The Official Website of Michael Corthell

Superstition : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance,  fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. by Michael Corthell Superstitious beliefs are very common throughout the world. They aren't discussed very much and are for the most part just accepted. These false beliefs vary across cultural lines and among nationalities but they all have the same beginnings: ignorance, as we shall see. ''Religion without morality is a superstition and a curse, and morality without religion is impossible.'' — Mark Hopkins Are you a slave to your superstitions? Do you turn around when you see a black cat? Do you avoid stepping on a crack (so you won't break your mother's back!), because you are sure that your day will be ruined? Have you broken a mirror, and felt the doom that your life was ruined for the next seven years? If you feel this way, then it may be time to break the habit of superstition by standing in t

__________________________________ Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved. Research suggests that conspiracist ideation—belief in conspiracy theories—can be psychologically harmful or pathological and that it is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia and Machiavellianism . Psychologists attribute finding a conspiracy where there is none to a mental illness called illusory pattern perception . Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivati

by Michael Corthell The Democratic Party and the Republican Party dominate modern politics in the United States. They can be seen as one coin with the Democrats  on one side and the Republicans on the other. The name of the coin is 'corruption.' How can I say with surety, that these political parties are indeed both corrupt other than saying, 'Look what they have done and continue to do!'??  All governments on Earth, past and present were and are corrupt. In fact, there has never been a truly democratic government, ever(the ancient Greeks came close).  They all were, and are corrupted by the money-based systems that support them whether it be socialistic , capitalistic , or communistic systems.  That money is the root of all evils(corrupt behaviors) is a factual statement . In America, any political candidate, particularly a national or state candidate needs money to run their campaign to get their message out, and then once installed in the elected office here come t

  by Michael Corthell  (This was written on January 6, 2021 as the insurrection was unfolding at the Capitol) Maine Senator Susan Collins said at the time she thought that the president had learned his lesson . "I believe that the president has learned from this case," she told Norah O'Donnell of CBS News. "The president has been impeached. That's a pretty big lesson."  Right. Most people knew at the time that it was a crock and that Trump would never 'learn his lesson'. When the Senate failed to remove him last year, it all but guaranteed that Trump would try to overturn the election. (for example, as I write this on January 6, 2021, he just sent the following tweets:  ''The States want to redo their votes. They found out they voted on a FRAUD. Legislatures never approved. Let them do it. BE STRONG!''  ''They just happened to find 50,000 ballots late last night. The USA is embarrassed by fools. Our Election Process is worse t

by Michael Corthell What is the best way to find out if something you read online, in a newspaper or on television is accurate and not fake? You fact-check it. But how you ask? How hard is that to do? In my mind it's not very hard at all, especially when I think back to when I was in high school, and had to do all my research at the school or public library using the card catalog system .  If you can Google it, you can fact-check it, but be SKEPTICAL!  Take a look at this quick guide to spotting FAKE NEWS. 1. Read Past The Headline One way that fake news gets amplified is that busy readers may not look past the headline or opening paragraph before they decide to share an article. Fake news publishers sometimes exploit this tendency , writing the beginning of a story in a straightforward way before filling in the rest with obviously false information.  In other cases, clicking through to the article will reveal that the story really has nothing to do with the headline at all or prov

"WE will have peace if WE have the WILL'' by Michael Corthell   The world needs more compassionate people to make our planet a happier and more peaceful place to live during normal times. We are not in a normal time right now, so it is vitally important that we become more compassionate toward everyone and every being. Here are 20 ways we can become more compassionate today. 1. Be selfless. Put yourself in others’ shoes. Place your happiness in the happiness of others. Instead of just thinking and caring for yourself, start caring for others. Break free from selfishness. Compassion is a great journey to go out of yourself and start caring, helping, and making other people happy. Learning how to be selfless is a great start to becoming a more compassionate person. 2. Be humble. Free yourself of pride. Stop feeling superior to others, don’t act like you know everything, admit your own mistakes, and learn to forgive people. If there’s humility in your heart, it woul

Imagination: the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful. The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. by Michael Corthell If you can imagine something, you can take an image that exists only in your mind and make it real. Napoleon Hill, in his book, Think and Grow Rich says that there are two types of imagination: Synthetic Imagination. '' Through this faculty, one may arrange old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. This faculty creates nothing. It merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation with which it is fed. It is the faculty used most by the inventor, with the exception of the "genius" who draws upon the creative imagination, when he cannot solve his problem through synthetic imagination.'' Creative Imagination. '' Through the faculty of creative imagination, the limited, finite mind of man has direct communication wi

