Someone I know attended a seminar the other day, one of those self-empowerment love-ins where attendees are exhorted to: a) tap the hitherto unexploited reservoir of energy hidden deep inside them and, b) oh, by the way, purchase oodles of instructional books, CD’s, and t-shirts. Whenever I hear about these How to Live Your Life fests, I’m always reminded of the best-selling “Diet of the Week” hardcovers. You know, those 300-some pages of filler ultimately concealing three worthwhile pages of advice: eat less, eat better, exercise more. Back when I held down a 9 to 5 job for a company, I would have to sit in on these godforsaken meetings in which my co-workers would say the same things, bring up the same ideas, and arrive at the same conclusions, in a roundabout and varied manner. The end-product of these get-togethers – on the rare occasions something productive was ever actually achieved – always amounted to common sense and, quite frankly, something we didn’t need a 3+ hour meeting to conclude. Being assertive makes good business sense. Eating ice cream before bedtime can make you fat. This cartoon we’re working on sucks ass. Every time I’d head back to my office, still mired in that post-meeting maalise, I would always wonder whether I was the only one who saw the truth. Did anyone else realize how useless these meetings were? Well, as it turns out, some did but, to most, they weren’t useless at all because they would have never arrived at these very obvious conclusions on their own. Most people aren’t assertive. They don’t seek out their own answers. They eat ice cream before bedtime and wonder why they get fat, so they pick up those 300 page diet books in a desperate bid to have someone spoon-feed them the obvious. Or they pay hundreds of dollars to attend seminars where motivational speakers regale them with amusing anecdotes, pump them up with inspirational personal accounts, and then send them out to conquer the world – or, at the very least, help them feel good about themselves all the way back to the parking lot.
This person I know attended a seminar where the speaker informed the gathering that individuals tend to befriend and hang out with people in their approximate income bracket. But in order to improve their station in life, he advised the attendees to, instead, befriend and hang out with people in higher income brackets. So, in other words, base your friendships not on a person’s character or how well you get along but, rather, on how much they earn because that may prompt you to seek out a bigger and better life for yourself. Seriously, ask yourself? What has your best friend done for you lately? No, forget that. Ask yourself: How much does he or she earn? Is it significantly more than you? If not, then dump them. The last thing you need is dead weight like dragging you down. Once that’s done, start trawling for replacement friends. BMW dealerships are good hunting grounds although I would avoid wanna-be’s circling the 300 series and set your sights on the SUV, roadster, and sedan-seekers. A yacht club would also be a good place to scope out although that may not necessitate your learning something about yachting which, now that I think of it, probably wouldn’t be worth it. Upscale steakhouses are also good bets as everyone knows no one enjoys a good filet mignon more than a rich person.
Ultimately, there are no easy answers to taking charge of your life. No, check that. There ARE easy answers. Spend time with good friends regardless of how much they make in a year, don’t waste your money on motivational seminars and diet-books-of-the-week, recognize the obvious and don’t be afraid to take chances and, most important of all, don’t eat ice cream before bedtime.
Well, that’s a wrap for this weekend. I’m off to watch the season finale of The Amazing Race. It’s down to three teams. Which one do I hate the least? Hard to say. Who’s going to win? I’m still rooting for Rob and Amber even though they were eliminated six weeks ago.
Thoughts –
Susan writes: “And are the three pugs fans of Mars? […] Wilst typing this my cat has fallen off a wall unit into a deep box that she can’t get out. Should I rescue her or not?”
Answer: Yup, they’re buddies. When David and Jane come over, Mars and the pugs like to lounge around. As for your cat – if she’s still alive, then by all means rescue her.
Kirstine writes: “Have you ever tried some Norwegian food?”
Answer: I have eaten a Norwegian cheese. What other dishes are typically Norwegian?
Kristine also writes: “Any good advice on how to make a marridge work?”
Answer: Marry someone you respect and who respects you. And shares your passion for Stargate.
Bugguy writes: “How is your mom doing.”
Answer: She’s doing much better. Thanks for asking.
Scifan writes: “I was wondering if a fan was to have an idea for a show, can they share it with you or should they just forget about it? Also, my oldest son,who is 7, really likes pugs. Are they good with kids.”
Answer: Unfortunately, we can’t check out fan ideas or stories. Sorry. As for pugs – they’re great with kids but kids aren’t so great with them.
My Name Is Scott writes: “ “You know what they say about six-fingered children:…”
Answer: …They’re quicker at peeling bananas.
Anonymous #1 writes: “I’ve read that you’ve been to Le Petit Munich. Have you’ve ever tried their German Chocolat Cheesecake?”
Answer: I think we did. I’ll have to go back and check.
Anonymous #2 writes: “ The Beckett and Weir fans online are indicative of the way ‘casual’ viewers feel.”
Answer: Okay. But what if focus group testing of non-online fandom suggests findings that are opposite to what online fandom suggests? Say online fans want more A but focus group fans want a lot less A? Should we be paying more attention to one sampling than the other? Or should we be mindful of both and continue to make the show we always have?
Flying Fig writes: “EW has had positive things to say about the Stargate franchise, although it has been a few years. However, their selection of TV shows was pretty good, as well as being an excellent sampling of scifi genre over the last 25 years.”
Answer: I have absolutely no problem with the shows that made the list. I’m just reacting to the fact that, for years, I’ve had people on the production pointing out how EW seems to go out of their way to slag the show.
Ghost writes: “You mentioned that you were thinking of three different people to replace Weir, and Carter won out in the end. Who, might I ask, were the others that were considered?”
Answer: No can say out of respect for the other candidates.
Hannah writes: “What are your feelings on Battlestar Glactica? Overrated? Or as good as everyone says?”
Answer: I don’t know. I’ve never watched an episode. I hear good things though.
Elodie writes: “Is there any chance to see Mitchell, Daniel and Vala in Atlantis season 4? Will we see Chaya Sar (the ascended being in season 1) in season 4?”
Answers: Possibly and no.
Jed writes: “Hello, i was just wondering if we are going to see anything on how the wraith ships are created in season 4?”
Answer: We were discussing this topic just the other week. Let’s just say some wraith secrets shall be revealed in season four…
Edward4th writes: “Thanks for answering a previously asked question, its not easy catching up with everything that has already been covered. I’ll attempt to be more original in future.”
Answer: No problem although, next time, we will hunt you down.
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