Unacceptable....Just Unacceptable!

Ok, I am furious right now; with no one other then myself. I am in a rut.


My life.....


I am in a row boat, in the middle of a huge Ocean.

I know for certain if I travel East I will hit "Corporate Beach".

Corporate Beach has all the securities that an average man or woman is taught to seek out of life. A house, a mortgage, a small college fund for the kiddies, a Grand Prix and and a nice fancy Mini-Van with folding seats! Corporate beach also comes with a 60 hour a week, cubicle job, not to mention, the perks: A 401 K plan to secure my retirement, free coffee everyday, donuts on Fridays and if I am really dedicated, I might even get a double cubicle to display pictures of my hobbies.

Who can say no to this life?



I row in that direction because that's what I'm taught to do, until my thoughts of that shore and it's securities are overcome with thoughts of "Entrepreneurial Island".

"EI", as it's called by the cool people, is like a rap video. Women and money are plentyful. It's a virtual "Hoe-asis", with plenty of "Whore D'oeuvres" to go around. That goes for both men and women. Women get to live like slim Oprah's. They have panty hoes that never bunch or run, thigh thinning chocolate, and Jimmy Choo and Reeboks just opened a store producing foot soothing high heels.

So I ask myself the eternal question, "WWJD?". No not, "What would Jesus Do silly".

WHAT WOULD JAY-Z DO?

So I change direction and frantically start rowing in the opposite direction trying to reach "EI" while humming Jay-Z's "Encore" remix (from the new Miami Vice movie). As I'm rowing I pass all the people who have drowned trying to make it to EI. I see burgundy hair weaves floating in the water, fake ass platinum dog tags, broken down rowboats with spinners. The more stuff I see the more I worry. Does this island really exist? Is it really where the map says it is? Then how come all of these people didn't make it? Then I think, "I don't really no anyone who's ever made it. I only know about EI from TV and magazines.

Then I decide I better go for the sure thing. Before I turn the boat around I look at my map again to regain my bearings. Shzit, I'm right back where I started, only now I'm exhausted.

This is the trap that is layed out by Corporate America. They hope that you run out of energy and become forced to slowly go to the "Corporate Beach" . Once you start rowing in the corporate direction, you get further and further away from "EI". After awhile you look back and EI is so far away that you don't even consider it anymore. Instead you focus on "Corporate Beach".

As you are rowing, Corporate Beach doesn't look as nice as it did in the brochures. It seems a lot further then it did when you decided to go there. When you get there you find you are 62 years old, and can't enjoy all that it has to offer.

That's where I'm headed people. "Corporate Beach", me and my 62 year old, wrinkled twig and

berries; yappin' about how I was once on my way to "EI" and the mysteries of all the booty it had to offer (Pun is intended).

How am I going to beat the trap?

Well I have to narrow my focus. I am not accomplishing the goals that I have set out for myself. One of which is updating my blog with new posts (at least 3 or 4 per week). I am letting my corporate job run me. A job will use you like a light bulb. As soon as you are burnt out they throw you away and screw (in) a new person. No matter how valuable you think you are to a company you are replaceable. Remember that.

The key to succeeding immediatly at work is to work smarter. I have to manage the surrounding groups: purchasing , quality, manufacturing in such a way that they are forced to perform. Since they are Corporate Beachers they value the security that the job has to offer. This is their weakness. I will leverage this weakness to push them into being performers. I have no such weakness that they can expose.

The other key is to be prepared. I have been doing the same thing for almost 6 years. I have done the job of everyone that works for me, so I shouldn't be surprised anymore. I should be overly prepared. This will help to manipulate situations that are mutually beneficial for my company, my job performance and my time spent working. Being overly organized and confident will help me lead my team, as well as other teams within my company.
I should not let the lack of performance of employees take me out of my game, as it does daily. I should be able to brush it off, because it's expected, and calmly react to the situation.

Hypnosis
Those who know me, know that I am a big fan of hypnosis. I will start listen to my tapes again. They help me stay focus, remain confident, and increase my aggression.

