The Official Website of Michael Corthell

“The most powerful predictor of the murder rate is the size of the gap in income and wealth between the rich and the poor. And the most powerful predictor of the rate of national or collective violence—war, civil insurrection, and terrorism—is the size of the gap between income and wealth between the rich and poor nations.” ― Dr. James Gilligan So, 'peace on Earth'? Share its abundance. (because we all have an equal inheritance of its resources and shouldn't compete for anything.  “Our entire system, in an economic sense, is based on restriction. Scarcity and inefficiency are the movers of money; the more there is of any resource the less you can charge for it. The more problems there are, the more opportunities there are to make money. This reality is a social disease, for people can actually gain off the misery of others and the destruction of the environment. Efficiency, abundance, and sustainability are enemies of our economic structure, for they are inverse to the mec

  Love for all living creatures is  the noblest virtue of humankind.  “Veganism is not about giving anything up or losing anything; it is about gaining the peace within yourself that comes from embracing nonviolence and refusing to participate in the exploitation of the vulnerable.”  —  Gary L. Francione

“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss Every new day is a new beginning. And things will change.

“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. ― George Sand Never mind money, power, and fame, it's love  —   how much you gave and how much you received that counts for anything. Love is the only treasure you take with you when you leave this world. “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” ― Albert Einstein

“Don't just declutter, de-own.” ― Joshua Becker, Clutterfree with Kids Unused 'precious' objects take up precious space and very precious time.

  “Miracles surround us at every turn, if we but sharpen our perceptions to them.” ― Willa Cather When you live your life knowing that everything is a miracle, every moment then becomes something to savor and be in awe of. You are then filled with appreciation and gratitude knowing that you are indeed blessed.

  “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches No child is born with prejudice and hate in his or her heart. All are born wanting to connect with others. Just as love is learned when children are cherished and nurtured, hate is also learned by messages and cues that are both verbal and nonverbal. As hate is learned, so it can be unlearned. “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” ― Elie Wiesel

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ― Benjamin Franklin The doctor of the future will give no medication but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease. ― Thomas A. Edison

  “You would be enraged if after attending a barbeque at your neighbors your host said he had served you a Beagle Burger. How is a dog different than a cow?” ― Michael Corthell “I narrowed the focus of my research to examine a specific expression of the relational paradox: the psychosociology of eating animals, a phenomenon I named carnism. Seeking to understand how people who care about the well-being of nonhuman animals nevertheless consume (or kill) them, I conducted interviews and surveys, and coded and analyzed responses. I concluded that eating (certain) animals results from extensive social and psychological conditioning that causes naturally empathic and rational people to distort their perceptions and block their empathy so that they act against their values of compassion and justice without fully realizing what they're doing. In other words, carnism teaches us to violate the Golden Rule without knowing or caring that we're doing so.” ― Melanie Joy, Powerarchy: Underst

“Why look for conspiracy when stupidity can explain so much” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Conspiracy theories have long been used to maintain power: the Soviet leadership saw capitalist and counter-revolutionary conspiracies everywhere; the Nazis, Jewish ones. But those conspiracies were ultimately there to buttress an ideology, whether class warfare for Communists or race for Nazis. With today’s regimes, which struggle to formulate a single ideology – indeed, which can’t if they want to maintain power by sending different messages to different people – the idea that one lives in a world full of conspiracies becomes the world view itself.  Conspiracy does not support the ideology; it replaces it. In Russia this is captured in the catchphrase of the country’s most important current affairs presenter: ‘A coincidence? I don’t think so!’ says Dmitry Kiselev as he twirls between tall tales that dip into history, literature, oil prices and colour revolutions, which all return to the theme o

“God does not play dice with the universe.” ― Albert Einstein, The Born-Einstein Letters 1916-55 Thinking simply  ―  positive or negative thoughts have a direct impact on your reality. “The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” ― Carl Sagan

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” ― William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure Self-Doubt stops our progress faster than failure. “If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” ― Vincent Willem van Gogh

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” ― Pablo Picasso A mind on fire has the Universe in its hand. “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” ― Osho

  “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart 1. 2. 3. Faith, Gratitude, and Forgiveness  “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” ― Maya Angelou

“Narcissists are consumed with maintaining a shallow false self to others. They're emotionally crippled souls that are addicted to attention. Because of this, they use a multitude of games, in order to receive adoration. Sadly, they are the most ungodly of God's creations because they don't show remorse for their actions, take steps to make amends, or have empathy for others. They are morally bankrupt.” ― Shannon L. Alder The narcissist has an empty place in his soul. It's the place where empathy and goodwill toward others belong.   ― Michael Corthell  “Narcissistic personality disorder is named for Narcissus, from Greek mythology, who fell in love with his own reflection. Freud used the term to describe persons who were self-absorbed, and psychoanalysts have focused on the narcissist’s need to bolster his or her self-esteem through grandiose fantasy, exaggerated ambition, exhibitionism, and feelings of entitlement.”  ― Donald W. Black

"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever." – Walt Disney Imagination is creation. It is daring. It is Godlike and Godgiven. Just by imagining and thinking big, we are daring God to let us do it.

“Please keep calling me a snowflake. I like being different than the next person. Every snowflake is unique. They all come from the same place but are able to establish their own identities, free and clear of any other snowflake. Snowflakes make this world beautiful.” ― Ed Krassenstein ''The propagandist's secret in getting the public to believe something false about anyone or anything is to repeat it often enough and with enough passion that it will be regarded as the absolute, Gospel Truth.''   ― Michael Corthell

  “I see a world on the edge of a blade. Without balance, it will fall.” ― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen Understanding the balance between darkness and light is as simple as knowing that every lit candle casts a shadow... “Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds' wings.” ― Jelaluddin Rumi , The Essential Rumi

  While in the process of waking up, people start to release old belief systems and ways of living. They begin to 'think outside the box', questioning our physical reality, a reality once thought 'normal'. People being drawn into the light of the truth will look to surround themselves with inspiration, positivity, and practice personal development. How to eat better, and live longer. How to stop worrying. How to be spiritually, mentally, and physically fit and strong. “Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Remember!--It is Christianity to do good always--even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbours as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything. If we do this, and remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace.” ― Charles Dickens Treat all other living beings the way you want to be treated, not because what goes around comes around, but because it's the only way the world will find peace.

"Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson Don't confuse positive self-promotion(personal branding) with the narcissism that goes on all day with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram posts.

by Michael Corthell In the current era, we in America have been given many examples of how to promote one's self. But self-promotion isn't just for over-the-top narcissists. It is a necessity, as you shall see. The art of self-promotion, and it is indeed an art, is a very valuable skill, especially in a competitive job market, and is generally is the key ingredient in a positive and fulfilling life. Why is that? Because, in order to live that kind of life, we all must first love and encourage ourselves, before we can love and encourage others. ''Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.'' —Samuel Johnson Elsewhere in this magazine, I cover self-confidence, and how to get more of it. That confidence in yourself, and your own ability is the very first thing you need to develop when promoting 'you'. One of the hardest things to do for those of us who are selling ourselves is having the ability to separat

“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ― Winston S. Churchill See every life as a life and  every human being as a human being.

“The bird dares to break the shell, then the shell breaks open and the bird can fly openly. This is the simplest principle of success. You dream, you dare and and you fly.” ― Israelmore Ayivor Positive Salvation: Acts of kindness, no matter how small, make a positive impact on someone's life starting with your own.

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” ― Robert Frost There really is a fountain of youth. It is contained within your mind, and resides with your talents, and the creativity you bring to life. “The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time.” ― Dante Alighieri