You know, MacGyver alway survived by using the hand he was dealt. He never complained about the situation he got into. He looked around objectively, knowing he didn't have everything he needed, and took whatever things he did have and used them in ways most people wouldn't even think about, and it always got him out of the jam he was in.

I think that each and every person has their own way about doing something particular, and this uniqueness is not something to be kept hidden, but rather exploited and used beneficially to help society. It's a shame people are taught by our education system to study hard in a particular field (and to specify on top of that) so that they simply fill a mold.

Children are asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" What they're really asking is, "What job do you want to have when you grow up?" If a college student is asked what their major is and they say "undecided," everyone laughs, but if they say they're studying to be a doctor specializing in pediatric medicine, then everyone applauds. I think doctors are completely necessary and very admirable, but that doesn't make the undecided student a failure. In my opinion, the student is "undecided" because he doesn't want to limit himself to one thing for the rest of his only life.

Of course, everyone has bills, and we need money to pay the bills, but working from sun-up to sun-down is a waste. If people could own an asset that brought in a few thousand dollars a month, then they could afford not to work their whole lives away, and they would then be free to use their time to enjoy life, to spend time with people they wanted to spend time with, to do things during the week rather than just nights and weekends; and to not worry about outsourcing.

LEGAL immigrants are entering the country to the tune of 1 every 30 seconds -- no joke, ask the census bureau. Obviously, America is the place to be. Maybe you have your doubts? Your past, your present, mean neighbors, the government, bills breathing down your neck cause you to harbor ill regard toward the U.S. and it's capitalistic, free-enterprising economy? Well, go visit Russia. Or China. Take one look at how the average communist lives, and you'll know where you're lucky to live. And just think, only 1 in 17 people born are born here. We don't have to learn all the things immigrants have to know to get their green card either. You'll find that people will be willing to do whatever it takes when they are chasing a dream.

I recently heard a story -- a true story -- of two friends who lived in Russia about a generation ago. They had heard rumors about America being an incredible place with freedoms, etc., etc., etc., and their government told them not to believe it, that America is a terrible place with evil people, etc., etc., etc. Well eventually one of them had saved up enough money to make the trip over to the U.S., and he told his friend that he would write him and tell him about what he saw here, and if what they had heard about this being the greatest country in the world, he would write something about the flowers being pretty, since the KGB would be intercepting and reading mail from America. Well the letter came through and from start to finish all it said was how terrible we were over here, and how the government was bad, too, etc., etc., etc. And then the very last line said "But the flowers are very, very, very beautiful."

Short story long he started his own company here and has since moved his whole family over, and I think the friend back home is in the process of moving. Indians come here with $500 and nothing else, and the next thing you know they and their family owns a chain of hotels.

It's because they came here with a dream. This was their one and only chance to make that dream come true. Failing here was not an option. They had to give it everything they had, and they would either succeed or die trying. We begin life with what? About 30,000 days? I hope you have a purpose. I hope you have something in your life that you are pursuing passionately, something that makes you truly come alive.

I heard a quote that "all men die, but not all live." I heard another quote that "most men die in their 20s but don't get buried until their 60s or 70s." If you're reading this, you're still alive. Don't forget that. The next step is to look in the mirror and tell your face to remember it. Now act like it. Do something unique, that only you can do. Bring out your gift and use it to its potential. Be like MacGyver after about 40 minutes of the show, and do your own thing to get out of the mess you're in. And in the meanwhile, don't be afraid of Murdock.

Here's another thought. Maybe I should create a blog in a different category, because no one seems to be drawn to my everyday, try-to-become-better posts. Perhaps I could get some attention with a scandalous title or touchy-subject category. Any suggestions -- besides political -- that would interest more night owls like myself?

Where did the phrase "think on your feet" come from? Of course the ability to solve problems quickly is an asset not everyone owns, but what does that have to do with my feet? Is it because it's a metaphor for my brain running for the answer? I'll bet whoever came up with it was definitely thinking with, I mean on, their feet.

Another question (and it's not intended to support being politically correct): Old wives' tales: why do we believe them? Are they just things that little girls should listen to? Where are the old men's tales? Are little boys supposed to learn how to be men by listening to old women? Isn't it funny that boys grow up being primarily raised by their mom who tells them what to do, they go to school and their female teachers tell them what to do, they graduate and get a job and their boss, who, since (statisticly) girls make better grades than boys, is probably a woman, tells them what to do, and they get married and their wife tells them what to do. My question is: where have real men gone? Or better yet: When are grown-up males going to start being men again, because until they learn how to be men, how can they possibly teach their sons to be men? All that's left is for their kids to watch tv and learn that men are supposed to be gangsters, dumb husbands (who "everyone loves...."), or players who treat women like objects. And it's all fun and games, until you're the father of a little girl, and she learns to be a doormat for boys so that she can get attention, and then she ends up pregnant, abused, depressed, or all of the above. Anyone heard of rainbow parties?

How can a male learn how to be a man of character, integrity, etc.? As I pointed out in my previous blog, he must get around other men with character, integrity, etc. The same goes for women....

Who you are 5 years from now will be the direct result of the books you read and people you associate with. And the good news is that you are in complete control of both. I hope you are happy with the present but still prepare for the future, because if you fail to plan, you are by default planning to fail.

Everything begins with a thought.

I read in a book that "as a man thinketh, so is he." Well, what are people thinking about these days? I turn on the tv and see people eating fill-in-the-blanks on each episode, just to win a few thousand dollars and get 15 minutes of fame while exploiting themselves at the expense of their dignity. I turn on the radio and when the music about alcohol and clothes coming off ends, the announcers conduct their own audio blog, full of opinions, perhaps a few statistics mixed in, and you and I sit in traffic listening to them. What are people thinking? They're not thinking; they're listening to what others think, or they're watching what others think, or they're online reading about what others think. The difference I see online is that with blogs people can actually think, and then they can post their thoughts for others to benefit from them.

So if man thinketh about nothing, he is nothing. His life is worth nothing. If life is worth nothing, then taking a life means nothing; and giving birth to new life is nothing. Killing someone for wearing the wrong colors through your neighborhood is nothing. Having a baby out of marriage is nothing. Abortion is nothing. Life is nothing.

Well, fuck you. I'm thinking. About great things, important, significant, long-term things. Because all those realities have got to stop. What is your life worth? $5.25 an hour? $10? $15? $25 an hour? $50? $100 an hour? No, life is not nothing; life is priceless. Life is absolutely priceless, and yet we trade X number of hours each day for X number of dollars. What a waste. It's a waste of our valuable time that could be much better spent elsewhere, if we only had enough money.

So how do we get enough money? Well, if "as a man thinketh, so is he," then if we want to BE rich, we have to THINK rich. Well, how do we do that? It's funny that in 2nd grade math class, children have to learn how to think in terms of addition and subtraction, but if I said that you have to be taught by rich people how to think rich, you'd tell me that you wanted nothing to do with my cult. Well, good, we don't want you either. You can keep your reality. My point is simply this:

When you accept the fact that your life, and everyone else's, is priceless, and you decide whatever it is that you want to do with your valuable days here, remember that in order for your dream to manifest itself, you've got to think about it, all the time, and don't let your mind wander toward all the flashy distractions.