RULES TO LIVE BY: Maimonides' Guide to a Wonderful Life

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hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURCY

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Radio. Well, hello, and
welcome to Bill Martinez. We are live.

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Great to have you here with us, and Rabbi Jeffrey Kat's going to

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be joining us in just a moment
to talk about his new book, Rules

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to Live by Malmamades Guide to a
Wonderful Life. There is so much wisdom

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and just practicality in this book that
Jeffrey has delineated for us. Just a

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little bit of Jeffrey's background here.
He's a lifelong student and teacher of rationalist

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religious philosophy. When was the last
time you heard those three words put together?

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Huh? But I'll tell you it
makes a big difference. He became

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fascinated in his youth by his discovery
of the ancient wisdom of Mamamades and received

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rabbinic ordination while focusing on disseminating the
ancient, life changing wisdom that he had

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uncovered. On top of that is, if he's not busy enough, he's

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also a practicing attorney. But do
not hold that against him. He is

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a nice man and it's great to
have Jeffrey Katz with us now. Jeffrey,

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how are you, sir, Great
Bill, It's great to be here

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with you. Thanks well, I'm
so excited to talk about this book.

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You and I had the privilege of
breaking this down earlier on my radio show

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and it was so powerfully received by
our audience. I said, look at

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I got to get you on our
TV show to where we can give you

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that much more exposure. And it's
not just about the exposure, it's the

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message that you bring. Jeffrey,
Oh, thank you so much. You

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know, my Monodes was an incredible
guy. He lived about eight hundred years

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ago, but when he lived,
he was the premier not only doctor of

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his time, basically the physician to
the king of Egypt at the time,

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who was the Sultan in Cairo,
but he was also the top spiritualist and

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rabbi and philosopher of his time.
His works are still study today. They're

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poured over in Jewish schools around the
world and also in major universities in the

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philosophy department. Thomas Aquinas kind of
took over where my Monodes had left off

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and reconciling religion and faith with science
and so forth. So my Monodies is

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both one of the greatest men of
science and doctors of all time and also

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one of the great thinkers and philosophers
and men of faith and science. He

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really stands out and his practical wisdom
and virtually all areas of life really is

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profound, and they really these ideas, even though sometimes they sound simple,

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they're basic, and if they're followed, they really can allow people to just

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really excel in all the different main
areas of their lives, really turn their

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lives around. Yeah, what Mamamed's
reinforced here, I believe were godly principles,

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godly principles that are clearly lined out
in Scripture, and that if we,

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as God said to Cain, if
you do well, will it not

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go right for you? So we
need to be in rhythm with God's creation

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and creation in all levels, not
only the universe that he created, but

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the people within the universe. And
Mamamades really struck that harmonious chord and balance

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as he was able to because also
from the Word of God says that the

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beginning of wisdom is the fear of
God. My Mamades had a relationship with

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God, no doubt, and his
fear of God, and this fear that

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we talk about. Some nice people
hear, oh, the fear of God,

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and they think, oh, you
know that here the cosmic hammer is

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going to smack us or something.
There's a little bit more to that,

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and you, being a rabbi,
could probably break that down a little bit

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more for us to help us understand
that. When you know, when the

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Bible talks about the fear of God, exactly how does that translate in Hebrew.

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So basically, you know the Hebrew
expression of your ussham i am fear

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of God. It basically starts with
link with God and link with your family,

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and then it'll extend out to links
with the larger community. So start

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with the family. My Momo teaches
us the most basic principles anchored in the

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Bible, for dealing with the most
basic areas of life, and one of

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the most basic is family life.
So, for example, with one's parents.

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God has commanded us to respect our
parents. So that extends my mon

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that he teaches us that that is
something we all have to take very seriously.

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You know, if you're in the
middle of a business meeting and you

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get to see your mother your father
needs you for a few minutes, you

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shouldn't say, oh, I have
something important urgent on another business matter.

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I have to excuse a those You
should tell the people you're in the meeting

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with, my mother needs me now
for ten minutes, my father needs me,

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and excuse yourself. Not only will
you'll fulfill the precept of respect for

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your parents, but you'll let other
people know that that respecting your parents is

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very important to you. That's the
right kind of quality. And it goes

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so far. And God commanded us
to respect our parents, So my monodies

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goes so far as to illustrate that. If you're at a community banquet,

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for example, and you're being celebrated
by you know whatever, you know,

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all your friends in your community,
and your mother or father comes to you

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and starts hitting you over the head
with a pan and spits in your face

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and curses at you. You are
commanded to stay silent. My mom says,

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do not object, do not protest, just stay silent. Why because

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if the president of the United States
or a king had commanded you to stay

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silent in such a situation, you
definitely would do so. And here the

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king of kings has commanded you to
stay silent and respect your parents to that

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degree, respect for parents needs to
go with your spouse. For example,

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my mom lays out the levels of
partnership in a marriage that one should always

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aim for, and again these are
a little bit aspirational, but we should

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all try to resese. The first
is a partnership of possessions, where that's

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kind of the lowest form of partnership
to get, but you know, it

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is something you establish a joint household, you share your possessions. Then you

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graduate to a partnership of the body, where you touch the divine, you

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create children together, you make that
decision, you expand and fulfill God's word

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in that way. But then even
beyond a household with children, you then

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get to the third level of partnership, which is a partnership of morals.

