User:Liberal claptrap

I have been a contributor at Conservapedia since February 22, 2007. I was made a Conservapedia Administrator shortly after becoming an editor at the website. A short bio of me is given HERE.

I am an irrepressible optimist and realist who nearly always sees the bright side of things.

Question: Can God radically change you in a good way? Yes, he can! See: Change in personality traits due to religious conversion

I hope you find the information on this page helpful and interesting. For example, read my series of articles at Achievement related articles that relate to the topic of achievement orientation.

To see a collection of my essays, please go to: User:Conservative's essays.

Want to go to heaven?

See also: Resources on becoming a Christian

The Resurrection by Carl Heinrich Bloch.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." - Deuteronomy 6:5

"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation". - Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

"‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.'" - Revelation 3:20 (NASB)

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:21-25 (NASB)

"But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth." - 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NRSV)

"...bear fruits in keeping with repentance." - Luke 3:8 (NASB)

"And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just." - Romans 3:8 (NASB)

"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." - Hebrews 7:25 (NASB)

"When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:25-26 (NASB)

Christianity resources pages

• Evidence for Christianity
• Resources on becoming a Christian
• Internet evangelism

Favorite Christian blog

• John Piippo, John Piippo is a Pastor at Redeemer Church. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God. And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1 NASB)

Autumn foliage

See: Argument from beauty

And He said to them, 'Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." - Jesus Christ, (Matthew 17:20 NASB)

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." - The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

"No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." - The Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 2:4

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." - John 14:26-27

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." - Isaiah 26:3

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." - Matthew 5:9

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." - Romans 12:18

For more information, please see: Evidence for Christianity

Christianity and its beneficial effects on society and on individuals

See also: Bible reading and human flourishing and Christianity and social stability and Protestant cultural legacies and Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Works (theology) and Virtue

Jesus Christ and his apostles taught a gospel of love. For example, the New Testament teaches that a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

In his article The Triumph of the Gospel of Love, Monk Themistocles (Adamopoulo) wrote:

“

It is generally agreed by scholars and saints that the teaching of "love" and charity represent one of the essential dimensions of the Gospel of Jesus and the Gospel of Paul. Accordingly, from the extant words and parables of Jesus many concern themselves with the message of love. For example on the Sunday of Meat Fare, from the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus identifying Himself and in solidarity with the destitute, the suffering, the rejected and the oppressed, calling for and rewarding altruistic philanthropy: "... I was hungry and you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, when I was a stranger you took me in, when naked you clothed me, when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me ... I tell you this anything you did for one of my brothers here, however humble, you did it for me." (Matt 25:35-36, 40)... Christians undertook a great deal of almsgiving to the poor not only to fellow believers but to pagans as well. So amazed was the anti-Christian pagan emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363 AD), with the sheer benevolence and excellence of Christian philanthropy that he was forced to admit in wonder their superiority over paganism in matters of charity: "These godless Galileans (ie. Christians) feed not only their own poor but ours: our poor lack our care" (Ep. Sozom. 5:16).

”

Philippians 2:1-2 declares, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”

1 John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

In December 2003, the University of Warwick reported: "Dr. Stephen Joseph, from the University of Warwick, said: "Religious people seem to have a greater purpose in life, which is why they are happier. Looking at the research evidence, it seems that those who celebrate the Christian meaning of Christmas are on the whole likely to be happier."

The ex-atheist C.S. Lewis became a Christian and wrote a book entitled Surprised by Joy.

St. Basil of Caesarea founded the first large-scale hospital. Christian hospitals subsequently spread quickly throughout both the East and the West. See: Christianity and hospitals

St. Basil of Caesarea founded the first hospital. Christian hospitals subsequently spread quickly throughout both the East and the West.

The First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. ordered the construction of a hospital for every cathedral town in the Roman Empire to care for the poor, sick, widows, and strangers. They were staffed and funded by religious orders and volunteers.

