the razors edge

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by Peter Ragnar Roaring Lion Publishing Copyright 2008 The Razor’s Edge Newsletter For People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

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Page 1: The Razors Edge

by Peter Ragnar

Roaring Lion Publishing Copyright 2008

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

Page 2: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

"The walls of the comfort zone encase the soul in a straight

jacket of confinement."

Points of Interest:

An escape from the pressure created by two or more alternatives is basically an escape from using our mind. To never venture out beyond the confines of our comfort zone is simply another way to shrink our world. The walls of the comfort zone encase the soul in a straight jacket of confinement. Sadly, every so often we see the elderly fearful of even leaving their room or apartment. The sheer terror of not being able to trust their mind has paralyzed decision-making.

Some people base decisions on feelings. Others agonize over the smallest detail. One is a bouncing ball, the other concrete. Neither one is productive.

Now you might object, “Some people have worldly success and others do not. Didn’t the successful ones make better decisions?” On the surface it appears so. But consider the possibility of this true-ism; “nothing fails like success.” To make a major life decision to enter

“How to Make Healthy Decisions”by Peter Ragnar

When it comes to making major decisions in life, people often feel out-of-sorts with themselves. Some just freeze and do nothing. Others lunge forward blindly out of sheer frustration.

To freeze and do nothing is an attempt to stop the action, to release the pressure of decision-making. And to lunge forward blindly is just a different way of surrendering to the pressure. Can you imagine the long-term effects this behavior can have on your major life-altering decisions?

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Page 3: The Razors Edge

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a career that eats up your life force, and at the end of that career spits you out as a wrinkled skin bag of wasted flesh, is indeed a suicidal decision. Whether you decided on a whim to study medicine, high finance or political science, or you methodically planned each step from grade school matters little. The end results are everything.

“So how do you make a decision?” Toss a coin! No I’m not joking. If two things have equal value it is a simple this or that decision. Not all decisions are this easy to arrive at. Say, item one is heads and item two is tails. When heads comes up—meaning yes, go with this, and you feel strongly that it should have been tails your sub-conscious has just exerted its influence. Why? Because your major purpose or world view is speaking. If you hold the preservation of life as your highest value—go with tails—you’ll win every time. Now here’s a more analytical approach. Say, you want to purchase a home. Give each benefit a percentile rating of 1 to 10; 10 being a strong benefit and 1 being of little or no benefit. Let us say you’ve come up with 5 categories of benefits you really want. Now simply tally up your score with each house you consider buying. The one with the highest score gets bought. Here is an even simpler way to do it. Fold a piece of paper in half. In column 1 list the benefits and advantages of house number 1. In column 2, do likewise for house number 2. Now, which column has the most? You just made a decision. Define your best interests, identify your highest values, consciously re-state your passion for life, and you’ll be astounded as your garden of blessings flower about you. May you be blessed with great decisions!

Points of Interest:

The Success Package

Page 4: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

Lucky Personality Traits... Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“When you start winning, you will

continue winning until you doubt the process.”

Points of Interest:

“Creating a Lucky Personality”by Peter Ragnar

Are you lucky? Well of course you are! How else would this newsletter find you? As a lucky person, you attract people, circumstances. and resources to you that make your dreams come true! Many people falsely

believe that success is luck without realizing that success is actually the applied science of luck. There are some specific personality traits that lucky people tend to express. While not every lucky person exhibits all of these personality traits, and everyone has a mixed bag of them, I would encourage you to develop as many of them as you can. Think of this as your "Luck Makeover".

Having A Sense of Humor• Lucky people don't take themselves too seriously. Humorous people see the world differently from non-humorous people, and they tend to have better luck precisely because of their different viewpoint. They don't allow trivial events to tense them up. Tension blinds us to opportunity. A sense of personal playfulness is a ticket to good fortune.

Positive Expectation• A feeling of optimism is a prerequisite for good fortune. I believe your outer world is the material manifestation of your inner world, a reflection of your honest internal expectations. Expectations form attitudes, which determine behaviors and thus choices. Right choices result in luck.

The Attitude of Gratitude• Gratitude is a way of sincerely saying "thank you" for your good fortune. As you look for the good things in life, you'll find

The AwesomeScience of Luck

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Page 5: The Razors Edge

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them; as you find them, you'll realize you are blessed by them. Learning to say "thank you" is a way of attracting good luck.

Generosity• The most successful people I know are the most generous. Generosity is a major component of becoming lucky because helping other people get what they want is the premise upon which all success rests.

A Relaxed Sense of Urgency• There is an inner sense of eagerness that has a certain spontaneous quality. Lucky people have a hearty willingness and promptness to act on opportunity. Responding to an opportunity is called luck!

Observant• Naturally, before you can act, you must be able to see. If you are mentally asleep, you'll be blind to the countless opportunities passing you each day. Many people have stopped seeing, looking, or observing— they wait for someone else to point out opportunities to them. Of course, by then it's too late— some lucky observant soul has beaten them to the prize.

Immune to Rejection• The luckiest people I know are unaffected by the past and immune to rejection. There are always some disenfranchised souls who will be ready to rain on your parade, if you let them; fearful little creatures whose only joy in life is tearing others down and ripping up their dreams. All courageous and lucky souls must deal with the people in the dark who never venture beyond the fence of chance. They know that good fortune will smile as long as they go forward into the light of luminous possibilities.

I could tell you so many stories of incredible luck that it would fill volumes. The point is this: Luck creates Luck. When you start winning, you will continue winning until you doubt the process.

Good luck to you! May you always be a winner!

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Points of Interest:

Page 6: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

Balance, Concentration, and Courage...

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Concentration is the key you use to

open the lock on the treasure chest of life.”

Points of Interest:

Balance means that you are not pulled off center to the left or the right. Balance means holding a firm and steady course. In today’s world of instant information, we can feel inundated by the crashing waves of news. It is so easy to overreact and lose balance. Suddenly, your mood changes. As it does, what happens to you makes sense only too clearly. Your dominant mood will always predict your future. Negative moods always reflect imbalanced positions. Lose your balance and you’ll tumble to the ground. Maintain your balance by not letting criticism or negative news distract you from your goals and you won’t fail or fall. Isn’t this the best position for you to take?

“Your Mood Determines What Happens To You”

by Peter Ragnar

What kind of life would you be enjoying if you always stayed in a positive space? What if you could always remain calm, cheerful, and optimistic in difficult circumstances when those around you were losing it?

What if you could be the complete master of your moods? Do you think this might vastly change the quality of every aspect of your life? You bet it would!

So, what might be the problem in accomplishing such a sublime state? Let me provide you with a graphic example from the past. There was a period of my life decades ago when I worked as an ironworker. You can just imagine what it might take to walk a six-inch beam at dizzying heights without a safety net—the penalty for failure was certain to be death! What qualities had to remain intact? These are the very same qualities that you and I need in order to stay in a positive and prosperous relationship with life. They are balance, concentration, and courage.

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Page 7: The Razors Edge

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Concentrate on what you want, not on what you don’t want. This means never, ever saying anything you do not sincerely want to come true. I remember only too well how much energy this vigil requires. It requires that you become a constant witness of your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. One thing is absolutely certain: lose your concentration and you will fall and severely hurt yourself. Maintain laser-like concentration and you can ask this opulent reality for anything your heart desires. Concentration is the key you use to open the lock on the treasure chest of life. Doesn’t it make good sense to use it?

Courage comes from the Latin root word cor, which means heart. You’ve probably seen the hit movie Rocky. In this movie, no matter what was thrown at the boxer, in or out of the ring, he never gave up. We were inspired by his heart and courage. Rocky’s heart was in his goals, and he never gave up. I want you to be like Rocky and never, ever surrender your goals. Never let your heart’s passion, your fire, go out. Never allow your dreams to be reduced to cold, dead ashes that blow away in the wind. If you do, a part of you has just died.

Discouragement is literally a loss of heart. When your heart is no longer in your dreams, hopes, and aspirations, courage has gone away. Discord means away from the heart (dis=away, cor=heart). Can you see why it’s so important to stay in the right space? It just makes sense, doesn’t it, to associate with people who can share and support your high ideals and the quest for a lofty, luminous life?

When you choose to associate with people who embrace an opulent reality, their balance, concentration, and courage reinforce your own commitment to excellence. This prosperity mastermind alliance powerfully improves your mood, and this potent positive charge commands that only good things happen to you. Might this be a beneficial subject to entertain more deeply? Just give us a call or email us—we’re always happy to talk to you.

To Your Opulent Reality,

P.S. I’m always here for you.

The Unveiled Mystery of Self-Mastery

Discover the Keys to Concentration

The Magic Man Wonderful stories about

"The Magic Man" written by friends

of Peter.

Points of Interest:

Page 8: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“We tend to dislike others who don’t share our flaws...

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Make appointments for others and you’re apt to find yourself

disappointed.”

Points of Interest:

“Food, Friends, and Folly”by Peter Ragnar

George Bernard Shaw stated in 1903, "There is no love sincerer than the love of food." For some people food is as tasty as a kiss. Come between a person and their food and often the reaction will be as sound as coming between a man and his wife.

That's one of the fastest ways to destroy a friendship.

None of us like to be told what to do— even if the advice is beneficial. Over the years I've lost more friends over corrective suggestions than I have from any display of my own personality flaws. Actually, giving advice can be a personality flaw in itself. That's why being viewed as a teacher or mentor is a very dangerous role to assume.

"Friendship is seldom lasting but between equals, or where the superiority on one side is reduced by some equivalent advantage on the other." wrote Samuel Johnson way back in 1750. Well, the truth of Johnson's words still ring true today. As an example, pointing out the damages of smoking or consuming junk food immediately puts you in a position of superiority (if you don't have those bad habits.) We tend to dislike people who don't share our flaws and congregate with those who do— to our own folly.

Nobody likes a crusader or reformer no matter how correct their views may be. The bottom line is: The means do determine the ends. To coerce a friend to adopt your way of living, your diet preferences, your passion for health is often a way to lose that person as a friend. Individuals must be respected for the decisions made of their own volition— never the ones forced upon them.

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Page 9: The Razors Edge

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While I've been a strong and vocal advocate for an organic live food diet, I realize only too painfully that my passion can alienate others. While folks will give this diet a try for a while and then go back to their old ways of eating— the feeling of failure and personal rejection is often directed at the proponent of the diet. Communication is severed and replaced by silence. The coffin is sealed, and friendship is buried. Make appointments for others and you're apt to find yourself disappointed.

This is why I say— you don't have to be a 100% raw foodist. Simply do the best you can to improve your diet— even if all you do is take baby steps. It is YOUR LIFE isn't it? I don't make food a religion— I only look for results that benefit the love and passion I have for life. If you voluntarily conclude that your life is worth living, that you as person are worth improving, and you have a passion for presenting to the world one improved human unit— then please call me your friend.

William Cobbett said, "All men seek the society of those who think and act somewhat like themselves." I realize only too poignantly how small the circle can be for the seeker of human excellence— yet this is a circle without walls and all are welcome within its protection.

In our mutual pursuit of excellence,

Page 10: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“You can train yourself to spot opportunities...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“What you want wants you, and is rushing

to meet you.”

Points of Interest:

“How Psychic Are You?”by Peter Ragnar

If you are psychic and still have problems, just how psychic are you? Naturally, we all grow in installments. We have both natural perceptions and trained perceptions. However, as with gifted athletes, natural

propensity or talent doesn’t eliminate the need for training. Even an untalented athlete who trains very hard can beat an athlete who, despite natural talent, refuses to train. Bear in mind that the drive is the talent!

