Our Forefathers & the Possible Economic Revival

“No country has mastered innovation and entrepreneurship as effectively as America” — The Economist

As you read this particular post, someone in cooperate and industrial America just lost their job.  Their means of providing food for a loved spouse and growing children has just been snatched away.  They no longer have a means of financial provision according to their understanding.  There life is literally in turmoil.

I’m not trying to be pessimistic here, I am just stating the truth that America is facing.  There have been much more tumulus economic times that we have faced, and much more harsher times in general.   The Great Depression followed by the Dust Bowl certainly outrank what we face as a country @ the moment.  However, all accordingly agreed we have seen much better economic periods within our country’s history as well.

I do not like the fact that men and women are losing jobs left and right within the United States.  It burns my skin in fact, that large cooperate businesses over promised and under-delivered to many faithful employees.  And when the time came to deliver, these same employees lost their jobs while CEOs who wholeheartedlyunderperformed ran away with million dollar “bonuses”.

Do I think that American workers have the right to complain? I sure as heck do.

Do I think we should? Absolutely not.

“Why?” you ask.

It is simple.

I think a large part lies in the conditions our minds were put in thanks to the arrival of the Industrial Revolution.  Thanks to the widespread innovations in textiles, steam power, and iron founding , men and women found themselves giving up home based trades and life on the farm to trek off to work for other men and women, eventually becoming cooperations to a degree.

Men found themselves dependant upon others in the industrial hierarchy for pay.  Work for others and receive your wages.

I am thankful in large part for many of the innovations that came about because of the Industrial Revolution, I am not thankful for the “dependant” mindset that it somewhat created.

Worse yet, this mindset seeped into other areas of Americas life as generations began to pass.  Take for instance, the fact that we as individuals have become so dependent on Social Security to take care of us in our last years on earth then look at the stark contrast of how fallible the Social Security system established really is. The way that the current system lines up, money set aside for Social Security will be completely exhausted by 2022.  See just how weak our dependent crutch actually is?

Becoming dependent on others to meet our needs, government included, is an unhealthy belief system that I feel has gotten us where we are today. 

And as much as I appreciate the fact that we have a school system and we have the absolute freedom to learn as opposed to many countries, I cannot help but cringe at the fact that our school system still runs as it was shortly after the Industrial Revolution peak……..when schools were teaching and training others to develop a mindset to go out and work for others. 

 

 Before I continue, I need you guys to understand one thing…..

THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN IS NOT FOUND IN A CHECK THAT THE GOVERNMENT CUTS FOR EVERY CITIZEN ONCE A YEAR.

Well not the stimulus plan that is set to work that is.

Remember the whole thought pattern of “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a meal, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”?

It runs parallel to this same type of thinking. 

Give a citizen a government check and he is set for a few months, along with a newly developed mindset that he has the entitlement to be given “free”  money by the government if needed.  Its a self-defeating and ghetto mindset that ultimately only makes one weaker than before.

However, if you teach a citizen how to be financially responsible, to dream and to solve a problem by acting out within his/her own means of helping the economy then you find you may be on to something a bit more fruitful than candy handouts.  

So what is the underlying Stimulus Plan that one should propose to work to help get the economy juiced up again and running on track?  It is largely touched upon in a book entitled The Entrepreneurial Imperitive by author Carl J. Schramm. 

 

In 2004, Schramm, president of the KauffmanFoundation, the world’s leading foundation for entrepreneurship, published a groundbreaking essay with a radical premise: that Americans literally have no conception of the secret that truly underlies our economic success, and that for the United States to survive and continue to lead the world’s economy, it is imperative we learn to understand and employ that secret.

The secret that has led the American economy to become the world’s strongest? Our unparalleled skill as entrepreneurs. As Schramm compellingly shows in this sweeping manifesto, entrepreneurship alone—not anything else—can give America the necessary leverage to remain an economic superpower. Not technology, since everyone now has the same technology, or access to it. Not education—we are years behind other nations in this area. Not basic manufacturing, long since moved overseas from the United States. And not capital markets, now truly global entities.

