It’s that time of year again. Halloween is right around the corner and a lot of people are scared. Our so-called leaders walk around as though they are zombies whose purpose is to destroy our nation. Every decision they make is the exact opposite of what a reasonable, rational person would decide. What’s even scarier is the sheep-like behavior of the masses who wander about, clueless as to what’s going on around them.
According to Dorothea Brande, author of the book, Wake Up and Live, the most important success secret she has ever discovered is to “[A]ct as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be.” From a business perspective, I can tell you that in my 31 years of practicing law and working with numerous business owners, Brande’s “secret” really is one of the true principles of success in the business world.
Last week, I wrote about how an adorer (“Tony”) had criticized me because of an article that I had written about Amazon.com and its founder, Jeff Bezos. Tony provided several reasons why I (and other Catholics) should refuse to do business with Amazon, one of which is that “Amazon distributes pornography.” Here’s how I responded to the comment about the pornography issue:
I was born on the same day that my grandfather, Harry LaHood, was buried. My grandfather died on May 17, 1957. My mom and dad attended his funeral Mass on May 20, and then went to the cemetery for the burial service. Mom’s contractions had started earlier in the day and became more intense while she and Dad were at the cemetery. After the burial service was finished, Mom told Dad that she needed to go to the hospital. I was born later that day, and Mom gave me the same name as her father.
When I was 13 years old, a cousin of mine died as a result of a tragic accident. He was 11 years old at the time of his death. The day after he died, my parents and I went over to his parents’ house to visit his family. I went with my parents because I had been a good friend of my cousin and still was a good friend of his older brother.
Imagine you are driving on University Street in Peoria and in the distance you see a large crowd of people gathered in a parking lot. As you drive closer to the crowd, you see a man who you have met before tied to a telephone pole. To your horror, you see two young, well-built men taking turns at beating the man with leather whips that have sharp pieces of metal attached to the ends of each whip.