You can train yourself to spot opportunities. People who avail themselves of a beneficial opportunity are always deemed lucky by others. In fact, I’m always astounded by how some people appear to be blind to opportunity.

Take two people walking down the street. One person sees a five-dollar bill lying on the sidewalk; the other person blindly walks right past it. What was the defining quality that allowed one person to be lucky and the other person to miss? Perception.

The actual difference between the two people is not as much in the ability to see as it is in expectation. Lucky people expect fortuitous events to take place.

Don’t you think that your perceptive ability will be heightened if you expect to be lucky? Yes, your powers of observation will be keener. Remember, observation is heightened by expectation.

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Page 11: The Razors Edge

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In my Opulent Reality Symposium and Prosperity ESP Events that we hold across the country, I share these insights with my friends. They are known as the Prosperity Mastermind Alliance.

Goal setting is clear seeing, or clairvoyance. As you set goals, you create an intention to receive your desired result. The more clearly you can picture your goal, the faster it will manifest.

Like I’ve said many times before, “What you want wants you, and it is rushing to meet you.”

Much Love and Success,

Page 12: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Are You Brave Enough to Bare Your Soul?”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“If I had listened to my critics, I would have never had the courage to openly

dance, laugh, and cry authentically from the

core of my being .”

“Don't Allow Others to Rain On Your Parade”

by Peter Ragnar

Did you ever have a dream, a secret goal? Let's say the deepest desire of your heart was perhaps to write a book, play on stage, or maybe sail your own sailboat

around the world. I suppose the actual description isn't as important as the fact that this was your goal, your desire, your dream. It is one you formulated to fit you and your psychological makeup. But, now the moment you openly express your white fire hot passion to pursue your dream some officious and fastidious soul slaps you with a cold towel.

With your enthusiasm dampened you actually begin to wonder if you should be more cautious. "Maybe I'm not capable enough. Maybe I don't posses enough knowledge. Maybe I don't have the needed courage. Maybe I should play it safe. After all I could fail, make a mistake, and then the whole world would laugh at me! " Take it from me: The world is just too busy to notice and if they did, it really wouldn't matter anyway.

What just happened? The critic armed with a quiver of sharp arrows just shot down your dream. If you listened to all the critics in your life—you’d never run a race, play a game, strive for a promotion, sing in public, change your job, move, or fall in love! And there are 10,000 other things you wouldn’t attempt.

And don’t think I don’t know about the pain of failure like everyone else. Yes, it stings. And believe me—I have critics shooting at me every day—pointing out errors in speech, production, writing or its content. However, since this is all a very natural behavioral process of the

Page 13: The Razors Edge

animals in the human jungle, I take it all in stride and see what I can learn from it. If I can in some way spare you the misfortune of seeing your dreams crash and burn by listening to the caviling, carping, niggling critic who just shot your hopes out of the sky—then in some self-satisfying way I can say touché.

Actually I must sheepishly admit—if I were aware of all I didn’t know about the English language, I probably would have never written a book, a poem, or a song.In fact—if I’d listened to my English teachers (who to my knowledge never wrote a book, a poem, or a song,) I’d be trapped in the same quagmire of convention by which millions of people have allowed themselves to be imprisoned. If I had listened to my critics, I would have never had the courage to openly dance, laugh, and cry authentically from the core of my being. Or for that matter to experience contrition without being destroyed by it. Are you brave enough to bare your soul? When the eggs of your dreams hatch, your hopes and desires are exposed to the light of day. Protect them, but don’t hide them. Now it’s time for your dreams to interact with those of others.

You may find this poem relevant. (Included in my book Gnarled Tree, Ancient Shade)

“Said the flower to the butterfly (a case much like you and I)” Yes, I know it should be you and me, not you and I. But, damnit it doesn’t rhyme with butterfly. Anyway...

Said the flower to the butterfly

(a case much like you and I)

If I spread my petals wide will you be gentle

with what you find inside

Points of Interest:

Gnarled Tree Ancient Shade:

Musings On The Way

Page 14: The Razors Edge

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Well, the answer is probably “no”, not in today’s jaded, hubristic, backbiting society. So what? It’s you who count! Your dreams, your desires, your goals, your high ideals, your visions, your adventures, after all whose life is it anyway? Listen, no one can live it any better for you than you! So, grab your life by the horns and direct it where you want it to go. Take a deep gulp of courage and move forward! And never let anyone rain on your parade!

As Emerson once wrote, “Do the thing and you shall have the power.”

Love and courage,

Page 15: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Hard to believe? Let me tell you the story.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“I’d Love to!” For 30 days, use these

three words as often as you can.

“This Word Will Determine Your Future”

This is the most powerful word I know that determines your success or failure. Once you truly get a grasp of its potency you’ll think of your every thought and action in light of its definition.

“The word is alacrity.”

You may not have ever heard the word before unless you’re an English major or possess a proclivity for vocabulary. Even so, it’s the application of the definition that becomes the determinant of your personal level of achievement.

Alacrity is defined as a cheerful readiness, eagerness, a prompt response. This is an inner energy that springs from your heart spontaneously as if an alarm had gone off. In this sense alacrity and alarm carry the same sense of action.

If you want more alacrity in your life practice saying, “I’d love to” as a response to any responsibility you undertake. Say it with me a few times and see how it makes you feel. How does it sound to your ears when I say it? Well, it sounds the same way to the people you work for—or to anyone else in fact. For 30 days, use these three words as often as you can.

You may think this is too simplistic to be of any value. Would you believe that I know a man who used those words and went from a temporary two-hour job as a day laborer to overseeing $500 million of commercial construction in just a few short years?

Early one spring morning, five men went out to unload a truckload of steel. It was one of the first really warm days of the season. One man peeled off his shirt, stretched his arms, faced the early morning sun, took a

Page 16: The Razors Edge

deep breath and smiled. “What a wonderful day it is to be alive!” he exclaimed. The other four just grumbled as they dragged themselves along.

About then, the bridge company’s superintendent arrived. A new construction trailer had been delivered to the empty field to serve as a office. He came over and asked the man, “Would you like to jump on the truck and hook the steel chokers to the steel while the other men land it in the field?”

“I’d love to!” he replied.

As the big crane lifted the last of the steel, the man jumped down. All the workers were paid for the unloading. As they started to leave, the superintendent called to the happy man, “Say, if you’re not doing anything, would you like to wash my pickup?”

The shirtless man replied, “I’d love to!” When he finished washing the pickup, he looked at it with great pride. The boss watched him from around the side of the field trailer. “Say, if you’re finished, would you like to clean the trailer? It got pretty grimy on the trip here.”

Again, he answered, “Why, I’d just love to,” smiling.

Later, the boss said, “How about some lunch?”

The same reply: “I’d love to.”

Well, to make a long story short, the man was asked to return the next day and offered steady employment, to which he replied, “I’d love to.” As the weeks passed into months, the man was asked if he’d like to be the foreman over the newly arrived crew, and what do you think his answer was?

There were over 50 men and several foremen when the happy man was called into the office trailer. The superintendent said he was being called away to oversee a job in another state. Would he like to accept the responsibility of being the superintendent? The happy man said...

Points of Interest:

Success Seeker's Guide to the Opulent Reality

Page 17: The Razors Edge

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As time went on, the company acquired contracts for several more bridges, a civic center, an airport renovation, a hospital and a university extension. Would he like to be the boss over the boss over the bosses? The happy man said...

And one day, as could be expected, an opening came up in the home office. So they asked the happy man, and he replied, “I have this cabin in the woods where not a human soul intrudes. With all this success, I’d like to take a few years to be alone and think about it. So, you see, I’d love to, but I won’t.”

They were shocked, dismayed and distraught. They begged the happy man to stay, but to no avail. They said, “Look, we’ll keep you on the payroll. Take whatever time you need.” One day, a few weeks later, they brought him a gift of a new canoe, for they knew the happy man loved to be alone on the water.

But soon after, the happy man demanded that they no longer pay him. He seemed to disappear into thin air. He was nowhere to be found.

However, the happy man vowed some day to share the secrets of money magic. He is sharing them with you now; I am that happy man!

The happy man asks no idiotic questions about the task at hand, nor expects anyone else to do it. The happy man is never out of work or out of opportunities. The world is in one long, anxious search for the prompt reply “I’d love to!”

Anything that one asks for is supplied. That one is wanted in every city, town, or rural hamlet, in every office, shop, store, factory, or field. The world begs, pleads and cries out for such a person, the person who cheerfully says, “I’d love to!”

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Points of Interest:

Page 18: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Despite all our fears and misgivings...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Calmness is not achieved in peaceful valleys but on the

mountain peak where you can taste

the lightning.”

“Calm, Fear, and Conspiracy”by Peter Ragnar

Which might be a better subject of contemplation for you—planning a wildflower garden or dwelling on the prospect of the world coming to an end? One calms your heart, the other doesn’t. What if the big quake hits

California, or an asteroid from space hits the earth, or we have a nuclear attack, or the government packs us all into cattle cars... Enough now!

Despite all our fears and misgivings, so many of the grave calamities we were weaned on never took place. And of course, others we had no advanced knowledge of did. So?

I remember as a child, and maybe you do as well, being ushered under our desks during civil defense drills. So, here you are under a wooden desk in an old brick classroom with your hands over your head to protect yourself from an atomic bomb attack!

Is there something about all this fear mongering that doesn't make sense?

When I finally got to go to the newly built Junior High, I actually missed the old squeaky wood floors as well as the oily and sour scents. The new building was steel, glass, concrete, and sterile. And then we had the mandatory fire drills—as if you could find anything in the whole school that could burn, save but a few textbooks and note pads. Yep, them books could burn down the whole school—Hmm...

And as I remember, we didn't even get sex education in health class. I guess some things have to be ignited on their own—like our passions.

Page 19: The Razors Edge

Well, I guess the only thing most of us had to fear was the school bully. You know, the man-child with the 5 o'clock shadow.

Of course, if you were black, brown, yellow or different—there were always those adults who enjoyed putting the fear of God into you. I haven't yet figured out why they burn crosses, have you? I guess I could always write the president.

Despite all the promises, prophecies, and assurances that the end of the world was upon us; I suppose I got a little bored as a child. In fact, I'll confess (now there's an interesting word) the only world I was concerned about ending was my own.

I figured that was the only one I really needed to get in order. So, then I naturally stopped trying to save the rest of the world—to the anger of my religious supervisors.

Jonathan Swift wrote, "We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." Yeah, but what about all those "evil-doers?" Someone wrote, "Bad people do bad things and good people do good things. But for good people to do bad things, that takes religion."

By that I mean any kind of personal philosophy that incites fear and distrust of others. I don't know about you, but I refuse to allow others with their baskets of fears and misgivings to rent space in my head.

Today I'm going to do everything in my power to make the world, well at least my world, as beautiful as I can. That means—Oh holy horrors—I'll smile at strangers, give a helping hand to those in need, try not to be shocked by unexpected circumstances, be detached when attacked by emails or words from those who consider me a heretic, refuse to fall into a fever of impatience or panic if my world doesn't obey my commands.

