I HATE You, Therefore I will Read You.

Diane:  Yes... if it was indeed your pressing of the suggest button that got this featured... then yes, you will get a purple star.

Jay, what a great post!  ...Albert Einstein..."Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." 

Mediocrity breeds laziness which breeds ignorance. Not being open to more than one view to me is plain ignorance.  How else can anyone make an informed opinion.  Old but great book Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged.

Ana

Jay, thank you for sharing your thoughts - and welcome :) I don't get as much time as I would like to read these days, so when I do read, I generally scour various internet articles or visit different websites to satisfy my craving for new information, ideas and opinions... However, I do have a couple books and some DVDs to reccommend - ones that have contributed enormously to my personal growth and happiness... (I'm giving fair warning: there are some pretty contorversial notions as well as some very profound scientific information in some of them!) I have backlinked all of the images to the websites, as these films may be hard to come by at places like Blockbuster, etc.

Check out the Zeitgeist films...

 Zeitgeist: The Movie

Zeitgeist: Addendum

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (to be released in December)

                                                                    What the Bleep Do We Know!?

                                      What the Bleep Do We Know!?Down the Rabbit Hole

As for books, take a gander at Mike Dooley's Infinite Possibilities and Manifesting Change: It Couldn't Be Easier, both of which can be purchased on iTunes as audiobooks or any Barnes and Nobles, Borders, etc.

Thanks again for the excellent post, Jay! I'm stoked about all of the suggestions for reading material and about the opportunity to be able to share mine with others. I believe your post is successful on many, many levels - some of which may not be readily apparent on the surface. Keep it up!

Thanks for a great post Jay.  Stepping out of our comfortable information loops is necessary for growth.

RIGHT ON! Power to the people that EXPAND their minds.  READING and LISTENING are powerful resources and the more we are receptive the more we GROW!  Active Rain is a perfect example of sharing ideas and encouragement even if we all (thankfully) do not think alike!  Thank you for a great post!

WELCOME to the RAIN!  I subscribed, we want MORE! (No pressure)

Therein lies the answer to many a time when an agent wonders why he/she lost the listing.  Because the agent did not have the answer the seller wanted to hear.  It goes back to exactly what you are talking about.  People go with people who think like they do and believe like they do.  Mr. Real Estate Agent will you sell my house for $XXXXXXX...no?  Ok, I'll find someone who will agree with me and list it with him/her.

Jay, I try listening to both sides just to be better informed. No matter who I'm listening to, they eventually go to some extreme that causes me to turn them off. But, in an hour or two, I'm back listening.

When someone in my team says "that horrible person yelled because xyz" I always try to shut down our human shield that naturally goes up, and take a moment to look at what they are yelling about. Many people stay quiet and the out there ones yell and scream or hang up - however there's usually a nugget of truth in what they are saying! Slightly off your topic, however it brought it to mind for me :-)

Luv It! I love getting opposing opinions/viewpoints on everything. Why? Because no one person was meant to have the answer to everything. I'm one those that asks for an opinion truly to see if there's a different perspective I haven't considered. Downside--over analyzing everthing and it takes me forever to make a decision-----but I'm working on it.

You could get 1000's of book recommendations, and maybe even read some of them, but someone had mentioned earlier that there is no chance to debate with a book or a news broadcast... Unless you take that book or broadcast to a group of individuals with deffering opinions.  There is a men's group that I meet with and we discuss politics, religion, the economy, etc...  You could establish something like that weekly, bi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly ( I prefer the weekly approach, it keeps it alive ).  This could not only open your mind to other idea's and opinions, but through the theory of 6 degrees of separation, who knows who you may get to know...

To your Success!

Scott

Jay, 

I liked your title, and really liked your post....you do seem to seek objectivity, which is what this world needs in order to prepare to make informed decisions.  

Here's a book that got me thinking outside the box: "What God Wants" by Neale Donald Walsch and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.

Great post Jay.  I tend to believe both sides when I hear or read things which actually makes it hard at times when I have to choose.  You can imagine what the political ads do to me!!! Uggggg.

Jay - I miss Dave's StageCoach Inn. Grew up in KC. Rollerskated through Westport even through Blaney's when I was 21. Had a ball. Great town. Most of my fam is gone now, but my adorable niece Erin Catalano works at Remax with the Nice Guys somewhere up north. Give her a big hug and kiss from Auntie K. She just got her very first listing!! Welcome to Active Rain. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy being your friend :)

I'm afraid tht I might flip sides. Isn't that silly? Open-minded is good. Knowledge is good. Change is good. Great topic for a post. Thanks.

Jay, excellent thought provoking post with great comments.  Thanks and good work, it really deserves to be featured

Bill

I don't mind an opposing view, but if you are inappropriate, I will delete you.

Hi Jay,

What a great first post!  Here is a little ditty that I consider to be my True North. "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

That passage informs my world view.  Anything which enriches that world view, for me, I let into my life.

Anything that doesn't....I don't.

Life is difficult enough without carving out time to be demoralized by lies, falsehoods, and outright propaganda.

True North, baby!

This reminds me of the first broker I worked with. He became my mentor and in retrospect he was one of the wisest people I ever met. Al listened to everyone and collected bits of wisdom form many writers including the Bible. He validated everyone even if he didn't agree with them. I learned so much from him the year I worked with him. It's interesting how it takes some experience and maturity to realize what a treasure we have in the very people we have around us. I'm so glad I was able to express how much his friendship meant to me and how much he taught me as an observer.

I just want to add that I am glad I was able to express this to him the last time I saw him since he passed away shortly after our last meeting.