The article "The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries" published in Christianity Today notes:

“

In his fifth year of graduate school, Woodberry created a statistical model that could test the connection between missionary work and the health of nations. He and a few research assistants spent two years coding data and refining their methods. They hoped to compute the lasting effect of missionaries, on average, worldwide... One morning, in a windowless, dusty computer lab lit by fluorescent bulbs, Woodberry ran the first big test. After he finished prepping the statistical program on his computer, he clicked "Enter" and then leaned forward to read the results. "I was shocked," says Woodberry. "It was like an atomic bomb. The impact of missions on global democracy was huge. I kept adding variables to the model—factors that people had been studying and writing about for the past 40 years—and they all got wiped out. It was amazing. I knew, then, I was on to something really important." Woodberry already had historical proof that missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, led nationalist movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key elements of democracy. Now the statistics were backing it up: Missionaries weren't just part of the picture. They were central to it... Areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations. In short: Want a blossoming democracy today? The solution is simple—if you have a time machine: Send a 19th-century missionary." ...at a conference presentation in 2002, Woodberry got a break. In the room sat Charles Harper Jr., then a vice president at the John Templeton Foundation, which was actively funding research on religion and social change. (Its grant recipients have included Christianity Today.) Three years later, Woodberry received half a million dollars from the foundation's Spiritual Capital Project, hired almost 50 research assistants, and set up a huge database project at the University of Texas, where he had taken a position in the sociology department. The team spent years amassing more statistical data and doing more historical analyses, further confirming his theory. ...Woodberry's historical and statistical work has finally captured glowing attention. A summation of his 14 years of research—published in 2012 in the American Political Science Review, the discipline's top journal—has won four major awards, including the prestigious Luebbert Article Award for best article in comparative politics. Its startling title: "The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy." ...over a dozen studies have confirmed Woodberry's findings. The growing body of research is beginning to change the way scholars, aid workers, and economists think about democracy and development.

”

John Wesley

David Beidel wrote in his article The Bloodless Revolution: What We Need to Learn from John Wesley and the Great Awakening

“

In the 18th Century, most of Europe was on fire. Bloody civil wars and revolutions were decimating nation after nation. Unrestrained injustice, government and Church corruption, slave trade and the oppression of the poor created a powder keg for violence. Miraculously, Great Britain escaped the horrors of civil war and the brutal savagery that revolutionary anarchy engenders. Few ancient monarchies are still in place today. The mystery of the UK’s capacity to honor the old guard, while raising up a more democratic system without a revolution, is a sociological wonder. Many credit the Great Awakening, in particular the Methodist movement, launched by John Wesley, for this extraordinary and peaceful transition. Methodism unleashed an army of “little Christ’s” all over Europe. They cared for the poor, took in unwanted and abused children, fought unjust laws and labor conditions, visited prisoners, and battled against slavery; They joined hands with the Apostles and “turned the world upside down.” Eventually compassion became fashionable... America is in desperate need of a Christ-infused revolution of compassion. We are a land of churches, who are well positioned to hear and answer the cries of our struggling communities. If a critical mass of congregations committed themselves to radically sharing the Gospel and passionately serving under-resourced/at-risk communities, we will see peace powerfully rise in these times of trouble. This will also enable, as in the days of John Wesley, wise reformation to take place because the true Christian Church is theologically hardwired to bring about peaceful, meaningful change that benefits all. I have written much about this in my book, Samaria, The Great Omission, and treasure every opportunity to strategize with churches who have a heart to minister in this way. Let us stand in the gap as cultural/community peacemakers and healers in this season of sorrow and division. May our magnificent obsession be Jesus, the everlasting, ever loving, rescuer of the oppressed and Father of all.

