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Hello.  I’m baaack. 

I was working hard late in 2008 trying to get my book published.  Then my editor suggested I rewrite the book with a different approach - one geared toward telling my background and experiences and how that led to the incredible epiphany I experienced.  Just tell how the ideas from that epiphany helped me and how similar ideas have brought out the best in others.  Tell the stories and let the reader see the thought processes involved in developing the ideas.  Show how this way of thinking helped me to be focused on positive actions and directions after a loss of my fortune, my wife, my best friends, the alienation of my kids, all of the most important things in my life.  That sounded easy enough.  But then I found it wasn’t so easy.  

In addition to the rewrite, the economic storm hit our country and the world in the middle of the Presidential campaign.   I always like financial and political events so I dedicated myself to understanding what was going on and what I think we should do about it and put the rewrite and publication of the book on hold until now.

The delay was good.  It allowed me to clear my mind.  I see the ideas and my writing with fresh eyes.  Now I am ready to finish reorganizing and publishing the book and begin blogging again.   It is likely that now many more people will have lost the most important of their dreams and will be confused about what the future holds, as I was.   So hopefully my perspective and ideas can be helpful to them. 

Thank you for checking out my blogsite and website www.jerrywwillis.com as I update them and finish rewriting and publishing my book. 

“I wish the best things in life for you.”

Jerry

www.jerrywwillis.com

The whole nation seems to be interested in Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.  I’ve heard veteran news analysts and political pundants who expressed amazement at the phenomenon.  I believe I understand it.  It’s about Integrity; Integrity with a cause greater than self; the same concept expressed by both John McCain and Barack Obama.

How did she do all of this so quickly?  She demonstrated with her actions that her faith and her family are her most important priorities.  Then she demonstrated that she stood for integrity in public service above personal gain or glory.  While Mayor she randomly called members of the community each week to get feedback on how the city was doing; not how she was doing but how the city was doing.

Because of her popularity she was appointed to be the Chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.  It was an honor and an important position but she gladly resigned to make a stand for honesty and integrity for all the members.

As Governor she showed by her actions that she really was about reducing costs and making the government serve the best interests of the people.  She negotiated new deals with the big oil companies, increasing their taxes and set about getting a gas pipeline to better serve Alaskans plus the greater interests of the nation.

I finally understood these concepts a few years ago when I hit rock bottom in my personal life.  I had lost many of the things that seemed so very important to me but then I found something much more important; integrity with a cause greater than myself.  That is what my book is about; a Cause Greater Than Self.  That is what I found and how those lessons can work for you and your loved ones.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

I am not primarily about making political comments; I am about trying to help our kids with Purpose in Life principles.  Those principles state that we are each to do the best we can with our ‘Talents’ and our ’Opportunities’ so I conclude that this is part of my purpose.  I am trying to honor my Loved Ones by doing my best to make our world a better place for all. 

I am also using this article as an example of what any of us can do.  We all can and should make our thoughts and feelings known.  We should express our opinions and we should try to help make the world a better place for all.  Your ideas and feelings are part of your ‘Talents’.  And, you make a difference when your ideas are heard by others.

The Democratic position on drilling is confusing to me and I think to a lot of the American people.  Here are the arguments that I see being put forth:

 “Big Oil and their White House allies want you to believe that opening up America’s coasts to offshore drilling will lower your gas prices.  Yet our Department of Energy says that offshore drilling would have “no significant impact” on gasoline prices, and we wouldn’t see those savings until 2025.” -

But, even if it is ‘no significant impact’, which I and a lot of people don’t believe is an accurate statement, every little bit helps.  The other side of that comment is that:  yes it will have some impact.  In addition, there is no evidence at all to support the statement that the oil and gas wouldn’t be available until 2025.

So why not do all we can?  Why not have these sources readily available?  We can use them while we develop alternative sources for ourselves and the rest of the world.

Don’t you agree that whatever the American companies spend drilling here stays in America and provides jobs and the companies and suppliers and employees pay taxes to our government?

Don’t you agree that every dollar we spend for oil and gas here reduces the amount we send to the other countries of the world?

Don’t you agree that if Clinton hadn’t vetoed the Anwar drilling bill more than 8 years ago we would have a significant new American source of oil right now?  Wouldn’t that be reducing the amount of our wealth that we are sending to the Arab states and the dependence we have on them and therefore result in a lower price of oil for us and the whole world? 

Wouldn’t we have sent a lot less money to them over the last few years? 

Wouldn’t the price of oil and gas have been much less several years ago as the certainty of a significant new source coming on line was looming?

