As promised earlier to the attendants of Talk Show, I, hereby, present you with Talk Show 2.0’s first free eBook with the title The Sweet Sixteen of Personalities: Achieve Superior Relationships and Careers with the New Presentation of the 16 Personality Types of MBTI Designed for the People of the 21st Century. If you are interested to know more about your personality; if you would like to make better decisions in your romantic relationships and business; if you would like to know what you are more suited for then this free eBook is just for you.
After questioning hundreds of attendants in my Talk Shows I realized that only a small minority of us are fully aware of our personalities, our capabilities and our true desires. In one of my most favorite books of all time The Future of Liberalism, Alan Wolfe mentions that “Modern life, in short, is characterized by millions of people running around utterly clueless about their goals in life”. Yet, the good news is, that by merely being cognizant of the 16 personalities we can dig deeper inside of our consciousness and locate our strengths, weaknesses, desires, and abilities.
Being a motivational speaker more than anything else made me realize that no matter what I do or say, how energetic, funny, or inspirational my speeches are, the ultimate impact (to make others motivated) is merely a function of how induced each and every attendant wants to be from the inside.
I have had one-on-one consultancy sessions with people from all walks of life. A mother of a three-year-old who was contemplating divorce, a young man who just got graduated and was depressed due to unemployment, a middle-aged woman who could not find a suitable partner until the age of 40, spirited couples who were passionately in love with one another but were afraid of the challenges of immigration and its toll on their marriages, a 27 year old lady who did not like her job and felt that the reason behind her being single is that she is not good enough, a talented civil engineer at the beginning of his third decade of existence who felt that the only way to avoid the problem was by running away from the source, a youngster who claimed that his life had no purpose and that he did not know what he wants out of life, an intelligent and extremely talented transsexual who was contemplating escaping his family and country after being beaten and humiliated for the longing to be a woman, and many other cases where I was fortunate enough to contribute my ideas and thus improve the quality of thinking for the subjects.
Sometimes many of these sessions went on for a long time and had to be repeated periodically; many eventually decided to change their life, some, however, did not. On the other hand, I was once acquainted with a well-versed brain surgeon who was so happy with life that he said “I love my life, in fact, even if I lose my job as a surgeon I will certainly be able to work as a laborer and still be happy, what is the difference between me as a surgeon, and a laborer? We are all humans and we all can achieve happiness in whatever we do”.
The previous example is a sufficient ground for what I am about to say:
Motivation comes from the inside, not the other way around. Despite the fact that we all could benefit from listening to the magnificent speeches by motivational speakers all across the globe; while the fact that laughing at the jokes that I often throw in my own speeches may light up your heart and give you a temporary boost, the initial spark of incitement can only be ignited by ourselves rather than the others.
Only those who gathered all their determination, focused all their attention, and made up their mind to motivate themselves for a better change left my counseling satisfied, and subsequently those who just wanted me to change their life by sweet words or hypnosis without any internal craving or the will to do what it takes were no more motivated after the sessions were long over.
If you are sitting at your place waiting for the world to change for you, or someone to come to your rescue you might end up waiting for a long time, as a matter of fact, unbelievably a significant portion of the population on earth actually wait for their whole life, and finally at their final moments, express unbearable regrets for waiting to be motivated to do what they thought to be right.
In conclusion I would like to leave you with the following quote from Stephen R. Covey :
The other day in my class, I gave a lecture regarding the various benefits that could be attained by reducing the amount of time spent on watching TV. I have recently come to believe that subtle dependence upon television can promote passivity and lack of creativity, and due to its convenience can easily end up not only consuming a great portion of our time, but also contributing to less mental and physical activities.
It has been four years that I have not watched TV! What?!! How is that even remotely possible?!!! Now you might instantly begin to imagine an eccentric geek with no knowledge of what is happening around the world, but quite frankly, I feel more mindful of what is the occurrence around the globe than ever. How? Pretty simple, for me the internet has become the sole source of gathering all the information that I need, do you need to watch NBC’s Meet the Press? Just log on to MSNBC’s website and watch the latest episode, better yet download the audio podcast and listen to it while driving to work; you want to watch the trailer of the latest box office hit? Just head over to Youtube and watch it in HD, feeling trendy? How about checking out the latest fashions on various designated websites?