Excercise
I will continue to workout, stepping it up to 5 or 6 times per week. This will help me deal with daily stress better.

Other Top 10 list items
I will not ignore my other top 10 items, non-work related accomplishments help build all around confidence and moral.

Right now I'm focused. I have let life man-handle me in the last two weeks, and I refuse to be a victimized.

When I reach EI I will pop a bottle of MOET and read this post like, "That's What's Up".

GET FOCUSED WITH ME PEOPLE - THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM ON THE ISLAND

-MJL

A Major For Ol' Earl

Woods wins back to back British Opens today. This is a feat that hasn't been done since Tom Watson in 1982.

Why do we care?

Because we are future millionaires and Tiger is the epitome of who and what we are trying to be. At a glance, Woods looks like your typical golfer. Golfers have it made. They make a living doing what we do to relax. That is like making a living sitting on the couch watching TV. What is not typical, is his drive and determination. His need to be number one. He has the ability to stay just as hungry as he was the weekend of his first Major victory.

Think about this: Tiger Woods has had a golf coach since he was 4 years old. How many people can do the same thing for 26 years with increasing intensity. When he loses (or doesn't win) he doesn't become angry he practices harder. Do you think after winning this British Open he is going to relax...NO, he is going to train harder. He is under the best circumstances ever and he will leverage this situation to train harder then ever for his next event. We all think we have witnessed a virtuoso performance but Tiger has a list of 50 things that he needs to work on based on his performance this weekend. Do you think Fat Phil Mickelson was grinding away after his wins? The only thing he grinded was pepper for his big juicy steak dinner that he put in his fat face.

Let's look at Tiger's earnings last year in detail: Tiger Earned 90 million last year, earning him the number one spot for the Athlete catagory in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Of the 90 Million that tiger took home only $10,628,023 was from playing golf. The rest is made from guest appearances and endorsements.

His sponsorship includes heavy hitters such as:
Nike
GM
Accenture
Tag Huer
Electronic Arts
American Express
Net Jets
Rolex (Recently signed deal - July 23, 2006)
and the list goes on.

Tiger is smart on and off the Tee box. He is probably the most well spoken athlete of his status. You never hear him saying anything politically incorrect or overly offensive in an interview. When he is attacked and questioned he shrugs it off. He is pure marketing genius. He has done a great job in appealing to all demographics. This appeal, although appearing effortless is practiced. Earl knew what he was doing and who he was working with. Tiger has been trained what to say, how to say it and just as important, what not to say. Kobe Bryant is an excellant example of marketing genius ruined by personality. As you can see it only takes a few bad decisions to create what almost seemed like an unstoppable down fall for Kobe. First the spat with Shaq, then the adultrous romp in the sack. Blend this with his cocky attitude, and you have a recipe for low jersey sales and broken contracts. Inoccent or not Kobe's pockets were hit hard in 2004.

I don't claim to be a golf pro, but I have heard to many times that Tiger is only good becuase he can drive the ball so far off the tee; stating today's game is all about power. They said that he could never compete in the days of Nicklaus and Palmer. Well I think this weekend proved a lot of people wrong. He played the entire weekend, only hitting his driver once. This was a course that Tiger picked apart with the precision of the Rolex's he will be selling. He knows the game inside and out. He is the ultimate hustler. So the tale goes....On one cold, windy, rainy and just plain ugly day Tiger was observed to be hitting iron shots for hours on the practice range. When asked what the heck he was doing out in the cold, he replied happily: “Are you crazy? When am I ever going to get to hit shots in Palo Alto in weather conditions that I’ll have to play in at a British Open?”
His shots this past weekend weren't luck. He knew. Earl Knew.

Tiger's Crib in Florida.

Related Links (Posted in the sidebar):

Tigers New Nike Commercial: Portrait of a Swing

Old American Express Commercial: My Life My Card

The Laws of Power: Law 1

Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - inspire fear and insecurity.

Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Unfortunately (fortunate for the blog, unfortunate for the chap that got the boot )I was recently able to see this law in action. At work we had what we called Black Thursday two weeks ago. 6 people were laid off from our company. One person in particular, had only been there for a short period of time. I remember during his first month, he kept saying how his boss sucked, and how he was going to have that job. I advised him to play it cool, and to do a good job at making his boss look good. This advice fell on deaf ears. Every opportunity that he had he let people know that he was after his boss' job. Well, his boss knew too, and now he's out of a job.

When you have a superior above you that is not as good as you are, when you showcase your talents to loudly you drum up insecurities. When you direct your talents into making him or her look better you become a necessity. They know that they need you to reach a certain level of success. Without you they can not continue to achieve the same levels so you have created job security. If you try to outshine them, and they feel overly threatened you have achieved the opposite.

More from Robert Greene:
You can not worry About upsetting every person you come across but you can be selectively cruel. If your superior is a falling star, there is nothing to fear from out shining him. Gauge his strength. If he is weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Out do, out charm, outsmart him at key moments. If he is very weak and ready to fall, let nature take its course. Bide your time and be patient.

The key there is "at Key Moments". Every opportunity is not the right one. But you must be ready at the key moment. You don't know when that moment will occur so you must be ready at all times. Everyday you must be at the top of your game. Then there will be that key moment, in that one meeting with the right audience, that your boss will stumble. You will be there with the charm, grace and knowledge that the right people will notice that your boss never possessed. This will start the investigation of your boss' past successes and his potential in the future. Was this a result of you or him? After, the key moments will come more frequently. Your rise to the top will be emanate.


THE LAWS OF POWER ARE NO JOKE!

Getting Out of Debt: 2 (in a Multiple Post Series)

Alright sports fans, to pick up where we last left off. In debt but full of hope. Do you know what the big joke is overseas about Americans?

The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.

When we are done, that will apply for most Americans, but not us.

THE BUDGET

Our next step to getting out of debt is establishing a budget. In order to do this successfully you should ease into it. Remember, baby steps. Any change that is too drastic becomes hard to maintain for the long haul.

When establishing your budget, I would seriously look into a programs such as Microsoft Money or Quicken; they are powerful. Some of you have these programs free with your computer but haven't bothered to unleash the powers. The more detail you put into these programs the more useful they become.

Your initial budget should be based on your current spending habits. You should write down all of your household and daily living expenses. Track every dollar that you spend, and every check you write. Millionaires understand their money.
Categorize each expense into the following groups:
Rent Cable
Utilities
Car Payment
Insurance
Gym Membership
Groceries
Gas
Dry Cleaning
Entertainment
Pet Supplies
Lunch
Credit Cards
Cell Phone

After this list is generated monitor your spending and write down how much you spend in each category. Track your expenses for a month. This will allow you to receive bills for each of your monthly billed expenses. Hopefully when you have totaled it all up it is equal to, or less then your monthly paycheck, after taxes. You would be surprised how many people are spending more then they make every month.

Now let's attack each category, and see how you can be thriftier without making large lifestyle changes. The goal here is to get an extra $100 per month that you didn't have before reading this blog. I will just talk about a few of the categories and some of the things I have been able to do, to hit my extra $200 per month that I came up with. Besides my comments, there is a wealth of information on the web regarding household budgets and cost cutting.

Rent or Mortgage:
Usually untouchable, you must live with it. Yeah you could get a smaller place, but that's too drastic.

Cable:
A necessary evil for me, but for most people, you might not watch HBO until the next season of the Sopranos. Do you need to pay for it the 26 months in between each season. That is the biggest Scam going today. Get you hooked on a show, and have 12 months in between each season. Pure marketing genius.

Utilities:
Believe it or not running the washing machine at full load actually saves a chunk, and makes sense. I know...just by an extra pack of "fruit of the loon" and you will be alright. Also, do you really need to use the dishwasher. That is an electricity hog. Get down and dirty on the dishes the old fashion way. You probably still rinse them out of the dishwasher anyway. During the summer months, don't let it get to hot in your house, you will use more electricity running the AC to get the temp back down, then if you would have maintained a slightly warmer climate. Ask you utility company if they have the program that let's you take your previous years bills, and charges you a fixed monthly rate. This is very useful. If they don't, then budget in your highest bill for that item.

