This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand's book The Virtue of Selfishness, in particular the chapter "The Objectivist Ethics"

This focuses specifically on her discussion of what she terms "non-rational" ethics, by way of contrast to her own rational egoist or "objectivist ethics".  She examines what she calls the "mystic", "social", and "subjectivist" ethics, and criticizes what she views as the "false dichotomy of altruism".

To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler

If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM

You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Rand's The Virtue Of Selfishness - https://amzn.to/43pJmjU

Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Criticisms of Non-Rational Ethics - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th Century rational egoist philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand's book, The Virtue Of Selfishness. It focuses specifically upon her views about values and their grounding in Life (which for humans means a distinctively human life, not merely survival).

To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler

If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM

You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Rand's The Virtue Of Selfishness - https://amzn.to/4oUuym3

Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Life as a Basis for Rational Egoism - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th Century rational egoist philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand's book, The Virtue Of Selfishness. It focuses specifically upon her discussion of the difference between other animals and human beings, which has to do with the range and types of consciousness we have. 

To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler

If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM

You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Rand's The Virtue Of Selfishness - https://amzn.to/4oUuym3

Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Consciousness, Animals, and Humans - Sadler's Lectures

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th Century rational egoist philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand's book, The Virtue Of Selfishness. It focuses specifically upon her views about how a rational egoist ought to behave and structure their life, choices, and relationships.

To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler

If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM

You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler

Purchase Rand's The Virtue Of Selfishness - https://amzn.to/4oUuym3

Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - How Should A Rational Egoist Behave - Sadler's Lectures

On this Thanksgiving week 2025 and episode 304 of Take Flight Weekly, I revisit one of the most powerful performance basics in my playbook: gratitude. Not the soft version. The real thing. The kind that rewires your brain and anchors you when life is chaotic.
I'll walk you through my personal affirmation that starts with "I am so happy and grateful," unpack why I built it the way I did, and connect it to what the science of gratitude is proving right now. Then we'll get tactical with a simple, elite-level gratitude strategy you can execute in five minutes a day.

In Q4 2010, I was under real financial pressure. The business was hard, the numbers were tight, and I realized I had zero chance of winning if I didn't get control of what was happening between my ears. My goal was simple: Keep my emotional frequency at 51 percent or higher. Slightly more optimistic than pessimistic.

Around that time, I was studying Bob Proctor and John Assaraf. They made one point that landed hard: Success starts in your mind long before it shows up in your bank account. So I wrote my own affirmation, and I've now said it tens of thousands of times.
Meta-analyses of gratitude interventions show consistent gains in life satisfaction and mental health. Neuroscience work shows that gratitude practices light up reward and regulation centers in the brain. It's not just a "nice idea" anymore. It's a proven performance tool.

The Anatomy of My Affirmation
→ "I AM" – The two most powerful words. Your subconscious accepts whatever follows.
→ "So happy and grateful" – Happiness and gratitude are inputs, not trophies. They're a frequency you decide to live in.
→ "That money, success, and introductions" – Gratitude keeps you focused on opportunities you already have.
→ "Flow to me" – The kind of flow that shows up when your mindset, actions, and relationships are aligned.
→ "In ever increasing quantities from a myriad of different sources" – Gratitude is a flywheel that compounds over time.
→ "For the betterment of all those involved" – I never wanted success that only worked for me.
→ "My life is perfect" – I choose to see my current reality as raw material, not punishment.
→ "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better" – Pure 1% better math.

What the Science Says
→ Gratitude improves mental health – Reduces anxiety and depression
→ Gratitude changes the brain – Activates reward and regulation regions
→ Gratitude improves physical health and sleep
→ Gratitude strengthens relationships
→ Structured gratitude tools work in as little as 6-10 sessions

Three Gratitude Habits for Advisors
→ The 60-Second Morning Affirmation
Before you touch your phone, stand up, breathe deeply, and say your affirmation. Say it like you mean it.
→ The Weekly Gratitude Text or Voice Memo
Once a week, send one client, mentor, or team member a note saying specifically why you appreciate them. No pitch. Pure appreciation.
→ Gratitude Reset in Real Time

When anxiety spikes, stop for thirty seconds. Name three things you're grateful for in that exact 
moment. Use gratitude as a pattern interrupt.

