Baah, Baah black sheep!

Be honest how many of you believe that, if the danger were really that great, would not everyone be concerned? Without really giving it even a second thought how often do we catch ourselves watching what others are doing or are not doing? Are we one of those following that basic instinct of survival and following in the safe wake of the stampeed on the savana of global change or social acceptance or religious popularism? Will we stop when there is a safe number of questioners?

1. Be a Master of Creativity!
Why do we constantly look to others for ideas on how to run our lives? Why do we not use our imagination, not just our eyes or ears, to come up with our own ways to live?

2. Be a Master of Goals!
Where are our goals which give us direction in life? Goals affect choices we make daily. Goals are a powerful way to avoid a sheep mentality, because they will make you move in directions based on your own desires, decisions and ideas, not someone else’s.

3. Be a Master of Choice!
Everything starts with a choice. What is stopping us to realize that we choose what our goals are, who our friends are, where we work, what we wear, when we are ready... .

4. Be a Master of Decision!
Sheep don’t ask questions when it’s time to turn. The herd walks in unison. Nobody questions anything. "It’s just that everybody else is doing it so I will too". Just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean we have to. We have to learn to say no, and walk in opposite direction, test it and watch what happens.

5. Be a Master of Identity!
Why should we nt be proud of where we are from or who we are, are things that need to be embraced not hidden. We don’t have to be from somewhere else. The creative, successful types are powerful not because of where they are from, but because of where they are going.

6. Be a Master of Creation!
The world can be a fun place to discover, but running around like a headless chicken trying to find yourself or discover your purpose can be exhausting. Why are we so afraid to create ourselves instead? What rives us, what is the most important to us, how do we want to spend our time?

7. Be a Master of Succees!
Why are we so afraid to stand out from the crowd, leave your competition in the dust? This is the greatest personal and social challenge.

Become a Master of the Herd. Be a Master of yourself!

Apophis wrote: Be honest how many of you believe that, if the danger were really that great, would not everyone be concerned? Without really giving it even a second thought how often do we catch ourselves watching what others are doing or are not doing? Are we one of those following that basic instinct of survival and following in the safe wake of the stampeed on the savana of global change or social acceptance or religious popularism? Will we stop when there is a safe number of questioners?

hmmm good questions. personally i never follow what is popular...
as einstein said:what is popular is not always right, what is right is not always popular.

1. Be a Master of Creativity!
Why do we constantly look to others for ideas on how to run our lives? Why do we not use our imagination, not just our eyes or ears, to come up with our own ways to live?

i'm lucky here, i've never looked to others for anything, i do what i feel like doing when i feel like doing it. if i make a mistake, oh well, i learned something new....as to using the imagination...i can't shut mine off sometimes.

2. Be a Master of Goals!
Where are our goals which give us direction in life? Goals affect choices we make daily. Goals are a powerful way to avoid a sheep mentality, because they will make you move in directions based on your own desires, decisions and ideas, not someone else’s.

goals...i don't set many as i have no desires, or at least most of the time i don't, when i do i set the target and make the plan. for the most part though i'm the very definition of Ronin(wave man) i simply float along the stream of life going to whatever shore it takes me to, no direction, no purpose, no goal. i'm happier that way.

3. Be a Master of Choice!
Everything starts with a choice. What is stopping us to realize that we choose what our goals are, who our friends are, where we work, what we wear, when we are ready... .

i've always understood this part, we are what we choose to be. our looks, friends, and job often say alot about ourselves...

4. Be a Master of Decision!
Sheep don’t ask questions when it’s time to turn. The herd walks in unison. Nobody questions anything. "It’s just that everybody else is doing it so I will too". Just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean we have to. We have to learn to say no, and walk in opposite direction, test it and watch what happens.

ah, i always ask questions, my favorite being: why?. my whole life i have never done what everyone else does, i have no interest in being just like everyone else, i am me, i am not someone else.