Car Payment:
You could probably refinance, for a cheaper interest rate. You will read this in a lot of books, but it's a pain in the a$$ an hardly anyone ever does that. If you got the patience, Knock yourself out.

Lunch:
People at my job spend an incredible amount of money on lunch everyday. It's unbelievable. We have a cafeteria, and you will find people spending $7.00 a day, and then pumping an extra $2.00 in the vending machine. This is their kids college fund. My Budget for lunch is $4.00, and I rarely go over that. What happens if I go out and eat, I use the money I saved from the day before. I barely break $20.00 a week for lunch. When I am a certified millionaire, this will still be true, unless I'm entertaining a client, at which my job will happily pick up the tab. If all else fails, go to Subway. Cheap, fast, & healthy. Jared ain't lying.

Groceries:
I save the most on groceries because I buy the store brand. A high percentage of the time the store brand is made by the name brand company. You aren't just paying for the advertising but the prestige of not having to purchase the generic product. However generic is not always cheaper or equal in quality. Some companies sort good and bad quality items and package the bad items under the generic labels. You must experiment to see where it's worth saving. Also consider that brand names have sales, where it's almost impossible to find a generic item on sale. Eat before you shop or while you shop, and try and have a list. I cut my grocery bill by two thirds with these tips

Entertainment:
Stop being a baby. You don't need the $6.00 pack of Twizzlers and "Big A$$" popcorn when you go to the 8.:00 show. Try a matinee, and go to Blockbusters to buy your movie foods. They are on sale there everyday. Twizzlers, Goobers, Rasinets, you name it. Eat out for lunch not dinner. Typically the same items are offered with similar portion sizes but prices for lunch are much lower. When going out for two, try splitting one appetizer and one entree. You will find that to be just enough food for you and your date to enjoy, without feeling the guilt of eating too much. Go old school and pop some popcorn at home, and play scrabble. Watch TV. TV is great these days. By making a big deal out of it, it becomes a big deal. Watch a movie, like your at the movies. Set up the popcorn and Twizzlers, turn off the phone, turn down the lights and snuggle up. You won't know the difference.



When your budget is completed, and your $100 is secured, we will be ready for the second step in the process to becoming a millionaire.

Random Post

Ok, I'm just sitting in Panera Bread, doing my blog thing and a woman approaches me, and asks me what I'm doing tonight?

Now, I'm a clean cut, athletic looking young man; what about me made her think that I would go on a date with her? Not to be cruel (but I will)....she looked like Anthony Anderson in the face, with a noticable beard. She had on short shorts with cankles. If I'm getting picked up by woman like this, I need to re-evaluate myself.


To keep everyone on the same page: The definition of Cankle & a pic of Anthony Anderson can be found below. Merge the two, slap on a pair of daisy duke shorts and I have a dinner date.

Cankle
Noun. A sight common among the morbidly obese. The point at which one is so obese that there is no thinning of the leg between the calf and the ankle, which creates a sense of fusion between the two. Consequently "Cankle" comes from the fusion of CAlf and aNKLE.

Inspirational Photos: The Jordan House

Oh Yeah! That's What's Up.
This puppy is located in Highland Park, Illinois in a place called Architectural Estates.

Nope, those aren't his neighbors; that's his sister's and his mother's houses.

Mom, Big Sis, Lil Sis if I had that much cheese, your houses might be slightly bigger then those.





Peep the traffic in this photo. Imagine if your kid
heard that MJ himself was giving out Halloween candy personally. Your car would be in that line too.

Click photos for a better view.







LATE ADDITIONS!
Pictures below emailed in by Jonathan K.


The front gate. Too Much or Too Phat?

This small picture is easily the best I have ever seen. Click it and drool.

Thomas' Tip of the Day: July 10, 2006

WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING PREPARE FOR THE RAIN

I know it sounds a little depressing but it's true. People definitely do not do this enough.

