Success Warrior: The Blog That Embraces ADHD

Beliefs (Part 1)

So,

I've been giving this topic lots of thought, off and on, for quite some time and have not been able to put my thoughts into any easy order.  That means that I will once again be using this blog as a rough draft to make some sense of the topic and I will, once again, probably be meandering all over the place.

Standard Operating Procedures.

Yup.

In reading Lynette's blog, I came across something that she said that really resonated with me and I told her so.  She said she had been reading a book that brought me to mind and recommended that I read it.  I downloaded Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David R. Hawkins to my Kindle and have been reading it.  I'm only about 20% through the book but I'm intrigued and it has rekindled something in me that goes right along with my thoughts on Belief.

One thing that I know I need to do is be nicer to the cult members and minions.  I don't go out trolling but I have certainly been less than kind on my blog.  While I can rationalize the reasons for this because I can say what I want on my blog and they are doing far worse to me, it actually doesn't fit with what I would like to see happen for a number of reasons.  It may actually cause them to dig in deeper to defend their religion and it's really not fair.  It's not entirely their fault that they don't understand things.  I saw a video this week that explained it nicely.  Serendipity at work.

Picking on cult members is like having a spelling bee with contestants that don't speak English.

Spell the word, "Violence."

Could you use the word in a sentence?

I'm not sure how I have escaped the Matrix and to be clear, I'm still trying to teach myself.  I still go out looking for truth and I'm trying to teach myself to think better.  It's an important skill and one that I want to be able to pass on to my kids.  My wife and I discuss it often but we are at a point where we feel we need a better understanding of the concepts before we will be able to adequately pass them on.

There are a few things to note about my intention for a kinder and gentler blog in regards to cult members and minions.

1. I am naturally sarcastic and snarky and one of the voices in my head is even worse.  So, this may be a work in progress.
2. The good intentions are aimed at the cult members and the minions.  Their prophets are still fair game.  Failing to point out the evil would be a disservice to humankind.

Unfortunately, time is going to require that I split this up over at least one more post, if not more.

Let me leave you with something completely unrelated that I found funny.  I was looking around for information yesterday and Googled, "Obama pays travel expenses."

Success Warrior blog was the number 1 hit.

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there.

Git-r-done.

Larry the Cable Guy will be out here tomorrow.

***

Follow me on Twitter to get updates on when new posts show up on this blog (plus get random thoughts on the life of Success Warrior) and feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Success Warrior is an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life.

Have you heard of P90X? That's BeachBody. They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, TurboFire, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more. They have some of the best exercise programs on the market. These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body. They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology. Go HERE to learn the most inexpensive way to get Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs. Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer.

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of. Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there. If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link. Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Mormon Mouthpiece Mitt the Mooncalf

So,

Prop H8 was overturned by a vote of 2 against 1 because apparently one circuit court Justice has no freaking idea of what justice is.  The abomination called the "Prop 8 camp" in the article I read will appeal the decision because Jeezus is a homophobe, apparently, and much less loving and tolerant than we were lead to believe.  If a law is going to be passed, that law should be that anyone who openly endorses Prop 8 should be sterilized to keep them from passing on their hateful retardedness to the next generation. 

No doubt, the Mormon church will be pumping money into the vile persecution again.  For a people who love to play the "We were so picked on" tune, they sure know how to dish it out, don't they?  Typical of religion and government, it's suddenly okay when you're the one kicking the shit out of people.  Then gawd is on your side but if someone does something to you, they're evil.  And, in this case, no one is doing anything to them.  They oppose gay marriage out of sheer malevolence.  They can't hate black people anymore (at least openly) but they are still allowed to oppress gay people and by gawd, they're gonna.  There ain't no queers on Kolob and they sure as hell aren't going to let fags breed on this here planet.  Pretty soon the whole planet will be overrun with 'em.