”

The Catholic areas of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco are among the top geographic areas when it comes to the most productive countries per capita income. The wealthy country of Switzerland is 32% Catholic and 20% Swiss Protestantism in 2022 (See: Cultural characteristics of the most productive countries per capita)

The Harvard University historian Niall Ferguson declared: "Through a mixture of hard work and thrift the Protestant societies of the North and West Atlantic achieved the most rapid economic growth in history."

The Harvard University historian Niall Ferguson declared: "Through a mixture of hard work and thrift the Protestant societies of the North and West Atlantic achieved the most rapid economic growth in history."

Future of Christianity

See also: Future of Christianity

The prominent historian Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, indicates that he believes Christianity faces a "bright future" worldwide (See also: Global Christianity).

According to MacCulloch, "Christianity, the world's largest religion, is rapidly expanding – by all indications, its future is very bright."

See: Future of Christianity

The prominent historian Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, indicates that he believes Christianity has a "bright future" worldwide (See also: Global Christianity).

According to MacCulloch, "Christianity, the world's largest religion, is rapidly expanding – by all indications, its future is very bright."

In 2012, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) reported that every day there are 83,000 more people professing to be Christians per day, 800 less atheists per day, 1,100 less non-religious (agnostic) people per day.

Phillip Jenkins published the book The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity.

Chuck Colson, citing the work of Jenkins, writes:

“

As Penn State professor Philip Jenkins writes in The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, predictions like Huntington's betray an ignorance of the explosive growth of Christianity outside of the West. For instance, in 1900, there were approximately 10 million Christians in Africa. By 2000, there were 360 million. By 2025, conservative estimates see that number rising to 633 million. Those same estimates put the number of Christians in Latin America in 2025 at 640 million and in Asia at 460 million. According to Jenkins, the percentage of the world's population that is, at least by name, Christian will be roughly the same in 2050 as it was in 1900. By the middle of this century, there will be three billion Christians in the world -- one and a half times the number of Muslims. In fact, by 2050 there will be nearly as many Pentecostal Christians in the world as there are Muslims today.

”

A few of my favorite quotes

The conversion of Paul by the painter Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." - Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NASB)

"Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them - though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me." - Apostle Paul, the hardest working apostle of Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15: 8-10 (NRSV)

"You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone." - Coach Herb Brooks

"Effort is the great equalizer. Talent may open the door, but only discipline, humility, and iteration keep you in the room." - Microsoft Coopilot AI

"You want to make sacrifices for the unknown." - Coach Herb Brooks

"If there is an obstacle in your way, go over it, around it, under it or through it." - Former co-worker who served as a U.S. Marine

"First socks, then shoes." - Former co-worker who served as a U.S. Marine

"In this game, the most committed wins." - Elise Kraft, The Siege (1988)

“Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most.” - Abraham Lincoln

"A true champion can adapt to anything." - Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

"The strength or weakness of a society depends more on the level of its spiritual life than on its level of industrialization. Neither a market economy nor even general abundance constitutes the crowning achievement of human life. If a nation's spiritual energies have been exhausted, it will not be saved from collapse by the most perfect government structure or by any industrial development. A tree with a rotten core cannot stand." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And slavery clank her galling chains, We fear them not, we trust in God, New England’s God forever reigns. The foe comes on with haughty stride, Our troops advance with martial noise, Their veterans flee before our youth, And generals yield to beardless boys.” - American Revolutionary – “Chester” (1778 Continental Army song)

"Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ’round, Turn me ’round, turn me ’round. I’m gonna keep on a-walkin’, keep on a-talkin’, Marchin’ down to freedom land.” - U.S. Civil rights era (USA) – “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ’Round”

"Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” - Michelangelo

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” ― Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Molière), French playwright, actor, and poet

“Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.” - Sun Tzu

"Think generously. Think with vision. Think with fire. Think with purpose because this world doesn't need more followers. It needs fearless architects of our future. And that's exactly who you are. Be a dreamer. Never stop imagining. Be better. Fight for a better world. The goal is beyond our reach, but we can reach it as long as we try. And furthermore, we will succeed because we do... No go out there and make it happen." - Usher Raymond IV, 2025 Emory University commencement speech