I even went as far as providing an oath for the class:
“Hi, my name is Daniel” I said as I raised my right hand “and I hereby declare that, thanks to the internet, I have been TV-free for four years”. Suddenly one of my students cracked a joke by saying that “the guy is clean”.
I then quoted Steve Jobs saying that “You watch television to turn your brain off, and work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on”.
Following a hot debate, I mentioned that when my own children are born "I will give them an iPad, iPhone, and an Apple computer, but would not purchase a TV for my house". Even though my beliefs regarding TV make complete sense to me, I was quite insensible to think that everyone should be in agreement with me. I was then told by my students that true open-mindedness allows one to let their children choose for themselves. In reality, if my children would prefer to spend their entire days in front of TV then that is their choice, but sooner or later, it is likely that such lifestyle leads to difficulties and that is when they will come to me looking for suggestion.
When the students are ready the teacher will show up. Hence, if they are to follow my footsteps they should first want it internally. What I consider to be good and intellectual often could seem no more than a gibberish coming from an up-tight wacko. Well I certainly wish not to be dubbed as a Wacko of course!
Hearing the phrase “Give and you shall receive” might not make much sense at the beginning. At the least, for me that was the case after reading it for the very first time when I was just a small child.
Due to my curious nature (which I am so grateful for) I have always loved to poke into the nature and conception of every phenomenon and event. My desire to understand why things are the way they are, by far outmatches that of accepting the current situation. Thanksgiving which is a part of every American and Canadian lifestyle is yet another occasion that comes and goes for many without changing any. Unsurprisingly, I was sitting around today contemplating regarding the true implementation of Thanksgiving and its subsequent streams of thoughts and feelings.
When the entire family gather together to celebrate their warm (or not so warm) union through expressing their gratitude and thankfulness for all that there is, and for all that is about to come ,somehow, out of the blue, there takes place something magical , something beyond that of which logic can address. The realm of possibilities.
If you have had access to The Secret, you are already well aware of what I am about to say. The law of attraction, which is the primal rule upon which our universe is governed, simply says “like attracts like”; in other words, specific feelings, or thoughts, or actions bring about the same round of result within the same spectrum. That is, by sending out thoughts of “X” TO the universe, you would receive nothing but “X” FROM the universe.
This notion could not have been made more apprehensive anywhere better than the books The Secret, and The Power. Explanation of this theory would be far facilitated by reading the aforementioned books; however, the overall concept could easily be grasped by placing the formula inside the Newton’s third law which is unanimously adhered by all:
“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Hence, for instance, by hitting a wall with your fist, you will force the same pressure emitted on the wall on your own fist. Now let’s widen our scope and take things to a mental level. Through having a given mental attitude towards the world, you would receive the same attitude in return.
I just reviewed the book Rich Dad Poor Dad which by the way is dubbed “the book that rocked the financial world by the Wall Street Journal”; and among the multitude of tips for greatness, the most astonishing is a reiteration of what I previously mentioned:
“In my life, over all these years, whenever I have felt needy or short of money or short of help, I simply went out and or found in my heart what I wanted, and decided to give it first. And when I gave, it always came back.”, writes Robert T.Kiyosaki in page 184 and proceeds a few lines below : “Whenever I feel that people aren’t smiling at me, I simply begin smiling and saying hello, and like magic, there are suddenly more smiling people around me. It’s true that your world is only a mirror of you”.
In this way, we can conclude ,so with ease, that our way of thinking could change everything that happens to us, and if our way of thinking is submerged in thanking then the outcome is quite manifest.