When faced with adversity, we dig in deep, kick ass, take names and prevail. Once we are in the winners circle we forget the things that got us there. We forget the dedication, the focus, the struggle. We get complacent and end up in the same situation we've just fought our way out of. When you are just winning the first battle of the war you must continue to fight just as hard until the battle is over.

Let’s look at two real life examples:

EXAMPLE ONE: PERSONAL LIFE
You get one credit card paid off and you’re feeling good- fist pumpin' all over town (Thanks SS). You find yourself at Border's bookstore buying a book, or magazine (a budgeted expense) and you see a night light for sale. You think to yourself, “It's only $16.99”.

ARE YOU NUTZ!

You shouldn’t even be considering that. Are all of your credit cards paid off? You have gone 20 something years without this dumb-ass night light, but yet all of a sudden you need it. STOP FOOLING YOURSELF. This is the trap that got you in debt to begin with. Get back on the grind. Remember every penny counts.

Once you have refrained from spending, go harder. Take another look at your budget, and your savings, and turn it up a notch or two. You knew nothing about your finances when you first established your budget, now you are an expert. Take another look with your experienced eyes and tweak another $10 per week out.



EXAMPLE TWO: BUSINESS
Your business is finally doing well. You feel like you can take $500 bucks and go buy some company T-shirts.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

You should take any extra money and prepare for repairs, maintenance, better equipment, or pay down overhead. You owe it to your business and your employees to do everything in your power to establish a solid foundation. Once that is completed, you then work on making sure your top performers are happy. Then and only then can you worry about T-shirts.

Then...you guessed it....GO HARDER!
While things are going well for your business take this opportunity to step up your game. Get better at what you do. Now that you are not worrying about profits, over achieve to over satisfy your customer base. Use that extra energy to think of ways to improve quality and cut costs. Do product research, implement processes and procedures that will insure the continuance of quality work. Stay hungry.


Keep this tip in mind. When you treat the good times not so good, then the bad times won’t really be that bad. Rich people have Great times and not so great times. There are no bad times. (Health issues excluded).

So when the rain comes you are prepared to weather the storm. Why shouldn't you be, you knew it was coming.


-MJL

By Popular Demand......

A blog sight is like reality TV. Ever since I set up the new email address I have been getting numerous requests for more personal life details. I wish not to reveal too many details because then the content of my page will be compromised severely.

To help satisfy my audience, I will be adding two additional features to this blog that will hopefully provide more insight to the person behind the scenes and keep everyone coming back every day.

Thomas’ Tips

Thomas' tip of the day is just something for us to think about every day. Named so, after a friend of mine who is older and wiser, and always full of advice; some good and some not so good, but all worth listening to.


Robert Greene’s “The 48 Laws Of Power”

Robert Greene's best seller: "The 48 Laws of Power" should be studied by all who choose to be wealthy. We will understand each of his laws and how they apply to 2006 corporate, blue collar and entrepreneurial lifestyles

As for the other questions regarding my personal relationships, what I do for fun, how much income I earn, etc. stay tuned because all such information will be revealed in my postings.

Last but not least to answer the number one question..ladies (and 2 gentlemen) I am single, straight as an arrow, and currently not dating anyone.


-MJL

GETTING OUT OF DEBT 1.5 (in a Multiple Post Series)

This article was submitted by Vincent. I'm not sure if it's legal to post, but the Author is credited and his website is linked, so it can only bring him revenue. This is good information:

Five Reasons To Get Out Of Debt
By Stuart Laing

1) Everything that you buy becomes much more expensive

OK, I’ll show you. While out shopping you just can’t resist buying a new plasma television. The price was $2300, but it has been reduced to $1995. Bargain! So you sign up to an attractive looking credit agreement. How much will is cost? This is not a trick question. $1995? Wrong!

Whenever you borrow to buy something, the total cost to you is made up of three distinct parts.

a) The actual amount that is borrowed - $1995

b) The interest on the loan – Perhaps 3 years at 29.9% APR. That would come to $915.78 (36 payments of $80.85 less $1995)

c) These payments must be made from your taxed income – Let's say 30%. That would add another $1247.40 So taking all of these things into account, you’ll have to earn an eye watering $4158 to pay for your television. And that’s before we take into account the opportunity that you’ve lost to earn interest on the money that you’re using to make the loan repayments. At 5% per year over 3 years this could amount to another $300 in lost interest. Doesn’t seem such a ‘bargain’ any more, does it? Do you really want it that much?