Curiosity: The Passion to seek, and to know. by Michael Corthell To be an entrepreneur or a genius is to be passionately curious. But what if you lack the passion to know things? Can you develop it. Yes, just like anything else—'if there's a will, there's a way.' The important thing [in life] is not to stop questioning… Never lose a Holy curiosity. —Albert Einstein Why? It keeps your mind active and healthy. Curious people always ask questions and look for answers. Exercising your mind has the same result as aerobics has on your body. It keeps your mind open to opportunities and new ideas.   Curiosity builds the anticipation of new information and ideas. Therefore you will recognize a good idea more readily when it comes. It opens up new worlds and possibilities. Being curious will allow you to see new worlds and possibilities which are normally not visible to your old, non-seeking mind. New ideas are hidden below the surface of normal, everyda

by Michael Corthell January 25, 2021 Nationalism and patriotism can be viewed as two sides of the same coin but there is a major gulf between the two. America is an exceptional nation, I say this not because I was lucky enough to be born here. I believe that America is exceptional because of the shared values, and our willingness to help other countries share our experience by enjoying the same types freedoms written into our Constitution . Looking at nationalism, America's strong national identity has always manifested itself in the form of patriotism. Out of many nations we make up one nation, a nation made up of cultures from every country in the world, therefore American nationalism shouldn't exist... In America, we have no shared ethnic heritage. Writings from our country’s founders show men who envisioned a land made up of oppressed peoples from all the nations on Earth who were fleeing political or religious tyranny. Today, as I write this America just survived an insur

by Michael Corthell If someone says to you, ''Tell me what to do!''  What is the best answer? There are millions of answers, and it is okay to honor their request, especially to help them out of a 'spot', but a better request for them to make is this, ''Please help me train my mind to adapt to any circumstance.'' This is very much like teaching someone to fish, rather than just giving them a fish.  Helping other people to find within themselves the tools not only for survival but to also grow and THRIVE is good. ''Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.'' —Stephen Hawking While answered questions and planning are necessary, people who accept life on life's terms, the stoics, don't need an answer for every question or a plan for every single contingency. They simply do not worry. Why is that? Because they have confidence in themselves. They believe that they'll be able to adapt to any situation an

by Michael Corthell Many people cannot bring themselves to take chances in life or business, because they fear the criticism that may follow if they fail. The fear of criticism then becomes stronger than the desire for success. I think all of us have this fear to one degree or another. To some this fear, of what others will say, has been an insurmountable barrier to achieving success and the life they want. ''Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.'' That childhood sing-song idiom that echoes from our childhood may be true, however, the words of a critic always give us pause, because no one enjoys being rejected. Let's look at ways to minimize this instinctual fear. First look at reality.  Many people see things as they really are. But some people see the worst in everything. They of course have a negative mindset. When you are critiqued it may be wise to ''take it from whence it came''. ''

 by Michael Corthell Problems are at the center of our lives every single day, whether you're solving a problem of what to have for breakfast, or helping those in need to solve their problems. The problems that you face can be large or small, simple or complex, easy or difficult, but they are ever-present. Your task is making them manageable. The most effective way to do this is through organized, step-by-step thinking. ''Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.'' —Henry Kaiser Problem-solving includes prevention and is at the core of a leader's job description. As a leader, your primary goal is to lower the occurrence of problems. That means planning for them, and handling them head-on before circumstances make us take action. As Karl Popper, simply stated, ''All life is problem-solving.'' Meaning that, not only do the best leaders need to be the best problem solvers but also that the rest of us should be great pro

by Michael Corthell What if you could go back and tell your 12-year-old self about the secrets to a happy and fulfilling life? What if you had heard, understood, and accepted the most important life lessons when you were still a teenager?  I've collected most of them here. 1. Have Faith  2. Be grateful for everything, despite your suffering. 3. Always remember that what you don't know is much more important than what you know now. 4. Don't stay in a career that you hate. 5. Always behave so that it's easy to tell the truth about how you acted. 6. Always believe that the person you are with might know something you need to know. 7. Be mindful. That means Pay ATTENTION. 8. When you choose, be the one who does things, instead of the one who watches things. 9. Grab what is meaningful in life and hold on to it. 10. Be honest, tell the truth. 11. Seek to always improve things, make things better everywhere you go. 12. Guard who you share bad news with.