Drawing on detailed research conducted by the Kauffman Foundation and on his decades of experience as an entrepreneur himself and as a leader and mentor to other entrepreneurs, Schramm persuasively demonstrates in detail what this entrepreneurial imperative means for the way we run universities and foundations, lead companies, make personal job decisions, and even conduct our foreign affairs. The Entrepreneurial Imperative will change not only the way our government, corporations, and nonprofits operate, but also our day-to-day lives as working Americans.   –Amazon.com

 

  

 

It is best said that in order to foretell ones future all one has to do is use the past as a compass.  If this is indeed the case then using the past of America’s economy as a backdrop to what can and needs to be done today is staring us directly in our pupils.

Built on the backs and by the hands of individuals willing to work their tails off to give themselves and their loved ones a future , this country was fueled by those whom came before us whom envisioned what it was to dream.  It was individuals whom had the gumption to believe that no one knew what was better for their financial future and that of their families better than themselves, even if this meant crossing oceans to begin anew in foreign lands.  As a collective, they saw that their hard work and willingness to build on the numerous grande visions that they had  was enough to not only keep them afloat but to ultimately build a nation.

They either started off as immigrants, or farmhands, perhaps even simple factory workers. 

But they caught a fire.

And became visionaries, entrepreneurs, self made businessmen, and well respected individuals. 

They stand as a banner waving @ us reminding us that the economy and ill side effects we now face are not only bearable, but also movable.  They stand as a testament that those brave enough to dream and follow that vision to rely on ones own inert ability to thrive is what truly empowers a country.

So with all this said, the economy may continue to backslide as we face uncertain circumstances.  The government may continue to simply try to “give us a fish”.  However, as a collective whole, we can all teach each other to fish.  We can let iron sharpen iron.  We can put down video games for a bit and work for a future. We can rebuild.

How about yourself?  Do you feel that the economy can be straightened out by self emplyoyedindividuals willing to dream?  Can the brunt of what we now face be tackled by those willing to roll up their sleeves and attack a nightmare with a dream?  Do you have a story of a grandfather or father who set a prime example for you and the truth rings true that honest hard working men can rebuild what has been torn down?

If so then please share!! By doing so and commenting on this specific post your name will be entered to win an autographed copy of The Entrepreneurial Imperitive, signed by Carl J. Schramm himself.  So not only do you get a book that is sought after by many but you get a signed copy as well. 

From comments posted, I will draw a name on June 15th and name them the winner of this amazing and insightful piece of  writing. 

So lets here it from you guys.  Give me your thoughts!

To comment simply click here and scroll to the bottom of the page

Playing with a Different Set of Payments Pt. 2

This is a continuation of the last post, which deals with leveraging currency/assets in your life.

This original posting was first viewed on the now defunct Lifestyle Maverick site.  

Archimedes once said “Give me a lever long enough and strong enough and I will move the earth for earth for you”.

Now while this concept may seem almost egotistical in and of itself, it holds a very viable distinction. What Mr. Medes was simply stating is that if an individual has enough leverage in his hands then what once seemed as impossible thus becomes possible. When one examines the art of leverage and the ability to do more with less, I truly believe that we find the defining factor that separates…..

- Those who have moderate flow of income from those who have a distinctly massive flow of income.
- Those who have a limited amount of available time to pursue passion from those who have what seems all the time in the world to do otherwise.
- Those who are limited in their ability to achieve goals from those who seem to reach a new plateau every time you talk to them.
- Those who are locked in one location for an indefinite amount of time to those who can pick up and travel at will with no fleeing thought to hinder them.

Leverage when defined in lifestyle terms is the ability to work smarter and not harder. It is the ability to get more done and deliver more value to more people with less time and energy. It is the ability to replace yourself as much as possible without losing the quality of the task at hand. For many people this can sometimes prove challenging, due to the fact that many individuals refuse to let go of certain life tasks or formal operational methods due to a blown up ego or because they are afraid that no one can basically perform the certain task as well as they can. This thought pattern is a crippling one and is a pattern that other lifestyle designers and myself have to learn to overcome. With my experience in the past, if a task can be leveraged to someone or something and can be performed 80% as efficiently compared to if you were to do it yourself , then that is adequate and should be delegated to him/her/it.

