"Love, and do what you will." --St. Augustine

I am the least moral person I know. Let me explain.

One of my favorite books is A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. In that book, Tolle quotes St. Augustine's "Homily Number 7 on the First Epistle of John," reproduced below in it's entirety, in which Augustine preaches, "Love, and do what you will."

Augustine (354-430 AD) was the Bishop of the city of Hippo in what is modern-day Algeria. His simple precept is a far cry from what the Roman Catholic Church (and most Christian denominations) are today, with its complete incorporation of ethics, morality and judgment, a result of the adoption of Aristotelian philosophy in the thirteenth century via the writings of Thomas Aquinas, most notably Summa Theologica.

"Love, and do what you will," is the original Gospel with a capital G. Jesus taught people not to judge.

The problem is, you can't have a conception of morality or ethics without judgement. Most people just laugh this off, thinking, "That can't be what Jesus really meant. He just meant to say, 'don't be a judgmental person,'" as if this answers the question. What is a judgmental person? Where do you draw the line? Judgment is judgment and Jesus didn't misspeak.

Use Daily Affirmations to Strengthen Self-Confidence

The core principle of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, the granddaddy of all success literature, is the building of self-confidence through twice-daily affirmations, a process Hill called "auto-suggestion." He says quite pointedly:

Taking inventory of mental assets and liabilities, you will discover that your greatest weakness is lack of self-confidence. This handicap can be surmounted, and timidity translated into courage, through the aid of the principle of autosuggestion.

Your problem, in other words, is a lack of self-confidence, and here's how to fix it. And fix it, it does.

The Case Against Coupons

There's nothing wrong with coupons. Families use them to advantage; and the larger the family, the larger the advantage.

But Brett Arends, in his article posted to Yahoo! Finance, "Doing the Math on Coupons," part of a continuing series on Financial Fitness, goes overboard in his appreciation.

Citing statistics provided in a press release from a company called Inmar as his source, Ardent says that on average each coupon saves its redeemer $1.44. Estimating that each coupon requires about a minute to find, clip and file, that would be a savings of $86.40 per hour of work. And since this savings is tax-free, figures Ardent, he feels justified in rounding up that number to arrive at a rounder wage rate of $100 per hour for coupon clipping. Not bad.

Now I have no bone to pick with the statistics, nor with Ardent's calculations. But Inmar is a company that provides promotional services, including coupon operations, to retailers and wholesalers. They have a vested interest in promoting coupons.

Let's look inside the computations to see if Ardent's numbers are helping Inmar along.

If we estimate that each coupon redeemed saves on average 10% of the purchase price (the average is actually about 7%) , that would mean a family would have to purchase $864 in groceries each week to redeem all that they clipped. That's $1.44 x 10 x 60 = $864. This seems a little high for all but the Duggers, doesn't it?

So it's more likely that coupon clipping once a month, or even less often, will suffice for most people. It's a tiny part time job, nothing like the net of $1,200 per year projected by Ardent.

If coupon clipping is something you enjoy doing for yourself or your family, that's great. I say do it. But for many of the rest of us, it's a tedious practice, one better employed as something of a last resort rather than a lifestyle choice.

Photo courtesy of Copy Cop.

Tantrums: Tolle vs. APA

The American Psychiatric Association recently introduced its first revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 16 years. The "bible" of the psychiatric field, the DSM, as it's called, has wide-ranging impact upon mental healthcare and society at large. It's revision has taken ten years so far and has a least another two to go before the new disorders it proposes will reach the quivers of healthcare professionals.

The APA is recommending some 41 changes in the area of childhood disorders ranging from learning disorders to retardation (can the APA still use this word?) to the relationship of Asperger's Disorder to autism.

Among the proposed new childhood disorders is one called "Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria." This proposed disorder occurs between the years of six and ten and "is characterized by severe recurrent temper outbursts in response to common stressors."

Or in a word, tantrums.

Modern Concept of "Flow" has Its Roots in Taoism

As reported in the Good News Gazette, veteran reporter Cheryl Hall of The Dallas Morning News had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, best known for his development of the concept known as "Flow," which has gained wide application in the business world.

