Tag Archives: philosophy

Dec 21 2011
Aside

Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.

Hill went on further to say, “Despite the benefits with which we may get from adversities and unpleasant experiences of every nature no one desires to meet with these experiences.”  Time to test Hill’s philosophy. What if you became the one who did desire to meet with such experiences? Har-old, what if you planned your “failures” as a way to gain wisdom? Hmmm? Plan to get caught. Start a fire. Of course!!! #MasterMind

Image by Boxerbob2009 via Flickr
Nov 5 2011

You’re A Changing Canvas

Road trip Bob style

Image by Boxerbob2009 via Flickr

Dear Feather,

Its time to take some chances. I give you permission from this point on to be a bitch. Really. Say what you want to say, say what you feel, be honest, confront, confront, confront.

I know that is easier said than done, but you’re not really here to do the easy thing. Practically nothing else in your life has been done the easy way…but you manage to take the easy way out of socializing. You socialize by being polite, quiet, agreeable, respectful. You put all these ideas before your own ideas, thoughts, contributions to conversations. You put everyone’s supposed emotions above your own need to communicate.

And you wonder why very few people know you very well. Maybe you’re being too hard to get… to know. You save your thoughts, ideas, jokes, for the off-chance that you’ll really hit if off with someone. But even if you do, eventually you’ll save some stuff for someone else who will understand you in some other way that your current friends don’t.

Well, there’s a reason you can’t find friends who completely understand you…for one thing, you don’t give them a chance…for another thing, there is no one (human) who can completely understand you. You’re a changing canvas. Your self-portrait is always transforming. You don’t have to represent yourself in your many facets, you can be exactly who you are at that moment, without thinking about rather it reflects who you were yesterday, how someone else sees you, or who you’re going to be the next time you communicate with someone.

No one is perfect, no one is always the same and nothing you do will stop conflicts, disagreements, misunderstandings, miscommunication, and incomplete social transactions from occurring. You simply have to stop filtering yourself. Allow the truth of you to be accessible when you interact with people, and maybe you’ll be able to see the multi-changing layers of people as well.

It is a responsibility. One you have tried to shield yourself from. You are a very empathic and intuitive person, and maybe you feel like you shouldn’t be an authority, you shouldn’t be aware of the things people do and feel. You shouldn’t have to know things that you have this uncanny ability to find out, especially when they’re being hidden. So you decided to try to hide yourself from it… but it just doesn’t do you good, at all. It also doesn’t work. You’ll have to take responsibility for your characteristics, your impact on the people around you, and their impact on you.

You’ll have to allow yourself to be seen as you are, from moment to moment, and that will make you look sad sometimes, silly, ignorant, insensitive, and bitchy… as well as a multitude of other characteristics you like to share. Be empowered in your human nature. Don’t take any shit from anyone who suggests or supports being superwoman. You are allowed to fail miserably, and you should not feel the need to hide that from anyone. Be brave and know that what you’re doing is living, never stopping, never going back, there is no need to hesitate, even when if it might mean someone will get to know how you really feel.

You’re not in competition with anyone, and you can rest assured that being honest is not being rude. You already have a good grasp on speaking respectfully, someone may become upset, but that doesn’t mean you’re being mean or that what you want to say shouldn’t be said. You just have to realize that communication is at least a two way street, if not a four-way intersection. You can’t drive through the intersection and expect to get where you want without paying attention to the others on the road. You can be a defensive driver, and still get where you need to go, in time.

Futuristically Yours,
Flying High!

Your Brains, My Forked Tongue
Oct 10 2011

Eating Brains With My Forked Tongue

Dear Har-old,

American author John Green said,

I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God.

Why is it the older people get, the more susceptible they are to God?

I’m 46 and still my religion-rejecting-self. Because of this, my friends and I don’t hang out as much as we use to. Why? Because they’ve started going to church more, you know, trying to get right with God. It’s not like they don’t invite me to come along, they do, it’s just that I don’t know how to properly turn down the invite …until now.

Friend: Har+new, we should hang out more, come to church with us.

Me: …

Friend: You’re not getting any younger, don’t you want to become closer to God before you pass?

Me: …

Friend: Why aren’t you trying to get closer to God in your old-age?

