Changing Careers, Gambling, and Dennis' Accordion Story - Ask Me Anything

On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom, this is a great story.

This is truly a treasure, and I, I couldn't make it up.

That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

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Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to dennisprager.com.

Hi everybody, I'm honored that you're with me and it's great to be with you. This is truly a unique thing that I do, take your questions, and I'm gonna get to them right now. All right, let's see here, let's go. Carlos D., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hi Dennis, I'm in my late 50s and struggle with the idea of pursuing vocation slash career changes that are more in line with what I feel I am, quote, really here to do, unquote. My present career is in an— is in an administrative area that I, probably unwisely, he adds in parentheses, chose out of college over 30 years ago and just stuck with it because it compensated me well and I was competent in it. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly grateful for that work and never cease to thank the Almighty for the blessings it has brought into my life. Still, I yearn for other pursuits that I feel would be more fulfilling and consistent with my unique talents. However, I'm torn between going after that and leaving the comfort and safety of what I've always done. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this. Thanks so much, and blessings to you and your family. Thank you. Well, I have thoughts that may, may help and may not help. I, I don't know. If you have had 30 years of income that have set you up in some, with some degree of financial stability, You live once. You should try to find— fulfill your passion. I don't know what your passion is. My general recommendation to people, depending in part on their age and exactly what you wrote, your age and your current compensation, as a general rule Once you're established and in middle age, um, you didn't mention having to take care of a family. I think that's very relevant. If it's just you, you could take much greater risks than if you're supporting others. So I— that was not mentioned here, I don't think. If it was, I'm in bad shape. I just read it and didn't recall what I read. But I don't think you mentioned that. So that's a factor. It's only you, so you can sort of gamble with your life. I don't mean your biological life, but your life. And as a rule, I think when you're young, follow your passion. If you can't make a living with your passion, do something else. We have a video up at PragerU, by the way, exactly that. Don't follow your passion. Interesting. I'll give you— it's not a great example, but it's— well, maybe it is. One of my great passions— I have many passions, as it turns out, but music and religion are two big ones. So I thought of entering music, not as a musician. I never— I knew I didn't have the talent to play an instrument. Particularly well. It was just not given to me and I started too late in life. What I did believe was that I had the ability to conduct, and I do have the ability to conduct, and I do conduct orchestras periodically. But I realized, interestingly, this is not fully related to your question, But I realized that, or I felt, if I entered music as my field, I don't know if I would love it as much. It is now there, it has been there all of my life just to bring me joy. But if I had to make a living from it, I don't know if it would have brought me as much joy. Nevertheless, back to you. So I would— I personally would stick with my job and pursue my passion during my free time and see if I could make a living with it. Maybe, maybe less money, but it's worth it because it's your passion. I understand that. But it all depends on your financial state. I wish I knew what the specific passion was. I might have been able to answer it better. Let me give you one more response here. My father, may he rest in peace, my dad wanted to be a doctor. His family did not have the money to send him to medical school, so he became an accountant, which is very far from medicine. But his first love was medicine. When my brother became a doctor, he loved talking medicine with my brother. Loved it. My father, to his great credit, ended up loving being an accountant. Partially he loved it, partially he talked himself into loving it. Had you told him when he realized, you know, I can— I just can't be a doctor, I can't go to medical school. All right, so Max, that was his name, Max, you'll be, you'll be an accountant. The idea that my father jumped for joy, wow, lucky me. I'm gonna be an accountant. Did not occur to him. What he did was he decided to love it, and he did. He loved meeting with clients, talking about their lives, because when somebody knows your income, they might as well know everything about you. And that's exactly what happened. He ended up— half the time he said to me when I was a kid, I'll never forget, I'm not just an accountant, I'm a psychiatrist and psychologist. And social worker as well. So he learned to love what he had no thought about entering. That's a good attitude to have. Okay, let's see. Redding, California. Question: Hi Dennis, what does the Bible say about gambling? Not much, but the rabbis of my religion— my religion, all religion is not just the Bible. The only it's just the Bible religion is Protestantism, sola scriptura, only the scripture. But even there, that there is a lot that is added on over the course of time. You know, what is it, Baptists won't— I think don't smoke or don't drink, I don't remember which. That's, that's not biblical. So every religion is beyond scripture, though Protestantism comes the closest to just scripture. In Judaism, that's certainly true. Judaism is basically The, the, the Bible, the Hebrew Bible, and the Talmud, the compendium of rabbinic law, arguments, theology, philosophy, etc. It's an enormous work, and they do have a very good answer, in my opinion, to the question of is it permissible to gamble. And their answer is yes, but not if you make a living from it. You can do it for fun, but not for an income. And that's— I thought that was very intelligent. They want you to do productive work, and gambling is not productive work. But I, I have a I have a very lax attitude towards many vices. If they don't control you and you control them, enjoy life. That's, that's the way I have worked it out, and that is what I strongly recommend to people. You have to allow joys in your life that are not always ennobling. I don't happen to give a hoot about gambling, but some people love it. And if it doesn't take them over and they're not losing significant sums of money, then, you know, why is that form of entertainment invalid but other forms are valid? That's my attitude. I have a lax attitude in the arena, but not if it controls you. So, uh, let's see. Anonymous in Helena, Montana. What were the pivotal decisions in your life that have made the most negative impact in your or your loved one's lives? Which ones have had the most positive impact? So one might say, some people might say, that if you divorce, your decision to marry was led to a negative impact. Clearly divorce is not a positive act, but I don't look at marriage that ends in divorce as a necessarily a negative in one's life. Positive, I mean, that's endless. I've had such a largely positive life. Was there one decision though? Yeah, I guess the decision that I made in my sophomore year in college to apply for an award that they gave to one sophomore a year out of 2,500, all expenses paid junior year abroad scholarship. That is what made all of my life possible.

