The Ramblings of the Titanium Don

If You’re Empowered Do Other People Become Disempowered?

Empowerment is not a zero-sum matter. When you’re empowered nobody becomes disempowered. One of the most dangerous false narratives in our society today is around what equates to selfishness. In many respects, nearly every act of self-care, self-focus, and anything else that puts you first is considered selfish. If you don’t give enough time, energy, work, and what-have-you to your family, friends, and community – before self-care – you’re being selfish. This false narrative is the bedrock of a far

Why Is Knowledge as Empowerment Important to You and Me?

Because only via empowerment do you and I have genuine, positive control. I’m always learning something new. And I revel in that. I learn in different ways from different resources. That includes other people, books, experiences, places, and sometimes combinations of all the above. The lessons are equally as variable. You probably know of Sir Francis Bacon’s statement, “knowledge itself is power” as “knowledge is power.” But I think that missed the mark because “power” is an obscure, often abused

How is Positivity Not the Same as Positive Thinking?

Because genuine, non-toxic positivity isn’t just thought. In my quest to better myself and live my life as fully as possible. I’ve listened to and read numerous self-help, empowerment, manifestation, and similar books, audiobooks, podcasts, and the like. I’ve read, analyzed, and even absorbed a wide range of information – both useful and less than useful. My studies have included the spiritual, philosophical, psychological, educational, scientific, and everything in between. A key trope I’ve seen over and over again in

How is Love the Most Positive Emotion That There Is?

Because love is both bigger and simpler than you think and feel that it is. Shopping at the grocery store, I saw that all the Valentine’s candy was on display. Chocolate hearts everywhere. Valentine’s Day is my least favorite holiday. The reasons are many, and frankly inconsequential to this story – save one. Love is falsely represented by Valentine’s Day. How’s that? Everywhere you look, Valentine’s Day celebrates relationships, intimacy, romance, and various other notions of overblown, romantic love. It

Do You Already Know What’s Best for You and Your Life Experience?

You already know – you just don’t know because it’s too simple to be believable. For over a decade, I’ve been actively exploring how to be the best me that I can be. One of my greatest strengths is my desire to help others do the same. Why? Because all of us are on this planet together. At the very least we must coexist. But tolerance isn’t enough. We’re capable of more and better. That’s because everyone has a deep-seated

How Are the Little Positive Things Actually So Big?

Because all the little positive things add up and are more frequent than the big things. The little things are often taken for granted. One of the few downsides to moving where we live now was being far from one of our favorite restaurants. It’s an amazing Thai place we used to go to at least once a month that also offered delicious dim sum on the weekends. Following one of the craziest months for either of us, my wife

Why You Don’t Need to Love Yourself but DO Need to Like Yourself

It’s because you are always with yourself, all the time. But that’s just the start. Nobody is ever, truly, alone. Why? Because no matter where you go, there you are. Or in other words – you always have yourself. Here’s the thing – your entire life, you have yourself. That means that you have all that you are, good, bad, and otherwise, always with you. For many people, that’s disconcerting. You have yourself – but isn’t that a lonely proposition?

What Do You Do When You Feel Like You Can’t Win?

When you feel like you can’t win you always have options. The past couple of weeks have not been good. I got COVID. Even though I took lots of precautions and was as vaccinated and boosted as possible – I still got sick. However – it was no worse than a cold, and there seem to be no lingering effects. Vaccines work – thank you, science. Right on top of that, my mother-in-law had to be hospitalized. Without oversharing, she’s

When Life Sucks, What Do You Do?

Even when life sucks, YOU choose what you do with it. Christmas 2022 has come and gone. And this was a truly, spectacularly lousy holiday for me. It sucked. Lots. First, yes, I acknowledge that I’m whining. But I have a point to make and you need the context. It began Wednesday night when, for the first time in years, I felt a cold or something coming on. The next morning, I felt majorly off and unwell, took a COVID

What’s So Great About Accepting So Little Control?

It’s empowering when you accept what control you DO have. The only thing over which you and I have control is ourselves. Even then, there are limits to what you can and do control. All of them are internal. Sure, there are externals that you can direct – but control is not the case. You can change your body shape, eye color, hair length and color, what you wear, and maybe a couple of other elements of yourself. That’s pretty

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