And, what is this about calling the idea of drilling offshore or anywhere in America a ‘land grab’ for big oil?

If they pay our government, i.e., US, a big leasing fee to drill, agree to our limitations and restrictions,  pay us taxes on everything that they get out of the wells and the leases expire and can be taken away at the end of the leasing period how can that be a ‘land grab’? 

It seems to me that anyone who thinks about it would agree that it is a very misleading statement and must have some ulterior motives behind it.

If the oil companies will pay for any damages they cause; and they have not had any problems for the last 30 years in the Gulf of Mexico, and they have even better equipment and methods today, it seems that again these statements are at the very least misleading.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

When a child hears that the UPIL, the Universal Purpose in Life™ says that we are to honor our parents and loved ones by the way we live our lives some may say: “But, my dad left us and never even tried to help.  I don’t want to honor him!”.  Or something like “But, my mom/dad was mean to me.” or “My mom/dad did such terrible things and I don’t want to honor him/her!”.So why would we do our best to honor our parents even if we don’t feel like they deserve to be honored?  The answer is you do it to experience some of ‘the best things in life’ and to ‘live the good life’. You do it because that is your Purpose in Life.

But how can trying to honor them help me and what are ‘the best things in life’ anyway? 

Well let’s look at the example of Barack Obama.  His dad deserted him and his mother.  Barack later found that his dad had multiple wives and kids, had been an alcoholic and wasted much of his potential of being a very bright man with great opportunities.  What had he done to deserve to be honored?

The answer is he fathered Barack Obama.  And he fathered other kids who also have the potential to be honorable people and who can also help to make the world a better place because they are here. 

Your parents had you.

And although it may not be Barack’s main goal to honor his dad by the way he lives his life, he is doing that as well as honoring his Mother and Grandparents and his wife and kids by doing and being his best with his talents and opportunities.

True, most of us can never do all the wonderful things that Barack Obama has done or can do.  He is so fortunate to be very bright and have good grandparents with money and good educations and a good lifestyle to help him.

But he is doing just what you can do.   

Each of us honors our Creator and our parents and loved ones best by doing and being our best with what we have.  All we need is to understand the ‘Talents’ and ‘Opportunities’ we really have and how we can fulfill our Purpose in Life while feeling that we truly are living ‘the life of our dreams’.   

 Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

Education seems to be getting a bad rap in some circles and to a certain extent, it is well deserved.  Our public schools only offer one curriculum, only one type of degree. 

But what if you can’t do well in school the way it works today?  What are you supposed to do?  

The only option many of our kids see is to drop out and that leads to lots more problems with unemployment, gangs, drugs – wasted lives and wasted potentials.

We’ve lost track of our real purpose in education: to provide the skills and understandings needed for our children to become productive and satisfied members of our society, living ‘the good life’ with their family and friends.  

In addition to offering only one degree we don’t provide an understanding of their Purpose in Life to guide them in making good decisions in their life. 

All of our programs are designed to help the kids achieve some ‘passing grade’ level of achievement to entitle them to that ONE degree.  Never mind that our DNA proves that every one of us is completely unique.  Never mind that in some areas 50% or more of the kids drop out and never get that degree and end up with a criminal record that further reduces their chances to achieve that good life. 

Let’s start with Step 1; becoming fluent in basic reading. 

Fluency comes from repetition.  Great coaches have their players practice the same plays over and over, week after week for the whole season to get better and stay sharp.  Reading simple sentences is the first ‘play’ you have to learn to get along well in our society.  

Reading the same simple words in different types of simple sentences over and over, day after day, week after week until that level of reading requires no thinking at all leads to fluency.  Then you can move to the next level of simple words and sentences and then on to other subjects. 

They must have the ability to learn at the next level which they can’t do if they don’t have the ability to read well.

A clear sign of fluency is to pronounce every word exactly as it should be pronounced and read every sentence just the way it should be read.  We recognize the lack of a good education immediately when people don’t speak and read fluently. 

We should have degrees at each level of attainment.  This isn’t about taking a test and getting a ‘passing grade’.  The ability to read and speak fluently is WAY too important to accept anything less than absolute fluency!  This is step one in our goal of ‘No Child Left Behind’.  Every child should be taught to the highest level at which they are capable.

What those new degrees would show is that this person has achieved a certain level of fluency.  But more importantly, it will show that they will stick with it to do their absolute best. That is what we want to know.  They are clearly able to perform most jobs and our government and employers should change their standards for hiring to recognize the level of education that they have achieved and what that means about the types of jobs they can perform.

How can we as a society think that a teacher is not good because a kid can only learn up to a certain level?