5. Be a Master of Identity!
Why should we nt be proud of where we are from or who we are, are things that need to be embraced not hidden. We don’t have to be from somewhere else. The creative, successful types are powerful not because of where they are from, but because of where they are going.

one should be proud of who they are, but they should not become egocentric. be proud of where your from, but don't cling to it as though it entitles you to special treatment. there is no crime in pride so long as it doesn't lead to vanity,greed, or lack of humbleness.

6. Be a Master of Creation!
The world can be a fun place to discover, but running around like a headless chicken trying to find yourself or discover your purpose can be exhausting. Why are we so afraid to create ourselves instead? What rives us, what is the most important to us, how do we want to spend our time?

hmmm, the world is definately fun for discoveries and learning...of course there is nothing tangible driving me though...i'm not motivated by wealth,power,fame,love, or any other tangible element that is a motivator to most...the only thing that moves me to act is (for lack of a better word) instinct. by that i don't mean the animalistic kind but a higher kind(the force)

7. Be a Master of Succees!
Why are we so afraid to stand out from the crowd, leave your competition in the dust? This is the greatest personal and social challenge.

i always stand out. i have no interest in blending in with the crowd. when i can outdo the competition, i do. if i can't, i still attempt to, i never go down without a fight.

Become a Master of the Herd. Be a Master of yourself!

Apophis wrote: Be honest how many of you believe that, if the danger were really that great, would not everyone be concerned? Without really giving it even a second thought how often do we catch ourselves watching what others are doing or are not doing? Are we one of those following that basic instinct of survival and following in the safe wake of the stampeed on the savana of global change or social acceptance or religious popularism? Will we stop when there is a safe number of questioners?

I cannot say whether I would or not. I am not certain that I would, but I am certain that I might! I need more time for self-reflection before I will definitely answer yes.

Apophis wrote: 1. Be a Master of Creativity!
Why do we constantly look to others for ideas on how to run our lives? Why do we not use our imagination, not just our eyes or ears, to come up with our own ways to live?

Yes I agree with this, although there is nothing wrong in looking at those other ways. But ultimately I live how I wish to.

Apophis wrote: 2. Be a Master of Goals!
Where are our goals which give us direction in life? Goals affect choices we make daily. Goals are a powerful way to avoid a sheep mentality, because they will make you move in directions based on your own desires, decisions and ideas, not someone else’s.

I found myself the same as Ryu, I just float along and interact with whatever comes my way in the way I choose! I have little or no goals haha!

Apophis wrote: 3. Be a Master of Choice!
Everything starts with a choice. What is stopping us to realize that we choose what our goals are, who our friends are, where we work, what we wear, when we are ready... .

I always dislike people saying what I can and can't do and how what I do should be done. I have done more things you do in school out of school then I ever did when I was forced to while in school!

Apophis wrote: 4. Be a Master of Decision!
Sheep don’t ask questions when it’s time to turn. The herd walks in unison. Nobody questions anything. "It’s just that everybody else is doing it so I will too". Just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean we have to. We have to learn to say no, and walk in opposite direction, test it and watch what happens.

Again I like deciding for myself. I listen to what people say but if I want to do something I will do it regardless of what others think.

Apophis wrote: 5. Be a Master of Identity!
Why should we nt be proud of where we are from or who we are, are things that need to be embraced not hidden. We don’t have to be from somewhere else. The creative, successful types are powerful not because of where they are from, but because of where they are going.

This is something that I've been developing over the last year or so. I am not fully there yet, but I am getting to that point. I still have a way to go.

Apophis wrote: 6. Be a Master of Creation!
The world can be a fun place to discover, but running around like a headless chicken trying to find yourself or discover your purpose can be exhausting. Why are we so afraid to create ourselves instead? What rives us, what is the most important to us, how do we want to spend our time?

An extension of the other areas you listed above. This is something I am with fully and can attest to achieving it at least in part.

Apophis wrote: 7. Be a Master of Succees!
Why are we so afraid to stand out from the crowd, leave your competition in the dust? This is the greatest personal and social challenge.

