The Scott Adams School - 07/14/26 Happy Birthday Marcela!! Quick Show Today

Good morning. Are we live?

Let me join in.

This is such a beautiful day today, right?

It's Marcella's birthday. Happy birthday, Marcella. We can't sing to you or we'll get dinged. We can't even hum the happy birthday song, or, you know, I'd be singing full speed ahead.

So welcome everyone. It's allowed, it's copyrightable. It's after so many years, it's the one song that you can sing.

Oh, you can?

Yeah. Are you sure? No, you don't have to sing because you're like by yourself.

Marcel, are you sure? Because I really don't want to do it by myself.

Yeah, it's like Mickey Mouse, like into the public domain, as we call it. And it's the Bastille Day in France, it's the Independence Day of France.

Okay, France. France, you've lost your independence. I hope you find it again. Happy Bastille Day. Hello, you guys. Hi, Sandy.

Hello.

Okay, I see YouTube and Rumble, Spotify, X. Hello, X. X, I wish I could see you in my chat. Um, good morning. So Owen is off today at Marcella's request for her birthday. Marcella also requested a half-hour show. It's probably going to be about a half an hour, maybe a little less. So it's her birthday. She gets to pick what she wants, and she wanted me for 25 minutes now. So it's your— our wish is, uh, your command. Your command is your wish and your command.

Hmm. Okay, I gotta record this. I gotta keep the clip of this, right? For, uh, proof.

Okay, you guys, so listen, let's get moving. I think everybody's in here. We've got Scott ready for a sip. And let's do it.

Is there something we need to do? Yes, there is. It's called the simultaneous sip, and it doesn't take much to participate. No, it doesn't take much. All you need is a cup or a mug or a glass, a tank or chalice, a stein, a canteen, jug or flask, a vessel of any kind. Fill it with your favorite liquid. I like coffee. And join me now for the unparalleled pleasure of the dopamine hit of the day, the thing that makes everything better except the Democrats National Convention, which, you know, you know what I mean, coffee can do everything. But join me now for the simultaneous sip, happens now, go. Ah, I feel the economy improving as I digest that.

Hmm, interesting. Um, yes, he had a headset sometimes. Um, Scott went through all sorts of iterations of electronics and technology through the 10 years. Some things went flying out the window, some into the garbage can, some on the back shelf, you know. Yeah, some probably got smashed with a sledgehammer in the man cave. All sorts. So, Marcela, are you excited for your day today?

Very excited.

Oh, do you have big plans?

Um, just going to the beach with friends and, uh, with my baby Lori, my doggy.

Oh, we love Lori.

And I get to watch France play today, uh, and beat Spain, hopefully.

Oh, that's right, Spain. We don't like Spain.

No, we do not like Spain.

Okay, well, that, that's fair. It's your birthday. I'm rooting with you and for whatever you want. So speaking of Lori, I did ask Marcela, I said, on this short show on your birthday, you know, she's like requesting a bit of an animal clip because we love our animal clips. And a Scott lesson, and I have both ready. So, um, why don't we start with the animal clip? We were trying to do cats, but since you just mentioned Lori, let's do dogs. You guys, we don't deserve them. Look at this. I probably have to lower it.

Look.

Oh, the baby. I know. Oh, you're so sweet.

And they're always happy. Like, my dog is never sad.

That's true. Oh my God, a puppy German Shepherd.

Oh, they're so cute.

Where's my dog? There's so many dog owners in our chat. Right, Crusher? Look at the babies. Oh, look at that. What's that called? An Irish Wolfhound. I met two of them one time. Oh, amazing. Now I'm gonna want a dog. Go get Lori.

She loves sleeping around this time because I always have her sleeping. Oh, she's asleep. A golden retriever, perfect animal.

I lived with a Doberman like that once.

Share your dog pictures on the chat if you can.

Yeah, so welcome to Marcela's birthday show, we get an extended dog clip. I love it.

Oh, they are like angels.

