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Time Management … and Fear

 

I live in fear of this schedule… and I fear for those who embrace it… and I even fear those who embrace it.

Neat from xkcd.com

Best PR Trip in 25, Villa Montana In Isabella With Friends

This is all where a few friends & I stayed. While we were too busy surfing days to take action pics, Tuesday 12/14/11 @ Wilderness may have been the day none of us will ever forget. For those who know Wilderness, about halfway between the parking lot and the ruins, 5-6 glass and all to the three of us for 4 hours!

Can’t Help It, Love This…

… reminds me of ?

Too Many Things @ Play You Cannot Control …

In life, there are too many things at play that you can’t control. So, why torture yourself and potentially the others you care for over what one may have that you don’t… or even can’t. All you can do is … do your best AND

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

–Coach John Wooden

Self Discipline

Although I’m not exercising it well enough at this time, I believe… self discipline is a much more likely means for [and predictor of] success than IQ ever will be. 

Note To Self: Start Planning & Measuring More!

Get It Out On The Table!

We don’t have an inexhaustible amount of time on this planet, so its’ important we maximize it’s value. Being happy and fulfilled must be a priority. Assuming everyone wants a fair outcome, relationships and / or business can only go forward in the most productive manner when there is no potential confusion.

Rather than leave anything to doubt with people for whom we care OR may be doing business with – “get it all out on the table!” And by the way, the other parties reaction qualifies everything!

When we DO NOT communicate our position or reasons for making certain decisions, we allow folks to draw their own conclusions and possibly dwell upon the wrong things. It’s a recipe for disaster! When folks don’t communicate their position, for whatever reason, we have to assume expectations are grey and potentially problematic.

Avoid this at all costs… or be willing to accept a disappointing outcome.

When $ Flows To Those Who Deal In Favors …

“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you… you may know that your society is doomed.”

… Ayn Rand

Most People Don’t Filter Their Ambitions = Unhappiness

I saw this by Leo Babauta ZenHabits.net and felt compelled to write thsi post,

“I’ve notice that in the past, like many people, I was always wishing I was doing something different, thinking about what I would do in the future, making plans for my life to come, reading (with jealousy) about cool things other people were doing. – It’s a fool’s game. Will you ever be happy with what you’re doing if you always compare it with something you like more?”

In life, you have to be motivated; however, in my view and based upon all my life’s experiences, a lot of people don’t know how to filter their ambitions … they don’t know how to just be happy. They spend hours thinking about how to get ahead to the degree they’re never happy or fulfilled. Worse, they’re unpleasant to be around.

I’m certainly not perfect and I’m sure some people would say I’ve a competitive edge, but I’m learning. I’m age 45, friends & acquaintances all over the globe and a life rich with experiences; I’m learning to enjoy what I have & what’s happening in the moment. It’s something I think about every day – a productive balance between ambition & happiness.

Do you? If not, you’re likely annoyed, aggravated or stressed [over things likely out of your control and maybe even unattainable]. And that’s not a, but THE!, recipe for unhappiness.

Life’s Great Pleasures…

Felt compelled to write that a summer morning jog along the beach in Seagirt NJ is one of the great pleasures in life.

Yogies, fisherman, white sand, sea life, ocean breeze, warm [not too hot] sun & exercise = one of life’s great pleasures.

What Separates Politician From Normal Human Being Is Enormous Gall

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando  Sentinel Newspaper. What you do with this article now that you have read it… is up to you. This might be funny if it weren’t so  true. Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years & is retiring. His last column is this one. Be sure to read the Tax List at the end and the remarks also.

545 vs. 300,000,000 People -By  Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton- picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless  of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.  No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can  only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and
approving appropriations and taxes. House and Senate members, not the President, can approve any budget they want.  If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal  government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.  If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in  Iraq and Afghanistan … If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they
hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they  alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…
We should vote all of  them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando  Sentinel Newspaper.

The poem below has been added to Charles Reese’s column:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service
Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local
Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring
Charges Tax
Telephone    State  and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? – Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened?  Can you spell ‘politicians?’I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!!

We Need To Focus On What’s Right & True: Resist Disinformation!

Agnotology - is “the study of culturally constructed ignorance.”

“When society doesn’t know something, it’s often because special interests work hard to create confusion. Anti-Obama groups likely spent millions insisting he’s a Muslim; church groups have shelled out even more pushing creationism. The oil and auto industries carefully seed doubt about the causes of global warming. And when the dust settles, society knows less than it did before. Ignorance also comes from people literally suppressing truth—or drowning it out—or trying to make it so confusing that people stop caring about what’s true and what’s not. We need to focus on the countervailing force: The disinformation revolution.” - Clive Thompson, Wired

IBG YBG

IBG YBG  or the “I Be Gone, You Be Gone”  business strategy … is rotten and solely removes value on every level. Look where this ‘Wall Street’ driven disease got the world.

Shame on these ‘holier than now’ college institutions for essentially selling entitlement to its’ students.

Shame on Wall Street for being entitled and for removing value, rather than ever adding it.

And shame on the media for failing to see it and to report it without bias; for making heroes of ‘bullshit artist thieves’.

Saw my share of it in the early internet days as an employee; see it plenty now with each new gimmick coming down the pike. Very few people want to serve clients these days. Sure some clients can be exhausting, but none of us are entitled to anything … other than to earn our pay! Earn it by adding value!

What adds value for clients who make money every day? Give something that actually supports them in the scope of their work environment .

I recently rejected something in business that struck me as more of the same – IBG YBG. Folks wanted to merge my business into theirs, all the while their view of the world was IBG YBG.

I’m into delivering value and sustaining long term business relationships… it’s what my firm does and will continue to do!

Paying Attention To The Little Things In Life: Dog’s Tail

Kil’ had to have his tail amputated today, a complication of his being hit by a car the week before last.

I know it’s going to make him more comfortable and that’s certainly a positive thing, but I don’t want to forget the signifigance of that tail.

His tail was like a giant pervasive smile AND very much a part of his shining personality. So sad today… for Kilmur and part of what what symbolized his love & happiness.

Truth

When truth is divided, errors multiply.  ~Eli Siegel, Damned Welcome