The greatest risk of this is self importance and arrogance. I have no desire for much success and if I gain any I hope that it will be with humility. That is at least how I desire to greet each new resolved challenge!

-Is that ever the case, everyone being concerned? For goodness we still have people who are not concerned about the changes in our global climate. If anybody ever waited to act until everybody was worried nothing would ever get changed; an example, the Confederacy would have succeeded in their attempt at secession because not everyone thought we should stop it or the American colonies would not have revolted against England because we all know we still had loyalists over here in U.S. Watching what the people around us are doing is not always a bad thing sometimes it can keep us from doing something real stupid, but I get your point that as far as some things go we should make up our own mind. I believe that as we grow older we also grow out of the “Invisible Audience” mindset making us more apt to make decisions based on our own thoughts; given there are some that mature earlier, some later, and a few that never grow out of it. Whether we follow the stampeding herd or go in the opposite direction is another matter altogether. There are those that have a belief and charge head on without caring about the social impact on them; these are the guys in the front of the herd. You have those that have beliefs but are too “lily livered” to stand up for them; these are the people that you see supporting a cause after it has been taken up by someone strong. Then there are those in the back of the pack that may not have the same belief but are not strong enough to go their own way. And last but certainly not the least you have those that are strong enough to go the opposite direction. As for if we will ever stop questioning; I can honestly say I never will. I have an innate curiosity for all that is; I am not worried about what others think of me and if I were I would have never questioned Christianity.

1) Be a Master of Creativity!
--a) I feel that the best answer to this question is: Because it is easier and more socially acceptable. Some of us developed a system of beliefs for ourselves and then went in search of a group that we would fit with well. I did this; I was tired of someone else always telling me that I was “bad”, so I sat down and analyzed all of the beliefs that I was a “supporter” of and found that I did not really agree with all of them. This lead me to research other belief systems of the world and I picked from them the things that I like best; as it turns out I fit here best.

2) Be a Master of Goals!
--a) Goals are tricky things. You have to be careful when picking out your goals because they can be influenced by those around you and in your life; you may even end up with a goal that you do not really want because it is the socially acceptable goal. My thoughts are that it is good to have a general target but do not be too specific because things rarely go perfectly according to plan.

3) Be a Master of Choice!
--a) This may be scary to some, the idea that we really control our world. It removes the ability to blame someone else for our own failure. It makes us responsible and that is not something that lots of people want to be.

4) Be a Master of Decision!
--a) This is something I feel we develop as we grow and that is certainly on a case by case basis. Adolescents and young-adults are notorious for this mindset of “everybody else is doing it” and this works well for the sheep because for them getting separated can generally mean death. But for humans the only thing we really have to worry about is the social opinion that is generated from our decision to be different; some of us just do not care what others think and that makes this part a lot easier.

5) Be a Master of Identity!
--a) People often feel ashamed and try to hide who they are and where they are from when these things do not fit the social norm of the environment that they desire. They think that people really care if they are different and unfortunately a lot people really do care, it is kind of scary because these people probably do not really know themselves either. What a lot of them do not know is that when you decide to be yourself you will be happier and even if you lose some friends because of it your better off because they were really your friends, they were the friends of a fake you.

6) Be a Master of Creation!
--a) I would say that, unfortunately, this again falls to social acceptance. We tend to pick things that others pick as important to be important to us because some of us desire to be accepted. We hide the things that we are really good at or enjoy because we fear that they are not good enough for the rest of the world.

7) Be a Master of Success!
--a) This is not something that I can say I understand at all. Who would not want to do better than those around them? I personally try to excel at anything I do; I will try to help those around me do well too, but not if they do not want it. If someone wants to “spectate” life then by all means go ahead a do so, but I will not be beside you.

I feel that all of the things that you are talking about here are things that would separate somebody from the main group. The evolutionary stance is that difference gets you separated and separation gets you killed. In our world this no longer applies, we have moved on but the pack mentality has not.
May the Force be With You All.