February 17, 2005
My great lessons...
Inspired by these 16 Rules of Bob Parsons (which are good and worth the read) here are my rules:
- 95% of fiction is pure fact with just the names changed. Time and time again I've seen this come true. Examples? All over. "Exodus" by Leon Uris - based on a true story. The shadowy American who supposedly is ex-CIA and now ships guns all around the world - he was a real man who died in 2002. Nearly all books, especially first novels are based on the author's life or the life of people they knew really well.
- Democracy is the best form of government because the people are smarter than any one person or group. Any objective look at other forms of government leads to this conclusion. Democracy works, everything else suffers in comparison over any period time greater than 50 years.
- All people desire to live their own lives and make their own choices. Freedom is an inherent good for all humans, not just a few people. Freedom is a good for everyone, everywhere. Gee, do I sound like President Bush? Yes but we are not alone. America is built on this idea.
- The United States is the most complex society ever created, understanding our society is not easy and not the work of even a few years of study. Other societies are less understandable but that is not due to complexity as it is due to a culture of dishonesty and secrets.
BTW: I loved Mr. Parson's rule 8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
and Rule 2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
Posted by rakhier at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)