EVERY MAN A KING

How To Control Thought and Exercise the Power of Self-Faith Over Others

Written by Orison Swett Marden in 1906

A Book Review by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, September 7, 2018

Note:  Anything appearing in BLUE or RED is a link to a reference on the subject

DISCLAIMER:  I discovered Orison Swett Marden (1850 – 1924) a couple of years ago and have been reading his books ever since.  None of his writings have disappointed me; they are all great!  What surprised me was that they were all written in the late 1890s-1915.  The lessons contained in his writings are truly priceless.

Every Man A King has to be read with the date it was published kept in mind, 1906.  King refers to the top and not just a man as do his reference to "man", "men", etc.  The lessons apply to both men and women of all ages.

It would be fruitless of me to think I could write an adequate review of this book.  Every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence packs powerful messages that can literally lead someone from the darkness of uncertainty to the light of success.  The lessons apply to everyone.  It is hard to read this book and not be affected in a very positive way.  You can purchase the book as a Kindle read on Amazon for just 99 cents. Maybe the best $1.00 you will ever spend.

Here is an excerpt from this wonderful book:

“Your thought will carry only the force of your conviction, the weight of your decision, the power of your confidence. If these are weak, your thought will be weak and your work futile. Some people are incapable of strong, deep conviction; they are all surface, and liable to be changed by the opinions of everybody else. If they resolve upon a certain course, their resolution is so superficial that the first obstacle they strike deflects them. They are always at the mercy of the opposition, or of people who do not agree with them. Such people are shifty and unreliable; they lack strength of decision, positiveness of resolution. What is a man good for if he hasn’t strength of resolution? If his convictions are on the surface, he stands for nothing; nobody has confidence in him. He may be a good man, personally, but he does not inspire confidence. No one would think of calling upon him when anything of importance was at stake. Unless conviction takes hold of one’s very being, there will be very little achievement in life. It is the man whose conviction is rooted deep and takes hold of his very life-blood, the man who is strong and persistent in his determination, that can be depended upon. He is the man of influence, who carries weight; he is above the influence of any man who happens to have a different opinion.”

“If young people only knew the power of affirmation, of the habit of holding in the mind persistently and affirming that they are what they wish to be, that they can do what they have attempted, it would revolutionize their whole lives, it would exempt them from most of their ills and troubles, and carry them to heights of which they scarcely dream.”

Who should read it?  Everyone from the age of 8 on up but especially teenagers!  How the world would be different if Marden's wisdom was actually taught in our schools.  As time goes by ageless wisdoms like his books will become lost in time and therein IS the pity!

Would I read it again?  Absolutely

Would I buy it as a gift?  Absolutely

IT’S ALL ON YOU MR. GOODELL!

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, September 4, 2018

DISCLAIMER:  I do not know who wrote this but I almost agree with everything written.  I have included my own thought at the very end.  To whomever wrote it; thank you!  Given that Nike has just contracted with Colin Kaepernick to run an ad campaign is even more fuel for this firestorm the National Football League and Commissioner Goodell has created and allowed to vester

You graduated high school in 2011.  Your teenage years were a struggle.  You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.  Your mother was the leader of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and food on your plate.  Academics were a struggle for you and your grades were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you weighed 225 lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a football.  

Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play football.  Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to work at McDonalds for minimum wage.  You were recruited by all the big colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their school was best.  They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend worked double shifts at Mickey D’s.  College was not an option for him. 

On the day you signed with Big State University, your best friend signed paperwork with his Army recruiter.  You went to summer workouts.  He went to basic training.

You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered on by adoring fans.  Tutors attended to your every academic need.  You attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard.  You lifted weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top football players in the country. 

Your best friend was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice.  He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19 year old soldiers who grew up just like he did.  He shed his blood in Afghanistan and watched young American's give their lives, limbs, and innocence for the USA.

You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts.  You hired an agent and waited for draft day.  You were drafted in the first round and your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most money possible. You signed for $16 million although you had never played a single down of professional football.  Your best friend re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat tested sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year.

You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach.  He will ride in the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers.  You will sleep at the Ritz.  He will dig a hole in the ground and try to sleep.  You will “make it rain” in the club.  He will pray for rain as the temperature reaches 120 degrees.

On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans cheer and yell your name.  For your best friend, there is little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week.  There are no adoring fans.  There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers. Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to the rear” to rest.  He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV.  When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his feet and salute the television.  While you protest the unfairness of life in the United States, he will give thanks to God that he has the honor of defending his great country.

To the players of the NFL:  We are the people who buy your tickets, watch you on TV, and wear your jerseys.  We anxiously wait for Sundays so we can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us. You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the absolute right to boycott you.  We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth.  We should be ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what is morally right.  But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans. You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country.  I encourage all like minded Americans to boycott the NFL.

The National boycott of the NFL is set for Sunday November 12th, Veterans Day Weekend. Boycott all football telecast, all fans, all ticket holders, stay away from attending any games, let them play to empty stadiums. Pass this post along to all your friends and family. Honor our military, some of whom come home with the American Flag draped over their coffin.

Personal Note:  I am not boycotting any individual NFL player.  I am boycotting the NFL in its entirety because of dysfunctional coaches, owners and the Commissioner himself for allowing the disrespect of our country, flag and history to continue without taking any action to stop it.  More importantly it was Commissioner Roger Goodell who refused to allow the Dallas Cowboys from wearing decals on their helmets immediately following the massacre of police officers in Dallas and then permitted Colin Kaepernick to not only kneel during the National Anthem but said nothing about his socks he wore depicting police as pigs.  This is ALL ON YOU MR. GOODELL.  It is shocking to think that he is being paid by the 32 NFL owners over 40 million dollars and then have him disregard the problem as if it were going to just go away on its own.  I am not urging anyone to boycott the NFL.  I am doing so because I personally have had enough of their turning the other cheek to league problems.  I don’t need the NFL, never have.  Their inactions just gave me a wakeup call that ignoring the NFL was the right thing for me and I have not looked back since.  That was two years ago.  Followed the NFL since the early 1950s to put this decision into its proper perspective.

Jim Brown