With all of this said, let me stress that leverage DOES NOT = laziness. It simply reflects a smarter and more efficient way of tasking and all be it , living. Here are 3 main sources of leveragability that I have discovered, along with a brief overview of each.

IF LEARNED AND PRACTICED WITHIN ACCURATE MEANS, THESE 3 LEVELS OF LEVERAGE HOLD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE ONES LIFE ACCORDINGLY.

3 KEYS THAT WE ALL HOLD

POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIP LEVERAGABILITY(PRL) – Some of the most adherent and wisest leaders you will find are those who surround their selves with individuals who are either smarter than they are or are more skilled. Thus they can then leverage other peoples strengths , wisdom, and skills to further either their self or their vision.

PRL is the aptitude of leverage concerning people or the skills of people. Simply put, it is the effectiveness of how well one can use the resources of others to perform a task or further a vision. It extends to but is not limited to employees, friends, acquaintances, online contacts, those who may be in debt(not necessarily financially) to you, or anyone else in your realm of living as well as future relationships.

When PRL is put into effect, one must use a selective feeder in making sure that the people you are leveraging will in fact perform said method adequately by at least 80% of desired outcome. If not, then I suggest looking elsewhere.

· PRL also includes the reputation that you hold as an individual. Reputation too can be leveraged in relationships if people hold a high respect for you.

____________________________________________________________________________

POTENTIAL RESOURCES LEVERAGABILITY(PrL) – Ones aptitude in using tools or objects as resources to accomplish tasks rather than the use of ones energy. PrL speaks respectively in terms of how you can use the mechanics of tools and thereof. Many computer programs fall into the efficiency method form of PrL.

PrL pertains to basically any motorized, mechanical, computerized, or nonliving forms of operations. Certain examples of PrL are……

Setting an alarm clock in order to help my wife wake up rather than taking 5 minutes of time and energy to call her in order to do the same. I use the alarm clock as my leverage.

Using any of 37Signals web applications to either help organize a daily routine, checklist, or other operation geared towards more computer minded individuals rather than relying on other outdated methods which use more of time and energy.

Simply driving a car somewhere rather than walking(although for obvious health reasons, walking may be suggested ).

Using the weights in a gym as an method of leverage in order to “get fit”.

Also let it be known that when speaking in terms of resources, many people associate time and mobility with leverage. I , however do not. Time and mobility, to me are currency, therefor they fall into the third of our leveragabilities…..

________________________________________________________________________________

POTENTIAL CURRENCY LEVERAGABILITY (PCL)- Ones aptitude in using the assets that we create in life in order to help accomplish goals or certain tasks. When speaking in terms of assets, I speak of mainly the 3 main currencies of lifestyle design….TIME, MOBILITY, and MONEY. When speaking in terms of money, we also include vehicles that create this such as business or investments.

The peculiar thing about this form of leverage is that the very objects that we are using to create leverage are actually the same objects that we create leverage FOR.

An example of leveraging your time would be holding a telisimenar and speaking with 10, 20, or 60 individuals all at the same time rather than speaking with them each on an individual basis.

An example of leveraging your mobility would be traveling not for travels sake, but rather traveling to help support a non-profit organization that builds houses for survivors of natural disasters in Vietnam. Thus your travel expenses can be written off tax exempt saving you on your money.

An example of leveraging your money would be as simple as the concept of investing. The magic of having money work for you rather than you working for money has been tried by the test of the ages, and still holds up.

_______________________________________________________________________

Im not exactly sure from were within my gut these past two posts have come from.  Call it me just simply realizing how fragile our perception of money and “currency” as we see it can be.  Anyways, I digress.  Any thoughts?

Playing with a Different Set of Payments

 

Your networth is when you have every penny taken away from you and you look around to see what you truly have left.

OK, I’m going to challenge you here on this specific post.  I want ,and rather need, for all of you readers to put your “re-thinking” caps on for the next 15-20 minutes as we go over a topic that has become rather hard hit in the United States over the past 18 months or so……money….or rather yet….“currency” in general.