Points of Interest:

Alive and Well with Wild Foods—A Raw Food

Survival Guide

Page 20: The Razors Edge

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Points of Interest:One thing I do know, even if I'm not perfect in the above list, is that calmness is not achieved in peaceful valleys but on the mountain peak where you can taste the lightning. It is here that your magnetism and luminous radiation transform you into a being of light. And that's why I write.

May you never let your light grow dim nor let your music die within!

P.S.AndplantsomewildflowersformeasIrecallthe words to, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?"

P.P.S. Do I prepare? I never get caught with my pantry down. Preparedness is wisdom in advance!

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Page 21: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Positive application of patience...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Patience will always reveal new opportunities and allow swift action.”

Points of Interest:

“The Virtue of Patience”by Peter Ragnar

I try to avoid shopping in those large, multi-national, discount chains. No, not so much because of the allegations of child labor, although I hate to see children abused right before my very eyes. Certainly I'm appalled

by the slavery of children confined to Indian and Asian sweatshops.

But let's face it, not so much is made in America anymore —except babies from stressed out parents working several jobs to make ends meet. So where do they shop? I don't blame the kids. I can remember as a little tot being pulled around a maze of aisles packed with stuff I was too short to see. Like a lot of kids, I heard the holy command, "Be patient!" and the divine threat of retribution if I wasn't. So, I often ended up on the receiving end, if you know what I mean.

No, I’m not kidding about the “divine threat.” After all, religious parents are ordered to administer corporal punishment. Sort of makes your mind wander with images of the CIA and secret prisons. “Spare the rod and spoil the child!” Ah, now I know how they get little children to work for pennies. Well anyway, I was very glad my parents didn’t take that too seriously.

I still don’t understand why it’s considered a virtue to not be able to receive everything you want. I know some of the things a person wants might not be good for them. Putting that aside, the positive application of patience says, “Yes, you can get everything you want if you’re willing to give it some time.”

For instance, I witnessed a woman screaming and slapping her child because of his impatience—I think all he wanted to do is pee. She was the one who lacked

Swing Master /Swing Massager

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patience. Had she been patient, she could have better understood the needs of her child instead of resorting to violence.

The word patient comes from the Latin word patientem, meaning to bear or endure without complaint. If you’re sick, you learn to bear or endure the pain as calmly as you can. Getting upset, becoming a bad patient, will only acidify the ailment more and cause even greater discomfort. This is a good lesson for parents as well.

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote in “The Hero” in 1853, “Peace hath higher tests of manhood than battle ever knew.” Peace comes only out of patience. Patience grows persistence that allows us to carry on despite our personal failings. Patience is a special wisdom that carries a hidden success because patience is concentrated expectancy. Patience is an electromagnetic steady current that makes you physically glow. I say steady current because it is a state of moral stability. If you want success in any area of your life, avoid impatient people because they never allow things to come to completion. All things have their times and cycles, even children and nations.

Teach patience by example and your children will grow up like cats watching a canary. Only patience can safeguard a nation and give birth to peace. Patience will always reveal new opportunities and allow swift action. This is the virtue of patience.

Much Love and Success,

The Chi Vitalizer / Swing Massager

Points of Interest:

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“The Flow vs. Definite Purpose”by Peter Ragnar

Purpose is evolution, and flow is its effortless accommodation. This may be your own internal drive that compels you toward a certain accomplishment such as in music, art, drama, or literature—or it may launch

you into some enterprise. The inner force you experience is like some mystical, cosmic finger etching in stone your major purpose in life.

How do you know what you should be doing with your life? The first sparks of inner knowing flare up to attract your notice. You feel an unexplainable pleasure and excitement with those thoughts. As your enthusiasm increases, your passion grows. Passion is purpose, and not resisting your passion is the flow. It is purpose which defines flow just as the walls of the canyon define the river.

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“The river is your lifeblood...” Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Passion is purpose, and not resisting your passion is the flow."

Points of Interest:

...it is carving your purpose to make a concrete statement of your presence. Your presence is identified by your purpose. Once your purpose, your major reason for existing, is established—your spirit must be released from the dam to flow free and create.

We often hear of some people identified as “free spirits,” moving about capriciously, whimsically, without any rhyme or reason. These types of free flowing souls are much like a floodwater that fills the lower recesses of whatever it approaches. This is quite the opposite of the persistent, purposeful roar of a mighty and free flowing river whose power with intelligence and creativity might be harnessed for the benefit of millions.

One leaves only mud and mess in its wake, the other an awe inspiring spectacle that electrifies our spirit.

Magnetic Qi Gong PREMIUM PACKAGE Magnetize your Chi!

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The difference between destruction and creation is our defining purpose for being. Once your purpose is clearly established, your spirit must be released to give life to it. It must have free flow for you to evolve in the direction of growth and life.

Why would one remain undefined as a wandering generality, opposed to making a powerful statement with your life? Like electricity requires a conduit and your nerves a myelin sheath, your spirit requires the pipe of purpose to concentrate it to full intensity. It is a definiteness of purpose that defines and cultivates personal greatness. I realize only too well that many people have set a goal to become a zero, a nobody, a nothing and hold as their highest ambition to blow out the candle flame of life.

In the words of one of my favorite poets, Robert Service, “...Just have one more try. It’s dead easy to die. It’s the keeping-on-living that’s hard.” And you can’t do that without a major purpose for being. Listen, it’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees! You owe no one an apology for following your own dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Define yourself by something much larger than simply taking up space and air. Live with passion, purpose, and courage! Fire all the negative people from your life and live! Whose life is it anyway?

Much Love and Success,

Just Ten Minutes is an Amazing Workout!

Points of Interest:

THE ART & SCIENCE OF PHYSICAL

INVINCIBILITY with 5lb THUNDERBALLS & DVD

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Zen, Christianity and a lot of BULL

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“Mental irritation results in like manner.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Take your mind off the things you don’t want and focus on what you do. Look for the beauty in life and in others.”

Points of Interest:

“Do you know the dangers of chronic irritation?”

by Peter Ragnar

What is irritation? You may have just experienced it as a result of a phone call, the current news on TV, a comment by a co-worker or spouse. Irritation can even

manifest around a sore, skin rash, or insect bite. Irritation is a stimulation of a sore (mental or physical) to excessive sensitivity.

Did scratching your poison ivy ever make it go away faster? No! Did scratching it make you feel good? Yes, but just temporarily. Sadly, however, you’ve just increased its sensitivity, making you apt to irritate it more. Who enjoys seeing the festering, oozing wound and its resultant scab?

People with fragile egos are easily irritated over the silliest and most trivial of issues, often issues that haven’t a thing to do with them. There’s a term used for people like that, and I’ll bet you know someone right now who fits the description of being “thin skinned.”

Am I right? That’s the person who’s always at issue over something. They’re quick to criticize, raise frivolous objections, point out petty flaws, and complain unnecessarily. In other words, they nitpick, carp, and quibble. And then they bleed all over anybody that’s so unfortunate as to be in the same room with them.

What this “thin skinned” person doesn’t understand are the dangers of chronic irritation. To say in a figurative sense that “things get under my skin” is actually a biological event. Chronic irritation often manifests symptomatically as a more serious internal disorder.

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Let me give you a simple illustration of this: chronic mental irritation changes the pH level of the body to acidic. How many acid-tongued people do you know who have heartburn, skin problems, or continuing dental issues? These common ailments are all a result of acid. Mental irritation is an acidic condition. But, even more serious, chronic irritation is like taking a wire brush to your soul. It defaces the wonderful person you are at heart and marks you an outcast from decency. You cannot heal if you continue to stimulate any sore, mental or physical, to excessive sensitivity.

A person who continues to smoke and suck irritants into the tender bronchi, the airways that supply the lungs, doesn’t realize this habit is responsible for 90% of the cases of lung cancer. The person who remains in a chronic state of irritation and feeds their mind a steady diet of negative thoughts doesn’t realize this is more than just a mental disease; it creates a ripe climate for organic disease as well.

So, what can you do when faced with the irresistible urge to scratch that itch? Refrain the best you can. Take your mind off the things you don’t want and focus on what you do. Remember, “no” never pushes anything away; it is an attraction force. When faced with any irritation, refocus and look elsewhere. Look for the beauty in life and in others. Find something nice to say. Shut up, smile, and seek peace. And remember, this is the first day of the rest of your life. Vow to make it the best day ever!

“There once was an oyster whose story I tell Who found that some sand got under his shell. Just one little grain,

but it gave him a pain,

For oysters have feelings for all they’re so plain.

Now did he berate the workings of fate, Which had led him to such a deplorable state?

Did he curse the government or cry for an election? And cry that the seas should give him protection?

No! He said to himself as he lay on the shelf, Since I cannot remove it then I’ll try to improve it!

The Luminous Life: How To Shine Like The Sun

Points of Interest:

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The years rolled around as years always do, And he came to his ultimate destiny stew.

And the small grain of sand that bothered him so Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow. The tale has a moral for isn’t it grand

What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand? What couldn’t we do, if we’d only begin

With all of the things that get under our skin!”

My friend, there is a great and sublime joy in the victory over irritation. I know you have it in you to rise to those heights. And I applaud you for your efforts to make today the best day ever.

Much Love and Success,

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Points of Interest:

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Lincoln said those who toil up from poverty are the ones to be trusted most...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Every vibration becomes an attraction

field, which returns similar vibrations as objects, experiences, and circumstances in your life. What

are you vibrating?”

“The #1 Reason a Person Fails in Life”

by Peter Ragnar

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln addressed congress with these words: “No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty…”

Why does a person strive and struggle to cast off the curse of poverty? Because that one realizes that poverty is rich in all the wrong things. Oh, how we have all been admonished to extol the alleged virtues of that class of people referred to as “the salt of the earth,” as if in some weird and strange way to confuse poverty with goodness.

I know only too well what “living life near the bone” as Thoreau would say is like. It is not some peaceful acceptance or contentment–-mostly, it is a life of resentment. The word money is one of the most negatively emotionally charged words in the world. People show contempt for those who have it and praise those who don’t. How can anyone rise from poverty to become someone they resent? How can anyone rise from poverty when their equals celebrate with pride their misery? How can anyone rise from poverty while secretly enjoying being one of the downtrodden viewing it as a social identity, marching and rallying for justice?

...not those who remain in poverty! Poverty is not a virtue but a self-induced crime rooted in the mind. Our minds have been poisoned against prosperity not only by those who struggle in poverty but also by the media, the movies, and television shows who bombard us with portrayals of the rich being corrupt.

"Remember: a lie told often enough becomes accepted as truth."

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Yes, both the rich and poor think about money. However, here’s the big difference: the rich get warm and positive feelings about it, and the poor get pangs of distress in the pits of their stomachs as they agonize over their lack. If money gives you a sick feeling due to needing it and yet not having it, then this so called “evil” must be condemned. What’s forgotten is that every feeling becomes a vibration. Every vibration becomes an attraction field, which returns similar vibrations as objects, experiences, and circumstances in your life. Right now as you’re reading these words, what are you vibrating? Oscar Wilde once said, “There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else. That is the misery of being poor.”

Here’s the big trap: "Focusing on what you don’t want instead of what you do."