Me: … Because the Devil doesn’t control my mind.

The older people get, the closer they want their relationship with God to be-the same people whose relationship with him was non-existent in their 20′s. Why? Because being old is associated with dying soon. And this is where the fear of the afterlife happens. People have the wrong conception of Mr. Devil and his place of abode. Har-old, do you remember this conversation as a kid:

Some Person: You’re going to hell!

You: I’m just gone kill myself if I do.

Some Person: You can’t.

You: Why not?

Some Person: Because The Devil just gone keep bringing you back to life so he can continue to torture your soul.

Mr. Devil is NOT kind enough to leave you alone while you are living and merely just tortures your soul after death. No, no, no. HELL IS ON EARTH. You say to yourself:

How is that so? I don’t see a beast with a forked tongue and a spiked tale.

That’s because, Mr. Devil is not handicapped with a physical appearance like us humans. He is a force best described as energy. Negative energy. And when you are energy, you can go WHEREVER you like. So, Har-old, if you were energy, would you STAY in one place - a place that is underground? No, you wouldn’t! You would live in the unused portion of the human brain. Asking people these two questions will let you know how much space you can occupy:

Do you believe people only use 10% of their brain?

How much of a percentage do you think you use consistently?

If they answer yes to the first question, anything under 100% to the second, then, you can live rent free in their head.

If I asked you,

Would you rather have a woman’s body or her mind?

I already know you will answer body because you are still thinking with your below-the-belt head in your hand. When the day comes you answer mind, then that’s when I will know, you have your hand on the top of your above-the-belt head.

There is no physical heaven in the sky or hell in the ground. Well, where do we go after death?  You become lost in your own mind. Now, this could be a good thing, or this could be a bad thing. That’s why it is of the utmost importance you take control of your mind and keep possession of it.

Mr. God controls the body; Mr. Devil, the mind. Based on this, it’s best to emulate the latter than criticize him.

In a future letter, I will tell you what leaves you vulnerable to telepathy and how you can protect yourself from this invasive mind-reading.

FY,

Har+new

P.S. Like the painting? That’s of my doing. Now law for my future letters. I’m also about to update all my past letters with my own visuals.

Related Letters

Sep 15 2011

Wealth At The Push Of A Button

Dear Har-old,

If you were a footer and I always talked to you about my various cars named after different women, would you get upset?

If you were single and I always talked to you about being in this great romance, would you get upset?

If you were in a job that you hated and I always talked to you about doing what I love, would you get upset?

No to all three, right? Instead  you will enjoy it and get inspired by it. And that’s something I always liked about you. You are money conscious, therefore, this will not work on you. However, when I talk to poverty conscious people about my nice cars, about my love life and about my dream job, they get upset. Why? You want to know why? Because I’m pushing their buttons. It’s not about me and my wealth. It’s about them not being okay with wealth, which makes them dislike seeing it flaunted by others.

Dr. Joe Vitale said,

If there’s something in your life that is pushing your hot buttons that is probably an area of a belief that needs to be released.

So, I should only flaunt my wealth in front of money conscious people, right? No!

I LOVE flaunting my wealth in the faces of the poverty conscious. Why? Because I’m trying to get them to realize the button is not external; it’s inside them. It’s their inner hot button. I’m trying to help them dissolve their inner limits. These people have low prosperity IQ’s because they have been miseducated for years by low salary teachers-their parents, the church, their friends, television, their environment. These “students” don’t raise their hand and question any of these common limiting beliefs about money. They just let other people think for them. And the scary part about this is the teachers are teaching and the students are learning at an unconscious level. So, the only way to become aware of these beliefs is acknowledging (writing it down) when someone or something pushes your hot button.

I mean, look at you! You were raised around nothing but poverty conscious people and you never let their penny thoughts rub against your fourth quarter.

The Joker said,

It’s not about money. It’s about sending a message.

And the message the money conscious is sending to the poverty conscious is hidden in their “flaunting of wealth.”

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Aug 25 2011

Yesterday’s Road Philosophy

From my friend Peter Thomson with paraphrases from me for you, Har-old:

Think forward in time to the point where you wish you would have achieved a certain result and imagine you haven’t achieved it.

