OBOF SS & MORE PART CL2-59

WELCOME TO OPINIONS  BASED  ON FACTS (OBOF)

Name	Published
OVERVIEW	Dec. 28, 2010
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 1	Dec. 30, 2010
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2	Jan. 10, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3	Jan. 17, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 4	Jan. 24, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 5	Jan. 31, 2011
!!SOCIAL SECURITY PART 6	Feb. 07, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 7	Feb. 14, 2011
SPECIAL ISSUE	Feb. 18, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 8	Feb. 21, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 9	Mar. 01, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 10	Mar. 07, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1	Mar. 14, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1A	Mar. 21, 2011
SS & MORE PART 2	Mar. 25, 2011
SS & MORE PART 3	Mar. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 4	Apr. 04, 2011
SS & MORE PART 5	Apr. 11, 2011
SS & MORE PART 6	Apr. 18, 2011
SS & MORE PART 7	Apr. 25, 2011
SS & MORE PART 7A	Apr. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 8	May 02, 2011
SS & MORE PART 9	May 09, 2011
SS & MORE PART 10	May 16, 2011
SS & MORE PART 11	May 24, 2011
SS & MORE PART 12	Jun. 06, 2011
SS & MORE PART 13	Jun. 20, 2011
SS & MORE PART 14	JULY 05,2011
SS & MORE PART 14A	JULY 18, 2011
SS & MORE PART 15	JULY 19, 2011
SS & MORE PART 16	AUG. 03, 2011
SS & MORE PART 17	AUG. 15, 2011
SS & MORE PART 18	Aug.  29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 19	Sept. 12, 2011
SS & MORE PART 20	Sept. 26, 2011
SS & MORE PART 21	Oct.   10, 2011
SS & MORE PART 22	Oct.  24, 2011
SS & MORE PART 22 EXTRA	Nov.  04, 2011
SS & MORE PART 23	Nov.  07, 2011
SS & MORE PART 24	Nov.  21, 2011
SS & MORE PART 25	Dec.  05, 2011
SS & MORE PART 26	DEC.  19, 2011
SS & MORE PART 27	JAN.  03, 2012
SS & MORE PART 27A	JAN.  05, 2012
SS & MORE PART 28	JAN.  17, 2012
SS & MORE PART 29	JAN.  31, 2012
SS & MORE PART 30	Feb.  14,2012
SS & MORE PART CL1	Feb.  21, 2012
SS & MORE PART 30 EXTRA	Feb.  23, 2012
SS & MORE PART 31	Feb.  28, 2012
SS & MORE PART CL2 - 59	Mar.  06, 2012

IN  THIS  ISSUE

"Contemplating Life"

IMPORTANT NOTE:  THERE WILL BE AN EXTRA OF OBOF POSTED ON WEDNESDAY THE 7TH OF MARCH FOLLOWED WITH THE REGULAR OBOF POSTING SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY BY NOON MARCH 13TH.

~~~

This is the second of a series of essays that I told you about in the last posting.  By way of clarification, I will open with the first paragraphs of the last posting, which will lead us right into this essay.  

~~~

I want to tell you about an incredible man.  He was born in the poorest of the poor.  Despite unbelievable odds in his early years, he managed to get through early school years and went on to obtain a Ph. D. in economics.  It just isn't possible to imagine the obstacles he faced and conquered to get to that point. 

He was a Professor of Economics Emeritus, Eastern Illinois University.  After retiring, he spent 11 years trying to educate the public about the great Social Security fraud by Congresses stealing $2.6 trillion from the SS Trust Fund.  He has written 7 books on both Social Security and Economics.

Also, for the past 17 years he has been writing weekly essays "Contemplating Life," that are published in five newspapers in Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, and Virginia.  He has compiled 77 of these essays into a book and it is from these 77 that I am going to post some of the essays.   

The reason for telling you this is that the Tuesday between the Tuesdays that I post the "Opinions Based On Facts," I am going to post one of the essays from the book, "Contemplating Life." 

The man that I have been talking about is Allen W. Smith Ph. D. and I have the greatest respect and admiration for him.  I have found these essays to be very enlightening and comforting.  I hope you will also.

~~~

           

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”

Theodore Roosevelt

AN  ESSAY  FROM  THE  BOOK

"CONTEMPLATING  LIFE"

BY

 Allen W. Smith Ph.D.

          Dreaming is the beginning of all accomplishment.  By visualizing in our mind’s eye what might be, we become inspired to try to turn the dreams into reality.  Imagine the person who first dreamed of the wheel.  Perhaps a log rolling down a hill was the initial source of inspiration that stimulated somebody’s mind to envision the endless possibilities of the wheel.  Once the wheel was a reality, others envisioned gears and other applications.

          Very few people ever accomplish as much as they are capable of accomplishing because, either their dreams are not big enough, or they are afraid to pursue them.  Some of us have the tendency to talk ourselves out of trying any new ideas that come to us.  We tell ourselves that we are not capable of accomplishing our dreams or that there is too much risk of failure.  At any rate, we are just not willing to pursue our dreams beyond the dreaming stage.  

          Consider how different the world would be today if people like the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and all the other pioneers had not been willing to follow their dreams.  Think of how much medical technology has advanced as a result of those who were willing to pursue the ideas that came to them. 

          Nobody ever accomplishes anything without dreaming, but you can’t accomplish very much through dreaming alone.  Success requires dreaming, hard work, perseverance, and a reasonable degree of practical common sense.  People with great accomplishments usually have a balanced combination of the above traits.

          It is very important to pursue our dreams to the extent possible, but there are limits to what we can do.  A man with a family can’t just quit his job and start chasing rainbows.  He has responsibilities to fulfill.  During the 30 years I was a college professor, I had many adult students who had delayed getting a college degree for decades.  I especially remember one man who had put all of his children through college first.  When the last one graduated, he retired and began working on a college degree for himself.

          It is never too late to pursue dreams as long as we are still alive.  Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 years old when she began to write her series of “Little House” novels based mainly upon her own pioneering experience.    Grandma Moses was 78 years old when she began painting with oils.  Colonel Harland Sanders was 65 when he launched his Kentucky fried chicken franchise business.

 

          We must keep our eyes on the stars if we want to get the most from life, but we must also heed Theodore Roosevelt’s advice to keep our feet on the ground.  Some people chase every rainbow that comes along without evaluating their dreams to see which ones are more likely to be attainable.  By doing so, they spend most of their lives in dreamland and far too little in the world of reality.  We need to strike a balance between big dreams and responsible behavior. 

~~~

If the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, I'll talk with you again in tomorrow with an EXTRA edition of OBOF and again on March 13th by noon, with the regular edition of OBOF.

A REMINDER:  From the number of you who hit my blog on Mondays, I feel that I have not made it clear that some time ago I changed posting to Tuesdays by noon.