case, survival of the funnest. Oops, another new term--this may require a blog post.
As often happens when I think I have invented a new word or phrase, Google humbled me fast. Survival of the Funnest is the name of a video game, and grammarians have been arguing for some time about whether "funnest" is a real word. Actually, I am told on good authority that it is the regular superlative of the adjective form of "fun."
It was notably used when Steve Jobs employed it to describe the iPod upon its introduction to the world.
I do note, getting back to my original point, that friends who are in my life for the long haul seem to be the people I've had the most fun with. I don't know if anyone else has made or researched the connection between dependability and fun-ability. But I have observed that people who seem to have difficulty delivering on their promises, difficulty doing what they say they are going to do, are the more serious types. These are often Type A workaholics who fill their lives with so much activity, they can hardly keep up with their own intentions or promises.
I just learned a new word, which describes a fairly recently diagnosed mental disorder (we do seem to have more of those today than at any time in human history)--Cherophobia. It means the fear of happiness and fun. Perhaps it's a stretch, but I wonder if those people who can't follow through on what they say they will do are afraid that doing so will bring them too much happiness.
And back to "survival of the funnest," I remember that when I was researching and writing my book, Psychological Immortality, many of the people who went far beyond normal lifespan expectations were those who had a lot of fun in their lives, in both their personal and business lives.
Jerry
Check my prosperity blog:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
I do seem to have run into a bad batch of contacts recently who don't follow my minimum standard of saying what they're going to do and then doing it. These disappointing folks are in the U.S. and Panama and a few other countries. But as I reflect on the meaning of it all, I have come to the realization that this is good news as it leaves me open to new people and new adventures. If all those rotten apples did follow through with their promises, I would hardly have room to breath--so it's really a form of natural selection. In my case, survival of the funnest. Oops, another new term--this may require a blog post.
As often happens when I think I have invented a new word or phrase, Google humbled me fast. Survival of the Funnest is the name of a video game, and grammarians have been arguing for some time about whether "funnest" is a real word. Actually, I am told on good authority that it is the regular superlative of the adjective form of "fun."
It was notably used when Steve Jobs employed it to describe the iPod upon its introduction to the world.
I do note, getting back to my original point, that friends who are in my life for the long haul seem to be the people I've had the most fun with. I don't know if anyone else has made or researched the connection between dependability and fun-ability. But I have observed that people who seem to have difficulty delivering on their promises, difficulty doing what they say they are going to do, are the more serious types. These are often Type A workaholics who fill their lives with so much activity, they can hardly keep up with their own intentions or promises.
I just learned a new word, which describes a fairly recently diagnosed mental disorder (we do seem to have more of those today than at any time in human history)--Cherophobia. It means the fear of happiness and fun. Perhaps it's a stretch, but I wonder if those people who can't follow through on what they say they will do are afraid that doing so will bring them too much happiness.
And back to "survival of the funnest," I remember that when I was researching and writing my book, Psychological Immortality, many of the people who went far beyond normal lifespan expectations were those who had a lot of fun in their lives, in both their personal and business lives.
Jerry
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