JUDGMENT

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Dear Friends:

No matter what action you take, and regardless of its appropriateness or necessity, someone will judge you wrong. People prefer to criticize than to create -- it is far easier, and easier to gain a following. The trick is to understand that your principal job, for emotional and spiritual survival, is to please yourself. You have to live with your decisions -- your critics and detractors do not. Show strength by not 1) yielding to their judgment, and by 2) being your own judge. Even your critics will be envious of you if you go forth with your plans and your life despite them.

Never allow yourself to be held hostage by another person's opinion.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
Reprinted from http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/
Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE - A DEPARTURE

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Dear Readers:

Click on http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/2009/01/freedom-is-not-free.html. Happy Chinese New Year.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. We'll return to our regularly-scheduled program soon.



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DEALING WITH BUREAUCRATS

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Dear Friends:

Allow me to open with a quotation from myself (a fellow with whom I am becoming increasingly well-acquainted):

"The road to non-accomplishment is paved with the undying corpses of petty bureaucrats exercising their power to encumber progress."

These annoying, small-minded, officious bullies are a fact of life, and hence, they must be dealt with successfully. Understand the mindset of many of these people: They are not there to help you -- they are there to slow you down, or ignore you; if they do something properly for you, they are doing you an enormous favor; they are inherently languid, and do not enjoy the prospect of work -- in fact, they become exceedingly angered when you repeatedly request things of them, even if this means merely doing their job.

Some possible tactics (all of which are legal, and none of which involve violent threats or bribes) are listed below, in protocol order:

1. Try to be polite, businesslike, and minimize conversation, as supurflous conversation distracts them, or might even annoy them. Do not be overly friendly-- they will smell your fear, which is an amphetamine for most of them. Do not be familiar -- they may resent your taking liberties. Do call them by their proper titles, and not by first names, or by neglecting to address them with any names;

2. If you suspect trouble, keep all of your communications recorded either by telephone, by receipted e-mail, or by certified mail. Keep excellent records;

3. If you are having a particularly difficult time, sometimes it is a good idea to have a different person from your organization become the new liaison to the bureaucrat;

4. If no civil approach seems to be working, do some research and find out the name of the bureaucrat's supervisor -- but, more importantly, find other government agencies, and the names and addresses of their high-ranking bureaucratic officials (especially the ones who may oversee the department of the bureaucrat with whom you are wrestling, or the ones from other government agencies and organizations with interests injurious to the ones of the bureaucrat -- Inspectors General, the ACLU, Congresspersons, and others). Get their names, titles and email addresses (if possible).

5. Issue a letter, via email, facsimile and certified mail (return receipt requested) to the bureaucrat, listing all of the carbon copied officials on it (and sending emails to them as well), requesting an immediate resolution to your difficulty. It is nice to add a political touch, and talk about resolving your matter immediately, fairly and lawfully; make mention of the fact that you have been more than cooperative and patient, and that you are beginning to feel that your constitutional and civil rights are being infringed upon; also mention that the bureaucrat might be acting beyond the scope of his legal authority, etcetera; visibly copy an attorney on your letter as well -- it would be a pity if your bureaucrat had to answer to other bureaucrats, or became the target of an investigation, or had to give testimony... (are you grinning? just a bit?)

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

PRACTICED HESITATION

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Dear Friends:

If someone poses a significant, serious question to you, and it is your desire to get the most attention, impact and respect out of your opportunity to answer, the following protocol works best:

1. Inhale slowly and deliberately;
2. Look down at the floor;
3. Silently count to ten;
4. Exhale slowly and deliberately (start while still looking down at the floor, but gradually bring your head up until you have made lasered-in eye contact with the questioner;
5. Inhale slowly and deliberately;
6. Maintain riveting eye contact;
7. Slowly speak your answer as you exhale, and then remain silent after you have issued your answer -- continue to maintain eye contact, but arch your eyebrows together (or raise one, interrogatively) in a questioning frown. Wait.

It is wonderful to be taken seriously.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...

YOUR MOST DANGEROUS ADVERSARY

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Dear Friends (...wherever you happen to be hiding):

Your most dangerous adversary can be characterized by the following traits. It is best to recognize this type of adversary (or potential adversary) as early as possible, because you will need to make preparations. There will be no negotiations, no compromises, no intimidation. Neither will there be any Rules Of Engagement. Your very life, and every thing that you value and person you care for, will be at risk. This type of adversary will not only get what he wants from you -- he will dispatch you to the afterlife as well, just in the interest of being thorough.

Beware these characteristics, each alone, but especially in combination:

1. He has no fear of death -- he views life from a distance, as if an amusement or an abstraction;

2. He has nothing to lose -- he does not fear loss at all. He lives to get whatever it is that he desires, but what he desires is only an object of the moment. His hunger cannot be satisfied;

3. He has no attachments to any persons or objects -- he is devoid of love, detached and disconnected from the mainstream of Humanity. He doesn't care about anyone's feelings or opinions. He might not even care about his own reputation. Other people are mere impediments standing between him and what he wants;

4. He is utterly focused on what he wants to accomplish at any given moment and cannot be distracted or diverted;

5. He is intelligent;

6. He is undyingly tenacious;

7. He trusts no one, and believes in nothing but what he desires at that moment;

8. He is intuitive and anticipates events -- a sociopath may not identify with typical human behavior, but he knows it very, very well;

9. He will use any means whatsoever to achieve his objective, without any constraints or restraint;

10. He knows a great deal about you.

These are the personal characteristics of your most dangerous adversary. He is a cagey animal on the hunt. Take caution. He is the sort who will hack your hand off in order to steal your ring.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle