Cured me of my fear of heights..........

 

.........Actually, I was more afraid of Mr. Reed, our gym teacher, than I was of being 30' in the air.  Losing the fear of heights was just one outcome; I was still afraid of Mr. Reed.

more fun here

Be not afraid of being wrong.........

 

Being wrong isn’t something to fear but rather something to expect.

-Farnum Street

fear....................

 

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.

-attributed to Plato

One understanding..................................

 

..............................of Trump's election victory:

With The Great Clarification of what was really going on with lawfare, back-channel understandings between Big Tech and Big Govt, and questionable conduct by the FBI and the CIA, fear of him was replaced by fear of them.

Emptiness.........................

 America’s elites fear and mistrust the American voter. They have lost faith in democracy, a system that in 2016 delivered the power of the presidency to the monstrous Trump, and they dream of a rising class of Platonic guardians, people exactly like themselves, with the right pedigree, the right opinions, the right manners, who rule not because they have won an electoral lottery but in perpetuity, as a reward for their superior virtue.

-Martin Gurri,  from here

thanks Michael

On not playing small........................

 Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson, as transcribed from here

Freddie deBoer.....................

 ........is not impressed by all the noise about ChatGPT.

About fear................

 Controlling your behavior amid uncertainty can be hard enough. Controlling your reactions to other people’s behavior is way harder. Fear is more contagious than any virus, and can instantly push people to react in ways that would have seemed unthinkable a moment prior. . . .

The higher the stakes, the more thoughtful you need to be about those who surround you.

-Morgan Housel, from here

True this............................

 Having watched numerous extinction-level events come and go over the years, I’ve observed a few familiar patterns. The common thread, ignoring the prophets of doom, never failed.

-Tony Isola

Bravery....................

 -via

Stories win......................

 . . . there are always two sides to every investment: The number and the story. Every investment price, every market valuation, is just a number from today multiplied by a story about tomorrow.

The numbers are easy to measure, easy to track, easy to formulate. They’re getting easier as almost everyone has cheap access to information.

But the stories are often bizarre reflections of people’s hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and tribal affiliations. And they’re getting more bizarre as social media amplifies the most emotionally appealing views.

-Morgan Housel, from here

Back in 1918....................

      But as Camus knew, evil and crises do not make all men rise above themselves.  Crises only make them discover themselves.  And some discover a less inspiring humanity.

      As the crest of the wave that broke over Philadelphia began its sweep across the rest of the country, it was accompanied by the same terror that had silenced the streets there.  Most men and women sacrificed and risked their lives only for those they loved most deeply: a child, a wife, a husband.  Others, loving chiefly themselves, fled in terror even from them.

     Still others fomented terror, believing that blaming the enemy—Germany—could help the war effort, or perhaps actually believing that Germany was responsible.  Doane himself charged that "German agents . . . from submarines" brought influenza to the United States.  "The Germans have started epidemics in Europe, and there is no reason why they should be particularly gentle to America."

     Others around the country echoed him.  Starkville, Mississippi, a town of three thousand in the Mississippi hill country, was built around a sawmill, cotton farms—not the rich, lush plantations of the Delta but harsh land—and Mississippi A&M College (now Mississippi State University).  It served as headquarters for Dr. M. G. Persons, the U. S. Public Health Service officer for northeastern Mississippi, who proudly informed Blue that he had succeeded in getting local newspapers to run stories he made up that "aid in forming the proper frame of mind" in the public.  That frame of mind was fear.  Person wanted to create fear, believing it "prepared the public mind to recieve and act on our suggestions."

-John M. Barry, The Great Influenza:  The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

True this........................................

 

playground lessons..............................

 It was the classic new-boy situation.  I was teased and taunted, and the hazing went on during most of the day.  I finally turned to the biggest of my tormentors and said, "All right, meet me outside."  Everybody knew there was going to be a fight.  When school was dismissed, a gang of kids was milling around by the steps of the back yard, waiting.  My opponent was waiting too.  I was frightened, but there was nothing to do about it.  I took off my coat and started running down the stairs at my enemy.  My seeming eagerness must have startled him, for I noticed that he wilted just a bit.  The fact is, I was expecting to get knocked down and was rushing in to get it over with, but when I saw him flinch, I gained new courage.  He gave up after one or two punches.  This minor incident was soon forgotten by almost everyone but me; it taught me a lesson that later applied in business every bit as  much as it did on a high-school playground:  If you show hesitancy or fear, you may already be half-defeated.  If you put on a bold front, and fight with everything you have, you can win.  Moreover, once you have won a few battles, you are usually left alone:  in the jungle, no animal thoughtlessly attacks the lion.

-William Zeckendorf, Zeckendorf; The autobiography of the man who played a real-life game of Monopoly and won the largest real estate empire in history

Strive.............................

      Col. William Draper, President Eisenhower's Air Force One pilot, told former president Eisenhower that after many years of service he was being forced into retirement because of a heart problem, which would necessitate a new career as an airline executive.  He confided that he was worried about whether he would be able to succeed in the corporate world.  On listening to Draper, Ike said to his longtime pilot, "Go ahead, be scared, and do it anyway."

     Whether Eisenhower was frightened or scared we will never know.  But he once articulated his simple formula in a letter to Mamie that contained the critical word.  He wrote that it was imperative on him to "struggle is to do one's best; to keep the brain and the conscience clear; never be swayed by unworthy motives of inconsequential reasons, but to strive to unearth the basic factors involved and then do one's duty."

-Susan Eisenhower, How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions

Scary.....................................

Works for me............................

via

Fear and Influenza............

................The 1918 pandemic revisited.  Worth a quick look see.

Rarest............................

They say miracles are past, and we have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless.  Hence it is, that we make trifles out of terrors, ensconcing ourselves into seeming knowledge, when we should submit ourselves to an unknown fear.  Why, 'tis the rarest argument of wonder that hath shot out in our latter times.

-Lafeu, as channeled by Wm. Shakespeare in Act Two Scene Three of All's Well That Ends Well

Be VERY careful what you wish for.....

To modern millennials, however, fear of socialism seems as ancient as a rotary phone.  Story here.

via