I think many of us love the quote from Francis Bacon: “Knowledge is power.” Clearly, knowledge is a very high value. The road to success and happiness is paved with knowledge. Knowledge is one of the highest values of any reasoning mind. But I realized some years ago that it’s not sufficient. It’s correct and…
Category: Personal
My Upcoming Book on “Prequests”
Some have asked what my book is about and what is a “prequest.” Throughout my life, I’ve received a lot of help and support from many people. When I sat down to write my will, I made a list of close friends, people who had significantly changed my life (Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff are…
Valentine’s Day: The Greatest Love of All
There’s a wonderful song, “The Greatest Love of All,” by Whitney Houston, also sung by Jane Oliver. Here are the lyrics with my comments: Everybody’s searching for a hero (be your own hero).People need someone to look up to (look up to yourself).I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs (fulfill your own needs).A lonely…
Longevity
I’ve been working with the Attia Medical Group on a longevity plan (which I would be happy to share with select friends privately). In a recent memo, Attia emphasized how exercise is “the drug of choice:” “If exercise were a drug, it would be the best drug we have for preventing heart disease [the leading…
The Sun Always Comes Up
This was sent to me by a dear friend, and it resonates.
Fear and Politics
When fear, ignorance, and evasion mix with politics, bad and costly things happen. Financially speaking, the mismanagement of the coronavirus panic is more costly than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined. This, I believe, is the greatest political blunder of this century. However, there are thoughtful writers such as Joseph Ladapo amid the hysteria….
Systemic Racism
Whites-only bathrooms. Whites-only hotels. Blacks unable to get jobs reserved for whites. Lynchings. These evils have occurred in American history. In 1930s Germany, the Nazi government was committing even greater evils against Jews, black people, and many other “undesirables,” prohibiting them from buying homes, owning businesses, or getting jobs. Eventually, the state attempted to murder…
Wonderful Movie and Literary Treats
Lisa VanDamme (of VanDamme Academy, and who I consider the poet laureate of Objectivism) and her husband Chad Morris (a personal trainer extraordinaire) came to dinner at my home with close friends, Craig Biddle, and his wife, Sarah. There’s richness in these relationships. Lisa recommended a wonderful movie called Warrior starring, among others, Nick Nolte….
Paycheck Protection Program
I have never paid my “fair share” of taxes. I’ve always paid infinitely more than my “fair share” (which is zero). I’ve paid loads of taxes. While I don’t agree in principle with taxes, I comply with the law, and I take any deductions that my CPA can find. When the “Paycheck Protection Program” (PPP)…
In Defense of America
In the Wall Street Journal on July 7, 2020, Gerard Baker, the journal’s Editor-at-Large and former Editor-in-Chief, wrote a brilliant article titled “Defend America’s History—and Retake Its Institutions.” He begins: “That was quick. “At the end of the 20th Century, the U.S. had won World War II and the Cold War, liberated half the planet…