Friday, February 22, 2013

Money. Is it essential?

Money -

At age 18 students were asked how important having money and wealth were to them. I'll get to what happened in the study in a second.

Having been poor, lower class from age 4 - 14 and a grand total of two years in the lower middle class at 18, I would have answered, "Essential..."

In fact the more important having money/wealth was to students 20 years ago, the higher their income was when measured.

Each point higher on a scale that was checked represented dramatic increases in the future.

What about for married but not working women at the 20 year mark?

Same result.

They married those who would go on to achieve higher incomes.

Being "unemployed" is almost 100% state of mind. Building wealth is the same. In fact there is no difference between the entrepreneur or salesperson who wakes up on to a "straight commission" sales position and the unemployed. Want to help someone who feels they are "down on their luck?"

Ask them why it is essential that their luck changes NOW.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Who really wants to be a millionaire?

Who really wants to be a millionaire?

A few thoughts on current culture and trends show not as many as there use to be...

Disability - reflects culture of entitlement vs. culture of wealth building

Referencing disabled workers, 16 - 65, not the elderly on social security. SS is a big topic but in one sentence, everyone who is 70 years old today was 40, 30 years ago. 98% of those people could do math and could calculate what they would need to retire.

My step dad gets $990 per month on SS. He saved about half of his income (which was pretty damn tiny) by working two jobs. That second income pays his bills. He knew that SS wouldn't amount to anything...and it didn't.

There's not many good excuses to rely on someone outside of your house for your food and water.

In 1967, 1 person received disability contrasted to 65 people working full time. In 1992 1 person received disability contrasted to 35 people working. In 2009, 19 people worked for each one that received disability. In 2012, 16 people worked contrasted to each one receiving disability.

Learned helplessness is a powerful cultural phenomena that doesn't change easily. Simply keep it out of your residence. Most people's disability experiences are challenges to which make stronger individuals and stronger nations.

As a nation the U.S. is getting better at being helpless and helplessness is being rewarded. It's very true that the weakest are often despised, and it hurts, but then the weakest, often turn out to be the most formidable...given the right cultural environment...

When the government "helps" someone who is 60, or "disabled" they CRUSH someone who is 30 and would have been able to employ one or two more people.

My daughter is almost profoundly deaf. She has a disability but she is FAR from being disabled. Having a disability SUCKS.

I've met some completely disabled people. They are there. No kidding. Perhaps 1/500 or 1/1000 is simply not capable of real work.

Interesting: One government "program" that was actually good did exist...for a while in the late 80's if a company highered a truly disabled person they could get most of the salary they paid the disabled person reimbursed. This was a WONDERFUL thing that I didn't mind paying taxes for. You started to see kids with Downs Syndrome working at McDonalds. Absolutely awesome. It taught EVERYONE ELSE that THEY themselves were QUITE CAPABLE.

Can you have too many goals?

"Too many goals?"

The influence of goals on human behavior is more complicated than you would dream listening to your second favorite personal development guru.

You will certainly find that too many goals creates no results. That's going to happen.

What your guru doesn't know is that those goals that are set on the backburner so you can "focus" on the most important goal, then become "stronger" and typically inhibit (slow down/stop) significant action from being taken on the "A Goal."

Thus the baloney line, "A little bit each day gets you there," comes into play. Except for one thing. It rarely works that way in real life.

One solution to the problem is to have a unifying desired outcome that allows you to meet several "goals" with one sequence of actions.

"I want to earn more money, be more attractive to others, and write a book," are 3 goals. If you work on goal #3 it gets you the other two as well when you acquire.

If you work on goal #1 it gets you neither of the other two.

Monday, February 18, 2013