From time to time I’m asked, “Where do your thoughts come from?” The answer is simple. My thoughts come from a small, weighty set of beliefs. The difference between the two is stark.
Thoughts are representations of the world we hold in our mind that we think might represent the world. Beliefs are representations of the world we hold in our mind that we think actually represent the world.
If you think that the room in which you are reading these words might be on fire, your next course of action will be to validate that thought. If you believe that the room in which you are reading these words is actually on fire, your next course of action will be to get out of the room.
Get to know an individuals beliefs and you’re well on the way to knowing what thoughts that individual is capable of generating. The list of representations that I believe actually represents this (and other) world(s) follows. These beliefs provide the framework for the entirety of McManna.com
- I believe in freedom: All people should be free to think, believe, and act as they choose so long as they don’t violate the equal freedom of others.
- I believe America is exceptional because of the freedoms specified in the United States Constitution.
- I believe in private property, the rule of law, and equal treatment under the law.
- I believe reason and logic are the best tools we have for discovering how things work.
- I believe in talent.
- I believe in free choice and personal responsibility.
- I believe our mind is what our brain does.
- I believe in reciprocity.
- I believe in trust, loyalty, and friendship.
- I believe in forgiving.
- I believe all methods of communication other than reading and writing are primarily entertainment.
- I believe in voluntary assistance to others.
- I believe making a good photograph is always more fun than work.
- I believe evidence of life beyond our planet will be found in my lifetime.
- I believe the only requirement of being a writer is to write.
- I believe Buddy Rich was the greatest drummer in the history of the instrument.
Finally, I am occasionally asked how to become a “better” writer. My answer to this question has remained unchanged over the course of many years. The only two things I know about writing is that a writer, writes & the more you write, the better writer you become. I believe the key to improving is to maintain a level of dissatisfaction with your current abilities just slightly below the level that will make you stop writing.