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Pamela in Chatsworth, California. I have to give my husband Alex credit for this question, but it's one that we both have an interest in your thoughts on. He introduced me to the concept when we started dating, and it is that your spouse should be the most important person in your life. A practical aspect for me is that whenever I have a decision to make, my first question is, what would be the consequence to my husband? And it guides my thinking to ask him. I think a lot of people assume their spouse will go along with whatever they want to do And this is one way to put yourself on the road of taking your spouse for granted, which is a bad thing. Another example might be, my brother has asked if he can come live with us. Well, if my husband is the most important person in my life, I will have to discuss this with him. Well, of course you would. That's exactly right. Yes, I think your spouse should be the most important person in your life. I think you should— let's put it this way— you should act that way. Whether that person really is, is a separate issue. I divide between feelings and behavior in almost all arenas of life. But that, that— if you're going to have somebody come in and live with you, you damn well better work that out with your spouse, and you both have to be honest about it. That is a very big deal. And by the way, see, this is why it's so hard to give general answers to general questions. What if the brother is the easiest guy in the world to have live with you? Makes no demands, makes his own food, is, you know, has his own life, basically is a boarder in your house versus is an obnoxious, demanding individual. That to me is the most relevant. Eileen in LA, you have so much on your plate now and have had in the past. With less assistance and many passions. I would like to know how you organize your time, perhaps now and in the past, which may be different, to incorporate hobbies such as photography, music, pens, etc. Do you have a photo day, hour, treat, an R5 weekend— R5 is one of my cameras— an end of the day music spot? Is the doing of a hobby less or unorganized, you go with the flow, what you feel to do at the moment, is reading of books such as histories, largely what comes in front of you, slash work-related, etc. Thank you in advance for your answer and the insight it may bring to others in structuring or unstructuring. I know we are all different and there is no one-size-fits-all, but something may strike a chord. K, so, just for the record, I am probably the wrong person to ask about organizing time. That question would properly go to Alan Estrin, my producer, the most disciplined human being on this side of the afterlife. Maybe this, this, this might help. When I— the last volume of my Rational Bible Commentary, my 5 volumes on the first 5 books of the Bible, the Torah, it arrived in my house, I think 2 years ago now. And I looked at it. It's 500 pages, and I looked at it, and I give you my word, my reaction wasn't, wow, this is so exciting! Oh, they look— it's beautiful! Look, volume 3 of my 5 volumes. I give you my word, My immediate response in my mind— I was alone when I saw the book— was, when did I write this? I have no disciplined schedule, which is why I schedule so many things. See, part of the trick of life a lot of tricks, if you will, is figuring out your strengths and your weaknesses. And with regard to your weaknesses, figuring out, since that's part of my nature and I can't change my nature, how do I behaviorally work around it? So my answer was schedule and take on as much work as possible, then you, Dennis, have no choice. I could play all day. By play, I mean indulge in my hobbies, roam the internet for fascinating articles, which— of which there is an endless stream, listen to books, listen to music, go out with my wife for dinner at a— and we don't go to fancy restaurants, but just go out and, you know, and talk or read or whatever. I could easily not do anything specifically productive, but I don't. But I have no regimen. I would— I sometimes I wish I did. Well, I do this from this time to this time, this from this time to this time. So I have no idea if this was any help. All I know is only— what is the only— the line, only the busy have time to do things, or if you, if you want something done, ask someone who's busy. That's a little bit— it's very true. So I just take on a lot of obligations and then somehow fulfill them. Okay, let's see here. David in Norwalk, California. Hi Dennis, I have been a listener and a disciple of yours— thank you— for 20-plus years. I have often wondered why you don't bring your brother into the show more often. As a renowned doctor and professor with specialty in pulmonology, I would think that Dr. Kenneth Prager would be an invaluable resource in helping to inform your audience with regard to issues like COVID and and the risk of secondhand