 As humans….. and for us guys, especially as men…..we as individuals are very “money” driven.  I cannot say that it has become this way over the duration of the past couple of decades, because ultimately that is clearly not supported by cold hard facts.  Currency, or money as we view it today, dates back to ancient Egypt and early Mesopotamia; eventually spreading to Minoan Crete and into the rest of the world.  So as a whole, the exchange of currency has been around since the early stages of mankind.

However, bucking the trend of the bartering system to a degree it is evident that the majority of individuals in the world put our primary focus on money as the end all and beat all of currency within our lives and cultures.

Is this the wrong thing to do?

No, i did not necessarily say that.

Is it the unwise and imbalanced road to take?

Yeah, it more than likely is.  Specifically if one looks at the fact that the face value of the dollar continues to decline, as well as the cold hard truth that no financial currency EVER IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND has endured the test of time. History tells us that no empire/nation built on financial means of currency has lasted.  Gold and silver last.  Money does not.

 

WHAT I AM REALLY TRYING TO GET AT

I am far from trying to preach a doom and gloom future with this post.  Far from it.  Infact when it actually comes to doomsday/end of times talk I remain rather stoic.  Continue to live for now and plan for the future.  Worrying gets you nowhere in life.

What I am trying to explain is that we as individuals may indeed be putting a little too much emphasis on our “financial” currency , and neglecting the building of the rest of the currencies we have operatable in our lives.  Infact the majority of individuals do not realize that there are multiple types of “currencies”.  That is just how fixed we as humans are on the financial aspect of this spectrum.  We totally negate the rest.  And I believe it is sucking us dry.

 

 

By now , if the idea of working with multiple currencies seems…..and excuse the tongue in cheek word I am about to use…ehemm, “foreign”…then one probably could ask their self what I am even speaking of.  It has nothing to do with different types of monetary units….such as franks, euros, dollars, etc….but rather the different types of currencies that we as humans can find within our lives.

And like money, they can build over time.  They can be invested.  They can be lost.  They can also be neglected.

They can be used for leverage in our lives.  And they can play an important part in building whom we are.

Note, that each of these currencies also have the ability to get you access to people, places, and resources that money always may not be able to adequately do.

The types of different currencies:

1. Income

2. Mobility

3. Time 

4. Influence

5. Reputation

6. Relationships

 

INCOME - The most common of the currencies and the one by which the majority of us operate within and are more comfortable operating with due to growing accustomed to it.  Cashflow is the name of the game with this currency.  It is chased after because of the financial leverage by which we put on it.

MOBILITY - This particular currency operates in that the individuals who apply it are able to travel/become mobile more readily than those who are not rich in it.  Common individuals who practice this particular currency include freelancers, internet entrepreneurs, writers, networkers, and other internet-functional persons.  Individuals whom have made this currency popular or increased the awareness of it include Tim Ferriss as well as Rob Murgatroyd   .

TIME - A realization I came to earlier this year is that an individual can always get his money back; he can never get time back that is lost.  Millionares have lost their fortunes countless times over only to regain it.  Time, however, is not as forgiving.  Possibly one of the most valuable currencies, individuals who take advantage of the time allotted them usually find themselves rewarded in all circumstances.  It is fragile and always in operation.  What one does with his time usually leverages the course in which he directs himself and his future, which testifies to the power that time holds.

INFLUENCE -  According to Oxford, influence has a number of related definitions: 1. The power or ability to affect someone’s beliefs or actions. 2. A person or thing with such ability or power. 3 The power arising out of status, contacts, or wealth. 4 The power to produce a physical change

The man who can influence individuals, particularly on a mass scale, is far more rich/powerful than the man who knows nothing of influence yet has millions in his bank account.  This ofcourse is just personal opinion, but I think a large amount of truth lies in within it. 

Plato said that “the wisest have the most authority” . 

And Gough Whitlam once said “i have more influence now than when I had power.”

A man’s influence can precede him an open doors that otherwise could not be opened by other means.  Influence builds over time, like all currency.  It should be guarded however, in that it can be lost much quicker by life decisions.

REPUTATION - Being it that a man’s reputation is the way that he is viewed by individuals, and those individuals possibly making decisions that could effect that man for the betterment of his life, reputation holds as a viable currency in his life.  It is known to be a highly efficient mechanism of social control in natural societies.