Feel Good First: The New Hedonism

The Hedonists Had it Right . . . Almost

Owing mainly to the swinger resorts of the same name, the word "Hedonism" conjures up visions of freewheeling sexuality. . . not that there's anything wrong with that. But that isn't really what hedonism was originally all about. Shall we say that this is a perversion of the original school of philosophical thought?

Stop Telling Yourself That Story!

Whenever we're feeling emotional pain, it's a story that we're telling ourselves about our lives that's causing it. If you can figure out what that story is, you can turn off the pain.

Let me give you an example. I play a lot of computer backgammon, against a computerized opponent; we'll call him Watson after the computerized Jeopardy champ. It's almost like a meditation for me--except that it's clear that the backgammon computer program favors its buddy, Watson--also part of the computer, see where we're going with this? 

Think and Grow Rich - The ENTIRE Book!

What follows is the original version of the book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill in its entirety (click "Read More" below). Each page can be magnified by clicking on it.

After several readings of Think and Grow Rich, I've become convinced of its inspired nature. I invite you to read a chapter a day. If you will do that and DO WHAT IT SAYS, your life will be positively changed.

You may find the writing archaic, many of the examples out of date and women will find it geared toward the inspiration of men. I encourage you to look past that to the kernel of the presentation, which is the Carnegie Formula for success. I'm putting it into practice and I'm finding that it really works on every level, from personal peace to the accumulation of riches.

Read the book, a chapter a day, then read it again. Take down notes as you read, then read through your notes. DO WHAT THIS BOOK SAYS and your life will change for the better!

See Think and Grow Rich - The ENTIRE Book! listed under Pages on the right column of this blog for links to all the chapters.

If you'll write to me, I'll send you the PDF version.

Go to Author's Preface

Go to Table of Contents

Go Directly to Chapter 1

Think and Grow Rich - Author's Preface

Think and Grow Rich - Table of Contents

Think and Grow Rich - The ENTIRE Book! (Author's Preface and Table of Contents)

Think and Grow Rich - Author's Preface

Think and Grow Rich - Table of Contents

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 1 Introduction

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 2 Desire: The Turning Point of All Achievement

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 3 Faith: Visualization of, and Belief in Attainment of Desire

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 4 Auto-Suggestion: the Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 5 Specialized Knowledge, Personal Experiences or Observations

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 6 Imagination: the Workshop of the Mind

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 7 Organized Planning, the Crystallization of Desire into Action 

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 8 Decision: the Mastery of Procrastination

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 9 Persistence: the Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith 

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 10 Power of the Master Mind: the Driving Force

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 11 The Mystery of Sex Transmutation 

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 12 The Subconscious Mind: The Connecting Link 

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 13 The Brain: A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought 

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 14 The Sixth Sense: The Door to the Temple of Wisdom

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 15 How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 10

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 11

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 12

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 13

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 14

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 15

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 9

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 8

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 7

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 6

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 5

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 4

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 3

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 2

Think and Grow Rich - Chapter 1

New Review from Author Neil Chethik

My friend, Neil Chethik, author of Fatherloss: How Sons of All Ages Come to Terms with the Deaths of Their Dads and Writer in Residence at the Lexington Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning read The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder over the weekend and submitted the following 5-star review to Amazon:

"I love self-improvement books (so much that I wrote one called FatherLoss), so I was particularly fascinated by Wright's descriptions and selections of the most important self-improvement books. Wright's book is fun, too, with a moody yet brilliant detective who puts together a complex trail of clues to figure out the murderer in his book club. A delightful book!"

I met Neil a couple of weeks ago at Mayfest arts festival, where he was kind enough to buy one of my books.

Thanks, Neil!

Received in Email: The Post Office, a Dog and a Little Girl

The following was received in an email (fair game!) from my friend Rob. Thankfully, the postal employee responsible for this breach of privacy has been caught and summarily dismissed from postal service.

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Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:  Dear God, Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.  Love, Meredith

Dennis Miller and the God Question

My book, The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder, deals directly with the below issues in Chapters 12 and 13, which focus on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (link to free online version). 