Sit down with a piece of paper answering the question, “If only I’d . . . I would have achieved it.” What are those dots?

Write whatever ideas come to mind. If your mind gives you an answer, don’t question it at this stage. You can edit later.

Reason this works so well is that it uses the two main feelings that causes us to take action, that’s pain and pleasure. The avoidance of pain and the gaining of pleasure.

If you feel like you ought to have achieved the result and you’re telling yourself you haven’t then you are strongly prompted to look for solutions.

Why?

Because you’ve triggered away motivation. Away motivation is the catalyst for action. Towards motivation prompts the continuation of action.

Another way to gain is to imagine you wanted to achieve a certain result by a certain time and that Yes! you did do it. With the positive feelings in mind, actually imagine the pleasure you will experience. Remembering you’re imagining you HAVE done it not that you will do it. Answer the question, “I did it because I’d …” What are those dots?

Again. Write down whatever your mind says.

Another way is to take a random noun. This can be picked from a dictionary or book. Ask your mind to associate that noun with the problem, opportunity or circumstances at hand. By making your mind make strange associations and connections, you will be surprised at what answers float into your consciousness. It’s reported that Edward De Bono, the man responsible for the expression, lateral thinking, used the word cheese to come up with the idea of televisions with picture-in-picture. Taking the word cheese and thinking what cheese has that t.v could have. Holes? What holes? Eventually leading to holes in the screen to see what was on the other channels.

FY,

Har+new

Related articles
Aug 10 2011

Death Is Written In Blood On The Mirror

If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.

Just like Steve Jobs, I want this quote to make a strong impression on you.

From now on, every morning, I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?”

But I think this question is better in hindsight than foresight.

So, I want you to ask yourself this, “If yesterday was the last day of my life, am I happy with how I spent it?”

If the answer is “NO!” for 3 consecutive days, you NEED to change something. Something, Har-old. You have to! This is a must.

Apply what I told you in 3 Months To Live.

As I’m writing this to you, I’m listening to some music from your time. It’s this Kanye West song called Drunk And Hot Girls. He just dropped a gem that is proper for this letter:

You only live once; do whatever you like.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

P.S. Listen to the third story from Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech over and over until you get it. My favorite lines was, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Are you inspired yet?

Jul 30 2011

I Took Your Little Plan And Turned It On Itself

Ledger’s Joker said,

I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets … hmmm? You kn’ wha’ … you know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang-banger would get shot, or a truck load of soldiers will be blowing up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die … well then EVERYONE LOSES THEIR MINDS!

Jim Rohn said,

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

This is the connection I’ve made …

Har-old, the only plan you will EVER need in life is the plan they have for you. The not much plan. And the little they do have planned for you is in their favor and to their advantage. So, make them panic by showing them things don’t always go “according to plan.” Your plan is their plan turned on itself. This is how you consolidate everyone’s plan for you, by simply turning it on itself, doing the exact opposite of what is expected. You need not waste anymore time making your own plans; people have already designed your life plans. Therefore, by not having a plan, you have a plan … every plan.

How do you find out the plans others have for you? Discovering where they resist you. The “change.” They expect for you to force yourself on them; it’s all “part of the plan.” Remember: Children and other willful people enjoy doing the opposite of what you tell them. This is why you always advocate the opposite of what you really want.

Once you discover what is “according to plan,” what makes one lose their mind and where people resist you, you will be at genius level planning.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Related articles
Jul 29 2011

Do I Really Look Like A Guy With A Plan?

Ledger’s Joker said,

Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it, you know. I just do things.

Was he telling the truth? Or was he just manipulating Harvey? This is the part where you get confused. Why? Because the things The Joker did in The Dark Knight was so complex and impossible that he HAD … to plan them for months, maybe even years. Well, I’m here to reveal to you that he was telling the truth. The Joker is a mastermind at improvising criminal activities.

I cringe when you waste time planning, over-planning and never doing. So, I’m stepping in to develop chaotic thinking patterns.

