Friday Filosophy v.04.29.2022
Friday Filosophy v.04.29.2022
Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased renewing his license to practice psychology in 2006.
McGraw rose to fame with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s. Oprah Winfrey then helped McGraw launch his own program, Dr. Phil, in September 2002. The show is formatted as an advice show.
McGraw was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, on September 1, 1950, the son of Joseph J. McGraw Jr. and his wife, Anne Geraldine “Jerry” (née Stevens). He grew up with two older sisters, Deana and Donna, and younger sister Brenda in the oilfields of North Texas where his father was an equipment supplier. At age 13, he worked at an A&W Root Beer stand and a local chain called Pizza Planet in Oklahoma City.
McGraw moved to Kansas with his father as his father pursued his lifelong goal of becoming a psychologist. There he attended Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. He played linebacker on the high school football team and in 1968 earned a football scholarship to the University of Tulsa, where he played middle linebacker under coach Glenn Dobbs. He later transferred to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
McGraw graduated in 1975 from Midwestern State University with a B.A. in psychology. He went on to earn an M.A. in experimental psychology in 1976, and a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology in 1979 at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), where his dissertation was titled “Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Psychological Intervention.” He did a year of post-doctoral training in forensic psychology at the Wilmington Institute. McGraw’s PhD advisor was Frank Lawlis, who later became the primary contributing psychologist for the Dr. Phil television show.
After obtaining his doctorate, McGraw rejoined his father in Wichita Falls, Texas, where the elder McGraw had established his private psychology practice.
In 1985, McGraw and his father partnered with Thelma Box, a Texas businesswoman, in presenting “Pathways” self-help seminars. Six years after joining Box, in October 1991 McGraw sold his share in the company for $325,000.
In 1990, McGraw co-founded Courtroom Sciences, Inc. (CSI) with lawyer Gary Dobbs. CSI is a trial consulting firm which provides services in US litigation psychology, jury selection, trial consulting, witness training, and depositions. CSI has advised top trial lawyers, every major airline in the world, and dozens of Fortune 500 companies. McGraw is no longer an officer or director of the company. The TV show Bull is based on McGraw’s experience as a trial consultant, and he is credited as one of the creators of the series. McGraw began working with Oprah Winfrey through CSI.
- Eighty percent of all choices are based on fear. Most people don’t choose what they want; they choose what they think is safe.
- At the end of the day, whether or not those people are comfortable with how you’re living your life doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you’re comfortable with it.
- Awareness without action is worthless.
- There is nothing wrong with your marriage if you’re dealing with bills and kids and the broken garbage disposal and in-laws and work demands. That’s a normal marriage.
- When you get married, your loyalty, first and foremost, is to your spouse, and to the family that you create together.
- Relationships are negotiated and if you deal with ultimatums and authority all the time, then you’re not going to get anywhere.
- You have got to decide, look, this is who I am; this is my best way to present myself, and I’m going to ride that horse to the finish line. Not everybody will like it, but that’s OK.
- My dad used to say, ‘You wouldn’t worry so much about what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did.
- It’s so much easier to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
- I’m embarrassed every time I look a teacher in the eye, because we ask them to do so much for so little.
- Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you.
- Take it from a guy: If you’re in love with somebody, you will swim the stream, you will climb the mountain, you will slay the dragon. You’re going to get to her somehow, some way.
- There’s a big difference between falling in love and being in love. There’s a big difference between infatuation and falling in love.
The Time is Now.