Attention and emotion on a “don’t want” only attracts more of the same. The trick is to change the target. Basically, if you’re not actively working at fixing the problem, it shows you secretly want the problem. Do you want the honest and brutal truth? If your life sucks, it’s because you suck. How do I mean that? The number one reason people fail in life (especially in a free society) is failure to take personal responsibility for the events and conditions of their lives. I have a personal motto that I live by:

“If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” I know that every condition and experience of my life, both the good and the bad, are by my own making. If you refuse to focus on good things you desire, that void will be filled with the negative things you don’t want. Once you’ve gotten into the addiction of carping, condemning, and complaining (oh, and doesn’t it feel good?), telling everyone how terrible it is and how the world and others are doing it to you, what else can you expect? You cannot be trusted until it has been proven that you are bigger than your miserable past.

Points of Interest:

The Path to Mystic Mountain—Experiences

with a Modern-Day Sage

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Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Today is the only day available to begin to reach for a higher and richer life. Today, at least if only in your mind’s eye, create the conditions of blessedness and plenty. Do not take your eyes off the prize of prosperity. Hold steadfast to your vision and as surely as the sun rises it shall be forthcoming!

Much Love and Success,

Page 31: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Has the golden rule become tarnished?”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Non-judgmental interest in others is how friendships

are forged."

“The Golden Rule—Tarnished?”by Peter Ragnar

Last Friday evening, I happened to see a viper of a preacher spitting and spraying the air with the venom of hate. With maniacal relish, he read aloud scripture and verse of how God will bring on the battle of

Armageddon. He spewed about how God’s flock of Christians would be lifted up to heaven, and the rest of us would burn in Hell. Then to cap off his sermon, he called for his followers to encourage the White House to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran. Yikes! It matters little the amount of exposure you’ve had to religion; in fact, it matters little to which religion you’ve been exposed, you probably know some version of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” While many give lip service to this wise observation and use it as a flag to fly, very few actually use it as a rudder by which to steer.

It just makes you wonder...

It seems to me, in my primitive way of thinking, that our neighbors are much like countries. We can war with them, or we can attempt to bridge differences and live in peace with them. You know— do unto others and be nice? History is replete with the dance of holy horrors and the ugly boot print it has left upon this planetary raft we share. If I told you why addictive negative behavior is so hard to break, you’d probably be shocked. None-the-less, the golden rule still makes sense. The bottom line is we’re really not very interested in others. Non-judgmental interest in others is how friendships are forged. Once we can accept each other’s

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differences, only then is it possible to reason with each other, to examine harmful and unproductive behavior, and replace it with positive traits, such as having the courage to be the first one to be the peacemaker. Smiles and warmth say much more than all the preaching in the world. It’s how we make friends, not enemies.

"The reason dogs have so many friends is because they wag their tails and not their tongues." Dale Carnegie said, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” You’ve probably heard it said, “To have a friend you must be a friend first.” Once again, you have just heard the essence of the Golden Rule. If the Golden Rule works well between two people, do you think it can work well between ten or ten million people? So if the Golden Rule makes so much sense, why don’t we see it employed more often? Just consider the case of a poor stray dog that has been beaten and terrified many times over. It takes an overwhelming degree of love and great persistence to calm his fearful nature. Little by little, he will stop attempting to bite you. Soon, the growling will cease; and finally, if you don’t tire out, you’ll be able to pet him. You might be asking yourself, “Why bother?” Well, it’s actually about what YOU become in the process that really matters. So many people in the world have been beaten and terrified by fanatical religious concepts. Sadly, it’s much like the ancient Aztec who passionately believed the sun would not rise that day if they failed to tear out a human heart as a sacrifice to their vengeful and terrible God. It appears we have destroyed untold human hearts, not necessarily with cold steel, but with a primitive and fearful view of the world, a world of our own making and belief. Someone once said, “A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

Points of Interest:

Moonlight Doesn’t Wet the Water / The Search

for the Jade Spring Immortal

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If one day we all discovered everyone had a case of amnesia, lost were all religious tenants, beliefs, and holy books; one very special element would still remain. You see it’s indelibly etched into the moral fiber of the human heart. You need no one to preach it; it speaks loudly on its own if we but care to listen. It says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Yes, the golden rule is a bit tarnished, but all it takes is for you and me to polish it a little more.

Much Love and Success,

Page 34: The Razors Edge

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“You should do likewise. Refuse to accept. Why?”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Our regrets are usually the startling

realization of our lack of perfection, and it is the critic

who loves to torture us with that fact. “

“Are you anchored by regrets and criticism?”

by Peter Ragnar

Our regrets are usually the startling realization of our lack of perfection, and it is the critic who loves to torture us with that fact. The small minded and insecure launch

epithets until they have to pause for breath or experience writer’s cramp. I’m often amused at how hard they work in an attempt to feed their hollow, self-righteous ghosts and fragile egos. Once a sage was assaulted by slanderous accusations. After the critic finally ran out of things to say (a small miracle in itself), the sage remained silent and then asked, “If you offer a person something and that person refuses to accept it, to whom does it belong?” The critic answered, “It belongs, I guess, to the one who offered it.” “Exactly…” said the sage as he turned to walk away. “I refuse to accept.”

Because you can’t do anything about them. Here’s where we come to regrets. Regrets are simply self-criticism. If you accept regrets and dwell on them, you will become that same little self-loathing critic. Now, instead of that critic stalking you publicly, he or she now lives in your head. At this point the critic’s mind is your own and is amplified by each and every regret you allow yourself to dwell upon. You must refuse to accept the offering of the critic’s mind. Walk away from it and you will have left it in the trash bin of regrets.

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Here’s some wise advise from Mark Twain: “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” The next time you’re attacked by your critics, keep in mind the story of Colonel Geothal. He was constantly being niggled by limited thinkers who relished the prediction that he wouldn’t complete the project entrusted to him of building the Panama Canal. His friends asked, “Aren’t you going to answer these critics?” Goethal replied, “When the time is right.” “Well, how and when will that be?” Goethal calmly answered, “With the completed canal.” In 1759 Samuel Johnson wrote, “Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense.” They are generally as uneducated and misinformed as the people who knew for certain in 1903 that a heavier-than-air machine could never fly, which vindicates Disraeli’s statement, “It’s much easier to be critical than to be correct.” Every day our technological and scientific knowledge is opening up new frontiers of discovery and opportunity. Untold products and services become available while an equal number become obsolete and useless. Don’t let the critics discourage you from experimenting and exploring. Keep in mind some things may work while others will not—you be the judge and don’t rent space in your head to others who don’t have your best interests at heart. If you do, you’ll regret it. Keep trying, keep exploring, keep seeking, and you shall find.

The earth is no longer flat and you will not fall off into the mouths of dragons. Be committed to truth and have

Points of Interest:

Chi-Mendous Balls Magnetic Chinese

Medicine Balls

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the courage to see what’s right and beautiful about the world. Go on despite discouragement, drudgery, and broken dreams. Go on beyond criticism and regret. Go on because the world is still a beautiful place to be.

Much Love and Success,

Page 37: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“How many people in your life do you feel this at ease with?”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Friendships require openness and

honesty, tenderness and understanding in order to grow.”

Points of Interest:

“Are You a Loyal Friend?”by Peter Ragnar

Back in 1857, Henry Thoreau stated in his journal, “A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend.” How do you actually “satisfy” a friend? A friendship is often signified by a sigh of

great relief. When your friend is with you, both of you can breathe freely. A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself. Do you want to know what determines whether a relationship will be successful or not? You don’t have to be on guard. In fact, you feel like a prisoner who has just been found innocent. You don’t have to put on airs. And with all your personal positives and negatives, you can relax and be yourself. You can act silly and even make a fool of yourself, and you will still be loved.

I have to be very candid with you: these people are your only friends. You’ll be very blessed indeed if you can count your husband or wife among this number. You may share a lifetime of experience and memory with a mate, and yet if you feel you need to be careful and cautious— in your most honest of hearts, you’ll know you don’t have a friend. Clarence Francis wrote, “You can buy people’s time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm… You cannot buy loyalty… You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these.”

Shower Magnets —Natural Water

Conditioner

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So how do you earn these beautiful attributes? As an old saying goes, “Treat your friends as you do your paintings—place them in the best light.” Then you’ll earn their loyalty and love. As Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It… "go on, and I will follow thee, to the last gasp, with truth and loyalty.” Of course, even if loyalty is blind, it can never be lame. So, are you a loyal friend? In light of the foregoing, friendship is much more than familiarity. Do you allow others to breathe easy in your presence? Or are you full of complaints and criticism? Do you place others in the best light or are you always blowing your own horn? Friendships require openness and honesty, tenderness and understanding in order to grow. Harsh judgment of another will leave you friendless and alone. No one will want to be around you. So please cultivate friendships and you’ll have undying loyalty as well. Once a reporter approached a farmer who was hunting quail in a field. He had an old rheumatoid afflicted dog by his side. The dog would run and point. The farmer would then fire into the air. This went on several times, but the reporter saw no birds fly up. So he asked the old farmer for an explanation. “Heck,” the smiling old man said, “I knew there ain’t no birds in that grass. Rover’s nose ain’t what it used to be. But him and me have years of wonderful times together. He does the best he can for his age—and it’d be mighty mean for me to say it ain’t so, when he thinks there’s a bird in the grass.” Seeing how much loyalty can bond a friendship, doesn’t it make you want to work a bit harder to improve the friendships you’ve already made? It sure does for me.

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“I suppose I should be considered an infidel...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Only those who are truly human can experience the pangs of grief that are the

energized characteristic of compassion."

Points of Interest:

“Is Compassion Necessary?”by Peter Ragnar

How often have we been exhorted to show compassion? The call has been shouted from the pulpit and urged upon us by teary-eyed social reformers since the dawn of time. Yet it appears that our beastly nature overshadows

any light the word contains. It’s as if the whole world asks, “Is compassion necessary?” The pious and self-righteous who conduct brutal inquisitions of accused “evildoers” have answered the question in the negative by their very acts and judgments. The word “compassion,” like so many other hollow nouns, implies a lack of action: it has been set upon an altar to be worshipped but never used.

...for actually believing not only that compassion is necessary, but that it is what marks us as human. The term “humanity” cannot accurately be used to describe dimwitted humanoids whose pre-frontal cortexes failed to develop.

Is compassion necessary? Only if you see it as more than a word. Compassion is composed of two Latin root words. Com means “with” and passio means “suffering.” Passio translated into English is “passion.” Passion, like compassion, is more than a word: it’s an active emotion, laden with intense feeling. In the proper context of compassion, the sight of any living creature suffering should cause us acute pain.

AirWise - Air Purifers - From 350 ~ 1500 Sq

Feet

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Whenever you experience pain, do you not seek relief? If we are pained at heart over the suffering of another, do we not seek to relieve it? Only if we are human. A person who does no more with this precious opportunity called life than eat, reproduce, and wage war with all who disagree has not climbed high enough on the evolutionary ladder to be human.

Only those who are truly human can experience the pangs of grief that are the energized characteristic of compassion. Humanity is not simply appearing human, but being humane. We do not become powerful by the weapons we display or the fear we instill in others. We become powerful by our active compassion and our dedication to human welfare. I wholeheartedly agree with Horace Mann, who wrote...

“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

The victory for humanity is one nurtured soul becoming humane and unafraid to look the world in the face with moisture in his or her eyes. Once on a foggy day at sunrise, I was walking past a farmer’s cornfield and heard an animal’s painful cry at the edge of a corn row. As I climbed the barbed-wire fence, I saw a terrified fox frantically pulling on the steel trap that held his leg. I moved slowly toward the poor creature, and he froze as our eyes locked together. A teardrop rolled down my cheek as I spoke to his heart with mine. I explained what I had to do and that if he bit me out of fear or ignorance, it would be okay. His plight was a thorn in my heart that could only be removed if I released his leg from the trap. I stepped on the spring of the trap to open the steel jaws. For a moment, the fox didn’t move; then, in a blinding blur, he jumped out and ran away. After that, the oddest occurrence took place. The fox came back to within several feet of me and looked up into my face with an expression I shall never forget. He pulled the thorn from my heart and set me free.

