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What If It’s Not as Bad as “They” Say It Is?

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This blog entry began on July 16, 2010. I am learning about writing a post and saving it as adraft so some of the current information may seem a little outdated, but the message is clear.

As I begin this entry, I am watching the stock markets enter a trading area known as “the crapper.” I’m sure that a lot of novice investors and faithful employees have probably lost money in the stock market this year- that is IF they are bold enough to try to trade this market. The catalyst is that a preliminary consumer sentiment index for July is at the lowest level in 11 months, which shouldn’t be that hard to imagine. I know that a lot of people are having a really difficult time right now financially. I’m not buying yachts or Carribbean islands right now, but I have to say that I’m doing alright. Considering that I was homeless a few years ago, my definition of “alright” might differ from yours. I’m achieving new goals and making plans to restore my FICO score to levels it hasn’t seen in years. This brings me to the question “Who do you believe?”

I almost never watch the news unless I’m forced to because it’s on in an area where I am, like having lunch at CNN Center. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, if you’re having lunch at CNN Center, you WILL watch CNN, whether you like it or not. I do pull CNBC up online and whenever I can view it in my leisure time, but only very briefly and only during trading hours. It’s actually an old habit from my lost gig as a commodities and currency options and futures broker. Except if there’s some major breaking news, I pay as small amount of attention to the media as possible. I even missed Lindsay Lohan getting sentenced to 90 days in jail, but my life went on.

There is a school of thought that states that whatever thoughts you hold in your mind, those thoughts will materialize in the outside world. If this sounds like an excerpt from the book or movie “The Secret,” you’re right. It is also the way that prayers are answered. I have experienced this phenomenon in my life as I’m sure you have too. So if you watch a lot of news and do your personal economic forecasting and planning based on recent news reports, I’ll bet you haven’t gotten very far recently (unless you work for “the news”). With the media cranking out nothing but bad news, if you pay a lot of attention to it, you have nothing but bad thoughts running through your mind…and this is creating your current reality.

Let’s play a game to illustrate my point. I’m going to ask a few questions and, as quickly as you can, I want you to say first thought you have out loud (or think it to yourself, if you’re in a “quiet” place). My reference for this is an audio program called “I know What To Do, So Why Don’t I Do It” by Dr. Nick Hall (very highly recommended).

a) What color is freshly fallen snow?
b) What color do clouds appear on a sunny day?
c) What color is a doctor’s lab coat?
d) What color does table salt appear?
e) How do you pronounce the word spelled “w-h-i-t-e?”
f) What do cows drink?

Well five out of six “ain’t bad,” right?

What’s my point?

Since the first five questions had your mind fixating on with the word “white,” I would bet your answer for the last question was incorrect. Chances are pretty good that you answered “milk” for the last answer. Cows don’t drink milk, they give milk. Cows drink water.

So what if we’re all being brainwashed by the media these days to limit ourselves and our potential? What if it’s really not THAT bad out there? What if the media is painting a picture that does not really exist for you? I can just about guarantee that if you believe that it’s bad out there (in the “real” world), it will be for you. If you think that things are getting better for you, they will be getting better (or not seem as bad).

If things aren’t really that bad for you out there, what excuses can you now get rid of in order to improve your life?

When My Education Really Began

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A lot of the ideas that I will be revealing did not originate with me. I would love to take credit for them, but I have had many influences. It would have been a great tragedy to say that when I graduated school, that my education ended and I never read another book (there are people out there like that, you know).

I have always been a little ashamed of the fact that I never completed my college degree after I got out of the Navy, but for whatever reasons (or excuses), I didn’t. There were some people in my past that thought that a college degree is first, foremost and defines all of the success in life that anyone will have. That notion is great…if you’re about 22 years old and have just finished final exams.

Notice that I haven’t said “an education.” People go to college, study hard (or not), graduate and the common misnomer is that they are thoroughly educated. They have reading, writing and ‘rithmetic skills out the wazoo, so therefore, they are thoroughly educated. There is nothing wrong with this and it has worked for a great many people…for a while. College doesn’t and can’t give you an education. College gives you a degree (if you earn it).

According to Merriam-Webster, the word “educate” has a few of definitions. These are the two definitions that I am referring to:

1 a : to provide schooling for b : to train by formal instruction and supervised practice especially in a skill, trade, or profession
2 a : to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by instruction b : to provide with information : inform

The first definition is first because it is the most popularly used definition and the most popular context of the word. It is the classic definition of “go to school and get an education.” The second definition is what you do with your mind AFTER you get out of school. It’s the second definition that is the key to this thought.

My education began when I decided to read a book my teachers in school didn’t require me to read. The first book I remember reading under these circumstances was “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. I read it in about two days when I was in the third grade. I had always had a love for the sea and stories about sailing ships. I continued reading about these sorts of things until I was in high school. In high school, I studied at Indian Springs School, just outside Birmingham, AL, for one year. I learned one pivotal skill there…how to teach myself. After one semester at Florida State University (where I learned virtually nothing new), I found myself in the Navy. I was “educated” in nuclear power plant operation. This worked great for me when I was near a nuclear power plant. When I left the Navy and decided that I would not pursue a career as a nuclear operator, this “education” was suddenly obsolete.

I started a business with my life’s savings and failed. I knew nothing about business, except business owners were the highest paid people in the company and I wanted to be the highest paid person in the company.

I found myself in retail sales as an assistant manager in a jewelry store and then as a manager of my own jewelry store with the same company. I didn’t know much of anything about my trade and I was consistently one of the top salespeople in the company. Again, since I had some “business success” under my belt managing someone else’s business, I thought I was thoroughly educated. I started my second business and failed…again. I thought I knew enough to start my own business, but I didn’t…apparently.

My education really began (as it applies to the world of business) when I started putting together my library. It was in the early 1990’s and I joined a business book club, where they send you a book you don’t want, you send it back and buy a book that you do want. After a while they quit sending me books and I bought a business book of my choosing every month. I had amassed a great deal of knowledge in business and sales. I lost that library after I moved to south Florida and got in the habit of losing everything I had about every nine months.

My library now is becoming a source in inspiration for me and my future successes. It contains authors like Donald Trump, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, John Maxwell, Robert Kiyosaki, Denis Waitley, Dr. Joe Vitale, Jeff Olsen and more. It has some of the greatest knowledge that business has ever put together and I am still a great student of my own library. I try to learn something new everyday and usually do. I cannot give myself a better present than a great education.

If you want better things out of your life, put something new into your mind. Turn off TV. Read a book. Invest in yourself and your future. Read a book that can change your life and improve who you are.

After all, success is not something you pursue, it’s something you become.

I’m just sayin’…

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Preaching is the one thing that this blog is not intended to be. I am in no way suggesting that I am better than anyone else or that I have all the answers. There are other answers out there to the same questions that you may have.

The purpose of this blog is to identify some choices that we all have as human beings. I illustrate some stories and events that have happened in my life and reveal the lessons learned on my part. I will also edify some concepts and ideas that I am intergrating into my life to create positive change and to live the best life possible. If it sounds like I am preaching in anyway, I am most likely preaching to myself (unless it’s on a topic like “The Benefits of Having a Belt that Holds Your Pants Up”).

By the same token, I will not cater to the “overly sensitive.” If there is a portion of this blog that offends you, chances are that you are offended about 50 times a day by all sorts of things…and that’s your problem to deal with, not mine.

Have a nice day and let’s get started…

MBN