i was just watching nightline (i think it was) with diane sawyer.
the stars from ocean's twelve were on there.
i am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (brad pitt, catherine zeta-jones, andy garcia, george clooney, matt damon and don cheadle) were pretty brilliant.
Ok, since some here seem to not be able to get beyond the Bill Gates' "Excel" and Office success, although none have decided to say why he has become who he is, the topic will now be entitled: "What makes people achieve greater things than all the others who want the same success?"
Brad
my wife and i live in a rather small town.
around 5500 residents and about another 2 to 3 thousand on the outskirts.. we have a very good hospital here, considering the size of the county and residents.. my wife is a nurse and now is the office mgr.
of the home health dept.. it seems that there is no end to the several things the hospital is involved in that call for volunteers.
Outoftheorg,
I know exactly what you mean. When I was younger I always felt that I was not being fair to others. I mean, we couldn't buy Girl Guides cookies for Pete's sake. The JW's perceive themselves to be all kind and loving while they are in the org., however if/when we leave we see the real picture.
Good for your town to take in this unfortunate person into your collective hearts and homes.
Brad
i was just watching nightline (i think it was) with diane sawyer.
the stars from ocean's twelve were on there.
i am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (brad pitt, catherine zeta-jones, andy garcia, george clooney, matt damon and don cheadle) were pretty brilliant.
Ok, a new thought....one thing that is sure to PREVENT someone form excelling is negative thought like this:
It's they're looks. It's the coke that many of them do. That's what makes them excel. Cocaine gives you confidence.
The question included, not only actors, but scientists, musicians, authors, many of whom have never been good-looking nor done cocaine.
Shamus, I will agree that self-confidence plays a part, but respecting other people is as important as respecting ourselves.
Brad
my wife and i got on a discussion about something i never would've guessed we'd need to.
she wants to teach our new baby about santa claus, easter bunny, & tooth fairy, but i don't.
of course, as witnesses we never would have taught that, and i have to acknowledge that i may only be reasoning using that old set of values.. i don't want to look into my kid's eyes and tell her something that i know for a fact isn't true.
Scully said,
The thing about Santa Claus is that he is claimed to give things to children that they want. And JWs only want their children to believe in the fictional character "Jehovah" to give them everything they want: like Living Forever in Paradise on Earth?; like being able to have their very own pet lion or pet giraffe in the New System?, like never being sick, or having loved ones come back from the dead. And JW kids have to be impeccably good, otherwise Jehovah will kill them at Armageddon. Santa only gives out lumps of coal to the bad kids, but he doesn't kill people like Jehovah does.
Excellent point!! The JW's teachings seem to be so positive (Paradise Earth) but the opposite is so negative that it is truly fear and guilt that keeps them loyal. It's not the love or positive influence.
I'd rather have my children raised believing in positive fantasy than in negative reality.
Brad
i was just watching nightline (i think it was) with diane sawyer.
the stars from ocean's twelve were on there.
i am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (brad pitt, catherine zeta-jones, andy garcia, george clooney, matt damon and don cheadle) were pretty brilliant.
Blondie,
Sorry about that blank post.... didn't mean to do that.
I liked Matt Damon's idea as well. I would like as many impartial comments before I give my opinion, in order to assess my own ideas, but it does coincide with one of my thoughts.
Brad
i was just watching nightline (i think it was) with diane sawyer.
the stars from ocean's twelve were on there.
i am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (brad pitt, catherine zeta-jones, andy garcia, george clooney, matt damon and don cheadle) were pretty brilliant.
I was just watching Nightline (I think it was) with Diane Sawyer. The stars from Ocean's Twelve were on there. I am not a person who normally gives too much praise to celebs or athletes but these guys/gals (Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andy Garcia, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle) were pretty brilliant.
My question is: Whether it's actors, athletes, musicians, authors, scientists, etc., what is the biggest factor/factors that make the highly successful people in their field become such?