Waterwise Model 8800

Distiller

Points of Interest:

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Now I’m trying to do the same thing with you, and I really don’t mind if I get bitten sometimes.

It’s all simply a part of compassion. Is compassion necessary? If compassion is emotional oxygen, then yes.

Much Love and Success,

Page 42: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“These simple elements can produce a fruitful life.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Those who long to live, from my

observations, are the people who choose to live deliberately,

purposefully, simply, and slowly. This

appears to be the secret to survival.”

“Simplicity for Survival” by Peter Ragnar

Someone said, “You can’t do much about the length of your life, but you can do a lot about its depth and width.” I disagree with the first part; however, if you have the last part—the depth and width—your life will be rich with

an enduring quality, like that of a well-rooted plant. That rich, enduring quality will add life to your years and years to your life. So, yes, in a sense, you can add to the length of your life.

I see my life as I do my garden. There are just a few basic essentials: good soil, sunshine, and rain. In our speed-driven society, it appears that few are capable of establishing strong roots in an enriching environment. How many folks do you know who warm you with the sunshine of their smiles? And when the rains come, as they must, how many of us can find a seed of equivalent benefit in the storms of life?

Frustrated, the farmer’s son said, “Goodbye, Dad, I’m off to the big city so my talents can flower.” The farmer, stroking his chin, replied, “Son, that’s the same reason the corn stays here.” Overlooking my garden, I have a sundial with an inscription from the poet Robert Browning: “Grow old along with me; the best is yet to be.” Funny—as the seasons pass and calendar pages are torn from the wall, my simple life seems to flower more. The ticking clock has nothing to do with the richness of the hours I spend cultivating my life. As with any grand and noble endeavor, I don’t expect to be done anytime soon. Might the saying be true that the people who live long are those who long to live?

Those who long to live, from my observations, are the people who choose to live deliberately, purposefully,

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simply, and slowly. This appears to be the secret to survival. When we burn our energy slowly, our rate of aging is slowed. This was the belief of German physiologist Max Rubner, who established his rate of living theory relating our metabolic rate to longevity. However, the theory was propagated in many forms by Qi Gong practitioners and hatha yogis long before him.

Points of Interest:

Most adults I know are like grown-up children, captivated by shiny objects that spin and whirl. Once we attach our hearts to them, like kites on a string, we run over hill and dale in hot pursuit. How do I know? I’m wearing a guilty smile. But over the years, I’ve learned to reel my heart back in. It’s now at peace in its proper place—one of simple elegance. This means a life of dignified richness and grace.

If you flow from event to event gracefully without getting clumsy or losing your dignity when you encounter unexpected obstacles, you can call that elegance. When you know that what you are is of more value than what you possess, glittering externals mean less. Simplicity is the survival of sanity.

Like I’ve often said, what you value, you place in the best light.

We decorate what we honor—not with tinsel, please; you’re not a Christmas tree, hollow of meaning, but a living seed. Plant and root yourself in beauty, for in beauty we find love, and in love there is always beauty. Live with a reeled-in heart so you may enjoy the wonder before your eyes right now.

Live below your means, but also decorate your value in simple elegance.

Delight yourself in childlike amusement with spring rains, autumn leaves, and snowflakes in the air. Take time to smell the earth; take long walks with the one you love; share poetry before an open fire; say “Thank you” often. Smile with your eyes. Love life. Simplify.

Much Love and Success,

How Long Do You Choose To Live? A Question Of A

Lifetime

Page 44: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Dear Peter...” Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“People of inspiration, kinder and more

empathetic people, are often forged by adversity. Remember to be patient

with others, for you can’t have the rainbows

without the rain.”

“You Can’t Have Rainbows Without the Rain”

by Peter Ragnar

The richness and satisfaction that come to a person in life so often come through adversity. I’ve found that the most rewarding degree is the one you receive from the University of Hard Knocks.

Recalling how we were at age 15 is a bit embarrassing for most of us. Gary was just 15 when I came into his life, and I didn’t think he liked me very much. I tried a lot to get a smile from him, but it rarely worked. To my dismay, he soon dropped out of high school. It appeared that all he wanted to do was hang out and play rock music with kids who….well, I’ll say it politely, weren’t the best influence. Isn’t it true that patience is a bitter plant that produces sweet fruit? I learned this with Gary.

If you plant seeds of love in another’s heart and water with care, when those buds blossom you’ll have perfume in the air. The sweet joy of loving relationships with others often arrives after enduring adversities. It only punctuates the fact that rainbows are both sun and rain together, waiting patiently and always looking upward.

I’ve known Gary for 25 years, and last Father’s Day he wrote me this very personal letter that I’d like to share with his permission.

Father’s Day brings the opportunity to express my love and gratitude towards you. I want you to know what a special place you have in my life and what a special influence you have had on me, either by teaching, sharing, or simply showing by example.

You have taught me that the world gives what I ask of it, as well as the importance of being conscious of what I ask for. You’ve also taught me to be still enough to what the world is telling me.

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Points of Interest:You have shown me to be strong but kind, determined, yet accepting, emotional, but centered; that balance is the key. You’ve instructed me to set goals and work diligently towards them, to push my own limits and find a way, to believe in myself, pursue my dreams and never accept “impossible” as an option.

You have instilled upon me the importance of health, of friendship, of love, of living life to its fullest. You’ve shown that sometimes “fullest” is simpler than I might think. You have emphasized to focus on the future, but not at the expense of the present.

Your input has been a supporting focus behind my success in music, in business, in my relationships with friends and family, in my marriage, and in my life in general.

And, in addition to the guidance and friendship you have given me, you’ve also been there as a good friend and companion for my mother as well, for so many years and in so many ways. You have watched over her, laughed with her, shared with her, and helped make her life fuller, healthier, and happier.

All of those things and more have made you a wonderful father figure to me. I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you.

Happy Father’s Day with much love, Gary

It’s my fondest wish that you too will be honored with a letter like that—that you will work on yourself and make a commitment to present yourself as an improved human unit, and that you will inspire the people around you to do the same. It’s a richness and satisfaction beyond measure. And then they return to inspire you! So, how’s Gary doing? You’ve got to be saying to yourself after hearing his letter to me, “Pretty darn good!” He decided on his own, after a few turbulent years, to get his GED. Then he went on to study music with honors at North Texas State. Putting his music career on hold,

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he became a general contractor in Florida and now has a healthy seven-figure net worth. Interestingly, the house he owns was featured on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Yet his greatest riches are what he has become as a person and his ability to inspire others—namely, me. Mildred Stevens wrote, “A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go though the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.” People of inspiration, kinder and more empathetic people, are often forged by adversity. Remember to be patient with others, for you can’t have the rainbows without the rain.

Much Love and Success,

Page 47: The Razors Edge

“The Pinnacle of Courage” by Peter Ragnar

The world is filled with adventurous and daring souls, yet among them all, it is rare to find a courageous being. Does that surprise you? People may go to the moon, travel to the depths of the

sea, sail around the world on the water or in the air, or dash across battlefields with hearts pounding and adrenaline pumping while swallowing their fears, and still not know courage. Indeed, we applaud such heroic acts. With swelling hearts and moistened eyes, we shout, “Hurrah!” for they are the exceptions to our flock mentality. But what of the one with true courage? What of the one whose heart has met the refiner’s fire, not once, not twice, but 10,000 times and yet again? The one who willingly jumps into the crucible that glows like Gehenna, and sheds his dross like a beggar abandoning his rags? The one who steps forth from the fire with a radiance that dims the sun?

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Who of humankind...” Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“To go naked and alone into your own internal wilderness is indeed

the pinnacle of courage."

...can step confidently toward such a challenge with no fear that his heart might harbor some crevice of darkness and be found wanting? Who would find a heart so pure that the dross of fear has left to find another abode? A heart that does not suffer doubt or desperation, a heart that knows no separation, for it knows that it encompasses all things. The fabric of fear is woven from threads of anticipated loss. To fear losing that which does not exist is to fear an illusion. However, to gain that which does not exist requires great courage. To go naked and alone into

Page 48: The Razors Edge

your own internal wilderness is indeed the pinnacle of courage. To throw all you believe you are into the fire as gracefully as you might place a garland of flowers around the neck of a noble guest, requires the supreme act of courage. How can one who belongs to a flock and herd know of such things? To jump from a moral precipice may be daring, but to climb a moral cliff-face is courageous. In ordinary daily affairs we see two people employed by the same company. The first takes some of his employer’s goods in the presence of the second. Daring? Indeed! This person has jumped from a moral precipice believing in the delusion that karmic rocks do not await him below. What would you do if you were the witness? Would you mind your own business and attempt to disguise the cowardice of your conscience with the rationalization that another has committed the crime and not you? If you would choose this action, you are oblivious to the obvious—which is your passive partnership in the karma of the crime, earned by your silent approval. In such a case, both of you would incur the same karmic debt. Now, let’s change the scenario. Let’s imagine the second person has courage enough to climb a moral precipice. With no fear of reprisal and no greed for reward, but with a deep compassion like that of a parent rushing to stop a child from touching a hot stove, this co-worker confronts the thief without hesitation. The would-be thief acknowledges the error with shame, and the day is saved for both protagonists. Now, let’s consider the stolen item is something intangible like time. Each employer measures the time for which he pays his employees in dollars. To be lazy and deliberately waste time is the same as stealing tangible goods from the office or factory. They both cost your employer money. It matters not which one you steal because the penalty is the same by the laws of the universe. To gossip about others is another intangible way you steal—you rob them of their good name and devalue them in the esteem of their peers and employers.

Points of Interest:

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Just by considering these examples—none of which take super-human strength to resolve—we gain a glimpse of what is required to reach the sunlit peaks I spoke of previously. Courage comes from the word "Cor” which means heart. The degree of heart-wood or cor-age determines our inner strength. If we are strong, we will endure testing and grow spiritually. If we are not, we will be broken by the storms of life. Consider the stalwart forest giant with branches that scrape the sky. The winds continually test its aging core, just like life constantly tests all of us. We must consistently strengthen our heartwood, or fall at the hands of the smallest storms. Yes, you may travel the globe engaged in countless daring exploits and still be blind to the rarest of opportunities. The real challenge in life is to take our crude minds and foolish hearts, persist in refining them in the ceaseless fires of daily moral dilemma, and ultimately transform them to the purest of gold. This is truly just the beginning of the most courageous of all the adventures this life has to offer.

May you be blessed with true courage so that you may live.

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“The actions we take show how much commitment we have.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“We can either make loyal commitments and decisions on which we act upon or wander in

confusion searching the world for a teacher who

will make decisions for us.”

“Are you Committed or About to Be?”

by Peter Ragnar

One means dedicated, loyal, and involved, while the other means imprisonment. Over years of experience and personal observation of human behavior, I’ve noticed

strikingly few humans exhibit loyalty. When our commitments to both ourselves and others fail to be honored that void is always filled with confusion.

