Thursday, June 21, 2007

"The Secret" ...Bull Shhhhh

I have to call a spade a spade.
I have done my research into this entire, "The Secret" phenomena. For those who are not familiar with "The Secret", here is it’s theory in a nutshell – Save your money:

“Its explicit claim is that you can manipulate objective physical reality—the numbers in a lottery drawing, the actions of other people who may not even know you exist—through your thoughts and feelings. In the words of "author and personal empowerment advocate" Lisa Nichols: "When you think of the things you want, and you focus on them with all of your intention, then the law of attraction will give you exactly what you want, every time." Every time! Byrne emphasizes that this is a law inherent in "the universe," an inexhaustible storehouse of goodies from which you can command whatever you desire from the comfort of your own living room by following three simple steps: Ask, Believe, Receive.

As nice as this would be to believe, this is absolutely ridiculous. Once Oprah profiled this book on her show it took off. Oprah claimed that she lives her life by the secret.

Well there are hundreds of other Oprahs that are broke, sitting somewhere trying to visualize their way out of their situation. Well Good Luck. You only hear about success stories.

Every basketball player grew up knowing he was going to become and NBA player. He eats, sleeps, breathes basketball growing up and even picks his starting NBA number. That is “The Secret” to the letter but most don’t go pro. Most don’t even get a college scholarship. The chances of getting into the NBA is less then 1 in 10,000.

Chances of ...
A U.S. Business Going Public 1 in 49,000


Life being wiped out by a cosmic collision before 2097 1 in 10,000

Scoring a hole-in-one 1 in 15,000

Being born a genius 1 in 250

Becoming a pro athlete 1 in 10,000


www.businessweek.com

If you pick 4 NBA players you might think they all use “The Secret” like Oprah. The difference is that is only 1 ingredient to success. I agree you have to sleep, eat, and breathe basketball, but you also have to have good genetics, train hard, stay focused, and practice. That is what’s left out of this book.

The book is a miracle diet pill for the new millennium. Everyone wants to get thin eating chocolate, but life’s not fair. There are no shortcuts people. This book might make you feel good temporarily but I’m here to KEEP IT REAL.

“The Secret” is positive thinking dressed in a new package. This $24.99 book is richly decorated; the paper is thick, shiny coated and seemingly well crafted. The art work is mystical, Da Vinci Code style, helping to promote its rants that this is an age old secret revealed. Napoleon Hills, Think and Grow Rich in a designer package. It's a very creative farce and I give these people credit. They are cashing in. They cashed in on my ass.
The fact that Oprah is in on it makes it not just a farce but a powerful one. As one of the most powerful females in the free world, Oprah has catapulted The Secret to the Amazon all time best seller list exceeding Harry Potter.
What TS tells you is don't think negatively and negative things won't happen. Don't think about getting fat and you won't get fat. Set up an automatic bill paying system and stop thinking about your bills and they will stop coming.

SO WHAT DO I BELIEVE IN?

I believe in the power of prayer. God helps those who help themselves. God has given most of us everything we need we just have to use it and make it happen.

I do believe in the power of positive thinking. I believe in acting as if. If you want to be great then act great. If you want to be thin and healthy then act thin and healthy. Healthy people are active and eat good nutritious foods. They are energetic and vibrant.
If you are overweight and take on these habits you will lose weight, almost guranteed.


If you want to be rich, do as self made wealthy people do: work hard, invest wisely, spend wisely.
If you want your bills to go away.....PAY THEM!
Write you goals down everyday and work toward them. Visualize. Visualize then execute.

Even the best visualize and work hard.

-MJL

Monday, June 18, 2007

DON'T SLEEP.......

We all know Simon Cowell is Paid, he is the producer of America's got Talent and he is actually a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

Check out Simon's face: He's like W.T.F????

For those who have raw talent and need to unleash the beast, check this dude out!!

Let me know what you think?? Shout out to Toni for the clip!



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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

PENTA-MILLIONAIRES REVISITED

The recent interest in Pentamillionaire have mustered up an on slaught of critics of past financial staples like: "The Million Next Door". The new thought process is that this kind of fugal careful investing will never amass the kind of wealth that frees you from your day job and let's you ball out of control.

The new statistic is that one in 12 US households already has at least $1 million dollars. That statistic is really hard to believe but let's say for shizts and giggles that is number is true. (God that’s hard to believe!)

5 million puts you in the top 1 percent of the US and I think that's where we want to be. One million is not enough to retire on, even if you adjust it for inflation. The typical rule of thumb is that putting $1000 per month in your 401 (k) an earning 7 percent will earn you an inflation adjusted 1 million to retire on . This comes with many constraints including sitting in a damn cube, eating frozen dinners for lunch, and feeling like a damn jack ass for a minimum of 9 hrs. per day.

If you want a fortune you have to go and get it. That means starting something and working at it. I still think there are ways to make something happen, you just have to go at it.

People think that luck has a huge part, but the lucky person and the successful Pentamillioniare think alike. They expect both expect success. British psychologist Richard Wiseman found that lucky people, like successful people are relaxed and observant. In one experiment subjects were told to count the photos in a newspaper. In the middle of the paper he inserted a blaring ad that screamed, "Stop Counting. Tell the experimenter you have seen this ad and win $250.". People who considered themselves lucky spotted the article right away and bad luck people cruised right by, too busy counting.

MORE INTRESTING FACTS

Out of 3000 pentamillionaires interviewed during 2 hour sessions, 80% either started their own businesses or worked for a small company. A significant percentage worked in long shot professions such as sports and entertainment.



Getting rich also requires a huge level of commitment, stubbornness and clarity of vision. The success rate of startups that usually have a team of founders who share a common vision is 50 percent vs the solo founded companies who are 1 in 10 that you often here so much about. Personally, I attribute success to those ingredients. I run my small business with people who have stuck with me through thick and thin. People who not only share my vision but have experienced it, rely on it and reinforce it week after week. I have many people who doubt me, what I'm doing, how much I work, and my lifestyle. There are so many that you can't even begin to defend your position.

It becomes useless. There is way more ammunition supporting "The Millionaire Next Door" then “My Little Hustles”. There are many reasons not to work 18 hour days, and little reason currently in my wallet why. As ultimate success comes closer, it's easier to follow your dreams. People start to see that you might actually become the millionaire that you have always known you could be. They began to shut up and watch. Soon they will began to cheer.


Being a pentamillionaire means freedom. Sacrificing your 20's and early 30's so the next 35 years I can do what I want is the ultimate reward....even if you crash a few cars in the process.

-MJL

Monday, June 11, 2007

FIRST PICS FROM SHANGHAI 2007





Your boy chillin with the locals.
wait until they find out I'm not Barry Bonds.

(Identity is Finally Revealed)




The Asian Idea of physical perfection is very similar to ours.


That's like a light-skinned, Asian version of me!





Sunday, June 10, 2007

Bikes are super popular in China. People save their money and take a taxi cab when it rains.
That's truely the meaning of saving for a rainy day.








Tiger is doing it big everywhere




You can almost smell the fog!






Where are Americans jobs going?
The avg. hourly plant worker wage in the US is between $15 & $30, Mexico $2 to$3. In China the avg hourly wage is less then $1 per hour.

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Flicks from the fine dining establishment in Shanghai.
This joint was picture post card perfect
.

This cat is multi tasking the "Shanghai Way".
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!











IKEA "WESST SIDDE"



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