Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.

• Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. Mark Twain
• I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. Winston Churchill
• A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw
• Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
• Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian
• Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
• Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. Ronald Reagan (1986)
• I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. Will Rogers
• In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. Voltaire (1764)
• Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you. Pericles (430 B.C)
• No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. Mark Twain (1866)
• The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill
• What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. Edward Langley, Artist (1928 – 1995)
• A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. Thomas Jefferson

The thoughts and beliefs that we want to re-arouse are those that were often predominant in childhood…
They are spiritual, mental, emotional and biological beliefs that are innately present in the birth of each creature. Children believe not only that there will be a tomorrow, and many tomorrows, but they also believe that each tomorrow will be rewarding and filled with discovery. They feel themselves couched in an overall feeling of security and safety, even in the face of an unpleasant environment or situation. They feel drawn to other people and to other creatures, and left alone they trust their contacts with others. They have an inbred sense of self-satisfaction and self appreciation, and they instinctively feel that it is natural and good for them to explore and develop their capabilities. They expect relationships to be rewarding and continuing, and expect each event will have the best possible results. They enjoy communication, the pursuit of knowledge, and they are filled with curiosity. All of those attitudes provide the strength and mental health that promotes their physical growth and development. However simple those ideas may sound to the adult, still they carry within them the needed power and impetus that fill all of life’s parts. Later, conflicting beliefs often smother such earlier attitudes, so that by the time children have grown into adults they actually hold almost an opposite set of hypotheses. These take for granted that any stressful situation will worsen, that communication with others is dangerous, that self-fulfillment brings about the envy and vengeance of others, and that as individuals they live in an unsafe society, set down in the middle of a natural world that is itself savage, cruel, and caring only for its own survival at any cost.
Seth

Every word, facial expression, gesture, or action on the part of a parent gives the child some message about self-worth. It is sad that so many parents don’t realize what messages they are sending.
Virginia Satir

Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.

Some people ask me what my coaching method is. I’m an NLP Practitioner (and Master and such) by nature and passion but mostly I answer: “I like plain friendliness. If that doesn’t work my Coaching method will: TTT™ (Talk, Touch and Torture™). While I Touch your hart with a smile you Talk and show me the way how I can Torture you into making the best decisions for yourself right now.

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.

He nicely reframed that one, didn’t he?

Yvonne van Dyck, one of our collegues in NLP world says:

YvD believes that now is the time for a new economic system, that works ethically, elegantly and efficiently with entrepreneurs who are both successful and fulfilled. Entrepreneurs who know and act according to the magnetic resonance of feelings, who know that confidence and positive anticipation are the foundation of sustainable success.

I agree wholehartedly. Check out her newest magnetic resonance of feeling: ThankYOO

“Although we must honor our pain as teacher, we must also be careful for trap doors. Not all suffering is additive. Some is needless. If possible, pick your miseries with care. Time is precious.” Jeff Brown”

Oh Jeff Brown, I’ll challenge you … still not reading chapter 8, almost …

Or do you mean addictive?

Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt…Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.