Mittler the Mormon has spoken in true politician fashion on the subject:

"(1) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released a statement saying the "fight" over states' rights to ban gay marriage is not over.  (2) "Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage," he said, adding that he would appoint judges who oppose same-sex marriage if he's elected. (3)President Obama also opposes same-sex marriage, but says that his opinion on the issue is "evolving.""  (Numbers added by me)

1. States do not have rights, Mitt you complete a-hole.  People have rights until bastards like you take those rights away.  If anyone should be restrained in their actions, it's you because with statements like this, it's obvious that you should be banned from even thinking about running for president. 

2.  See?  Here it is.  Damn unelected judges are going against what Mitt wanst and that means that they are all going to hell because going against what Mitt wants is a sin.  However, if elected (please tell me there aren't enough homophobic, mysoginistic, right-wing, fundamental loonies in the country to let it happen), Mitt is going to put in his own unelected judges to impose his will upon the people.  At that point, magically, it will be okay for the judges to be unelected and go against the will of the people.

3.  Jeezus Obama, get off the fucking fence!  Even Democrats are sick to death of you straddling the line.  Stand up for something you spineless piece of shit.

Today was a victory and I hope that it doesn't get undone on appeal.  I have no faith in the system over the long run but maybe, just maybe, there will be this one point of shining light that we can hold onto.

An Ironic Thought

 
So,

This thought occurred to me the other day:

Christians of all flavors are taught to never dabble in astrology because astrology is of the devil. 

Christianity, like most religions, is based on astrology and many, like Christianity, fall into the category of astrotheology.  Jesus is the Sun of god, the 12 apostles and tribes are the 12 signs of the zodiac.  On and on it goes.  Christians are taught not to look into this stuff because they might find out the truth but I had this funny thought a couple of days ago,

If astrology is of the devil and Christianity is based on astrology, does that mean that Christianity is of the devil?

Guest Post - The Dangers of an Afterlife

 

So,

I have karate practice and then I need to update my resume.  I've been invited to apply for a position in civilization.  Following that, it's back to work on the kitchen.  Luckily for me, Lenore from top online colleges offered to write a guest post.  As you can see, I have taken her up on her offer.  Enjoy. 

The Dangers of an Afterlife

The other day, I got involved in a good old-fashioned religious war over the internet. Normally I try not to waste my time too much on these matters as most people have no choice that they're irrational idiots (let me rephrase to say that not all religious people are irrational idiots, just the vocal ones who shamelessly press their beliefs upon everyone else). But I think it's important to raise awareness and promote a healthy questioning of one's beliefs.

Anyway, at some point in the argument, I got to talking about how life is infinitely important, to which some guy responds, asking why we should "ascribe any importance at all to this life?" Seriously? I wasn't sure if he actually believed the implications of his question or was just attempting to peel into my own beliefs, but either way, his mere suggestion was absurd.

I began explaining that if you can't value this life, the concept of value must be nonexistent. I go on to say that not appreciating the value of life is a disservice to society, which he also questions. Finally I decide to pull out the big guns and laid down this verbose rant:

The ability to value anything is predicated on being alive in the first place; therefore your question was absurd to begin with. Valuing anything at all without valuing life itself is completely intellectually inconsistent, so to question why we should value life is to question why we should value anything at all. Suffice it to say that I think that's a silly discussion to have. Now you are questioning the seemingly innocuous assertion that valuing life makes you more likely to positively impact your society. Who could disagree with that?

The argument shortly derailed after that. I went on to continue valuing my own life and live in a way that reflected that system of value while my internet opponent continued to live in coherence with a system created thousands of years ago that promises a paradoxically perfect and eternal life in exchange for (apparently) not valuing his current life.

Why is it that, in most arguments involving religion, religious people ask these super foundational questions when the irony is that questioning foundational assumptions is what usually causes people to deny their religions? It doesn't bother me at all when people pray, but it does bother me when prayer, rather than action, is all someone needs to absolve their conscience.