"I didn't know what I wanted to do when I left school, but the world that I inherited demanded certain things of me. So, when I found work that I loved to do and work I was good at, work that made me feel like I was making some kind of difference, I leaned in and I never looked back. It wasn't the world that I expected to step into, but it was the one that I got. And this may not be the world that you expected to step into, grads, but it's the one that you have got, and it's the one that needs you now. The same hope, the same courage that brought you to this day, it will be enough to carry you forward. It will be enough to lift your voice above a chorus of cynics. It will be enough to light your way along darkened paths. It will be enough to stiffen your spine when all seems lost." - Amna Nawaz, 2025 Emory University commencement speech

One of the best ways my mom shared her wisdom was in a set of principles she took time to write down. She called it her top 10 list of how to success. Don't fear failure. Yes, it's inevitable. Yes, it's how you grow. But there's another reason my mom asked us to do this. Don't fear failure, she said, because success is far more dangerous to the human condition. What exactly did she mean by that? She knew that success without gratitude could make us too comfortable and that success without fortitude can make us corruptible." - Grant Hill, Former NBA Player, 2025 Emory University commencement speech See also: Grant Hill's top 10 ways to achieve success

Mount Everest

“You show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” - John Wooden, American basketball coach

"The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success." - John Maxwell, Author

“Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.” - Les Brown, Motivational speaker

"I realized that I could do a lot of things. I realized that the human body, my body, is capable of so many things if you expand the boundaries of your own consciousness first. Everest gave me this feeling – if you are ready, then you have to go all the way. Face your fears. That’s where I realized that I could do a lot. Actually, just like everyone else around me. It’s just that many people don’t realize it. They live constantly with their own little and big fears. But you just have to let go and do it. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. If you don’t try, you’ll never know." - Alpinist Antonina "Tonya" Samoilova

"They had to reinvent themselves a lot...They had to have a great personal attitude. They were well rounded players that could adapt to a whole new style of play...They're really tough psychologically. They were hard bitten tough people and that could be pulled and at times pushed, but mostly pulled. And understood that great do it again. They had tremendous resiliency. They were tough, tough young people. - Coach Herb Brooks U.S. Olympic team that beat the Soviets

"You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you have to be uncommon." - Coach Herb Brooks

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker, Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author

"Drucker taught that if you continue to do what made you successful in the past, you will eventually fail. This has been true in all times and in every field— including not only business, but war, politics and even in your personal life. Companies, industries, countries and even individuals that fail to understand this single principle litter history." - William A. Cohen, Retired Major General and author

"In war there is no substitute for victory." - General Douglas MacArthur (One of the great military strategists in World War II, and responsible for governing and rebuilding Japan during the Allied occupation).

"In war there is no substitute for victory." - General Douglas MacArthur

"There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity." - General Douglas MacArthur

"Champions are famous for concentrating their energy and efforts on what they want and blocking out anything or anyone who threatens that focus. While average people haphazardly pursue loosely defined goals, champions concentrate on the attainment of a singular purpose with an intensity that borders on obsession. World-class performers invest an inordinate amount of time and energy in selecting their major goals. While the masses consider making changes every New Year’s Eve, the goal setting and planning process is an everyday habit of champions. When the goals are set, champions put mental blinders on and move forward with dogged persistence and ferocious tenacity. World-class performers create such an intense level of concentration to overcome challenges and achieve goals that it is the last thing they think about before they fall asleep, and the first thing that hits them when they wake up. The great ones dream about their goals so frequently that they often keep pen and paper on the nightstand so they can quickly record any ideas or solutions that come to them in the middle of the night. While average people see world - class performers’ successes as a matter of intelligence or luck, champions know sustained concentration of thought and action is usually the true key to their success." - Steve Siebold, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class.

