Saturday, October 3, 2026

by making exceptions, you're giving permission

October 03, 2026 | Read online

by making exceptions, you're giving permission

permission for how someone can treat you...

There’s a dangerous thing that happens when you repeatedly make exceptions for behavior you know isn’t acceptable:

The exception stops being an exception, and starts becoming permission you’ve granted to them.

You overlook the disrespect (again) because they’re stressed out (again).

You accept the inconsistency (again) because they’re busy (again).

You stay quiet about something that bothers you because you don’t want to create conflict…again.

You tell yourself it’s “not a big deal.”

And maybe, once, it isn’t.

But people learn how to treat you through repetition.

Every time something crosses your boundary and nothing happens, the boundary becomes a little less real.

Not because people are inherently malicious…

Because human beings adapt to what the environment allows.

This is true in relationships.

It’s true in friendships.

It’s true at work.

And it’s especially true with yourself.

Every time you break a promise you made to yourself, lower your own expectations, or accept something you know doesn’t align with who you want to be…

You’re teaching yourself what your standards actually are.

Not the standards you just talk about.

The standards you enforce.

Remember that strong standards aren’t about becoming rigid, unforgiving, or impossible to please, they’re about becoming clear.

Clear about what works for you, and clear about what doesn’t.

Clear about what you’re willing to discuss, repair, and work through…and what you’re no longer willing to normalize.

Your life will almost always rise or fall to the level of what you repeatedly allow.

So pay attention to your exceptions.

Some of them may quietly be becoming your new standard.

Your coach,

- James Michael Sama

P.S.: If you’re looking for a private advisor to help you develop these qualities, let’s talk.

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RTF Invitation: From Venice to Threadneedle: How the Money Power Changed Location

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RTF Invitation: From Venice to Threadneedle: How the Money Power Changed Location

Sunday Oct. 4 lecture at noon ET featuring Tom Charlesworth

Rising Tide Foundation

Oct 3

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Preview

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Everyone knows that the City of London has been a central nexus of power projection for centuries, which includes deep penetration into the USA itself via its American outpost better known as ‘Wall Street’.

However fewer people have discovered how this power emerged in the first place out of the lagoons of Venice and the Venetian penetration into Amsterdam which established the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch Stock Exchange and Bank of Amsterdam in 1609.

In this week’s Rising Tide Foundation lecture, my friend Tom Charlesworth, who worked in the ‘City’ for decades will introduce this complex topic followed by a Q and A for all paid subscribers to this substack.

Click on the zoom link below to access the live event on Sunday October 4 at NOON eastern time/5pm London Time/11pm Bangkok time by clicking on the zoom link below:...

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Thursday, October 1, 2026

The World Needs a Renaissance, Not an Enlightenment

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The World Needs a Renaissance, Not an Enlightenment

Rising Tide Foundation

Oct 1

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Both the Renaissance and the Enlightenment are gravely misunderstood in the popular imagination. The Renaissance was the culmination of a millennium of thwarted attempts to revive not just classical arts, but the classical worldview. The Renaissance achieved this with the added benefit of Christianity, which emphasized the human being as both rational and creative.

To the Renaissance mind, by investigating the intricacies of the cosmos and nature, science and art only served to strengthen and clarify the relationship between the created and the Creator. The Enlightenment, for its part, was not a scientific revolution, but actually occurred during a gap in scientific progress. It seized the fruits of the Renaissance and removed God from the equation to build a worldview of cold, mechanical rationality.

The French Enlightenment in particular produced some of the most horrendous practical results. With developments in AI and other technology, we currently stand on the threshold of an age that could go either way. It is in the best interests of all humanity to follow the course of the Renaissance rather than the Enlightenment.

On April 26, 2026, the Rising Tide Foundation hosted special guest Adam Sedia (poet, lawyer, and essayist) who tackled these important topics.