I recommend that anyone interested read my book as a primer, then read Zen and the Art, which is quite a long book, well worth reading, but you have to know what you're looking for and how it all fits together.

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Below is a short audio clip of an Interview from The Dennis Miller Show. Dennis is interviewing Vince Bugliosi, author of Divinity of Doubt: The God Question (as well as Helter Skelter, and others), a book in which Bugliosi intellectualizes many tenets of Christian faith, like virgin birth, immortality of the soul, the divinity of Jesus and others.

In the interview, Bugliosi says that he is an agnostic, and that atheism is an "intellectually empty philosophy. Says Bugliosi of popular atheists like Christopher Hitchens, who he names specifically, "They simply cannot find a non-sequitur that they do not like."

But like such atheists (and religious folk from the opposite side), Bugliosi sets up these straw man intellectual arguments which do not advance the debate at all, but rather simply further obscure the basic difference between religious/spiritual people and intellectual people, which is a PHILOSOPHICAL difference concerning the nature of reality.

This sounds quite esoteric, but let's make it very, very simple:

First Three Chapters of The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder by Todd Wright

Get hooked! Then order The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder from Amazon. It's also available through any bookstore.

The Carnegie Secret

Excerpt From “The Science Of Success Achievement Course” By Rick Gettle
© 2008 all rights reserved By Rick Gettle

In his all time best selling book, Think And Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill mentions in his firstchapter that throughout the book he will be referring many times to “The Carnegie Secret.”

He said he would not tell you what that secret is, but when you are ready, it will jump off the page and into your brain. He said, When the Student is ready – the master will appear. The doors will open. The lights will turn green. The ideas will come. The money will come. The people will be there to help you.

In 1908 when Napoleon Hill was 25 years old, Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in the world at that time, commissioned him to spend 20 years researching success achievement. From that day on, when Napoleon Hill accepted Mr. Carnegie’s proposal, Carnegie went to work teaching him everything he knew about achieving success. The most important lesson he taught Hill was eventually called “The Carnegie Secret.” That was, in 1908, and to this day, still is, one of the most important lesson ever taught on how to achieve your Definite Major Purpose in life.

The Secret Behind Think and Grow Rich

I've been studying Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill lately. In it, Hill repeated makes reference to a principle that he purposefully has not named directly because he feels that readers would benefit more by its indirect discovery. Perhaps this video gives a clue as to the principle's identity. Can you figure out what it is?

It's interesting to hear directly, one eye witness removed, from Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men who ever lived. His ideas about success are difficult to discount.

Dramaholic

I found a thought provoking blog post called Are You a Dramaholic? by Carolyn Shannon. In the article, Carolyn draws a distinction between negative and positive drama. She writes: "For years my life was filled with negative drama thriving on the attention it brought me." After many years, says Carolyn, she became wise to her own patterns. "As I stepped onto the path of self awareness I began to realize I was a Dramaholic! I was as addicted to drama as anyone hooked on cigarettes, alcohol, sex or food."

Carolyn gives hope to all the drama addicted people out there, telling them that they don't have to give it up. They simply have to shift focus from negative drama to positive drama, "the WOW moments," as she calls them. "How often a parking spot is right there when needed; how many kind or friendly people we come into contact with each day; unexpected gifts of time, love, money or compliments; all the beautiful pictures Mother Nature keeps creating to awe us" are all excellent examples.

The Road to Emotional Maturity

On the road to emotional maturity, the real breakthrough comes when you begin to be more concerned with the fact that you are upset--depressed, angry, bitter, fill in the blank with any form of negativity--than with what you are upset about.

This new approach would mean that you've finally seen the illogic of all forms of negativity. You've finally come to realize that an inner state fraught with negativity will never have a positive impact on your environment. At that point, in other words, you have begun to focus your attention on your inner state as the key to shaping your reality.

The Universe Blesses Our Obsessions

May all yours be profitable.

Medicare pays for $93,000 Drug That Extends life 4 Months?

Medicare will now pay for a prostate cancer drug called Provenge that costs $93,000 and only promises to extend life for 4 months?

What's wrong with this picture?