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In other words, the household stands
for something. It stands for certain values

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visa vita community, it stands for
certain ideas and principle principles that the household

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tries to share and tries to bring
to the outside world. And then even

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beyond that, there's finally the partnership
of spirit, where the two where the

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spouses are so intertwined in a relationship
of unconditional love that their relationship with each

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each other becomes each one's greatest blessing, and where they can look back at

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their accomplishments together and look forward to
further challenges and further growth together. So

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those are other areas that anchored in
the Bible, and family is very important

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and very fundamental and foundational, ill
tay you. If we followed that prescription,

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we would pretty much minimize divorce as
opposed to the divorce rate that exists

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today, right right right, And
even with respect to children. You know,

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my mon, and these counsels become
your child's advised they're not his boss.

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Don't try to control your children's life, Bose. If you try to

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control your kids' life, you know
it's not going to go so well.

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You'll get presented or God forbid,
you'll be hated by your kids. Instead,

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you want to just let them understand. You want to let them develop

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their own decision making when they reach
the age where they can start reasoning for

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themselves, Explain to them when they're
at them when they need to make a

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decision, what the likely results of
their different choices are going to be.

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And pretty soon you're going to develop
in that way your children's own judgment,

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which is so important because you know, children are like trees in the sense

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that if you overwater them, they're
not going to develop the deep roots,

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the strong roots that they need to
become independent, strong people, and they'll

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be subject to all of these influences
coming in from the outside. But if

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they are anchored and they can make
their own decisions and do their own analysis,

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they're going to be able to withstand
a lot of what's coming these days

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from without Yeah, without a doubt. I found Jeffrey that it's the power

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of the question, not the statement, because when you ask the question,

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it forces the children to exercise critical
thinking, doesn't it. Oh yeah,

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totally. You want them to develop. Everyone has innately a power to reason

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and a power to think on their
own and also the children look up to

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their parents. The children will take
on the values of their parents if the

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parents explain decisions and judgments that need
to be made, not only so the

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kids understanding and think, but in
terms of the values that you want to

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pass on to your kids. Because
you know, if we don't pass our

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own values onto our kids, any
number of other people are waiting in the

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wings and waiting to pass on their
values to your children, which may be

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very different from your values. So
that's why my Monodi says, it's very

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important to have regular times with your
kids where you're discussing things, working on

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projects relating to your values. What
a great way, what a productive,

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beautiful way to spend time with your
children. Yeah, without it down,

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it gives them an opportunity to ask
questions of you because maybe they perceive something

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that is inconsistent with what values they
seem to be, you know, sharing

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with their kids, and there's a
conflict there. But if you haven't set

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up a routine or a discipline where
you get together, if it's over,

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if it's over dinner, or in
some other informal application, then you miss

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out on that. I mean,
I see that just in analyzing how I

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raise my kids and how regrettably I
failed to do that. Jeffrey, m

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you know, it's so true that
getting the children to ask questions that really

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is such a great key, because
then as the child notices that some value

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they see or that someone's telling them, it's so different from what either common

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sense would say or what you've taught
them in the past. By having those

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regular times for talking and teaching values
and interactions, you can explore all of

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those issues. And then once you've
discussed those issues with your children enough,

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they'll really internalize them, and again
they'll really be shielded and protected from all

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of this stuff that's are being bombarded
with from all around. And without a

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doubt, we're talking with Rabbi Jeffrey
Katz's book Rules to Live By, Mamamade's

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Guide to a Wonderful Life. Jeffery, I want to go back and revisit

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what you said earlier about honoring our
mother and our father. Some people may

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recall that there was a time in
Jesus' ministry when his mother and brothers were

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outside and the Lord was told,
your mother and brothers are outside, and

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he said, let me tell you
who my brothers and my mother's who my

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mother and brothers are, and they
are the ones that are here with me

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right now. So there must have
been because I know that people are going

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to remember that, and I got
to imagine, is it's something the Bible

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doesn't talk a whole lot about.
You just have to imagine there must have

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been some sort of conflict there with
Jesus' home life and his family as to

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why he would not have, as
you said, hit the pause button and

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go spend a minute with his mother
and his brothers to ask them what they

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wanted. Fascinating fascinating issues and questions
there, and you know the family.

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You know what it What it strikes
is the court of family is so important.

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But then connection with God is another
fascet and kind of equally important because

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my Monod he tells us, now, just like a child, build can't

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really be happy unless the child has
a strong connection with his parents. Any

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person can't really be happy unless the
person has a strong connection with God.

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And my monod he teaches us how
to develop that connection with God. And

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it's basically through our minds, because
it's basically by thinking about God in the

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right way that we build up a
mental bridge to God or a mental tunnel

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up to God. And the trick
is that that's a two way tunnel.

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It's through that same tunnel that you
build up to God through thinking about him

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correctly, because after all, your
mind is kind of the noblest aspect of

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being a person, right, So
it's through that mental bridge that you were

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wrecked towards God. It's through that
same tunnel or bridge that God looks down

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on you and watches you and watches
over you. And according to my monodies,

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that's going to be one of the
main avenues of divine providence where God

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will you can't intercede in your life, God may implant an idea in your

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mind to help you through a tough
situation or a crisis, give you a

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hint as to how to manage a
difficult situation, you know, because my

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monody is to about the divine overflow. The divine overflow is that overflowing abundance

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of ideas and guidance and wisdom and
love coming down from God at all times.

