Author, Entrepreneur, Speaker
If you’re a family of 4 in America earning $22,350, you’re eligible for the following free* goodies:
Poverty in America means a family of 4 is living on gross income of $54,301, getting more in government taxpayer money then they earn. No wonder we’re broke.
*Free to the recipient, extremely expensive to everyone who pays taxes.
Why aren’t you rich? Probably because you fall into one or all of these categories:
You don’t have an education
To succeed in America, you must have a high school diploma and either a college degree or trade skills. You don’t have to spend have a lot of money on your education, you just have to know enough to get a job. Spending too much on your degree defeats the purpose of your schooling. Go to school to get a job.
You don’t have a job
Get a job. Any job. Worry about the salary later.
Work hard. Learn stuff. Solve problems. You’ll soon be rewarded with opportunities to earn more money.
You’re single
A few caveats: 1) Don’t go into debt getting married; 2) You and your spouse must each have an income; 3) Don’t marry someone with debt. Single with no debt is better than married with debt and a spouse who doesn’t work.
You have kids (and aren’t married)
Single-parent households are more likely than 2-parent households to live in poverty. Same goes for the children when they reach adulthood. Ladies, here’s the easiest way to create wealth: keep your legs together until you’re married to someone with a job, have a job yourself, and are debt-free.
You have an addiction
Alcohol, drugs (legal or otherwise), gambling, smoking or shopping. I’m sure I missed one or two. Rule of thumb: If it costs money, makes you unemployable, damages your health or otherwise interferes in your ability to control the first 4 items on this list, stop doing it.
You love to play the victim
You can never catch a break. You blame others for your problems. You expect society to take care of you and yours. Until you change your mindset, you’ll never be successful, wealthy or happy.
Adam Carolla profanely and succinctly cuts to the chase:
Pull out, get a fucking job and stop counting on the government. We’re Americans. We don’t hope for shit, we do shit.
Walter Williams sums it up a little more genteelly:
Avoiding long-term poverty is not rocket science. First, graduate from high school. Second, get married before you have children, and stay married. Third, work at any kind of job, even one that starts out paying the minimum wage. And, finally, avoid engaging in criminal behavior.
Now you know the secret to getting rich. It’s time to take control and build your perfect life.
Meditation is a way to get in touch with your soul, your inner voice, the part of you that is most closely connected to GOD. Being still and listening to your inner voice is how you stay connected to the spiritual and ensure that you’re on the right path.
To begin, find a quiet and comfortable place where you can sit and relax; one free from distractions. Turn off the phone, TV, radio. Close your eyes and breathe deeply, but naturally. Imagine yourself in the most peaceful and soothing place you’ve ever been. If you can’t think of a real location, make one up.
It may be the top of a mountain at sunrise or your garden in the springtime. As you form this picture of the perfect place, use all five senses to experience it. What does it look, smell and feel like? What can you hear and taste?
Here’s an example using my favorite place: a beach on Maui at sunset.
I’m sitting on the beach looking out over the ocean. The sky is light blue with white clouds that look like cotton batting. The setting sun is a bright orange ball sitting on the top of the ocean. It looks as if it’s sinking. I hear the waves crashing against the sand, the distant voices of the surfers making one more run before it’s too dark. As I inhale, deeply, I smell the salt of the waves and the sweetness of the tropical flowers that flourish throughout the island. The air tastes hot & moist. I dig my feet into the gritty sand, tunneling through the warmth of the surface to the cooler layers beneath.
Once you’ve created your private place, it’s time to think about the question. Ask yourself, aloud or silently, What is my purpose? What are my talents? How may I be of service?
After each question, pause and listen. Whatever comes back to you, just take it in. Feel it, hear it, but don’t judge it.
Be silent and listen to what your inner voice is telling you.
It’s okay if you don’t understand the answers.
When you have finished your meditation, write down or use a tape recorder to note what you’ve learned. Write or say exactly what you heard during your meditation. It’s okay if it doesn’t make sense.
Try to do this every day for 3 days, going through the process, writing down your thoughts and feelings. You may find that during this time, you’re also remembering dreams. If you are, write those down too. It also helps to write down a little bit of background on what’s happening in your real life right now.
After 3 days, go back and read through your writings. You’ll start to make connections among your notes, the dreams, and things happening in your life. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your true passion will be revealed. Once you know the truth, it’s up to you to take action.
Who are you?
What’s your purpose in life?
People spend thousands of dollars for self-help seminars, therapy, and books to help them answer those questions. They join religious groups, social groups, and professional organizations, searching for the answers.
Finding your purpose is the first step to living a successful, satisfied, spiritual life. If you believe in a higher power, it stands to reason that you’d believe your life has a higher purpose.
Ask yourself: “In what capacity can I contribute?”
Every one of us is unique and precious. What is your gift? And are you using your talent to improve your life and the lives of others?
The Gospel according to Matthew (25:14-30) recounts the following parable:
Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.
Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.” His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”The man with the two talents also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more”. His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Then the man who had received the one talent came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”
“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This is a story about our ability to make a difference, using our GOD-given talent and facing fear. All of that in one powerful parable.
The story begins with the employer calling the three men to action. He asks them to serve him, and gives them “talents.” (Note: The modern meaning of the word “talent” stems from its original meaning, a unit of currency. It’s not a coincidence that people equated money with aptitude and ability.) Their talents differ, just like in real life. Each of us is as unique as our individual set of talents.The employer gives no direction on what to do with the talents. Each man is free to choose how to best use them.