The concept of showing your thankfulness for all the little things that you have ,as well as the attempt at giving what you want for yourself to the universe just to retrieve the same matter in higher quantities are indeed realized in one term;
Thankfulness + Giving things out = Thanksgiving
Thus, let us hope that we will be celebrating our life in a thanksgiving mood every single day of our existence for what is better to give to the world and receive than our very thanks.
"On the surface, I once bought a forest. The parasites claimed that the land belonged to God, and demanded that I establish a public park there.It wasn't impossible to build rapture at the bottom of the sea, it was impossible to build it anywhere else."
Andrew Ryan
For as long as humanity existed, so did the desire to ascend in the air which eventually came true by invention of various airplanes, jets, and space shuttles. However this arising desire has not stopped the humankind from arousing the wish for descending upon the surface of the bodies of the water around the globe.
The notion of life underwater is not an unfamiliar concept, and you can scarcely find individuals who are unacquainted with some form of fiction or info related to this construct.
Considering the fact that the majority of the planet earth ,in terms of net area and surface, is covered with rivers, lakes, seas, and above all oceans we can easily imagine the magnitude of infrastructural potential that is given to us by a vast sub-aquatic margin, something that can now become yet another step towards our prosperity thanks to the advanced technology.
In a world that is becoming more and more populated if not polluted every single day, the chance to extend our civilization beyond our lands would seem quite welcome despite all the limitations and difficulties associated with such a grand agenda.
If you are into video games , you have probably heard about(or experienced) the video games series Bioshock; and in particular Rapture city and its own political, social ,justice, and educational system that is thoroughly unlike any other territories in the world because of its isolated, and independent nature. Alas, Rapture city is depicted as a grand yet imperfect icon of human ambition that was spoiled by greed and other infamous human characteristics. Fiction aside, the concept while quite hard to achieve is by all means possible using the contemporary technology.
However, the recent occurrence of the oil spill disaster in the gulf of Mexico may be the first skeptic sign that passes through your mind the moment you think of establishing an entire city with its various elements that has the potential to create disasters of larger scope. After all, in such a city anything could go awry at any single moment, and due to the submerged nature of the infrastructure, the risk of all sorts of damages and loss are but high.
Everything said and done, placing all the disadvantages of a city under the ocean on the one side of the scale would still be no match for the vantage points of all the benefits received in such an environment. Only future has the answer for the billions of people who will be forced to choose between abandoning the planet earth or living under the oceans should the current trend of natural exploitation on the surface of the earth continues.Let's hope for a bright answer hereafter.
Change is always difficult. We need to reiterate this phrase in our minds for as long as it takes to digest, if we are to take the most out of living abroad.
The concept of “living in a foreign country” was the main theme in the last Talk Show classes which fortunately provided a groovy ground for an engaging discussion among the participants.
First and foremost let us contemplate about some of the quotes in this regard:
"There's villainous news abroad."- William Shakespeare
"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad."- George Bernard Shaw
"It is the bold man who every time does best, at home or abroad."- Homer
"Man is a venerating animal. He venerates as easily as he purges himself. When they take away from him the gods of his fathers, he looks for others abroad."- Max Jacob
"Saint abroad, and a devil at home."- John Bunyan
"The crow, when travelling abroad, came back just as black."- English proverb
"When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home."- Winston Churchill
"When the man is at home, his standing in society is well known and quietly taken; but when he is abroad, it is problematical, and is dependent on the success of his manners."- Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the beginning of the classes, I initiated the discourse by asking the students to provide a graspable distinction between visiting a foreign country and living in one.
The answers were quite expectable ,and the majority agreed upon the fact that a mere visit to a country is simply for leisure and the tourists are in contact with the thin surface of what that destination has to offer,and almost never concerned about the issues such as economic situation, job market, real estate and so forth; the same cannot be said about the immigrants who wish to make a living in an alien community however.
After the brief introduction, the students talked about the various aspects of living in a foreign country from a critical perspective; hence, individual elements were chosen and various elaborations concurred.
Homesickness, culture shock, employment and settlement issues, potential racial discrimination, witnessing different climate, values,and language are but a few consequences of living abroad.
