Financial Literacy

Patience - by Judy Williamson

I love this recent post from Judy Williamson, Executive Director of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

Dear Readers:

It's true.  Our lives seem to be the busiest ever, and our minds follow the pattern of our lives.  Just "being" becomes more and more difficult as each day begins with more to do and the chatter in our minds becomes non-stop.  How do we become still and learn to listen to the innate wisdom inside each of us?  How can we learn to turn down the constant noise, and tune in to that still small voice within that knows us intimately? 

When we are able to disengage ourselves from the constant mind chatter, we find that not only do we gain more time, but we can effectively channel into our personal genius and become creatively inspired.  That's good for us and good for our soul too.  When this occurs, time slows down, stress lessens, we are alert to our surroundings in the now, and do not project ourselves into the future, or time travel to the past, but stay constructively engaged in the present - the only real time there is. 

In the times when I am able to stay constructively in the present, I am more centered, less stressed.  I complete tasks effortlessly, and still have time remaining.  I enjoy the moment and feel part of the eternal now.  Days like this are calming, constructive, creative, and centering.  I feel as if I could engage in any task and have a successful outcome.  I will be the first to admit that these days are not typical, but I would like more of them.  As I seek the recipe for this type of day, I notice some commonalities in their overall structure.

First, I disengage myself from the outcome.  I do my best and then forget about it.  I do not fret, cajole, mourn, or grieve for what is or isn't.  I accept just "is."  Second, I move from task to task with a direct approach, but not a compulsion.  I greet it, complete it, and walk away from it allowing the universe to deal with its outcome instead of me.  Third, I attend to my inner and outer world.  What's physical aligns with spirit, and vice versa.  This creates equilibrium.  And, balance is good.  Fourth, I look for the humor in the situation, rather than look for something to critique.  Humor tickles our spirit, and criticism slaps it down.  Finally, I follow the flow, and do not attempt to change the course of the river. For me, days like this are memorable and speak to my spirit.  And it is on a day like this that I am open to miracles small and large.  Insights come and go, synchronicities happen, and positive results are tangible. 

I read a reflection this morning that took me on a reverie because I like ships, sailing, and anything to do with water.  Written by Terry Lynn Taylor and Mary Beth Crain it states:  "My life is floating in a sea of tranquility; my body is the boat, my mind the sail, and my soul the water."  If this doesn't calm you down and help you practice patience, I can't imagine what will!  As you sail away on life's oceans, may all your journeys be filled with positive destinations.

Be Your Very Best Always!
Judy Williamson

A great article on the two attitudes in the "debt debate"

I love this powerful article from the International Herald Tribune. 

America's culture of debt

By David Brooks 

Published: July 22, 2008

On the front page of Sunday's New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson described Diane McLeod's spiral into indebtedness, and now a debate has erupted over who is to blame.

Some people emphasize the predatory lenders who seduced her with too-good-to-be-true credit lines and incomprehensible mortgage offers.

Here was a single mother made vulnerable by health problems and divorce. Working two jobs and stressed, she found herself barraged by credit card companies offering easy access to money. Mortgage lenders offered her credit on the basis of the supposedly rising value of her house. These lenders had little interest in whether she could pay off her loans. They made most of their money via initial lending fees and then sold off the loans to third parties.

In short, these predatory companies swooped down on a vulnerable woman, took what they could and left her careening toward bankruptcy.

Other people emphasize McLeod's own responsibility. She is the one who took the credit card offers knowing that debt is a promise that has to be kept. After her divorce, she went on a shopping spree to make herself feel better. After surgery, she sat at home watching the home shopping channels, charging thousands more.

Free societies depend on individual choice and responsibility, those in this camp argue. People have to be held accountable for their indulgences or there is no justice. As McLeod herself admirably told Morgenson: "I regret not dealing with my emotions instead of just shopping."

If you go to the online comment section affixed to Morgenson's article, you see advocates of these two positions talking past one another, one side talking the morality of social protection and the other the morality of personal responsibility.

And yet if you look at McLeod's case, and the entire financial crisis that it stands for, there is a third position. This is the position held in overlapping ways by liberal communitarians and conservative Burkeans.

This third position begins with the notion that people are driven by the desire to earn the respect of their fellows. Individuals don't build their lives from scratch. They absorb the patterns and norms of the world around them.

Decision-making - whether it's taking out a loan or deciding whom to marry - isn't a coldly rational, self-conscious act. Instead, decision-making is a long chain of processes, most of which happen beneath the level of awareness. We absorb a way of perceiving the world from parents and neighbors. We mimic the behavior around us. Only at the end of the process is there self-conscious oversight.

