Kids, don’t try this at home, but an experienced adult with nerves of steel can quickly whip out a tablecloth from beneath expensive china place settings without doing any damage. He would be relying on Newton’s first law of motion which says that objects tend to keep doing whatever they were doing. If they are...
___ Each week I write ThoughtTools® very carefully and review them diligently. This is why I was shocked to discover what a bad mistake I made last week. I am grateful to those alert readers who wrote in to correct me and I feel undeserving of the kind tone they employed. I am blushing at...
If only I had ______ (insert any resource you lack) I would ______________(insert any accomplishment you desire). Making excuses for ourselves, we loop variations of this audio clip in our minds. If only I had more patience I’d be a better parent. If only I had a car I would find a job. If only...
Usain Bolt set a new Olympic record in London for the hundred-meter race. Though true, it wouldn’t be particularly helpful if he advised aspiring athletes, “It’s easy; just move your legs faster.” Similarly, while true, it isn’t helpful to remind ourselves that success comes to those who do what they must rather than what they...
He struck success when his children were aged 10, 7, and 5. He and his wife moved out of their dilapidated house near downtown Dallas and into a mansion in Preston Hollow. They worried about their children becoming spoiled and never growing the will to struggle and succeed. They dreaded their kids developing the decadent...
Belief plays an essential role in healing. Having confidence in my doctor when he assures me that I am doing fine encourages a more rapid recovery than if that spiritual factor is absent. I wasn’t surprised to read an article in BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, revealing that about half the doctors...
One day you’re on top of your game and the next you’re not. It can happen to anyone. All of a sudden the simple day to day tasks that must be done loom as gigantic obstacles. You’re overwhelmed with self-pity and hopelessness. You are your most important asset and you’re letting yourself down. Watch how...
Imagine a room full of shouting people; walls plastered with large sheets of paper covered with scrawls. What is it? A kindergarten for children with poor social skills? No, it is a typical brainstorming session. Originated in the 1940s by advertising man Alex Osborn, brainstorming with its freewheeling tossing out of ideas and absence of...
Does anyone wear a pacemaker produced in Pakistan? Have you noticed any breakthroughs in electrical super conductivity emanating from Saudi Arabia? Would you buy a sedan designed and assembled in Sudan? Did the dental anesthetic, Novocain, get invented in Nigeria or Botox in Biafra? I think that open inquiry is more important than avoiding multi-cultural...
During July, 2061 Halley’s Comet will return as it does approximately every seventy-five years. During its November, 1835 appearance the great American writer, Mark Twain, was born. Years later, Twain told friends that since he was born during Halley’s visit, it would be “the greatest disappointment in my life” if he didn’t die during its...