Brad
my wife and i got on a discussion about something i never would've guessed we'd need to.
she wants to teach our new baby about santa claus, easter bunny, & tooth fairy, but i don't.
of course, as witnesses we never would have taught that, and i have to acknowledge that i may only be reasoning using that old set of values.. i don't want to look into my kid's eyes and tell her something that i know for a fact isn't true.
lisaBObeesa,
I like the way you dealt with it with your son. Very positive way to approach it.
In general it doesn't seem like believing in Santa, (whether it's implanted by peers, TV or parents) and the changing of the belief after, results in any harm to the children. If our kids are playing with a make-believe friend we wouldn't step in and tell them that that friend is not real.
Whichever way you choose to deal with it, as long as you deal with it in a positive way, IMO, it will turn out fine.
Brad
pontius pilate asked, and now i'm asking.
i've been reading many topics in here, now i am wondering... what is truth?
i'm both respectful and broadminded enough to allow for any other viewpoint, whether or not i agree.
OldSoul,
You will find that Brenda's comments are some of the wisest here, IMO.
At the risk of sounding simplistic, (next to her's ), I will make a couple of more comments myself.
Regarding Hitler being a part of God as well (and he was obviously a badass), my opinion is that all people are capable of showing love. It just seems that some people love TO HATE. It fulfills some sort of need in their life and it is not exactly healthy but when they get support from their bad behaviour (like Hitler did by most of his country), it is not necessarily easy for them to stop their negative behaviour.
This brings me to the point about the WTBTS. I still love all the individuals in the org., although, granted I have greater respect for some than others. It is the system that has been created that I strongly dislike. The WTBTS accepts people into their fold with virtually no conditions. Once in, they defend those individuals to the tenth degree, simply because the ones they are defending them against are "Satan's followers". This allows many dysfunctional people to BELIEVE that they are right when in fact a lot should get psychological help.
The major difference that I have noticed since I have not been a Witness is that I would gladly take positive advice from anybody, including JW's. I also know enough when the advice is most likely negative and consequently ignore it.
While I was a JW I took only advice from them, positive or negative, and took it to heart. My ability to reason for myself was very limited.
You a very well-spoken person and from the impression I get, likely intelligent both intellectually and socially. My opinion is that you are not necessarily a negative influence on society in general even though you are a JW. Many others that are JW's though, are a very negative influence to the people around them. I have had some major experiences with this both in my childhood and in recent interaction with my ex-wife's JW family. I can handle it and learn from it, but I also recognize that for me to behave the same way as them, it would not be good for anybody, including myself.
I hope that might shed a little more light on what I meant about avoiding absolutes and that we are all a "part" of God, in a sense.
Brad
pontius pilate asked, and now i'm asking.
i've been reading many topics in here, now i am wondering... what is truth?
i'm both respectful and broadminded enough to allow for any other viewpoint, whether or not i agree.
DY,
That's exactly what I meant! Very succintly put.
Brad
pontius pilate asked, and now i'm asking.
i've been reading many topics in here, now i am wondering... what is truth?
i'm both respectful and broadminded enough to allow for any other viewpoint, whether or not i agree.
Welcome OldSoul,
Hopefully you don't take that "welcome" as any sign that I am hoping to turn you against the WTBTS. My whole family is still in it. They need it in their lives for some reason. I don't.... simple as that.
As far as what is the truth? The truth is different for everybody. My truth is not the same as anybody else's, however you seem to want some sort of opinion so I will oblige.
The organizations or people that seem to most ABSOLUTELY know what the truth is seem to me to be the furthest from it. I try to have very few absolute opinions about anything. However one I really feel is absolute is that if I am nice to someone or "love" someone it feels better for me and gets better results for them than if I do the opposite.
I think "God" is a part of us and every other being in the Universe. Any religions that teach that he is not a part of us seem to me to be missing the point. IMO this is what Jesus and other wise people have been meaning all along: Accept that me, you and everybody else is a part of and therefore worthy of being in God's presence.
Brad