Mental wards are routinely populated by the confused, apathetic, and detached. While it is certainly true that you can be faithful, steadfast, trustworthy, and loyal to the wrong causes, militant religious movements, or social organizations and clubs—this isn’t the commitment of which I speak or write about. I’m addressing the issue of commitment you have (or haven’t) made to your personal growth and development—additionally, your commitment in honoring your loyalties with your friends and teachers.

It’s so easy to accuse others of being disloyal to you if you haven’t honored your friendship with them. The best way to receive loyalty is to give it. Here, I’m not referring to making oaths; oaths are words, not deeds. Mark Twain wrote, “Loyalty to petrified opinion never broke a chain or freed a human soul.” And I might add, no oath has ever saved a marriage or friendship, or stopped oppression. Only deeds, not words, have that power.

It is in the LACK of actions that we show how much confusion we have. People who are confused are always too busy for the commitment to work on themselves. Lack of commitment leads to confusion, and confusion creates the hesitation which steals time and life. We can either make loyal commitments and decisions on which we act upon or wander in confusion searching the world for a teacher who will make decisions for us. Now, which of the above sounds saner to you?

Page 51: The Razors Edge

Points of Interest:Once upon a time there was a wise sage who lived on a mountain. Most often he could be found sitting in a swing under a huge old oak tree or working in his garden. Every now and then a seeker would happen by and ask a question. In fact, no matter how it is disguised or worded, it is always the very same question, “How should I live my life?”

To which the old man would counter, “How would you like it to be?” and walk off toward his garden. Invariably, the seeker would follow, pressing him for a more substantial answer. The old man, now bending over, would reply, “If your life were a garden, how would you like it to be?” The seeker speaks up, somewhat irritated as he utters the obvious answer, “Why beautiful and bountiful, of course!”

“Then,” the old man pulls another weed, “you must be committed to weeding.” The frustrated seeker now retorts, “Surely there are better teachers that can give me a better answer, where might one be found?” “It is said…” the old man strokes his chin and looks higher towards the distant mountains. “He lives on a mountain. Most often he can be found sitting in a swing under a huge old oak tree or working in his garden. How would you like it to be?”

Don’t kid yourself— you’ll always require a teacher until you can replace them. So, how would you like it to be? When Kahlil Gibran wrote about the passing of a wise sage in The Voice of the Master, he tells the story of the master’s committed and loyal disciple: Almuhtada was alone in this world, but loneliness never possessed his heart, for the voice of the master always resounded in his ears, urging him to carry on his work and sow the words of the prophet in the hearts and minds of all who would listen of their own free will. He spent many hours alone in the garden meditating upon the scrolls the master had bequeathed to him, and in which he had set down his words of wisdom.

So Almuhtada left his seclusion and entered the marketplace. He spoke,

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“The tree of my heart is heavy with fruit. Come, ye hungry souls, gather, eat, and be satisfied. My spirit overflows with aged wine. Come, oh ye thirsty hearts, drink and quench your thirst…would that I were a dry well, so people might throw stones into my depths, for it is better to be an empty well than a spring of pure water untouched by thirsty lips.”

Almuhtada drank so deeply of the master’s words and studied his scrolls until they became his own. The living spirit of the master’s words transformed Almuhtada into the master. He was faithful, true, steadfast, trustworthy, dedicated, loyal, and involved. He held no confusion, only a commitment in his heart. The path of his life was clean and clear. No weeds, briars, or entanglements. Not even a single doubt or question remained.

So, how should you live your life? How would you like it to be?

Much Love and Success,

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Page 53: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“My experiments with money have led to the conclusion that only generosity increases it.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“For those with financial concerns and material lack,

the solution is simple. Become more generous

and less greedy."

“The Magic of Generosity”by Peter Ragnar

When generosity wanes, misfortune follows. A generous soul seals his own success. A miserly soul suffocates any good fortune he may have, by clutching it too tightly while watching it decay.

What is generosity? Is it not but another way to give to yourself? Consider two men. The foolish man hoards his seed when he ought to plant, only to discover how quickly the season of sowing has passed. The wise man, though seen as a fool, scatters his seeds where he may never walk again. Some of his seeds are consumed by crows. Some are borne away on the spring breezes. Some fall into the babbling brook. The first man, bitter because he has no harvest, says to the second man, “You are not better off than I!” The wise man replies, “Perhaps you misjudge the situation. True, I have no garden plot to tend, but wherever I walk and find my day to end, up the steep mountain trail or down to the brook where sweet willows bend, the crow, the water, the wind, my friends, have planted my seeds and cared for my needs. And wherever my path will end, 10,000 miles or around the next bend, my lot will be in the garden plot of God.”

For the foolish man, calculation became the brakes on his giving and the unfavorable season passed him by. The wise man on the other hand , held no reservation, expected no reward. With unshackled heart and open hands his life became an open harvest.

For those with financial concerns and material lack, the solution is simple. Become more generous and less greedy. You may protest, “I have but little to give.” But have you ever considered how much value that small portion has in relation to one who has vast treasures of abundance?

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Whether you give from your poverty or from your richness, however, only your heart’s intent will determine the results. All forced giving is phony. Let the gates of your tender compassion open, and your heart’s river flood over its banks, and it will carry your treasures atop the waters and scatter blessings to everyone. Is this practical? Surface appearances would not make it seem so. Consider the business world for a moment. Almost everywhere I go, businesspeople I encounter extend unusual generosity, often going out of their way to give gifts or supply services freely. It is not because I ask for it, it is because I don’t ask.

I don’t quibble about their price. I don’t insult them by saying I can get it cheaper elsewhere, for they are entitled to their profit. Even if I could find it cheaper elsewhere, that would violate my code of loyalty...

My dignity would be soiled and I would have a hard time looking them in the eye. They know that, and so they go out of their way to reward me for my generous spirit, and feel enriched when their generosity is accepted. And thus, everybody wins. In my travels, I have on many occasions been offered free lodging at expensive resort locations, and extra services at restaurants. “This one is on the house!” seems to be a familiar call. Delivery people often literally will trek through rain and snow on foot to deliver packages to our difficult location, and the list goes on and on. I mention this simply to re-emphasize the point. Generosity always results in richness. Cheapness always results in lack. A difficult life is an ungenerous life. But for those who give with no thought of reward, who give as naturally as the honeysuckle gives her perfume and the cherry tree her fruit, they become the warm fires in a dark and stingy world that light the way so others may follow. And that torch burns forever.

Much Love and Success,

Points of Interest:

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Through my youthful eyes, the whole world seemed filled with

wonder, courtesy, and kindness.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Continued acts of kindness make the

heart overflow.”

“The Gift of Kindness” by Peter Ragnar

The gift of kindness may seem small, but continued acts of kindness are more powerful than you might imagine. Kindnesses, like drops of water in a pail, soon accumulate to overflowing. Continued acts of kindness make the heart overflow.

During any holiday season you’ll find untold numbers of people rushing around to ready themselves for celebrating with friends and family. Traffic delays, flight cancellations, unpredictable weather, crowds, and often, short tempers are in season. I don’t know if it was like that in 1843 when Charles Dickens published The Christmas Carol. Maybe the world today is a bit too busy racing around and sleeping in airports. I can still remember the first time I ever flew in a plane. It was a night flight on a TWA propeller driven plane. The flight originated from La Guardia Field, NY and twelve hours later landed in Los Angeles, CA. Much has changed in the world since 1947. Funny—I don’t recall any crowds, flight delays, or security pat downs.

Maybe folks 60 years ago, at least a few, took Dickens’ words to heart: “No one is useless in this world who lightens a burden of another.” Of course not everything was all right with the world. World War II had finally ended and some children even saw their dads come back alive. It was during this time that a man, the former mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia made an impact on the city with his acts of kindness. Once, the city had a newspaper strike. That meant children like myself couldn’t see the comic strips. La

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Points of Interest:Guardia took this condition into his own hands and read the comics aloud over the radio to entertain all the youngsters until the strike ended. Fiorello, which means “little flower,” always found ways of impacting little acts of kindness. One way he did this was he would fill in for employers or department heads who needed to be off. One time he presided over night court. It was a cold, bitter winter night right out of a Charles Dickens story. Before the court was a man accused of stealing a loaf of bread. The man pled his terrible story about his starving family. It sounds like today’s sub-prime mortgage mess where hundreds of thousands are losing their homes. La Guardia sadly said, “I’ve got to uphold the law and fine you for the offense. I fine you $10.” Next Fiorello reached into his own pocket and took out the money and then tossed it into his own hat. “This will pay your fine. However, in a great nation like ours, it ought to be a crime for us to allow such a condition to develop that would cause a man to steal bread for his family. For that crime, I’m fining everyone in this courtroom 50 cents!” The bailiff passed the hat around, and then the proceeds were given to the defendant. The man with tears in his eyes left night court with $47.50. That was a lot of money back in the 1940’s. So if this holiday season you just happen to find yourself flying in or out of La Guardia Field in New York and your plane is late or the traffic too heavy, remember the gift of kindness. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.” Oh, and one small favor. Please give that little blond haired boy a good thought in your heart. You see he never really grew up and I still think the world is a beautiful place!

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“My friend, be not like him who sits by his fireside and watches the fire go out...

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“To fall in love with another we must first forget ourselves. It

takes an ultimate leap of courage to fall in love, for now you’re

fully exposed.”

“How Do I Fall In Love Again?” by Peter Ragnar

Someone once joked that a relationship is like a bath. Once you get in it, it’s not so hot anymore. However, the secret to falling in love again is in once more recreating the same conditions that allowed the magic of first love to flower. Finding again that

mysterious vibration that carries you out from the world of calculations and obligations into the lover’s world of dreams and intoxicating visions of blissfulness. Do you remember that first kiss that was like a sip of addictive enchantment? Your every waking moment trembled and filled you to the brim with an indescribable ecstasy. If you’re still living with that special someone and the years seem to have stolen the magic away, then the words of Kahlil Gibran will have special meaning for you.

...then blows vainly upon the dead ashes. Do not give up hope or yield to despair because of that which is passed, for to bewail the irretrievable is the worst of human frailties.” Yes if the fire is cold and dead, go on with your life. New life can be found if you haven’t been too scarred up by the past. But if you find the embers still aglow, please feed the fire for the sake of love. Do you remember how after the taste of first love the hours passed as if waking from a blissful dream? Suddenly you discover a devouring flame in your heart that burns the present to reveal ancient memories of someone you swear that you knew before.

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Points of Interest:It isn’t so much falling as if it were an accident, but a sudden sprouting of love, a seed residing within that was suddenly watered and warmed with a special smile. The secret all lovers reveal in embrace and forget as the time erodes specialness into familiarity is this: To fall in love with another we must first forget ourselves.

It is the ego with its iron wall of beliefs, opinions and judgments that hides and guards the heart. All lovers at least at first risk their hearts. The human heart, much like an unguarded flower, can be easily crushed. It takes an ultimate leap of courage to fall in love, for now you’re fully exposed. We live in a world awash in moral cowardice. The world with its laws of convention and false morality shuns the perceived “weakness” of the lover. Instead it chooses to wall off human hearts in favor of war and division. But love always wins in the end. Love is a supreme light which before no darkness can stand. But love will demand of you a greater strength than all the passion that hate engenders. In the end Virgil was right when he wrote, “Love conquers all.” Why is that? Because love teaches us to believe the impossible. But love must be consciously nurtured every day, or just like the most beautiful rose it will die without moisture. Love often dies in a relationship well before any noticeable or visible rapture can appear. Knowing this and fearing this the poet wrote: “I would ask of you, my darling, a question soft and low, that gives me many a heartache as the moments come and go.