You guys, they are so— that's it. Okay, beautiful, Marcela. Good choice, good choice. Um, also Scott had mentioned the economy, right? So before we get into our Scott clip, um, inflation is looking good. Um, I have an inflation clip for you. Let's get to it so we can get some news in today before we get out into the world.

Here we go. This is our June release of the Consumer Price Index, expecting a headline number to be negative, negative 0.1%. This is 4 times more negative, -0.4%. That would be the biggest negative drop that we've seen since 4/20, since basically COVID timing, which really affected, of course, all of the inflation data points. So that goes back, boom, basically 6-year low. And if we look at the CPI month over month on the core, also under expectations, comes in at goose egg, zero. Zero would be the smallest amount, it would equal Jan of '21. To find a smaller change or a more negative change or minus 1/10 of a percent, that's May of 2020. And if we look at the year over year numbers, year over year headline, 3.5, 3/10 less than expected, much less than the 4.2 in the rearview mirror. That would be the lightest since March of this year when it was 3.3. Year over year core, 2.6, 2/10 less than expectations, 3/10 less than the rearview mirror. 2.6 equals March. 2.5 brings you to February of this year.

All right.

He's very— I love someone that enthusiastic about numbers. Holy cow. So basically it comes down to what he says. So 2.6%. All right. So 4 years ago with Biden, it was 9.1%. So that is a delightful drop. So I hope everyone's happy with that. Marcela, do you have any inflationary commentary?

Yes, I do. It looks like this is a good time for President Trump because he appointed Kevin Barsh to the Fed's— Federal Reserve, and so then he can maybe bring down the interest rates, you know, because he had an issue with too late Powell. Um, so maybe Kevin— like, I know him—

do us a solid, okay?

Can do that. However, there's, there's this, uh, so we're doing better than we thought. Uh, there was also good news, and car prices have gone down. Shelter and apparel have gone down. But there's this Middle East and a possible continued conflict which could affect the numbers in the future, uh, in July and in August. We'll see.

All right, Middle East, let's get through that really quick. I have a very short clip here, um, and we'll chat about it for a couple minutes because we want to get right to Scott Adams after that. Hang on.

We're a little less than 10 hours now from the blockade officially going into effect, and with that, we've seen a flurry of activity of Iranian strikes on commercial shipping crossing the strait. The United Arab Emirates reported that 2 ships were hit overnight. And just a few hours ago, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Association reported that another ship was hit just off the coast of Lima, Oman. This was a ship following the southern route through the strait established by Oman in defiance of the Iranian route to the north. Yesterday, a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit. The flurry of activity coming after the president announced the U.S. will impose a blockade taken control this strait and charge 20% of all cargo as reimbursement for providing security.

Imagine you're, you're out there in one of these ships, you're like, what do I do? You know, they're sitting ducks. So I mean, I, I hate this story because it just never ends and it keeps changing and then not changing and changing and not changing. So it's like so hard to talk about it. Um, I don't know, Marcela, what do you say about it?

I mean, that it's always, uh, like we're on a ceasefire, we're not, we're, you know, you know, so it's kind of hard to deal with economically, you know. This is not what, what we want because there shouldn't be any instability, but you know, the Middle East is known for instability, and I'm sure that those, uh, sailors or, you know, people that conduct those ships are kind of already kind of jaded by it. Like, they already know it's gonna be like that. Um, there was threats by President Trump, uh, again in regards to the Strait of Hormuz and controlling it and even charging a fee for— by other Americans because they need to get paid. You know, it's kind of like Scott Adams would say, you know, you need to make, uh, something out of nothing. Um, and Who knows? But President Trump actually notified Congress formally of the resumed actions against Iran, and he says it's starting a new 60-day window for operations. So that gives you an idea of the length of how long this could be for. Long, long. It's like wink wink wink. But, um, I, I just think it's a way to negotiate this agreement because they weren't taking President Trump seriously. So this is, uh, they haven't really hit any, any facilities, you know, where they've killed many people or anything like that.

