“They remain forever. They are like the land itself… You are like the wind — blowing over the land and passing on.”

And the three surviving gunmen in the final scene of the western classic The Magnificent Seven ride off into the sunset.

They turn to gaze at the village they’ve just helped to defend — at great personal loss — against marauding bandits.

The final words of the movie, pregnant with metaphoric meaning, are uttered by the main character, hired gun Chris Adams:

“The old man was right. Only the farmers won. We lost. We always lose.”

Thirty-three years before The Magnificent Seven was released, American architect and social critic Ralph Adams Cram said it more plainly…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post How to Win as Only a Free Farmer Can appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

I’m thrilled to announce that the book has been printed and is on its way to me now.

I want to offer you, my blog subscribers, the very first and very best deal you’ll ever see on this book.

If you’ve read the first edition, this is a totally new book. I’ve more than doubled the content. I’ve completely redesigned both the cover and interior.

Oliver DeMille wrote my foreword, in which he says,

“[This book] is more than profound. it is downright brilliant…It belongs on your special shelf along with Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, The Federalist Papers, The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe, Cleon Skousen’s The Five Thousand Year Leap, and The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis.”

Download a sample here, which includes Oliver DeMille’s foreword and two chapters.

Use the “Buy Now” button below to purchase 1 copy for just $10, 10 copies for just $80 ($8 per copy), or 25 copies for just $150 ($6 per copy).

THIS OFFER ENDS & THIS BLOG POST WILL BE DELETED ON THURSDAY, JUNE 20TH.

(FYI, after design and printing, my hard cost on these books is $9.65, so I’m only making 35 cents per book on this deal if you buy one, and I’m losing money if you buy multiple copies. The cover price is $23.95, so you’re saving a minimum of 58 percent.)

Check out the video trailer:

SPECIAL OFFER ENDS THURSDAY, JUNE 20TH.

© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post Early-Bird Special on “Uncommon Sense” for My Blog Readers appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

His prompt reply: “Forty years.”

When asked how long it would take to learn the violin, the virtuoso violinist Felice Giardini replied, “Twelve hours a day for twenty years.”

And that was coming from a child prodigy on the instrument.

After the great Polish pianist Paderewski played before Queen Victoria, the queen exclaimed, “Mr. Paderewski, you are a genius!”

“Ah, Your Majesty,” he said, “perhaps; but before I was a genius I was a drudge.”

Masters make their work look deceptively easy. Amateurs gaze up at their pedestals with stars in their eyes, dreaming of fame and fortune, anxiously searching for shortcuts.

Everyone wants the glamour and glory. But incredibly few are willing to…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post Why Being Great is Boring appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

“How do you get inspired?”

Stunned and dumbfounded, I stared at her for a long moment.

I had just finished presenting at a Leadership Education conference. I had stressed the principle “Inspire, Not Require,” meaning that quality mentors inspire their students to greatness, rather than requiring them to jump through hoops.

I taught that parents and mentors who struggle with this principle aren’t inspired themselves — to be inspiring, one has to be inspired.

She waited expectantly.

As I pondered how to answer such a bewildering question, I looked down at the tile floor…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post How to Get Inspired appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

Henry “Box” Brown paid a dear price for his nickname.

Born a slave on a Richmond, Virginia plantation, Henry began plotting his escape when his wife and three young children, having been sold to another slave owner, were carried away in chains.

After pondering on it, he had a carpenter build his escape vessel: a wood crate three feet, one inch wide by two feet, six inches high.

At five feet, six inches tall, Henry would have to cramp into the fetal position for the twenty-some hours it would take for the crate to reach the North via railcar.

He lowered himself inside and a friend nailed the box shut, with only a few biscuits to sustain Henry on the journey. Henry’s friend carried the box to the express office.

Although the box explicitly said THIS SIDE UP WITH CARE, it was placed upside down, leaving Brown sitting on his head.

The box was then transported to the train depot and thrown into the baggage car where, thankfully, it landed right side up.

But when it was transferred to a steamboat, Henry found himself on his head again.

He was in agony, but he dared not utter a sound. He prayed and waited to die.

He was saved when some workers turned his box over to sit and rest on it.

The box arrived at a depot in Washington, then was placed on a railcar in Philadelphia, arriving at three a.m. on the morning of March 30, 1849.

Henry had been doubled up in the box for twenty-six hours.

A man picked up the box and carried it to an office on North Fifth Street, where a group of abolitionists awaited. They locked the door behind them.

Fearing the worst, one of the men said, “Let us rap upon the box and see if he is alive.”