"If you want it like you want to breathe. If you want it like you say you want it, you can have it. If you are willing to persevere, if you are willing to fight for it, there is nothing you can't have if you are willing to work for it. You might be smarter. You might come from privilege. But you will not outwork me! If you want to be successful in life, you have to understand that there is a sense of urgency. You have to do things faster than your competitors. There are some guys who are at a whole different level. You have to separate yourself. I dare you to leave everything on the field. Get tired of losing. There is greatness in you. You can reach your full potential. Be what you were called to be. Do what you were called to do. Listen to me. Do not fear. I need you to understand. that you can have it, but it is going to be a fight. But if you are willing to fight, there is going to come victory." - Eric Thomas, Author, speaker, educator and pastor

"Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better." - Jim Rohn

"Because the legs feed the wolf, gentlemen. I can't promise you we'll be the best team at Lake Placid next February, but we will be the best conditioned. That I can promise you." - 2004 movie Miracle, Coach Herb Brooks (Coach Brooks was as famous for his colorful command of language as he was for his coaching style. These are a few "Brooksisms" as remembered by his players.).

"I'm really amazed how well-conditioned this team is. I've never seen the Soviets outskated this late in the game. And that is exactly what the U.S. team is doing right now." - Former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games serving as a sports announcer for ABC News

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." - Sun Tzu

"Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art doing it right." - Richard Marcinko, Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior

"Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it." - Richard Marcinko, Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior

“Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.” - Alan Lakein

Usain Bolt beating Tyson Gay and setting a 100 meter world record at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany.

I need to go faster - Tribute song to Usain Bolt

Ready, set, go, and keep going: Why speed is key to a successful transformation, McKinsey, 2023

"Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions." - Sun Tzu

"Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances." - Sun Tzu

"No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude." - Karl Popper

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

"The less you respond to negative people, the more powerful your life will become.” – Robert E. Baine, American pastor and businessman

"It is a great folly to hope that other men will harmonize with us; I have never hoped this. I have always regarded each man as an independent individual, whom I endeavored to understand with all his peculiarities, but from whom I desired no further sympathy. In this way have I been enabled to converse with every man, and thus alone is produced the knowledge of various characters and the dexterity necessary for the conduct of life." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl." - Benjamin Jowett, English tutor and administrative reformer at the University of Oxford, a theologian, and Anglican cleric

"I'd like to say to all my fans out there, thanks for the support. And to all my doubters, thank you very much because you guys have also pushed me." - Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time

"Though they may hate me, I will force them to esteem me as well." - John Paul Jones

"I don't think limits." - Usain Bolt

"It's always a wake-up call to get beaten." - Usain Bolt

"I don't put myself under pressure." - Usain Bolt

"You can get beat any day." - Usain Bolt

"My hunger is always there." - Usain Bolt

"Though the mills of God grind slowly; Yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, With exactness grinds He all." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"It’s a refusal to accept that the problem as framed cannot be solved, a pattern of error that stems from obsession and a readiness to go to extraordinary lengths to satisfy that obsession, even as satisfaction remains elusive. Dictionary definitions of a fanatic refer to someone with extreme beliefs that lead them to behave in unreasonable ways." - Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus professor of war studies at King's College London

"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." - Yogi Berra

"And He said to them, 'Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." - Jesus, (Matthew 17:20 NASB)

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." - Proverbs 28:1, King Solomon

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." - Alexander Graham Bell

"Could it be that you were never told? Keep your eyes on the road." - Reggie Rockstone

"There are no speed limits on the road to success." - David W. Johnson

Read the article: The importance of having a sense of urgency

As you can see, it is important to have a sense of urgency when it comes to acting on a high-priority matter (Having a sense of urgency - video playlist).