smoke, cigars, etc. Just something that has crossed my mind many times over the years. Larry Elder had his brother or brothers called in regularly to the show. Would be a blessing to hear from Kenneth Prager from time to time. God bless you, Dennis. I have had my brother on the show, and the reason that— or a number of reasons why I don't have him more frequently, uh, is not because we're— I don't love him or anything like that. I, I, I love visiting with him. He does live across the country, so I don't see him that often, but I— we do try to make it, uh, important thing to see them a couple of times a year at least, and we speak on the phone periodically. But anyway, uh Number one, uh, or in no order of importance, but spontaneously responding to your question, I would have my brother on for his area of specialty, and that's when I've had medical ethics. He is one of the best-known medical ethicists in America. And, and so if I, for example, if I discussed euthanasia and its legality, I would happily have him on. He has thought it through. He is extremely prominent in his field. But otherwise, he is at a very prominent university and like almost every university, well, my brother is not woke, The university is— and I don't want— I don't want to get him in— he doesn't even know this, but I don't want to get him in any way in trouble, to be perfectly honest. I don't— or on the other hand, I don't want to put him on the spot. What was I going to do during COVID He believed in the vaccine. I didn't believe in the vaccine. Am I going to have a debate with my brother? It's, it's, it's not called for. And it just— it is what it is. It was what it was. But if it would come to medical ethics, I would be honored to have him on. Okay, Denver, Colorado. Amy, I've been wondering for the past couple of years, more precisely every single week, As I listen to your Happiness Hour, would you consider the refrain/chorus of Taylor Swift's song "Antihero" for your Happiness Hour bumper music? The lyrics are spot on to what you are always saying in regard to maintaining happiness. Here are the lyrics: It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me. At tea time everybody agrees I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror. It must be exhausting always rooting for the antihero. That's right. I actually did read that, those lyrics on the, on the program and play it. Okay, let's see here. John Monroeville, Pennsylvania. This is cracking me up. Question: How long did you take accordion lessons? Did you learn to appreciate classical music through these lessons? I took accordion lessons for about 3 years, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, I would say. Then I went to piano when I fell in love with classical music. I didn't know classical music from medieval Hungarian architecture. I knew nothing about it. I, I'm not sure I could have spelled Beethoven. But what happened was I, I played accordion because— this is a great story, this is truly a treasure, and I couldn't make it up. Eighth grade, we're sitting around the proverbial kitchen table in Brooklyn, New York. My parents know I do no homework. I refuse to do homework. They were, they were troubled, to say the least. And they didn't allow me more than 1 hour of television a night. So if I did no homework and I could only watch 1 hour of TV, what was I going to do? So I think, I think I was the one who came up with the idea. I said, well, I don't know. Think I should take a musical instrument? No one in the family could read music, let alone play an instrument. They said, yeah, that would be great. So I, or they, said, all right, which instrument? So I think my father said, or again, or my mother, I didn't think this up, said, I don't know, let's look up instruments instruction In the Yellow Pages. By the way, do kids know what the Yellow Pages are today? They don't know exactly. Before the internet, that's how you would find— if you wanted a local plumber, you looked under P for plumbers and you saw listings of plumbers and ads that they might take out in the Yellow Pages. Gigantic book that you would receive. So we had the Brooklyn Yellow Pages. New York would be too large. When each borough, I believe, had its own Yellow Pages. So I look under musical instruction or musical instrument instruction. What is the first instrument that comes up? A, accordion. Ta-da! That's how I ended up with accordion, which is unfortunate given that I fell in love with classical music a few years later. Because there's no classical music for accordion. There were no accordions in an orchestra. There's no concerto for accordion and orchestra. How did I get my first accordion? My parents bought it. I remember how much it cost. Do you believe that? $135. Do I currently have an accordion? asks a voice in my earphones. I do believe it is somewhere hidden so that I cannot have any access to it. That was— and that was my request.

