It was Saturday night, Aug. 14, 1943, when the Allies shelled my father’s village along the southern coast of Italy. From their ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the naval bombardment from the Allies was brutal – over 1,000 shells were fired in less than 20 minutes.

Where are all the Joe Biden supporters today? I mean, Biden supposedly received more total votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history – even more than Barrack Obama in 2008. In fact, Biden reportedly received almost 13 million more votes than Obama.

But how do we spot it? Or is it down to just “knowing it when we see it”? For example, who is the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan or Lebron James? Or the greatest boxer of all time, Joe Lewis or Muhammed Ali? Or the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady or Joe Montana? Boxers or briefs? Mac or PC?.

Then there are the so-called “white lies” we tell ourselves. We tell ourselves we’re smarter and better-looking than we are. We’ll be happy when we get that raise, lose the weight, get the car, the house, the boat. That we’re too old for this or that, or don’t have enough time, or those jeans don’t make your butt look that big.

Now, there’s a certain degree of selfishness or self-centeredness in all of us. Narcissism has been around for more than 2,000 years, after all. It’s the term used in psychology to describe a preoccupation with self.

For centuries, man has sought to predict the future, whether by astrology, palm reading, tarot cards, tea leaves or crystal balls.

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins says, “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.” This is why some people can achieve great success in whatever may be their chosen field, while others work just as hard but achieve very little.

Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you should buy it. Just because you can eat whatever you want without gaining weight, doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can skip that workout, or have just one more drink, or bail out of a commitment, doesn’t mean that you should.