Ready, set, go, and keep going: Why speed is key to a successful transformation, McKinsey & Company, 2023

Speed Is The Most Important Thing For Your Business’ Profitability—Here’s Why

Cheetah chases - video playlist

Douglas MacArthur, who obtained the highest class score on his West Point exam, achieved the rank brigadier-general faster than any previous general before him.

MacArthur often led his troops from the front, sometimes without weapons or gas masks, as a means to raise their morale.

General George Washington was also known for his instances of leading from the front in order to rally his troops.

Read the article: Rethinking Douglas MacArthur by Mark Perry, Politico

“The 3 key components for success are as follows: psychological preparedness, physical conditioning, mental toughness.”- Chuck Norris

Coach Herb Brooks

Coach Herb Brooks interviews and commentary

Miracle movie scenes - 2004 film

Nothing moves faster than a passionate and goal-oriented person intensely pursuing a goal with great urgency.

Read the article: The importance of having a sense of urgency

See also: Very fast cheetah sprints!

My favorite version of the Bible and related resources

• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Bible study

• Bible study
• Bible reading and human flourishing

Memorizing the Bible

See: Bible memorization

• How to Memorize the Bible: (Illustrated) by William Evans (Free versions of How to Memorize the Bible by William Evans)

The Bible is the bestselling book of all time.

Between 5 to 7 billion Bibles have been published.

My favorite historians

Fernand Braudel

• David Hackett Fischer

• Stephen Kotkin

• Niall Ferguson

• Victor David Hanson

• Lawrence James

Fernand Braudel and the Annals school of history:

• Fernand Braudel

• Annales school of history: "Annales school, School of history. Established by Lucien Febvre (1878–1956) and Marc Bloch (1886–1944), its roots were in the journal Annales: économies, sociétés, civilisations, Febvre’s reconstituted version of a journal he had earlier formed with Marc Bloch. Under Fernand Braudel’s direction the Annales school promoted a new form of history, replacing the study of leaders with the lives of ordinary people and replacing examination of politics, diplomacy, and wars with inquiries into climate, demography, agriculture, commerce, technology, transportation, and communication, as well as social groups and mentalities. While aiming at a “total history,” it also yielded dazzling microstudies of villages and regions. Its international influence on historiography has been enormous."

• Trends and forces theory of history: "The trends and forces theory of history, a contrasting approach to the "Great Man Theory," suggests that historical events are shaped by broader, macro-level forces rather than individual actions. These forces encompass economic, social, cultural, political, and technological developments, creating overarching patterns and trends that influence the course of history."

Some of my favorite films

• The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1965

• The Jesus Film, 1979

• Moses: The Lawgiver, 1974, 6-hour Italian/British television miniseries filmed in 1973/74 and starring Burt Lancaster as Moses.

• Miracle, 2004 (Favorite scenes in the movie, Miracle: Board room interview and Miracle: Motivational speech)

• Coming Out of the Ice, 1982

• It's a Wonderful Life, 1946

Some of my favorite songs (Especially the uplifting and upbeat songs)

Olé! Olé! Olé!

*Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah chorus - playlist
*Mary did you know?
*Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church songs
*Mozart's best works
*Winning/victory songs
*Lester Lewis & Singing Rose Ministry - Winnaman
*Deus Vult and
*March of the New Army and Glory to Ukraine
*Unstoppable
*Why do the nations so furiously rage? - playlist
*What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
*Victory/celebration/happy/inspiring/fight songs - playlist
*Celebration songs
*Victorious/fight songs
*Knights of the Jaguar and La Macarena and other songs
*Olé! Olé! Olé! and Olé! Olé! Olé! song (Sports)
*El Gato Montes. Olé! Olé! Olé!
*El Gato Montes,Banda Sinfónica Española. Olé!
*Banda fallas 2008 valencia (el gato montes)
*Upbeat/dance music and Dance music
*Canadian French step dancing/Meti Music/Cajun
*I need to go faster! and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
*Cheetah running compilation
*I believe that we will win
*Eye of the Tiger - Rocky and Gonna Fly Now - Rocky
*Freedom songs - video playlist
*Danger Zone - Top Gun movie
*Sigma boy and Turning Japanese
*Banjo music
*Accordion music
*John McCormack - When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