2) Lack of Freedom

The world is full of credit junkies. Too many people hold a ‘must have’ attitude that they simply can’t afford. Unfortunately, this position translates into a ‘must borrow’ state of mind. They borrow in order to feed their need for a regular consumer spending ‘fix’. But this addiction is not without its consequences.


Every time you borrow money you forfeit a piece of your life. It means that your lender owns a bit of you. They own the time that you take to earn the money to repay the debt every week or every month. Welcome to life as a human limited company….and your lender has just become a major shareholder! Every pound of debt reduces the freedom that you have in your life. It’s a simple equation.

Debt = lack of freedom to spend your time as you decide

Part of your precious, non-renewable life, now has to be devoted to acquiring enough money to repay your creditors. Your personal freedom has been curtailed. Every pound of interest paid represents a waste. Waste of your money. Waste of your effort. Waste of your time. Waste of your freedom. WASTE OF YOUR LIFE!!

3) Rows

What’s the most common reason for rows between couples? Work, children, sex, the house, trivial matters? Wrong!

The answer is money. Debt is the biggest cause of rows and relationship problems.

4) Stress

This is the inevitable result of the last two items. You owe money that you no longer have. You have to repay it with interest. You have to work every hour available just to make ends meet. And at the back of your mind is the nagging doubt, ‘what if I can’t keep up with the repayments?’ Then on top of all that worry, there’s the frustration of being permanently skint, despite the fact they you’ve never worked harder in your life. And all the time your ‘better half’ is nagging you about never having any money and the amount of time that you’ve been spending at work.

5) Bankruptcy

With all debt, there’s always the chance that it will spiral out of control. One debt can lead to another debt. After you’ve borrowed money once, it becomes incredibly easy to do it again, and again, and again! It’s the easiest thing in the world to say ‘Oh I’ll just stick it on my credit card’, but it’s much harder to repay! Especially when you’ve got interest working its mischief against you! Eventually, it can get to the stage where you can’t even afford to repay the interest, let alone the original amount you borrowed. And the end result? Life is not as happy and exciting as it should be! And if that's not a good enough reason to get out of debt, I don't know what is.


Stuart runs a website dedicated to helping people get out of debt. So if you want to improve your financial position, visit www.icanhelpyougetoutofdebt.com for free, impartial debt help information

GETTING OUT OF DEBT: 1 (in a Multi Post Series)

Step 1: Self Discipline & Determination

There is no question as to whether you will be a millionaire working at this firm (or coming to this blog), the question is how many times over.

You think I'm joking. I am not joking. I am a millionaire. It's a weird thing to hear, right? I'll tell you, it's a weird thing to say. I'm a freakin’ millionaire. Now, you all look money hungry and that's good. Anybody who says money is the root of all evil, doesn't F’n have any! Money can't buy happiness? Look at the f’n smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby. You wanna hear details? I drive a Ferrari 355 cabriolet, what’s up. I have a ridiculous house on the SouthFork. I've got every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid.

That is a speech given by Ben Affleck in boiler room. That’s what I watch to get me pumped up. That’s one of my motivators that keep me going. I'm sure everyone has their own.

Why am I so obsessed with money? People always ask me this. To set the record straight I’m not obsessed with money, but I’m in love with what money can do. Money is resources, and resources equal power.

Anyone who says they don’t care about money is either lying or already rich. Anyone who says they wouldn’t like to be rich is full of it. Most people hit their 30’s and start to come to terms with being mediocre and living a middle class lifestyle. They start to create a mind set that poor or middle class is great as long as they have their health. You know what? I would rather be a healthy rich guy then a healthy poor guy. Sick rich guy or sick poor guy. Divorced rich guy or divorced poor guy. Rich is like the color black, it goes with anything.