They did hit some private ships though, which is not cool.

Um, you know, they were—

they weren't military or anything to do with anything. And I was just like, you know, I mean, there's like no rules anymore in, in war, which is kind of scary.

Um, I think Iran hit some private ships. No?

Yes. Yeah, I was like, oh, sorry if that wasn't clear.

Yeah, well, everything's allowed in love and war. I don't know, uh, I'm sure there's rules to it and the Geneva Convention and all that, but, um, but the interesting part is what Iran is trying to do. So Iran— I'm trying to look for it. Iran was threatening the Gulf states, any of them, for helping the US, and it calls it an act of war if they help the US or Israel. And so that's very interesting because it's the first time we have, um, you know, it's first time visually that we have this division between the Sunni world and the Shiite world. And even the Shiite world is separated from Iran. So they're kind of, you know, it's kind of playing into the hands of President Trump because I think instead of helping them, I think it's isolating Iran and not— they have very few friends, right? Say that because they're hitting— I think they hit Jordan, um, bases, they hit Bahrain, uh, the UAE. A lot of these, uh, attacks have not really fully been reported because, for example, in the UAE they do not videos of this to go on to the news. They control, uh, these kind of things from spreading on the news. So it could be worse than we know.

All right, so, but, so I have to cut you off. We're not gonna make it. We're not gonna make it if I don't cut you off. So those of you that don't know, we're having a very abbreviated show today. Unfortunately, the truth is I have to attend a funeral of a very close friend of mine, um, and Owen is off today for something for work. And it's Marcella's birthday, so this is how it's going. But listen, I have a Scott Adams clip, Jay Plemons. I don't think we've seen this, but Jay is calling this the original Get Out reframe, maybe where it all started. So thanks, you guys. So let's just buckle in. I think it's about 6 minutes. Okay, so here we go.

