Our National Debt

Last month, the national debt surpassed $18 trillion. That’s $124,000 for each American household or $56,378 per individual. It took the country 205 years to accumulate its first trillion dollars of debt in 1981, but has only taken us 403 days to accumulate our most recent trillion. It’s hard to even think about numbers that big; if you were to count to a million it would take one week; if you wanted to count to a trillion it would take 31 thousand years.

Like with our personal debt, there may actually be some advantages to taking on debt. The flatscreen TV and Christmas presents we purchase with debt likely increase our standard of living and wellbeing. But this short term gain is often paid for with long term pain. And the currency of this pain is interest.

Interest is the price of debt. So, when we buy a TV on a payment plan, we are actually buying two things: the TV and the debt that goes with it. While a few extra dollars spent on interest each month may be worth it to see our favorite football players in HD, too much of our income spent on interest can seriously reduce our quality of life because we must forgo other purchases to pay for it.

This is the point that the country has reached with its interest on the national debt.

Last year, the U.S. spent $430 billion on interest payments alone. This means that every year, tax payers are spending $3,500 just on interest payments. This is money that isn’t going to pay for roads, bridges, education, medical research or defense.

It gets scarier. National debt interest rates are historically low at the moment – around 2.5 percent.  When they rise, interest payments will rise exponentially thanks to the wonders of compounding rates. Say interest rates rise to 5 percent – still low by historical standards. That means we will owe nearly $1 trillion a year in interest alone. That’s about two-thirds of what the federal government brings in each year in total income tax revenue!

Fewer services and higher taxes – Uncle Sam’s spendthrift ways could end up hurting us all.

When a little tension is good

There’s where you are, and where you see that you can be.  If they are in harmony, you will not grow and move forward.  But if you maintain a healthy tension between these two, you will keep moving forward.  

Do you see a difference between where you are and where you can be?

Who expects you to grow?

If there are others around you who expect you to grow, expect the best from you, and push you, you are lucky.  Because if you had nobody around you who expected you to grow, you wouldn’t expect it yourself, and you wouldn’t grow.

I expect you to grow.

"If you would, you could".

Many people say “If I could, I would”.  But it’s more like “I don’t, so I can’t”.

Self-discipline is the difference between intentions and accomplishment, between thoughts and achievement, and low and high performance.

“If you would, you could”.

Will you?

Living Intentionally

Most people live with good intentions.  “I wish”, “Someday I’ll…”

Good intentions aren’t going to change anything, including your own situation.

Living with intention is different.  “I will”, “Action”, “Today”. People that live with intention each day are the minority.

Which are you?

Tension in your soul

We have been conditioned to pursue a path; a career, a life, liesure activities that others are doing. We stay fairly close to the group because that’s what is expected.  

If we feel restless and unsatisfied, not because we haven’t accomplished our goals yet but because we aren’t doing the right things for us, it may be that we were meant to be doing something else.  Likely we will never be at peace until we follow our heart and soul, and not our conditioning or others expectations.

Are you doing what fills you?

Inventor Cuts Federal Taxes 10%

Well, the equivalent.  Because of the inventions of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking by a few innovators, the United States is no longer a net importer of oil.  This has created countless US jobs, and caused the price of oil to plummet via simple supply and demand.  This is not from US government efforts, but because of private businesses who operate in a free market. 

Meanwhile most of the other countries that produce oil are dictatorships who assumed control of their oil industries and cash flow long ago.  They run their countries and control their people on this money. Because the price is down, they are having trouble balancing their budgets.

The price at the pump is down – a LOT.  The American people will enjoy this dividend and save $300 billion a year, the equivalent of a 10% federal tax cut.  Likely they will spend this money elsewhere in the economy.

All this because the free market we have stimulates innovation.  These benefits brought to you by a few smart guys whose motivations are unlocked in a free market.  Enjoy!

Feeling "Alive"

I don’t know about you, but when I sit on the couch and watch tv for a couple hours I feel like I am wasting my time; I don’t feel good about myself (unless I’m watching an uplifting movie).  Life is easy these days.  We can do pretty well and be pretty comfortable (relative to history) without doing too much.  

But it’s the struggle to push ahead and accomplish good/great things that we don’t HAVE to accomplish, that makes us feel really good about ourselves and what we are doing.

Use what you have been given to its fullest, and you’ll feel alive. 

Hot Pursuit

So long as you are in active pursuit of a worthy goal, you are successful.

Are you in action each day?  Hot pursuit?

A product of your environment

Chose your environment well.  Shape it and change it so it works for you and supports your moving toward your objective.  

And if it doesn’t support you, get out of it and into someplace that does.

Does that make sense?

(Did you just say “But I can’t?”)