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The trick is, we're like,
it's like a radio, you know,

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all these radio waves are out there
coming down. But if the radio

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is not tuned properly, it's not
going to pick up any of the any

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of the stuff coming down. So
our trick is to tune ourselves so that

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we can pick up, if you
will, as much of the divine overflow

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as we can. And how do
we do that? We do that by

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you'd like a radio, clear away
the static and clear the reception. How

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do we clear away the static by
removing, you know, the the grudges

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we bear, and the envy,
and not gossiping and not focusing on other

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people's bad qualities, removing all of
that negative from our lives, you know,

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because if we get too much into
a reactive mode, like all we

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do all day, We're going to
react to the text we get, react

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to the emails. I'm going to
react to the guy who walks by me

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and looks at me the wrong way
on the street. By just being reactive,

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we can't We've removed the possibility that
we're going to be doing great things

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with our lives in connection with God
or our family, or projects or charitable

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things or our work. It just
can't be done because people have a limited

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amount of emotional energy. By removing
all of that negativity, you free up

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hordes of emotional and mental power,
and then you can devote them to anything

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that you want, and including it
will also allow you, among other things,

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to receive more of the divine overflow, and then paths for you and

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your life bill paths will become clear
that otherwise you couldn't see. But now

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that you've cleared away all that negativity, the signposts on the road for your

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best path forward become much clearer to
you. Right well, Rabbi, it

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seems that that first bridge goes to
God, and there's also a similar bridge

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that works pretty much on the same
principle, and that's the bridge horizontally that

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leads to one another, as you're
referring to, because you can't give horizontally

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what you haven't gotten from the divine
overflow, as you put it. And

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who's to know that you are that
chosen light bearer, that missing puzzle piece,

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that appropriate word that God has deposited
in you to share with a fellow

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sojourner that will make a difference in
their life. Right Yeah, that's so

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beautifully put absolutely correct. Remember,
the hand of the giver is always above

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the hand of the recipient, So
the more you're able to free up your

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own emotional power and make connections with
your family and colleagues and God. Then

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you are going to have so much
more to share and to give with others.

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You know, charity is a great
area of that. My monodies talks

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a lot about, and charity is
part and parcel with your own legacy.

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What you're going to be remembered for, what you're going to stand for in

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your life, It's very important,
according to my monodies, in addition to

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everything else you're doing, pick some
idea or cause or belief that that that

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animates you, and that you're going
to spend some of your time, even

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if you don't have a lot of
money, you're going to spend your some

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of your time and energy trying to
work on That is going to be an

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amazing thing for you in so many
ways, because you know it's gonna it's

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going to develop an emotional detachment in
you from money. The first thing,

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because once you're giving away your time
and your energy for free, for causes

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you really believe in, it just
gives you a detachment for money, which

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is ironically the number one thing you
need to make money. That's just the

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way it works. You don't do
it to make money. That's just the

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result by being emotionally detached from the
money. It's like then you could start

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making terrific financial decisions because you're not
close to the situation. It's like a

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surgeon, you know, he'll never
operate on his own son or her own

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son, no matter how great a
surgeon he or she is, because he's

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too close to the situation. Same
thing. You know, you have to

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spend money to make money. To
make smart financial decisions, you have to

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be emotionally removed. You have to
be able to make cold, smart decisions.

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And also, not only does it
give you that that's so critical to

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just you know, wealth and just
just doing well in business, it also

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when you devote your time to a
charitable cause. First of all, it's

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just so attractive. You become a
magnet for other people. Everybody wants to

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be involved in great causes that helps
some many people, and it happens to

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be you happen to then build networks
of contacts with very lot of very successful,

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affluent people on their own right who
also want to help, and they'll

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take your queue and your leadership and
they'll want to join the bandwigon, can

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you imagine the network of contacts what
makes doing that and the financial and business

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and social opportunities that you can avail
yourself up once you have those contacts.

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I mean, it really is,
it really is incredible. Well, and

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again it reinforces this idea and this
principle that we know to be true,

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is that it's better to give them
to receive. Right. But if you're

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so emotionally vested and you're not letting
go, well, then you're cheating yourself

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out of the blessing, aren't you. Totally? You know, think about

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that's the exact right way to look
at it. Also, think about it.

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Let's say you see in your community
there's some clearly underserved need. People

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just need to you know, people
just need help in some way, and

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you happen to be it happens to
be an area that you can make a

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contribution in by you know, you
may need to raise a little money to

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do that. And think of at
that point, you'll be working with limited

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money. You'll be you'll have projects
that you really want to be effective with

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a limited budget. So you think
those type of management and operational skills and

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budgetary skills, you think those are
the kind of things like a business might

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be interested in one. They those
are the premier qualities that every organization,

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every business in the country is dying
for. People who know how to work

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with a limited budget, who give
of themselves, who are excited about what

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they do, who have good operational
and management abilities that you know, charitable

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work can often bridge the gap,
especially for young people, if they don't

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otherwise have that operational experience in a
job, because sometimes it's the catch twenty

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two. Oh, you need this
experience to get this job, but you

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can't do it because you can't get
the job. But the charity work that's

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an amazing bridge, it really is. You don't do it for all the

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financial and material benefits. They just
come. That's the way God created the

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world, right, and the deal
was early on our country understood that,

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and they afforded charitable opportunity service organizations
where young people could go and invest their

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time. As opposed to doing smashing
grabs at the local department store. They

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would actually go in and serve their
community in this manner, and the bonus

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for them was they got some practical
experience just as you explained, right.

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It really shows also my monodes,
you know, he talks about the eight

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levels of charity, and the highest
level is help somebody help himself, help

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somebody get a job, help somebody
become self supporting in exactly that way,

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because if you think about it,
what really is the great gates charity?

