Families together is important

Our subscriber Willis Ponds commented about another thing that is critically important that few talk about; the breakdown of the family structure. He says “That is one of the single-most destructive problems facing today’s society. Children that come out of broken homes statistically don’t do as well in life, aren’t as productive, aren’t as good at solving problems, become a burden on society, commit more crimes, etc, etc. If we don’t solve the family problem then we will have poverty in plenty in the future.”

I agree.  Do you?

I’d add the economic case too.  It seems to me in the past we had two or even three generations living together.  Parents could go to work while the grandparents watched the kids.  They all shared the heat, the property taxes, the mortgage, and many other things.  It was simply cheaper per family member to live. And there was more than one, maybe more than two incomes in that household.  Wisdom and values got passed on from generation to generation.

Today everyone needs their own household.  Those three generations live in four places now.  Four rents, four gas/electric/tv bills, less people to help, talk to, and share with.  Child care and elderly care costs are way up.  With COVID, a single Mom can’t work when her small kids are home and need help going to school in front of a screen.

Ok, we can’t all be the Walton’s.  And in some families you are better off not having certain members around the rest.  But clearly the idea has changed and it results in more expense, which requires more working by the head of a small household, which means even more time away from the kids…

If you don’t have a family member to turn to for help, you wind up turning to a government agency.

Now, everyone doesn’t want to be home all their lives and wants to feel some independence over their home and life.  So “in-law” apartments” seem to be a good idea.  BUT, in many places they are illegal.  Zoning laws do not allow another residence on one lot.  This makes this problem worse.

What do you think about all this?

Comment with the orange button.

Wherever you go, there you are.

Problems?  Move away.  Get a new job.  A new partner.  A new house.  (Sometimes those things are key but..)

You can’t escape you.

Your habits.  Your thinking.  How you process information.  Your attitude and mindset.

From the inner – the outer.

Work on you – first.

Behavior comes before results

Your behavior is ahead of your success.  

Act like the person, BE the person who gets the results you want now – before you get those results, often long before – and the results will eventually come.

What kind of person do you need to be today?

In defense of capitalism

Capitalism, free-market capitalism specifically, has done more than any other thing/idea/system to solve problems for all of us, raise our standard of living, and pull billions out of poverty. 

Critics of capitalism are hypocrites unless they do not have a phone, live in a hut, raise sheep to make their own clothes and grow their own food.

In a free market when an opportunity to provide a product or service is present, “capitalists” rush in to win over the consumers in hopes of making a profit.  They compete with each other to do it better/faster and cheaper and we all win.  Not all capitalists win.  Many lose.  The ones that make a lot of profit are the ones who serve you very well with what you want when you want it, where you want it and how you want it.  

Once a winning capitalist makes money they spend it on other things and invest it to create more entities that solve more problems and create more jobs.  They also pay a lot of taxes.  Profit is a good thing.  When a capitalist loses money for too long all the employees lose their jobs, suppliers get stuck not getting paid, and buildings go empty.

If we can keep from destroying free-market capitalism with policies rooted in envy and ignorance, we shall continue to do better and better as the years go by.

Goals give us the opportunity to define what we want

What is your goal for this year?  This month?  This week?  Five years?  Ten years?

In other words, what do you want to accomplish or be by when?

Most people have no real goals that stretch them.  They seek to blend in, doing what is expected of them and not letting anyone down.  But to really exercise your talent you have to break from the pack and do something not many are doing.  To be exceptional is literally to be the exception.

You have been given the gift of being here at all, especially at this time and this place.  This is your chance.  You do not have an unlimited amount of time.  In fact, you will only be this age once.  That’s it.

Sitting down and really thinking about what it is that makes you happy, and what you have some natural disposition for is important.  It gives you a purpose.  If it’s something the world needs you may make great money at it.  Then set goals around you accomplishing or learning and moving forward to milestones.  Set time limits.  Write it down and put it on your bathroom mirror so you can see it first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed.  Give your mind something purposeful to work on.

Of course you’ll need energy and self-discipline to continue the pursuit long after the enthusiasm you had when you set the goal has left you.  

High achievers and high performers have a long string of goals accomplished, which allow them to set bigger ones.

Goals never go out of style.  What are yours?

"The good 'ol days"

Subscriber Kevin M made a comment about the post where we said poverty has and is going down because of free markets and capitalism.  He pointed out that some people long for the “good ‘ol days”, but in fact, they weren’t so good compared to today.

For example, I think about the 1950’s – with the great cars and music and drive-ins.  But the standard of living was much lower then, poor people were a lot worse off than poor people today, communication was far slower, and there were all kinds of problems yet to be solved that today, are solved.

Today we have a super-computer/communication device in our pockets, the world’s information is available fast and free, it’s relatively easy to feed and provide for our families, opportunity is all around us, and there is a solution for nearly everything. 

I’d rather be alive today than at any time in the past.  

How about you?

The Ripple Effect

Your actions affect your life, and those of your family members and friends.

Their actions affect their friends, and so on.  In this way, we can make the world immediately around us better or worse.

Honestly, how have your actions affected the people around you and the people around them?

Think on it. 

When you are done, think about how you can do even better.  What can you do today to make things better for the people around you (and ultimately the people around them)?

What brings you joy?

What do you just love to do, with who, and where? 

How can you increase the number of those moments in your life?

Don't fool yourself

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself- and you are the easiest person to fool.” – Richard Feynman

We tend to believe every thought we think because we thought it.  We try to protect our ego and justify our positions and look for evidence we are right – which we can always find.  But all of us are fooling ourselves in some area.  

What area is it for you?

“A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

In what area are you lying to yourself or just not facing the truth or taking responsibility for what you have created in your life?  Recognizing it is the path to making it better for yourself.

So…?

"You've come a long way baby"

“Life is so subtle that sometimes you barely notice yourself walking through doors you once prayed would open. – Brianna Wiest

Often we look at the road ahead to our goals or a “perfect life” as we may define it, and can get overwhelmed at how far we need to go and how much we need to do.  But look at it from the opposite position this morning. 

Where did you start at age 17?  How far have you come?  What have you accomplished?  What have you learned?  Who have you become?

Isn’t that something? 

Congratulations. Keep going!