How can we think that a kid can’t learn a subject when they haven’t yet become fluent in reading the material?

How can we insist that all kids must be able to do this exact curriculum that we keep cramming more and more into or it is the fault of our teachers and school administrators?

That is the amazing level of thinking in the standards we are now giving our schools.  Amazingly BAD! 

Kids that appear unable to handle school now will be able to do much more when they are first fluent in reading.  Kids that are taught and rewarded for their successes with degrees will be much more likely to stay in school. 

Businesses will be happier to have more good employees to choose from and to help support our public education system and our nation. 

Teachers will be much happier when parents understand what they are doing and when they aren’t being criticized no matter how dedicated they are. 

Parents will be happier when their kids are given the respect they deserve for doing their best and when they stay in school because they can achieve successes and get the understandings they need to live a good life. 

Politicians will be happier when changes they make in our educational standards and systems produce better results. 

This is simple and it is a win-win.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

Crystle Stewart, Miss USA 2008, the USA entrant in to the 2008 Miss Universe pageant, provides an excellent example of turning a problem into an Opportunity.  She tripped over some beads on her dress during the judging process which would be considered by most as a very embarrassing and unfortunate event.

 Imagine working for months and maybe years to get to a very important time and event and then something goes terribly wrong in front of millions of viewers!  Well let’s consider how Miss USA handled it.

She is a motivational speaker and gives a character education program in a New York City school.  She said she plans to turn her mishap into a lesson.

“I’ll be talking to my students about it when I get back,” she said. “Sometimes you fall in life, not just in the pageant but financially or emotionally. It’s not about the fall but how you pick yourself up.”  How true! She is determined not to let the bad situation or ridicule bring her down.  She will use this as an opportunity to help others. 

Later she said:“I know I’ll get through it and that there are bigger and better things to come.” Those bigger and better things might very well come from the grace and generosity with which she handled this problem.  But even if nothing else comes of that she has honored her loved ones and all of us by the way she handled herself. 

Thank you Miss USA for a sparkling example!

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

Tim Russert Died

by Jerry W. Willis

6/14/08

The best tribute I can pay to anyone is to say that he was the type of person that I would like to be remembered as being.  Tim Russert was one of those type people for me.

He exemplified the values that I am writing about in my book.  His life exemplifies the type of life that I aspire to and hope that my friends and family aspire to.   Not the fame and fortune but the type of person, the type of love, the type of family and the type of family pride that he advanced with his life. 

He loved his family history, his parents, his wife and son and honored them by being the best that he could be in the type of work he loved best.  He was widely admired and respected for his integrity, fairness, good humor, humility and perspective on life and for his work of reporting on politics.  He was excellent at his work because of his love for his job and career and because of the solid foundation of those family values that he learned from his parents.

Tim honored his Dad immensely by his book, Big Russ and Me and the success of that act of honesty and love gave him the opportunity to honor millions of other families in the follow-up book, The Wisdom of Our Fathers. 

Tim told the story that after the first book was published, he learned that his son, Luke, had gotten a tattoo, and he immediately expressed his disappointment in his son for getting a tattoo without first discussing it with him.  Luke raised his arm and showed the initials of his Dad and Granddad, TJR, tattooed on his side, then told him “I just wanted to have you and Granddad on my side.”  Honor, respect, love and pride demonstrated so clearly in so few words and in the pure intentions of his act.

I will miss Tim Russert.  He was one of my favorite people on the Sunday morning talk shows that I enjoy so much because I get to listen to such sharp people.  And he was one of the sharpest.

Luke, I know that you will miss him terribly but I know that you will honor him and your family by the way you live your life.  You have a father and a family to be very proud of.  The fact that he died so close to Father’s Day will keep him even closer to you and your family and remind you of the way he would want all of you to live your lives.

Love,

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

On June 2, 2008 I was interviewed on blogtalkradio by Giovanna Burgess about the concepts in the book.  You can listen to the entire show at the following link:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/extraordinarylife/2008/06/03/Raising-Extraordinary-Children 

Please listen and comment to Giovanna and to me at www.jerrywwillis.com at the Contact Us tab.

Hope that it is helpful to you to help your kids.