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You can give some dependent person,
You're going to give them one thousand dollars,

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you know, a month for the
rest of it, for the next

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seventy years. Is that really loving
kindness? Is that really the best type

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of charity for the person? Of
course not. You want to train someone,

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help somebody become independent, be does
it hurt? Teach him to fish,

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right exactly, which is my Monodes
expression for the first level of charity.

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Give a man a fish, you
know, if you only feed him

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for a day, teach him to
fish. And it's a different story altogether.

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In the book, you address seven
different principles of Mammonodes, and I

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want to go down there and first
unfold why character counts. Why is character

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so important? You know, character, Bill really pervades. It's what we

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are, you know, happiness comes
not from what we have, but it

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comes from insight. It's what we
are that makes us who we are and

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makes us happy. What your character
is really pervades everything in your life.

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In fact, everything we've talked about
really stems from a good character. My

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momos gives a few important rules for
developing a good character. For example,

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just to mention two of them,
associate with virtuous and wise people. You

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know, choose your friends carefully because
the people you spend most of your time

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with, they should be people who
have good values and themselves are virtuous people

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are, you know, people that
you want to emulate, people that you

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want to be like, not the
opposite. So that's a really important principle

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of character development. Another principle is
to again never gossip. I mean,

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it sounds really hard, but you
know, it's all about retaking emotional control

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of your life so that you're powers
can be dedicated to the things you really

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want to do that are positive in
life. God, stay away from gossip,

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don't focus on bad qualities of other
people, focus only on their good

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qualities. Stay away from all of
the negativity. Don't bear grudges against people.

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Certainly, don't you know some people
half their day is spent just sulking

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over grudges they have. Can you
imagine a more wasteful use of power?

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And Jeffery. It's so it's so
common because this is what the culture does

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without God. If you're not checking
yourself on a constant basis, you know,

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I find myself, you know,
moment to moment at times, Oh

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man, why did I say that? Why am I? Where is that

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coming from? Where is that thought
coming from? And if you're not you

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know, guarded by God's word and
serious about your relationship with God. Next

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thing, you know, you're reflecting
that dark light of the culture, which

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is all these things that promote death, they do not promote life because as

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we know, God Almighty is a
god of life and not death. Right

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now, that's exactly right. All
of the negativity can be seen Bill as

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just part of the slippery slope toward
death, because God is death really,

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but the absence of lights, it's
the absence of anything positive. Once you've

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removed all the good and once you've
removed the positive life force, you're just

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left with death and gossip and envy
and focusing on the band and all of

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the negativity. It's all on the
road to to to in that direction.

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So then and then your your gospel
is uh what social media? Right right?

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Right there you go again, we're
just so overpowered by the culture.

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And again, what we're sharing with
our audience today our key principles, and

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these are principles that are not new
necessarily. They are principles that maybe your

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parents or your grandparents taught you along
the way. But see, we don't

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often talk about these and they get
lost in translation. This is why God

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warned the children of Israel what their
responsibility was in taking the message of God,

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you know, to their children,
to talk about them as they walked

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along the road, as they sat
down for dinner, before they went to

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bed, that it was a constant
reminder of God's goodness. Right, That's

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exactly right. Do you know?
My monody said that if he felt that

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if he didn't commit these principles to
writing before he passed on, that he

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would be denying all of us our
rightful inheritance. Because it's our right as

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people that somebody should tell us what
we should be anchored in the truth,

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the right, not just that we
should all be flailing along like with all

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these messages that are just bombarding us, that really are leading us in all

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of the wrong directions. That's why
my mom that he said it was so

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vital that he put these ideas in
these basic principles and fundamental truths down just

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so we can all benefit from them
exactly. You know, they're so basically

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not very hard to follow, but
somebody has to tell people that this is

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the right people don't even hear it
anymore. That's a sad thing. Well,

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as you and I talked before,
Jeffrey, I mean, this wisdom

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comes from the word of God.
It's as if Mammides went into the infrastructure

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of God's creation, got down into
the foundation, down to where even you

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know water, where it came from, you know, the bowels of the

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earth, and he could look into
the infrastructure and saying, okay, here's

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God's infrastructure, and this is what
God wants to produce. He wants to

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produce a godly heritage. This is
God's character, and so everything that he

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put in his creation was to that
end, and anything that falls short of

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that is an abomination. It is
not godly. It is you know,

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it is really a clear choice that
we must make, either that we adhere

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to God's law or we go man's
way. And you know, each of

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us, at least most of us
who were listening today Jeffrey, have experienced

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enough about life to realize what happens
when we violate godly principles. Right.

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You know, there's an expression that
came around in my monitty's time. You

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know, his name was Moses.
The expression was from Moses to Moses.

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There was none like Moses. And
that's because Moses, my monodies who were

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talking about here since the days of
the Biblical mo is no one had really

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just very simply, in a very
methodical and organized manner, set out the

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basic rules that anyone can open up
and anyone could look up and follow.

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And you know, my book,
I'm thank god, I'm delighted to say

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I was able. Not only did
I divide the book into the seven sections,

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the seven main areas of life.
Each chapter is one simple idea of

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my mondodies only each chapter is only
a couple of pages long. And I

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really worked very hard to make the
ideas super accessible, so anybody could just

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pick it up, read a couple
of chapters a night before they go to

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sleep, and put them wait till
the next night, because it doesn't have

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to be complicated, and it's not
no and it's amazing that each chapter there

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is a consistent element, and that
is God's righteousness, God's you know,

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God's principles that are so established principles
that he you know, he referred to

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when he was talking to Kin,
is you and I discussed before when when

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God rejected Cain's uh, you know, Cain's worship. Kin somehow thought God

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was going to great on the curve
and he found out the hard way that

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God is clear and he's exact and
how he must be worshiped. If you

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violate that, there's no way that
your sacrifice can be accepted. But what

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I love that God said to Kin, that I believe echoes through the millennia

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and speaks clearly to all of us. You know, God very succinctly told

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kainesay, is if you do right, will it not go well for you?