According to this view, what happened to McLeod, and America 's financial system, is part of a larger social story. America once had a culture of thrift. But over the past decades, that unspoken code has been silently eroded.

Some of the toxins were economic. Rising house prices gave people the impression that they could take on more risk. Some were cultural.

We Americans entered a period of mass luxury, in which people down the income scale expect to own designer goods. Some were moral. Schools and other institutions used to talk the language of sin and temptation to alert people to the seductions that could ruin their lives. They no longer do.

Norms changed and people began making jokes to make illicit things seem normal. Instead of condemning hyper-consumerism, they made quips about "retail therapy," or repeated the line that Morgenson noted in her article: When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

McLeod and the lenders were not only shaped by deteriorating norms, they helped degrade them. Despite all the subterranean social influences, there still is that final stage of decision-making when individual choice matters. Each time an avid lender struck a deal with an avid borrower, it reinforced a new definition of acceptable behavior for neighbors, family and friends. In a community, behavior sets off ripples. Every decision is a public contribution or a destructive act.

And now the reckoning has come. The turn in the market punishes many of those seduced by financial temptations. (Sometimes capitalism undermines the Puritan virtues, but sometimes it reinforces them.)

Meanwhile, social institutions are trying to re-right the norms.

The government is sending some messages. The Treasury and the Fed are trying to stabilize the system while still ensuring that those who made mistakes feel the pain.

But the important shifts will be private, as people and communities learn and adopt different social standards. After the Great Depression, a savings mentality set in. After the dot-com bubble, a bit of sobriety hit Silicon Valley . Now it's the borrowers' and lenders' turn.

As the saying goes: People don't change when they see the light. They change when they feel the heat.

Stop spending money you don't have - revisited

Hello all,

You may all remember the post I made quite a time ago entitled: “I don’t have a debt problem” – The great American denial"

 

This weekend I found the original Saturday Night Live skit featuring Steve cannot stop buying stuff they cannot afford. As well as being extremely funny, it does have a great message. You can view it here

Enjoy!

Malcolm

Are you Sane, Neurotic or Psychotic?

Hello and a wonderful Sunday to all,

I heard something really interesting this week that really resonated with me. I has so much potential value I am compelled to share it with everyone.

Sane people focus their attention on the future and moving forward. This is where all great leaders spend the majority of their time. These people are characterized by high action and high mood. They have laser focused intention and have all their attention on accomplishment. They speak about opportunity and where they are heading in very powerful terms with great certainty.

Neurotic people focus all their attention on the present and are basically afraid to do anything lest they upset their current scene. Even the though of doing something different frightens them. They react to events and are subject to dramatic mood shifts if anything get outside their carefully arranged and maintained comfort zone. They speak about how to maintain the status-quo and to keep doing the same familiar things.

Psychotic people are completely focused on the past and force all their viewpoints to be from what has already happened. This is the place where most people who rely on the law to "get even" sit. Everything in their environment must be firmly rooted in some past memory or event. They are addicted to hoarding object and mementos. They speak in terms of yesterday: "Things are not what they were", "I remember the good old days". If anything new is thrust on them, they may demonstate some very inappropreate psychotic behavour.

One thing to note is the above traits are very dependant on the subject area being addressed. A person can be sane in one subject area and completely psychotic in another.

This is great information for people handling. Being able to recognize the traits of each type allows you to find the best people to work with. I think the choice is clear: Pick the ones who are sane in a majority of subject areas!

Have a great week,

Malcolm

Mavericks of the World, Unite!

Hello,

It was many years ago when I first heard the expression: "The unsuccessful follow the crowd, and the successful do exactly the opposite". I must admit, being somewhat of a maverick myself, I recognized the truth in the statement, plus the irony that many completely ignore it.

In the current "uncertain" times, it is very easy to be drawn into the view of the pundits and gloom mongers. The news seems increasingly bad, with rising fuel prices, falling property values and many other "bad indicators". Even people with powerful long term plans are being advised that things are really, really bad, and they must do something now with their investments to avoid disaster.

Well, I have news for the pundits. It's all happened before. There have been terrible bear markets, tumbling stock values, downturns, unemployment and all kinds of issues to pull one's attention off their overall plan. The fact is that economies and markets do recover and that panic and knee jerk reactions, while "normal", are just "following the crowd".   

So, don't get drawn into the panic. Actively look for things that others do not choose to see. There is plenty of opportunity out there for those with vision and a good wedge of common sense. A great set of questions to ask when others are following the crowd into an imagined oblivion are: 'Why", "How", "What", "When", "Who", and "Where". Ask these a lot. They will definitely point you toward some golden opportunities.

Here's to never following the crowd!

Have a great week,

Malcolm