Your love I know is truthful, but the truest love grows cold; it is this that I would ask you: Will you love me when I’m old?” You’ll only be able to answer in the affirmative if you have first fallen in love with yourself. This is the sweet soul you can only meet in silence. No other thoughts or ideas can attend such a meeting. There, when you are no longer a stranger to yourself can you have the

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ability to enter another’s heart. This is the love that cannot grow cold and will love even if you grow old. That’s falling in love again for the first time.

Much Love and Success,

Page 60: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“So I’ll take you back to my original question: Are you

content or confused?”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“It’s been my conclusion over a

lifetime of experience and observation that

those who won’t make decisions eventually

can’t make decisions."

“Are You Content or Confused?” by Peter Ragnar

When I was living in South Florida, there was an all-you-can-eat restaurant on almost every corner. Every evening at five o’clock looked like an AARP meeting. There were long lines of seniors waiting to get in and eat. Walkers and wheelchairs were the norm. What

always struck me were the aura of hopeless desperation and the sense of confusion. (Now I’m not just picking on seniors—I’m a pre-baby boomer myself.) "Confusion always implies difficulty in making choices..." “Where should I park?” “Where should I sit?” “Should I have the Jell-O or the fruit salad?” “Do I want coffee or iced tea?” “Where are Bill and Gracie?” “Mother, Gracie died last year and Bill went back home to live with his children.” “Well, what am I doing here? I’m not hungry. Is it time to take my pills? Where am I?”

Confusion is the inability to make clear and meaningful choices. It doesn’t just sneak up on you in older years. It’s a process, or maybe I should say a habit pattern that establishes how your brain fires and creates neural traces on your cortex. It’s much like one of those handheld puzzles we used to play where a BB races down a maze of plastic tunnels— you know, while we sat in the backseat on those boring Sunday drives with our parents. Okay, well maybe not that boring if you had a brother or sister to fight with—I didn’t so I played with the handheld puzzles and counted license plates. Anyway, our habitual ways of dealing with life establishes how our brains process information as well as our inclination to act on that information. Our physical brains

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Points of Interest:can change based on what we mentally entertain. This is actually an act of neuropharmacology, since our thoughts are electro-chemical in nature. Think of your thoughts as a baton in a relay race. One racer hands it off to the next runner as each neuron passes that electro-chemical impulse to the next neuron and beyond. Once enough repetitions of a certain thought pass, synapses connecting all those neurons become strengthened, and your brain locks you into certain behaviors. It’s been my conclusion over a lifetime of experience and observation that those who won’t make decisions eventually can’t make decisions.

The inability and/or refusal to choose are apt ways of describing confusion. On the other hand, contentment is a direct result of having the courage to know what we want and making a decision to achieve it. Contentment is not a destination but an after effect. Every single one of us can enjoy a life of great happiness and contentment if we only choose. The unhappiest people I have ever encountered are the ones who feel they cannot or will not choose the good things life has to offer. Contentment is simply making up your mind to be happy and learning to find pleasure in even the simple things of life. Contentment lies in the confidence that you’ll always make the best of your circumstances. Contentment means you won’t take yourself too seriously; you’ll just be yourself and understand you can’t nor need to please everyone. Sorrows, regrets, and mistakes are common to all, but the content soul refuses to give them attention and makes better choices for the future. While none of us know for certain what the future may hold, we are content in knowing that our choices today will define it. Establish high ideals and values; make conscious choices in their favor, and you will never ask, “Am I content or confused?”

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“The two old rocking chairs squeaked as we gazed out over

the forested ridge tops...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Once you can mentally see your goal fulfilled, you will activate the magical mechanism, that automatically

corrects your course toward your target.”

“All Else is Commentary…” by Peter Ragnar

I remember as if it were yesterday, even though decades have passed. The old muddy track did no favors for the shiny new Lincoln Continental. Generally, I had to put my truck into four-wheel drive. Never the less, the old man was determined to see me. I guess he was curious as to

what compelled me to build my home in the forest so far away from other people. He always had a smile for me. It may have been part amusement or part fascination. I could hear him now—“You mean to say, you cut all those logs with an axe? How on earth did you move 40 foot logs around, let alone raise them ten feet high on the walls? Let’s see”…. He’d say as he stroked his chin, “I’d guess your place is close to sixty feet long. That means the number of trees you cut by hand was…” After a bit more contemplation he burst out with “ So how did you do it?” I replied “One log at a time, all else is commentary.”

“How did you do it?” I asked. “You are a very wealthy man. Did you win big in the stock market or inherit a bundle?” I jestingly teased. “No, I always felt the markets were a bit to risky for me,” he replied, “I can still remember 1929. I might be wrong about it, some folks make a bundle, but others lose as much. I did it just like you.” “How’s that?” I questioned. I’m just an unemployed construction worker. I’d only work to buy time. Once I had enough money to live on for a year or so, I’d quit.” “That’s just the point,” he stated. “You knew what you wanted to accomplish. You had a goal and attacked it

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passionately, like each log you cut and peeled. It was one log at a time that made your life rich.” “We say when people amass a fortune they’re rich, but in fact we become rich by being rewarded by our accomplishments. But to answer your question, my wealth was accumulated by way of the hour-glass effect.” Then he went on to explain, “The time is going to pass anyway. So like tiny grains of sand I let my money accumulate while at the same time I cut my expenses to only what I needed.” He had my curiosity piqued, “So what made up those tiny grains of sand?” “Well, every month I took 10% or more of my income and bought a CD. Rates were pretty high then. Soon, it was before I knew it, that’s the funny thing about time, I had a CD with it’s compounded interest maturing every month. In the mean time, I kept buying up vacant land, which by the way the maturing CDs paid for. Some folks will caution you about land and urge you to wait. Well, I did it the other way around, I bought land and waited, and guess what? When the new interstate came through they paid me a bundle for the right of way. But better yet, I still own the property at the interchange. And what do folks build at exits? Gas stations, motels, and restaurants. Some say I got lucky, but in reality I had goals. Each dollar I invested was like the energy of each swing of your axe. A strike might not seem like much other than a lot of hard work, but all those strikes add up like little grains of sand in the hour-glass. He paused for a moment, got up and looked through the windows at the huge stone fireplace. He then opened the screen door looking into the kitchen at the handcrafted cabinets and the hardwood floors that I had pegged with black walnut pegs. He scratched his head as he looked skyward. “How much money have you got in this?”

I replied, “Oh, maybe slightly over $2,000.”

“How much did you make last year?”

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“Other than some firewood I sold, not much.”

“Well just looking around your place, I’d say you’re wrong. I’d say you made a small fortune by following a dream.” Like I said, that was decades ago and all else is commentary. Thomas Carlyle penned this sagacious quote “A man with half a volition goes back and forth and makes no progress on even the smallest road, whereas a person with full volition moves steadily no matter how difficult the path.” In order for you to move steadily forward you must have a dream to follow. You’ll never have a dream without a way to make that dream come true. For a dream to materialize it must first be transformed into a visible, measurable goal. Once you can mentally see your goal fulfilled, you will activate the magical mechanism, the goal seeking cybernetic faculty that is the law of attraction that automatically corrects your course toward your target. Do this and it is impossible to fail! Success equals goals, and all else is commentary! Your goals are the rungs on the ladder of happiness. As you plan for the new year, please make certain your goals are solid, sound, and not higher than you can reach. Remember, little things matter. By the inch it’s a cinch, by the yard it’s hard. Today is the tomorrow you hoped for yesterday—so don’t delay.

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Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“You’ve got a might fast pair of legs there young man....”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Forgiveness requires total detachment from negative past events. If you can step aside from the failures of others, you’ll walk in the light of day."

“Forgive?—Hell—No!” by Peter Ragnar

It was about ten years ago, as I remember. The sky was a crisp blue. The leaves were fluttering in a gentle breeze. The shafts of sunlight made them appear as dancers in dresses of gold, red, orange, and green. The day was peaceful and serene until I saw him.

When he saw me, he ran with gun in hand. I knew where he was headed so I took a short cut and was waiting for him on the top of the rise. His breathing was labored and loud as he climbed out of the brush. His face paled with fear when he saw me. Not so much from my physical presence—for he appeared bigger, younger, and more muscular than myself. He was afraid because he knew he was wrong. There had been a number of dead bears found with their paws cut off, teeth pulled out, and bellies cut open, just left rotting in the forest. These wasted bears had been slaughtered just for their gall bladders and a few souvenirs. You can just imagine burly men with yellow teeth bragging in a bar about their bear tooth necklace. However, no one dared utter a word about the $2,500 they got for the gall bladder. It seems that folks in China and elsewhere were willing to pay that much for what was believed to be an aphrodisiac. There was a very dangerous black market at work—so dangerous that these desperate men had shot at park rangers, game wardens, my wife, and me.

...I said as I extended my arm to help pull him up the hill. Suspicious, he hesitated for a moment. But he then cautiously accepted my hand.

“I was just seeing if I could spot some deer…” I broke off his excuse, “Where is your gun?” “Oh, I don’t have any gun,” he replied.

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Points of Interest:I knew he must have hidden it. Now the game warden would be waiting and watching for his return to retrieve it, which was highly unlikely now that I had caught him. “You don’t need to explain your actions. Here, I would like to share a story with you. Once, a man saw two mice going down a path together. The odd thing was they were both holding a straw, a single straw held between the two of them in their mouths. Well, the man picked up a rock and thoughtlessly hurled it at the mice. He ended up killing just one."

Now, here’s the interesting part…

As I touched the bear poacher on the shoulder I continued, “The surviving mouse began running in circles while still holding the straw in its mouth. The man, now curious about the strange behavior, picked up the mouse and was shocked to tears at what he saw. The surviving mouse was blind! At that moment, you could say in a twinkling of an eye—the man was transformed.

What if someone, say a buddy of yours, shot and killed one of your dogs? Would you forgive them?” His face flushed as he blurted out, “Forgive? Hell no!” “What if it was by accident,” I asked. “Well, then it would be different.” “Accidents happen when we don’t understand the gravity of our actions. When we are unconscious of the consequences of our behavior we harm living things. Son—every bear, deer, and bird is as precious to me as your dogs are to you. I hope I’m not wrong, but I do not think you are a bad person anymore than the man who killed the mouse. So, I forgive you for being here. Just promise me you’ll think about my little story and not return.” He looked down at the ground. When he raised his head, he shook my hand and softly said, “Thank you.” Why did I forgive him? I first forgave him for myself.

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Who of us enjoys a sleepless night, turning and twisting in restless resentment over a real or perceived wrong? I choose forgiveness because I also choose mental and physical health. It is the resentments, the anger, the regrets, which become the cancer of the soul and body. Cancer is a disease of anger and fearful imaginings.

All emotions that are not colored by love are toxic. If you carry an unforgiving attitude to sleep with you, you’re programming your subconscious to create disease. It will poison an otherwise sweet disposition, ruin your personality, and increase your rate of aging. So, from the standpoint of rational self interest—cultivate forgiveness.

The purpose of forgiveness is threefold. 1. To create healthy human relationships 2. To bolster integrity and honesty of others 3. To alleviate negative subconscious To become a noble human, to actually make a difference with your life, to become that one improved human unit, you must practice forgiveness. Forgiveness requires total detachment from negative past events. If you can step aside from the failures of others, you’ll walk in the light of day. I do not doubt the courage this takes. Nor do I doubt the healing it creates.