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That's that's it, That's it in
the whole thing, because God created

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the world in a way that if
we do the right thing, things are

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going to work out well in the
end. Exactly, have a little patience,

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but things, because that's just the
way of creation, and that is

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the way that you universus set up. You know, people think sometimes Bill

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that they're focused. Oh am I
happy? Am I happy? I have

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to be happy right now. But
that's not the way happiness works. Happiness

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works it can only be attained indirectly, you know. It's like it's a

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lot like health. You know,
people who are focused on their health all

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day basically hypochondria accent are seldom healthy. The healthiest people are people just going

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about their day doing things they love
and they're passionate about. They never even

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think about their health, and it's
they're usually the healthiest people. It's kind

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of like the same thing as you
were saying earlier about money. If you're

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constantly worried about money, you know
here you are, so you know,

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there's just something consistent about that principle, is it not. Yes, Yes,

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that's absolutely And it's the same thing
with happiness. Happiness is something you

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attain indirectly. You can never get
it directly. When you're busy in your

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life with your family and your career
and doing charitable causes that you love,

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00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:04.160
that you're passionate about, and you're
finding ways in your job to mix in

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the things that you that you find
important to do from a charitable perspective,

403
00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:15.160
just figuring out ways to just keep
your values and your basic principles driving your

404
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:21.359
life, and driving your family life, and your business life and your relationship

405
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:24.640
with God. Then you're happy.
That's what makes you happy. If you

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00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:28.680
ask such a person are you happy, He'll be like, Sun, Well,

407
00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:32.279
yeah, I love everything I'm doing. My life is so fulfilled and

408
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:37.079
meaningful. Sure of course I'm happy. But they never even think about it,

409
00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:40.759
because that's how that's what happiness really
is. Well. Jeffrey Katz is

410
00:33:40.759 --> 00:33:46.319
recognized as one of the foremost contemporary
interpreters of Mamamad's teachings. In Rules to

411
00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:52.160
Live By Mamamade's Guide to a Wonderful
Life, the Rabbi shows us, shows

412
00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:58.799
us how the strategies and advice of
this medieval philosopher stands the test of time

413
00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:05.599
and serves as a roadmap to health, wealth satisfaction despite the turmoil and uncertainties

414
00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:09.119
of modern life. And certainly wear
a wash with those uncertainties. And I

415
00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:16.199
believe the reason why is because we've
chosen to dis anchor from God himself.

416
00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:21.400
You know what arrogance, Jeffrey,
that we would tell God, oh that's

417
00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:24.480
okay, we'll take it from here, right, right of course. And

418
00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:30.159
if you think about it, you
know, humility is something that my monddies

419
00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:35.000
was very you know, taught.
Basically, my mind is taught about balance

420
00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:37.760
in life. In other words,
you need a balance in all these different

421
00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:42.000
areas, and to be happy,
you should focus on all these areas and

422
00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:45.400
make sure you're you're happy with how
these areas are going. But humility is

423
00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:50.000
one area that my monded. He
said, no, no, middle balance

424
00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:53.119
is good there. Pride is not
a good thing. Teach your tongue to

425
00:34:53.159 --> 00:34:59.119
say I don't know, and you
will progress that. That is the philosophy

426
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:04.400
silence, This is the maturation of
wisdom. That is the attitude of my

427
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:08.519
monodies, because it's so important,
because reason, like we discussed before from

428
00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:13.199
my monodies, is so important.
But there are also limits of reason,

429
00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:17.920
and there are also places where our
reason can take us. We can't replace

430
00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:23.719
God. We can't say that we've
moved beyond morality, you know, like

431
00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:28.559
Nietzsche or something, and we're beyond
that morality. We can't do that,

432
00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.199
among other things, because that's not
a recipe for human happiness. See,

433
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:36.440
that's the thing. We can do
it, but we're just going to be

434
00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:40.079
miserable. Yes, well, I
always love when the theorists come into play,

435
00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:46.679
right, We find them often in
academia, you know, coffee Clatches

436
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:51.719
and that that are just a bunch
of theorists. They're out there and it's

437
00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:53.400
like they get this idea and they
want to hold onto this idea, but

438
00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:58.719
they haven't really thought it all the
way through. And their first principle is

439
00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:01.440
just like you said, you get
some of these geniuses who think they have

440
00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:07.159
a better idea than God, and
they just keep putting it out there and

441
00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:10.159
they find enough people that will agree
with them and go oh yeah wow.

442
00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:15.239
And then next thing you know,
they're siloed, and as Jordan Peterson says,

443
00:36:15.280 --> 00:36:21.679
they render themselves stupid. So here
you have this intelligentsia with their high

444
00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:24.079
IQs thinking they're all that in a
bag of chips, and next thing you

445
00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:29.159
know, they've become morons. Yeah, it's so true. You know,

446
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:35.519
one of the main jobs of society
is to create like a sociomilieu where people

447
00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:40.599
can be happy. So by rejecting
God, it's the biggest mistaken Now,

448
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:46.599
that was the start of the decline
basically of happiness in the West, when

449
00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:53.800
when we started putting these very common
sense principles that had evolved over thousands and

450
00:36:53.880 --> 00:36:58.239
thousands of years, you know,
because they it took a long time to

451
00:36:58.320 --> 00:37:02.480
evolve, because you know, it
takes a long time for people to figure

452
00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:09.639
out what works for us, what
basically satisfies the most deep human yearnings.