According to the linked article, "Medicare is legally prohibited from considering price when deciding whether to pay for a new treatment." If I were CEO of a pharmaceutical company, I would see this rule as a license to print money, as I'm sure the forward thinking folks at Dendreon Corp., the company that makes Provenge, obviously did. They estimate $1 billion in sales next year alone!

Question: Is death so frightening that a person would spend $93,000 to stave it off just 4 months?

Learning About Non-reaction from Coach Cal

I'm learning a lot from this guy.

I've watched just about every minute of of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball coverage this year, as I often do when I'm in Lexington. Apart from the excitement of the games, I'm extremely impressed with the character of the coaches at this level of play.

Particularly Coach John Calipari of our Kentucky Wildcats. We get to see a bit more of him in local news coverage here in Lexington, and we're the better for it.

BE Your Body to Ward Off Disease?

Wow. This article is exactly what I'm talking about.

High BMI? What it means for your child, and what you can do about it

Apparently, Michelle Obama needs a doctor to tell her that her kids are getting too fat. I feel sorry for these girls later in life.

Occasionally, I sit with my mom, who is in her 70s, and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. While I will happily admit to enjoying them from time to time, it's clear from the commercials that these shows know exactly which demographic is watching: old people. Every other ad is for something having to do with bladder control, bowel movements, dentures and all sorts of exotic prescription medication with a list of potential side effects that take up the second half of the thirty second spot, and read at double speed at that.

My mom and I often joke that the announcer ought to just come right out and say it: "If this medicine doesn't kill you, it might just cause your psoriasis to itch a little less."

Response to Canadian Therapists Concerns About Eckhart Tolle

Here is an article from Integral Options Cafe, discussing a piece by Douglas Todd, originally written for the Vancouver sun:

Canadian Therapists Worry that Clients Use Eckhart Tolle as a Spiritual Bypass

Here is my response:

This is a thought provoking article, but the main argument is a straw man. Tolle doesn't say you should gloss over the past. He simply urges people to deal with the past as it arises in the present, or "in the now." Negativity in the past, if it was dealt with effectively then (if it wasn't grieved and processed at the time), will inevitably resurface as what Tolle calls a "pain-body" attack. This occurs in the present and can be dissolved through awareness, allowing it to be, while focusing on the uncomfortable sensation that it causes (emotion, Tolle says, is the body's reaction to a thought). Inevitably, too, this process brings to mind the unconscious thoughts that are causing the pain and the sufferer awakens a bit further.

You are right when you point out that Tolle's philosophy is more sophisticated that some of his followers realize. But it is not a sophistication of the head, it is that of the heart. Tolle says we learn from the past but we should not live in it, nor the future.

Interview with Readers of The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

I interviewed a couple of local readers about my book, The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder. See what they had to say:

The Reviews Keep Coming on Amazon!

Jeana of Lexington writes:

"Beautifully spun web of "self-improvement" book synopses, theology, mystery and murder. A creative, well-written and engaging concept. Mr. Wright's story telling ability makes it unnecessary to have read each of the "self-improvement" books....but he leaves the reader with a desire to add each to their reading list. A+++"

Thanks, Jeana!

Another Review on Amazon!

From Delia C. of Lexington, Kentucky:

I loved the book...couldn't put it down! Wright's description of a 'self-improvement book thinly disguised as a murder mystery' is totally spot-on! The characters were perfect vehicles for presenting the foremost points in each self-improvement book for the reader to agree with or argue (as the characters did so well with one another), from either a philosophical, a religious, or merely a personal standpoint. This book not only makes me curious to read more of Wright's future publications, but also makes me want to completely read each of the 'self-improvement' books so cleverly outlined in this novel as well. It actually IS an easy, and interesting read, and in turn may make the novels mentioned in it more interesting and easy to read for me in the future. Enjoy!

Thanks, Delia!

Reviews are coming in on Amazon!

