 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to the Old West! |
|||
From Our Outfit... May 2012 Notes As I’ve indicated previously, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the greatness of America is the direct result of our being a frontier country for the three hundred years following the arrival of the Pilgrims on our east coast. Whether that frontier was Ohio or Oklahoma, men and women on the frontier were challenged just to survive. It was the frontier that developed a people of determination, creativity and cooperation. The frontier also developed a new sense of freedom. And with that freedom and the rights that followed, came the necessity to accept a higher level of individual responsibility. In the mid 1800’s, St. Joseph and other western Missouri towns were the kicking off spots for the westward journey. After a journey of up to 2,000 miles…with many pioneers walking the whole distance…the pioneers would build a small cabin of logs or sod, with a dirt floor and sod roof that was full of vermin. Yet, these pioneers were very optimistic about their future. This was because to them their future was full of possibilities. Now, fast forward to 2012. The frontier as we have traditionally thought of it is long gone. And, unfortunately, for many people, so they think is opportunity. And along with opportunity, optimism. In reality, we live in a time of unlimited opportunity. The living conditions for even the poorest of us far exceed those of our pioneers. And so do the opportunities. What many of us have lost is that determination, creativity and cooperation held by our ancestors…Incidentally, whether we’re a first generation American or have an ancestry that goes back to the Pilgrims, as an American, we all have that pioneer spirit somewhere inside us. What we need to do is to exercise that spirit. And in the same way a muscle gets stronger with exercise, so will our determination and creativity. As our determination and creativity grows, so will our optimism about the future. Several years ago Dr. Robert Rosenthal of Harvard University did an experiment in the San Francisco school system. Three teachers were told they would each be teaching a class of exceptional students. The teachers were asked not to inform the students or their parents about the uniqueness of the classes. Because they were exceptional students, the teachers gave them extra assignments and spent more time working with them. At the end of the experiment, the students not only got the highest grades in their school; they also got the highest in their district. The teachers were called into a meeting by Dr. Rosenthal and congratulated for doing a great job in working with the students. Then he told the teachers, their students weren’t actually exceptional. The students had been selected at random. The teachers were called into a meeting by Dr. Rosenthal and congratulated for doing a great job in working with the students. Then he told the teachers, their students weren’t actually exceptional. The students had been selected at random. This is the law of expectation. We get those results we expect. Too many of us today expect failure, not success. We have a failure of nerve. We spend our lives in quiet desperation. We all need to claim the spirit of America’s pioneers and live our lives bravely without fear; expecting great things in our future. And if we do, we can be assured; great things will come to us in great ways.
P.S. Don't forget to send me a picture of you reading Chronicle of the Old West! You can send your photograph by regular mail or as an attachment via Email. With the picture, we need your name and address, along with information on the location where it’s taken.
NEW CD! Click HERE to find out about our "ULTIMATE Old West Package!" Check out: "This Week
in the Old West" |
Click HERE to find out about our "Follow the Legends" Cruise!
Radio Listener
|
||
[Welcome Page] [The Newspaper] [The Radio Show] [The Contests] [The Merchandise] Contact us: (928) 532-2875 ©2012 Chronicle of the Old West |
|||
May God always be at your side.