“A good reputation is more valuable than money.”  - Publilius Syrus

“The most important thing for a young man to do is to establish credit - a reputation and credit” - John D. Rockefeller

Reputation, as a currency in our lives, goes hand in hand with influence in that many times our own reputations play the vital integer or component in the influence we have in others.  And like, influence, reputation is built mainly over a period of time, yet can be lost within a fleeing moment.  Of all the currencies that play a part in our life, reputation is by far the most fragile.  

RELATIONSHIPS - Everyone has heard the statement “Its not what you know; its who you know“.  Speaking literally from a currency point of view on relationships, this could not be any more true.  A man may not have a great number of financial assets or a large bank account; but if he has built a relationship with others whom have a broader spectrum of authority, influence, and other of life’s currencies, then he has a key to many worlds over. What this man may not be able to acquire by his own means clearly can come to his disposal through that of trusted friends/acquaintances.

I am not saying that an individual should purely seek out his personal relationships or friendships purely by what he can get out of it.  Not by any means.  This is wrong in and of itself, and ultimately will only lead to one finding that he will not be friended by most who can see through him.

If reputation is the most fragile of the currencies, then my vote would go to relationships as being the most vital and important within our lives.

When friendships are real, they are not glass-threads, or frost-work, they are the solidest things we know. A friend is the first person to come in when the rest of the world has gone out.

 

Each individual has his/her own life portfolio that is made up of the different currencies.  Some are a bit more diversified than others.  One individual may not be rich in income, but may have a diversified collection of relationships, time , and a hearty reputation at his disposal. 

Some may not be as diversified and may only have their eggs in one or two baskets of currency, such as income and influence.

Again, each individual has a different portfolio.  No one holds the same one.

If we all take stock in what life currencies we currently are rich in, we hopefully are pleased.  If we dont find satisfaction in the current ones that we have, it may be due time for some self searching to see how we can diversify our life portfolios a tad more.

Remember, the currency of income fluctuates.  Because of this, and because of present day economy, we may seek it wise to find further avenues of currency in our life each and every day.

We all can become rich in one way or another.  The currencies we choose to ultimatly be rich in , however, becomes ours and ours alone to choose.

———————————————————-

Do you agree with this post?  Did it wring a bell at all and did you find truth in it?  Was there something I missed out on that maybe I should have touched upon? Let me know .  Have your say.  Feel free to comment at the end of this post….

While you are at it, take a second or two to subscribe to my feed.  Provide yourself the easiest and most effective method of weekly up dates and posts from the site.

When a Rock Band Names a Song After You

According to Wikipedia, there are currently over 6,000,000 songs down-loadable on iTunes at the moment.  I am not sure if the same bodes for Amazon.com as well, but I would think that it may be somewhere close.  Among these two platforms, listeners have an almost endless library of musical listening pleasure at their disposal.  Seriously, it would take an entire lifetime to listen to the amount of music that is offered, and considering the rate at which new music is uploaded, it is near impossible.

However, after it was brought to my attention by an old friend, I believe that I have picked the song that will go down in my life as my “All Time Favorite”.  Not because it is the most catchiest or lyrically powerful tune I have ever heard, although I do actually like the genre it is in…………but rather because the song is my theme song.

No seriously.

It was named after yours truly.

Dont believe me?

Go check out “The Bunk Price is Right” by Hand of Hope Records recording artist ALL IN  .  It is also available on iTunes. 

Thats right, these boys from Birmingham AL have given me the opportunity to officially enter into any building, conversation amongst individuals, or any moment or aspect of my life like I was the Ultimate Warrior running to the ring as my theme song blasts.  I can now officially blare my song whenever I am about enter anywhere at anytime. 

Well , maybe I wont go that far.  But I still think its pretty darn cool.

Now I know what you are saying…..Bunk this post  has nothing to do with Manhood, Being manly, Your kids, Aspects of business, or anything else that you usually write about.

Well folks I mentioned the Ultimate Warrior, which is probably about the manliest thing I have ever seen in my life.  And that theme song I was talking about……well it seems pretty testosterone enriched if you ask me, and its a steal at .99 cents.