From Darla O. of Baton Rouge, LA:

Do you enjoy reading? Do you enjoy a murder mystery? Do you enjoy knowing what makes different people tick? Would you enjoy an intelligent read that is 100% non-offensive in language or actions? Do you struggle with finding new, fresh reading material that is worth spending your time reading? Do you want to read a book that is truly a joy to read? If you answered yes to any of those questions the good news is this is the perfect book for you! It is a page turner and you will wrongly guess time and time again who is the guilty party. In our hectic, fast paced world, time is at a premium ... But you will be glad you took the time to read this book. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel ... There are many veteran writers who will never produce a product near this captivating. There are certain authors whom I will buy simply because it is their work ... John Grisham, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Maggie Lamond Simone and now I gladly add Todd Wright to that list. Thank you Mr. Wright for such an immensely enjoyable read!

Thanks, Darla!

Book Club Murder Now Available at Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky, is now carrying The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder.

It's also available for order from any book store across the country through Ingram Book Wholesalers. I would be grateful if you would ask your local shop to carry it. That would give you an opportunity to take a look at it before you buy.

The opposite of a 'Tiger Father': leaving your children behind

Frank Rizzuto

Frank Rizzuto says that he never wanted to be a father.

"I had this idea that fatherhood was this really all-encompassing thing," he explained on the Today Show, where he was talking about his new memoir,"Hiroshima in the Morning." "I was afraid of being swallowed up by that."

Ten years ago, when his sons were 5 and 3, Rizzuto received a fellowship to spend six months in Japan, researching a book about the survivors of Hiroshima. Four months in, when his children came to visit, he had an epiphany: He didn't want to be a full-time father anymore. When he returned to New York, he ended his 20-year marriage and chose not to be his kids' custodial parent.


[This is a parody!]

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder Available Now!

Update 2/27/11 - Amazon has put The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder on sale for $9.35 ($8.88 for Kindle). Don't know how long this will last. Thanks, Amazon!

Update 2/23/11 - The Facebook launch is official:

E-Launch of The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

It's official! My book, The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder, is available in both Kindle and paperback on Amazon. Just waiting on Amazon to correct the book description for the paperback before sending out an electronic launch FB event tomorrow.

I'd be honored if you'd buy my book.

Launch Date for Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

UPDATE: Due to user error (me being the user) the launch date for for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder has been moved back to the 23rd of February. It will be worth the wait!

* * *

The launch date for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder will be 16 February. That's the date I anticipate that the softcover version will be available on Amazon. It's already available in Kindle e-book format.

I must say that early "test market" results are very positive. Thanks, everyone, for your interest and encouragement!

Just in Time for Valentine's Day!

This article was originally published by Technorati.com on 14 February 2010. To see all my Technorati articles, click Lifestyle in the Contents listing on the sidebar.


OMG! I knew there was a reason I left the continent. Although I'm not having any more success here than I did there. Maybe I brought the contagion with me.

According to a new survey just released by The Daily Beast of America's 104 largest cities, my hometown, Lexington, Kentucky, ranks as the worst metro area in which to find a mate.

This is fantastic! Mediocrity is uncool. First or last is the place to be. If this were a horse race, we'd soon be turned into glue (Lexington is the official Horse Capital of the World, in case you didn't know).

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

A Mystery by Todd Wright.

Praise for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder from Tom Butler-Bowdon, Author of 50 Self-Help Classics, 50 Psychology Classics (www.Butler-Bowdon.com):

"Major ideas in self-development and spirituality wrapped in a murder mystery? This weird combination actually works, providing a perfect entree to the field in an entertaining way. Wright has thought deeply about his material and it shows. This book gives self-development a new dimension."

Description

John Bookman is the greatest detective the city of Plimpton has ever known. When socialite Sue Ellen Pinkus is murdered, she uses her dying breath to implicate a self-improvement book club in the crime. Bookman and his partner, Alec Berg, pay a visit to the club. Fresh off a divorce, Detective Berg has a hunch that the solution to the case lies in the content of the various books championed by the eccentric club members. As the interviews progress, Bookman begins to believe that his partner just might be right.

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder bundles in one slim volume some of the best ideas from some of the greatest minds of our day. A New Earth; The Power of Now; Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; The Secret; How to Win Friends and Influence People; Rich Dad, Poor Dad; Think and Grow Rich; Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and others are explained and synthesized, enticing readers to explore these life-changing books for themselves.

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in personal development, particularly as it relates to spirituality, religion and philosophy.

It's also a darn good potboiler.