*More upbeat songs
*Favorite songs

See also: Optimism and Positive thinking and Motivation and Self-motivation and Other motivational material and Quotes about victory and Inspirational quotes

Types of music: Christian music and Upbeat and beautiful songs and Various types of music and Classical music and Music from around the world

Happy, upbeat songs

Other upbeat songs

Bing Crosby and Andrews Sisters performed the popular song Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

See: Positive thinking

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God." - Psalm 43:5

See: Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah chorus - playlist

*Beautiful Christian songs

Singin' in the Rain trailer: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Kelly, 1952

Video: Singing in the rain - song

See also: Positive thinking

Christian music

• Christian songs

• Christian classical music songs

• Handel's Messiah

• Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah chorus - playlist

Christian songs from around the world

• Christian songs from around the world

Other Christian songs:

• Mary did you know? - 1985 song

• Why do the nations so furiously rage? - playlist

• Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church songs - Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

• Nepali and Indian Christian music

• Gloria hymn

• Awake O Israel

• O Holy Night

• My soul's been anchored in the Lord

• "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?"

• Keith Green playlist

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church event in the United States

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church songs

• Go down Moses

• Positive by Lester Lewis (Pioneer of reggae gospel)

• The Battle of Jericho

• Arminian Christian choral music

• Satan, We're Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down

• Trouble of the world - Mahalia Jackson

• There are strange things happening every day - Sister Rosetta Tharpe

• Tremaine Hawkins - Gospel Funk Nation!

Christian classical music songs

• Handel's Messiah

• Why do the nations so furiously rage? - playlist

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sacred music

• Antonio Lucio Vivaldi - Sacred works

• Johann Sebastion Bach - St Matthew Passion BWV 244

Upbeat and beautiful songs

• I need to go faster, Tribute to Usain Bolt

• My favorite classical music songs and Mozart's best works and Classical music - piano

• Music - Various types

• Banjo music

Upbeat music:

• Upbeat music

• Big John McNeil

• Hava Nagila Jewish celebration song - lyrics video

• Hava Nagila Jewish celebration song

Turning Japanese by the Vapors

• Victory/celebration/happy/inspiring/fight songs - playlist

• Victorious/fight songs

• El gato montes and bullfighter music. Olé! Olé! Olé!

• El gato montes. Machismo. Olé! Olé! Olé!

• Metis music

• Upbeat songs

Various types of music

• Music various types

Classical music

• Christian classical music

• Classical music

• Mozart's best works and Classical music - piano

Music from around the world

Christ Pantocrator mosaic from Hagia Sophia

Eastern Orthodox Christianity - Angelic voices

• Christian songs from around the world

• Music from around the world

• Classical music from around the world

• Nepali and Indian Christian songs

• Latino/Spanish music

• Georgian songs

• Lata Mangeshkar - Mughal-E-Azam

• Classic Lata Mangeshkar songs

• Lata Mangeshkar songs

• Sridevi best songs 1

• Sridevi best songs 2

• Nimbooda Nimbooda

• Indila - French female singer

• Lebanese lady singers

• Greek music

• Swiss yodeling music

• Middle Eastern and Kurdish music

• Aziz Waisi - Ha Bene

• Chinese music

• Somali music

Patriotic songs

• Patriotic American songs

• Okie from Muskogee

One of my favorite videos related to personal/team achievement improvement

See also: Achievement orientation and Achievement related articles

• Charles A. Garfield and Peak Performance (1985) by Charles A. Garfield (Related to insights gathered from the Apollo 11 mission)

Video: Charles A. Garfield and Peak Performance (1985) by Charles A. Garfield (Related to insights gathered from the Apollo 11 mission)