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In Traverse City, Michigan, Question: I have read your fine book, The Rational Passover Haggadah, where you say only grateful people can be happy, to which I agree. But taken to its logical conclusion, if God wants, even commands us to be happy, is God happy? You know, I never thought of that question. It's an intelligent thought. Does God have joy? The New Testament is filled with joy. That thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord, for the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy. Old Testament: shout for joy to God and all the earth. Well, there's, there's, there's so many. Just worship the God in happiness. Yet we have: and it repented the Lord that he made man on earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Genesis 6:6, vayitazeif Hashem eli bo. I know it in the Hebrew. As I type, there are wars going on. Where is God's joy, if he has any? I have told this on the air. I was at a present— many years, I mean truly many, like 40 years ago, I was at a lecture. A very prominent rabbi was speaking. He's long since deceased. And he looked at the audience and said, okay, who's the most tragic figure in the Bible? And everybody had, you know, some answer. Well, some— Moses was a very common answer. He never got into the Promised Land. He had no joy from his kids. Aaron was also filled with tragedy. Jacob thought that his beloved son Joseph was dead most of his life. There are a lot of candidates for the most tragic figure in the Bible. And then he listened to everybody's name, and then he said, no, no, no, my opinion, most tragic figure in the Bible is God. Starts out so optimistic, and God created the human being and saw it was very good. The only day of creation that God said was very good was the day created human beings, the sixth day. And you're right, and it says, and God got sad that he created man on Earth. That's what it says. So that's a toughie. I don't know the answer to it. God looks on Earth and sees all the horrors that humans inflict on other human beings. Babies abused, people tortured, mass— gigantic mass murderers— Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot, among The best known. There are so many others. It's a good question because it also presupposes that God does have emotions. I think God does. I've actually— it's one of the ideas that I've developed later in life, that God has emotions, because it's hard to imagine that we have an ability that God doesn't have. We can emote, but God cannot. We can, we can experience these things, but God cannot. Is he above it? Does God truly have no emotional reaction to evil, or for that matter, to good? Your questions are, are apt, but I— we, we can't know God. As a great Hebrew saying from the Middle Ages goes, "Loo yedativ hayitiv." If I knew him, I'd beat him. Okay, let's see. Angie, Central Point, Oregon. To the world, my husband is a nice man, but to me, he has no loyalty. He talks behind my back negatively. Is loyalty and love one and the same? How should I deal with this? Well, I only have dark answers for you on this whole thing. If you have a spouse that talks negatively about you behind your back, I'm sorry to say, I, I don't know why you're even staying in the marriage. That's about as bad. I think that that's worse, frankly, than a one-night stand. There, there are those who would differ with me. I fully appreciate that. But what was it? What's his name? John Gottman, I think it is, who's considered by many the greatest expert on marriage. He's a psychologist who works with marriages. And he said the one thing that cannot be undone, or the one thing that inevitably leads to divorce, is contempt. People have— in other words, people have survived infidelities on the part of the other, but You don't survive contempt. Either the person stops showing contempt or the marriage is effectively over. Speaking ill of you behind your back— and clearly it's not that behind your back because you know about it— is— it makes the marriage, it seems to me, somewhat irredeemable. Unless, again, again, this he would stop. Now, he might have a totally different take on this question, but I'll— that's why I'm making it clear to all of you, I'm only answering what I have before me to answer.

