Hello Reader,
It's March and among other things it's also Women's History Month. Beautiful and industrious women throughout history have done so much to brighten this sometimes dark world and I am grateful to be able to acknowledge the role women have played in in making a difference. I am going to consider doing a profile piece on some impactful women for a newsletter later this month so stay tune to see if that materializes, but otherwise let's all, man and woman alike, keep forging ahead!
BookLife Prize
I wanted to briefly mention this because I find it to be a notable milestone. I recently received a critical review for "Get Your Mind Right" from BookLife Prize and I want to share what they said with you:
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Wyche argues that humankind must embrace the struggle toward self-actualization, urging readers to recognize the spiritual influences in the world around them, put in the effort to live authentically, and believe in the "fullness of your potential." He embraces his subject matter enthusiastically, with a palpable energy that drives his insights on visualizing and achieving your best life.
Prose: Wyche's tone teems with a positive drive that will motivate readers, and his direct, spirited prose perfectly matches the book's theme.
Originality: Get Your Mind Right succeeds at balancing individual responsibility and ownership with spirituality, emotional intelligence, and a profound awareness of the need to treat others with compassion.
Character/Execution: Wyche offers readers several practical steps to alignment, including staying focused on goal achievement through compartmentalization, managing mental barriers and thinking errors, and becoming more mindful in daily activities. He makes several spiritual references throughout his writing as well, and his obvious passion for helping others live a purposeful life is infectious.
Getting any kind of feedback from BookLife is noteworthy because of the impact they have in book/publishing industry and business. I am grateful to BookLife Prize for critically considering this body of work of mine. There is still more to come whether it be from them or elsewhere. I am planning a giveaway and I will follow up with more information on that in the weeks to come. It's a good book. I don't want to call out haters and I don't find that to be valuable with respect to this Newsletter, but if you can get the book and you haven't yet, it's becoming evident that you're missing out.
Order your copy of Get Your Mind Right today!
News Brief
An All Hands Approach
This News broke Friday and I first covered it on my X (twitter) account. Essentially President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House on Friday with hopes of signing a mineral deal with the U.S., that would have help both countries in the long run with respect to the Russia Ukraine war. Unfortunately, towards the end of the press conference between Zelenskyy, Trump, and some Trump administration officials, communication broke down. I go through that aspect of this story in detail in the post above. Since then, however, The United Kingdom and European Union have been determined to show a united front in helping to bring the war to an end. Recently and most notably, during a Ukraine Summit in London, the U.K. prime minister said, "...Europe must do the heavy lifting… But to support peace on our continent. And to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing. We’re working with the US on this point, after my meeting with President Trump last week. And let me be clear – we agree with the President on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver, together."
The sticking point for peace at this point in the war is Russia's willingness, and the promise of guarantees to Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy made it clear in his meeting with Trump that his concern is the inherent untrustworthiness of Russia. He doesn't want to see Ukraine get invaded again or a ceasefire breached, which has been the case several times prior to now. Trump is unwilling to concede any guarantee without a mineral deal which will help the United States recoup some of the money and resources lost from our support since the inception of this war. With a United front from Europe peace appears to be on the horizon, Zelenskyy has recently said since his meeting with Trump on Friday that he is ready to sign a mineral deal. As the west gets their ducks in a row, the ball will soon be in Russia's court.
Schemin'
On Elon Musk's most recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience he called out social security (and all of government) as a ponzi scheme. He basically said that social security is insolvent, which it is. His claim for saying such a thing is the U.S. government at it's current rate of revenue generation can't meet it's future obligations. He cites some fraud in the system but he also says [not literally in his remarks but on a meta level] that issues with American society negatively impact productivity, mainly procreation. In the interview with Rogan, Musk states that retirement age people are living too long but also their contribution to the workforce isn't be replaced, in the form of the creation of more humans. Ultimately it's not that simply but he has the right idea. Social security is one of the New Deal policies from the 1930s following the Great Depression. And I think it's safe to say that most people part of an advanced society don't want to lose everything if and when they are incapable of acquiring more things for themselves.
Bernie Sanders on Meet the Press said social security's insolvency issue could be fixed if people who earn more than six figures every year paid more into the program. Whether or not America can afford social security isn't the question, most agree we can't, on both sides of the isle. The question is, what is a suitable reform? This is a noteworthy story because certain people will try to use this as a negative talking point against Musk and Trump's administration. The only new news here however, is that Musk said it. As of right now, no one is going after entitlements, but that is the ultimate problem. If real change is to be affected with respect lowering America's debt burden, entitlements will need to be humanely considered.
Encouragement for Your Week
This week I want to encourage you to make the best out of a bad situation. I am empathetic to this encouragement because I feel this in certain areas of my life. Sometimes in life we find ourselves in less than ideal situations. The problem when you are in one of those situations is that you still need to find a way to live and navigate the pressures that situation may come with. When desperate times call for desperate measures there is no shame in doing desperate things. You may feel shame while doing it but in the context of what you may be going through your actions may not be ethically shameful. Surviving a bad situation sometimes requires navigating gray space. It may not be what you want to do but if you find yourself in a position where that's what you're doing for one reason or another, allow yourself to receive grace, have your boundaries fortified, and try not to allow what you do out of desperation and survival mold, shape, or change the person you are and want to become.