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start you on the journey to the life of your dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to kids like I was”.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have both lived the dream life of many young people.  They are good-looking, talented young women and they have achieved fame and fortune.  Wow!  Those are the dreams and goals of many, not only young people. But both of them apparently went over the boundary of normal young people out exploring and enjoying life.   Both violated laws and deeply worried many of the most important people in their lives, the people who love them the most and want only the best things in life for them.  I know, they are young and most of us make mistakes when we are young.  But what possibilities can we develop from the problems they had?   If you are a parent, you want very much for your children to be successful in everything in their lives.  You want them to be proud of themselves and to be a source of pride for their children and for you.   The bottom line is that you want them to find what it takes to make them truly happy and that will make you happy. If you are a young person you want to be attractive and have great friends and great experiences and find a great love in your life.  You want to experience the best things in life.  You want to have a career you love and live a life that you love.  You too are searching for things that will make you truly happy. But in our society we have so much information and so many goods and services and so many options that we don’t know how to relate it all together well.  The most important things get lost; the best things in life are buried in a pile of other things and we don’t know how to sort them out.  We are like a compass in an area surrounded by magnetic fields.  Where is north?  Which way is true north? 

What kind of direction could these young women and others like them find?   They can find that they have many new and exciting potentials in their lives, much higher possibilities than they have seen so far.   

Look at the example shown by Oprah Winfrey.  Obviously she doesn’t need to work to make money but she continues so that she can help others.  Look at the platform she has because of her fame that allows her to highlight important issues in this world and get others to follow her lead to make them better.    Those are possibilities for each of us.  We can use our situation to right some wrongs, to make a positive difference in this world.  And they are possibilities for the rich and famous like Britney and Lindsay.  They can use their platform of fame and wealth to make the world a better place, to find the things that need improvement and need to be fixed.  And they may find, like Oprah, that being in service to others will give them much more satisfaction and meaning in their lives than they have already experienced.   

Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.

Love,

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com

“Blair: Drug-addicted women were easy prey”

Blair had killed at least 6 prostitutes and had called them a “disgrace” and “scum”. The judge noted that the definition of scum: “low, vile, worthless people” more aptly applied to Blair. But aren’t people who murder and destroy property and people’s dreams really much worse than ‘worthless’? Worthless would be someone who doesn’t contribute or add value. These people are destructive of our civilization and our peaceful society. They stand for the destruction of progress by mankind and happiness for individuals.

The son of one of the victims “said he was a teenager when his mother died. She never got to see him graduate. After she died, ‘I never knew who to go to,’ he said. ‘I’m hurting.’”

“A defense attorney once referred to Blair’s family as ‘a family of murderers.’ His mother shot her boyfriend to death when Blair was a 16-year-old high school dropout. A brother, Walter Blair, was executed in 1993 for the murder-for-hire of a 21-year-old female college student. A sister pleaded guilty for her role in a murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.”

I would like to address how a teen like the one whose mother was killed could handle the situation if he had these understandings. Of course he would grieve and he should until the grief is turned as much as possible into bittersweet memories. But then he should go back to the basics, back to the Virtuous Possibility for the meaning his life and his Purpose in Life.

First, how does this impact his ability to fulfill that one Virtuous Possibility for the meaning of his life? In fact this tragedy is an opportunity to better fulfill that one big virtuous possibility to make his life even more meaningful. The meaning of his life can be to handle adversity well and to turn his problems into an action plan for helping others. Then he can devote himself to solving the cause of this tragedy. His story will make his case even more compelling and give him more credibility for bringing about changes to make the world a better place because he was here.

If the meaning of his life is to be an example to his loved ones and others about how to handle adversity and make a good life in spite of it then he can focus on raising his kids in a better way, in being a better person and using this history to give them meaning and purpose in their lives.

Second, what does this have to do with his Purpose in Life? Nothing. It is still his purpose to find his talents and bring forth his best potential in service to his loved ones and others. Now his talents include the experiences and understandings that he has gained having gone through this tragedy.

The lessons to be learned from this story:

1. The lifestyle and example of parents powerfully impacts their kids even if it doesn’t show up immediately.

2. Nothing that happens to you in your life changes your Purpose in Life or your central driving force to fulfill a positive Virtuous Possibility for the meaning of your life.

But now let’s think about what this teen can do, who he can go to? He can go to his Mom just as if she were with him and can hear him. He can talk with her and remember how she would have responded and then make up ‘the rest of the story’ – how she would have responded later, once she got over her problems.

Tell her about his accomplishments like graduation and plans for the future. Tell her how he was handling things positively to help others. Tell her about the legacy that he is going to leave as a result of his love for her. And know that she will feel that pride in him that will make that one big positive Virtuous Possibility for the meaning of her life come true. Go to:  http://jerrywwillis.com/_mgxroot/page_10744.html and submit your information to receive a free E-Workbook to start the journey to the Life of Your Dreams.  While you are there review the www.jerrywwillis.com website to learn how to order the book explaining “A PIL for Happier Kids (and Parents) - A Purpose in Life that makes sense to people like me”.

Love,

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com