Someone tapped on the side.

“Is all right within?” a trembling voice asked.

“All right,” Brown replied.

Brown was free, and he carried his nickname as a badge of honor through the rest of his life.

Today, we’re not subject to slave masters with chains and whips.

But we’re all held captive in self-imposed boxes of various forms. We all have limitations holding us back from becoming who we were born to become.

We suffer in jobs we hate, we fall prey to addictions, we live scripted lives, we allow other people to dictate our reactions and emotions, we consume processed junk and get sick and fat, we rack up credit card debt.

Questions for all of us to ponder:

• Do I know what is holding me captive and constraining my potential? (Consider this list of possibilities.)
• What am I willing to do to break free?
• Is my vision of a better life stronger than my fear of doing what it takes to achieve that life?
• What one thing in my life, if eliminated, would catalyze major positive change?
• What one good habit could I cultivate that would forever alter the destination, trajectory, and velocity of my life?

Today, we don’t have to escape slavery by railcar stuffed in boxes. We have to escape our personal boxes of captivity by watching less TV and reading more good books, cutting up our credit cards, conquering addictions, following promptings to start purposeful businesses, eating less junk and more raw and natural foods, exercising daily, praying more, forgiving more.

Our political freedom was bought with a price. But we still have to pay a price in our own life to be spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially free.

Unfortunately, human nature works against us. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence,

“…all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

Whether we stay stuck in our boxes, held captive by our fears, weaknesses, habits, and false beliefs, or pay the price to break free — either choice involves suffering, each comes with a cost.

But which is more sufferable? Which will last longer? Which cost is ultimately easier to bear? Which form of suffering is worthy of our heritage and potential?

Henry Brown was enslaved. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the things holding us captive.

Henry Brown stuffed himself into a tiny box to gain his freedom. Are you willing to break free from your box to gain your freedom?

*The story of Henry “Box” Brown is told in the book The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.

© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post Live Outside the Box appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

That’s the simple way to put it. Truth is, there’s much more to the formula.

Unless you do it the right way, brain-picking is nothing but obnoxious freeloading, inexcusable leeching, a particularly irritating manifestation of bad form.

Successful people are intensely focused, productive, and mission-driven. They value time far more than unsuccessful people do. The easiest way to get on their bad side is to waste their precious time.

Here’s how to solicit advice the right way…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post The Right Way to Solicit Advice appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

Our two-year-old was buckled tightly into her car seat. But her car seat itself had not been buckled with the seatbelt.

We felt safe and secure every time we strapped her in. But had we crashed, that feeling of security would have been ejected and overwhelmed by unforgiving realities.

How often in life do we confuse true security with a false sense of security?

In reality, we don’t confuse the two; we choose false security because it’s easier. Achieving true security requires hard work and brutal self-honesty.

In fact, we’ll give almost anything to…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post Why the Feeling of Security Makes Us Less Secure appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

Funny how fervently we proclaim we’re willing to die for freedom, but are unwilling to live free in our daily lives.

Strange how much lip service we give to being grateful for our freedom, while constantly trampling on that precious gift with poor choices.

We don’t need chains, whips, and jail cells to be held captive.

Involuntary servitude is a crime against humanity. But voluntary servitude is a crime against nature, as it stifles our joy and constrains our potential.

As I explain in my book, Uncommon Sense, Viktor Frankl locked in a concentration camp cell is more free than the drug or pornography addict in America.

Voluntary servitude — and its opposite, personal freedom — come in five forms: spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and financial.

Answer the following questions to determine just how free you are in your life:

1. Spiritual Freedom

To be spiritually free is to have a close relationship with your Creator, adhere to your conscience, serve your fellow man, and to know and live your purpose with faith and courage.

To be in bondage spiritually is to be a stranger to God, to indulge the lusts of the flesh, to be fearful and selfish, and to wander through life without the rudder and North Star of purpose.

• Do you pray daily, sincerely, earnestly?
• Do you meditate daily?
• Do you study your spiritual text daily?
• Do you have a close, meaningful, and personal relationship with your Creator?
• Do you follow spiritual promptings you receive without hesitation?
• Do you view pornography?
• Do you routinely watch movies or listen to music that are below your values and spiritual standards?
• Do you honor your marriage vows in thought, word, and deed?
• How often do you serve others with no thought for getting anything in return?
• Do you have a clearly defined life purpose? Are you in tune with your calling? Do you know what you were born to do and become?
• Do you know what you’re trying to make happen in the world and how you will measure success?
• Is your life purpose written down, and do you read it daily?