Of all the reasons to be religions, being granted a perfect afterlife seems to be the absolute worst. It just seems to have a "screw everyone else on the planet, I'm going to Harvard (or Yale or Heaven or whatever the hell they call it)" type of attitude to it. We have enough cultural elites telling us how to live as it is, I'd rather not have yet another group of people tell me why I need to get involved in yet another pyramid scheme.

This guest contribution was submitted by Lenore Holditch, who specializes in writing about top online colleges. Questions and comments can be sent to: holditch.lenore @ gmail.com.

From Success Warrior's Inbox

So,

This blog does fairly well with search engines, or at least it did a couple of years ago when I actually cared about such things.  I don't do anything "special" to get these results.  I think it's just a natural result of writing nearly 1,000 posts (plus another 600 on Chronicles) where the normal word count is about 1,000 words when I'm not buried in school work. 

Blah, blah, blah.

Do you think he'll even get to the point in a thousand words?

All of this really means nothing except in the context of today's post.

920 words left to get to a thousand.

Shoot me now.

From time to time, I get requests from people who would like to do guest articles on my blog so that they can put their link here, in the hopes of generating traffic to their site and/or increasing their page ranking.  To date, I haven't charged anything to people who make these requests.  I didn't even charge the one that was trying to generate traffic for online college classes for my services in correcting the spelling and grammar of the submitted article.  Ironically, in each of their requests, they always say that they won't charge me for the honor of having them write a guest article for my blog.

Shah, as if!

Ballzy, doncha think?

Thank you so much for not charging me to let you put an article on my website, that even if you wrote it, it took you no more than 20 minutes to lash together, and that's if you're not just recycling an article that you've submitted elsewhere.  I can truly see why you would think I might be inclined to pay for the honor of having your article on my blog post, which you are doing because I have spent 5 years and about a million words creating and you want to tap into that.

Ohhh, speaking of tapping that . . .

I knew I could talk him into posting it.

I told him not to.

I read a funny caption under a picture of some hottie that said, "I'd hit that so hard that anyone that was able to free me would instantly become the rightful king of England."

Excaliber!  What a great nickname for my . . .

Can we get back to the story, please?

One thing that I do when I get these requests is check out the link they want included.  I haven't had anyone asking to post a link to anything too bizarre until this latest request, which is only bizarre in the context it was presented.  This last request didn't actually have the link they wanted to link to, which is odd, but I just looked at the domain name for the email.  Then I looked again.

You ever see something that seems obvious but you know that it can't really be true?

Like a theme for this blog?

I think the theme is "Themeless".

The domain was for an aggregate site that brought together the best Christian Dating websites for one stop shopping convenience.  It also has dating tips and ideas for Christians to have fun first dates.

Did you say Christian Dating site?

Yes, please clarify what you mean by this term.

I surfed around a couple pages looking for the prank or spoof or whatever because this can't be true.  It was though and I went back to the email, which stated in the final paragraph, "Anyways, you are doing a great job with your blog. I've had a chance to look through a few of your posts and they are good. They are pretty fun to read.  I look forward to hearing from you."

Did he say, "Anyways"?

Maybe Christian Dating sites have teenage authors?

Since dude was looking forward to hearing from me, I promptly responded with:

Have you actually read my blog?

Dude responded that he had indeed visited my blog and asked if I had any preference in topics.

"Believable Lying"?

"Due Diligence"?

I shrugged.  Well, okay then.  I suppose it would be funny to have a Christian Dating author posting an article on my blog.

Since he was lying though, I spelled it out more clearly before giving him the green light.  I let him know that Christians who know me and who really enjoy my writing do not read my blog because of the nudity and the anti-Christian comments that pop up here and there so I was skeptical that my blog was going to drive any traffic to his site but he was certainly welcome to write up a post and submit it.  Potential topics included fitness, martial arts, VFFs, atheism (pro), anarchy (pro), ethics, and pretty much anything else.

Ethics?  You tryin' to scare the guy?

See?  The Themeless Theme.  Look at that list!

Anywayz, dude must be writing up one hell of a post because it's been several days since I sent the "okee dokee" to him. 