It’s nearly inevitable for an immigrant not to feel a longing to return home at one point during the stay in a foreign country to the point where the little things, even things that seemed problematic as Dr.Ali Reza mentioned, seem so delighting yet out of reach.
Nevertheless, the most prominent challenge faced by the bulk of immigrants is the infamous phenomenon known as culture shock that includes subcategories of identity crisis, different language, different climate and environment, and most importantly different values. All of the aforementioned matters, especially the theme of different value which emphasizes on the sole fact that a behavior which is deemed socially acceptable[if not essential] in one community could be concieved as a moral sin or even a capital crime in another.
While the contemporary world has seen less and less racial profiling and discrimination over the years, this by no means omit the fear of being segregated in a foreign guild due to a distinct accent , a darker tone of skin, or dissimilar way of dressing .
Towards the end of the class, I asked the students to classify the consequences of living in a foreign country into pros and cons, the result were as follows:
Pros: Widening the perception of the world, more freedom of choice, higher standards of living, better education, globalization and international employment, a secure future, sense of progression,A fresh beginning , and new opportunities.
Cons: Homesickness, culture shock, higher cost of living, dealing with possible racial problems,loneliness and depression, adaptation to the new environment.
In the end; we all should consider that living abroad, for what is worth, can get us closer and closer to other people of assorted tribes and backgrounds; for Saadi has beautifully said:
Humans are of limbs to each other
Having been created of one essence
Imagine a world without science! What?! You can not even conceive of it, can you? Science is so much intertwined with the modern world that it has already become a component of it and a modern world without science is an impossibility, plain and simple.
How index-learning turns no student pale, Yet holds the eel of science by the tail!
Science in the modern world was the topic discussed in our last Talk Show class. First we have to crystallize our perspective by contemplating about some related quotes:
"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. "(Edwin Powell Hubble)
“Modern science is still trying to produce a tranquilizer more effective than a few kind words”(Douglas Meador )
“However far modern science and techniques have fallen short of their inherent possibilities, they have taught mankind at least one lesson: Nothing is impossible.”(Lewis Mumford )
“A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.”(Dr. Carl Sagan )
“What happened at Hiroshima was not only that a scientific breakthrough had occurred and that a great part of the population of a city had been burned to death, but that the problem of the relation of the triumphs of modern science to the human purposes of man had been explicitly defined.”(Archibald MacLeish)
"Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition."(Adam Smith)
I initially focused the students' attention upon the notion that science is in fact a linear function of time, in other words, as we proceed through the ages, so does the science towards betterment.
In this way Talk Show participants started to compare the substantial differences among the scientific knowledge of the present as opposed to the past, and the many an advancement that has been the result of such difference.
As the students were concurring on the issue, I then deemed it appropriate to unleash the simple question of Modern Science VS. Faith that has been around for as long as science per se has been formed. The classes were filled with engaging debates in this regard and the answers were quite varied. Not to my surprise the younger students generally believed that faith does not provide sufficient answers for their countless questions while sciences manage to fulfill just that even though many questions will be left to answer.
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On the other hand, the older audience tended towards a balance between faith and science simply because they believed there is no notable contradiction between the two realms to be found.
As a matter of fact, it's been said that science can answer moral questions:
In the next part of our classes we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of science in the modern world.All the classes unanimously acknowledged that science is now officially inseparable from the lives of modern masses and living without it is a thing of the past.
However; while many scientific accomplishments in various fields from medical and chemical to electronics and entertainment have certainly contributed to a world full of convenience, these phenomena have also separated humans from each other to the point where facebook and text messages have replaced face-to-face communication, obesity statistics have risen due to lack of physical activities, wars have been waged and lives lost in an instant using advanced technologies and so forth.
Finally the classes discussed the most optimal manner in which the modern science ought to be used which was assumed as a balanced life that covers all of our needs; be it physical, emotional , recreational, social , educational using the right science in the right places ,and in the right time .