People fool themselves into thinking that a Malibu Max is just as good as that M-class Benz. The 2 bedroom, one bath house is great for a wife and 3 kids. The schools that their kids are attending will improve with just a couple of bake sales and car washes to get those new computers.

Well readers, you are on this blog because you have not fell into that mind set as of yet.
I am here to save you. Compare yourselves to Jay-Z, Tiger Woods, Warren Buffet, and the man himself, Bill Gates.

That’s how you want to live. That’s how you deserve to live.

Now think back to when you were in 11th grade. How you envisioned your life. The cars you wanted to drive, the house you wanted to own. Well you are there now. This is it. You only have one life, so strap in and take control of it.
Right here, right now.

There are dozens of books on getting rich, real estate, and stocks. Many times the advice in those books are “dead on”. The reason why people don’t get rich is because they don’t have the self discipline to act on the advice given.

For instance, everyone knows, simply to lose weight, just eat less calories then you burn. Nobody wants to be fat, but yet Poll results show that 80 percent of people older than 25 are overweight (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/03/05/obesity.poll/) No one wants to be fat but yet it’s hard to stay discipline enough to refrain from eating things you shouldn’t.


Quick Test

To determine how money and self determination can control almost your entire life, write down the biggest 10 problems that you have in your life. Nearly all your problems can be solved by the addition of more money or self discipline. This means that with more money and believing in yourself, you can control your destiny.

This is a powerful statement so I must repeat it:

WITH MORE MONEY AND SELF DISCIPLINE YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY!


I will go through this exercise with you: Here are my top 10 problems and what it will take to correct them.

1. Stabilize my small business
More money will stabilize my business
Self Discipline to market – (I’m the shy salesman)

2. Need a new Vacuum
More money

3. Work Less hours at my Corporate Job
Self Discipline – I don’t have to be the best, just good enough to stay in the top 10%. This means working less hours

4. Sleep more
Self Discipline

5. Six Pack of Abs (I ain’t chunky but I ain’t LL either)
Self Discipline

6. Shoot consistently under 100 in golf
Self Discipline

7. Spend More Time with my family
Self Discipline

8. I need to be Debt Free
Money
Self Discipline to stay on budget

9. BIGGEST PROBLEM – I’M NOT RICH YET


10. BIGGEST PROBLEM – I’M NOT RICH YET

From looking at my top 10 list you can see that I can control almost every one of these items with self discipline, and everything else comes with more money.

Yes, it is that easy!

I would be interested to see what other lists look like. The things you can’t control are health issues and relationships, but money and self discipline would greatly help in those instances too.

Remember, I am here to take these steps with you. This isn’t a crappy self help page trying to sell you a book. This is real people, real circumstances, with real solutions.

I will let you know when I get the “six pack” abs (yes, I will post a pic as proof), when I shoot that round of golf under 100, and when I get a vacuum cleaner that's worth a damn.

START TODAY, TOMMORROW IS TOO LATE!

Next we will configure our budgets. Self discipline will be the key ingredient to maintaining our budgets.

Blog Sight Email Address

For those who are wondering how to contact me without posting a comment:
livinglikemike@yahoo.com

All articles, topics, questions etc. can be emailed to this address.

-MJL

Home Sweet Home

I arrived home just in time to celebrate our country's birthday. As fascinating as it is to travel overseas there is no place like home. When I arrived at the U.S. airport I began to enjoy all of the things that annoyed me before: the strong will of American women, the repetitiveness of American radio, the ability of American men to reflect their egos in automobiles they can’t afford. Home Sweet Home.

While in China I was humbled by their work ethic. The Chinese culture is one of extreme focus and dedication while working, and living a full life outside of work. The precision and attention to detail at which they execute even the most mundane tasks, is something I will integrate into my own daily routines.

While overseas I have compiled a series of notable events, and tales of Chinese culture, that I hope will prove informative as well as entertaining. In the meantime, now that I’m back, we must focus on the reason we are all here: money, wealth, and living life to it’s fullest.

Our first step will be to focus on Getting out of Debt – A Multiple Post Series.

Happy 4th!