Comments on Marty Nemko: Finding the Willpower

Most recent Anonymous, I address this extensively ...

2009-10-15T00:10:19.350-07:00

Most recent Anonymous, I address this extensively on this blog (Click on "career advice" in the tag cloud and visit and my site www.martynemko.com--tons of career-finding articles there. Also my article there, "What the hell is the meaning of life?" Also my lists of best careers on usnews.com/careers.

What about a person who just does not know what th...

2009-10-14T21:49:16.581-07:00

What about a person who just does not know what they want to do, be, accomplish?

Discussions about willpower are moot if one lacks goals, direction, desires... do you address this situation elsewhere Marty?
thanx kit.

Dear Most Recent Anonymous, I have always had a l...

2009-10-13T00:23:24.454-07:00

Dear Most Recent Anonymous,

I have always had a lot of discipline, but I hope that this article may help to improve yours.

Marty I have a question: When you were a twenty-so...

2009-10-12T23:25:33.868-07:00

Marty I have a question: When you were a twenty-something did you have the same views on willpower? Are you born into this way of thinking,regarding willpower, or is it aquired from life experience?

anonymous said: Marty, I am a Christian who also g...

2009-10-05T22:05:37.772-07:00

anonymous said:
Marty, I am a Christian who also gets turned on by science. Mathematicians just laugh at Darwin, the statistical probability of his theories is so small as to make them impossible. Intelligent design, even if you don't share in Judeo-Christian beliefs, has more probability than random accidents. Many scientists believe in creationism or if not that an intelligent design. If you are really open minded read "the case for a Creator" by investigative journalist, Lee Strobel. I gave a talk to 2 groups one time on this subject and had two different people, one an engineer and the other a scientist for a defense contractor check my facts and sources and tell me I had summerized what they had believed. Best wishes,

Some 12-step programs may describe themselves as s...

2009-10-04T23:43:57.501-07:00

Some 12-step programs may describe themselves as secular but all of them require surrendering to a higher power. Of course, there are exceptions, but the addict who is religious/spiritual will be more likely to find a 12-step program, "secular" or not to be more helpful than will other people.

It takes more blind, uninformed faith to assume th...

2009-10-04T12:12:02.894-07:00

It takes more blind, uninformed faith to assume that the only manifestation of love and justice is in the prevention of innocent babies from dying in this life. Christians believe that God created life, hence he has the ability to resurrect the dead. Therefore to a Christian, death is not the end for a soul.

But to an atheist, his uninformed and subjective assumptions make him assume that there is no after life, without any evidence backing up this contention. If I walk into a dark room, should I assume that there are obstacles in my way (or a lack thereof) simply because the light doesn't reveal their existence or non-existence? To say "there's no evidence disproving my assumptions" and to consign those who disagree with you to an uninformed faith while exalting your own uninformed faith-based assumptions, is the height of hubris.

On Recovery: There are secular 12-step programs. (...

2009-10-04T11:25:31.490-07:00

On Recovery: There are secular 12-step programs. (BTW, Episcopalians never check their brains at the door.)

On High Self-Esteem: I like reframing as a solution. Are you "special," "God's chosen," or whatever? Great! There's a thing called noblesse oblige. Get cracking! Bend your Messiah complex to the good of Man (which includes Woman).

Statements based on high-probability of truth---th...

2009-10-04T09:21:47.271-07:00

Statements based on high-probability of truth---that there is no God worth praying to (in light of the billions of people, including babies) who die of long, painful diseases) are worthy of a scientist.

Statements made by religious people such as "God loves us," "God protects us," "God is all knowing," have, if one is attempting to be rational, a very low probability of being true.

"Blind faith..." Ever met a scientist? They freq...

2009-10-04T09:10:25.725-07:00

"Blind faith..." Ever met a scientist? They frequently make positively affirmative statements that there is no God. I guess they must have the evidence somewhere...

I stand by my statement. Just because scientists h...

2009-10-04T00:44:39.103-07:00

I stand by my statement. Just because scientists have incomplete knowledge doesn't mean they surrender their rationality to blind faith, which religious people do.

Marty wrote: "Religious people are often best help...

2009-10-03T18:12:31.214-07:00

Marty wrote: "Religious people are often best helped with a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Intellectually oriented people are often helped with cognitive therapy."

Interesting, the juxtaposition that you used, pitting "religious" vs. "intellectual." I suppose you're claiming that people who believe in and worship God are not using their intellect, while non-believers are. Last I checked, even the most renown astrophysicists have no idea what preceded the big bang, except to concede that the energetic "quantum foam" vacuum has always existed and provided the energy that was later to be converted into physical matter that makes up our being today. Is it not just as much an act of faith to claim that there is no prime mover (the atheist view) as it is to claim that there is? What (or who) caused the big bang, if not that which has always existed (or He who has always existed)?

I would suggest that in the future you use terms such as "atheist," "agnostic," or "non-religious" to describe the subjective and belief-based assumptions of the non-religious, rather than bestowing upon their assumptions about God and nature the motivation of "intellect."