Light Bulb Over My Head

Self Improvement / Intellectual

The older I become, the more I think about the power of ideas and where they come from.   Ideas, as everyone knows, have consequences.  Ideas are probably the most powerful things in all the world.  Just look at the power of the idea of freedom in the Middle East that is taking place right now. 

A couple of weeks ago I was watching one of my favorite shows, No Reservations: Anthony Bourdain.  In this episode he was traveling through Cambodia.  Mr. Bourdain, being a chef,  usually talks to locals about their food, how it is prepared, and what ingredients they use.  He will also discuss with them their culture, traditions, and beliefs.  However, during this episode he delved deep into their history.  It was during this segment that I started contemplating the power of ideas. 

In the early to mid 70's Cambodia was ruled by the the Khmer Rouge.  The Khmer Rouge was the ruling party who's beliefs go back to Marx and Communism.  Here is a short history of the Khmer Rouge:

Khmer Rouge (kəmĕr' Roze), name given to native Cambodian Communists. Khmer Rouge soldiers, aided by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, began a large-scale insurgency against government forces in 1970, quickly gaining control over more than two thirds of the country. The strength of the Khmer Rouge rose dramatically from around 3,000 in 1970 to more than 30,000 in 1973, enabling most of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops to withdraw.

In 1975 the movement, led by Pol Pot, overthrew the Cambodian government, establishing "Democratic Kampuchea." The new government carried out a radical program of evacuating cities, closing schools and factories, and herding the population into collective farms. Intellectuals and skilled workers were assassinated, and a total of perhaps as many as 1.5 million died, inclusive of starvation and forced marches. In 1979, after increasing tensions with Vietnam, Vietnamese troops invaded, aiding a rival Communist faction to depose the Khmer Rouge government. The Khmer Rouge, however, continued to field an army of c.30,000 near the Thai border and retained UN recognition as the official Cambodian government.  (source http://www.answers.com/)

What would influence people to kill millions of their countrymen?  What could possibly make them want to radically change the way they lived which is counter to human nature? You guessed it.  It was a terrible, evil, and vile idea that had it's roots back to the 1800's.

Ideas can be the catalyst for national and personal change. We have seen this throughout history.  All it takes is a spark.  Here is what I propose:

 National idea+Balanced budget and paying off the National Debt
In the early 60's President Kennedy issued a proclamation about putting a man on the moon by end of the decade.  What if our country could be inspired to balance the Federal budget and to payoff the National Debt? Yes I know, we are looking at $14 trillion.  In order to do this it would take someone to put forth a clear vision and idea to make it happen. What would make it difficult would be that this leader would be out of office before it would happen.  I think it could happen.  JFK was gone nearly six years after the landing. 

Personal ideas
As I explained in an earlier blog, my family became debt free recently.  That idea came from a book The Millionaire Next Door  and was strengthened by listening to the Dave Ramsey Show. Before reading this book my worldview of personal finance was quite different.  I had a car payment, credit cards, and thought nothing of my net worth.  What's even worse, I focused on my credit score more than my 401k.  Once again, an idea changed the way I saw things. 

My change in thinking in regards to personal finance has me considering the way I think about other areas of my life.  I remember about six years ago my career path took a sudden and wonderful change for the better.  This took place because someone presented me with an idea that I had never considered.  If we can get past the limits that we set upon ourselves, how different things could be. 


A couple of years ago I read a book that has become one of my favorites, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  This is a very interesting book that has absolutely nothing to do with getting rich quick.  Mr. Hill said "the most powerful instrument we have in our hand is the power of our mind."  Therefore, be careful what you think, it just might come true.

All about Perspective

Career

I was at my weekly meeting with myself this Friday.  After I wrapped up and put things away, the man sitting behind my struck up a conversation.  He asked me, "You have to read a lot for your job?"  I told him that I do.  He asked me what I do and I told him that I work at a bank.  He took a look at me and said it would be great to be able to wear a cool black suit like mine and to work in an office everyday.  I told him that most days it's really great, but there are some that are very stressful.  I explained that sometimes it's difficult to leave my worries at the office.  I then proceeded to tell him about a client that was mad at me last week and how I carried it through the whole weekend; replaying the scene over and over in my mind.

I asked him what he does and he said, "I work in  a body shop."  I told him that must be good job.  Kind of sullen he said, "My body is broken down and my joints hurt all the time. Boy, I wished that I would have went to college." He mentioned college twice now.  To that I told him he could go back even at the age of 54 or maybe even start his own body shop.  He explained that the owner of his shop works until ten every night and that wasn't something that he would like to do.  We parted ways with a quick, "God bless."

While walking back to my car I couldn't get over the fact that someone envied me.  I was just astonished by his comments.  This reminded me of a talk that I attended a couple of years ago.  In this talk a successful business owner told us about the time when he pulled up to a road crew working at a construction site.  One worker on the crew was holding a stop sign that he would turn when it was time for you to go and then turn it again when it was time to stop. 

The speaker looked at this man and envied him for a moment.  He said to himself, "How great that would be.  This is the only thing that man with the sign has to worry about.  I bet he doesn't go home thinking about that sign or lays in bed thinking about it. I can't leave my work behind when I leave my office. Whether I go on vacation or when I lay down at night, there it is, invading my thoughts all the time." 

I guess every vocation has its own blessings and curses.

