In Greatness Is a Choice, Wall Street legend Ethan Penner presents a jewel box filled with thoughts and ideas that challenge readers by stimulating a higher level of awareness and critical thinking. Penner’s forthright style makes the book invaluable to a broad range of readers. Each chapter is a guidepost for today’s challenging societal issues, but the words are also rooted in timeless thinking culled from Penner’s considerable personal and professional experiences. Greatness Is a Choice asks readers to consider new ideas and strategies as critical tools in the pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.
Greatness Is a Choice is also a compendium of values and ideals anyone can adopt to achieve greater personal and societal fulfillment. Penner writes about kindness, respect, and faith, along with a healthy reverence for family and legacy. Penner challenges readers to see the natural interconnectivity of politics, finance, economics, ideology, faith, nature, and music. Readers will: - Discover new ways of thinking about how to define and attain personal success. - Be reminded of the American principles that contributed to the nation’s rapid ascent and still serve as a beacon of hope, equality, and prosperity. - Learn how choices to pursue a life of personal growth also benefit society. - Be challenged to think and take action to do their part in creating a more peaceful and productive future.
Greatness Is a Choice is a must-read for anyone with the courage to be intellectually challenged, consider and adopt new ideas, and think deeply about choices that lead to better lives for ourselves and our children. It is an ideal book to share with others to help establish a better intellectual framework for our future.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Julius Erving xv
Prologue - Greatness Is a Choice xvii
Part One: The Greatness in You
Chapter 1 You Must Admire Yourself 3
Chapter 2 What Is Your Life’s Purpose? 5
Chapter 3 Prayer Is Powerful 7
Chapter 4 Be Human 9
Chapter 5 Risk Is Life 11
Chapter 6 The Specter of Death 15
Chapter 7 Time Is Everything 17
Chapter 8 The Ground Beckons 19
Chapter 9 Sacrifice Is a Prerequisite for Greatness 21
Chapter 10 We Must Honor Our Body 23
Chapter 11 You Have the Potential for Magic 27
Chapter 12 Life Is Hard for a Reason 29
Chapter 13 Work Is Not a Four- Letter Word 31
Chapter 14 Personal Responsibility 33
Chapter 15 The Steep Price of Dishonesty 35
Chapter 16 The Bubble of Joy 37
Chapter 17 Don’t Share Your Unresearched Opinions, Please 41
Chapter 18 Fulfilling Potential Is Fulfilling 43
Chapter 19 There Is No Discipline, Only Faith 47
Chapter 20 Qi 51
Chapter 21 Music Is Eternal 53
Chapter 22 Finding Peace and Joy in Nature 57
Part Two: Finding Your Greatness In the World
Chapter 23 Choosing Whom to Share Your Life With 61
Chapter 24 The Debilitating Effects of the Victim Mentality 63
Chapter 25 Duality 65
Chapter 26 Honor Your Ancestors and Your Legacy 67
Chapter 27 Take Care of Each Other 73
Chapter 28 There Will Always Be Hatred 75
Chapter 29 Everyone Is a Philosopher, Teacher, and Student 77
Chapter 30 Giving Advice Is Senseless 79
Chapter 31 Life Is an Improv 81
Chapter 32 Kindness and Generosity Are the Highest Levels of Selfishness 83
Chapter 33 Mastery Is Simplicity 85
Chapter 34 The Best Ideas Survive Open Debate 87
Chapter 35 The Ripple Effect 89
Chapter 36 Sexuality and the Importance of Sexual Energy 91
Chapter 37 Emotions Often Block Truth 93
Chapter 38 We All Screw Up 95
Chapter 39 The Kid in the Playground 99
Chapter 40 The Unique Love of a Parent 101
Chapter 41 Comfort in the Herd 105
Chapter 42 Inertia Destroys, Always Go 107
Chapter 43 More Is Not Better 109
Part Three: the Foundations of a Great Society
Chapter 44 The Importance of Timing 113
Chapter 45 Trusting Our Instincts 115
Chapter 46 Freedom 117
Chapter 47 Most of Us Never Notice 119
Chapter 48 Pro-Cyclicality Can Be Crushing 123
Chapter 49 Racism and Discrimination Are the Domain of the Dumb 125
Chapter 50 Democracy Depends on Education 127
Chapter 51 Physical Safety Is the Cornerstone of a Healthy Society 129
Chapter 52 The Hunger for Security 133
Chapter 53 Integrated Systems and Intersections 135
Chapter 54 Earth Is a Giant, Challenging, and Diverse School 139
Chapter 55 Government Is Inherently Dangerous 141
Chapter 56 Equality Is Not the Point 145
Chapter 57 Government Is a Company and Taxpayers Are the Investors 147
Chapter 58 The Persuasion Industry 149
Chapter 59 The World Is Self- Correcting 151
Chapter 60 Teaching People to Fish 153
Chapter 61 The Treadmill of Life Is Moving Too Fast 155
Chapter 62 The Truth About Money and Finance 157
Chapter 63 Capitalism . . . 161
Chapter 64 . . . Not Cronyism 163
Chapter 65 The Limitations of Capitalism 165
Chapter 66 Canaries in the Coal Mine 167
Chapter 67 Class Envy Is a Dangerous Poison 169
Chapter 68 The Basis of Cynicism: The Milgram Study 171
Chapter 69 A Final Thought . . . The World Won’t End 173
Acknowledgments 175
About the Author 177
Index 179