He's probably actually going through old posts now, for realz, checking out the pics.

Yeah, while shining the Pope's mitre.

As soon as he sends in his article, I'll post it for you guys.

Saturday Video

So,

I had already created this to post at 6pm so that it was coordinated with the rapture but I think that my computer had other ideas while hacking and coughing on its deathbed.  Had the doctor over today who said that the hard drive may be shot.  He took the computer with him for further testing.  I should have the results on Monday.  Pray for my computer (which doesn't have a name and that is is not like me).

In the meantime, enjoy what should have posted at 6pm but didn't because my post was raptured up to heaven.  The rest of us will just ahve to ride out the Christian storm.

Everyday Life

 
So,

Today was filled with a bunch of normal things that I kind of stacked up all in one day to get them all out of the way.  Plus, Thursdays are one of my key homework days, which made it a little bit disjointed. 

Like your thoughts.

I thought you were gone.

I started the day reading what Immanuel Kant had to say in Chapter II of Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.  Not the entire chapter, mind you, but just what I could get read before exercise.  Guess what?  The ab workout did not kill me.  I'm not saying that it was easy but I'm still alive.

One of the major goals of the day was to answer yesterday's question of the day:

What happens when reason is perfect and perfectly controls the will?

You make a shitload of money?

You score with the ladies?

Those might be side effects but I don't think either of those are the answer that the instructor is looking for since Kant didn't mention either of them.

After exercise and a little bit of whining (it didn't kill me but it wasn't easy), a quick scan of the news (a 3D porn film beat Avatar's opening revenue in Hong Kong), and finding a spamtastik comment on my blog that included this gem from a company that helps people with their homework: "So my dear WINNER, please ensure you give us a call or email top start working for your good," I hit the showers and then I was off for the next thing.  I took Trey to school on my way to a routine doctor appointment.  It was routine, however we started a discussion about actually getting an MRI look at my ankle.  I told the doctor that I didn't have time for that at the moment but I would keep it in mind. 

My fear is that they are going to say that, in order to actually fix my ankle, they are going to have to do surgery.  I'm just not ready for that.

Then I came home and had a turkey sandwich and read some Kant.

Here's a bit of trivia for you.  Tryptophan and Kant do not mix.  Crikey!  I will never do that again.

Then I took the Hummingbird in to have the oil changed (hence today's pic) and walked a couple of buildings down for a haircut. 

Then, guess what?

I Kant even guess.

Kant you give us a hint?

I did figure out the answer to the question, although I didn't have time to write it up.  Essentially, when perfect reason and perfect control of will meet. you have become a god.  How cool is that?  I have that scheduled for next Tuesday.

Becoming a god?

Wha . . . ?

After figuring out what it takes to become a god, I practiced karate for a couple of hours.  Actually, I didn't get much practice myself because I was teaching other people.  There's a balance there that I really suck at but I'm not going to go into it today.

Next, I was off to pick Trey up from school.  Then we went to the post office so I could sell my soul to my college and where Trey could race me back to the car, nearly getting run over in the process.  His daring paid off because he didn't get run over and he beat me back to the car.

Then we went to the bank to drop off some paperwork.

Back home for our after school snack, or rather his after school snack, my during school snack.

Back to Kant to write up the whole god thing, complete with quotes from the King James bible.  Now the other students probably think I'm a Christian, which is something that I am considering being if my Magic 8-ball turns out to be some kind of hoax.  For now though, it seems to be working out for me but I am thinking about combining the two into one big superstitious clusterfuck.

"Should I persecute gay people because I'm a closet homosexual pretending to be a homophobe?"

<shake, shake, shake>

"All signs point to 'you're a Republican legislator or a Mormon or a Mormon Republican legislator"

Can you fit that many words on the little cube?

"Can I meet you in the it's-my-imagination room?"

While I was doing my whole, "The Great I Am," shenanigan, Tia came home.  When I got done typing up my answer that perfect reason would lead to godhood (again, I ask, do famous philosophers ever go back to read this stuff because dah-ummm), I did a "debriefing" with my wife.  That's what we call it when one of us has had one of those days and since she works with cops (drama queens with guns), she gets to have those days quite often. 

