Why the name “Curb Rein”?
As a horseback rider in my youth, something I still occasionally do, I used the bridle and its curb rein to help control my horse. With my heels and legs I would urge my horse forward, but with the reins of my bridle I would moderate and check his speed. The curb rein, in particular, introduced responsibility to our relationship and to the manner and pace at which we traveled. Used properly, it balanced my horse’s desire to go as fast as he could, and my desire to reach our destination safely.
Our country today puts enormous emphasis on “freedom” (albeit “freedom” as defined by those who currently control our government). This freedom, unbridled by personal responsibility, allows our nation to run amuck, stampeding ahead at reckless speed oblivious of the unintended consequences of unseen obstacles along the way. As a people, our solution lies not in more government controls that restrain us (like confiscatory tax takings, restrictive rules and regulations, re-distribution of wealth, and etc.), but rather in the personal responsibility we must each take for our own actions and for the destinies which flow from these actions.
Only thus can we re-attain the spirit upon which our nation was founded, the spirit which enabled us to attain the American Dream.
This personal responsibility is the “curb rein” we must apply to our individual freedoms, and to our collective lives as the citizens of this once great country.
Only thus can we re-attain the spirit upon which our nation was founded, the spirit which enabled us to attain the American Dream.
Who Am I?
My name is Bill O’Neill. I live in northeast Ohio. When I was a young boy, my grandfather taught me many lessons about life by teaching me about horses. One lesson I never forgot was this: “you always feed your horse before you feed yourself”. This sense of personal responsibility continued to grow in me, and has guided me ever since.
By way of background, I went to grade school and high school in my home town, then went off to college, law school and service in the U.S. Air Force. Upon return, I started a law department for a small, newly-public corporation; but I soon moved over to its operating side and helped profitably grow it to over a billion dollars a year in revenue. At the end of this career, I had 18 thousand employees reporting to me, and thousands of customers and stockholders. I did my best to “feed them all before I fed myself”.
Subsequently I founded and managed an investment firm and a charitable foundation. Now “retired”, I am civically engaged in the work of many charitable organizations which work in diverse fields. I am also very happily married with children and grandchildren living near-by.
I write these posts in the hope of helping America become a better place to live for all our children and granchildren.
How Do I Think?
Over time, I will share with you my thoughts on many subjects in the hope that I can expand and inform the base of knowledge on which you form your own opinions. Knowledge is indeed power, and knowledge of the whole, fact-based truth is the platform on which to build the greatest power. For now however, let me simply describe the process that guides my thinking:
(a) I first look at the symptoms that concern me, and try to articulate the problem that produced these symptoms
(b) I then look backward in time to discover what caused this problem, and, if there are multiple causes, to prioritize them in order of importance.
(c) Next, I project forward to conceptualize the outcome I desire to achieve. Achieving this outcome is the measure by which I will ultimately define the success of my efforts.
(d) Finally, I examine alternative strategies which can take me from the present problem to my desired outcome.
The strategy which best understands the causes, cures the problem and achieves my outcome is the one I seek.
My long-term view defines my outcome; my intermediate term view shapes my strategy; and my short-term outlook dictates my tactics.
Taking this process one step further: my long-term view defines my outcome; my intermediate term view shapes my strategy; and my short-term outlook dictates my tactics. It’s pretty simple, really. But this is what I like to do: to simplify the complex so we might return to the fundamental truths which empower us.