The principle of right thinking is an idea that is neither old nor new, but it’s always relevant. It has been repurposed, resold, and refurbished for each generation. British philosophical writer James Allen, regarded as the father of the modern self-help era, penned a remarkable treatise on the power of thought in 1903. His 50-page…
Timeless Wisdom: Reflections on Flag and Country
Whenever Memorial Day, D-Day, and July 4 come around, I often think of the words of John Adams: “Be it remembered, however, that liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned, and bought it for us, at…
Timeless Wisdom: ‘But Above All Things,’ Fatherly Advice From John Adams
One of my favorite Founders is John Adams. In my opinion, he wasn’t only the most intellectually brilliant of the Founders, but the most insightful. He had both great knowledge, and great wisdom. He didn’t look at the world through rose-colored glasses. And yet, he wasn’t a cynic—despite the fact that he had understandable reasons…
Timeless Wisdom: Thomas Jefferson’s Rules for Life
Toward the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson wrote several letters of advice to young people, several of whom had been named after him by admiring parents. One was a young man named Thomas Jefferson Smith, whose father had written the aged former president in the hope he’d offer his young son some life advice….
Timeless Wisdom: The Ancient Chinese Art of Self-Improvement
For many years, I’ve exhorted everyone I know to develop a love of reading. I’m particularly passionate about encouraging parents (to get their children into reading) and young people (while they retain their youth, so they may become wise adults). What I often say is that reading is not a matter of mere pleasure—in fact,…
Timeless Wisdom: The Tocquevillian Descent into Tyranny
At the end of his seminal work, “Democracy in America,” Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville offered a stunningly prescient “prophecy” of how democratic institutions could easily fall into a tyranny unlike anything the world had ever seen before. Nearly two centuries later, his “prophecy” seems to draw closer and closer to fulfillment every day, if it…
Timeless Wisdom: George Washington Deemed Religion and Morality Essential to Political Prosperity
George Washington said something that many modern Americans would find nonsensical—and he did so not in some private document, but in perhaps the most public statement of his career, his Farewell Address published just prior to the end of his presidency. He said the following: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political…
Timeless Wisdom: The Age of Postman
When I was 19, I read a book that would forever change my life. It was Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” Though published in 1985, with each passing year, its insights have become more and more relevant and ominous. Postman contends the following: electronic media is dumbing us down, transforming our dialogue into mere…
Timeless Wisdom: Better Than Gold
There are few things our world needs more right now than wisdom. But what is it exactly? Let me begin by observing that we humans can “know” things on three different levels. The first and lowest level is mere data, consisting of isolated facts, figures, dates, people, and observations. This is the lowest form of…
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