  • Lower your level of inhibition which will allow you to plan accordingly with complex and impossible plans.
  • How to lower your level of inhibition? Stop self-reflecting! Har-old, you either over-think and never do, or do then over-think what you’ve just done and think negative results. Cure the former by doing it the moment you start to over-think, no matter if you’re “ready” or not; cure the latter with patience and thought-changing.
  • How to stop self-reflecting? Be a kid again. This will be easy since you have a child-like imagination. Ever heard the phrase, “Children are innocent?” Guess what? They’re not. Children aren’t innocent; they’re powerful. How? As Robert Greene said, “Children may be naïve in many ways, but they often act from an elemental need to gain control over those around them. Children suffer greatly from feeling powerless in the adult world, and they use any means available to get their way.” Children do NOT know the difference between right and wrong. How cute? No! How genius??? When a child makes a “booboo” the parent has to point it out. Why? Because children aren’t hindered by reflection.
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Jul 19 2011

Your Darkest Hour

The world will look up and shout, “SAVE US!” and I’ll look down and whisper, “No!”

Your kid is in the backseat playing with their toy steering wheel. You make them believe every turn, every horn honk and every swerve, they committed. But the truth is … you’re in control.

Next drive, you’re riding alone. As you’re driving, the steering wheel shocks and burns your hand. You immediately take your hands off the steering wheel due to the pain. Just as you try to recover and put your hands back on the steering wheel before you crash into something, you realize the car is driving itself.

How does it feel to not be in control? Huh? How does it feel to be a kid again?

The car drives you to this strange house. But your mind’s eye quickly recognizes it.

The front door and all the windows in the home are wide open. You enter. The door and all the windows slam shut as you step foot in the house.

You twist and turn the knob. The glass windows are unbreakable. You cannot get out.

A voice whispers, “There is only one light switch in the house.”

You take out a box of matches and light one. But you have to shake your hand as the fire burns your finger tips.

You run out of matches fast because the house … is just too damn big.

Now you’re running into things, hitting your shin, reaching out to let your hand guide you.

You rub on the wall high and low trying to find that one light switch.

Crawling and climbing stairs because your legs are out. Sitting in the corner. All you can think about is light-from the sun, from a flashlight, from the day, from a candle, from a match, from a cellphone, whatever!

Why close your eyes and meditate? You’re already in complete darkness.

Hey, hey … look at me. LOOK AT ME!!! YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO FIND THAT SWITCH!

You know why? Because you have looked for it on a wall. The switch is on you. It’s your mind, your brain, your thoughts. Now there’s that light-bulb on the top of your head I’ve been waiting to see, Har-old.

That’s all the light you need.

Grudges and negative thoughts are Living Rent Free In Your Mind. It’s their job to dim and make that bulb flicker.

It’s time you show others this dark side. Most will keep rubbing walls, few will use that bulb on the top of their head. And oh, give them only an hour. When their time is up, you hold secrets flame. That means you think for them, thus adding to your power.

You have three sources of light in the darkness: Your head-bulb, secrets flame and surprisingly your very own eyes because the longer you stay in the darkness, the better your sight becomes.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jun 30 2011

Summer Of Mind Games

Dear Har-old,

Buddha once said, “To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”

To help clear your head, your stomach needs to growl.

Your body runs the track; your mind uses it for lift-off.

Your mind and body are one.

How do you treat it as such?

Get your body ready in the summer instead of for it.

Because most people get their bodies ready for a summer that school is out. Oh, the paradox.

That food is not going to your thighs; it’s going to your head.

What are you bringing to the table?

A book and a hot plate.

The book to put under one of the legs so your plate doesn’t slide off the table.

READ A DAMN BOOK!

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jun 30 2011

Thinking Positive In A Negative Way

Dear Har-old,

Carlson Companies chairman Curt Carlson once noted, “Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eye off the target.”

Meticulous.

It is impossible to think negative thoughts in a positive way.

But unfortunately this is what you have to do to acquire Mount Olympus foresight.

Unhappy endings are much more common than happy ones.

For the future, the motto is, “No days unalert.”

Nothing should catch you by surprise because you are constantly imagining problems before they arise.

Instead of spending your time dreaming of your plan’s happy ending, you must work on calculating every possible permutation and pitfall that might emerge in it.

The further you see, the more steps ahead you plan, the more powerful you become.