It's 1992 All Over Again.... Almost

Personal Finance

It was 1989 and my paid off 1979 Monte Carlo, that I tried to fix myself, was just totaled in fire.  To complicate this,  I didn't have insurance.  There I was without a car, what was I to do?  After much thought I decided to take out a $5000 car loan for a 1986 Mustang.   With this brilliant idea here I was strapped to a $183/month car payment, a $180  insurance monthly payment, and no money to pay the sales tax. What made matters worse was I was trying to do this on an income of $4/hour.  This would be my first dealings with credit.

Because of this way of thinking I had to work side jobs in order to make money to pay the sales tax.  Additionally,  I only had thirty days to do this after purchasing the car.  Needless to say, I missed the deadline and was pulled over by the police many times and was given countless tickets for expired temporary tags. It was a terrible circle.  Here I am working a $4/hour job from 12-8pm and then working at a potato chip plant, newspaper company and many other jobs until 4am.  It was a viscous circle.  As soon as I get close to having enough money to pay the sales tax, the police pull me over and write me a ticket, and it starts all over again.  Yep, debt was my "friend." 

Fast forward now to March 1992. I walk into my bank to payoff the car loan.  I pull out my checkbook and write a check for the final payment which is three months earlier than the anticipated payoff date.  I couldn't believe how good it felt to get rid of that burden.  After nearly three years of scraping by, I was finally able to payoff my debt. 

I can still remember those days like they were yesterday; alright last week.  This was my first experience with debt.  You would think that I would have learned my lesson, however, I didn't.  In 1993 I needed a new car.  After listening to everyone else and accepting how the world sees debt, I purchased a brand new Mustang.  Since then, I have made countless bad choices with debt.  I guess I didn't see anything wrong with what I was doing. Heck, this is how we get "ahead" in America or so I thought.

This morning at 8:47 I pushed a button - instead of walking into a bank to write a check - and sent an electronic payment to payoff my student loan; five years early.  The long awaited day has finally arrived.  WE ARE DEBT FREE, except the mortgage on the house.  What an incredible journey. Four years plus of paying down debt only to have unexpected expenses jump out at us. I really don't have an exact number of what we paid off, but I'm guessing it was in the $40,000+ range. 

The world looks much different now.  Our emergency fund - our next financial goal - will be funded in the next couple of months and we will start saving for a new home, car, and retirement.  Free at last!

Misery Loves Company. Ya Sure?

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/03/09/dont-envy-the-super-rich-they-are-miserable/


A few weeks ago in my blog entry, "Managing the Store", I  wrote about the advantages of building wealth.  While I extolled the benefits of building wealth, I said little in regards to its' pitfalls.

In the attached link, a blog by Wall Street Journal journalist Robert Frank, Mr. Frank explores what life is like for those who amass a fortune of $25 million+.  As you can see from the article, money of this magnitude brings with it many problems that those in the middle class or below could not possibly understand.  Just because someone has money, it doesn't mean that they are devoid of problems, fears, and anxieties.

"To whom much is given, much is asked."

The Daily Grind

Health

This year I really wanted to place an emphasis on my health. This is not because my health is all that bad.  Actually, I am quite healthy according to my doctor and my blood tests.  I just want to make sure that I am taking care of myself for the rest of my life. By making it a daily - well almost daily - habit, it will just be something I do. 

I started this goal two years when my wife suggested that we buy a tread mill.  When we purchased it, we bought  a weight bench as well.  As it turns out, I started using them in the morning before I went to work.  I have really come to enjoy my workouts and my health has definitely improved.  I have more energy, my cholesterol is in check, and I have lost most of my gut. 

However, it has been difficult here in the winter to get up and workout. My workouts are not killer sessions, but my motivation has been lacking. It has been my goal, this year, to work out four times a week.  I have averaged about twice a week.  I have noticed that it has been easier to get now that the sun is coming up earlier. Hopefully, with the sun being my motivating factor, I can increase my number to at least three times a week.

An Inheritence

Family/Spouse

I was adopted in the early 70's.  In 1973 I was almost four when my adoptive mother passed away after a long battle with cancer.  I remember just a few things about her outside of  what I have been told.  For instance,  I remember laying in bed with her and my dad when I got scared.  I remember  her giving me a bath and swirling the hot water around when the bath water got cold.  There was one time I remember eating at certain restaurant called the Tick Tock.  I even remember the cigarettes that she smoked.

In the years following her death, many of our relatives told me about her.  They told me on many occasions how much she loved me and how hard she fought against the cancer. Even to this day they tell me how proud she would be of me.   I am thankful for their insight and wouldn't trade it for anything - they keep her alive in some ways.  However, I always wanted to hear about her in her own voice even if it was in writing.  Basically, I don't know much about her.

Recently, my mom's sister sent to me a DVD video made from some old home movies.  My mom was in a few scenes and it was great seeing her.  After watching this I started thinking about my own situation and what it would be like for my child if I was to pass away before she could really form in lasting memories. 

While visiting with a client, he told me about a question and answer book for grandfathers.  This book was designed to jog the memory and  had a format to document your responses.  This book would in essence, become a legacy or inheritance for the writer's children and grandchildren.  He went on to tell me that at first he didn't want to do it.  However, after a few questions he couldn't put it down.  I thought, "There has to be something like this for fathers."

After some research on Amazon I found that book. I'm going to a book store in the next couple of days to pick it up.  In case you are interested, here is the title and author; A Father's Legacy: Your Story in Your Own Words by Thomas Nelson.   I have a feeling that this will be an interesting project and will accomplish what I hope. 

I have learned that passing on values, traditions, the faith, and wisdom as an inheritance are just as important as leaving money.