All right, here's a micro lesson on the difference between fake and real when it comes to how you act as a person. Now, this will be much more useful for young people, especially older teenagers who are trying to sort out, should I be a genuine person or do I have to pretend? Uh, I don't want to be a fake person, you know. I don't want to be one of those people who's just always phony. I want to be real. Well, I contend that there's no actual difference in the practical world, and I'll give you some Examples. You've heard, of course, of fake it until you make it. That's the idea of, well, I don't know how to do this thing, and the thing might be a job, for example, but you just pretend you do until you figure it out, and you fake it until you do know how to do it. Or you could say more genuinely showing confidence when you don't actually internally have it. Now, if other people see you acting confident, even though you don't feel it, and see you faking it well enough, but they don't know that on the inside you're incompetent, you're basically real. In other words, you're as real as everybody else. There's no practical difference between faking it until you make it, pretending to be confident, and actually having those qualities, because that's how everybody presents themselves when they are doing a little bit, uh, let's say they're exaggerating their abilities, which is normal and even recommended. So don't worry about what's fake or what's real. If you can pull it off, if you look confident to other people, that's confident. What about politeness? Well, sometimes if you feel polite, it's— nobody has a problem with that. But suppose you're not feeling it. Do you have an obligation to act like you're all happy and accommodating when you're really not feeling it. I would contend that acting is what politeness is. It's acting. That's exactly what you should be doing. So if you're doing it right, there's no difference between fake and real. It's like being a TV actor or actress. If you're in a role, well, it's a real job pretending to be a fake. And that's what politeness is. Take it seriously. Be polite because you get benefits from it and everybody likes it. How about smiling when you don't feel like it? Literally, you should practice smiling when you don't feel like it until it becomes a habit. Then when you see somebody new, it's just automatic. Let me give you a fake smile. Oh, it's really good to see you. Oh, it's great. Thanks for coming. How hard was this? Not very hard. Now you think, Scott Adams, you're a tremendous actor, you can pull it off. No, I'm not. I just practiced a few times. You have to do it for photography. If you have a lot of photo shoots, you have to do the fake smile all day long. So you can just practice it until you're good at it. How about making small talk? And by the way, the fake smile is as good as a real smile. Because you're trying to create an impression in somebody else that makes them feel good, makes them feel good about you, that is a real good goal. So if it takes a fake smile so you don't bring your negativity to them, give them the fake smile. In the real world, a fake smile is gold. Small talk, similar to the politeness and the smile, you might not love it, but it might be good to do. Because what you're really doing is giving your attention to another person. And maybe making them feel more comfortable. Don't worry about what the content is. Don't say, "Oh, I said some things I don't care about. I'm a big phony." No, you're making small talk. That's not phony. That's a real thing that real people do. You should do it well. And doing it well sometimes, well, almost all the time, requires you saying things that aren't the most interesting things to you or them. Hey, it looks like it might rain tomorrow. Well done. Good small talk. Just wouldn't talk about the weather all day long though. Optimism. Show your optimism. Use optimistic words and people are going to say, "Hey, there's an optimistic person," even if you're not feeling it on the inside. You will eventually brainwash yourself into being an optimistic person if you simply make your brain think of 2 good things every time a bad one pops into your head. Just train it that you go to the good thoughts whenever you can. So faking it and making it real, almost the same thing. Pretending to care. Isn't this the fakest thing? Like somebody, let's say, has a loss of a pet that you've never met. You do feel bad for them, but maybe not as bad as they feel in a way that you're like, really? Bonding with them. So, but pretending to care in those situations is going to be every bit as good because caring is about investing your time and your attention in something. You don't really have to feel bad, or at least feel as bad as the person you're talking to. So pretending to care is actually the same as caring because it's your attention, it's your focus, you're bringing yourself into their miserable little world for a little while. It's not pleasant. So you are taking on some of their pain. No difference pretending and doing the real thing. So if you want to be the kind of person who cares and gets the benefits of being a caring person, pretend to care. It's just as good as the real thing. And, uh, braveness, of course, you've heard the, the old saying that bravery is not about not being afraid. That's why we often talk about it that way, but that's not really what it is. Braveness is being afraid but doing it anyway. Now, if somebody is watching you, they just see the doing it anyway part. They don't know that internally you're frightened to death. So fake braveness, where you just do it anyway, is really braveness. There's no real practical difference. So if you're a young person especially, Don't get hung up on what is fake and what is real. You live in a world in which we're presenting ourselves in a way that gets us certain effects, such as make somebody comfortable, make somebody do business with you in a good way, not in a manipulative way, but in a way that we're evolved as human beings to use certain processes and techniques, small talk, fake smiles, a little bit of optimism. Because those things work. And when they work, that's as real as you can get. And that's your Michael lesson for today.

I love that. I also, I love, I used to love when he would wear that jacket and your comments on his wardrobe are amazing. But I also consider fake and real also part of just being considerate and part of society and just being kind. So, you know, sometimes, yeah, maybe you're faking something, but it's really— it's like also for the benefit of the other person to maybe feel better or feel heard or understood and just build rapport. It's very important. And I worry about the kids today because they make no eye contact. They don't look up from their phone. They don't know how to talk. I'm like, holy cow, this is kind of wacky. So I don't know. Did you guys like this lesson? Marcela, did you like that?

Yeah, I think it's a— like you said, you pointed it out, that's the lesson for younger people that are not used to like doing these kind of things. Maybe they're not comfortable, but maybe they— if they understood that faking it would make it real anyways. So I think it's very helpful.

All right, now you guys are saying—

I never needed this because I always smile like I'm the opposite. I need to stop smiling.

