Jealousy and Envy

If we are jealous or envious of others, we will never give them a chance.  Our ego hates it.  They are making it look bad.  We will look for how they are wrong, undeserving, and work to make them look bad and fail.

If someone is jealous or envious of us, they will never give us a chance.  Their ego hates it.  We are making their ego look bad.  They will look for how we are wrong, undeserving, and work to make us look bad and fail.

If we are the jealous or envious ones we have to do some deep emotional work, because it is us that has the disease.  Dis-ease.

If we have someone who is jealous and envious of us, we should stay away from these people as much as possible. 

What if everyone did that?

I am developing a hypothesis for determining what is right and what is wrong relative to civics.

I ask “What if everyone in the world did that?”  

If the answer is that civilization would collapse (or get worse), then it is wrong.  If the answer is the world would be a better place, it is right and good.

What if – 

everyone became a consumer only, and stop producing?

nobody paid taxes?

everyone was uncivil and violent?

everyone did drugs?

everyone cheated?

everyone was untrustworthy and unpredictable?

everyone was physically unfit?

nobody voted?

everyone voted without learning or understanding first?

everyone threw trash out the window?

nobody tried anything outside of their comfort zone?

everyone committed fraud?

everyone worked 20 years and retired because they can?

It seems like an easy test, and it seems like this test applys to other people.

But apply it to yourself when making decisions about whether to do this or that – would the world be a better place if everyone did this?

The never-changing nature of man

I am a man. 

We are, and always have been brutish, lazy, lustful gluttons; and lots of other not-so-nice things.  It’s how we are wired to survive. 

To rise above these natural qualities, we must be taught a code of character that we adopt as more important to us.  We must learn respect, honor, discipline, loyalty, courtesy, kindness, perseverance and thrift.  We must be taught how our bravery can be used not for violence, but to stand up against the obstacles when the great pursuits get hard and to speak up for what is right and against what is wrong.

Civility and progress is not inherent to man, otherwise, humanity would not have lived in such desperate squalor and violence for many thousands of years.  

We must learn and teach good character.  Examples of bad character are all around us.  Let us not allow them to take us back into desperation.

Talk to your kids.

Use it or lose it

“A lot of human potential is unrealized” – Michael Dell

If you don’t do anything different, what part of you will be unused when you are done here?

Right answers

Nobody goes around saying they are wrong.  They are right.  If they thought they weren’t right, they’d change their minds until they know they are right.

Right answers may change.

Today it’s right, but tomorrow it’s wrong based on new information or circumstances.

What’s right for me is not for you.  Or what is right for you is not right for me.  At least not now, of that I am sure…I think.

What’s right for me at age 20 is not right for me at age 30.  Or maybe at least not by age 40.

I think I am right.  I then, after experiencing and learning more, realize I was wrong.  I make a new opinion and now I think I am right….I think.

Aren’t I?

Well, I am….

I think.

Positive Thinking Part 2

Positive thinking won’t allow you to do anything, but it will allow you to do everything better than negative thinking will.

What is your default way of thinking – especially about challenges?

Think positively

“It’s not going to happen. They are all booked up.  We’ll never get this” she said, obviously disappointed and worried.

He smiled and looked at her.  “Everything will work out.  I know it.”

The next day, the phone rang. 

It was good news…

You doubted it would work out – and…

…it didn’t.

Did you cause it so you’d be right?

Did you not do all you could to make the good happen because you doubted it would happen?

By doubting, or failing to believe in your own success, we prevent it from happening.

From the inner – the outer.

Why will today matter to tomorrow?

What are you doing that will take you towards your main goal?

Here's a way to reduce CO2 I am sure of!

Yesterday I referred to two YouTube videos to show that experts who inform masses can be wrong, and I used examples referring to reducing CO2.  (My post was not about solar energy or electric vehicles, but just used two experts who did TED talks to show that experts contradict each other, change their minds and influence millions of others.)

Well, here’s a story from an expert (me) that is correct!  (isn’t it funny how experts say they are correct.  What else would you say “I am an expert and I am wrong?, or “I am not an expert but here is advice that is right that you should act on.?)

I founded a company in 2009 called Dr. Energy Saver.  I had multiple companies going at the time, as I have since 1990.  It was a time when gasoline was $4.50 a gallon and everyone was crazy about saving energy.  A guy I knew suggested the idea and wanted to be my partner.  It was a time when government programs were springing up fueling the “energy audit” business and subsidizing some repairs.

So we started up with great enthusiasm.  In a year we realized our business model was flawed and wouldn’t work.  Over time the government programs proved to cause more harm than good and killed many a good-intentioned business in the industry with their bureaucratic control and twisted market incentives for homeowners and businesses, fueled by “free” money.

We tried to stay out of the government programs from the start.  We wanted to really actually fix things in houses.  We had to change everything we were doing.  Meanwhile, my partner bailed out, not seeing any path to success.  But I don’t quit, and I put my carpentry/building/sales/marketing/engineer/scientist hats and, and put my but in a seat for most of a year to figure it out.  

Today we are the only dealer network or franchise company in our industry to survive, and we finally are profitable and doing quite well.  In the process of all our testing and chasing down paths recommended to us by people who never did what they were recommending successfully, we ultimately abandoned many things.

What we were left with is pure gold.

Years ago I identified that dirt crawl spaces were nasty moldy energy-wasting spaces and designed wrong.  The building code REQUIRED a builder to build them VERY wrong.  (The madness of crowds and false narratives.)  Add more vents they said.  I said do the opposite.  I was right and I birthed a new industry.  In the process, we have saved more CO2, money, wood rot and mold remediation repairs, and frankly human health than anyone can count.  It’s not glamorous, so you don’t see it on the news, but we are VERY proud of what we do.  It makes a huge difference.  

Anyway, let me call the next epidemic in American housing that, if fixed, would save tremendous amounts of energy AND makes houses more comfortable and less expensive to won.

Ducts in attics.

The attic is the most hostile place on your property.  In the summer the temperatures reach 140 degrees F or more.  An air conditioner makes 55-degree air and blows it through the ducts.  Ducts are only insulated to R6.

Can you see the problem?  A 90-degree temperature difference across 1″ of fiberglass?  By the time the air gets to the room it’s intended to cool, it’s nearly room temperature or EVEN above it.  The longer the duct is (the farther from the air handler) the hotter the air gets.

Add to this the fact that the ducts leak a lot.  This air you paid to heat and cool is lost in your attic.

You call your HVAC company and they recommend a bigger air conditioner.  It’s madness.  It’s not glamorous, and the world (until just lately) is missing it.  Everyone missed it. Code writers and officials.  Builders, HVAC companies, – everybody.  So we burn lots more electricity and waste it, day after day.

Not all attics have ducts.  If your does, this is low-hanging fruit.  Go to drenergysaver.com and wherever you are in the US, we can help you and the fix is ultimately free and you’ll be more comfortable in your house.

I have been around and seen a lot of things.  I have been responsible for results on many things for many years through my many varied companies.  I hope you can see where my point of reference and attitude toward issues comes from.

Am I biased?  Sure.  I own a company that does this. Do I think I’m right?  Of course.  I am!

This story is an example to make a point.  We need to learn from the right people on any issue, and observe and be critical thinkers to make the best decisions.  Letting someone else do all your important thinking for you is not a good idea.

What’s the question you may have?  How to be happy? Climate change?  College?  Proper governance?  What you should do with your life?  How to live healthy and long?  What to eat?  Where to live and what to do?

Think Daily.