I coach to happy and grateful results, not production. Production is a lagging indicator. Execution of being grateful is a leading indicator. When you're grounded, happy, and genuinely grateful, your business expands with less friction.

That's not woo-woo. That's strategy.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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Take Flight Weekly Episode #304: Gratitude is a High Performance Strategy

For November, Tatiana unpacks the myth of likability—why being liked matters far less than being respected, being useful, and being distinct in the rooms you move through. You don’t need universal approval to hold real value; everyone doesn't need to like you for your presence to matter.

Prod. sunsensei x thankyouimran
Mix Engineer: Wrex Mason


raw form: likability

This is my relatively short talk given during the 2025 Plato's Academy multidisciplinary conference: The Philosophy and Psychology of Anger, during which I discuss some of the useful insights and practices early Christian thinkers (2nd-5th Century CE) can provide us. These don't require one to be committed to Christianity and can be applied by a wide range of people.

I begin with a passage from Pierre Hadot's book Philosophy As A Way Of Life: "[Christians] believed they recognized spiritual exercises, which they had learned through philosophy, in specific scriptural passages . . . The reason why Christian authors paid attention to these particular biblical passages, was that they were already familiar, from other sources, with the  spiritual exercises of prosokhē, meditation on death, and examination of the conscience.” 

What Hadot calls “spiritual exercises” gets called by a variety of other terms by other thinkers. Foucault’s "technologies of the self", Nussbaum’s "therapeutic arguments", as well as the more general "philosophical practices" many of us reference in our work and study.

What we can say about these early Christian thinkers is that many had a philosophical education, had opportunities to engage with pagan philosophical schools, some of which had pretty strong religious stances, with precursor and contemporary Jewish thought, and with a variety of other disciplines like rhetoric, medicine, literature, political theory, law, history, music, etc. There was already a strong interest in issues about anger already raised and debated in ancient philosophy including: vicious anger, can anger have useful role, dangers of indulging or excusing anger, anger and courage or justice, types or levels of anger, divine anger. Early Christian thinkers rely upon or incorporating broadly Platonic psychology, and ethical conceptions drawn from Platonist, Stoic, and Aristotelian schools, but within a framework Christianity provides.

The thinkers I reference and discuss in this presentation include:
2nd-4th Century CE: Clement of Alexandria 150 – c. 215 AD, Tertullian 155 – c. 220, Origen 185 – c. 253, Lactantius 250 – c. 325
4th  5th century CE: Basil of Caesarea 330 – 379, Gregory of Nyssa 335, Evagrius Ponticus 345–399 AD, John Chrysostom 347-407, Ambrose 339-397, Jerome 342–347-420, Prudentius 348-413?, John Cassian 360 – 435, Augustine of Hippo 354-430

Some of the key scriptural passages they tend to engage most heavily with include:
A number of discussions of anger in Pre-Christian Jewish scriptures, particularly in the Psalms, Proverbs, and Sirach
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Paul’s Letter To Ephesians, and the Letter of James 

There is a stress on identifying and dealing with vices that involve anger, but also on developing virtues of Patience, Humility, Mercy, and Forgiveness. They also adopt, develop, and discuss a number of useful practices for lessening, understanding, or dealing with anger.

Early Christian Thinkers On Anger - Sadler's Lectures

my invited talk at the first Stoicon-X Brasil online conference.  Due to technical issues, I provided a live presentation (translation provided by participants) to the conference.  In this presentation, I briefly present the Stoic doctrine of the indifferents (adiaphoria), namely that Stoics view many things as neither good nor bad, but are indifferent.  Some indifferents may be "preferred" or "rejected", which means that they have some positive or negative value, but not the sort of that makes us virtuous or vicious, happy or miserable.