I was raised this way, like everything he said. And I don't think, you know, that the younger generation was raised this way for some reason, because I do notice I'm always so happy when I meet someone who's younger that has these qualities because it's so rare, in my opinion. So when I see a young person, you know, oh, how are you? You know, it's nice to meet you. Thank you. You know, oh, really? That's so interesting. Like, I'm just like, oh, Thank God there's some, you know, younger people that can still do this because it's like a lost— I want to say art for some reason. Um, SJV, you said it's incredibly similar to what we are currently reviewing in the Dale Carnegie book. Oh, okay, so on Owen's, um, subscriber spaces. Got it. Okay, yeah, so I mean, yes, there are so many books like with the same kind of ideas written. These are really good lessons, and if your kids don't know these things, really, it doesn't matter how old they are. If you know and you realize they don't, try to instill this in them. It will take them so much further in life and building relationships, friendships, work relationships, their confidence, being able to achieve things and get things done. And I think you can practice it. And if you look at that list, the punch list there of the different things, practice them. And yes, you guys, you all hit the nail on the head. If you're giving a fake smile, Mean the smile. Get your eyes involved. Your eyes have to get— remember Scott Adams would be like, when people are like, hey, that's great. And you're like, oh, but if you're like, I love that. And your eyes are smiling too, like really mean it. If you're going to fake it, mean it. You know what I'm saying? I know that sounds crazy, but mean it if you're faking it. Marcela, anything else on this? We're getting to the end here.

I think someone said, I forget, it already went by, but happiness is a choice. And that's true. You, you decide how your day's gonna be the way— maybe you're not feeling right, uh, things are not that well, but you got to bring that energy up and, and kind of fake it until you make it, I guess, for that day. That bring that energy and that happiness into you even if things outwardly aren't what you want, you know.

It also changes how you feel. Like, you know, your cortisol level will drop if you're like, you know what, let me just fake my way into this. And like, eventually I think you'll see that you replaced that, like, I'll just fake my way through it to suddenly like, you know what, it does feel good and this is a nice conversation and I am enjoying it. And, you know, a lot of people don't feel heard throughout the day. So maybe you're really changing someone else's day by making the eye contact with them and like really listen. One thing I'm obsessed about with Tom Cruise is how hard he makes eye contact with people and listens. It's so freaking intense, and I don't think a lot of people experience that in their life, but I'm just like, wow, that's like such a good thing to practice. And I do practice that, like I am conscientious about that when I'm out. I really lock in with people and listen. I love it. What, Marcella?

We need Tom to show us next time. All right, I'll get my other book. My next year for my birthday, we can have him on, or sooner, maybe for Owen's birthday, or for Erica's, or for Erica's.

Um, so Marcella, have the best day, you guys. Thank you for being understanding that sometimes we have to adjust our schedules for things. So, um, we appreciate you guys understanding that we have an abbreviated show today, but the home team returns tomorrow. With a full show of nonsense. Um, you guys, if you did this sip with us or you enjoyed any part of this show, even though it was short, even just for Marcella's birthday, if you're on YouTube, hit the thumbs up button. Um, if you're on Locals, um, when you leave the show, you'll see a little heart. You just tap the heart, give it a heart wherever you are. If you would just let us know that you're here, and we'd appreciate it. Stella knows it's a half-hour show. Here she comes.

She knows.

My gosh. So, all right, um, Marcella, have the best day. And you guys, let's, uh, thank Scott and Shelley for allowing this show to continue. We love you guys for showing up every day. Um, we like— we so enjoy this. The, the three of us so enjoy this so much. Um, you guys do all the things today. Practice the things Scott talked about. Make some extra eye contact today. Give a little head nod, validate people. Let's do it. Okay. All right, guys, so let's have a closing sip to Scott, and you guys get out there and be useful. Okay, to Scott.

To Scott.

See you in the morning tomorrow, and there will be an Akira song tomorrow. Okay, bye guys, love you.

Bye, you guys.

Stella, say bye. Come here.

Here she is. Hi, Stella. Say goodbye to the nice people.

Bye, guys.

Look up here, Stella. They can't see your little face.

I know, we can't see her eyes. She must— I make eye contact.

She's like, no, put me down. All right, guys, bye, Marcella.

Love you.

Happy birthday.