So Har-old, you have to ask yourself this:

Can I take being criticized for thinking negative now for a later praise that will only be rewarded IF it turns out I was right?

You can’t have both at once.

Definitely criticized now. Possibly thanked later.

The key to thinking negative in a positive way is NOT dwelling on possible problems. Create a solution for it and move on. Please remember this!

Because dwelling IS your problem.

If life is a movie, let yours be directed by Quentin Tarantino. The ending is always first. Your conclusion must be crystal clear, and you must keep it constantly in mind.

Forseers start from the ending; improvisers start from the beginning.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jun 29 2011

Put Your Head Down And Drive To The Damn Basket

Dear Har-old,

Rev. Run tweeted, “Attack life … It’s gonna kill you anyway.”

The more you settle for the jumper, the more I am convinced you are afraid of contact.

TAKE THE HIT!

GET PHYSICAL!

PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN AND DRIVE TO THE DAMN BASKET!

You shoot 40% from the field.

BUT you shoot 90% from the line.

What that tells you?

Life is hard when you’re at the 3-point line but it’s easy when you attack the rim; you either gone get an easy two or go to the free-throw line.

Or is it that you’re shying away from being defended by one person to being distracted by an entire building since you’re on the road?

I told you it’s a mind game. In your head, you are in an empty gym with life-size cardboard boxes.

Ever hear someone say, “It’s so loud in here, I can’t hear myself think.”

Do not be that someone!

It’s already a lot of noise going on between your ears, so why invite more?

Put the self-made noise in your head to work. Use it. When the outdoors try to bring their mess in your house, turn up your self-made noise. Tune them out!

The highest volume can not stop you. And it will not stop you from thinking anymore. Hear me?!

If you’re continuing to miss shots and losing faith in your jumper, drive to the damn basket with a fearless mentality.

Watch what a couple free-throws do for your confidence.

Shoot ‘em with your eyes close.

And watch that crowd that once distracted you with offensive words, creative signs and violent hand-waving start distracting you with flashes from a camera.

At the end life will kill you, but Har-old don’t go out without a fight!

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jun 1 2011

You Can’t Miss That Big Forehead!

The young Hebrew David hoists the head of the ...

Goliath's head

Dear Har-old,

American author Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

You know what strategy David used against Goliath to defeat him?

He didn’t look at Goliath as a whole.

He broke him down.

Attack the ugliest thing on the to-do-list first: the “impenetrable forehead.”

Don’t take a step back and look at the big picture; rather come closer so you can hang on to every word of the thousand.

Har-old, don’t let the to-do-list that writes itself overwhelm you causing you to scatter in all directions.

Take out your sling-shot and kill two birds with one stone.

Hoist that severed head high for the world to see.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new



May 27 2011

Do Not Be-come At-tached

Mr. Potato Head and Friends

Many Faces of Mr. Potato Head

Dear Har-old,

NBA Finals. Game seven. Three seconds left. Lakers down by one point. On the road. Fouled. Kobe goes to the free throw line.

Ruckus arena. 20k+. Fans behind the basketball goal trying their best to distract Kobe with their antics: disrespectful signs, dressing up as a brick wall, waving their hands and arms, throwing shirts or towels in the air.

Undeterred. Kobe ties the game. Just when you thought the decibels couldn’t get any higher, it do. Just when you thought the antics couldn’t get any sillier, they do. Even the opposing players participate with trash talk. Their season is on the line.

The ultimate showman. Kobe shoots the second free throw with his eyes closed. Swish!

The audacity. The boldness. The riskiness. The confidence. The cockiness. The attitude.

The sports analyst said, “The outside world doesn’t bother Kobe because in his mind he is in an empty gym.”

Har-old, the next time someone says and asks, “It’s so loud in here, how are you able to concentrate on your reading?”

Respond with, “In my mind I am in an empty library.”

Physically here _

Mentally there >>>>>>>>>>

You are Mr. Potato Head.

Tune them out.

De-tach your mind from your body when you “don’t want to hear it.”

At-tach it to a book, a motivational song, an inspirational movie, or to be selfish, me, the future. Whatever!

Your de-tach-a-bil-i-ty is a GOOD thing. Do not let them tell you otherwise!

Do not become at-tached!

Futuristically yours,

Har+new