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Okay, let's see. Robert, Glendale, Arizona. Hi, Dennis Prager. Hi. Thank you for taking the time to read my question. My question to you is, knowing that you are dedicated to honesty and truth— whenever I see that, I think, uh-oh— and knowing that you wouldn't judge something without having at least some knowledge about it, have you ever played any video games at all? If so, Have you enjoyed any of them? I am personally an avid gamer, but limit— I limit my gaming to after work and leisure times. I also have other hobbies such as gardening and a few other minor interests. I do believe it's possible to balance interests such as gaming and still have a fulfilled— and it says right to life, I don't know what that means. Okay, doesn't matter. So I was just curious what your history is with it. Thanks so much for your time, and thank you so much for everything you've done over the years. Robert McManus. Okay, so I've thought about this fair amount. That is true, I have no interest in video games, but that doesn't matter. That, that, that is just It's a statement of fact, but it's not relevant. I am aware of the fact that there are many, many arenas of life I have no interest in, but I hardly condemn people who do. I, I have no interest in riding a bull, a wild bronco, but— well, I guess I would have more interest in going to a rodeo than playing a video game. That's true. But nevertheless, it's not a big part of my life. So I don't, I don't judge people for playing video games. The issue is how much time. If, if you love it, it's— look, I, I think one gets more out of listening to a Beethoven quartet than playing a video game. Wyatt Pollum in Spring Hill, Kansas. I read your book, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, leading me to seriously consider Judaism as a religious option. I am a 21-year-old ethical monotheist in a family of Protestant Christians. However, my heart and intellect do not affirm Christianity. My affinity skews toward Judaism even as a goy. Let me explain the word goy, by the way. It's the word used, it's a Hebrew word. It's actually in the Bible. It's a very common word. It means nation. That's all it means. The way in which the Torah speaks of non-Jews is the nations. The goyim, but it just means nations. One of the most famous verses in the Hebrew Bible is, nation shall not lift sword against nation, and they shall not learn war anymore. Lo yisa goy el goy cherev. Nations shall not lift sword against nation. So, okay, it's just explaining the term. It's not a derogatory term. Some people think it is. So should I explore Judaism as a potential religious option or suppress my beliefs for the sake of keeping with the same tradition of my family? Which is more important in your analysis? If so, how much would I shop for non-Orthodox synagogues that share religious values? Thank you, Dennis Prager. Shalom. Okay, I don't have a good answer. I, I, I don't know how it would affect your parents. You speak about continuing, you know, the, the religious traditions of your family, which I think are important. There are— I know people who have converted to Judaism and the parents were actually proud of their child. I mean, they thought, okay, you found God through Judaism, great. Jesus was a Jew. What's our issue? On the other hand, it— here's a possible way of balancing the two things. You convert, but you continue to have, for example, Christmas and Easter with your family. That's what— that might be a really good solution. So you have been true to your convictions and not gratuitously hurt your parents. So that if you celebrate Christmas and Easter with them, on the assumption that they even do, that would be, that would be very helpful. Okay, next. Are there any pieces of music that impact you in such a fashion as to initiate tears? The ease with which my eyes fill with tears at, uh, in classical music shows anybody how deep a part of me it touches. I'm amazed. I get the chills, and I, and I, I frequently tear up at the end of a, of some great piece of music, especially symphony. Though I don't listen primarily to symphonies, but especially a symphony. That your list is different from my list, but who cares? That's what it does. It does fill me with tears.

Tomorrow on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager: Are people basically good?

The difference on the views on that one issue will help people determine whether they will have a liberal or conservative position on, on most social issues.

Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. This has been Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles.

We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying. That's why what Angel is doing matters. With eye-opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci and RFK: Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid. In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare: a platform for truth-seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity. Go to angel.com/prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.