DeeGeesLifeBlog ~ Life as Art ~ Or is it Heart?

There can be no grosser example of privilege than that set before us as an ideal by certain socialistic writers the ideal that… the man who is vicious, foolish, a drag on the whole [local] community, [and] who contributes less than his share to the common good, should take out what is not his, what he has not earned; that he shall rob his neighbor of what that neighbor has earned. This particular socialistic ideal would be to enthrone privilege in one of its grossest, crudest, most dishonest, most harmful and most unjust forms. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1908

Hebrews 11:1 ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’

Ofttimes, courage is a hidden challenge of faith in God secreted from the everyday world. As Amelia Earhart famously said: “In my life I had come to realize that when things were going very well indeed it was just the time to anticipate trouble. And, conversely, I learned from pleasant experience that at the most despairing crisis, when all looked sour beyond words, some delightful ‘break’ was apt to lurk just around the corner.”

Entrepreneurs the likes of Donald J. Trump are generally very aware that starting and growing companies is really hard work built upon the foundation of faith. Even when you know what you’re doing, there are so many things that can go wrong – some of which are completely out of your control. Great perseverance, sacrifice and a strong faith in what you’re doing are required to reach the zenith of your endeavor. So we need to applaud those who are successful, have empathy and provide a hand to those who stumble or fail, and respect every single person who develops the faith to ‘give it a go.’

Nuggets from President Trump in The Art of the Deal:

a) One of the problems when you become successful is that jealousy and envy inevitably follow. There are people – I categorize them as life’s losers – who get their sense of accomplishment and achievement from trying to stop others. As far as I’m concerned, if they had any real ability they wouldn’t be fighting me, they’d be doing something constructive themselves.

b) I discovered, for the first time but not the last, that politicians don’t care too much what things cost. It’s not their money. My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.

c) My people keep telling me I shouldn’t write letters like this to critics [sic – tweets]. The way I see it, critics get to say what they want to about my work, so why shouldn’t I be able to say what I want to about theirs? I don’t hire a lot of number-crunchers, and I don’t trust fancy marketing surveys. I do my own surveys and draw my own conclusions.

d) Contrary to what a lot of people think, I don’t enjoy doing press. I’ve been asked the same questions a million times now, and I don’t particularly like talking about my personal life. The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you.

e) I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: if you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. Most people think small, because most people are afraid of success, afraid of making decisions, afraid of winning. And that gives people like me a great advantage. Leverage: don’t make deals without it. Enhance.

f) Good publicity is preferable to bad, but from a bottom-line perspective, bad publicity is sometimes better than no publicity at all. Controversy, in short, sells.. And that gives people like me a great advantage. And if it can’t be fun, what’s the point?

g) The most important thing in life is to love what you’re doing, because that’s the only way you’ll ever be really good at it … The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can get very excited by those who do. Much more often than you’d think, sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure.

As for the call to arms …

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. ~ Isaiah 6: 5-8

The Man in the Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1908

And one last reminder of faith brought to you by First Lady Melania, to which I proclaim …. ‘Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.’ ~ Proverbs 31: 10-12