Christmas Post

For those of you busy with Christmas shopping: a quick word of caution:, try not to go over board spending money and charging credit cards on gifts that will not impact someone's life, past January.

Enrolling a friend in a business course is just as good as a waffle maker. A book teaching people to better their lives via financial wisdom, physical health or mental stability is better than a pair of $200 boots. Other creative gifts, like a savings bond or a gift card for gasoline will go much further than most things you can get from the mall.

And never forget that Christmas is not a time for guilt trip shopping, but it has a deeper meaning to Christians and regular celebrators alike. Giving is a gift in itself and should not be done as a chore or on one day in December, because one did not do anything the other 364 days of the year.

Wake Up Call

Pop Quiz:

1. What product has the strongest demand in Beijing China, this year?
2. In Sweden, how many mega-pixels do average camera phones come with?
3. True or False: In rural Africa, there are more cell phone users than land line users?

The answers: If you dont know the answer or at least an educated guess to these questions, you are sleeping at the wheel.

I just want to encourage anyone with a goal of being successful beyond a professional career. (Let me clarify what I mean. A professional career such as a CPA, a film editor, web designer/programmer, a low level attorney, a customer service supervisor or an entry level analyst,) Please understand "I aint hatin the playa, just the game". I dont have issues with people that go to school, do well and achieve a good living. But I am honest enough to tell truth as I understand it. I am the type of person to tell my friends when their breath stinks or when they have had too much to drink. Its easy to look the other way, but when the fit hits the shan, it will stink.

I just want to sound the alarm to those of you smart enough to read the signs that the world is shrinking. Its getting flat. I am glad that you have a new 2006 luxury car. I am happy that you own a piece of rental property. I am even excited about the fact that your online business is making a good profit. Your success in Real Estate development should be commended. However did you know that half way around the world exist an army of people, that speak English, whose education level is as good or most times better than yours, just itching to take the job you earn $64K a year for $11K with no benefits?

And they are so hungry. Waiting to take your job. Stay on your toes. Look for opportunities where you can automate your processs and still make money. Look to highly specialize what you do. Can your system be easily duplicated? Think of ways to differentiate and you will last beyond the boom years of the 2000's.

Irregular Inspiration

In life different people are inspired by different people. For some, religious leaders or symbols like Ghandi or the Cross provide inspiration. For others inspiration comes from an ill or deceased loved one, like the "cancer kid" who asked the ballplayer to win a game in his honor. In this post I wish to tell you exactly who i get inspiration from.

Do you know who inspires me?

i am constantly inspired by people that make money in spite of their intellectual resources. In other words people that can accumulate wealth, not because they have the best grades in school, create the best investment systems or even come into money due to their relative's hard work, but because they have an innate knack for making money. Here are a few examples of people in my life who fit this exact structure.

• I meet a restaurant owner, who does not even cook, keeps loose financial records, and does very little advertising, but the place is always packed and the food is good. who says you need to know a business in order to get in that business.
• I know a gentleman that owns a mattress production company. Easily does 7 figures of work per year and does not even own a computer. no college, basic math skills and is bilingual. the guy has a nose for money and is a good people person.
• I have a friend that works a job making $11 an hour, yet through side gigs and relative frugality, this person has managed to save $10K in 2 years, while living away from parents and no credit card debt.
  

In other words, if you are reading this blog I promise you that you know someone in your circle who claims that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki or an entertainer like Jay Z or Jessica Simpson inspires them into success. But i think that is a narrow view for business inspiration. For every billionaire there is a person that has squandered a great fortune, thus anomaly heros should be taken out of the equation. But the little guy that makes money all day everyday, found in every neighborhood, that came from nothing and uses bare essentials to get on top, i believe is a greater source of inspiration when one begins to search for examples to model themselves after.