We discussed having dinner and decided it wasn't worth the effort tonight.  We fed Trey because he's a rebel and decided that he wanted dinner.  He's so spoiled!

Then it was off to baseball practice for Trey.  He got to practice in the cold and wind while Tia and I sat in the car and discussed family and marriage therapy (her major), philosophy, and what we wanted to do in the afterlife.

I have decided that I will come back as a guardian angel for atheists.

If anyone needs a guardian angel, it's them.

To protect them from hateful WWJD Christians.

Then it was home where Tia had to take a test and I decided to actually write more than four sentences in this blog. 

Tomorrow is another fun-filled day where it looks like I will be awake for about 23 hours.  Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to getting some sleep tomorrow night?

***

Follow me on Twitter to get updates on when new posts show up on this blog (plus get random thoughts on the life of Success Warrior) and feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Success Warrior is an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, TurboFire, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.  Go HERE to learn the most inexpensive way to get Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Churches in Vegas

                   

THIS MAY COME AS A SURPRISE TO THOSE OF YOU NOT LIVING IN LAS VEGAS , BUT THERE ARE MORE CATHOLIC CHURCHES THAN CASINOS.


NOT SURPRISINGLY, SOME WORSHIPPERS AT SUNDAY SERVICES WILL GIVE CASINO CHIPS RATHER THAN CASH WHEN THE BASKET IS PASSED.


SINCE THEY GET CHIPS FROM MANY DIFFERENT CASINOS, THE CHURCHES HAVE DEVISED A METHOD TO COLLECT THE OFFERINGS.

THE CHURCHES SEND ALL THEIR COLLECTED CHIPS TO A NEARBY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY FOR SORTING AND THEN THE CHIPS ARE TAKEN TO THE CASINOS OF ORIGIN AND CASHED IN. 

  THIS IS DONE BY THE CHIP MONKS!

-Thanks to Rhiia for this little gem.-

What Do They Have To Hide?

Catholicism may be the most famous religion for covering up for the pedophiles in leadership but they certainly aren't the only ones.  They just settled a court case in Californian where they will have to pay $660 million to over 500 victims.

There is a case now in Oregon where a man is suing the Mormon church for $45 million because he was molested as a child by a member of the church.

Before he follows through though, he would like to know how much money the church has.  Presumably so he can ask for more.

The victims in California are getting $1.3 million a piece.  This guy is starting at $45 million and wants to see just how deep the pockets are.  I'll let you decide whether that's right or wrong.  How much do you get for something that can never be replaced?

The Mormon church has said that it won't reveal how much money it has.  It has filed a petition with the court stating that it is covered by the Constitution and does not have to reveal just how much money it has scammed collected from its member.

What do these righteous people have to hide?

Full article.

God must have heard me

On Sunday, I made a comment about how I had considered starting my own religion.  I could ask people to lead good lives and I could make a lot of money doing it.  I mean, A LOT of money.  Religion is big business and gets good tax breaks for being in a special branch of business.  I have decided against starting my own religion for now because it seems that religion and hypocrisy go hand-in-hand and I don't want to go that route.

But god is teasing me. 

I got an email today for a book called Growing An Engaged Church.  This book will teach me how to get my congregation to recruit more members for my church.  It will show me how to teach them to be more satisfied with their lives.  I'll learn how to get them to take a more active role in their community and helping others.

And, it will teach me how I can get the congregation to contribure three times as much money as they currently are.  Dat's what I'm talkin' 'bout. 

If I had started my church when I first thought about, I could triple my income.  If I start now, I will be starting from scratch.  I wonder if this guy writes a book on how to start a church.  Before I can triple my income by learning a more effective way of fleecing faithful followers, I need to get them in the first place.

Dang, now I'm thinking about starting my own religion again. 

How about the Church Aspiring to Serve Heaven?