453
00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:16.280
Isn't it being part of something larger
than yourself and that could be a great

454
00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:21.119
charitable cause. Ultimately, it's a
connection to God. You know, when

455
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:25.719
you help other people, it's not
only that you're helping them because it's good

456
00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:30.559
to help people. You are touching
the divine when you help people, you

457
00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:37.000
are the hand of God in that
way. What a connection to God to

458
00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:43.079
be able to help people because you're
actually God's real servant, in God's agent

459
00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:46.719
when you're doing that, because God
provides for the people and it's sometimes through

460
00:37:46.760 --> 00:37:52.320
you, so you know, so
it's so incredible what we can achieve and

461
00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:57.559
even our health. You know,
my Monoti's was also the top doctor of

462
00:37:57.599 --> 00:38:00.960
his day and some of just the
most basic principles, you know, for

463
00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.360
example, in our society now,
people are it's sad, some people are

464
00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:10.119
so drugged up. Half the people, you know, half the drugs they're

465
00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:15.559
taking are just to treat the side
effects of other drugs that they're taking.

466
00:38:15.719 --> 00:38:17.360
That they probably don't, you know, that they may not even need,

467
00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:22.400
and then forget, forget all the
residual complications that come along with it.

468
00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:25.119
I mean, you watch fifteen minutes
of any kind of TV show and you've

469
00:38:25.159 --> 00:38:30.400
seen, you know, five or
six pharmaceutical offerings, and you come away

470
00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:32.280
at the end of watching a show
and you think, Okay, how many

471
00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:37.280
of these ailments do I have?
Yeah, and how many do I want?

472
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:43.199
Because to hear the side effects of
those things? Yes, now,

473
00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:47.159
my mom. And he said his
first rule of medicine was, if diet

474
00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:52.679
alone can treat a condition, you
are prohibited from taking any medication. Yeah.

475
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:55.920
Well, so that was the first
principle. He would not allow medication

476
00:38:57.360 --> 00:39:00.559
when diet would achieve the result.
He also had a lot of very other,

477
00:39:00.800 --> 00:39:06.920
very brilliant rules. He said,
if we would just treat ourselves as

478
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.360
well as we treat our pets,
we would be okay. You know,

479
00:39:09.719 --> 00:39:14.159
people who have a dog or a
cat, they so carefully measure out the

480
00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:19.519
food, they so carefully make sure
that they exercise and take walks every day.

481
00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:23.000
He said, if you just measure
out the food for yourself and make

482
00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:27.280
sure you exercise like you do for
your cat, or your dog. You're

483
00:39:27.320 --> 00:39:30.599
gonna generally be in much better shape
than you are. Now. It's a

484
00:39:30.639 --> 00:39:37.559
billion dollar industry, the pet industry. Billions of dollars are invested. And

485
00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:42.239
as you say, my mom and
these had it figured out quite clearly that

486
00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:45.760
you know, maybe we should consider
how how well we take care of our

487
00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:51.480
own animals and apply it to self
right exactly. And you know, he

488
00:39:51.599 --> 00:39:57.480
said that the best form of exercise
is exercise which engages your whole body but

489
00:39:57.599 --> 00:40:02.119
also lists your spirits and you're rude
same time. So perhaps you arrange with

490
00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:07.360
a good friend who you enjoy speaking
with, a brisk walk every day or

491
00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:12.119
three times a week, something like
that. Or playing with a small ball.

492
00:40:12.199 --> 00:40:15.800
You know, he lived seven hundred
years before Abner Doubleday. Yeah,

493
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.360
there you go, he was.
He said, chasing a small ball around

494
00:40:19.400 --> 00:40:23.360
off a wall exercises your whole body, does not stress it out too much,

495
00:40:23.559 --> 00:40:27.480
and it's a lot of fun.
So is the kind of thing that

496
00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:30.800
will lead to, you know,
probable repetition. And he had all kinds

497
00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:37.519
of very interesting diet to dieting techniques
which are very powerful and effective. For

498
00:40:37.559 --> 00:40:40.159
example, he said, one type
of diet where you don't have to do

499
00:40:40.239 --> 00:40:46.599
anything else and can have dramatic weight
loss. Just chew your food unbelievably slowly,

500
00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:52.000
you know, till it's almost like
liquefied, because then your brain can

501
00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:54.760
catch up with your stomach, you
know, because your brain doesn't register that

502
00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:59.960
you're full, you know, until
about twenty minutes after you're at your stomach

503
00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:04.679
is actually full. So by chewing
very slowly, you take advantage of that

504
00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:09.199
stomach mind disconnect. Also, he
says, never eat more than like,

505
00:41:09.239 --> 00:41:14.800
if you're three quarters full, just
stop. That's exactly yeah, you know,

506
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:19.679
and all kinds of others such useful
medical advice, just common sense,

507
00:41:19.840 --> 00:41:22.800
common sense stuff, which is so
obviously helpful. Well, you talk about

508
00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:28.039
chasing a little ball. I wonder
what Mammodes would have said about golfers,

509
00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:32.760
especially especially golfers that keep missing those
three foot putts. That's that's enough to

510
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:39.079
make you unhappy, that's true if
you But hopefully even a golfer like that

511
00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:44.679
has enough positive going on in his
life so that he achieves that balance,

512
00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:46.760
you know, because for my monody's
at the end of day, seriously,

513
00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:52.920
it's all about balance in the main
areas of life. You recognize that if

514
00:41:52.920 --> 00:41:55.679
you have a terrific family life,
but your financial life is poor, and

515
00:41:55.719 --> 00:41:59.920
your spiritual life is poor, and
your moral life is poor, your price

516
00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:05.239
going to be unhappy. And similarly
in the other, you know, in

517
00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:09.559
the other areas of life. So
he really wants everybody to just apply a

518
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:15.079
few simple rules in all of the
main areas of life, which they've laid

519
00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:17.920
out here in the book. And
if you do that, you will just

520
00:42:19.280 --> 00:42:25.119
find many of them are developments of
your character, which then spread through every

521
00:42:25.199 --> 00:42:30.599
area of your life. You will
see you can really turn your life around.