The Stoics teach that we should not be entirely indifferent to the indifferents, for several important reasons.  The use (khresis or usus) of indifferents is not something indifferent, and as Epictetus tells us, is something we ought to be careful about.  The virtues, as Seneca and Cicero clarify, bear upon indifferents.

Texts mentioned in this talk:
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations - https://amzn.to/3osPFNF
Epictetus' Discourses and Enchiridion - https://amzn.to/37G6bE0
Seneca's Letters - https://amzn.to/3dZQrNk
Cicero's On The Ends - https://amzn.to/3mmgJMB

Why Stoics Should Not Be Indifferent to the Indifferents - Sadler's Lectures

In this powerful episode of The Mindset Advantage with Jeffrey Wendel, Jeffrey explores one of the most important truths in personal development: no one succeeds alone. Drawing from 33 years of coaching, mentoring, and leadership experience, he breaks down why community, connection, and mentorship are essential to achieving your highest potential.

Jeffrey explains the difference between supportive community and isolating independence, the qualities of impactful mentorship, and how giving back creates a ripple effect that elevates everyone around you. You’ll also complete a Community & Mentorship Map—a guided reflection exercise designed to help you evaluate your support network, identify gaps, and discover opportunities to grow deeper, more meaningful relationships. 

🌟 Key Insights:
 • Community fuels growth, resilience, and accountability
 • The best mentors challenge you, support you, and see your potential
 • You don’t need to be perfect to mentor—just willing to help someone a few steps behind
 • Meaningful connection comes from consistency, contribution, and vulnerability

Learn more at:
 👉 jeffreywendel.com
 👉 jeffreywendel.net
 👉 jeffreywendel.org

The Role of Community and Mentorship in Personal Growth

In today’s episode, I’m sharing some of my gratitude practices and reflecting on the many moments across my life that I’m truly grateful for. From the lessons to the joys, I’m taking a little time to acknowledge what has shaped me. And of course, I’m deeply grateful for every listener who shows up, shares the podcast, and supports this space.

I’ll be taking a much-needed break for the month of December, and I hope each of you finds rest and ease as we close out November and December. Take good care, and I’ll see you all in 2026!

Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education: Get the book!

What are you grateful for? How has gratitude shaped the way you move through your days?
Looking for a coach?? Would love to explore working with you! Connect with ME! 
Email: contact@drannemedwards.com
IG:@iamdramedwards
Work with me: www.drannemedwards.com


Episode 72:Gratitude Practice & a Restful December Ahead

Jeffrey L. Wendel, CEO of Wendel Retirement Planning and author of Grand Slam Retirement: A Winning Strategy for a Winning Lifestyle.

Personal reflections in just enough time to provoke thought & leave you inspired.

Hosted by Tatiana "Yan" Snead

Jim Miller is a success mentor and life coach who guides top real estate brokers from around the country while managing 2.3B+ in sales production as Designated Managing Broker with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty in Chicago, Illinois.  He is also recognized as a top real estate coach to top Sotheby's International Realty brokers in 35 luxury markets.

I'm that YouTube Philosophy Guy! Find more than 3,000 videos in my main channel.  Support my video and podcast work!  https://www.patreon.com/sadler or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM

Learn more about this podcast channel - https://youtu.be/qRvL0gqlyrw and https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/p/the-sadlers-lectures-podcast

Due to popular demand - and with the work underwritten by my Patreon supporters - I have been converting my videos into MP3 files listeners can listen to anywhere they want!

I have a second podcast, Mind & Desire, publishing original episodes on a variety of topics in philosophy, which you can find here - https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/podcast

A podcast that shares the life and experiences of a higher education professional pursuing goals, and living in the process.

New tracks tagged #Personal Development