Forgiveness isn’t easy when we want to cry, “Hell, no!” But as I see it that is the price we pay to become human. In the words of Mark Twain, “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”

Forgive? Yes—Forever!

Much Love and Success,

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Page 68: The Razors Edge

The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“The Native Americans often referred to the black

bear as “grandfather...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Through our tender caring for one another, we not only heal the

outside world but first the inside world. The scars of resentment, jealousy, anger, and misunderstandings

melt away and are replaced by tenderness.”"

“Love Thy Neighbor?” by Peter Ragnar

It is said, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.” With that in mind, let me tell you about my neighbors, they’re flat out wild!

It all happened several years ago when the mother was murdered in cold blood. She left behind an infant who was still breastfeeding—a tragedy for sure. While it was against the law for us to take in the bereaved offspring, a neighbor did. He was the wild one. By that, I mean he was a big black bear. The tiny orphan bear we named “Cub,” and the big male bear we called “Uncle.”

...and for good reason as you’re about to find out. Uncle somehow developed the habit of making a sucking sound. Whenever Cub would hear that sound, I’m sure he must of thought of his mother’s warmth and her milk. Of course, Uncle had no milk for Cub but used the sound to get Cub to follow him around. They became inseparable companions. On hot summer nights we could see them romping together near our garden bathed in moonlight. In early fall, when crickets, cicadas, and tree frogs sing so loudly it’s hard to think, you could still hear Uncle making the sucking sound, and of course, there you would find Cub. Well, the years passed like that and maybe with them the memory of Cub’s mother. But, do we really forget? I still haven’t forgotten what happened next. Day after day, night after night, I’d go outside and listen for that

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Points of Interest:sweet, nurturing sound. Nothing! Oh yes, the Barred Owl would mournfully call “who who, who hoot a doo”…but no sucking sound. A month passed and one morning I received a call from the state wildlife agent asking me to meet him. A distant neighbor had called the game warden complaining about an unrelenting strange sound coming out of a nearby hollow. There were several agents and the local game warden scratched his head and said, “The strangest thing I’ve ever seen, a skinny old male bear refusing to move an inch from the spot—and he’s making a sound like he’s suckling the breast. That’s the place we found a dead two year old, looks like the poachers tried to get him. The old male must have run them off somehow.” Uncle faded back into the wilderness alone. Several years passed, and on a cold and frosty moonlit night I heard a loud sniffing that turned into a sucking sound. I opened the back door and there sat Uncle! It is said, it is a great luxury in life to be able to pick your neighbors. Well, mine picked me. “Love thy Neighbor?” Oh, yes indeed! It matters little if they stand on two legs or four, because you can never do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late. If an animal can teach us to love our neighbor, what are we capable of as humans?

Is it not by our own acts of kindness, tenderness, and caring that we demonstrate how human we are? It is in the brutality and violent behavior that humans have the potential to become lower than the beast. Through our tender caring for one another, we not only heal the outside world but first the inside world. The scars of resentment, jealousy, anger, and misunderstandings melt away and are replaced by tenderness. Tenderness is not a quality of the weak, rigid, and intolerant. Tenderness can only be expected from the strong whose powerful hearts have been nourished by tears and aged by trials. By exercising kindness, you create and build bridges between yourself

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and other living creatures. It is over these bridges that your spirit travels to enter the gates of their hearts. If you love your neighbor and accept them as they are—without conditions or reservations—you’ll be utterly amazed at the gifts of creativity, love, patience, and gratitude you’ll develop within yourself.

It is by the first act of loving your neighbor that you come to love yourself and that makes all the difference in the whole world. Yes, I mean the whole world! You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late!

Love thy neighbor!

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Frequent association can be achieved without physical

presence as long as there is open communication.”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

“Another kind of friendship is based on the quest for

human excellence, the cultivation of nobility

of character. When one finds such ennobling

qualities in another and seeks to match them, a great and sublime pleasure is received by such association.”

“Dogs, Friends, and Fidelity”by Peter Ragnar

It was in 1738 that Benjamin Franklin scribed into Poor Richard’s Almanac these immortal words, “There are three faithful friends—an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.”

In a fast and transient society, we become acquaintances of many and friends of few. Why? Because friendships take time to acquire. Also, there are at least three things that must be present for a friendship to develop and endure. They are common interests and pursuits, cooperation in their fulfillment and frequent association for a long time.

However, this doesn’t work well with dogs and other animals where genuine friendship might be questioned. Nevertheless, I must say that my dog and I have shared common interests and pursuits, and we do indeed cooperate in their fulfillment. Inseparable association for more than thirteen years has certainly forged our bond of friendship. On those rare occasions when I go to town, he takes his position as a lone sentinel and with a great fidelity cannot be budged or tempted to leave his vigil until I return. If I’m gone all day, he will remain at his post gazing at the driveway that took me away. He will not eat, drink, or void his bladder until his task is accomplished by my return. How many humans are that loyal to each other?

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Points of Interest:For friendships to exist, there must be shared common interests and pursuits. What common interests can a dog have with a human? How about trekking miles each day exploring nature? My dog, Bodhi, is always pointing out new scents and animal tracks for me to recognize. We share an intense love and interest in nature. I realize that even the simplest of friendships, which are characteristic of children, are based on mutual enjoyment. So, my dog and I also run and play games together, such as hide and seek. However, we also share high-level responsibilities such as home security, which he can take with deadly seriousness, and on the lighter side, keeping animals out of the garden. Cooperating in these joint ventures can be hard work, so after dinner, he snuggles up next to me and begins snoring and dreaming of new adventures to come. Talk about dogs, friends, and fidelity? I can tell he’s happy because he wags his tail as he dreams. While most basic friendships are based on mutual enjoyment, like friends hiking or working out together; some are built on the unity experienced in a common project or goal. I’ve experienced very significant friendships based on unity. It is the bonding that professional colleagues enjoy. It is something that is present in all successful business partnerships. Both people receive an advantage and thereby bolster their self esteem. When people enjoy a team spirit, an important project is a highly unifying factor. “Another kind of friendship is based on the quest for human excellence, the cultivation of nobility of character...”

When one finds such ennobling qualities in another and seeks to match them, a great and sublime pleasure is received by such association. These are friendships that can only be shared by equals. These friendships are based on the terms of equality and cannot be shared with a lesser person. This kind of friendship is the highest level because one regards the other as a reflection of the self.

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These friendships are the most shining enhancements of one’s own life. The stainless individual, the seeker of human excellence, may have but a few authentic friendships, but those he or she has cultivated are as enduring as diamonds. Old friends, much like character, are not made in a hurry. Lasting friendships are built on values and high ideals. Be like the wise soul who chooses only the strongest, most enduring, and highest quality of materials to build their abode. Choose your close companions carefully. Do not make the mistake of thinking that those who lack your resolve for attaining the luminous life can share genuine friendship—they cannot. One must first be a friend to one’s self before they can befriend another. Friendship on each level discussed depends on the requisites of character to endure. Finally, you may evolve to the capacity to rejoice the sheer existence of what surrounds you, animate or inanimate. The value of yourself becomes the lens through which you view the world.

“The choice of how you spend your time is a reflection of friendship and fidelity—it must be authentic to survive.” Bodhi has just rolled over onto my feet. The fire needs another log and my tea is cooling. Ann just asked if it needs warming. My heart is warmed and that’s what matters— you see, I’ve got a dog, friends, and fidelity.

Much Love and Success,

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The Razor’s Edge NewsletterFor People Who Live Life in the Pursuit of Excellence

“I awoke later than normal to a rose-petal sky...”

Ragnar’s Razor of the Day

Fear Management Audio CD

“Courage Is Doing What You Are Afraid to Do”

by Peter Ragnar

It happened on a warm late summer morning. Even though more than 40 years have passed, the event could have occurred yesterday. Funny, isn’t it, how fear can engrave a memory on the plate of your mind?

Soon I was sleepily pulling the barnacle-encrusted rope, inching the dinghy toward the beach. While I was loading my gear and preparing to row out to my fishing boat, I noticed two young men heading in my direction. The little cove was quiet, dark, and secluded. It was where a half-dozen fishermen or so anchored their boats. The larger fishing vessels were docked this side of a treacherous inlet. Even on calm days, the cross-currents often bobbed you around as if you were a cork in a commode. The dock was where you’d find breakfast and an assembly of old salts discussing the weather and local politics. I usually didn’t stop there in the mornings unless I needed to fuel up. Today would be different. The two men were younger than I expected, maybe 16 or 17. They asked if I’d give them a ride to a small sandbar of an island where they could dig some clams and then pick them up later in the day. I always enjoyed those afternoons when the wind picked up and you’d come surfing on whitecaps with a ribbon of seagulls behind. Today would be different.

Knowing causes fear to subside and shrink."

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Page 75: The Razors Edge

After dropping them off on the island, I made an unusual decision to return to the dock and have breakfast instead of heading out to my fishing grounds. The talk in the restaurant turned to the weather. Dark charcoal clouds began rolling in and small craft warnings were quickly posted. Boats my size were forbidden to go out by the Coast Guard. All I could think about was that at high tide, that small sandbar would be mostly underwater except for a small porta-potty and a picnic table that sat on a high rise. But now we had a full-fledged nor’easter bearing down with sudden intensity. As I ran for my boat, the first grape-sized raindrops splattered on my forehead. I really didn’t know if it was courage or conscience that caused me to ignore the danger. Some say that courage is the opposite of fear, but I knew that scary morning that courage was doing what made you afraid. My friend, I’ll have to confess, that morning I was very much afraid. Somehow, I found myself attempting to keep my boat from being grounded in the heavy surf. That serene little bar of sand was being slammed by an angry sea. While I was running at almost open throttle to avoid being beached, the two kids emerged from the outhouse with ghostlike expressions. The surf kept knocking them back, but finally I was able to pull each of them aboard. Now I faced the dangerous part, while the two of them huddled, hugged, and cried in the bow of my old wooden skiff. There was no ribbon of seagulls to announce my approach into the inlet channel. Waves crashed over the bow if I attempted to go too fast, and they came over the stern if I didn’t go fast enough. I was already standing in water, and the boat was taking it on fast. You know what I said about corks in the commode? Well, corks don’t sink, but boats do. And there’s no way we’re going to swim when the universe flushes. I did it with my heart in my mouth, and it wasn’t courage but conscience that finally pulled us through. You know I couldn’t be telling you this story if I had died that day. Yes, we somehow made it by the skin of our teeth. And I

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can tell you for certain, courage isn’t the absence of fear, courage is doing what you’re afraid of doing, and doing it anyway.

Today, I do not doubt what I can or cannot do. Knowing causes fear to subside and shrink.

As Samuel Johnson said back in 1751, “Every submission to our fear enlarges its domain.” There are decisions we all face, things we must do in spite of personal consequences, dangers, pressures, obstacles, and great reluctance. Often, these dangers are internal rather than obviously physical, yet just as terrifying in nature. It is in these times that moral courage is developed.

We all know what the fears we must personally face and conquer are. The only question that remains is, will you act or will you live in shame with a tarnished conscience? As Emerson so eloquently wrote, “Do the thing and you shall have the power!”

Yes, courage is doing what you are afraid to do!Much Love and Success,

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