Two of the men thought carefully, and decided to use their gift to create abundance. The third gives in to fear. He’s afraid of misusing his talent.
When the employer returns and demands an accounting of the priceless gifts he gave each man, the message is clear: abundance breeds abundance. Treasure your gifts and you’ll get more. Hide your talent and you’ll lose it.
GOD has given each of us a special, unique talent, along with the free will to invest it as we see fit. He expects us to use our talent to our full ability.
What is your gift?
For some, it’s obvious. If you’re drawn to medicine, law, etc., you’re often where you’re meant to be. That’s why a noteworthy occupation is often referred to as a “calling”. If you’re unsure of your gift or if want to verify that you’re on the right track, here’s an exercise to help you find your gift and determine your purpose:
Think about what makes you happy.
We spend a lot of time doing what we should do; working at the job we should have, marrying the appropriate person, living in the right neighborhood. Are you letting other people live your life? Do you let society, your family, or your peers determine your choices? If the answer is “yes”, now is the time to stop and find out what’s right for you. No one else can give you this answer. It lies within you. You just have to listen.
Life is not supposed to be hard. We make it hard. GOD wants you to be happy, healthy, & successful. If you believe this – and why wouldn’t you? – you have to examine your life and ask: Are you living the life GOD created just for you?
What is your destiny? If that sounds like a big question, it is. It’s your only life. Don’t you want the best one possible?
Look what happened in my backyard Wednesday night.
I really hate the cold…and the wind…and winter. It snowed down the street and we’re supposed to have our first freeze of the season tonight. Did I mention that I live in the desert?
Enough whining. Here’s what I’m reading this week:
DQYDJ.net writes smart, well-researched articles like this one about generational wealth:
Volatility at the top is the name of the game. Every generation produces new wealth and new means to catapult people into the top 1%.
In the Treasury’s study, only 42.4% of the lowest quintile of incomes they tracked in 1996 remained in the lowest quintile in 2005.
Nelson at Financial Uproar wrote this spot-on post about weddings:
(A) wedding is a giant waste of money. At their best, weddings are a largely meaningless ceremony which creates a false expectation of marriage being a magical union of heavenly bliss for a lifetime. At their worst you get bridezillas and people who get pissed off because their presents aren’t good enough.
Weakanomics.com dispels the myths about income equality in this fascinating article:
Since 1967 the total number of households in the US has grown 95%, while the population has only grown 56%. How can that happen? When a household splits in half, you get two households. Say mom and dad get divorced and each make $30k a year. You go from having one household that makes $60k to two that make $30k. How does this get reflected in the data? It skews the low income numbers down. In the lowest quintile household, on average there are zero income earners. In the top, of course there are two. If more households had two income earners, you’d see less of the widening gap. A single income household is economically less efficient. The rise of divorce and single parent households has contributed to the perceived increase in income inequality for sure, but this isn’t the only thing out there.
GetRichSlowly.com reviews the traits, behaviors and beliefs that differentiate the rich from everyone else. The idea that you’re more likely to be rich if you take responsibility for your life and make smart choices doesn’t go over well with most people. You must read the comments.
GiveMeBackMyFiveBucks.com explores the disconnect between what 25-29-year-olds think they should earn by age 30 and what they will. Spoiler alert: The twenty-something respondents overestimated their earning potential by a factor of 3:
To the youth of today: you can truly do great things with your life and with your career – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But you have to want it more than your peers, and you have to want it more than those who already have it. Be hungry. Work hard, don’t take anything for granted, and create opportunities for yourself.
Paula at AffordAnything.com explores the entrepreneur mindset (or lack thereof) among journalists and their ilk. She met a journalism professor, and walked away shaking her head:
He’s insecure — that’s why he wants job security so badly. He doesn’t believe in himself. He wants other people — smarter, richer, and probably better-looking people — to create a job and bestow it upon him.
You disempower yourself when you believe that someone else must create your job.
Over at ControlYourCash.com, we continue our popular “Retard” series by exploring the Occupy Wall Street mindset. These folks won’t be mistaken for entrepreneurs or millionaires anytime soon:
We found a website where Occupy Wall Street protestors have chosen to write their laments. There are hundreds of them, but once you’ve read a few you can create the rest from a template. Which would read something like “I willingly took on tens of thousands of dollars in debt without calculating the estimated payoff. This is rich people’s fault, for some reason. And I probably have a child. Feel sorry for me.”
The live Nativity at the Tuacahn Amphitheater in Ivins, Utah. No pictures of the pageant since I had my hands full trying to keep the Travel Cat™ from visiting the fawning girls in the row ahead of us. Here’s a brief post from 2004 with a picture of the empty amphitheater.
It’s way better to receive right?
How to Make Money with Real Estate Blog Carnival: December 1, 2011 Edition
Top Personal Finance Posts of the Week: Awkward Christmas Card Edition
Have you bought my book yet? It makes a great Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa gift. If you’re in Las Vegas, you can even get it autographed on Wednesday.
Not ready to commit to a 300-page read? Pick-up my latest eBook through Amazon Kindle*:
Which brings me to…
The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America
Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World Of Geography Wonks
Ken Jennings
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
Sue Grafton
Curl up under a warm blanket and read one of these tonight.
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