522
00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:35.119
Once you devote yourself to these these
basic principles, you'll find that your

523
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:39.480
family life all of a sudden is
greater, and the relationships are terrific,

524
00:42:39.719 --> 00:42:44.920
and there's less friction there, and
you're somehow your business life, you'll have

525
00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:50.239
developed the skills, the basic skills
that everyone, every employer will want you

526
00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:55.119
almost regardless of your IQ or exactly
skill level, if you'll have the basic

527
00:42:55.199 --> 00:43:00.880
qualities. You know, he talks
about trustworthiness, and you know, lose

528
00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:06.760
with truth and right rather than win
or gain with fullshood and wrong. You

529
00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:10.079
know, be truthful with people.
If people feel you're truthful and you're reliable

530
00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:14.079
in other words, like when you
say you're going to be there, you're

531
00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:20.960
there and you're comfortable making decisions.
Who has these qualities one in fifty thousand

532
00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:24.400
people, And they're so basic.
You just need to train yourself and just

533
00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:30.480
follow these basic rules. Well,
the US Labor Force took a study and

534
00:43:30.599 --> 00:43:34.920
found that roughly ten percent of the
US labor force even showed up for work

535
00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:38.840
on time. You know, So
that's what it is. And Mamamaedes,

536
00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:42.920
as you point out, had a
lot to say about work, right,

537
00:43:43.599 --> 00:43:46.000
Oh, tremendous amount. I mean. For example, he says, in

538
00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:52.840
finances, be strict with yourself,
generous with others. So what does that

539
00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:57.440
mean? First of only points in
a family setting, if money is limited,

540
00:43:57.639 --> 00:44:02.280
it is the proper and right thing
to do to deny yourself of something.

541
00:44:02.519 --> 00:44:07.320
You're spousing your children, be more
generous with them. And on another

542
00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:12.320
level, when you're watching someone else's
money, he said, you have to

543
00:44:12.360 --> 00:44:17.559
be scrupulous and meticulous to the last
penny when you're watching someone else's money.

544
00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:23.079
But if someone else's watching your money, don't be like that. Be more

545
00:44:23.239 --> 00:44:29.000
generous and accommodating. Don't squeeze the
person for every penny so again, and

546
00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:34.679
finances, be strict with yourself,
generous with others, which is terrific advice.

547
00:44:34.760 --> 00:44:37.480
And again he counseled all kinds of
ways. He said, if you're

548
00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:42.199
going to give charity, let's say
you've decided to give fifty dollars to a

549
00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.679
cause that you liked, it a
very worthwhile. He says, don't give

550
00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:49.920
the fifty dollars in one shot.
Give one dollar a day for fifty days,

551
00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:54.920
because it will train you in the
habit of generosity, and will train

552
00:44:55.000 --> 00:45:00.480
you in the habit of detaching emotional
detachment from your You can get all of

553
00:45:00.519 --> 00:45:06.960
these benefits. And he really was
very He had a lot to say about

554
00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:12.559
finances. He always said, trade
up, trade inventory for an apartment,

555
00:45:12.639 --> 00:45:19.039
trade an apartment for land. Always
go with what endures. Your most valuable

556
00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:22.880
relationship is with God, because God
is the ultimate thing that endures and the

557
00:45:22.920 --> 00:45:30.079
everlasting to everlasting. So too,
even in your possessions, always trade up

558
00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:32.159
to things that last, because those
are going to be the things that will

559
00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:36.760
go up in value the most and
will hold them point best set in life.

560
00:45:37.159 --> 00:45:40.280
That is so that is so important. Jeff forgot about five minutes left

561
00:45:40.280 --> 00:45:44.679
here, and I wanted to expand
a little bit more. You touched a

562
00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:50.679
little bit on why legacy matters.
The Bible says that we should honor and

563
00:45:50.760 --> 00:45:58.079
protect our reputation more so than gold
or silver. Right like the eighth chapter

564
00:45:58.119 --> 00:46:02.760
of Ecclesiastic Toe shame vine, a
name is even greater than fine oils.

565
00:46:04.159 --> 00:46:07.159
And that's so true, because if
you think about your legacy, bill,

566
00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:12.320
that's going to be not only what
you are known for, but even what

567
00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:15.400
you give your kids, the values
that you pass along to your children.

568
00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:19.840
Also, not only is it important
for all those qualities for us, the

569
00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:23.480
little God appreciates it very much.
And sometimes that's why you're put on earth

570
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:30.039
in order to do something that helps
other people. It is also the thing

571
00:46:30.119 --> 00:46:34.079
in addition to all of those,
it's also the thing that animates your own

572
00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:39.679
life and makes you passionate, and
in some ways it's an important piece of

573
00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:46.199
a feeling that you're living a life
that's so terrific and so meaningful. And

574
00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:50.280
I get up every morning and I
get out of bed and I say,

575
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:53.199
wow, you know, today I'm
going to continue my great relationship. I'm

576
00:46:53.199 --> 00:46:57.119
going to teach my kids something,
and I'm going to do something on this

577
00:46:57.239 --> 00:47:01.519
project I'm working on, that's my
charitable project, and that's my legacy.