See also: Charles A. Garfield - YouTube and Charles Garfield books

Favorite articles on improving one's performance in life

• Vince Lombardi on the Hidden Power of Mastering the Fundamentals

• The Habits Guide: How to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

Thou shall think clearly and creatively. Thou shall not be illogical and be closeminded

See also: Rational thinking and Rationality and Analytical thinking and Critical thinking and Evidence-based thinking and Scientific method and Problem solving and Openness and Creativity and Irrational thinking and Learning and Accelerated learning and Lifelong learning and Growth mindset and Peak performance and Increasing cognitive performance

Rational thinking refers to one's ability to process information/data and engage in decision making and problem solving based on logic, facts, and evidence rather than on illogical thinking, irrational thinking, delusional thinking, cognitive biases and personal biases.

Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

Engage in some personal development. A mind is a terrible thing to waste! Avoid irrational thinking.

Aristotle is often called the father of logic in the West.

Socrates

Plato

Favorite book on critical thinking

• The Thinker's Way by John Chaffee, Ph.D., Little, Brown and Company; First Edition (October 1, 1998)

Favorite website dealing with thinking, critical thinking and logical fallacies

Statue of Leonardo da Vinci in Tuscany, Italy.

• School of thought website

Logical fallacies

• YourLogicalFallacyis.com website

• Fallacy Files website

Creativity

• Creativity
• Creative problem solving
• Openness
• Creativity and innovation websites
• Creative thinking tools
• Creativity articles/resources
• Books on creativity

Cognitive distortions/biases

• 15 common cognitive distortions and examples of each

• Checklist of cognitive distortions

• Cognitive Distortions: 22 Examples & Worksheets (& PDF)

• 50 Common Cognitive Distortions

• The Santa Problem by Seth Godin

User:Conservative's essays

• User:Conservative's essays

Typing, typing, typing. It never ends!

Please see: User:Conservative's essays

User: Conservative's Christianity essays

• The keys to spiritual growth
• Bible reading and human flourishing
• Christianity and its margin of victory over atheism

"Give me liberty, or give me death!" - Patrick Henry

Achievement related essay

• Grit, the key to outstanding achievements?

Culture, economics and politics essays

• High income countries are rarely authoritarian countries in our technological age driven by innovation
• Cultural characteristics of the most productive and prosperous countries per capita
• A new conservative age is rising
• The genius of the founding fathers of the United States, happiness and labor productivity
• The United States will be the leading power in the world for the foreseeable future
• Why has the West been so successful?
• Why I prefer to get my news from a wide variety of sources
• The coming demographic winter

About User: Conservative

The User:Conservative account has contributed the majority of content to the popular atheism, evolution, homosexuality related articles. In addition, he wrote the majority of Conservapedia's achievement orientation and business related articles. User: Conservative's work has been cited/quoted/referred to by the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Telegraph, BBC, The Tampa Tribune, Concerned Women for America, CRU, WorldNetDaily, Alister McGrath, Shockofgod, Penn Jillette, PZ Myers, Kyle Kulinski and Lewis Black. The PNN News and Ministry Network produced a video entitled Viral article deals major blow to atheism. The book Atheist Persona: Causes and Consequences by John J. Pasquini, Th.D, cites Conservapedia's Causes of atheism article several times.

My favorite Conservapedia essay that I composed is at: The keys to spiritual growth.

Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem by Pietro Lorenzetti

My blog is International Politics Insights.

My role models (Heroes):

• Apostle Paul
• C.S. Lewis
• Josh McDowell
• Dwight L. Moody
• Michael Marshall (C.S. Lewis Institute) and Michael Marshall Memorial Benefit Seminar Coming This Fall
• Charles A. Garfield

Favorite Christian blog:

• John Piippo - John Piippo is a Pastor at Redeemer Church. He as a Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology

This user is part of the CP Civility Association.