2. Mental Freedom

To be mentally free is to know how think analytically, holistically, and creatively and to know the ideals one should strive for through liberal education.

As Leo Strauss said,

“Liberal education consists in reminding oneself of human excellence, of human greatness.”

Liberal education is gained by studying the greatest thinkers, ideas, and works in history: the Bible, Shakespeare, Aurelius, Aristotle, Plato, Calvin, Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis, Gandhi, etc.

Mental bondage is ignorance, to be a robot in conveyor-belt education, to never question why we do things or how to do them better.

• Do you engage in formal education primarily for job training?
• Has your education fostered, encouraged, and rewarded creativity, initiative, “outside-the-box” thinking?
• Do you know what the “good life” means and how to live it?
• Do you regularly read works from the authors listed above, and from others like them?
• Are you actively engaged in the “Great Conversation”?
• Do you spend more time watching TV than reading good, inspiring books?
• Do you read merely for entertainment, or to seek truth, expand your soul, and become more virtuous and wise?

3. Emotional Freedom

To be emotionally free is to be healed from wounds through forgiveness and gratitude, and to be consistently joyful.

Emotional bondage is to be a victim, a reactionary puppet on the strings of our wounds.

• Do you harbor hurt feelings and anger toward people who have caused you pain?
• Do you have a hard time forgiving?
• Are you easily offended?
• Do you often lose your temper and say things you regret?
• Are you generally optimistic, or pessimistic?
• Do you suffer from depression?
• Is your self-talk negative and limiting?
• How often do you express heartfelt gratitude to God, family, and friends?

4. Physical Freedom

To be physically free is to be free from physical addictions and the agendas of agricultural corporations and to enjoy maximized health and wellness through proper diet and exercise.

Physical bondage most often manifests as obesity, chronic illness, addictions to physical substances, and dependence on prescription drugs. (And clearly, there are biological factors beyond our control that affect these.)

• Does your diet consist primarily of processed foods?
• Do you garden? If so, do you use GMO seeds?
• Do you exercise regularly?
• Is your weight healthy?
• Do you often use prescription drugs to deal with ailments?
• Do you treat illness by simply masking symptoms, or by dealing with root causes?

5. Financial Freedom

To be financially free is to be debt-free and economically self-reliant.

As Garrett Gunderson and I detail in Killing Sacred Cows, financial bondage is to be indebted to banks, to fall prey to financial propaganda from institutions with vested interests, to be dependent on corporations, and to work for benefits and security rather than for purpose.

• Do you dislike your occupation but stick with it primarily for money, benefits, and “security”?
• Is your occupation a worthy expression of your values, talents, passion, and purpose?
• Does your occupation fill you with a deep sense of fulfillment?
• If you were to get fired today, would your knowledge, skills, grit, and initiative allow you to replace your income quickly — even outside your current field?
• Do you earn money living your purpose?
• Do you have three to six months’ of expenses in a savings account?
• Do you save 10 percent of your income?
• Do you have any credit card debt?
• Are you making monthly payments on any depreciating liability (car, furniture, etc.)?
• Have you ever bought on credit because of a deal like “90 days same as cash” or “1 year interest free”?
• Are you “invested” in a 401(k) or other mainstream financial product, such a mutual fund? If so, do you understand in depth what you’re “invested” in?

I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do.

I ponder the words of John Quincy Adams:

“Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post 46 Clues You’re Enslaving Yourself Voluntarily appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

In fact, it is precisely limitations and constraints that spark our most creative ideas and generate the most practical and innovative solutions.

Our constraints hold the key to our freedom.

Consider an exercise: For which of these two challenges could you generate the most practical, implementable ideas in ten minutes:

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post How Thinking INSIDE the Box Makes Us More Creative appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.

At 808 Brady Street in Davenport, Iowa, we join two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century conversing over dinner.

“Tell me, B.J.” says Elbert, “What are the two most valuable words in the English language?”

“I haven’t given it much thought,” B.J. responds. “What are yours?”

Elbert leans forward and confides, “Survival value.”

B.J. ponders the words for a moment. “To be frank, Elbert, I don’t see much in them.”

“Give them time, B.J. They will grow on you.”

“Do explain, Elbert. I’m all ears.”

Elbert thoughtfully takes a sip of wine, then pushes his chair back from the table. Eyes gleaming, he speaks earnestly and deliberately, in the manner of a man revealing thoughts he has been pondering for years…

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© Copyright Stephen D. Palmer.

The post Two Words to Measure Your Value appeared first on Stephen Palmer, Writer & Entrepreneur.