578
00:47:01.639 --> 00:47:06.320
And I'm even going to figure out
some way at work to kind of squeeze

579
00:47:06.400 --> 00:47:08.719
it in and get the same point
across. And I'm gonna you know,

580
00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:13.880
my mom and he said, I'm
gonna destroy my enemies by turning them into

581
00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:17.800
friends. Yes, I'm gonna use, yeah, my persuasive power, my

582
00:47:19.440 --> 00:47:23.639
authority. I'm gonna use not to
destroy them by turning them around and giving

583
00:47:23.679 --> 00:47:29.960
us common ground and making them my
friends and making and establishing a dialogue.

584
00:47:30.079 --> 00:47:34.840
When you when you live a life
like that, there's just not enough hours

585
00:47:34.840 --> 00:47:38.079
in the day you enjoy. People
don't have to ask you are you're happy?

586
00:47:38.079 --> 00:47:44.159
Are you're happy? You're so busy
doing great things and your life and

587
00:47:44.199 --> 00:47:49.639
you're taking control of your life because
you have to have removed all of that

588
00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:53.760
negativity, because if you haven't,
there's no room for all the positivity.

589
00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:59.039
Exactly. Yeah, when you've removed
the negativity and you and a lot of

590
00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:05.880
this comes when you find the right
charity project that will be your legacy and

591
00:48:06.039 --> 00:48:08.559
is the thing that anime's life.
And you know, if you spend even

592
00:48:08.719 --> 00:48:13.599
five minutes a day and eventually it'll
be more than that. But if you

593
00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:19.679
spend five minutes a day promoting some
project that does good for a lot of

594
00:48:19.719 --> 00:48:22.719
people, you will see you multiply
that five minutes. And again, if

595
00:48:22.760 --> 00:48:27.239
you make it a rule that you
spend five minutes a day doing it,

596
00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:30.119
some days you will spend four hours
a day doing it. But if you

597
00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:35.719
do it every day, you are
going to find unbelievable results. They're going

598
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:38.159
to be so meaningful for you,
and they're really going to be part of

599
00:48:38.440 --> 00:48:43.280
again your legacy, your own legacy, your relationship with your kids and with

600
00:48:43.360 --> 00:48:47.079
your larger family. And when I
say kids, I include grandchildren, nephews,

601
00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:54.440
nieces, any younger family members,
or awards, whatever. It's intergenerational.

602
00:48:54.800 --> 00:49:00.280
And that way we pass along our
values, even though there are many

603
00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:04.360
others waiting in the wings waiting to
pass along there well. And one thing

604
00:49:04.400 --> 00:49:07.880
I don't want to jump by doing
that, your legacy will be shared with

605
00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:12.039
generations yet yet to come. God
news, rightight, and this is what

606
00:49:12.159 --> 00:49:15.639
happens. We've got a minute left
here and I want to give you the

607
00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:22.440
closing summary here of what you want
the readers to take away from this book.

608
00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:24.920
Rules to Live by Thank you so
much, Bill, So I would

609
00:49:24.960 --> 00:49:32.239
say I can only talk about my
own life and how profound following these rules

610
00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:37.679
was in my own life. They
really were a formula for me where I

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00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:42.639
was really able to turn my life
around and take it to the next level.

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00:49:42.880 --> 00:49:45.719
And the rules are so basic and
simple, but when they're applied on

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00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:51.519
a consistent basis, they're a winning
formula. And I think the reason My

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00:49:51.599 --> 00:49:55.679
Mind's was able to come up with
it was because he was a master of

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00:49:55.760 --> 00:50:00.719
the physical realm, top doctor of
his time, great scientists and astronomer,

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00:50:01.239 --> 00:50:07.280
but he was also this amazing spiritualist. Taught you how to become close to

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God, and really he had both
worlds, and his recipe is really a

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00:50:14.320 --> 00:50:19.719
formula for great meaning and satisfaction in
life. It's really wonderful. That's why

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I called the book My mind His
Guide to a Wonderful Life Rules to live

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00:50:23.320 --> 00:50:27.679
by, because that's really what it
allows everybody to have. You just have

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to follow some of these rules.
Well, Jeffrey Katz, you are a

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00:50:30.519 --> 00:50:35.639
blessing. Thank you so much for
coming on the show. Blessing me again

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00:50:36.079 --> 00:50:39.119
and our audience, and we say
share it. Do not hold on to

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00:50:39.199 --> 00:50:45.119
the blessing, pay it forward and
get your hands on this book. Rules

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00:50:45.159 --> 00:50:49.679
to Live By Mamamadi's Guide to a
Wonderful Life from Jeffrey Katz. Jeffrey,

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00:50:49.880 --> 00:50:52.119
thank you again. God bless you. Appreciate you. Thank you so much.

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00:50:52.159 --> 00:50:57.159
Bill. God bless and thank you
ladies and gentlemen for sharing a part

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00:50:57.159 --> 00:51:00.320
of your day with us. May
God bless you and keep you. May

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00:51:00.360 --> 00:51:04.119
make his face shine upon you,
and be gracious unto you and give you

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00:51:04.400 --> 00:51:06.679
his peace. Thanks again for being
with us. God bless